I love dogs. Since kid, I always wanted to have dogs around. I’ve had two when I was a kid. The two died in a bit tragic situation, but I kept loving them.

This year I decided to give it another try. This time, I would be alone. No mother or brothers to help me out feeding, nursing and taking out for a walk. This time, it would be like I’m a single dad.

I had my preferences of breed, of course. I live in an apartment, so it would be advisable to get a smaller specimen. In Rio, a furry one would suffer without mercy. A smart, training-lover that would get beer at the fridge would also be a great plus.

But I did not want to buy. I would rather adopt one. But to find one that fills all the checkboxes is hard. But I waited. Eventually, a friend of mine told me such story:

She already had a dog, called Lancelot, but she felt that the dog was too alone. Without a friend, Lance was developing a non-social behavior. She decided to adopt one. She got a small 1.5 month-old cub and named her Guinevere. Lancelot and Guinevere were supposed to live happily ever after.

But Lance got annoyed. All that grumpiness from an adult dog was not getting along with the chaotic way of life of a cub. Lance was spending most of the day up in the bed, a place he could jump over, but the poor Guinevere could not reach. From there, Lancelot kept his god deserved peace.

My friend told them she was planning to give Guinevere back. I immediately seized the opportunity to ask the little lady for myself. It was my chance right there. She agreed.

I was going to pass by her place a couple of days later to get the new daughter. I was super anxious. I could not wait for it. Eventually, I went there to meet for the first time my little Guiné. Guiné is a reference to the African country, Guinea. It is a perfect match. Guinevere was super-duper black. Despite a single pawn and her belly, Guiné is pitch black.

I loved her. Her super energetic behavior. Her looks. Her tongue, that did not stop to lick me for a moment. Since then, I am a dad. I try to give it her deserved love without over do it. She is a dog.

In the same vain of critically acclaimed Limbo and Inside (review pending :P), from Playdead Games, Little Nightmares, from Tarsier Studios offers a great action puzzle adventure, full of mysteries.

The game, unlike the mentioned ones, are played in a 2.5 world. It’s mostly 2D, but there are some things that require the Z axis. To be quite frank, it is partially one of the problems with the game. More of that later.

The story is a bit clearer than the Playdead games, but it still is a clueless journey. All these games offer a minimalist approach for storytelling. One can argue that it is a valid and logical choice in a situation where you are alone and running away from danger. However, the lack of exposure let the players in the darkness most of the time. You might eventually discover whada heck is going on, but chances are you will play-throughout the game without know much.

In a scale, Inside is mostly undecipherable, Limbo is an understandable (due to the simple boy runs premise) and Little Nightmares might have the most clear story.

The giant grotesque figures are super creepy, but after some deaths, they do not offer the terror that one might except. They fall mostly in the range of stranger than from pure evil that want you dead.

The controls caused me several problems. I was expecting to use the game pad, but the analog joystick was too imprecise, especially during running. I was often falling into the void because I was running towards the camera instead sideways. I had to change to mouse+keyboard scheme, which was weird for such a game. Ironically, the 2.5 feature of the game was not that important. It mostly could be replaced to a tracked walk towards the Z axis, making the game essentially a 2D.

The visuals are amazing. It totally delivers the premise of uncanny familiarity and strangeness. The awkward feeling that you know something is not right is present here. Your character is relatable. Its fragile nature makes the whole adventure more epic.

Because it has a chapter-like story. One could try to replay its best parts to manage to get achievements or contemplate better the scenarios.

Note: I like the game so much that I was compelled to try it’s 3 expansions. Nice.

Great trip to Brazilian Amazon. Manaus, Alter de Chão, Belém, Ilha de Marajó, São Luis and Lençóis Maranhenses. So many friends.

This small game is a 2D action-horror game.

It all happens in a middle of an alien-like invasion. They transform every human into a zombie like creature. The whole country (maybe the whole world?) is trying to survive. The train system is basically the only transportation system available.

You control a train conductor. You have to guide your train to station after station, performing some missions to save humanity.

It has simple controls, effective story, nice mechanics. You might even run a second time (because it is a quite short adventure) in order to do every possible achievement.

Ora poix! Ora poix! As fotos que tirei da terrinha, alteradas automaticamente pelo Google. Não é que gostei dos resultados! #tbt