I don't know what happened with respect to not being able to post a comment for yesterdays game. The problem has now been fixed.

Petrichor

In Brief

A top down RPG made using RPG Maker MV. It's a little depressive and each play thorugh (making different chices) are very short. The following short review do include some spoilers.

Introduction:

Petrichor (the word is constructed from Greek (πέτρα) petra, meaning "stone", and (ἰχώρ) īchōr, the fluid that flows in the veins of the gods in Greek mythology) and isn't the pleasant earthy smell after it has rained, or the fragrance oil that is supposed to emulate the latter, nor is it that excellent board game Petrichor, an area control game using weather conditions to manipulate clouds and deposit rain on plants that need the water to grow, or the album Petrichor by Keor or another arcade platform game called Petrichor, which you can download for free in either Windows, OS X or Linux (they do ask for contributions, but you don't have to give). Today's game giveaway is another Petrichor made with RPGMaker.

What is human destiny? How can our deeds can affect our destiny? What if I told you that you could live your life in many different ways? Suppose you washed your dishes years ago when your Mom asked you to? Could it change your life then? Nothing can be returned now... But you have a perfect chance to live Matthew's life as your own. He's been alone since childhood. He decides to tell his story to Ashley Coul, a doctor. Try Matthew's destiny... Determine the fate of the hero taking important decisions in his life.

The story tells of attempts to understand the life of a young man named Matthew. With each step back in conversation, a new fragment of his past is revealed. As you progress through the game, Dr. Cole on trying to understand why the young man has come to such a life.

Edited reference accessed HERE. Whiterabbit-uk 2nd April 2019

Key Features:

⦁ Sad story, but with a possible positive outcome
⦁ Choice and consequence driven narrative adventure
⦁ Multiple endings depending on the choices you make
⦁ The game is based on real events

Installation:

Petrichor downloads to a 377 MB zip file that unzips to two files, (a set-up executable and a read me). The game installs to the following path by default, but can be changed if you wish. The installed game is approximately 504 MB in size.

C:\Program Files (x86)\Petrichor

Five shortcuts are installed to the desktop, four of which can be safely deleted (i.e. Falco Space - Online Game!, FalconLine Online Games Website, FalcoGo WebGL Games! and Free Games Downloads!). If you don't want to install the games shortcut to the desktop during installation, just make sure the install desktop shortcut is unchecked when the 'additional task's window appears; you will still get two of the other Falcoware shortcuts installed (i.e. FalconLine Online Games Website & FalcoGo WebGL Games shortcuts). Also, if you don't like icons installed to the quick launch task bar, make sure you also uncheck the appropriate checkbox when the 'additional task's window appears (after the Select Start Menu Folder window).

The Game:

There are two language options Russian (default) and English. Once you've selected your language an RPG Maker MV splash screen appears briefly, then the main menu opens. Here you can select a new game, or if already played continue where you left off. there's also an options menu where you can re-select the language, adjust four different sound options (BGM, BGS, ME & SE) as well as toggle always running and remember team. To leave the options menu, use the escape key to return to the main menu. when starting a new game you are introduced to your character and the doctor who coaxes out the story of what has happened to the protagonist of this story.

If you've played RPG Maker games before you'll know the usual mechanics. You get dialogue boxes telling you the background story, with select-able dialogue where you make choices, for example following the story the protagonist ends up in an orphanage and becomes friends with a girl called Liza. One day shes asks him to accompany her to see an eclipse, which he didn't find all that interesting. Liza walked off. The following day when your character meets up[ with Liza she says:

''I just though yesterday, if we communicate so well, then you would feel something for me. But apparently I was wrong'' (rewritten slightly to correct some grammar)

From this point on you can change the story by making choices from the select-able dialogue, in this case either ''I love you'' or I'm sorry that it happened....''. If like me you choose ''I love you'' you end up boyfriend/girlfriend, that is until Liza introduces you to her best friend Chloe.....The game does include adi=ult themes so isn't suitable for children, though there is nothing explicit, just dialogue and imagination.

Depending on your choices, the game can last literally a few minutes. for example i went with the boyfriend does the dirty on his girlfriend, she dies in an accident, he feels so guilty for never coming clean, so leaves the girl he slept with and commits suicide. There are various scenarios you can work through, all pretty depressive, though there is at least one positive outcome if you make the right dialogue choices.

The game can be played using either the mouse or keyboard; however, to get to the save menu you have to use the Esc key but then you can use either the mouse to select the appropriate menu option or use the arrow keys to select then enter or mouse click to finalize the save. There are 20 save slots. Movement is by clicking on the area you want the protagonist to walk (or run) to, or alternatively you can use the arrow keys for movement. Selecting from menus

Whiterabbit-uk 2nd April 2019

Conclusion:

After playing a few play through's I read some of the short reviews that were posted on Steam and must agree that most of the positive reviews seem like scams. A lot of those have many hours for example 95.5 hours. Really, there's no way this version of Petricor has 95.5 hours of game play in it. I like some RPG Maker games, some are done extremely well and have brilliant story lines, (I even have all the versions of the game engine to make my own games - though I've not got around to doing so yet). The game is playable, but it's not a game i'd recommend buying, that said, as it is free today, check it out and see for your self. I personally recommend the freeware version of Petrichor (a download and video link can be found in the introduction) over this game any day.

Other Reviews and Videos of Petrichor:

You can read other comments about Petrichor HERE and HERE

Also, you can see an in-game video of game play via the Steam page HERE.

Suggestions:

After you've had an opportunity to play today's giveaway please take a few moments to give some positive or negative feedback; for example, what you liked or disliked about the game, or how it could be improved. If you don't like the genre at all, please explain why and if any, what improvements would change your mind? If you don't have time to post a comment today, please do so at your convenience, thank you. If you wish to post a review or comment about the game later, you can access the comments section by going to the game giveaways home page, then scroll to the bottom of the page where it says Archives and select the date the giveaway was live (giveaway days are in bold type). This will open the appropriate page for you to post your comment or review. Alternatively, you can google the name of the game and include Gamegiveawayoftheday in the search. This should give you a list of links to whenever this game was given away.

If you miss today's game giveaway you can always get the game via Steam HERE.

Problems getting the game to work:

If you're having problems installing or activating or getting Petrichor to work please visit the FAQ's Thread HERE and read through the communities comments because sometimes fixes have already been posted, for example, a common issue seen since the Themida wrapper was introduced three years ago is that some community members installation of the game are blocked by their security because Themida code has been known to hide malware, (usually an error message is flagged for example 'The executable is corrupted' even though in reality it is not); so as a precaution some anti malware programs will block and even delete the suspect installation files even though the files (i.e. the setup, read me and setup.gcd files are actually totally free from malware. This issue can be solved either by rebooting your computer in safe mode with networking or a quicker method is to temporarily turn off your security software to allow the installation. You could also try white-listing the setup.gcd file. In the almost 12 years this game giveaway site has been operating there has 'never' been a game given away that was infected with malware.

If for any reason you want to contact the giveaway team, for example, you have a game to offer the community, or are unable to download the latest game or other issues that the FAQ's thread or these comments don't cover or solve you can do so HERE or you can email them directly

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the developer Z Games and the distributor Falcoware Games for giving away Petrichor and also to the game giveaway team, as always, for securing other ways to get free games.

Useful Information not related to today's game giveaway:

If Petrichor doesn't interest you, but you still hanker for something new to play, you'll find details of some game deals whether they be sale items, indie bundles or games being given away for free HERE (I've not updated the thread in a while, but most of the links still take you to the latest deals).

The rest of the information that used to be posted in the game review can be found in the forums HERE. Finally, check out Delenns threads for details of other free games and offers HERE and elsewhere in the game discussion forums HERE, (usually on the first page of the game discussion forums). The free game over at Epic Games is Oxenfree a supernatural thriller about a group of friends who unwittingly open a ghostly rift, ( worth £14.99/$19.99/€19.99). Oxenfree ends April 4th, where a new game called The Witness will be given away. Indie Gala have just added Memoranda to their free games list, plus another 20 free games in their recently added showcase section that includes adventure, RPG, Simulation, strategy and casual games i.e. Memetown USA, The Great Story of a Mighty Hero, Camp Sunshine, Five Nations, False Birth, GOR - Gorilla Office Rampage, Home is where Chip is, Age of Fear: The Free World, Die Legende von Saya: Befehl aus der Dunkelheit - (The Legend of Saya: Command from the Dark), What Never Was, The Last Humans: Awakening, Childhood, Dunwell, Safe Not Safe, Hi Hotel, Bugs Must Die, Cuadradito y Circulito, Hellino, Hovership Havoc and Wake Up , or you can find them all HERE. Finally, there are some excellent bargains on sale via Steam HERE.