#Abzus a great game i recommend it

[westbifire]

I feel like the inside of the Senobium is going to look like that one level from Abzu.

Also gonna be real for a second but does anyone know exactly what the Senobium is? (like I know its a university/library but do we know anything else?)

[nientedal]

Hullo ~

Since I heard that you love fish a lot, to put it lightly (😅), I was wondering if you ever played/heard of ABZU? It's this absolutely gorgeous underwater indie game which features a mysterious civilization that worshipped the great white shark (which made me think of Megamind's home planet, of course 🤭)

Ooooo I have not!! I just googled it though, it looks beautiful! I am definitely going to have to play this, omg.

Watch it be the thing that finally kicks me into writing down my headcanons for his parents' cultures 😂

Thank you for the recommendation!

[justaboutdead]

A Brief Overview of some of the Best Video Games I Played this Year

Aight, so I played a lot of video games this year. Big surprise. I did play Armored Core 6, and Sekiro, and Dave the Diver, and Super Mario Wonder, and Tears of the Kingdom. but you’ve heard of all those. You don’t need to hear about them again. For clarification this is about games I played for the first time this year. Not games that necessarily came out this year. In no particular order

1.Rhythm Doctor

Single button rhythm game. Far harder than it sounds. Excellent music, excellent gameplay, excellent story. Go check it out! Seriously.

2.Atomicrops

Twinstick shooter and farming sim hybrid. I got ridiculously addicted to this. Damn amazing game, good for the adhd. Very tight gameplay loop.

3. Shotgun King

Chess rougelike where you are a king with a shotgun. Actually quite strategically complex. Very fun time.

4.Lunacid

Basically a new indie Kingsfield. An excellent time if you enjoy old slow action rpgs. Amazing atmosphere, music, level design, etc. Great time.

7.Citizen Sleeper

If I had to pick a top game from this list, it might just be this. RPG about being an escaped robot victim of capitalism on a space station and all the people you meet there. Made me cry a lot. Very good. Just play it.

8.In Other Waters

The same devs as citizen sleeper made this. Also very very good. About a marine xenobiologist exploring an alien ocean. Also made me cry. Best game about the ocean ive played. Finished it in a single sitting.

9.Mosa Lina

Very neat puzzle game/immersive sim in the strictest sense. Your solution to any give level is truly your own, always.

10.Milk Outside of a Bag of Milk

The sequel to another very good game, milk inside of a bag of milk. Although ofc quite dissimilar from my own experiences, as a person who struggles with intense social anxiety and is generally neurodivergent, I relate a lot to both of these games.

11.Signalis

Survival horror game about being an android who is looking for someone. Another game you just have to play. Very interesting story and themes, and tight, classic-feeling gameplay.

Other games I played for the first time this year and loved, that you’ve probably either heard of before or I didn’t quite like enough to list: What Remains of Edith Finch, Everhood, Paratopic, No One Lives Under the Lighthouse, Hyper Demon, Post Void, Wrought Flesh, Dusk, Exo One, Gris, Into the Breach, Abzu, Antichamber, Humanity, Amnesia Rebirth*

I feel like I need to end every videogames recommendation post now by begging you to play Outerwilds. Trust me, its amazing.

*edit: forgot to list Jusant. Very good game

[autopotion]

8 22 23

8. best soundtrack: ohhh my god. tough. it might be cheap to say final fantasy tactics because i've been thinking about it a lot lately, but i do think that soundtrack is really very thoughtful and intricate, and makes smart use of its leitmotifs. it's a bit of an acquired taste imo because it's not as immediately catchy as some other video game osts, but it's meatier than most vg osts i've heard and i do love it a great deal; like the game itself every time i listen to it i feel like i unearth more in its musical themes.

in terms of other soundtracks: ffvii's ost is probably my favorite of the mainline ff series for nostalgia alone (though ffvi and ffix also have great soundtracks). i also really enjoy the soundtracks of hades, outer wilds, stardew valley, tales of the abyss, and undertale. and big shout out to the dragon age inquisition bard songs, elizaveta khripounova killed it

22. if you could immerse yourself in any game for a day, which one and what would you do: jeez. i don't think i would want to be in any of these games, i'm too much of a coward. it might be fun to be a tactics bard since i'm a musician IRL (yeah okay so bard's gender-locked but here's the thing: i'm butch i'm allowed) but i also don't want to get killed because a huge bird decided to fling a meteor at me. stardew valley would be okay if i could just stand on the dock staring at the ocean or the river for six hours, but it wouldn't be especially scenic. if i could like, breathe underwater or something, abzu would be lovely, i'd love to just swim in the ocean forever... explore the ruins

23. biggest disappointment you've had in gaming: hmmm. ffvii remake ended up being okay, like i have my complaints but i also think it did a number of things extremely well, so not that. i started mass effect andromeda this year, but i knew that game was bad, everyone knows that game is bad, so i have no one to blame but myself for playing it and being like "this is bad." man you know what i think banner saga? my sister recommended me that series, she really loves it, and i played through the trilogy last year and came away with a bad taste in my mouth. there's stuff i liked about it i guess but it felt incredibly reactionary and weirdly hostile & conservative. i talked about it with my sister and she was like "oh yeah never thought about it like that before" but it was still like... a shame that a game series she swore by felt kind of shitty to play. don't think i'll come back to that one

[bobacupcake]

hi! do you have any recommendations for good story driven games or games with really cool art styles? only pc games tho i don't have a nintendo switch :')

hey yes i have quite a few!!

we know the devil is a really great visual novel, its got some content warnings but if youre ok w them i highly recommend. the people who made it also made heaven will be mine which i have yet to play but hear its also very good

outer wilds i havent played yet but everyone i have seen talk about it has said its one of their favourite games of all time

lucah born of a dream is a great story-driven soulslike with a great artstyle

have heard very good things about mutazione

have also heard very good things about later alligator 

frog detective

have heard absolutely lovely things about wandersong

celeste is great if you like challenging platformers, but it also has an assist mode if you just want to enjoy the also great story/music/visuals

if you can emulate them earthbound and mother 3 are some of my favorite games

donut county is a short but cute story-driven katamari-like about gentrification

journey and abzu are both reaaaally pretty

return of the obra dinn is great if you’re into mystery games, you’re put aboard a pirate ship where everyone is dead and you have to use time travel to figure out what happened 

gris is another i havent played but it really is gorgeous and i’ve heard good things about it

[asleepinawell]

No worries! And yeah I figured they'd play similarly. I'm looking forward to abzu, and I had also downloaded subnautica even though I don't think I'll actually play it. Not the vibe im going for currently, tryna make smart choices for my sanity 🙃. On the other hand, I'm excited to try the witness even though sounds like I may be in for a bit of disappointment. Puzzles + beautiful graphics = a good time typically LOL

I find being attacked underwater in video games to be extremely upsetting. I think it dates back to Daggerfall, a now ancient elder scrolls game I played the heck out of as a kid. You had a swimming skill and if it was too low I think you basically sank to the bottom and the water was dark and there were these lobster type monsters that made horrible screaming noises. Would not recommend! (though Daggerfall was great). So basically Subnautica is going to upset me. I enjoy stuff that scares me but there's a threshold there and we'll see if it crosses it.

You should definitely try the witness. I had a very frustrating first hour or so with it because one of the big claims of the game was you could go anywhere and do puzzles in any order and, yes, you can try, but there are certain puzzles that introduce rules or concepts to teach you how to do them and if you miss them it makes things very confusing. I somehow ended up in an area with extremely advanced puzzles early on and was lost and couldn't find my way back to the start and almost quit.

Instead of quitting I went and looked up the rules to the puzzles online. Not the answers, but the rules. Like what are you supposed to do in the puzzles with the little suns or the weird triangle shape. Having a clear list of how the puzzles operated made most of the game more enjoyable for me. Maybe there are puzzles out there that teach the rules that I haven't stumbled on yet (I'm about half done I think) but the fact I haven't stumbled on them is an issue. I'm all in favor of giving a player freedom but nudging people in the right direction is important. A lot could be fixed with level design.

Some of the puzzle types I also find annoying. Like there's one that I won't spoil but it involved figuring out the gimmick and then wandering around the area adjusting your camera constantly and squinting and if it had only been 5 or so of those it would have been fine but it just went on and on and I got mad. Other puzzle types with patterns and shapes and rules for drawing lines I really enjoy. So what I'm doing now is if I run into a puzzle that I just flat out don't enjoy the mechanic of I'll look up the answers and move on with my life. The fun ones (which are also quite hard, just a fun type of challenge) I do on my own. This gets me maximum enjoyment for minimum frustration and keeps me from rage quitting.

[yocalio]

I haven’t played horizon zero dawn because I have an Xbox One, but am considering saving for the new PS5. Are there any other PS games you recommend and new ones you’re excited for? I’m looking forward to Cyberpunk 2077.

I love love loved HZD. Guirella Games is a great studio and I know the sequel will deliver big time. I'm of course excited for AC: Valhalla, Cyberpunk 2077 (yes CDPR yes), and the new Rachet and Clank! I just found out about that one yesterday but I loved those games. Naughtydog just needs to announce another Jak & Daxter game and I'll lose my mind.

The PS5 is backwards compatible so there are a ton of games I can reccomend to ya but I'll just go with some of the PS exclusives. Firstly, the Uncharted series, Horizon Zero Dawn of course, The Last of Us, God of War, Infamous: Second Son, Until Dawn, Journey, Abzu, and a bunch more I can't think of or haven't even played yet. PS always had the best exclusives. 😉

[minecraft-askbox]

what other games do you play?

Well, I’ve played a lot of the games in the Danganronpa series. It’s got some very fucked up aspects about it though so it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

I also played all the of the games in the Metro Series.(Metro 2033, Metro: Last Light, Metro Exodus) and I recommend them.….Violent tho.I’ve also played some older rpgmaker games like OFF and Yume Nikki. Hmm.. They’re both pretty dark.

Yume Nikki is a lot darker if you read between the lines.Really not recommended for anyone who isn’t up for that sort of thing. Yume Nikki is also very hard to beat in a reasonable amount of time without reading a guide.

OFF is excellent generally, though I recommend newcomers play the older version of it, 2.0. Because it’s the version that was around when it gained its huge English fanbase and interpretation of the characters (the game is originally in French, so if you’re practicing or fluent in it, give it a go.) Though this version doesn’t allow the player to choose what pronouns they’re referred to as.(it uses “he” for default) OFF also has a fair number of amazing fangames. HOME being the most well known and arguably most fleshed out one. also also.. I’ve been meaning to play Ib and Hylics sometime… maybe i’ll get around to that SOMEtime…. before i perish hopefully

Night In The WoodsThis game is a lot less edgy than the other games in this list.It means a lot to me. It’s a very story-driven game. It is very emotional.Might hit close to home for a lot of people. I would say more but I don’t want to spoil anything about it.

OwlboyThis game is great and has a mute protagonist. (like, actually mute, by design.)It’s a shooter… It’s got gorgeous pixelart. The bosses are fun and there are a fair number of secrets… Really wish there was an official sequel to this one.

ORI and the Blind Forest : Definitive Edition.This game slaps and is fucking amazing visually. Its fun. its a 2d platformer. playing it the first time through literally makes you feel like you’ve been suffocating for your whole life and this game is your first breath of fresh air. or at least that was how it was with me.

Oldschool Runescape (emphasis on Oldschool)I’ve played this game for ages. (I have a quest cape!) but I don’t like the community of the game so much. A lot of homophobia, transphobia, antisemitism… general sexism, and toxicity. you name it.. Though it’s less prevalent nowadays than it used to be. It’s also a game that’s hard but fun to figure out on your own. VERY grindy. Seriously. This game is a hugeee grind. I definitely recommend you play this with a trusted friend. Even better if you both are new to it. Use the Runelite client by the way. It’s just better than the official one.Hmmm.. Well this list is getting a little long and I don’t feel like typing more so I’m just gonna namedrop a whole lot of other games i’ve enjoyed or just heard about and recommend you at least check out… 

be wary the genres are going all over the place here but i’ve listed them from “most violent” to least kinda..Rise of the Tomb Raider (the fact that this game is so inherently violent and is on the top of this list surprises me tbh)Dying LightQuantum BreakSuperhot + Superhot Mind Control Delete (not ‘realistic’ but still violent)Killer is DeadNier / Nier: AutomataAssassin’s Creed (the whole series) Metal Gear Solid V : The Phantom Pain (potential to be VERY nonviolent)Hyper Light DrifterMirrors Edge 1 & 2Cave StoryCupheadINSIDE (and LIMBO)ABZUBraidSlime RancherOneshotA Story About My Uncle-Hall of Shame but i still recc ppl play it: Firewatch

[ganymedesclock]

I’ve been thinking a lot about the game Abzu recently and it is.... really just an absolutely wonderful game that I highly recommend. It’s short, by the same people who did Journey, dialogue-less and you can play through it in a day, easily though there are rewards for poking around.

Things I’ll say in it’s favor:

Overwhelmingly a very tranquil experience. There is a particular level / section that is intentionally a little stressful but not unplayably so. An EXCELLENT game if you like to prod around and explore.

There are a lot of fun little options you have that don’t really serve a gameplay purpose but are adorable. Sing a little song with beeps, do flips, leap out of the water or whoosh around with a trail of excited fish following you, hitch rides on large sea creatures. It’s wonderful.

Visually gorgeous environment rendered in real time, so- kelp sways and fish swim actively reacting to you and your actions and what you do. Predatory fish will even (bloodlessly) snap up prey from time to time and there are stations of the game where you’re encouraged to just sit and watch them go.

Simple, intuitive controls and sleek movement.

Your main playable Diver character has headlights on her helmet that look like kitty ears.

Do you love sharks? Do you wish sharks weren’t demonized? This game is full of sharks that are, like all other sea creatures in the game, not dangerous to you. A Great White appears at several points and appears to menace you once, but has perfectly good reasons for acting the way it does and is framed as ultimately not just sympathetic, but in an incredibly heroic light.

It has a fantastic sound track.

This is a screenshot, and not from a cutscene, either:

The only caveats I’d put forth is animal death (aforementioned predatory fish eating, though basically all you see is them move suddenly and snap their jaws and the slain animal dissolves in white sparkles, as well as one other scene which is still bloodless but does have a body) and the first appearance of the Great White can be a mild jumpscare (if you want an advance warning, it’s early in the game, when you arrive at a large drop-off, and one of your drones swims ahead of you and turns back- the shark will appear and crunch the drone in its teeth before swimming off)

TL;DR please play Abzu or watch a playthrough of it I love this game.

[maniactypewriter]

The backlog, week 3 [day late and a dollar short edition]

Sorry this one is so late. I decided to play through the entirety of the last game in this week’s pool. So sorry for the minor delay. I don’t have anything really to mention in this opening paragraph… Bloodstained ritual of the night looks good….

Absolute Drift playtime: 30 min

I was half tempted to just link the tokyo drift or initial D soundtracks. But I knew that would be a cop out. And I am not that much of a hack yet. The basic premise of this game is DEJA VU I SWEAR I'VE BEEN IN THIS PLACE BEFORE.  Ahem sorry. The whole thing of this game is drifting. You have to drift to win. The better you drift the more points you get. I had trouble wrapping my febil mind around how to drift in this game. Im sure if I practiced enough I would get good enough to get good scores. But for my short time with the game I ended up crashing a lot and spinning out a lot more. It is a fun game if you understand how to drift, but i just could not figure it out. Bumping into walls and spiraling out of control was just not fun for me. Play it if you like racing games. 7.8/10 not enough eurobeat /s

Absolver play time: 1 ½ hours.

To put it simply, Absolver is dark souls, but if it was a fighting game. You wander around a big open ish map and get into fights with random mobs, collect loot, level up, and occasionally get the [poop] beaten out of you by randos on the internet. There are a few differences in Absolver though. The aforementioned randos are always there in the world, no summoning or invasions required. Teamwork is also recommended. Some of the mini bosses are much easier if you have someone there to help with the beat downs. And if one of you bite it, you have 60 seconds for your fight friend to revive you. There is a dearth of options for fighting. Downside, is that you have to learn new moves by dodging them. So learning new moves is slow and not an exact thing. The art style is simplistic yet beautiful. A phrase you'll read me saying a lot this week. The soundtrack is low key, in that I don't remember having an opinion on it. This game is a lot deeper than my time with it has shown. If you're looking for a different flavor of Souls, Absolver might be up your alley.

ABZU: play time 40 min

Don't play this game if you are afraid of sharks or the ocean. For all of us non Galeophobes, abzu is an amazingly beautiful game. Most of the discussion about the game is around just how gosh darn pretty this game is. The game is set entirely underwater. I don't quite know what the story is all about, but i know you have to travel from place to place revitalizing shrines and small areas of the sea. And maybe try to close an all consuming black hole? I don't know. What i do know that this game is drop dead gorgeous. The oceanic environments are stunningly colorful and vibrant, with many different kinds of fish swimming about and doing their fishy business. There are even shark statues you can sit on and  just watch fish. The calming soundtrack only enhances the mellow tone that the game is trying to set. Abzu is a chill out game. A game you can put on after a hard day at work and just swim around and enjoy looking at the pretty fish.

Oh,  and uhh… it controls alright too.

AER: Memories of Old. playtime 1 ½ hour.

so … I found a crab rave in this game. I got an achievement for it. I thought that was funny. But that's not important. Half of this game is amazing. In this game you play as a lady who can turn into a bird. You are on a pilgrimage to the three shrines to fight the void or whatever. Like Abzu before it, this game delivers on movement that feels great and satisfying. One of the coolest things to do is to fly really fast and then turn back into a human and glide down to your destination. You fly around a bunch of floating islands, most of which contain some bit of this game’s deep (but sort of boring) lore, and impressive ancient structures… or crabs. However, while the flight is fun, there does come a point where you have to land and enter a temple. In the temples and caves of the world, you can't turn into a bird. If you could that would break a few puzzles. So you're stuck walking around, at a pace that feels fast but is just slow enough to be annoying, solving puzzles and looking a ghosts with your magic lantern. These temple parts bored me. Their only saving grace was the fact that they looked great. This game does the low poly art style nicely. Between the gorgeous visuals and the satisfying flight, this game could use a sequel where there is more flight and more to do in the temples than just walking around.  

Agatha Christie - The ABC Murders play time 5 hours

This is the game that caused this week’s reviews to be late. This game is based off of the book of the same name, penned by the prolific mystery novelist Agatha Christie. You play as inspector Poirot. A detective with a brilliant mind, a silly accent, and a beautiful mustache. It is your duty to investigate a trio of strange murders perpetrated by the elusive ABC. the game play is your standard point and click adventure game affair. You meander about a space, clicking on things, talking to people, and solving puzzles. The latter two are the most dominant of the mechanics. You must thoroughly examine your surroundings, carefully interrogate witnesses and suspects, and rifle through everyone’s personal belongings.  That last part is tricky though, as it seems the new fad in 1930’s England is to have most important objects in your home be obtuse puzzles. The writing is great, as it should be considering this game was originally a book. The graphics are a bit simple, but they get the point across. The game’s story had me hooked and i just wanted to finish it all in one night. Which wasn't hard as it not a long game. However, im sure I missed some things. Special interaction I could have taken to gain more points. (one of the minor actions you can perform is clicking on a mirror to fix Poirot’s Exquisite mustache). The game showers you in achievements for every little bit of story progression, and I don't understand how I earned a fourth of the ones I did. Overall, I enjoyed my time with this game. Now i want a murder on the orient express game. Not bad for the people who made Garfield kart.

[fckingowlnerd]

Anybody want a relaxing game recommendation?

I nominate Abzû.

Beautiful graphics

Amazing music

Awesome wholesome story line

Your character can't die (you don't have to worry if that sort of thing causes you stress)

It's more exploration based with some puzzles that keep it interesting

When you meditate, you get to see the fish and sea creatures up close and it'll tell you their names on the bottom right of the screen and it'll save the mediation area so you can revisit it when you finish the game

All of the animals are based off of real species

Harmony and healing are main themes (along with nature reconquering what it lost to technology)

*spoiler* You only have one type of enemy and, No, it doesn't sneak up behind you or chase you (if creature enemies give you anxiety don't worry)

They might give you a bit of a shock at first though (They're

They're the only things that can hurt you

It's set in a fantasy ocean (again the one type of enemy you have is the only thing that can hurt your character which also means you can't drown)

There's no time limits on it

It only takes about 5-6 hours to play (this could've been mostly because I liked to stop and meditate/ search for the meditation places and/or other things/ just looking at the scenery, and my controller is kinda iffy sometimes)

It's a good combination of nature, tech, and magic

Several of the thirteen people who worked on it (yes 13, according to Wikipedia) also worked on 'Journey' (another great game)

I feel the need to stress this AMAZING GRAPHICS & ANIMATION

It's name means "ocean of wisdom" and is a combination of 2 spellings "abzu"(Sumerian) and "apsù"(Akkadian) which perfectly describes and sets the mood of the game

The DETAILS

This took them three years to make and you can TELL

Have I mentioned it's relaxing?

Anyways, I love this game if you can't tell

[silurisanguine]

Because i never get asked the questions i want to answer i'm gonna answer ALL of these :D

1: Do you try to stay away from walkthroughs?

Normally first playthrough i'll try to play the game as is. Only if i get very stuck do i consult a walkthrough or guide. Second playthrough if i liked a game then yeah because i know i've missed things.

2: Company you’re always loyal to? Bethesda. Played pretty every game they've made either themselves or through their partners like Arkane Studios.

3: Best game you’ve ever played? Ooh tricky, but i'd have to say Dishonored. That game is near flawless.

4: Worst game you’ve ever played? Agony. I had high hopes for such a visual horror, but it was terrible. A close second would be Kholat. Such a great premise but terrible execution.

5: A popular series/game you just can’t get into no matter how much you try? Final Fantasy, in fact pretty much any JRPG.

6: A game that’s changed you the most? Cant pick one as every one of my favourite games have left their mark on me. I suppose Dishonored, Infamous and Deus Ex as they rekindled my love of painting, a hobby i had not done for years.

7: A game you’ll never forget? Primal. An old Ps2 game. The first game i played after Tomb Raider that had a kick ass female lead character who happened to be voiced by an awesome actress, Hudson Leick, who was Callisto in Xena. Now that's a game that should be remastered or remade, using same recorded voices as sadly the other amazing actor in the game, Andreas Katsulas, passed away.

8: Best soundtrack? Oh hell, there are SO many but let me list a few - God of War, Dragon Age Inquisition, Deus Ex Human Revolution and Mankind Divided, all Assassin's Creed OST, Skyrim, Dishonored and Dishonored 2.

9: A game you turn your volume off every time you play it? None, because why? if a game has such a bad sound, it isnt a good game.

10: A game you’ve completely given up on? There have been a couple i simply couldn't play due to my disability. Metro Last Light had a terrible interface, Hellblade's quicktime even on easy i couldn't cope with. Aragami's camera and interface were horrible.

11: Hardest game you’ve played? I play games for the enjoyment. I dont see the point in playing 'uber hard' games like the soulsborne type ones. That's not to say i dont enjoy playing the hardest difficulties on my favourite games, i just cant be bothered with the ones that punish you constantly. So the hardest for me would be the Assassin's Creed games as they have one set difficulty and early on can be a pain.

12: Shortest time you’ve beaten a game in? Infamous Second Son i finished in 2 days. It was a short game compared to it's predecessors. But i've since replayed it many many times.

13: A game you were the most excited for when it wasn’t released yet? Mass Effect Andromeda. And i wasn't disappointed before anyone asks. I love the story, characters and gameplay. I just wish there was more of it!

14: A game you think would be cool if it had voice acting? I play very few non VA based games, so cant say. But the few i have are perfect as they are, like Little Nightmares, Abzu and Journey work without VAs and i think would be spoilt with.

15: Which two games do you think would make an awesome crossover? Considering i'm writing a Deus Ex /Assassin's Creed cross over fic, their two universes work so well together it would be amazing to see them together. I think an Assassin in a Deus Ex game, rather than a AC game set in the Deus Ex era.

16: Character you’ve hated most? From what game? ...Hmm Hate is a strong word. Perhaps more disliked alot- Vivienne from Dragon Age Inquisition. Kaidan from Mass Effect, Alistair from Dragon Age Origins.

17: What game do you never tell people you play? None. I have nothing to hide. I play Fallout76!

18: A game you wish your friends knew about? Most of my friends know about the games i play but i always recommend - Prey, Vampyr, Thief (2014), Abzu, Soma, Layers of Fear and Observer.

19: Which game do you think deserves a revival? As stated above Primal. It had such a great premise. But i'd also love to see Thief carry on from the 2014 reboot and of course the next Deus Ex please!

20: What was the first video game you ever played? Now i'm showing my age here! The Amstrad version of Donkey Kong on my brother's pc.

21: How old were you when you first played a video game? Ummm, 10 i think?

22: If you could immerse yourself in any game for one day, which game would it be? What would you do? As in play a game? I do that most days! If you mean immerse yourself in a game world, then it would probably be the Infamous universe, post Delsin, hoping i was a conduit of some kind :)

23: Biggest disappointment you’ve had in gaming? The end to Mass Effect 3.

24: Casual, Hardcore, or in the middle? I play video games pretty much every day but i play for the story and the enjoyment. I prefer single player games over multiplayers, but i'm an avid game memorablia collector and avid game cosplayer, so i guess you could say hard middle.

25: Be honest; have you ever used cheats (like ActionReplay or Gameshark)? No. I never knew about them honestly.

26: Handheld or console? Console.

27: Has there ever been a moment that has made you cry? TOO MANY TO MENTION - One that had me blubbing like a baby was at the end of God of War when they release the mother's ashes. Holy shit with that score, it was so emotional. Mass Effect3 - Mordin's Death. Thane's death. Every time in an Assassin's Creed game when the protag loses a loved one. Yeah i get invested in the game stories alot.

28: Which character’s clothes do you wish you owned the most? ADAM JENSEN'S COATS.

29: Which is more important, gameplay or story? Story with good gameplay over great gameplay with no story.

30: A game that hasn’t been localized in your country that you think should be localized? None that i can think of. Maybe Hellgate London brought back to Western audiences.

RIPS SHIRT OFF TALK TO ME ABOUT VIDEO GAMES

1: Do you try to stay away from walkthroughs?

2: Company you’re always loyal to?

3: Best game you’ve ever played?

4: Worst game you’ve ever played?

5: A popular series/game you just can’t get into no matter how much you try?

6: A game that’s changed you the most?

7: A game you’ll never forget?

8: Best soundtrack?

9: A game you turn your volume off every time you play it?

10: A game you’ve completely given up on?

11: Hardest game you’ve played?

12: Shortest time you’ve beaten a game in?

13: A game you were the most excited for when it wasn’t released yet?

14: A game you think would be cool if it had voice acting?

15: Which two games do you think would make an awesome crossover?

16: Character you’ve hated most? From what game?

17: What game do you never tell people you play?

18: A game you wish your friends knew about?

19: Which game do you think deserves a revival?

20: What was the first video game you ever played?

21: How old were you when you first played a video game?

22: If you could immerse yourself in any game for one day, which game would it be? What would you do?

23: Biggest disappointment you’ve had in gaming?

24: Casual, Hardcore, or in the middle?

25: Be honest; have you ever used cheats (like ActionReplay or Gameshark)?

26: Handheld or console?

27: Has there ever been a moment that has made you cry?

28: Which character’s clothes do you wish you owned the most?

29: Which is more important, gameplay or story?

30: A game that hasn’t been localized in your country that you think should be localized?

[booksandtea]

Video Game Recommendations| #Blogoween So I wanted to do a post on horror games to fit into blogoween but I realised I haven’t really played that many. Or at least many that people may think of when thinking of horror games.

You have the big names; the Amnesia series and Slender: The Eight Pages games that shot pewdiepie (one | two) into the spotlight and which for me at least are when horor games became more popular. I tried both of the games named but neither really did anything for me.

Much later we see the rise of the Five Nights at Freddy’s series which I also tried at the height of its hype and wasn’t fond of.

It wasn’t a case that any of these games were too scary to play, they just didn’t offer enough for me to get invested in them. If I were to return to any of these games it would be Amnesia as its a lot more story focused.

But fear not. Or do fear! I do have a small list of games that I can recommend in the horror genre, or at least have horror elements to them.

RESIDENT EVIL 5 (2009): “The Umbrella Corporation and its crop of lethal viruses have been destroyed and contained. But a new, more dangerous threat has emerged. Years after surviving the events in Raccoon City, Chris Redfield has been fighting the scourge of bio-organic weapons all over the world. Now a member of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA), Chris is sent to Africa to investigate a biological agent that is transforming the populace into aggressive and disturbing creatures. Joined by another local BSAA agent, Sheva Alomar, the two must work together to solve the truth behind the disturbing turn of events.”

I probably played this back in 2009 or 2010 on the XBOX and its actually the only Resident Evil game that I’ve completed all the way through. I actually really enjoyed this game and at the time the hardest thing I found was keeping an eye on my health.

Lots of zombie fun which means its kinda gorey! But yay to weird mutations.

RUSTY LAKE HOTEL (2016): “Welcome our guests to the Rusty Lake Hotel and make sure they will have a pleasant stay. There will be 5 dinners this week. Make sure every dinner is worth dying for!

Rusty Lake Hotel a unique puzzle-escape game with a surreal, strange setting inspired by David Lynch’s TV series Twin Peaks.”

I love the Rusty Lake series, I’ve only played Hotel but I do also own Roots. Both of these I’ve seen Dodger play through but Hotel is probably my favourite of the two.

In RLH you have 5 guests staying and for 5 days you have to procure the ingredients for a meal by doing tasks and puzzles for one of the guest. In the evening everyone sits down and eats a meaty meal that they can rate depending on how many of the ingredients you were able to get. The puzzles can be pretty challenging at times and none of the guests ever seem to care that every evening there is one guest less…

I highly recommend you check out any and all of their games and the best thing is many of them are on mobile and they’re not huge or powerful games so I would imagine most PCs can handle them. I also think the horror in this is tame so if you’re a fan of puzzles they’re definitely worth it, my only complaint is theres no achievements.

YEAR WALK (2014): “In the old days man tried to catch a glimpse of the future in the strangest of ways.

Experience the ancient Swedish phenomena of year walking through a different kind of first person adventure that blurs the line between two and three dimensions, as well as reality and the supernatural.

Venture out into the dark woods where strange creatures roam, on a vision quest set in 19th century Sweden. Solve and decipher cryptic puzzles, listen for clues, and learn about mysterious folklore creatures in the built-in encyclopedia as you seek to foresee your future and find out if your loved one will ever love you back.

Mysteries and clues await everywhere in Year Walk, but to fully understand the events that took place on that cold New Year’s Eve, you will have to delve deeper than the adventure and lose yourself between fact and fiction.”

I’ve also completed Year Walk and I really enjoyed it, the art itself is super cool and at times very pretty. The story itself is rather sad too but you learn a lot about this Swedish phenomena.

This game does have achievements which is great but I will say it can be tricky to navigate to each area so if you can have the map pulled up elsewhere that makes it easier – also will help you get an achievement.

This is definitely a fairly straight forward game to play but it is on the spookier side of things, both story wise and because there is a jump scare or two. I know at least one of them can be avoided.

LAYERS OF FEAR (2016): “You take another drink as the canvas looms in front of you. A light flickers dimly in the corner. You’ve created countless pieces of art, but never anything like…this. Why haven’t you done this before? It seems so obvious in retrospect. Your friends, critics, business partners—soon, they’ll all see. But something’s still missing…

You look up, startled. That melody… Was that a piano? It sounded just like her… But, no—that would be impossible. She’s gone. They’re all gone. Have to focus. How long has it taken to get to this point? Too long, but it doesn’t matter. There will be no more distractions. It’s almost finished. You can feel it. Your creation. Your Magnum Opus.

Dare you help paint a true Masterpiece of Fear? Layers of Fear is a first-person psychedelic horror game with a heavy focus on story and exploration. Delve deep into the mind of an insane painter and discover the secret of his madness, as you walk through a vast and constantly changing Victorian-era mansion. Uncover the visions, fears and horrors that entwine the painter and finish the masterpiece he has strived so long to create.” I picked up Layers of Fear the other month when … humble bundle? was offering it for free. I figured why not! I dont play many horrors and this seemed interesting.

So far its mostly a walking simulator where you explore a mansion that evolves over time. Its very atmospheric and creepy, theres no real guidance as to what time line you’re in but you slowly get to know more about the people who live here. I’m very excited to see where the story goes.

As I’ve not finished this game yet I can’t fully say how scary it is but the bit I’ve played there are definitely the odd jump scare here and there and overall a very eerie vibe.

ABZU (2016): “Immerse yourself in a vibrant ocean world full of mystery and bursting with color and life. Perform fluid acrobatics as the Diver using graceful swimming controls. Discover hundreds of unique species based on real creatures and form a powerful connection with the abundant sea life. Interact with schools of thousands of fish that procedurally respond to you, each other, and predators. Linger in epic seascapes and explore aquatic ecosystems modeled with unprecedented detail. Descend into the heart of the ocean where ancient secrets lie forgotten. But beware, dangers lurk in the depths. “ABZÛ” is from the oldest mythologies; AB, meaning water, and ZÛ, meaning to know. ABZÛ is the ocean of wisdom.” Okay, so technically Abuz isn’t a horror game. For the most part its very pretty and tranquil, but there is a part full of exploding bombs whic is a bit tense. Additionally the full story of Abzu is one of horror and warning as at its core its a commentary on how we’re destroying worlds and pollution.

Rather than going into full depth on its story you can read up on it here as I think its a very important and powerful game. Plus if you don’t like being underwater then this might have a layer of fear for you!

And thats that for horror video games I think you should play. Of course honorable mention to Until Dawn but with that being a PS4 exclusive its a lot harder for people to play – instead try watching a playthrough of this game on YouTube perhaps? This has a lot of gore, jump scares, and Josh is my favourite character in that game as realistically we all need to protect him.

Please note: all images were taken from their own Steam store pages.

Have you seen played any of these games? Are there any games that you’d recommend?

If you enjoyed this post consider supporting Northern Plunder Ko-fi | Twitter | Book Club | RedBubble

5 Horror #VideoGames You Should Play | #Blogoween Video Game Recommendations| #Blogoween So I wanted to do a post on horror games to fit into blogoween but I realised I haven't really played that many.

[ryanwkelso-blog]

Abzu

Recently I played a game called Abzu. The game was Developed by Giant Squid Studios and published by 505 Games. It was released for PS4 and Microsoft windows on August 2nd, 2016 and for Xbox One on December 6th, 2016.

I believe Abzu is a noteworthy game first and foremost because of its stunning visuals. Every part of the game is beautiful in its own way and there is always something new to look at. Other than this the way the narrative is told through the game play and environment detail is amazing although it leaves some ideas of the story for the player to work out. My experience playing Abzu was enjoyable from beginning to end. The game did a great job of splitting up areas with recurrent game loops that made me want to go a little further to get something done. The game also had me wanting to play more just for the fact of seeing more of the scenery.

When Abzu was released the reception for the game was overwhelmingly positive. In its debut week on steam it reached #9 on the platforming tag and was #18 on PS4’s best-selling titles chart. It also received scores of 7-9 out of 10 from many well known game reviewers like IGN and Game Informer.

The core loop of Abzu is:

Enter Area

Solve Puzzle

Activate Altar

The main mechanics of Abzu are your ping and swimming controls. Your ping is a small signal you can send out that activates certain objects and drones in the world. The controls are a bit different for Abzu than other games I have played. The controls include basic camera and movement, the ping button, boost button, dive/swim button, meditate button (Which can only be used in certain places) and the Ride button which allows you to hold onto sea creatures and swim with them. Although these controls are simple sometimes the movement can get frustrating.

So far Abzu hasn't clearly influenced any other games due to the fact it is only two years old. Although Abzu does take influence from other games that came before it like Journey. The developers also clearly got a lot of inspiration from the ocean and its nature.

The main community for Abzu exists on the discussion pages dedicated to it on Steam and Reddit. Other than these there is many other pages where people talk or write down their thoughts on the game. These places usually discuss the story of the game and what exactly is going on.

Overall I enjoyed the game and would recommend others to take time to sit down and experience for themselves. The main idea I would take away from this game is that you don't need realistic graphics and loads of mechanics to have a great game.

[gaming-grandma]

Steam Sale Recommendations

Here are some of my personal favs from the steam sale! I’ll put them in categories of Up to ~5$, up to 10$, and above 10$

Up to ~5$

Single player Don’t Starve (no add-ons) is currently 3.74! I’d buy at least Reign of Giants expansion, but if you’re on the cheap and want a great survival game, you can’t go wrong here. The rest of the prices are here too, if you so like.

Next, we’ve got Transistor! I threw Abzu in there too because it technically goes over 5 dollars, but it’s a steal at 70% off. I haven’t played transistor, but I’m buying it due to copious amounts of good reviews I’ve heard about it from friends and critics alike. Plus, at that price?! 

Psychonauts, an all time classic, coming in at 99 cents. I played this back on the Xbox, but it’s not just my nostalgia telling you it’s a masterpiece. It’s a no brainer. ehehehehehehe

Portal 1 AND 2 over here for hardly over 2 bucks. Can’t go wrong. Instant classics. Fun times to be had. Do it. Do it for me.

This could probably actually go on forever so let’s get going to the higher numbers

Up to ~10$

Starbound is a classic survival/crafting game, and it’s pretty poor-system friendly from what I’ve heard. It’s only 10 dollars now! i’ve sunk 80 hours into this game, and I don’t even *love* it, I just really like it. So I think you’re getting your money’s worth here.

Hollow Knight, my favorite Indie game of this year, so far, over here at hardly 10 bucks. Get it, you won’t regret it. Best metroidvania in years.

Furi is an incredibly difficult but rewarding Hack-n-slash mixed with a Bullet Hell boss rush type game with incredible aesthetics and utterly amazing soundtrack that is slightly diminished by the crippling difficulty that I really didn’t stress enough. Well, it’s not the hardest game ever, but it’s challenging by modern standards. I’ve died on every boss since the second one. I consider myself decent at video games. take that as you will.

My GOTY last year over here for 10 dollars, get that thing in your library right this moment or so help me

Again, could go on for forever, moving to the last tier 

Above 10$

I’m only about 5 hours into Dead Cells and it’s pretty awesome. It’s under serious construction, but it’s pretty creative and has nice graphics (aside from the cringe-inducing 3d modeling on the zombies that makes me think of all those skeleton memes)

All 3 Bioshock games for 15$. That’s a pretty garsh darn great deal, I’d say. I’ve played all 3 over the years and they’re solid for their genre, I can highly recommend this deal! To find it, just go to any of the pages for the Bioshock games (1, 2, or infinite) and you will find this bundle option below the regular one. 

Two of the better recent RPGs over here! Well, once again, this list could go on for way too long, so I implore you to have a fun time searching the store! Happy sales kids

[grifdail]

Hello Gaaaaamedev!

Since last January, I’ve been compiling list of interesting gamedev resources and sharing them on my old school Facebook groups. I got a lot of positive feedback and they encouraged me to share them publicly. I chose to save the old one on a Google drive (below) and to translate the new one and put them here. Please be aware they may be biased by my personal and professional experience, and by the person I follow. Also, they don’t reflect novelty but rather what I read or watched in the previous week. [french] https://goo.gl/VygY1r

Content I consider “Must watch” is introduced with a ⭐️. 📝 is for an article, 🛠️ is about any kind of tool or asset and 🎞️ for a video.

Let’s go!

📅 EVENT 📅

⭐️ Indiecade Europe was announced officially! It will take place on October 30 and 31 at the CNAM! A few speakers and guests were already introduced. You will also get the opportunity to show your creation at the event’s “Show & Tell”! There’s also an evening event on Monday and discount for students! It’s really a great event and I hope to see a lot of you there! http://indiecade-europe.eu/

⭐️ L’indecadence, the unofficial party will also take place on the 30! The team is currently looking for a game to display! (And if you were already here last years, I’m pretty sure this year will be even better!) https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe3P7Jrv7gdDDrz_3vQF1VXUgHwEYV965HDP6PbGLMkGJOqvQ/viewform

Submission for ALT-CTRL-GDC is open so submit all of your alternative controller game there! http://www.gdconf.com/news/alt-ctrl-gdc-needs-your-unique-alternative-controller-games-2/

🎮 GAME DESIGN 🎮

The simplicity of Heat Signature character generators and how it allows for great stories. (The video makes it sound simple but the game is really great!) 🎞️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-3xJ86zNaQ

⭐️ [French] Climbing (in game), as seen by Geraud! 🎞️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlZOOIIdKNw

Our tendency to kill the creator of the world we’re exploring in games. 📝 https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/09/19/death-of-creators-dishonored-portal-bioshock/

[French] A small analysis of Idle Games. 📝 https://www.chroniquesvideoludiques.com/asmr-capitalisme-cas-idle-game/

A detailed comparison of Metroid 2, AM2R and Samus Returns by GameMakerToolkit 🎞️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WkEoYvlUF0

A long overview of Turn based battle system in JRPG 📝 https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/FelipePepe/20170922/305783/The_Art_of_TurnBased_RPGs_I_Menubased_battles.php

The RunJumpDev collective uploaded Vector 2017 talk to YouTube, including this one, by Aleissia Laidacker, about creating and using gameplay system. 🎞️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpvOM64sfj0 Or this one where C418 (Minecraft’s Sound and music designer) give us some tips on how to use music in games (Even through the quality of the recording is not that great). 🎞️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfdoiI95VEw

⭐️ A long postmortem of he Binding of Isaac 📝 https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/182380/postmortem_mcmillen_and_himsls_.php And another, of Crash Bandicoot 📝 http://all-things-andy-gavin.com/2011/02/02/making-crash-bandicoot-part-1/

⭐️ Kate Gray talk about local multiplayer game and a few ideas to make them even more special! 🎞️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaAlDvToGB8

Some classic idea to improve a plateformer’s game feel. 📝 https://www.patreon.com/posts/gamemaker-tips-14531948

🎨 TECH ART 🎨

How to write a triplane mapping shader. 📝 https://gamedevelopment.tutsplus.com/articles/use-tri-planar-texture-mapping-for-better-terrain--gamedev-13821

A short overview of a rendering pipeline for artists. It also talks a bit about optimizations. 📝 https://jesshiderue4.wordpress.com/real-time-rendering-an-overview-for-artists/

Matt Nava explain some of the technique used by Giant Squid Studio to make Abzu look amazing. (The portal Card thing is genius!) 🎞️ https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1024409/Creating-the-Art-of-ABZU ⭐️ And the same thing for Firewatch by Jane Ng of Campo Santo 🎞️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTqmk1Zs_1I&feature=youtu.be

⭐️ A Talk by Simon Trümpler where he shares four clever solutions that use textures map. For instance, to animate smoke, rain or liquids. 🎞️ https://simonschreibt.de/gat/cool-stuff-with-textures/

In Tomb Raider, tree shadows are actually textures. 📝 https://kosmonautblog.wordpress.com/2014/03/04/tomb-raider-static-shadows-trick/

A recreation of some of the rendering technique used on Link in WindWaker 📝 https://medium.com/@gordonnl/links-expressions-eb7beae2c62c

A lot of optimization tips used by ActiveTheory in their 3D rendering of hogwarts for Pottermore. 📝 https://medium.com/@activetheory/hogwarts-a66678d66283

⭐️ This article explains exactly what happens when Doom render a frame. 📝 http://www.adriancourreges.com/blog/2016/09/09/doom-2016-graphics-study/

Short explanation of multiple ToneMapping formula. 📝 http://filmicworlds.com/blog/filmic-tonemapping-operators/

🎨 ART 🎨

Jonathan Van Immerzeel’s tips on how to create Stylized environments with unity. 📝 https://80.lv/articles/unity-shaders-for-stylized-scenes/

How Ikenfell find its art style 📝 https://medium.com/@ChevyRay/the-art-visual-language-of-ikenfell-16739c8459d4

⭐️ Inktober already started but it’s the perfect opportunity to get better by creating a drawing every day for one month! 📝 http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober

Some people recommended me these two YouTube channel that explores video game landscapes! Maybe it can inspire some of us? Example with Toussain in The witcher 3 🎞️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrgtfkJNFvo&t=1s and Volskaya Industries in Overwatch 🎞️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8gUkbXxczQ

Studio MDHR animation process on Cuphead! 🎞️ http://gdcvault.com/play/1024315/Animation-Bootcamp-Cuphead-Process-and

⭐️ A short guide to typography 📝 http://pierrickcalvez.com/journal/a-five-minutes-guide-to-better-typography

⭐️ How Firewatch art style came to be and how the team at Campo Santo managed to go from concept art to a full game! 🎞️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYnS3kKTcGg&feature=youtu.be

⌨️ PROGRAMMING ⌨️

The story of a Guitar Hero bug solved ten years later! 🎞️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9U5wK_boYM&feature=youtu.be

A great overview by Kate Compton of some procedural generation techniques. (If you’re interested also check out her GDC2017 talk ) 📝 http://galaxykate0.tumblr.com/post/139774965871/so-you-want-to-build-a-generator

Why did RockMilkGame chose to use Godot Engine! 📝 https://medium.com/@rockmilkgames/why-godot-engine-e0d4736d6eb0

⭐️ How does lighting work in the 2D Plateformer Celeste 📝 https://medium.com/@NoelFB/remaking-celestes-lighting-3478d6f10bf

A few experimentation with animated Procedural mesh. 📝 http://yankooliveira.com/index.php/2016/04/03/poor-mans-sky-experiments-with-procedural/

A small script that allows you to start coroutines inside the unity editor. 🛠️ https://gist.github.com/LotteMakesStuff/16b5f2fc108f9a0201950c797d53cfbf

Two very simple skybox shader examples. 🛠️ https://github.com/keijiro/UnitySkyboxShaders

💰 MARKETING 💰

How to announce a game in 2017 📝 http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2017-09-12-how-to-announce-a-video-game-in-2017

Dannette Betty’s advice on how to do self-promotion. 📝 http://www.danettebeatty.com/my-process/2017/9/13/self-promotion-3-

⭐️ And some tips on how to improve your content for twitter! 📝 https://www.polygon-treehouse.com/blog/2017/9/25/indiedev-eyecandy

🤔 MISC 🤔

Why is constraints good for creativity? 📝 http://pierrickcalvez.com/journal/how-restraint-will-fuel-your-creativity

Eeve Somepx is creating some amazing pixel font! 🛠️ ️https://somepx.itch.io/pixel-fonts 🛠️ https://somepx.itch.io/more-fonts 🛠️ https://somepx.itch.io/from-patreon-vol-1 🛠️ https://www.patreon.com/somepx

The first part of Noclip's documentary about CD Projekt and the Witcher. 🎞️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNZkTk5gLuo

Why are gamer not always happy about knowing how video games works! 📝 http://www.rollingstone.com/glixel/features/game-creation-magic-w503332

An archive of thousand video game maps, sorted by Console 🛠️ http://www.vgmaps.com/Atlas/

Keep being awesome! ❤️ 💛 💚 💙 💜 🖤

https://twitter.com/grifdail