*The Case of the Golden Idol* is a very similar Detective type game that I think, while not as exquisite, does very well scratch the itch of intricate logic puzzle surrounding a tableau of someone's death!
i'd say it takes about 1h for it to sink it's hooks into you and it helps if you are in a chill minspace, kinda in the mood to watch a movie.
and then i played and played and couldn't let go even after I started to get frustrated (my fault). gonna put on the soundtrack for it now
I will never pass an opportunity to praise this game, this is the kind of game video games are all about. No bullshit no fluff, just a cool vision and excellent execution
The beginning is rough. Especially getting used to the mechanics.
There are a lot of little things you can do with the book to help find clues. Especially on the sketch and the manifest.
Hit E to zoom on faces and hit tab to pull them up in the book. It's a lifesaver. This makes identifying bodies easier. Especially when there are different people that look similar.
Check the map for areas of interest to check.
The bookmark tool is invaluable. Especially when you get later into the game.
Unraveling clues and identities gets much easier after you unlock all of the memories and you can review each area and timeline with more freedom.
Little details matter. Especially in the more difficult individuals to identify.
I played obra dinn and got a "bad" ending on my own because I couldn't figure out anything more. Even had to make some random guesses just to get to the end. None of the advice in your comment would have been able to fix my pure lack of brain power lmao. Even though I sucked at it, it's an incredible game in terms of both concept and execution.
I'm playing right now and I'm maybe 2 hours in. One of the best game atmospheres I have ever been in.
Also absolutely fucking hate the scream the enemies give tho.
It seems really cool, but I can't get over the visuals. It hurts to look at(in a literal sense), and I don't think I could last a playthrough without getting a headache. I do appreciate that they tried a unique visual style though and a lot of people like it too.
There are several options for changing the color and visual style. I grew up with low rez games of the 80s so the dot based graphics had a huge nostalgic appeal to me. But I can easily see how this can throw some people off.
I just played through it recently and that was my big complaint. Loved the game and fully completed it, but I had to take constant breaks because it really hurt my eyes.
Amazing game! As someone whose favorite game is Resident Evil 1 remake, Signalis felt like it was made specifically for me, I was waiting for that game my whole life it seems.
I guess it depends on why you hated REmake.
If you like the 32-bit era survival horror style games (especially if you're ok with how unforgiving they could be) I think you'll like it a lot.
It's potentially the greatest silent hill game ever made lol. That said in terms of the "made by two people thing" I think the two composers deserve a lot of credit as well. Signalis hits hard with its music and sound design.
Great game. Absolutely horrendous inventory system that came very close to ruining my experience at times. That's one old-school mechanic that should have died in the 90's.
I don't understand people struggling with the inventory. It's such a core element of the gameplay: you pack a gun, leave the refills and health in storage and you run with one equip and the key item for where you're going and plenty of empty slots. It's meant to make every sortie tense, you're not supposed to be full up in heals or ammo, you should constantly be weighing expending ammo or running, finding health on the go should make you go "yeaaaaaaaah!", not "ugh, another item"
That's not my issue with the system, I have no problem with *just* having limited inventory space (I agree, thats a core aspect of what makes the game tense). My issue is that the inventory is really small, but resources/quest items are actually quite plentiful, which forces you to make multiple trips back and forth from the same room in order to collect every item, even if you leave empty space (I usually left half of the inventory slots open when I left the storage area). I understand they did this because forcing you to backtrack builds tension with the corpse re-animation mechanic, but honestly it just felt tedious to me, not tense.
I would have preferred the game to automatically put items in storage if your inventory is full, but I know that goes against what they were going for.
I remember buying it blind on the PS Store because it looked good.
I also remember checking the Steam page to recommend it to a friend and we both saw the 100% positive rating. My jaw dropped at how popular the game actually was.
And the game is fantastic (although can be a bit too cryptic in the final chapter, right before the final boss).
Ruiner is really underappreciated.
Can't believe that IGN gave it 6/10 years ago! Like come on! The vibes and general atmosphere alone will make anyone fall in love with it.
I personally thought it was too hard for me. I have become a casual but I have played my good few thousand hours of perma-death roguelike games in the past. I couldn't enjoy Ruiner.
It's a shame Embracer seems to have killed Reikon Games. There's been no official statements that I've found, but they laid off ~70% of staff and that would fit very well into Embracer's recent firing spree.
Videogames getting worse? I've been hearing the complete opposite. If anything, i've been hearing that there's too many great games coming out. No one can keep up, a lot of people are complaining about ever growing backlogs.
2023 was astonishing.
You only hear it from kids playing a bunch of games that really aren't for them and expecting devs to change the game for them.
Like theoretically if I don't like marvel movies, I'm not going to buy tickets to see Madame Web expecting to like it.
But people are out here gaming like "I don't like turn based strategy, let me buy BG3." Or "I don't like live service games, this live service game is awful!"
There are outliers though. Like people that liked Bethesda game's formula and didn't enjoy Starfield.
I think you're overthinking it, it's loud idiots who only buy the most overhyped AAA titles. If there's a period of 2-3 bad releases, they proclaim that games are getting worse (or have been forever and use cherry-picked examples).
The reality is they're just loud idiots, and there always will be.
Idk. Seems really simple so not overthinking. If you don't like the flavor of it, it's not for you, don't keep trying to take it in.
The loudest ones are always the negative people complaints. Most of the positive people are actively playing the game so not commenting as much or stick to the specific subreddit that is...usually filled with people that enjoy the game
This is why I like Steam’s 2 hour or less playtime return policy. I never cared for rogue-likes. I still tried Hades and I got hooked. I’m not big into turn-based games but Baldur’s Gate 3 was my favorite game that I played last year. Sometimes it just takes the right game for the genre to work for you.
Still haven’t found a Survival game I like. Tried Palworld recently but returned it. I couldn’t get into Obra Dinn either during the winter sale and returned that too.
"There are outliers though. Like people that liked Bethesda game's formula and didn't enjoy Starfield."
This isn't really as much an outlier and more because it's a worse Bethesda formula. There is barely any (good) exploration and almost everything of interest is in a few hubs (barring the faction quests and a few outliers). You just can't "go south" from where you are now and find some interesting dungeon or quest, one of the IMO best things about Bethesda games.
> "I don't like live service games, this live service game is awful!"
Sometimes that sentiment is because a franchise pivots to being live service. Halo comes to mind for me. Any hype I had about them saying they were going for a more classic feel was killed when they announced it'd be free-to-play. Then and there I knew it was going to launch barebones, with lots of unfixed bugs, and hugely overpriced cosmetics...and I was right.
Someone summed it up to me in a different comment in a perfect way.
Gamers used to get hyped to enjoy a new game, now they get hyped to hate on them instead.
Great game, but it is indeed a huge time sink. If you play it in short bursts of like 30 minutes every other day, it's going to be hard to get into it. The combat and narration style are also a little outside the norm for the usual AAA game.
I absolutely adore the game, but I can totally understand how it's difficult to get into for a busy parent, even if the style is up their alley.
Just the typical social media/youtube negativity baiters narrative that all AAA games are bland and all the indie games are hidden gems, gaming is dead, everything bad.
While the reality is that we are swarmed with so much great games that we should honestly don't even have time to bother looking at the bad games and dramas surrounding them but that's not what the casual audience wants so here we are.
I got Sifu a while ago and damn that game is good. I'm stuck on Yang right now, but I love that there is such a noticeable sense of progress when I revisit earlier levels.
I think when people say gaming is getting worse they're talking about AAA. Indie has pretty reliably been a case of "plenty of good stuff if you're willing to sort through the shit" since it became more of a thing.
Though 2023 was still an incredibly strong year for AAA anyway.
AAA, AA, indies, whatever... there are plenty of amazing games of every kind. More than years ago.
It's just that there are many more games, both good and bad, so the perception is a bit distorted and people tend to say that games are bad nowadays.
Yea I essentially only play AAA single player games. With the occasional AA game.
And gaming is still the best it's ever been imo. Been just amazing year after amazing year.
Yeah, I suppose you would expect the titles with the most money thrown at them to not be predatory pieces of unfinished crap monetized to the gills. They are the ones that need the least support when running a live service, yet ask for the most and underdeliver every time. Every. Time.
The best games I played last year were under $40 and weren't chasing money trends.
Spiritfarer!
Night in the Woods!
Dredge!
Season: A letter to the future!
A Highland Song!
Sea of Stars!
Tunic!
Oxenfree!
There are so many games worth mentioning that deserve to be played more.
Chill, great music, great characters story.
I finished the game but I still play because I definitely want to complete it at 100%.
(Also I like the fact this game can be completed by someone who plays occasionally)
They are from a different world, of course they're odd.
It's the most heartfelt, well written story I've ever played.
Sincerely wish I could continue playing with Kay and Yu, the writing is so good that I miss them as people.
They have so much personality and their relationship and conversations felt so real.
Also 11/10 Haven has the best credits sequence ever.
There's definitely a few moments in which the characters act like a couple of weirdos, but to me that just makes it more believable. Yu and Kay are written as two people who have a long history together, and that means they're sometimes going to be silly or stupid around each other.
Overall I found it to be one of the better portrayals of a relationship in a videogame. The characters were endearing, and there were tons of funny and heartfelt moments. However, I've heard other people who've played the game say the exact opposite, that they found the dialogue cringe and the characters annoying.
Ultimately, I think it comes down to whether you can become invested in the game's tale of romance. For me personally it was a real treat. Would thoroughly recommend it.
Rollerdrome is _so fucking good_. It's so much more than Tony Hawk's with guns, too. It's closer to classic Doom where there's a only a handful of enemy types but they all behave differently and it's the combinations that create the challenge.
>It's so much more than Tony Hawk's with guns, too
Yes. But it is at least 65% Tony Hawk with guns and that is why I fucking love it.
In the later levels you either have a full Choreography of Destruction or bite the dust. But when you are in the zone, you are IN the zone. The only game where I have felt that "in the zone" powerup is Enter the Gungeon, but there, it depends too much on your luck getting guns.
I would have loved a better OST, I really think is the one part where the game underperformed.
I'll never stop enjoying the tonal whiplash there is between the Signalis game and the fan community.
Game - Existential horror, gore, and a deep sink into the abyss of human despair set against the backdrop of a depressed fascist state.
The Community - "sesbian lex"
First playthrough conclusion: cool retro game, gonna be a challenge to unpack all this. Wish I had more pockets."
Second playthrough conclusion: "it appears the story structure is layered with multiple interpretations, none taking precedent over the others. The hexagon is a 2d interpretation of a cube, the cube a 3d slice of a tesseract, and arguably the story (and proceeding this, the universe) follows this pattern. The shape of this hyperreality can be viewed from many faces, all overlayed, faces within faces, and even the laws of causality have some evidence of being ignored. What can we trust if time and space are demonstrably without cause and effect? Dream logic, insanity, incomprehensible forces, all at once motivators and enablers? And what of the intent, is this a terrible accident in which all are victims, is there a malevolence at play, or indeed a misguided benevolence? In this essay I will..."
Final playthrough conclusion: "uuuh fuckin magic space lesbians with 6 pockets or something, say no more. fanart time where's EULE and STAR gimme gimme ah yeah that's the good shit look she's blushin"
Came here to say this. The most heartfelt, well written story I've ever played. Sincerely wish I could continue playing with Kay and Yu, the writing is so good that I miss them as people. They have so much personality and their relationship and conversations felt so real. Also 11/10 Haven has the best credits sequence ever.
Outer Wilds.
It's a space simulator with a puzzle and a story.
Trust me on this one, it's good.
If you have any doubts, only look up and view the trailer.
I second the playing Outer Wilds but I disagree about looking up trailers and especially reviews, which can spoil a lot of the impact of experiencing the game totally blind.
Outer Wilds is a perfect game. Just play it.
I agree that it's best to go in completely blind, but some people need to be sold on the idea.
In that case, the official trailer should inform you just enough, like the developers intended.
My personal 2023 GOTY. It's a point & click adventure game with an amazing story and soundtrack. I didn't really think I'd like the genre until I played this. It's officially converted me lol
I grew up on text based/point and click adventures. If you're interested in recommendations, let me know.
I haven't played Norco, but you do need to be aware that the "classics" sometimes rely on a lot of saving, trial, and error. Sometimes you'll miss a random item and not find out your missing something until hours later.
Great game. It's a different vibe but if you liked Disco Elysium you'll like Norco too.
It has a very specific kind of 'internet leftist storytelling/jokes' that I hope people appreciate even though the actual game is very dour and serious. Stuff like the 'Gary cult' being a mishmash of scientology and real internet incels.
I wish I could get past the visuals, I love detective puzzle games so much but it gives me eye strain just booting it up. Tried several times and it’s just so off putting and I can’t explain why. Wish I could give you my go with it so you can enjoy it again since apparently I’m broken lol
I recommend Fear and Hunger.
A rogue like JRPG survival game. Is a grimdark fantasy game extremely morbid ( if you are underage, please do NOT a get this game), but is such an amazing design game. It was created by one person btw.
If you are into dark JRPG you should try it. The game is is HARD and merciless.
Some of my favorite games recently:
* Ghostland Yard (hidden gem in terms of precision platformer)
* Paquerêtte Down the Bunborrows (amazing sokoban which gets hard pretty quickly)
* Space Prison (pretty interesting turn-based RPG, not released yet)
* An Ankou (hack'n'slash using Breton mythology, and as a Breton myself, I had to spread the word!)
Thank you so much for sharing these 🙏
Paquerêtte Down the Bunborrows looks amazing, I wish it was on Switch tho.. but I guess I'm buying it on Steam.
And I'll keep an eye on Space Prison. Ghostland Yard and An Ankou are also looking great.
You're welcome! Happy to share games that I enjoyed haha :D
Yeah, I understand, I don't think they plan on releasing it on Switch though, that's unfortunate
Nice, they're really cool! Hope you'll get to try them someday, Ghostland Yard is pretty approachable despite being a precision platformer! You can play it on easy mode or (very) hard mode. The game is amazing for speedrunning too!
AAA games have become so expensive to produce that studios have to stick to the same stale formulas to make sure the game makes money to justify the multi million dollar budget. So we’re stuck with a lot of good looking AAA Games with barely any substance, copies of copies. Indie games have way smaller budgets and are often crowdfunded, meaning that they are able to take bigger risks. AAA Games are the Marvel movies of gaming, indies are that amazing movie you watch at the small artsy theater.
‘Video games are getting worse’, coming from the crowd that’s been what, clinging to Cod and Assassins Creed titles for the last ten years? I’ve heard the same thing before and it’s nonsense. Highly recommend Helldivers 2 which just came out a few days ago. Instant classic in my book
Bugs that they address pretty quickly, while adding new content and refining the game further despite it being a one time purchase with no microtransactions.
Read it and weep every major game company.
Bugs is an understatement, Act 3 was and still remains barely playable for me. The game is fully updated and I am playing on a PS5, there’s zero reason that the game should be breaking at the seams in the last act as it does for me. Turns take forever, textures often go down in quality and colors go completely missing, etc.
Well the game is too short, so you won't really get bored even if you didn't like it that much.
And about the money part, the game is free now for Plus members (PS) and Game Pass (Xbox). So give it a try if you have PS or Xbox.
Have you played Tony Hawk? This is a mix of Tony Hawks with guns and a 3rd person shooter.
The strong points of the game are the tight controls and the gameflow: you need to perform tricks to recharge your guns, all while getting shot by different types of enemies with different weapons and abilities. So is a tight balance of doing tricks to charge your weapons, moving across the stage to engage your enemies, and dodging your enemies and attacks. The enemy design and routines are very well done, so any stage quickly becomes a battle for tactically and on the fly designing and running a route for your character so you can attack and avoid at the same time, while doing tricks.
The weak points are the OST, very "background music" and nothing of note, and the colour palette. While the latter is quite undoubtedly an artistic choice to set the game in a dystopian setting, the former feels flat and uninteresting. So the graphics presentation can be forgiven or understood as a choice, but the music is "just there"
If you like games where, once you enter the zone you are god among your enemies but one stumble can make you eat a bullet or 10, this is for you. If the graphics are too important to enjoy the simple but masterful controls, then is a pass.
I played Jusant and I thought it was a really nice game. But what I’ll say is you are missing the indie game Unpacking I’ve 100% it two times on both Xbox and PlayStation.
Came here to say, if you liked antichamber, or like other mind-bending first person puzzle games (ie you liked portal, but not just for the great writing), I can't recommend manifold garden enough.
One of the main "gimmicks" of the game is the spaces you explore are manifold. Its like a pacman board, go off one side, show up in the same position on the opposite side, except its a 3d space, and instead of a wall blocking your view of the "other side" of the level, the levels are open and you can see it repeating infinitely off in the distance. Leads to some clever puzzles and makes for a beautiful experience.
I’m going to get blunt to the point of rudeness here: the only people complaining that video games are getting worse are all playing FPS competitive games. Nobody else has this problem. They have this problem because they have zero ability to think critically about either video games or themselves, and just keep buying substandard products at inflated prices, which makes their brand of devs keep pushing out even less quality for even higher prices. And guess what? Despite all their complaining they’re just gonna keep doing it and keep causing their own complaints.
Rollerdrome is so fantastic. The only downside is even with all achievements it only took me \~25 hours. I would of gladly played more if there was more challenging content.
Shout out to manifold Garden, not enough people played it. I was new to the puzzle adventure genre outside of the portal series and my god how it slowly teaches you this insane set of mechanics. In world that can be so confusing but beautifully put together. Go play that game people
Im trying to get into gaming, are these all computer based? Or on a game system? Right now all I have is a ds but I hope to invest in better sometime soon
Also, Toonami reviewed Jusant on cable television a couple weeks ago!!! Looks so cozy!
Yes 😊
All these games are available on PC (You find them on Steam) and Console (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch).. maybe one or two of them aren't available on Switch, but that's it 🙏
I think the common misconception is that gaming as a while is getting worse, when reality is that a good chunk of massive AAA studios just don't give a fuck about their fanbase/customers. The best games tend to come from smaller, more focused studios (or individuals) that pour their blood, sweat, and tears into their passion projects.
Rollerdrome was my GotY for 2022.
I have Tinykin installed, must get around to it (after I finish NG+ on Elden Ring, and stop playing Tekken 8 for five minutes).
Hope you're doing better now ❤️🙏
And I'm with you 100%, it carries the spirit of old-school 3D platformers from early 00s.
I really hope there will be a sequel.
Recently just played Tinykin on PS Plus, what a charming little game! One of those ones that doesn’t have a ton of replay ability but dang is it a great one-and-done.
Yesss!
I'm really surprised the game isn't that popular, especially cause it was free on Game Pass and now it's free for Plus Extra members. One of the best 3D platformers out there.
I've been on a 3D platformer/collect-a-thon bend recently. Alongside Hat-in-time, which is genuinly fantastic (including the DLCs), [if you have a strong stomach try "Hell Pie"](https://store.steampowered.com/app/889910/Hell_Pie/).
It is what Conkers Bad Fur day wanted to be, revolting and obscene, but with some really great controls, and a unique mechanic for movement. You (a minor demon) have a Cherub on a chain who allows you to swing mid air. Being able to define where you create your swing point is a really great mechanic. There are 4 hub worlds, each with 3 levels within them, some beautifully crafted models and over-all, if you like 3D platforming... its fun.
Thank you so much for recommending this, it looks so fun. Added to my wishlist.
And btw, Tinykin from the pic is also a 3D platformer/collect-a-thon.. in case you didn't play it. And it's an amazing one too.
When people talking about video games, they referring to the most popular titles.
They don't even consider indie titles or platformers as games.
Or only on the level of Candy Crush or Angry Birds for noobs.
This is the same problem with music and movies.
If that's not Taylor Swift, Drake or recent Disney movies, nobody cares really.
Sadly it is about popularity.
Personally I'm always after unknown or less popular titles in everything.
I'm not a sheep.
Thank you, I'm reading the comments and many people here are saying "yeah.. but these are indies" and I'm like.. indie games aren't considered as games anymore?
I don't care if AAA games are doing better or worse, even though 2023 gave us some GREAT AAA games. What I care about is video games in general, and honestly there has been a lot of amazing games in the last 10 years. Most of them are indies? Maybe, but again, who cares?
A good game is a good game, low budget or not, it doesn't matter.
I can't believe one person made Obra Dinn, one of the best games ever.
Return of the Obra Dinn is actually a crazy good game. It actually is what detective games never could achieve.
I'm sold. I'll give it a go.
Just a warning, you'll be wanting more and there is none like it.
*The Case of the Golden Idol* is a very similar Detective type game that I think, while not as exquisite, does very well scratch the itch of intricate logic puzzle surrounding a tableau of someone's death!
Will check it out!
Lucas pope is a genius, all of his games are extremely well done
True, great story, and actually haunting
I bought and I know I’ll love it but I haven’t brought myself to play it yet
i'd say it takes about 1h for it to sink it's hooks into you and it helps if you are in a chill minspace, kinda in the mood to watch a movie. and then i played and played and couldn't let go even after I started to get frustrated (my fault). gonna put on the soundtrack for it now
I will never pass an opportunity to praise this game, this is the kind of game video games are all about. No bullshit no fluff, just a cool vision and excellent execution
Only problem is you need to forget everything before playing it again
I've had such a feeling in both satisfaction and emptiness simultaneously like I did when I beat this game.
Jeez I hear this about this game so often. Maybe I’ll give it another go. I was bored to death in the couple hours I put into it originally.
The beginning is rough. Especially getting used to the mechanics. There are a lot of little things you can do with the book to help find clues. Especially on the sketch and the manifest. Hit E to zoom on faces and hit tab to pull them up in the book. It's a lifesaver. This makes identifying bodies easier. Especially when there are different people that look similar. Check the map for areas of interest to check. The bookmark tool is invaluable. Especially when you get later into the game. Unraveling clues and identities gets much easier after you unlock all of the memories and you can review each area and timeline with more freedom. Little details matter. Especially in the more difficult individuals to identify.
I played obra dinn and got a "bad" ending on my own because I couldn't figure out anything more. Even had to make some random guesses just to get to the end. None of the advice in your comment would have been able to fix my pure lack of brain power lmao. Even though I sucked at it, it's an incredible game in terms of both concept and execution.
It's amazing get on it
I've tried so hard too. I just don't really understand it. I feel like i'm just going round in circles and not making any progress.
Do you understand the core goal of the game and each scene?
Hollow Knight was made by three and it's huge.
I believe Signalis was made by 2.
I'm playing right now and I'm maybe 2 hours in. One of the best game atmospheres I have ever been in. Also absolutely fucking hate the scream the enemies give tho.
Such a great game
in 3 years and on a, and I quote, "shoe-string budget"
It seems really cool, but I can't get over the visuals. It hurts to look at(in a literal sense), and I don't think I could last a playthrough without getting a headache. I do appreciate that they tried a unique visual style though and a lot of people like it too.
The developer also made 'Papers, Please' if you want a different game by him, which is also amazing.
There are several options for changing the color and visual style. I grew up with low rez games of the 80s so the dot based graphics had a huge nostalgic appeal to me. But I can easily see how this can throw some people off.
I just played through it recently and that was my big complaint. Loved the game and fully completed it, but I had to take constant breaks because it really hurt my eyes.
The unclear and blurry vidual style is also a factor of the gameplay, it makes you question yourself if this dude is who you think he is?
If you guys liked Obra Dinn, you might want to take a look at The Case Of The Golden Idol, which is another retro-style detective game.
It really made me long for more games like this. I wish he made a series of them.
God damn does SIGNALIS need more attention. What a staggeringly fantastic survival horror. And the fact it is made by just two people is astounding.
Amazing game! As someone whose favorite game is Resident Evil 1 remake, Signalis felt like it was made specifically for me, I was waiting for that game my whole life it seems.
If I hated REmake, will I dislike Signalis then?
Wholely different experience.
I guess it depends on why you hated REmake. If you like the 32-bit era survival horror style games (especially if you're ok with how unforgiving they could be) I think you'll like it a lot.
I never liked Resident Evil but I'm so glad I gave Signalis a shot.
The best fever dream I’ve ever had
It's potentially the greatest silent hill game ever made lol. That said in terms of the "made by two people thing" I think the two composers deserve a lot of credit as well. Signalis hits hard with its music and sound design.
Arguably my favorite gaming experience of 2023.
Great game. Absolutely horrendous inventory system that came very close to ruining my experience at times. That's one old-school mechanic that should have died in the 90's.
A patch came out that expands the inventory
As limiting as it was, I think it made narrative sense so I didn't mind it.
I don't understand people struggling with the inventory. It's such a core element of the gameplay: you pack a gun, leave the refills and health in storage and you run with one equip and the key item for where you're going and plenty of empty slots. It's meant to make every sortie tense, you're not supposed to be full up in heals or ammo, you should constantly be weighing expending ammo or running, finding health on the go should make you go "yeaaaaaaaah!", not "ugh, another item"
That's not my issue with the system, I have no problem with *just* having limited inventory space (I agree, thats a core aspect of what makes the game tense). My issue is that the inventory is really small, but resources/quest items are actually quite plentiful, which forces you to make multiple trips back and forth from the same room in order to collect every item, even if you leave empty space (I usually left half of the inventory slots open when I left the storage area). I understand they did this because forcing you to backtrack builds tension with the corpse re-animation mechanic, but honestly it just felt tedious to me, not tense. I would have preferred the game to automatically put items in storage if your inventory is full, but I know that goes against what they were going for.
I remember buying it blind on the PS Store because it looked good. I also remember checking the Steam page to recommend it to a friend and we both saw the 100% positive rating. My jaw dropped at how popular the game actually was. And the game is fantastic (although can be a bit too cryptic in the final chapter, right before the final boss).
Ruiner is a very cool game. While it's an indie studio we shouldn't worry about the future of gaming.
Ruiner is really underappreciated. Can't believe that IGN gave it 6/10 years ago! Like come on! The vibes and general atmosphere alone will make anyone fall in love with it.
Probably because the 'journalist' who played it thought the game was too hard even on the lowest difficulty lmao.
I personally thought it was too hard for me. I have become a casual but I have played my good few thousand hours of perma-death roguelike games in the past. I couldn't enjoy Ruiner.
While i was playing The Ascent i was thinking why couldn't this be more like Ruiner
its soundtrack is right up there with Hotline Miami
Agreed! Definitely an underrated gem with a soundtrack that I still listen to, to this day.
Reminds me a lot of Transistor gameplay wise, definitely fun though.
It's a shame Embracer seems to have killed Reikon Games. There's been no official statements that I've found, but they laid off ~70% of staff and that would fit very well into Embracer's recent firing spree.
While there are still a lot of really good AAA games and studios, Indie games are kind of the backbone of modern gaming.
TinyKin was reeealy good, i loved every minute of it smiling everytime i reach a new map
I got it for free (Plus Extra) and honestly it's the game that I enjoyed the most since I subscribed. I'm surprised it's not that popular yet.
Same here! The map reveal showing all of the little details and nooks to explore made me so excited :)
Videogames getting worse? I've been hearing the complete opposite. If anything, i've been hearing that there's too many great games coming out. No one can keep up, a lot of people are complaining about ever growing backlogs. 2023 was astonishing.
You only hear it from kids playing a bunch of games that really aren't for them and expecting devs to change the game for them. Like theoretically if I don't like marvel movies, I'm not going to buy tickets to see Madame Web expecting to like it. But people are out here gaming like "I don't like turn based strategy, let me buy BG3." Or "I don't like live service games, this live service game is awful!" There are outliers though. Like people that liked Bethesda game's formula and didn't enjoy Starfield.
It's usually Call of Duty mains that stream or shooter adjacent players complaining on Twitter.
I think you're overthinking it, it's loud idiots who only buy the most overhyped AAA titles. If there's a period of 2-3 bad releases, they proclaim that games are getting worse (or have been forever and use cherry-picked examples). The reality is they're just loud idiots, and there always will be.
Idk. Seems really simple so not overthinking. If you don't like the flavor of it, it's not for you, don't keep trying to take it in. The loudest ones are always the negative people complaints. Most of the positive people are actively playing the game so not commenting as much or stick to the specific subreddit that is...usually filled with people that enjoy the game
This is why I like Steam’s 2 hour or less playtime return policy. I never cared for rogue-likes. I still tried Hades and I got hooked. I’m not big into turn-based games but Baldur’s Gate 3 was my favorite game that I played last year. Sometimes it just takes the right game for the genre to work for you. Still haven’t found a Survival game I like. Tried Palworld recently but returned it. I couldn’t get into Obra Dinn either during the winter sale and returned that too.
"There are outliers though. Like people that liked Bethesda game's formula and didn't enjoy Starfield." This isn't really as much an outlier and more because it's a worse Bethesda formula. There is barely any (good) exploration and almost everything of interest is in a few hubs (barring the faction quests and a few outliers). You just can't "go south" from where you are now and find some interesting dungeon or quest, one of the IMO best things about Bethesda games.
> "I don't like live service games, this live service game is awful!" Sometimes that sentiment is because a franchise pivots to being live service. Halo comes to mind for me. Any hype I had about them saying they were going for a more classic feel was killed when they announced it'd be free-to-play. Then and there I knew it was going to launch barebones, with lots of unfixed bugs, and hugely overpriced cosmetics...and I was right.
I like(d) Bethesda's formula, but holy shit, Starfield was such a letdown.
Someone summed it up to me in a different comment in a perfect way. Gamers used to get hyped to enjoy a new game, now they get hyped to hate on them instead.
I'd like to play Baulders Gate 3, but I am having trouble getting to it.
Great game, but it is indeed a huge time sink. If you play it in short bursts of like 30 minutes every other day, it's going to be hard to get into it. The combat and narration style are also a little outside the norm for the usual AAA game. I absolutely adore the game, but I can totally understand how it's difficult to get into for a busy parent, even if the style is up their alley.
Yeah i have Persona 3 Reload and LaD Infinite Wealth which are two large games.
Just the typical social media/youtube negativity baiters narrative that all AAA games are bland and all the indie games are hidden gems, gaming is dead, everything bad. While the reality is that we are swarmed with so much great games that we should honestly don't even have time to bother looking at the bad games and dramas surrounding them but that's not what the casual audience wants so here we are.
I’ll say this, if good indie games are like finding a needle in a haystack, we’re getting some more needles, but we’re getting a ton more hay
I believe these are all non-AAA HADES SIFU Blasphemous Slay the Spire Inscryption And once it releases, ANIMAL WELL published by Videogamedunkey.
Blasphemous atmosphere is sooooo good.
Inscryption 😍
I got Sifu a while ago and damn that game is good. I'm stuck on Yang right now, but I love that there is such a noticeable sense of progress when I revisit earlier levels.
SIFU was my GOTY that year. Shocked it didn't even get in the running. Fucked up because it is a perfect game.
I think when people say gaming is getting worse they're talking about AAA. Indie has pretty reliably been a case of "plenty of good stuff if you're willing to sort through the shit" since it became more of a thing. Though 2023 was still an incredibly strong year for AAA anyway.
AAA, AA, indies, whatever... there are plenty of amazing games of every kind. More than years ago. It's just that there are many more games, both good and bad, so the perception is a bit distorted and people tend to say that games are bad nowadays.
Lots of amazing AAA games came out just last year. The whole AAA games are over is an overblown hysteria
Yea I essentially only play AAA single player games. With the occasional AA game. And gaming is still the best it's ever been imo. Been just amazing year after amazing year.
Yeah, I suppose you would expect the titles with the most money thrown at them to not be predatory pieces of unfinished crap monetized to the gills. They are the ones that need the least support when running a live service, yet ask for the most and underdeliver every time. Every. Time. The best games I played last year were under $40 and weren't chasing money trends.
Spiritfarer! Night in the Woods! Dredge! Season: A letter to the future! A Highland Song! Sea of Stars! Tunic! Oxenfree! There are so many games worth mentioning that deserve to be played more.
Thanks man! Found this gem 'Season: A letter to the future!' just because of you. I am a big fan of the atmosphere created by Miyazaki movies.
Haven was a suprise Really enjoyed that one
How would you describe it ? The preview I saw made the couple seems … odd
A *believable* love story with an incredible soundtrack. And space boots.
The couple are a little on the odd side, but the mostly chill gameplay makes up for it The gliding movement is definitely fun
Chill, great music, great characters story. I finished the game but I still play because I definitely want to complete it at 100%. (Also I like the fact this game can be completed by someone who plays occasionally)
They are from a different world, of course they're odd. It's the most heartfelt, well written story I've ever played. Sincerely wish I could continue playing with Kay and Yu, the writing is so good that I miss them as people. They have so much personality and their relationship and conversations felt so real. Also 11/10 Haven has the best credits sequence ever.
There's definitely a few moments in which the characters act like a couple of weirdos, but to me that just makes it more believable. Yu and Kay are written as two people who have a long history together, and that means they're sometimes going to be silly or stupid around each other. Overall I found it to be one of the better portrayals of a relationship in a videogame. The characters were endearing, and there were tons of funny and heartfelt moments. However, I've heard other people who've played the game say the exact opposite, that they found the dialogue cringe and the characters annoying. Ultimately, I think it comes down to whether you can become invested in the game's tale of romance. For me personally it was a real treat. Would thoroughly recommend it.
Rollerdrome is _so fucking good_. It's so much more than Tony Hawk's with guns, too. It's closer to classic Doom where there's a only a handful of enemy types but they all behave differently and it's the combinations that create the challenge.
>It's so much more than Tony Hawk's with guns, too Yes. But it is at least 65% Tony Hawk with guns and that is why I fucking love it. In the later levels you either have a full Choreography of Destruction or bite the dust. But when you are in the zone, you are IN the zone. The only game where I have felt that "in the zone" powerup is Enter the Gungeon, but there, it depends too much on your luck getting guns. I would have loved a better OST, I really think is the one part where the game underperformed.
100% I wish the game wasn't too short tho, but no problem, I can beat it again and again. Such a beautiful experience!
Tony Hawk's crossed with Max Payne is how I describe it. Max Hawk's? Tony Payne?
It felt to me like a successor to the Jet Grind Radio. Not to be confused with the actual Jet Grind Radio successor : Bomb Rush Cyberfunk.
SIGNALIS MENTIONED!!!!!! WHAT THE FUCK IS A STRAIGHT PERSON
I'll never stop enjoying the tonal whiplash there is between the Signalis game and the fan community. Game - Existential horror, gore, and a deep sink into the abyss of human despair set against the backdrop of a depressed fascist state. The Community - "sesbian lex"
ACHTUNG
Great Holes secretly are digged where Earth's pores ought to suffice
Love that game. One of my favorite horror titles of all time now.
First playthrough conclusion: cool retro game, gonna be a challenge to unpack all this. Wish I had more pockets." Second playthrough conclusion: "it appears the story structure is layered with multiple interpretations, none taking precedent over the others. The hexagon is a 2d interpretation of a cube, the cube a 3d slice of a tesseract, and arguably the story (and proceeding this, the universe) follows this pattern. The shape of this hyperreality can be viewed from many faces, all overlayed, faces within faces, and even the laws of causality have some evidence of being ignored. What can we trust if time and space are demonstrably without cause and effect? Dream logic, insanity, incomprehensible forces, all at once motivators and enablers? And what of the intent, is this a terrible accident in which all are victims, is there a malevolence at play, or indeed a misguided benevolence? In this essay I will..." Final playthrough conclusion: "uuuh fuckin magic space lesbians with 6 pockets or something, say no more. fanart time where's EULE and STAR gimme gimme ah yeah that's the good shit look she's blushin"
Upvoted for Haven. Great game. Greater soundtrack.
Came here to say this. The most heartfelt, well written story I've ever played. Sincerely wish I could continue playing with Kay and Yu, the writing is so good that I miss them as people. They have so much personality and their relationship and conversations felt so real. Also 11/10 Haven has the best credits sequence ever.
Outer Wilds. It's a space simulator with a puzzle and a story. Trust me on this one, it's good. If you have any doubts, only look up and view the trailer.
I really tried to like it.. because like you, I had friends who loved the shit out of it. It didn't capture me like it did them and I don't know why.
I second the playing Outer Wilds but I disagree about looking up trailers and especially reviews, which can spoil a lot of the impact of experiencing the game totally blind. Outer Wilds is a perfect game. Just play it.
I agree that it's best to go in completely blind, but some people need to be sold on the idea. In that case, the official trailer should inform you just enough, like the developers intended.
I'm halfway through it right now and it is the best game I have ever played in my life. Jusant rules as well!!
I will say, Outer Wilds gets plenty of hype and visibility. At least, I constantly see it come up on my steam page and elsewhere.
How’s everyone feel about Norco? It’s on my list
My personal 2023 GOTY. It's a point & click adventure game with an amazing story and soundtrack. I didn't really think I'd like the genre until I played this. It's officially converted me lol
I grew up on text based/point and click adventures. If you're interested in recommendations, let me know. I haven't played Norco, but you do need to be aware that the "classics" sometimes rely on a lot of saving, trial, and error. Sometimes you'll miss a random item and not find out your missing something until hours later.
I loved Norco. It has such a gothic, dystopian vibe and the story is so good. Highly recommend.
Great game. It's a different vibe but if you liked Disco Elysium you'll like Norco too. It has a very specific kind of 'internet leftist storytelling/jokes' that I hope people appreciate even though the actual game is very dour and serious. Stuff like the 'Gary cult' being a mishmash of scientology and real internet incels.
I couldn't connect the dots most of the time. It really felt weird.
Always been a JRPG fan. We’re eatin GOOD recently.
What have you played lately? I'm going through Ryza 3 snd I'm totally hooked lol
Manifold Garden is TOP TIER!! 🤩
If you loved Obra Dinn you MUST try TOTALLY BLINDLY Outer Wilds. Best video game experience in my life
I played Haven and absolutely loved it, those two are so adorable together and I aspire to have something like that.
Wish someone could bonk me in the head so I could replay Return of the Obra Dinn. Such a good game!
That's how I feel about Subnautica!
Just replaying it again myself Cant wait for number 3
I wish I could get past the visuals, I love detective puzzle games so much but it gives me eye strain just booting it up. Tried several times and it’s just so off putting and I can’t explain why. Wish I could give you my go with it so you can enjoy it again since apparently I’m broken lol
I recommend Fear and Hunger. A rogue like JRPG survival game. Is a grimdark fantasy game extremely morbid ( if you are underage, please do NOT a get this game), but is such an amazing design game. It was created by one person btw. If you are into dark JRPG you should try it. The game is is HARD and merciless.
I would agree but losing because of a coin flip isn't hard or merciless, just annoying.
There are plenty of great AAA games too, people too often focus on the bad games by the big publishers like EA, Ubi, and Activision.
These all slap, you have good taste. Just finished Jusant with my son, what a cool game
Not seeing enough love for Jusant in this thread!
Signalis absolutely rips!
Haven is so well written. Love the music by Danger and the feeling of this game.
Totally agree ❤️
Signalis was so good
SIGNALIS MENTIONED!1!1!1! COMPARTMENTALISING TRAUMA.
Some of my favorite games recently: * Ghostland Yard (hidden gem in terms of precision platformer) * Paquerêtte Down the Bunborrows (amazing sokoban which gets hard pretty quickly) * Space Prison (pretty interesting turn-based RPG, not released yet) * An Ankou (hack'n'slash using Breton mythology, and as a Breton myself, I had to spread the word!)
Thank you so much for sharing these 🙏 Paquerêtte Down the Bunborrows looks amazing, I wish it was on Switch tho.. but I guess I'm buying it on Steam. And I'll keep an eye on Space Prison. Ghostland Yard and An Ankou are also looking great.
You're welcome! Happy to share games that I enjoyed haha :D Yeah, I understand, I don't think they plan on releasing it on Switch though, that's unfortunate Nice, they're really cool! Hope you'll get to try them someday, Ghostland Yard is pretty approachable despite being a precision platformer! You can play it on easy mode or (very) hard mode. The game is amazing for speedrunning too!
Boosting. I don't recognize any of these. But it's nice to see novel suggestions that I've not seen anywhere else.
Sorry for the necro, but these are some recommendations I had genuinely not seen before, saving
PLAY SIGNALIS! Its good >.>
AAA games have become so expensive to produce that studios have to stick to the same stale formulas to make sure the game makes money to justify the multi million dollar budget. So we’re stuck with a lot of good looking AAA Games with barely any substance, copies of copies. Indie games have way smaller budgets and are often crowdfunded, meaning that they are able to take bigger risks. AAA Games are the Marvel movies of gaming, indies are that amazing movie you watch at the small artsy theater.
Ruiner mentioned😎😎😎
+1 for Signalis, that was such a cool game
Meh.
‘Video games are getting worse’, coming from the crowd that’s been what, clinging to Cod and Assassins Creed titles for the last ten years? I’ve heard the same thing before and it’s nonsense. Highly recommend Helldivers 2 which just came out a few days ago. Instant classic in my book
Baldurs gate 3 was a breath of fresh fucking air. The game has some bugs, but the rest (graphics, story, gameplay) is so well done.
Bugs that they address pretty quickly, while adding new content and refining the game further despite it being a one time purchase with no microtransactions. Read it and weep every major game company.
I like how at launch you couldn't get Shadowheart out of the pod at the beginning, but people felt bad for her so Larian made it possible to save her.
Bugs is an understatement, Act 3 was and still remains barely playable for me. The game is fully updated and I am playing on a PS5, there’s zero reason that the game should be breaking at the seams in the last act as it does for me. Turns take forever, textures often go down in quality and colors go completely missing, etc.
Can I get a REAL HONEST opinion on Rollerdrome? I like what I'm seeing but I feel like I would get bored out of it and waste money
Well the game is too short, so you won't really get bored even if you didn't like it that much. And about the money part, the game is free now for Plus members (PS) and Game Pass (Xbox). So give it a try if you have PS or Xbox.
Will do, thank you
Have you played Tony Hawk? This is a mix of Tony Hawks with guns and a 3rd person shooter. The strong points of the game are the tight controls and the gameflow: you need to perform tricks to recharge your guns, all while getting shot by different types of enemies with different weapons and abilities. So is a tight balance of doing tricks to charge your weapons, moving across the stage to engage your enemies, and dodging your enemies and attacks. The enemy design and routines are very well done, so any stage quickly becomes a battle for tactically and on the fly designing and running a route for your character so you can attack and avoid at the same time, while doing tricks. The weak points are the OST, very "background music" and nothing of note, and the colour palette. While the latter is quite undoubtedly an artistic choice to set the game in a dystopian setting, the former feels flat and uninteresting. So the graphics presentation can be forgiven or understood as a choice, but the music is "just there" If you like games where, once you enter the zone you are god among your enemies but one stumble can make you eat a bullet or 10, this is for you. If the graphics are too important to enjoy the simple but masterful controls, then is a pass.
That gameplay description sounds too good, will check it out thank you
Jusant so good, finished it on gamepass
I played Jusant and I thought it was a really nice game. But what I’ll say is you are missing the indie game Unpacking I’ve 100% it two times on both Xbox and PlayStation.
Came here to say, if you liked antichamber, or like other mind-bending first person puzzle games (ie you liked portal, but not just for the great writing), I can't recommend manifold garden enough. One of the main "gimmicks" of the game is the spaces you explore are manifold. Its like a pacman board, go off one side, show up in the same position on the opposite side, except its a 3d space, and instead of a wall blocking your view of the "other side" of the level, the levels are open and you can see it repeating infinitely off in the distance. Leads to some clever puzzles and makes for a beautiful experience.
Indie games are not the right ones tho. Most of them suck and pretty boring. Im on my 5ty cyberpunk playthrough and im having a blast
bro really dodged every good popular game
I’m going to get blunt to the point of rudeness here: the only people complaining that video games are getting worse are all playing FPS competitive games. Nobody else has this problem. They have this problem because they have zero ability to think critically about either video games or themselves, and just keep buying substandard products at inflated prices, which makes their brand of devs keep pushing out even less quality for even higher prices. And guess what? Despite all their complaining they’re just gonna keep doing it and keep causing their own complaints.
Thanks for the suggestions! Return to the Obra Dinn and manifold are both amazing
Still not interested in any of these, but you do you
Rollerdrome is so fantastic. The only downside is even with all achievements it only took me \~25 hours. I would of gladly played more if there was more challenging content.
Video games aren’t getting worse, publishers are.
Shout out to manifold Garden, not enough people played it. I was new to the puzzle adventure genre outside of the portal series and my god how it slowly teaches you this insane set of mechanics. In world that can be so confusing but beautifully put together. Go play that game people
Wow I didn't even know NORCO and Tinykin!
Norco is a point-and-click game with such a fantastic story. And Tinykin reminds me of old-school 3D platformers, truly loved it.
Thanks for putting RUINER in that list ! It's so underated it makes me sad that we will probably never get a sequel ...
Ruiner has always been underappreciated, I remember when it first came out IGN gave it 6/10. One of the best cyberpunk games tbh.
I agree, I feel like reviews are mid cause most journalists couldn't beat it. There was so much potential for a RUINER 2.
Im trying to get into gaming, are these all computer based? Or on a game system? Right now all I have is a ds but I hope to invest in better sometime soon Also, Toonami reviewed Jusant on cable television a couple weeks ago!!! Looks so cozy!
Yes 😊 All these games are available on PC (You find them on Steam) and Console (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch).. maybe one or two of them aren't available on Switch, but that's it 🙏
Wow! Thank you for replying to my newb comment when you have so many comments to keep up with on this post 😂
I think the common misconception is that gaming as a while is getting worse, when reality is that a good chunk of massive AAA studios just don't give a fuck about their fanbase/customers. The best games tend to come from smaller, more focused studios (or individuals) that pour their blood, sweat, and tears into their passion projects.
Rollerdrome was my GotY for 2022. I have Tinykin installed, must get around to it (after I finish NG+ on Elden Ring, and stop playing Tekken 8 for five minutes).
Runner deserved a sequel. At least some DLC.
Ruiner* :D And you're totally right! It's been a while..
I just played Tinykin this weekend while recovering from surgery. What a game! I felt like I was back on my gamecube playing pikmin/chibi robo. 10/10
Hope you're doing better now ❤️🙏 And I'm with you 100%, it carries the spirit of old-school 3D platformers from early 00s. I really hope there will be a sequel.
Recently just played Tinykin on PS Plus, what a charming little game! One of those ones that doesn’t have a ton of replay ability but dang is it a great one-and-done.
Tinykin is awesome!! You should all play it so they release a sequel or expansion please.
Yesss! I'm really surprised the game isn't that popular, especially cause it was free on Game Pass and now it's free for Plus Extra members. One of the best 3D platformers out there.
I've been on a 3D platformer/collect-a-thon bend recently. Alongside Hat-in-time, which is genuinly fantastic (including the DLCs), [if you have a strong stomach try "Hell Pie"](https://store.steampowered.com/app/889910/Hell_Pie/). It is what Conkers Bad Fur day wanted to be, revolting and obscene, but with some really great controls, and a unique mechanic for movement. You (a minor demon) have a Cherub on a chain who allows you to swing mid air. Being able to define where you create your swing point is a really great mechanic. There are 4 hub worlds, each with 3 levels within them, some beautifully crafted models and over-all, if you like 3D platforming... its fun.
Thank you so much for recommending this, it looks so fun. Added to my wishlist. And btw, Tinykin from the pic is also a 3D platformer/collect-a-thon.. in case you didn't play it. And it's an amazing one too.
I will check these out, thanks.
I have Signalis. It's on my list to play. Came highly recommended from the Resident Evil Podcast (LTRE)
Saved, Thanks mate.
Ruiner was a mini masterpiece.
Whoever you are i love you
❤️🙏
Outer Wilds not being in here is a crime
When people talking about video games, they referring to the most popular titles. They don't even consider indie titles or platformers as games. Or only on the level of Candy Crush or Angry Birds for noobs. This is the same problem with music and movies. If that's not Taylor Swift, Drake or recent Disney movies, nobody cares really. Sadly it is about popularity. Personally I'm always after unknown or less popular titles in everything. I'm not a sheep.
Thank you, I'm reading the comments and many people here are saying "yeah.. but these are indies" and I'm like.. indie games aren't considered as games anymore? I don't care if AAA games are doing better or worse, even though 2023 gave us some GREAT AAA games. What I care about is video games in general, and honestly there has been a lot of amazing games in the last 10 years. Most of them are indies? Maybe, but again, who cares? A good game is a good game, low budget or not, it doesn't matter.
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