#I like to play turn based rpgs and puzzle games on it

[paladincecil]

I keep thinking about buying a steam deck. I always get to the purchase page then back out because I'm just not sure how much use I'd get out of it.

Maybe if the oled goes on sale at a good time I'll finally go for it. Though the next sale is likely to be when I'm saving to make christmas easier on my wallet xD

[bobcat-pie]

yes i know everything about this game. no i haven't played it.

[thydungeongal]

Anyway ultimately when it comes to trying to define the act of roleplaying ultimately I've decided on such a circular definition (to me, in the context of a roleplaying game, roleplaying is the act of playing a roleplaying game) because it's satisfactory to me and ultimately who cares. Splitting hairs about which action is and isn't roleplaying (is engaging with the rules roleplaying? Sure! Is making goblin noises roleplaying? Absolutely! Is solving the GM's physics puzzle via interfacing both with the mechanics and the fiction roleplaying? Hell yeah!) isn't satisfying to me and ultimately I feel it just leads to people turning personal preferences into value judgements.

But also like the whole idea of judging people for not roleplaying to a satisfactory standard to you is often the domain of tiresome killjoys. Who cares that Steve is here to just roll dice because he wants his character Bob to do cool shit and isn't interested in interrogating Bob's internal life? His fun doesn't have to come at the cost of anyone else's fun provided there is a broad understanding across the table as to what everyone wants out of the game.

Now what I do think is useful, in the domain of tabletop RPG writing, is defining what roleplaying means to you in your specific game, but even then I feel it's better to frame through positives rather than negatives or opposites. And this is because the medium of RPGs is so broad that the act of roleplaying in a romantic drama like Monsterhearts is going to look very different from roleplaying in a dungeon crawler to the point where they're going to be unrecognizable as being "the same" activity.

Also I think everyone should try out both a challenge-based dungeon crawl and a game of Monsterhearts, it would do all of you good

[theresattrpgforthat]

THEME: Kaiju Games

@ospreyonthemoon I see your need and I answer! There's a lot of really neat Kaiju games out there.

Kaiju Klash, by NeonRot.

Kaiju Klash is a GM'less rules light game where 2-4 kaiju battle it out in a fight for might to become top dog of the city. In the centre of the city is the Capitol Building, a huge spire that the kaiju scramble up as they slash at each other with tooth and claw.

For Kaiju Klash all you need is a D20, a D6 and a falling block game like Jenga.

Make a Kaiju and battle it out in this Gm-less strategy game. Kaiju Klash includes various Kaiju types with respective skills, and incorporates the city as more than just scenery - it’s a vital battle strategy!

On any given turn, instead of choosing to attack, your Kaiju can grab onto nearby buildings for bonuses that help your next attack. However, you’re in the middle of a fight, so you have to roll randomly for the building that you grab, and the building type will have special details that inform what happens next.

I don't know what the Jenga Tower is used for exactly, but the fact that this game uses one definitely makes it more exciting for me.

Overall, the game gives me King of Tokyo vibes, so if you like smashing through a city in a big ol’ brawl, you might like Kaiju Klash.

Caltrop Kaiju, by Button Kin Games.

A gigantic, rampaging kaiju (giant monster) has shown up in your home town and is destroying everything! You must head out to observe the kaiju to find its weakness, then pass on what you know to the military at their secret base so they can defeat this monster  - all while trying not to get eaten!

This is a solo TTRPG which can be played in ten minutes as a tense, tactical puzzle, or in a couple of hours as a journaling/story game.

This one is for the solo gamers! Caltrop Kaiju is about your tiny little character trying to survive a Kaiju attack. The game comes with a grid for you to print off, with special icons to represent specific buildings in the city. You roll 2d5 to determine where the Kaiju moves on every turn, and you’ll try to move through the city before too much of it becomes damaged for you to move through. Special locations will trigger specific effects when they get destroyed, and if you get too close to the Kaiju, you might get injured - or worse, killed.

However, you need to get close to it in order to save the day, as you’re responsible for learning the Kaiju’s weakness and communicating that weakness to people who can stop the monster. Overall, the game can play pretty quickly if you just focus on dice rolls and moving through the map, but the game also comes with instructions on how to turn the game into a journaling experience, which can draw out the story as you reflect on who your character is, why they’re following the Kaiju, and what the city means to them.

Hyperweapon, by Rookie Jet Studio.

Hyperweapon is a rules-light tabletop RPG that combines the excitement of dart blasters with a vibrant and immersive gaming experience created by you and your friends. Set in a world threatened by colossal Kaiju, players take on the roles of skilled Hunters tasked with defending humanity. These Hunters utilize real world dart blasters as their primary weapons in epic battles against these gigantic foes.

Players will embark on a journey through ancient ruins, navigate diverse landscapes, interact with all kinds of people, and ultimately face off against towering Kaiju threats. The game places a strong emphasis on collaborative storytelling and worldbuilding, allowing both players and the Game Master to contribute to the creation of the game's setting, factions, cultures, and lore.

Hyperweapon is unique in how the core of the game revolves around the guns that your characters are using to bring down gigantic Kaiju. You still roll dice to determine damage, but to see whether you hit, you have to actually shoot a foam dart at a target. On top of combat mechanics there’s also locations that change the battlefield: towns have civilians and infrastructure that are endangered by Kaiju but carry shops that the players can purchase goods at. Ruins are more dangerous to visit, containing booby traps, collapsed areas, and Kaiju - but they also hold information that may be useful.

The linked page in the title also has a link to a free Quickstart, in case you want to try before you buy. If you want a high-energy game with a neat resolution system that gives you an excuse to pull out your Nerf gun collection during game night, then you want Hyperweapon.

Dawn of the Daikaiju, by Pinnacle Entertainment.

The world changed in 1953—a radioactive monster rose from Hudson Bay to terrorize New York. Now these “daikaiju” save the world!

In Dawn of the Daikaiju, players take on the roles of giant monsters called kaiju or daikaiju (the terms are used interchangeably and both mean “giant monster”). Though daikaiju range in origin from oversized insects and dinosaurs to bio-engineered alien weapons, they somehow recognize in each other a single species. Even daikaiju from different worlds work together in packs.

Savage Worlds uses different dice sizes to represent competence, and much of the character creation process uses a point-buy system, with guidance on how many points you can spend on certain things. Characters can take on flaws to give them extra points to spend on bonuses, so there’s a balance of embracing weakness in order to boost your strengths.

Savage Worlds also has both the boon and the flaw in that it’s a system meant to cover a lot of genres. You’ll need the SWADE core rulebook in order to use this supplement, but you can also use that rulebook for many other genres. If you already own the core rulebook or know how to play the game, this is a neat option to change the tone of your current game.

The Kaiju Love You, by InnocentGoblin

Walking through the ruined streets of a massive metropolitan city, each footstep crushing another building, the weight of brick and mortar collapsing underfoot. The military prepares for battle, tanks and helicopters opening fire at the behemoth.

The florists come out to see the commotion only to see a massive foot crash down in front of them, believing their end has come they cover their eyes only to find that they are safe. The Kaiju leans down, gently drops a coin that is tiny in its massive claws, in return it takes a large bouquet. It sniffs the flowers with delight and starts walking back. 

The Kaiju has a date tonight, and it has to be perfect.

A neat twist on the Kaiju genre, this is a game not just about being a Kaiju who is fighting other Kaiju, but also being a Kaiju who is falling in love with the city they are trying to protect. Your character will be balancing between big disastrous fights against other monsters, and finding ways to romance the people of their city. The more people who love you back, the stronger you are in combat; but the more that they adore you, the harder you have to work to maintain that relationship.

Thematically, I think this is a really neat concept. Character creation feels rather simple; you have only 2 stats, which are represented by numbers that are opposite from each-other on a d8. You want to typically roll at or over your personal number, so your Kaiju will probably be better at either fighting or falling in love. Altogether, it’s a really unique take on the genre, and I think that merits checking this game out more than anything else.

Giant of Light, by RudoJudo.

Giant action in the style of Ultraman! Investigate strange goings-on, uncover mysterious aliens and ancient powers, then do battle as either a Giant Hero or Kaiju!

Giant of Light is a TTRPG for 2-6 players that can be single sessions or long campaigns. This is the first edition of the game, which uses custom-built systems to allow play at both human and giant size.  

Giant of Light is designed to replicate Ultraman, so you can play a Kaiju, but you can also play a giant hero. Your characters are meant to be protectors of your city, fighting against other supers-sized threats. Your characters have both civilian and giant forms: as civilians, you’ll be investigating the newest threat as regular civilians, and then transform into Heroes or Kaiju in order to fight your foes on an even playing field.

What’s really interesting to me is that a giant Hero and a Kaiju character are somewhat different mechanically; Heroes have an energy pool that powers elemental abilities, while Kaiju have a health bar and special abilities instead. Heroes typically have more energy to spend and can bounce back, but they need to use their energy to fuel their powers. Kaiju don’t have to spend currency to use their abilities, but their health bar makes them more susceptible to falling in battle.

If you want some more info on how the game works, I reviewed Giant of Light a while back on this very blog.

Kaiju Incorporated, by Evil Hat.

Do you have what it takes to face the hazards of mayhem, destruction, biohazardous waste, human resources, minimal career prospects, and really really big footprints?

Jump into the lives of the workers for the world’s biggest multinational Kaiju-conglomerates! Rebuilding the world following giant monster attacks takes a Kaiju-sized work-force. Do you have what it takes to face the hazards of mayhem, destruction, biohazardous waste, human resources, minimal career prospects, and really really big footprints? Find out in Kaiju Incorporated: The Roleplaying Game!

Kaiju Incorporated is usable for both Fate Core and Fate Accelerated, both of which can be found for free on the Fate SRD website. It comes with suggestions for character options and stunts that are unique to the setting, and incorporates a crew structure that the group is balanced and equipped for taking on a giant monster. There’s also GM advice to help you build a Kaiju attack, and lore to help the GM if they don’t want to build the world from scratch.

Overall, Fate is very accessible since you can access the rules for free, and you can use regular d6’s if you don’t have any Fate dice. It’s a stellar system if you value maximum character flexibility, and enjoy coming up with witty turns of phrase rather regularly. If you want a bit of taste for Kaiju Incorporated specifically, there is a lovely episode of Literal Cat Pod that goes through character creation, in which they build Peter the Kaiju Reader!

Kaiju Generator, by The Bardic Inquiry.

What is a Kaiju? To put it simply, Kaiju refers to a genre of film that originated in Japan that featured giant monsters, but it can also refer to the giant monsters themselves.

The actions of these giant monsters are typically devastating to the planet and pose a global threat. This can range from the intentional destruction of infrastructure or the combat between two giant monsters.

This generator will help you to create a Kaiju that you can use in your roleplaying adventures by utilizing 4 1d66 random tables. Can your players survive an encounter with a gigantic monster?

This isn’t really a game; it’s mostly just a monster generator, but it’s very well designed and the quality of the zine makes me excited to play a Kaiju game. I think you could use this for many of the other games on this list, or use it to add a Kaiju to a game of your choice. There’s a number of roll tables for the type of Kaiju, its special ability, its origin, and its goals. As a bonus, there’s also some guidance on creating plot hooks to get your players interested in the Kaiju plot, and creates stakes that keep them invested.

Honorable Mentions

Liminal Colossus, a supplement for Liminal Horror by Mynar Lenahan.

Hey, So… We Accidentally Turned Steve Into a Kaiju and Now He’s Trying to Eat Cleveland, by lazersarus.

I Was Going To A Picnic, But Then A Kaiju Showed Up!, by BitwiseCoyote.

Twenty, by kumada1.

[dreamsandcozygames]

My Favorite Time Loop Games

I've been playing a lot of games involving time loops lately, so I thought I'd recommend some of my favorites!

(The descriptions are from Steam.)

I Was A Teenage Exocolonist:

Spend your teenage years on an alien planet in this narrative RPG with card-based battles. Explore, grow up, and fall in love. The choices you make and skills you master over ten years will determine the course of your life and the survival of your colony.

The Choices You Make, Make You

Growing up in humanity’s first extrasolar space colony means navigating a new world full of wonder, danger, and beauty. Explore the wilderness, study, fall in love, discover strange creatures, and deal with the consequences of your actions. Your choices will directly affect the lives of your friends and the fate of the colony. What kind of world will you help make? Will you survive to enjoy it? Why do you remember doing this before?

Growing Up on an Alien Planet

You have your whole life ahead of you. Will you spend it studying in school, or diving into the intriguing flora and fauna of this new world? Will you introduce space-age technology, or live in harmony with nature? Will you battle massive beasts, or nurture future generations? Realized in brilliant watercolor, the world of Vertumna is yours to explore.

Your Pasts and Your Futures Matter

Everything you learn and experience will make you and your colony stronger. You will thrive and you will make mistakes. These formative moments - your memories, decisions, and friendships - become collectible cards you carry with you. Each season brings new obstacles on Vertumna. The battle cards you earn from your experiences give you new options for overcoming these challenges, whether that is navigating relationships, learning new skills, exploring the planet, or staying alive. Every decision counts, during this life and the next.

How Many Lives Will YOU Live?

The cosmos is full of incredible mysteries, and your ability to remember your past lives is one of them. There are dozens of different endings to your story. How many lives will it take to save both your colony and the planet? Are you ready to wake up again?

Features:

Use memories of past lives to explore 800+ story events.

Discover more than 250 battle cards as you grow up on an alien planet.

Play your best hand in challenge encounters to ace your math test or escape from a wild snapbladder.

Make friends, fight with your parents, go on dates, fall in love, and save the colony.

29 wildly different endings based on the choices you make each month.

Pick from 25 colony jobs, like goofing off as a depot clerk, or surveying the valley.

Grow into 15 skills, including bravery, toughness, organization, and empathy.

Get to know 10 dateable characters, including dog-boys, aliens, hot politicians and stone cold killers.

In Stars and Time:

Live with the ever-present burden of being trapped in a time loop only you can know about in this turn-based RPG. Create a better future for you and your friends. Find hope where there is none left. Pray to the stars and free yourself from time.

What would you do if you were forced to relive your failures over and over again?

In Stars and Time tells the story of Siffrin and their adventurer friends—a found family bound together by fate in order to end the tyrannical reign of an evil king. But as victory is just within the party’s grasp, a tragedy occurs, the clock resets, and they have to do it all again.

As Siffrin’s the only one who notices this loop, each new start wears away at his cheerful veneer, yet he keeps going in hopes he can end this temporal tragedy once and for all.

In Stars and Time is a time-looping RPG adventure. With each loop, Siffrin gains a new perspective on the world around them, opening up new solutions to puzzles and allowing them to make better choices in conversation. Equip memories as armor, pray to the Change God to improve your team’s capabilities each loop, and challenge deadly foes to Rock, Paper, Scissors as Siffrin seeks the truth.

Our Adventurers:

Siffrin (he/they): Stressed, depressed, and under duress. (Don’t worry about it. They’re doing fine.) The punmaster protagonist of our neverending tale.

Mirabelle (she/her): A caring and nervous housemaiden mysteriously blessed by the god she so ardently follows.

Isabeau (he/him): Defender with a heart of gold. Cares dearly for his people and his friends.

Odile (she/her): The mature and nonsensical researcher studying…something. (No, she will not tell you what it is.)

Bonnie (they/them): Wait a minute, who brought this kid along???

Features:

Save the world through the power of Rock, Paper, Scissors in strategic turn-based RPG combat encounters.

Ignore the limits of time and space to fix your past mistakes by repeating the same two days over and over again.

Equip the memories you have of your friends to make your party stronger in combat.

Watch the fate of this world unfold as you escape the twists and turns of this endless(???) loop.

Eat samossas with your friends!

Get heckled by a cheeky ethereal being of infinite starlight.

Pray to a god for good luck in your travels. You’re gonna need it.

Slay the Princess:

You're on a path in the woods, and at the end of that path is a cabin. And in the basement of that cabin is a Princess.

You're here to slay her. If you don't, it will be the end of the world.

She will do everything in her power to stop you. She'll charm, and she'll lie, and she'll promise you the world, and if you let her, she'll kill you a dozen times over. You can't let that happen. Don't forget, the fate of the world rests on your shoulders.

You're not going to listen to him, are you? We're supposed to save princesses, not slay them...

Features:

Fully voice-acted by the impeccable Jonathan Sims and Nichole Goodnight.

Hand-penciled art - every background and sprite is drawn traditionally with pencil and paper by Ignatz-winning graphic novelist Abby Howard.

A princess. She's very bad and you have to get rid of her for all our sakes.

No, the Princess isn't a “cosmic horror,” whatever that is supposed to mean. She's just an ordinary human Princess, and you can definitely slay her as long as you put your mind to it.

Don't even think about trying to romance her. It won't end well for you.

Hopefully you won't die. But if you do, you'll die a lot. Be careful and stay focused on the task at hand!

A branching narrative where what you say and what you believe determines both who you are and how the story unfolds. Though I wouldn’t recommend taking any paths outside of the one I lay before you.

A new roleplaying experience from the creators of Scarlet Hollow.

[wtfgaylittlezooid]

Any steam games [or just games in general] that you reccomend?

Bug Fables is my favorite game of all time. It is a VERY fun turn based RPG heavily inspired by the Paper Mario series, and it has amazing worldbuilding and story. Could not recommend it enough.

Beastieball is a game I have been obsessed with, but keep in mind it is only in early access. Its a creature collector, with a very fun story, and extremely endearing characters and enviroments. You can also go in totally blind! The in-game systems tell you if your beastie can evolve, and it shows you when its close or what you need to do if its a weird evolution method. Despite being in early access, the game feels incredibly polished, and the main things in development seem to the animations for the beasties, but the game tells you how far in development each beastie is. Lena Raine also makes music for it!

In Stars and Time is a singleplayer turn based rpg about timeloops. If you want feel things I highly recommend this game. The gameplay loop is fun and the story is phenomenal. Also will make you cry.

Amber Isle is a fun game I like to play pretty often. It reminds me a lot of Animal Crossing. You can choose your own dinosaur to play as, and you get to run a little shop and help out with a struggling town. The game isn't perfect, but its very enjoyable and the devs are always improving it.

VERY fun and VERY good puzzle story game by Limbolane! Features music from Louie Zong and a story about communication, gods, and butch lesbians. Very short and sweet, only takes a few hours to finish.

While not on Steam, if you want a game like Minecraft but is way more difficult and unforgiving, I'd recommend Vintage Story! Its still in early access, but it has a more realistic approach to the game with a GORGEOUS soundtrack. It is also extremely customizable with game settings!

[whitoknighto]

If Loki played videogames he would play rpgs (mainly turn based ones), strategy games and any game with a lot of puzzles.

He is playing fire emblem on classic mode on the hardest difficulty and has a spreadsheet of all his units.

Loki is the type of person that would stare at the screen for 2 hours to try to solve a puzzle and call this fun (i might be projecting on this one lol).

He ain't looking at walk-throughs.

I feel like he would be the type of person to predict pokemon's rng (100% not projecting, i hate pokemon games).

He is playing 5D Chess with Multiverse Time Travel right now.

[marth-garhengi]

Things I Want From DA: Veilguard That I Know We Won't Get:

These are almost all things DAI did poorly. Though I cannot stress enough that I love ALL the DA games, nothing is perfect...

- Kill Moves

Kill moves in DAO were amazing and there were only like 10. Worst decision by DA2's dev team was not to add them. Who the hell doesn't want to see their characters doing a sweet finishing move to round out a tough fight, in ANY game?? Ragdoll in RPGs sucks and always has, Killmove Supremacy forever (for all classes, not just melee!)

- Companion Tactics

It sucks that Bioware keep deciding to take great RPG elements out of their games and this one is so sorely missed. DAI dropped the ball big time by dumbing down companion tactics. It's a Party based game! I want MORE passive control over my companions, not less!!

- OG Tactical Gameplay

I can understand the thought process behind giving players the option to play tactically OR casually in DAI, but in practice both options are worse than the alternative. Having to switch Tactical on/off in the middle of combat just makes the gameplay more jarring, as opposed to the more accessible Pause Wheel style of the previous titles. It wasn't broken, it didn't need fixing.

- Unlimited Abilities

Another DAI fumble, tying into the previous point. Don't give us 300 ability points and then force us to pick only 8 that we can actively use. RPGs are great BECAUSE of the wide variety of playstyles and abilities you can choose for your characters. Slowly turning them into Gods is part of the fun! It's a reward for all the grinding and the early game slog. Much of the joy of obtaining a new skill or power is lost if you're forced to sacrifice another ability to use it, AND means you're wasting points when levelling. TL;DR for this and previous point: Combat wheel good.

- Manual Attributes

Another gripe I had with DAI that boils down to; Stop taking RPG elements out of your RPG. If the player wants to make a mage with insanely high Constitution, LET THEM. Making attribute points exclusively obtainable via passive abilites was taking a neat idea too far. Sub-point: All armor should be accessible to all classes. Attribute thresholds work.

- Less Collectathon-y

It's Dragon Age, not Banjo Kazooie. Nobody liked trekking through the hissing wastes for all those stupid shards. People realised that video games don't need a bazillion things to collect DECADES ago. Comparitively, the Astrariums were fun and engaging! A few little logic puzzles that unlock a loot cache? Good and fun. Spending hours running around grabbing little rocks in every map to unlock a loot cache? Boring and lazy addition to gameplay. Less of that forever.

- Horse Riding that doesn't Suck (Or No Horse Riding, period!)

We all played Inquisition. Enough Said.

- Arcane Warrior

Please Bioware I'm begging you to let me be a Mage with a sword again it was so fucking cool please it's all I want forever.

- Oghren

Bring back my Alcoholic Berserker Homie, he was so much fun and I love him and miss him.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

[dandywonderous]

What are your favorite video games? :)

you've activated my trap card

video games are the great love of my life, most of my time is spent playing video games, most of my favorite canons are video games. I think video games have such a unique way of telling stories compared to every other medium, and the huge variety in form that video games can take really gives them massive narrative potential. trying to narrow down to just a few is hard but I'm gonna do it

I was a 90s kid so my first big video game endeavors (besides a particular one but I'll get to it in the end) were unsurprisingly the Pokemon games. I started with Yellow but the ones I played the most were Silver and Sapphire, and Gen 3 is still my favorite even though I've played some of the gens since then. Crystal in particular though always has a place in my heart for introducing the female MC to the games; for most of my childhood, Pokemon and video games on a larger scale were always seen as things for boys (the boys on my playground even made me pass a quiz before they would let me play make believe Pokemon with them, a thing they did not make the other boys do) so Crystal adding the female MC felt like validation that I was welcome here. Representation matters! I remember there was also an old Scooby-doo game for the gameboy color I was obsessed with, and also shoutout to the Barbie horse adventure games lol

Final Fantasy will always have a special place in my heart for being the series that really got me into JRPGs, which has been a lot of what I've played since. FFX in particular, because it was my first, will always be special to me, but I also really enjoyed FFVIII (and I accept no slander) and FFXII, and more recently I loved FFXV (all the criticisms are true but damn it, doomed bachelor party road trip is such a fun time). At this point I've played every mainline FF game at least part way if not all the way to completion (except the MMOs, I don't really play MMOs, I'm a single player girly), and a lot of the spinoffs, especially the Tactics games (Tactics Advance man... what a good game). What most of the Final Fantasy games tend to do really well is the found family trope and that's what gets me about most of them.

More recently the JRPG that's held my heart the longest is Persona 5 (and its various spinoffs). I love these little criminals. They are all my sons and daughters. Royal absolutely perfected the turn based gameplay, I don't think it could have been executed better.

Puzzle games and visual novels are also what I spend a lot of time with. Ghost Trick is a transcendental experience - don't look up anything, just go play it. I promise the less you know the better it is. No one needs me to tell them how good Ace Attorney is but Ace Attorney is amazing; my personal favorite is actually Ace Attorney Apollo Justice, partially because Ema Skye is in it in her best incarnation (shoutout to the one other Ema/Klavier/Apollo shipper and your fanfic that has sustained me). I also loved the Professor Layton games. And I'm into less story driven, more laid back puzzle games like Stitch, which is the game I play whenever I just need to chill for a bit (unless I'm doing sudoku puzzles). Also more recently I thoroughly enjoyed In Stars and Time, which is like a puzzle RPG with an amazing story.

But especially on the narrative games front I looooooove Night in the Woods, one of my favorite video games of all. For one thing, there are not a lot of games or media in general that take place in the real world but in a small, dying rural town, and that setting and the characters' struggles and issues really resonated with me, as someone from a small, dying rural town. Also, Mae is an incredible protagonist, who is a female protagonist who is allowed to be massively flawed and not fit into the normal socially acceptable mold, but still be a hero, learn from her mistakes and get better. Also I'm not kidding when I say that this game's meditations on god, the nature of our existence, and what it means to be alive with other people genuinely changed my life. "When I die, I want it to hurt," is a line that will stick with me for the rest of my life.

I'm also a big fan of the "murder game visual novel" subgenre lol. Buried Stars is great, Dangan Ronpa is great, but 9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors is what will really hold my heart forever. 999 is such a good story, the twists are presented so expertly, and the way it used its original DS format in particular to tell its story is a masterclass in understanding how the unique format of video games can add to the narrative in ways no other medium can capture. Also the puzzles are just FUN, if you enjoy escape rooms you will love this game. The other games in the series are good too even if they kind of suck as sequels. Also why do they go out of their way not to talk about Santa?? JUSTICE FOR MY BOY!

If I were a youtube video essayist I would make a video on 999 that starts with just a twenty minute rant about how the opening sequence of 999 is one of the best in any video game ever. Like, the way it establishes the tone, the perfect pacing of it, the way it gets the player tense right along with the characters... mmmwah!

I also really like tactical RPGs, especially XCOM. It's so fun, but be prepared to die because you will, a lot. It's not a game meant for people who get attached, it will break you lol. Darkest Dungeon is also really fun but the same warning applies.

And I love farming and life sims! I played the old Harvest Moons back in the day, and more recently I've really loved Coral Island. I've also been playing a lot of Disney Dreamlight Valley, which is more like Animal Crossing but still in the cozy games genre. I need to play more of Potions Permit but I've really enjoyed what I've played of that one, if you want a cozy game vibe that isn't all about farming. And also I've been wrapped up in Infinity Nikki lately, which is a gacha game but boy is it fun (I played Love Nikki for a few years after it first came out too).

And speaking of gachas, I've played a lot of those, but the idol raisers/rhythm games are the ones that really stick with me. For a looooooong time it was Love Live School Idol Festival (RIP), but right now it is Project Sekai, a game I love and play every day. For a rhythm gacha game it has a really great story and cast of characters, and I love it a lot. I'm a VBS fan but I also love/pull for Ena and Shiho.

and this doesn't fit in any of the categories but I looooved the SSX series, especially the PS2 era of games. I played so much SSX Tricky and SSX3 and SSX On Tour. (if you're confused, they're snowboarding games lol)

god there's probably so many more that I've forgotten... I really love video games haha. But there's one in particular I wanted to talk about at the end, because this is the TRUE video game of my youth, the one I put about as many hours into as I did Pokemon, the one I played over and over on Playstation until the disc wore out, a game that is honestly very bizarre, both in the circumstances of its existence and in its plot and gameplay.

and that game is Mary-Kate and Ashley's Magical Mystery Mall.

but I'm going to put all that under a cut. Thanks for the ask! This is probably waaaaay longer an answer than you were expecting haha. I JUST. LOVE VIDEO GAMES. RRAAAAH.

OKAY so Mary-Kate and Ashley's Magical Mystery Mall was a game for the PS1 featuring the Olsen Twins (voiced and everything!) It was basically just a collection of minigames with an absolutely batshit framing narrative, being that the girls go to the mall and buy matching friendship necklaces from a mysterious traveling saleswoman (I think they do call her a word you are not supposed to use, because it was the year 2000, so be aware of that if you look it up). The woman tells them that whatever they do, do not put the two halves of the necklaces together, because it's missing some gems and weird things will happen if they do. The girls walk off and immediately dismiss her advice as stupid before putting the two halves together, which instantly freezes the mall and everyone inside in time, except the girls and the saleswoman. She then tells them that if they don't find the gems that are missing from the necklace charms and put it back together, they will be stuck in the mall forever "with no money to buy anything!" (cue NOOOOOOOOOO)

so you have to play minigames to get the charms back.

most of these are pretty normal. there's one where you do a few snowboarding races (it's no SSX but I liked it well enough), there's one where you work the mall food court (this was sort of like diner dash and I loved it), there's one where you put on a fashion show that I also liked a lot. the last two are the most interesting ones.

so one of the minigames was putting together your own music video. you pick from a bunch of dance moves to make the choreo, then you pick a shoot location, then you move the camera around to film the music video while the girls dance to the song. the game had a few preset tracks, but the really fun thing was that you had the option to have the girls dance to your own CDs (by physically switching the game disc for a CD). this meant you could have them do a music video to ANY track, of ANY length. I had them dance to music from 2 B A Master (the Pokemon CD). I had them dance to all of the songs from Aaron Carter's "Aaron's Party (Come Get It)" album (it was the early 2000s!). I had them dance to a 15 minute stand-up recording by Robin Williams just to see if it would let me (it would!). I had a lot of fun with that minigame, excellent design, video game developers take notes.

the last minigame was the weird one

so if you looked at the little booklet the game sent to tell you how to play (remember when games had those??), there was a bit at the back with the pictures of two teen boys, explaining that they had won a contest to appear as characters in the game! but where could these boys be in a game where everyone in the mall is frozen in time?

in the final minigame, that's where! the plot of which sure is something!

so the final minigame is a picture taking minigame where Mary-Kate and Ashley stalk two boys they admit they do not know so they can take pictures of them, to convince all their friends that they're dating these boys.

yes, you are actually stalking them!

at the beginning of the game, which has way more cutscenes involved than the others, you learn that one of the twins (don't remember which one now) has told all their friends that they know and are dating the cute new lifeguards at the beach! of course, they literally don't even know those guys, and now their friends are getting suspicious about the dating claim. so they decide to pose with the boys in the background to give the illusion that they're on a date. the player gets points for how close the boys are in the picture, and how convincingly it looks like they're actually posing and not just walking past.

after the first couple stages where the girls just stand on a street corner and wait for the boys to get close, the boys get wise and start trolling them. keep in mind that this is all voice acted, so you actually hear the boys start to say things like "are those girls following us? why are they taking pictures of us?" this would be a horror game in any other genre but here it's just supposed to be cute and funny.

the boys troll the twins (and you, the player) by hiding behind surfboards and inside large pots, popping out at random and making it harder to get a good picture of them (but also, ironically, making those pictures look more like they're actually on a date, because why else would they be posing like this?). I remember it took me FOREEEEVER to finally beat this minigame.

at the end, the boys come up to the twins and ask them why they're doing this, and the twins confess to the situation. the boys decide to solve the problem by actually going on a date with them. all's well that ends well!

so anyway yeah that's my oral history of Mary-Kate and Ashley's Magical Mystery Mall, a game I put more hours into than almost any other game in my youth (partly because you can play it in one sitting). the 2000s were truly a wild time.

if you read to the end bless your heart

[bluesturngold]

Sub-Genres Included in Each Genre (Below the Cut)

Action includes Platformers, Shooters, Fighting, Beat 'Em Ups, Stealth, Survival, Rhythm, Battle Royale

Action-Adventure includes Survival Horror and Metroidvanias

Adventure includes Text Adventures, Graphic Adventures, Visual Novels, Interactive Movies, FMV Games, Real-Time 3D Adventure Games

Puzzle includes Breakout Clones, Logical Games, Trial-and-Error Games, Exploration Games, Hidden Object Games, Reveal the Picture Games, Tile-Matching Games, Puzzle Platformers

Role-Playing includes Action RPGs, MMORPGs, Roguelikes, Tactical, Sandbox RPGs, First-Person Party-Based RPGs, Monster Tamer Games

Simulation includes Construction and Management Simulation, Life Simulation, Vehicle Simulation

Strategy includes 4X Games, Artillery Games, Auto Battler/Auto Chess, Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) Games, Real-Time Strategy (RTS), Real-Time Tactics (RTT), Tower Defense, Turn-Based Strategy (TBS), Turn-Based Tactics (TBT), Wargames, Grand Strategy Wargames

Sports includes Racing, Competitive Games (i.e. Rocket League), Sports-Based Fighting Games

[I read the sub-genre info but no genre listed here includes my favorite games.] The above sub-genre information does not fully encompass all of the smaller or more niche sub-genres that could reasonably fit into the core genres. I encourage you to think deeply about the gameplay mechanics and artistic influences of the games you enjoy the most to determine if they may be close enough to one of the listed core genres such that you can decide it's representative enough to say your tastes fall in that genre, or fall into two or more of the listed genres. Ultimately, it is up to your own analysis of your preferences to find a core genre you feel adequately encompasses your tastes and decide whether or not you need to click this 'other' option.

(Core Genres and Sub-Genres are lifted from the list of core genres on Wikipedia. If you need additional assistance picking a core genre you feel is your favorite, the hyperlinked Wikipedia article has a lot of good information explaining these sub-genres and what sorts of games fall under them. None of this is my opinion.)

(This post was inspired by a favorite video game genre poll that listed several action, adventure, and RPG sub-genres but omitted mainstay genres like puzzle games, sports games, or strategy games.)

[pumpkinpuffgirls]

What types of videogames would the girls like?? (feel free to include Bliss and Bunny)

We've seen the girls play a few games throughout the TV series. One based on Atari Pitfall, another was a fighting game. We even see the Mayor playing what's essentially Legend of Zelda (OoT or MM) which, fun fact, was due to the release of one of those games eating up the time of the people working on the show (forget which one it was).

Here's a comprehensive list of what, in my opinion, the girls would enjoy:

At baseline, all the girls like fighting games. Especially the beat 'em up type like Super Smash Bros and Street Fighter.

Bubbles loves fun, kid-friendly type RPGs and simulation games. The stereotypical cozy game and games normally associated with being kid-friendly. You know that she would play farming-type games when she got older

Blossom also like RPGs but she will branch beyond turn-based and play tactical rpgs and real-time strategy games. God games also fall into this category She would also accept a puzzle game as an easy time-waster if she didn't finish it super quickly

Buttercup is the only one who tries to get away with playing games above her age rating. This girl wants GTA and Call of Duty. Though she can get toxic-competitive. She should really stick to Mortal Combat or action adventure games where you fight a lot of guys at once like dynasty warriors.

Bunny likes games with animals, so she loves a lot of mascot platformers like Sonic and Banjo Kazooie. She gets lost with collect-a-thons wanting to collect everything and gets upset when she's missing something.

Bliss likes games that give her tasks to do daily and goals to work towards and a place to dress up and organize. She also joins the farming game department, but games like Animal Crossing and Slime Rancher also come to mind. Not exclusively cozy-games, but games that either have a goal-oriented aspect or a "restore the x" kind of mission at their core.

Some of their interests would blend together I'm sure. Though this is what I feel would be each's preferred type of game.

[eccentric-nucleus]

actually if i'm gonna make a games rec post.

here are some games i have enjoyed recent-ish.

kenshi. an open-world squad-based rpg with base-building elements. get stronger by getting beaten up. lose a fight and get knocked out, have your weapons and food taken by the bandits that mugged you and left you bleeding to death. get rescued by some slavers that capture you and sell you into slavery. free yourself from slavery and limp away until you roll in hours later with a whole squad of overpowered fighters. then head a little bit too far south and get murdered by skin bandits. they take your skin. this is a completely self-directed game; there's no "main plot", although arguably "figure out the history of the world" is kind of the main 'story' mystery. there's also a bunch of unique recruitable characters with custom-written interactions. i usually recruit exclusively from freeing slaves but you can do w/e.

wildmender. a survival gardening game. this one came out recently and the devs are still releasing bugfixes; it's unclear if they'll make large content patches in the future. apparently multiplayer can still be pretty glitchy, and there's a water flow bug that i've been finding very frustrating. the way biomes work is kind of unsatisfying. kind of slim content-wise, but still, i really enjoyed what's there. out of all of the climate change terraforming anxiety games i've seen, this has been the one i've most enjoyed.

hellpoint. a scifi soulslike made by a team of like 12 people. previously i had thought things like "it would be neat if dark souls was less linear". hellpoint is a great example of why that might be a nightmare. the areas are connected in such a complex way, with one-way routes and branching unlock keys and secret paths and hidden doors behind hidden doors that it gets profoundly disorienting. a hint: almost every single hidden door in the game (there are a lot) is the middle panel of the same exact three-paneled-wall geometry. once you notice what it is you will see it everywhere. also, the enemy designs are hot.

crystal project. remember playing fan translations of final fantasy v? remember wandering around in old mmos? crystal project is kind of a... turn-based rpg mmo-influenced platformer. with a job system. you can sequence break the game from the tutorial level and also at basically every other point in the game too, although until you know what to look for it might seem like there's a linear critical path. but there's a lot out there. hint: play on easy mode. the combat gets tough later on and the game absolutely expects you to be finding and exploiting some class combinations.

astlibra: revision. a sidescrolling rpg. it must have been released episodically originally or some of the chapter pacing makes no sense. also it was originally released with a mess of art sourced from all sorts of places; 'revision' is a re-release with a more unified art style. it gets extremely anime all the time. there's a whole obligatory section where you have to ask all the women in a town about what kind of panties they're wearing. it's rough. i enjoyed how chaotic the systems are and how much Stuff there is to pick up and upgrade and unlock. the plot goes some unexpected places though it doesn't quite stick the landing, i still enjoyed what it did. also karon should be the love interest instead.

silicon zeroes. a cpu-building puzzle game. this straddles the line between the tech/code games that are literally just "learn a new language and code in it" and ones that are more structure-themed like, idk, spacechem. connect modules to assemble solutions to problems. it takes too long to get to chapter 3, which is where they start asking you to make entire cpus.

ashen. another souls-like. i just really like the environments in this one. the initial area looks gorgeous and the way it changes through the game is really neat to see happen. the seat of the matriarch is wonderfully awful to traverse and i wish there had been two or three more dungeons like it in the game. you can't level up; you gain stats mostly by progressing sidequests and the name quest. i eventually ran out of things to spend money on AND inventory space to store items. the late-game tuning is a little rough but until then it's great. a hint: there are three weapon types and within that type nearly all the weapons are identical. you get thrown so many weapons that don't matter; don't worry about collecting all of them. see above re: running out of space and things to use money for.

i guess it would be cheating to recommend minecraft regrowth or morrowind but i have also been playing those.

[meggannn]

Do you happen to know any other games like transistor or Hades? sorry if it's so random but I got into them thru seeing them on your blog and have been looking for something along similar gameplay

if you haven't already, check out the rest of the Supergiant catalogue? they're also isometric action games, and although I haven't played them myself I hear good things:

Bastion—truthfully I tried this one and just couldn't get into it but it does look pretty and has good voice acting like all SG games

Pyre—honestly I've been meaning to play this for a while but I just haven't gotten around to it. it has middle child syndrome in that it gets looked over for its move hyped siblings but everything I've heard about it has been positive

I don't know if I can recommend anything with similar gameplay to Hades and Transistor, because I don't play a lot of roguelites and Transistor was so unique I'm struggling to think of a comparison. Supergiant has been really singular for me in combining storytelling with gameplay, the marriage of the two in Hades in particular I think was a masterclass akin to Portal (which I'd also recommend if you haven't played it). so a lot of these recommendations are just going to address parts of what I liked about Hades and Transistor, but not the whole package, really.

story-heavy RPG-light games with beautiful graphics with no combat:

Oxenfree—supernatural/coming-of-age story about a group of kids trapped on an island when a portal opens to another world

Night in the Woods—the story of Mae, a college dropout struggling with mental health, who moves back home to deal with friend and family problems... and something else that's in the woods

Afterparty—two friends die and get sent to hell. they hear the only way to escape is to challenge the devil to a drinking contest, so they travel the afterlife to do just that

Signs of the Sojourner—this is an interesting one where you travel to acquire goods to sell at your shop, but negotiating is difficult, and the cards in your deck will help you succeed in forging bonds in conversations. the more diverse cards you have, the more people you can interact with successfully, but you also risk losing the cards you started with, which will make your conversations back home difficult when you return to stock up.

action-heavy indie games, usually made me go "just one more map":

Apotheon—story set in a 2D Greek mythology world about a man challenged to take down the pantheon one god at a time

Into the Breach—the only other roguelite I've played, it's a turn-based strategy where you fight aliens on a grid system with robots, very Pacific Rim-esque

Cult of the Lamb—a roguelite about running your own cult full of animals. apparently it's big on the horror elements without being off-putting or too gory due to the cute graphics. I haven't played this but other people have recommended it!

Jade Order—a very short puzzle game with a neat map design

[splatsvilles-fashionista]

It's Splatfest, which means no fashion challenge this weekend, and that in turn means it's time for Off-Topic Weekend!

This weekend, I wanna highlight a really cool indie game I've been playing that I think is right up a lot of your collective alleys.

Are you a big Pokémon fan? Or were you a Pokémon fan, but are unhappy with the series' more recent efforts? If so, I might just have a game recommendation for you.

Cassette Beasts is a freshly released open-world RPG that feels like a thorough attempt to take the formula of the DS-era Pokémon games and push it to its absolute limit.

This game has a large open world full of puzzles and secrets, 120+ cool, cute, and fun monsters to collect, really in-depth 2v2 combat with a unique take on the regular type weakness system, tons of quests and sidequests, a banger soundtrack with a ton of dynamic music, a bunch of cool party members (that you can apparently romance?), and a story that goes to such weird and cool places that I don't want to go spoil it for you.

I've been consistently impressed by Cassette Beasts ever since I started playing it, and I think you will be too if you give it a chance. It's available on PC right now, and is releasing on all consoles on the 25th.

Also when you pick your starter, instead of giving you choices based on types you're asked if your aesthetic is creepy or cute. 10/10 game based on that alone.

[theresattrpgforthat]

Hi! I was talking to some friends at work about possibly, some time in the future starting an RPG group with them. I asked what kind game they wanted and they asked for a game based on food and puzzles, influenced by currently popular media.

I’m not familiar with a game that is centered around both puzzles AND food. Can you offer any suggestions?

Thanks!

THEME: Food and Puzzles!

Hello friend, so I have a Dungeon Meshi recommendation post that was very poorly tagged, but I’ve fixed it now!

Not everything in this post is beginner friendly, but I’ve talked about these kinds of games a lot before, so I definitely recommend checking out the other links I have in this list, especially Cook & Hero and Wilderfeast. Now, on to the recommendations!

FOODIE’S, by Sam Bullock.

The world has ended. Only psychotic people are left limping through the devastation, trying to scrape by on whatever prepackaged and shelf stable food they can find picking through the wreckage. You are sick to death of eating this shit. You are a Foodie, and your tastes will be satisfied even if it kills you (and it probably will).

Become crazy wasteland chefs willing to fight and die for their next insane culinary creation. Kill raiders, hunt radfauna and escape the endless cycle of mediocre food.

This is a game that’s meant to be as radioactive and shocking as the apocalypse it’s set in. Use whatever you can around you to cook horrifying meals in an effort to make something more than edible. The game uses a system that adds and subtracts dice from your pool depending on traits that you (and your food) might have that make things slightly easier to do or less appealing to cook with. If you want a game that’s stomach-churning but only a few pages to read, maybe check out Foodie’s.

Forager’s Feast, by FUNONEGames.

Your old adventuring group retired, but you couldn't keep yourselves out of the action. And so, you opened a fine-dining establishment where you serve only the finest monster, locally caught and immaculately presented.

Each week after serving your exclusive clientele, you sit down to eat from the menu and tell tales.  Before long, reliving current and past adventures has you sharing deeply with your comrades.  

Roll on a series of d12 roll tables to determine what kind of adventurer you were, and what your role is within the restaurant that the group of you run together. Players take turns selecting a dish from the provided menu, and telling a story about how the group found the related monsters, the process of putting the dish together, and what heavy price they had to pay: an experience from their adventure that left a mark on who they are as a person.

Forager’s Feast is definitely the least focused on stats and mechanics, and more focused on storytelling happening within turns. You are provided with prompts and then asked to jump right in - great for groups who are really interested in storytelling, and much less focused on things like character abilities or hit points.

No Picnics in the Dungeon!, by Biscuit Fund Games.

Classic adventuring through megadungeons and catacombs distilled down to an easy-to-follow recipe: the comfort food of dungeon crawlers! 

Built on the robust Powered By the Apocalypse engine, No Picnics in the Dungeon! is an accessible, rewarding dungeon-crawling experience that’s easy to run and even easier to play. Create an adventuring party in minutes and descend through dungeons requiring a minimum of preparation. Find rare ingredients from the monsters you battle and the flora you find, and cobble them together into beneficial potions or hearty meals. Track down rare Curios, negotiate with the dungeon’s denizens, and come up with a recipe for a fantastic adventure.

The dungeons hide many secrets and many more delicacies within their walls for you and your friends to discover. Ah, dungeon picnics… there's truly nothing like them.

Combine your class and background to put together an adventurer right out of Dungeon Meshi. Powered by the Apocalypse games are very different from what you may expect in D&D, but I think they can be easier to learn because each character works similarly, and doing things is boiled down into moves, which typically involve rolling 2d6 and interpreting the results as either success, failure, or mixed. If you want to learn more about the PbtA school of games, you can check out my system overview, as well this advice on resources when learning how to play.

Death Cap Sauté, by Junk Food Games.

It’s the year 23XX and our world is now The Wasteland. The legendary, reclusive Shroomp Lord is hosting a new cooking competition and your restaurant has received an invitation! Can you survive through the challenges and cook your way to the top?

Death Cap Sauté is a GM-less TTRPG and dice game for 2 to 5 players and is meant to be played in a single session. Each player takes the role of 3 culinary team members representing their restaurant that has entered a deadly cooking competition. Make the best dishes and impress the judges to earn Shroomps. The restaurant with the most Shroomps at the end wins! 

Because Death Cap Sauté is GM-less, it requires everyone around the table to have some understanding of the rules; which means you could teach it as if you were teaching a board-game. The pdf includes a bunch of roll-tables for the competition, as well as hazards that show up in your attempts to make the best dish at the competition. Your characters each have mutations that lend them special powers, allowing you to do things like add or subtract values to your dice, or re-roll certain dice. This is also designed to be a one-shot, so if you want a goofy game that is low-commitment, this might be the game for you!

Delicious in Torchbearer, by Games by Corey.

Delicious in Torchbearer is a Delicious in Dungeon inspired supplement that adds a variety of cooking centred options to Torchbearer 2E. Ideally meant for use at character creation, these rules extend and increase the focus on cooking in the game.

This game is meant to be an add-on for Torchbearer, so I’d only recommend it for your first group if you really want to get up to your neck in the amount of game that’s here. Torchbearer uses a system called Burning Wheel, and much of its mechanics involve making tough decisions regarding your resources, in the hopes that you will be able to outlast your enemies. If you want puzzles, this game can definitely provide them; many of your choices will require your characters to think carefully about their resources and the best way to go about solving problems. Character progression is slow and painstaking; perfect for groups that are in it for the long haul, but for your first game, maybe not so much.

You might also want to check out…

The Laughing Kobold, by therabidbanana.

Bug Dish: Amouse Bouche, by Ryan Khan.

Spirited Cafe, by A Couple of Drakes.

Stewpot: Tales From A Fantasy Tavern, by Takuma Okada.

Consuming A God Recommendations

My Monster Recycling Rec Post

[wandringaesthetic]

Gonna be a niche hater for a minute.

If you look at top JRPG lists or classic JRPG lists or ask around for recommendations, some guy is always going to recommend Lunar. And I played Lunar Silver Star Story in like.... 2018 or so. (I tried to play it a couple of times years before this and quit a few hours in so this might be an object lesson in not powering through things solely because they come highly recommended)

And other than some very nice pixel art backdrops there is imo absolutely nothing to recommend about it. Like I guess your corrupted girlfriend the evil empress is an interesting enough idea. It looked really nice and I suppose was somewhat ambitious if (IF!) you were playing it on the Sega CD in 1992 but 99% of the time the version of this game people are gassing up is the PlayStation version. Were people that dazzled by voice acting in 1999? It's not good voice acting. The anime cutscenes look kinda bad? There is nothing about the plot or the gameplay or the characters that stood out to me. Bog standard. Boring. Charmless. Unfun. I can only assume this is a conspiracy of ancient and bitter Sega fanboys.

I played a bunch of old turn based RPGs at about the same time as I played Lunar. Dragon Quest I thru V? Immortal classics. Phantasy Star IV? SUCH cool setting and presentation. The first Wild Arms? Kinda basic with just enough unique ideas and early PS1 charm to keep me interested. Mother 3? I feel I am not getting out of it what its greatest fans are getting out of it, but if I squint my eyes I can see the vision. Lufia I and II? Well, knowing just how much they're riffing on Dragon Quest now brings them down a couple pegs but they're still very cute and II has those puzzles and whole second game in the form of optional early infinite procedurally generated dungeon.

But THIS? The disparity between this game and the way people talk about it and the games they mention in the same breath has me ??????? Are we even looking at the same thing? Why would you recommend this game in the year of our Lord 2024 I cannot understand.