Incremental Games

Incremental games are a genre of games that fans often celebrate with the phrase "Number go up." You may have played these by way of some sort of idle-clicker on your mobile phone. I must admit, it's not the most intriguing category of gameplay. At times, they can be downright boring. Somehow, it still triggers a bit of activity within the pleasure centers of my tiny reptile brain. No offense, reptiles.

I've had a blast with shorter games such as Nodebuster and Snakecremental. Each have their own flair and simple mechanics; making for a great way to pass the time on a long car ride or a short flight. More recently, I've discovered Cauldron which does a few things really right.

For what it's worth, I have sunk an incredible amount of hours into this one and have already unlocked all 100 Steam achievements. The gameplay loop on this one really captivated me quickly. You start off as a witch, with her ghost-pal, trying to rid the world of darkness that is causing everyone to sleep. You complete basic mini games that each have their own skill tree, which in turn allows you to battle waves of enemies that are protecting a dark area. Along the way, you find and recruit a number of different players to your team, each with their own skill trees to upgrade. You can automate a good bit of the gameplay as you progress. Eventually you 'beat' the game for the first time, which unlocks different play modes. Complete each of those and you'll have a chance to play the final version of the game, and get the 'true ending', bringing the story to a conclusion.

Games like these from small developers do one thing exceptionally well - they have charm. When a game feels overly formulaic, or puts all of the emphasis into a few areas to ensure a 'hit' game, you often lose what makes gaming special. This is true in almost any form of media/entertainment. You don't go to a Marvel movie looking to be surprised. You don't buy a Drake album expecting a fresh sound. You know what you're getting into ahead of time, and it will exactly meet your expectations. While I like to know exactly what I'm getting when I order a value meal, I don't mind a bit of surprise when it comes to entertainment. In fact, I'm ok with a bit of disappointment when it doesn't quite land. In this case, a little less than $15 USD got me over 60 hours over entertainment. Had it gotten me none, I could simply skip my next trip to Popeye's and call it even.