But what about the front and sides?

So, just minutes before the deadline it reached a million dollars, out of which around 30% goes to charity (USD 300,000). As a return to the community, they are releasing the source code for Aquaria, Gish, Lugaru HD, and Penumbra Overture. Congratulations to them!

Some restrictions apply (data is still copyrighted, so they are supplying the demo data to use, much like Quake data files), but still a good effort.

Nice. And I thought it was just Lugaru. This is the way it should be.

In college they taught us that before Microsoft held the industry at gun point, when you "bought" (AKA licensed) software it was expected that the source code came with it.

** EDIT **

Frictional Games, the studio that developed the Penumbra Collection, is working on a new game called Amnesia: The Dark Decent. It appears to be based on the same engine as the Penumbra Collection. I pre-ordered it (there's a discount on right now as a result of all the publicity from the Humble Indie Bundle).

Oh, quick note: I don't recommend anyone with paranoia nor schizophrenia, nor a combination of the two, play any games in the Penumbra series.

The gameplay itself is mostly just solving puzzles with the objects you find in the area around you. The story is somewhat of a horror/mystery. The gameplay is survival/horror/puzzle.

The only annoying part about it is the combat gameplay, but its role is limited (you're encouraged to avoid it when possible) and the times you do need it become doable with experience. The clumsy controls also adds to the fear factor, IMO.

I found the game really scary at first. That wears off after you cross the initial unknown barrier, but there are a few more scary moments in the game as well. The second episode has proven more consistently scary as a result of making you feel safe less often. Last night I could noticeably feel my heart pounding in my chest on more than one occasion.

The game feels very similar to Half-Life to me. It's like Half-Life, but with the emphasis shifted from combat to problem solving. As a result, no guns and less light. And more unknowns.

I'm really curious about the lighting system TBH.

I've just been playing Gish now. The graphics are nice, and the concept it pretty cool. Unfortunately I completely suck at it though, so I haven't been having fun with it^[1].

QFT.

So far I've played World of Goo, Gish and Lugaru.

I found Lugaru to be way too difficult for me to control, so gave up on it pretty quickly. I really like Gish. It's a really nice concept and is done very well. Unfortunately I'm not very good at it either, but I found it much easier to persevere with than Lugaru. World of Goo is pretty much the reason I haven't played any of the others yet (with the exception of Aquaria, which I already had). I love this game. The reaction time of goo balls and structures is slow enough that even I can keep up. Plus, like Gish, it's a neat concept, and also extremely well executed.

The only thing I don't like about Gish is that exiting the game costs you 1 life. So no quitting mid-level unless you have tons of lives to spare, and in this game, you need every one of them.