This is a game that isn’t here for the game play. I think if you are paying at all attention to the boring dystopia, or climate collapse communities then this will hit in a way that is hard to define.
Its a golf game. Simple, could be played on a phone really, but you have to have the sound on for this one.
You are a member of the elite refugees who have fled to Mars and only return back to Earth to use the husk of a planet for a round of golf. And your companion is a lone radio broadcast from Mars of what they have left, which is stories and the rare music that was saved.
The combination of overwhelmingly good world building and consistent vibe even down to the level names and journal entries hits like a train and made me cry at least a couple times.
It made me feel nostalgiac for a world that has not yet come to pass and is a great on sale pick.
Tinykin
I know you said less than 1,000 reviews but this is at 1,500 so I think it just squeaks by.
This game for lack of a better description, adorable and over too soon.
Like a mashup of pikmim, Spyro 2, and Tony Hawk Pro Skater. It’s got lots of fun platforming and new puzzle mechanics in an ever adding open world that is a true joy to traverse and cute silly little side plots that make for rather grand set pieces when it all comes together. I got 100% in 12 hours but also collect-a-thons are my jam and I was plowing through the game with grin on my face for everything but the platinum time trials.
It’s a charming little tower defense game where you fight bugs with very fun abilities. I also play tested it so I may be a tad biased but I think it’s underated and fun :3
Vangers is a postapocalyptic and fundamentally strange top-down driving/exploration/mystery/action-RPG.
It has a unique back story, hostile worlds and an intriguing and expansive vocabulary that helps tell the story. If you are the type of person that appreciates poetic neologisms because they get your brain going, guessing at the etymology and sucking up the layers of connotation, this is up your alley.
Even if you manage to complete the game, you’ll be left wondering whether what happened was even meant to happen. It’s sort of post modern with deconstructed words, rituals and behaviors all jumbled up and muddled together as a result of a great and important event that once had meaning to creatures that may no longer even exist.
They’re both fantastic games, but the original (in which you go to Hamburg and a space station) felt more adventurous rather than the more grounded sequel (in which you go to the arctics and even more exotic locale: my hometown of Calcutta). Set it in the fictionalized disco-themed cold-war with the lead jet-setting around the world, and we’re golden!
Also, only a single game, but: Arcanum. (At least this one’s possible to buy on Gog and Steam…)
Arcanum supposedly had a sequel in the works at some point: Journey to the Center of Arcanum, and frankly, while I’d prefer to see other continents on that world explored a là Around the World in 80 Days, I’d still be sold on a hollow-earth adventure any day!
A friendly reminder to everyone: there is a fan project, part 1 and 2 updated to run on modern systems. They have their own page, the full games can be downloaded from there, and they just work. Just Google the title and fan update.
After fiddling with my original CDs back two years I gave up and installed these! Wide-screen, stable, high resolutions, perfect! I was so happy fans decided to get them running again!
Me too! My original discs for the sequel was unreadable even before I got to play it (it was a hand-me-down).
I also found this mod on itch as well, after your post. I think I had to edit the configs to get the resolution writing for Nolf2 even on the revival copy (and, save files from different resolutions don’t load!) If this patch can work around those issues that’d be great.
Time for another playthrough of the series, on the Steam Deck!
It’s a little known game from a small publisher originally located in Scotland.
The main premise is that you drive around a city as quickly as possible and go bowling with your cousin. Think Big Lebowski meets Driver. You can also play Pool and Darts in various locations around the town, and earn money doing small side jobs such as being a taxi driver or a paramedic.
I’ve never heard of it but it sounds like an interesting indie game from some rockstar guy. I wish they gave him a bigger budget to build a topdown version set in London.
After loving GTA 3 and Vice City and San Andreas, I strongly disliked GTA4. Story was fine, but they really went hard on terrible controls and boring missions.
GTA5 apparently “fixed it” by making the driving more arcade-like, but I forced myself to finish it to get to the ending. Flying was a bore. And again, boring missions.
Maybe I just like the more zany wacky open-world chaos that Just Cause, Mercenaries, or Saints Row provides.
The controls in GTA IV were realistic! Your car tyre would blip the curb and it would affect the stability of the car. Denting the car from every angle resulted in a uniquely deformed mesh that my god would still drive. Pedestrians would bounce off your bumper in unique and interesting ways. It was a simulation paradise.
In GTA V they changed all that, made it more midnight club and arcade-y as you said. You could literally decimate a crowd of people and they’d all die with the same canned animation. Cars would at most lose a door before considering deforming the whole mesh. It just felt dumbed down.
Saints Row is fun, but you play it once and then forget about it because there’s nothing to do once you reach godhood. Mercenaries was great fun, and Just Cause was a physics funbox, I’ll give you that
Well of Souls was a little primordial mmorpg I got in a 100 games CD a while back. I used to have tons of fun making a custom character from sprites and seeing how far I could get. When I played it never felt mmo ish as it was already pretty empty.
Rouge like turn based dungeon crawler. Certainly not new by any means, but still a pretty decent little dungeon crawler. The art is cute and the game is pretty simple to pick up, which makes it perfect for more casual play. That said if you’re a completionist, it can get a bit repetitive, but nothing too hair-pulling. Probably not worth the full sticker price, but historic sales have knocked it down to $1.49, which is a nice balance between cheap and fun (took me about 28 hours to 100%).
Yeah, probably. There is a village building/ upgrading component, but it doesn’t have much of an impact on gameplay. It does get pretty tedious, especially if you’re well versed in strategy. I mostly just figured I’d throw it out as a more casual one-shot to pick up on the cheap.
Dink Smallwood is an old fantasy role playing game. It has a small community that makes mods for it. It’s really dumb but it’s free to play and very short if you have nothing better to do.
edit: Wow! I didn’t realize a lot of people here know this game. That’s actually cool.
Bopl Battle is a hilarious party game for up to 4 people. The rounds go really quick so it’s a great game to play with friends when you have a limited amount of time, but the fun doesn’t wear out fast either.
Had to downvote, but the game is great. I play it with my kids and it is reliably hilarious. There are so many interactions that something surprising happens with amazing regularity.
bin.pol.social
Aktywne