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We've known that the cult classic Ecstatica titles are coming to Steam for a while now, but today is the day both games launch on the digital storefront.
If you've never had the pleasure, the original Ecstatica launched in 1994 and is notable for using ellipsoids to create its characters. At the time, this offered a very real advantage over the crude, angular polygons seen in other 3D games, as it blessed the game's cast with a more rounded, natural appearance.
Of course, it also helped that Ecstatica was a bloody good game, too; using fixed camera angles (like Alone in the Dark), it combined wonderful animation with gripping combat and seriously eerie atmosphere.
What made all of this even more impressive is that it was the work of a core team of two people: Andrew Spencer (of Andrew Spencer Studios fame) and Alain Maindron.
This isn't a straight port of the original game, either; it features a host of improvements, such as smoother performance and three graphical modes (DOS, Windows 95 and a real-time high-resolution software render), which you can switch between on the fly. No GPU is required, either, as the game runs solely on your computer's CPU. You've also got full controller support and three different soundtracks.
By the time the second game was released in 1996, Andrew Spencer Studios had increased in headcount, and it shows in the more impressive visuals and wider scope of the sequel. However, it isn't as well-known as its predecessor, so this Steam re-release offers the perfect chance to check it out. Like the original, this re-release also includes a bunch of improvements to make it more palatable to modern players.
While you're at it, you can read an in-depth feature on both titles over at Time Extension, one of our sister sites.