Not a single post about Prey (2017), the Arkane’s immersive sim gem set aboard the Talos I space station orbiting the Moon? I expected more of you, people!
Prey is a wonderful game. I think it wouldn’t lie make a mistake by designating it an RPG and an immersive sim, given its various skills (that are actually more than a few stat changes here and there - they affect, dictate the way you play the game), the multitude of ways you can approach so many things from puzzles to locations where you’re supposed to be to pretty much any in-game decision.
Prey’s world is rather small, but in the best way possible - it’s a space station, called Talos I, orbiting the Earth’s only moon (the Moon), doing some bleeding edge scientific research thanks to its diverse crew of the very best people Earth could send there. Talos I itself is split into different sections, each with its own purpose, making them unique locations with their own dangers and breath-taking sights; some interiors are spacious and let you navigate the level in stealthy ways, avoiding the hostiles entirely (if you have the wits!), and some are narrower, but many still offer you an alternate path to your destination if you look hard enough.
Prey lets you do stuff. You don’t like crawling in silence, trying to stay away from a fight until you hoover up every resource you can to make you “ready” to face the enemy? Go gun blazing - there’s no shortage of unique lethal tech at your disposal! You want to play a certain role, like be a mad menace to society? Feel free to murder everything you see, either with your own hands or by letting them die another brutal death! You want to be a true video game hero, saving each and every one? Roll your sleeves and get to work, because there sure is some saving to do!
Prey is the game where you think you know what’s going on, but you actually don’t. There will be surprises, and there will be moments of awe, and they’re all just done so well.
And last, but not least, is its magnificent soundtrack by Mick Gordon. The game looks gorgeous, and sometimes can give you some spooks, but the music completes the puzzle, setting its eerie atmosphere.
It’s a game you will likely play more than once to experience everything it has to offer. The game does not force you to do this or that, it does not explicitly tell you what skills to pick to be a good person, and it does not block one path if you’ve already taken another one, but you sure will experience the call of curiosity: “What if I chose only that?” Whatever you choose, you have the ability to craft yourself a unique playthrough, each equally interesting and viable.
Prey is a masterpiece of world-building, level design, and gameplay. I can’t overstate how special that game is. Without spoiling anything, its opening “level” was one of the coolest, awe-striking experiences I’ve had in gaming.
Just be aware that while xmanager itself is open source, the patched spotify apks it downloads and installs can be filled with obfuscated malware and you have no way of knowing.
The patches aren’t open source.
Mega Man Legends 2: both MM Legends have heartwarming light hearted stories and okay gameplay
Tail Concerto: similar to MM Legends, but gameplay is bit more basic. Features tons of cute anthropomorphized cats and dogs. Very lighthearted
Playstation Portable:
Remember11: The last game in Infinity series, co created by Kotaro Uchikoshi who went on and created Zero Escape trilogy. Out of the Infinity series, this is probably the best one, it is more sci-fi than romance/dating visual novel, there’s no longwinded slice of life section.
All of those games are either in English or have been fan-translated
Thanks for the lists! Seems like whenever someone asks for some lesser-known indie games, people start mentioning ones like Stray and Hades, which are good, but not exactly deep cuts. :)
I looked through my most played and least reviewed indie games on Steam, and found these three. They're super cheap for the summer sale right now, too.
Venineth - 178 reviews - currently $8 - released 2020
Physics-based 3D puzzle platformer. You play as a ball, with a lot of momentum, that rolls around some amazing looking, mysterious landscapes. Chill ambient music plays in the background. I haven't gotten very far yet; the reviews suggest that it gets harder as it goes on. The first couple hours are very relaxing.
2D puzzle platformer with the best soundtrack ever (and the soundtrack is 40 cents right now). You need to have very precise jump timing, so it has more difficult platforming than most puzzle platformers. Very replayable with leaderboards, community-made maps, and unlockable new skills that let you solve a level in different ways.
I stayed up way too late playing this one many years ago, and I can't even explain why it was fun. You just kind of fall downwards, aiming at things as you go down, and trying to find new routes to hit the things you want to hit and avoid the things you don't want to hit. I can't really compare it to anything else, except for maybe some platformers where there's a "falling level." Except this is all falling levels. It's weirdly good. They're working on a new one, although it's very delayed at this point.
If you like Katamari Damacy you should try ps1 game called “Incredible Crisis”.
It is an extreme wacky minigame… game, one of those games that is simultaneously addictive and punishingly difficult. You play as four members of a japanese family trying to get home for grandma’s birthday, and insanity ensues. (Aliens, bank robbers, etc).
It got an english release back in 1999 but I dont think it made a huge mark. In any case, its very fun and ridiculous. Especially good to play with friends. It also has an amazing ska soundtrack by Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra if you enjoy ska, haha
Absolutely. I’m about to jump into the third one, which from what I understand is basically a remastered version of 2 with more civilizations to choose from.
Absolutely UT 2004. I reinstalled it a couple years ago and it holds up quite well. Especially the Onslaught (a classic Battlefield-like) game mode is still so much fun. And the bots aren’t just braindead idiots. They really want your guts, so you don’t need other humans for a good time. They even insult you over voice chat!
Shout out to Fishery (309 reviews). It’s pretty niche as an aquarium simulator, but very relaxing and well made.
Also, Ozymandias (770 reviews) is a great strategy game that manages to squeeze the feeling of a full game of civilization into less than one hour.
If you’re interested in classic board games, The Conquest of Go (397 reviews) is a great entry point into Go, with nice tutorial features and a campaign mode that scales difficulty as you win games.
I can recommend NEO Scavenger (slightly under 4k reviews). It’s hardcore survival game in post apocalypse world. I haven’t finished it yet, 'cause I always die in the process. Still very enjoyable if you’re into post-apo.
Space Tyrant is a 4x space conquest game, but it plays like a fast paced solo board game or adventure. Fun balance between strategy and random space goofiness.
Does Cogmind count? Because even when I see people discussing games like it, which are already pretty niche, it never comes up. That’s tragic, because oh my god, just read some of these articles. This developer is obsessive and even if you don’t get too deep into Cogmind it’s an incredible toy to just screw around with and just see what happens.
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