(I'm writing this review in English, as always, even though this is a Brazilian product. You know, I need to practice my English, and I get enough Portuguese practice in my daily life, so yeah.) One thing that makes me really happy is to see the Brazilian indie market flourishing. Brazil is quite unique in that it's one of the world's few major economies that lacks a significant AAA game industry, but more than makes up for it with its indies. From Momodora to Dandara, our indies are always full of passion. Spooky Station is a collection of nine short games themed around Halloween. From what I gather, each of these games is made by a different dev team. Not all games in this compilation are great, but all of them show passion and dedication. Some of the devs involved were still inexperienced at the time this was made, but hopefully they'll keep improving until they can make great things in the future. I guess it'd make sense to review each game individually, so let's start from the top. COSMIC RAIN: Cosmic Rain is an arcade game where you play as a cute "blobmancer" apprentice who, in the wake of the titular Cosmic Rain event, has to show her blobmancing teacher all she has learned in her studies. The core gameplay loop consists of navigating a simple stage manipulating these cute colored "blob" things that fall from the sky. The goal is to add ingredients to a cauldron in the right order. It is really simple, fun and unique. There are problems, though. First, the game has a time limit, but no on-screen timer. The only indication we get that the time is running out is an hourglass that shows up on screen without any kind of fanfare. If there was an on-screen timer, and the music got faster when we were about to run out, this would be a lot better. Also, the timer keeps running even when you're in a dialog box, which shouldn't happen. Also, whenever you run out of time, the game doesn't allow you to continue from the level you failed at, instead sending you all the way back to the beginning. This game would work better with a level select screen. Overall, this game has a fun core loop, but some design oversights keep it from being as good as it could be. CURSE BRINGER: Curse Bringer is a choose-your-own-adventure game. I'd call it a graphic novel, but there are no graphics. It's not bad, but it's not my cup of tea. I can see that a lot of work and love went into it, and the story it tells is not bad, but the game was a bit too empty for me to enjoy. Maybe I'm just too impatient for this kind of game. KILLING MOON: Killing Moon is a point-and-click adventure with cool Genesis-esque pixel graphics and nice atmospheric music. There is a simple HUD containing all the information you need at all times, and the mission objectives are comprehensive and concise. The puzzles in the game are pretty good, as they never require leaps of moon logic, and the solutions always make sense. With that said, I don't like that the game only saves after you finish a chapter. What if I have to leave before I'm done? Apart from that, this game is a decent graphic adventure, with a decent horror story to boot. There are multiple endings too, the devs really went the extra mile with this one. EDIT: it softlocks you if you do things out of order. That's a massive point against it. SPOOKIDS: Okay, this one is AWESOME. Spookids is a top-down action shooter in the vein of games like Zombies Ate my Neighbors and Pocky & Rocky. The graphics are lovely, and the music is great. The silly story is super adorable as well. Unlike shooters that automatically scroll in one direction, this one allows you to freely roam around the level, and occasionally rewards exploration with some secret goodies. I wish more games did that, it's super fun. This game's core loop consists mostly of shooting enemies and dodging bullets, but there are some platforming sections that are also pretty good. The gameplay flows really well, and the controls are really smooth. The game apparently supports local co-op for up to four players. I couldn't test the multiplayer since my wife was already asleep at the time I wrote this, unfortunately. There are some issues, though. Sometimes you may follow a branch in a level that leads you back to an earlier section of it. That's not that bad, but it may lead to the player taking a few unnecessary points of damage before they realize they have to backtrack. In spite of that small flaw, this game is absolutely excellent. If it weren't for its short length, it'd be well worth the asking price by itself. SPOOKY COOKING: Spooky Cooking is a skill game where you have to click the screen at the right time so that the pumpkins will reach the cauldron without hitting any obstacles. The gameplay is simple, but fun. The graphics go for a kids storybook style rather than a pixel style, and they're super charming. The variety in cute obstacles to dodge is sweet too. This one is simple but fun. There's little else to say. It's also addictive, I spent a long time playing it. THURSDAY THE 12TH: Thursday the 12th is a first-person adventure game with a "comedy horror" vibe to it. You play as a serial killer getting ready for his "big day." The wholesome atmosphere set by the colorful graphics and silly music contrasts hilariously with the horrible things the main character does. There are dead bodies and creepy stuff all around his house, to which he reacts like a child would react to teddy bears, toys or pets. Overall, this is a nice little story, but there's pretty much zero gameplay. Still, it's a fun experience worth a playthrough. TOWER OF 100 FLOORS: Tower of 100 Floors is a roguelike shooter where you play as a cat scaling the titular tower. In every floor, you need to kill all foes in order to move on. The shooting mechanics are good, and there's a decent variety of weapons and foes. Roguelikes have this addictive quality to them, so I ended up playing this for much longer than the other games. The game is hard, but never unfair, as it doesn't punish you for things you can't control. With that said, certain things could be better. The "rolling" mechanic is not very useful, since it makes you slow down to a nearly full stop. Also, it's a bit too easy to fall in pits and water, leading to many premature deaths. In spite of those problems, this game is pretty good. Hard, but fair. The graphics go for a red on black palette that is really charming, and the music is nice as well. WISHING SARAH: Wishing Sarah is a simple top-down adventure game with a Gameboy graphical style. It draws inspiration from games like Yume Nikki, Ib, etc. The gameplay is really basic, but the nice sad story and funny writing make the game enjoyable all the way to the end. Like Thursday the 12th, there is little here that I'd call gameplay, but it's a fun experience nonetheless. WORSHIP THE DEMON LORD: Worship the Demon Lord is an arcade game with creepy-cute graphics and an adorable Halloweeny atmosphere. It is meant to be played by two people, where they compete to please the demon lord more than the other in a small series of minigames. I couldn't bring myself to play much of it due to the very bizarre problem with the music. I don't know how to explain it, but it's like it keeps turning on and off constantly, and it's really annoying to listen to. Anyway, I didn't have a player 2 with me at the time of writing, so I can't give this one a thorough review. === FINAL WORDS === I'm quite pleased with this small bundle. Some of the games are pretty good, some of them not so much, but all of them show dedication and passion. Spookids and Tower of 100 Floors are my favorite games in this bundle. The third place is either Killing Moon or Cosmic Rain, not sure which. All in all, Spooky Station is definitely worth the low asking price. I'm gonna keep an eye out on these developers' future works, eagerly awaiting some more indie goodness from them.