Playing Every Game in the Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality
PEGBRJE: ‘The Alabaster Donut Farm’ and ‘Zak’
Break over, time for confusion
The Alabaster Donut Farm is a strange atmospheric narrative crafted by AfterglowGames, a solo dev based out of Scotland. Players have crashed in a strange place, where they will explore a donut farm and learn of who has left it behind.
Players have arrived at the first Alabaster Donut Farm through, finding it empty of all lifeforms yet preserved perfectly in time. With no rescue in sight, the entire plant is open to exploration, which the player can oblige by simply wandering around aimlessly.
The key, however, is in finding ‘numbers’ which indicate journal recordings from whomever lived here before. At first they make little sense, but over time the pieces begin to fit together of a robot and a spaceship companion who existed here before. They are written in an absurd prose, hard to understand but never feeling as if they need explanation. The emotional weight is present, even if the words don’t always click together neatly in the brain. This is what makes it so powerful, however, as there is no way for everyone to have the same mind and opinion of what is going on. The general plot can be deciphered, but how everyone feels about it is unique.
There’s little else to explain with The Alabaster Donut Farm. It is a game of absurdity and emotions rather than coherency and simplicity. The storytelling will throw a few people off, but those that latch on to it will love every second of this transcending confusion. If you love abstract narratives or really just want to go on a ‘trip’, this might be what you are looking for.
Zak is a 2D action platformer created by Scott Slucher, a solo indie dev, and featuring the music by Robin Burgess. Players are an unnamed protagonist, curious as to why they are stuck within the walls of their space. What are they being protected from? Time to find out.
Players will run through the city, jump over buildings and find a way towards the outskirts that will inevitably find them underground. Here, the protagonist will find a pipe conveniently placed as more scary enemies begin to appear. Both the player and the enemies will die in a single instance of damage, so players will need to use the pipe effectively to ensure that they do not get sent back to the checkpoint flag. Enemies start off relatively simplistic, little critters running around and all, but eventually turn in to armed guards that will shoot on sight. Being quick on the draw is important, but players can also take a slower approach to ensure that they don’t miss a jump or accidentally land on an enemy causing death.
Navigate through the levels of Zak and you’ll reach the final boss, which is ideally achieved within a single sitting. The game is not very long, but it does not feel that it is meant to be . It aims to be a small experience made to be enjoyed for its time. The music is phenomenal, and the art is clean and fun. If you enjoy small arcade games that can be beaten quickly, here is your next big project.
