#Isometric Game Community

[games-franco]

Lillybrook 🐸

[z2z-gaming-and-random-art-ai]

Back Cover to AI Art S3E24 - Realms of Arkania Star Trail

Older video games were notorious for back cover descriptions that have nothing to do with the game so let's see what a text-to-image generator makes of these descriptions. each episode of Back Cover to AI Art Season 3 will feature 4 ai art creations for each game.

1. Intro - 00:00 2. Back Cover and Text Description - 00:10 3. Creation 1 - 00:30 4. Creation 2 - 01:00 5. Creation 3 - 01:30 6. Creation 4 - 02:00 7. Outro – 02:30

Realms of Arkania Star Trail (MS-DOS) In a world of irresistible temptations, your opportunities seem endless. The mystical Salamander Gem or Legendary Star Trail…wealth or glory...fame or power...In a world rife with peril, your destiny seems uncertain. An ancient feud fuelled by a millennia of hatred…the bloodthirsty Orcs, an ever present danger… or does the sinister evil that lurks in that which is unknown pose an even greater threat. Choose wisely. The fate of Arkania is in your hands.

📜🌌🐉⚔️🧙‍♂️📜🌌🐉⚔️🧙‍♂️📜🌌🐉⚔️🧙‍♂️📜🌌🐉⚔️🧙‍♂️📜🌌🐉⚔️🧙‍♂️

Released in 1994 for MS-DOS, Realms of Arkania Star Trail is an isometric RPG developed by attic Entertainment Software and published by Fantasy Productions Verlags- und Medienvertriebsgesellschaft, U.S. Gold, Sir-tech Software and United Independent Entertainment .

This 1994 MS-DOS release was the games only one for a considerable amount of time, it was not until 2013 when the game would receive a release for Windows via GameStar in Germany, a worldwide Steam release would follow in 2014. As would a full remake of the game in 2017 under the title The Dark Eye: Realms of Arkania Star Trail. This release would be for Mac, Windows, Linux and a 2018 release for the PlayStation 4.

📜🌌🐉⚔️🧙‍♂️📜🌌🐉⚔️🧙‍♂️📜🌌🐉⚔️🧙‍♂️📜🌌🐉⚔️🧙‍♂️📜🌌🐉⚔️🧙‍♂️

For more Back Cover to AI Art videos check out these playlists

Season 1 of Back Cover to AI Art https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFJOZYl1h1CGhd82prEQGWAVxY3wuQlx3

Season 2 of Back Cover to AI Art https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFJOZYl1h1CEdLNgql_n-7b20wZwo_yAD

Season 3 of Back Cover to AI Art https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFJOZYl1h1CHAkMAVlNiJUFVkQMeFUeTX

[dirt-mann]

figured out how to modify + repackage existing zt1 mods to match stats for similar objects in-game and have them still run lmao

[luiscosta13]

Nem Sei o Que Dizem playing Ember - Part 3

[galoogamelady]

What’s Fallout like? Like I know I can google what kind of game it is but more than that what games would you compare it to? and is it more story-based or gameplay-based?

That's a difficult one to answer and I'm not sure I have the authority to do it lol

But I'll try!

The Fallout fandom is fairly complicated due to the IP being passed around and the lore/values of its storytelling being muddied over the years. That being said I think both old-school and new fans would still agree that the story is the most important element, as they're meant to be role playing games where you make decisions on often heavy matters (especially in the games of the original devs).

Fallout 1 and 2 are turn-based isometric rpg-s from the late 90s. If you like that type of gameplay, they're fantastic games and cult classics. They don't shy away from heavy themes.

Then the IP got sold to Bethesda and their version of Fallout is a FPS/TPS action experience, as seen in Fallout 3 and 4. The combat is fun but even the newest game is shit by shooter standards. If you played an Elder Scrolls game (like Skyrim), they're like that but set in a retro futuristic post apocalypse. A large slice of the fandom has only played these ones and skipped the original turn-based games.

Fallout New Vegas was made by the original team but using Bethesda's engine. Many fans would tell you that out of the modern titles, that's the one with the best writing.

Fallout 4 was a very popular title due to the scrap and build system. As you adventure, you can scavenge all sorts of trash and then build your own little settlements in the wasteland and populate them with settlers. Add mods to that, and the community really did some magic. It made people connect with the world of Fallout on a personal level.

The story in a nutshell: in an alternate timeline, survivors of a devastating nuclear war are trying to rebuild and make the irradiated wasteland of the United States liveable again but every group and faction has a different take on how society should be rebuilt. When the writing is done well, your choices have weight and it's impossible to be fair and please everyone. You get to discover a variety of different factors that lead to the Great War and you have to wager whether humanity is doomed to make the same mistakes all over again. Is there a way to avoid them? What kind of sacrifices does that require? Etc.

A lot of it is supposed to be a critical look at war, 50s Americana and the dangers of nationalism, rampant consumerism, xenophobia, etc.

Hope this helped a little! It's difficult to find two Fallout fans who are on the exact same opinion of all the games. I personally think, the fun part of the games is when you get to carve a little slice out of the wasteland for yourself and your community and the stimulating part is the overarching story and lore.

It's no wonder the original writers made The Outer Worlds too, which I don't consider a legendary game but the similarities are obvious in the themes.

[goblincow]

401% FUNDED | ONLY 5 DAYS TO GO!!

Field Agent Handbooks: Observancy Dept. 1924–28

Sharpen your ESP skills and seek out suspicious activity as a pendulum-dowsing Field Agent

This set of four Field Agent Handbooks are an always-on solo RPG/LARP to play with when out and about. They’re created as in-world artefacts from the 1920s, made for you to note your observations about the world around you through a lens of suspicion. 

1924 – Revolution

We suspect the animal kingdom of plotting a revolution and you are here to help us understand their devices.

Our mission in the Observancy Department is to spot any such behaviour or signs of suspicious activity, note them down, and draw our conclusions.

Additional pages include:

Blank map with grid references

Table of potential signs of revolutionary activity

List of weather types and symbols for notation

1925 – Leviathan

The age of flight may still be in its infancy but we have heard worrying reports from our aeroplane and dirigible pilots of glimpses of giant beasts roaming the aether, just out of sight.

Our fresh mission is to observe the clouds, look for unusual shadows & formations, and attempt to discern the activity and anatomy of these sky-bound leviathan.

Additional pages include:

Common anatomy of leviathan (hypothesised)

Illustrated chart with types of clouds and symbols for notation

Illustrated chart for estimating distance to horizon

Table to identify the Beaufort Number for the wind

List of weather types and symbols for notation

1926 – Communication

While we looked upward, we didn't think to concern ourselves with the growing cacophony in our very own gardens, forests, and fields.

Our mission turns to our leafy neighbours to see if we can understand their speech and intuit their meaning throughout each season.

Additional pages include: 

Signs and shapes to look out for

Size estimation chart

List of weather types and symbols for notation

1928 – Giants

From the landscape sprung the flowers, but who formed the landscape? Newly uncovered texts indicate the folklore might be true and giants may have indeed roamed and shaped the earth.

Our mission is to lower our gaze to the ground to identify oddly shaped mounds, mimetoliths (rocks resembling faces), gouged earth, and suspicious urban planning decisions. Under the hills there may be sleeping colossus.

Additional pages include:

Signs to look out for

Common rock types

How to draw landforms & rocks in an isometric fashion

I wanted to shine a light on this project because I met Luke at Dragonmeet in December '23 and fell in love with the way he thinks about RPGs, graphic design and play/ritual/thinking-the-world in his games!

I can't recommend this project enough and I've been waiting excitedly to support it and see it succeed! It really represents everything I think is special about RPGs and the things I also want to explore in this design space *and art movement* and if you have any interest in TTRPGs beyond the scope of dungeon games, Luke is making some of the freshest and most evocative design you can find in the entire medium.

Everything you see here is directly from the kickstarter. Go back it! I promise you'll be glad you did, there are few more unique and inspiring things you could spend your money on in TTRPGs right now!

[dezertvideogames]

Video Game of the Day: Project Zomboid

Project Zomboid is a difficult and realistic isometric zombie survival game developed by British-Canadian indie dev team, Indie Stone. In Project Zomboid you are not truly expected to survive, but simply prolong the life of your quite customizable playable characters in poly-graphics.

The game is incredibly difficult and detailed. There's a massive modding community too.

Don't forget the ability to play in both multiplayer in solo.

Gameplay takes place in Kentucky USA. The main aspects to know when playing is

Once bitten you're infected, no cure, no options (expect for that amputation mod)

You can wear anything and everything you find

Beware that time is passing. Winter is coming.

This is how you die

[med-ex]

feelin rlly idk HAPPY?? over this franchise as a whole✨

I wasn't even alive for Fallout 1 & 2 - but upon entering the world 3 years after they were released, would grow up hearing its name constantly... never did i think it would take GTA's place as my favourite video game series. Like literally never thought the weird little isometric game talked about by my older cousins would be the one.

I played Fallout 3 at the worst period of my life- it became a pure escape from graduating high school, becoming a severe alcoholic and moving off my mountain into my province's capital city. I was in love with it to the point that when I came home to my family home to visit, I would haul my xbox 360 in my backpack and strap my little tv to my back with a rope- ✨that's✨ how addicted I was to it.

It resonated with me in a way no other game series has. No, I obviously didn't grow up in the same standards as the wastes, but could resonate with foraging for food, no clean water & mess, destruction and despair everywhere you turned.

Fast forward a year or so, and I try Fallout: New Vegas. This is where it finally became my favorite series ever. I could list all the reasons, but they're similar to what you'll see all over the net; it's just amazing. I already was all "fuck the government" since I was a child but it made me think- think about the rule of authority, think about perseverance, weigh out what "right" and "wrong" truly means and the blurred line between the two.

By the time I was 21, I tried Fallout 4. It took some getting used to in the terms of its modern graphics, but I really loved how I got to experience conversations that felt like I was actually having them. I loved building the world back up and when I was brave enough to try mods- then shit got real interesting. I was already obsessed with Fallout 3 & NV but we can thank Fallout 4 for getting me into the community as a whole.

I was one of the ones to make fun of FO76- the launch was a huge part of that, but I just didn't understand how it could ever truly fit into the Fallout series. I played it for the first time when I was 2022, and now after 2 years I wholeheartedly regret shitting on it so hard. There are so many cool quests/stories and though some of them are silly seeing as it's online-based and they need to cater to that and though it's a bit strange at first, it feels so cool to be around other players adventuring the wastes + actually having to persist to build your own base, feed yourself and survive- as console commands don't exist in the same realm they used to with the earlier titles.

Now, we arrive at the airing of the first Fallout television show. I seriously thought it was gonna be shit- I just couldn't imagine them being able to do a good job but as we can see, here we are. The show is amazing and I didn't even know it was something I wanted so badly. The only real-life renditions of Fallout I've seen is that one live action trailer for 76 + cosplay- so seeing it in film, is seriously so fucking cool.

Idk guess im just gettin a little ✨sentimental✨ towards a series that has given me so many lessons, so much ability to cope with my own shit + gotten me into such a fun community filled with funny jokes, amazing art, discussions and rich lore that maybe one day could leave the video game + TV screen and become even a book.

Ty to the crew of original artists who started this back in the 90s, and thank you to the crew of artists at Bethesda in this current century who kept this game going💖

[primiera]

love that thing where 2 trans womans will say like 'hey we both like 1996 sfc tactics rpg monstania' and a million people who identify with susans place reddit labels will declare that they're offended that 'they're reinventing the gender binary by seperating the gender fandom community' and you'll latet see people get anons being like 'can i still be trans even if i hate turn-based isometric games?'

[regrettablemeasure]

I always love hearing about other people's D&D games and I was wondering if you had like a method for how you plan out your sessions? In a slump rn myself so looking for some inspo lol

ok so i need to get better at this again (depression made me a way more 'seat of my pants' DM) BUT i basically lay out a "timeline" of main story points the party will eventually hit, and place "questlines" there. Essentially like a tree of quests and their progression in a videogame. This is NOT always detailed by any means but it helps me get a linear view of what's going on. If you run pre-made modules, this is the book stuff. My current game started out this way before I went "I like doing this myself" and went completely off the rails.

Then I go into the main details of the questline. Stuff like where it is, if there's going to be new lore introduced, the actual contents of the quest itself and it's requirements, etc. My players and myself are big on RP, so I also try to always make sure the quest will have interest for Story or Character reasons. If it doesn't directly push the plot in a major way, will it still give the party interesting interactions with each other and npcs? Are there going to be any new threads for some of the game's mysteries?

Then I also ask what in the questline is going to play to the party's habits and strengths. I admit this is WAY looser, and again kind of wraps around into "what would be cool RP for them" - but for example; knowing an encounter with nobles will give our noble-born artificer some additional lore, since he understands the city's politics.

After that, I do sometimes "script" certain lines of NPC dialogue or location and item descriptions. Stuff I'll be narrating that I want to make sure has a certain weight to it, or to flow well. You might not need to do this if you speak succinctly, but I find my brain stutters when trying to describe scenery on the spot, so it usually helps to write it. After that I make the session from there!

For me that usually includes picking out "splash screens" for the conversation backgrounds in our game, drawing new npc portraits if I have the time (it started because some of my players have aphantasia/some former players were new, so I drew PC and NPC portraits to make RP easier to visualize - then it just became the Only Way I Want To Do It Now LOL), and making maps. I use Epic Isometric for my maps, highly recommend. I get most of my splash screens from Art Station, but I have to say obviously that's unwise if you're streaming a game. Same goes for using pre-existing art as character/NPC art -- I know myself and other artists don't care if someone uses our stuff for their home game that no one's ever gonna see. I plan to release some of my portraits in packs one day free of use though.

Here's the RP Backdrop kind of splashscreen I use in R20 (but you can make one in FVTT too, I've done it) and an Epic Iso map I threw together (the party tokens were drawn over Epic Iso assets. If you join their discord people make community edits constantly. I'm currently working on a project to color all the released decor assets)

[thesimquarter]

Jade Pingree is the all-business (and pretty rude) head of the Barkersville Companion Club.

Meredith is part librarian and part party girl. She’s serious during the day, and playful at night.

v - ramblings under the cut - v

I almost never see people talking about the characters from the Sims 2 Pets GBA. I mean. that's understandable. Sims 2 Pets for GBA was not only released two years after the DS was released, but it was also bad.

The Sims 2 Pets for GBA takes a lot of inspiration from the other GBA Sims games, with an isometric artstyle and a mixture of adventure elements and simulation elements. Howeverrr, the problem seems to be that it doesn't feel like it actually knows what to do with it.

The minigames are tedious and boring. Aforementioned minigames pay peanuts and rely on an NPC being in a specific location to do them. Characters have little personality; 70% of the dialogue in this game is completely exchangeable. There's no way to easily find NPCs that you need to find (read: phone call), even though they all have schedules and move all the time. The game doesn't keep track of missions. There's like three different kinds of burglars, and there's no way to stop them from coming to your house (what the fuck). Training your pets is so tedious and repetitive and yet everything else feels like a distraction from it. You can randomly, and frequently, get sick, from fully cooking your food with eight levels of cooking skill and using good kitchen items. Everything breaks down and is dirty all the time. Eating dog food is safer than cooking. This game is having me eat dog food because just cooking feels like a risk. And there's just so much more that annoys me about it.

Okay, I'm done complaining. There's not much to compliment about the game. It does have its charm but wears off as the tediousness of all of its various mechanics settles in. I mean. I'd like to know more about the characters, but also... I don't care.

I really wanted to make Jade. Unlike nearly every other character, she does, actually, have a personality. Even if it absolutely sucks. Meredith is my favorite character in the game. I can't explain why, but her design is neat and she seems really nice and likable. I was considering doing more (read: Elza and Hugo) but after I finished these two I. couldn't be bothered.

I feel as if Meredith brings the Blue Hair and Pronouns to Barkersville. She also has this kind of warmness that I haven't really gotten from other characters in this game. And I believe she's close with Kirk (... Carbon?). I'd suspect they were dating, as they both have positive reactions when they mention each other and I caught them going on a Graveyard Date at 1:00 AM. But when I talked to Kirk he said even though he's with a girl, he thought Celina was hot. So I can only make one conclusion: leave your shitty boyfriend, Meredith!!!

And on Jade: She's definitely on the Barkersville HOA (and Barkersville definitely has one!). She's just that kind of demon. It's mentioned that the Pingree's are a wealthy family. So, I don't think she has a job. Instead, she just torments her community with her influence.

Anyways. I don't actually know anything else about these characters beyond this. So. Um.

I had a lot of fun making these; I'm planning on doing something similar to this for all the Sims 2 GBA characters. I remade them all a few months ago, wanted to do renders to show them all off, and I want the excuse to write things like this about every single character. :) (and. I tried to do them all at once. but um. hm. that's just a little too much.) It'll take a while to actually finish anything w/ that because i need to experiment with format. I gave some of them outfits in other categories than 'everyday,' so I'm thinking about rendering those out, butttt that's up in the air.

[satoshi-mochida]

Noctuary coming to PS5, Switch in 2025 - Gematsu

Game Source Entertainment will release PlayStation 5 and Switch versions of Gratesca Studio-developed isometric action adventure game Noctuary in 2025, the company announced.

Noctuary first launched for PC via Steam on November 28, 2023.

Here is an overview of the game, via its Steam page:

About

Colorful and splendid! An intriguing fairy tale of illuminators!

Alina Nightsong – One of the two protagonists and Fancia’s partner from the Earthcaress Beacon, is passionate…but a bit slow on the draw?

Fancia Dream – One of the two protagonists, the younger sister in the Dream family. Works hard to pass the Arboranger test to fight Darkritters.

Noctuary is a dual-protagonist visual novel. Players can play the role of the duo, Fancia Dream and Alina Nightsong who have dreams of “becoming Arborangers who protect and serve everyone.” Travel through the fairy-tale-like world as the duo, experience their lively daily adventures, and gradually encounter the life story of a mysterious girl who came down from the sky. Meanwhile, don’t forget to fight against the ever-present monsters—“Darkritters!” These dangerous enemies threaten the life of Illuminators constantly. Sharpen your fighting skills, defeat ferocious monsters and ensure peace in your community!

Practice Your Fighting Skills in Marvelous Battles

During your adventure, you will fight against various enemies. You can defeat them with a cascade of powerful combo attacks! The two main characters master different skills and present various fighting styles, which allows you to win a battle in whichever method you choose. Switch between the two girls in battles to cope with enemies’ attacks and finish them off with the powerful On-field Switch skill and the Synergy.

Support Your Favorite Protagonist and the Choices Your Make Will Impact the Ending of the Journey

You will venture into this dreamy world of Aborteria through the lenses of Illuminators. Intriguing character performances, original and melodious music, high-definition game scenes and character images… All this will make your gaming experience unforgettable.

Explore the Sophisticated “Blessing” System

The friendships and blessings you harvest along the journey will strengthen you in battle. Feel free to combine the “Blessing Petals” that are embedded with features of different characters to customize your battle style. In addition, there are many other well-designed cultivation systems that are ready for you to explore!

Watch a new trailer below.

Gameplay Trailer

English

Japanese

Traditional Chinese

[the-mspfa-200-favourites-project]

DIMMADOME OF DIMMADALE

Hey. I was just talking about more gamey suggestion-based comics, and here we are, with another one of those. This one’s probably the most game-like of them all, and also, maybe the best one of them all? Depends on the other sleuthlikes, I guess. What I’m trying to communicate here is, I’ve been looking forward to this one.

For starters, this isn’t your typical, ordinary, average sleuthlike with a front-on perspective or isometric perspective. No, this is from a TOP-DOWN perspective, which easily sets it apart. There’s also the coolest detail of them all; the fact that there is, in fact, seemingly for no other reason than it being a cool feature to have, a mini-comic where the typical MSPFA face usually is. Which is just. Absurdly cool. Did I mention that I like it when there’s details like that in a comic, where it uses the website itself as part of its narrative design? Because I like it when that happens.

What I think this comic does very well for the suggestion-based gamey comic is that it realizes, rightfully so, that the game doesn’t have to be fixed by the time you start. In other words, you can add on as many ridiculous mechanics, meters and stats to track as you go along, which means that this comic is also a master of “Yes anding” the audience. It might refuse to do a certain command, but that does not mean that that command has been in vain, for it usually just means another system has been tacked on to what, if it were real, would be the ridiculous roleplaying system ever invented. Or like, in one of the commands, we get the classic “hey what if you kissed this other character” command everybody loves. So of course, the intentions of the commander was probably for this to be like, a romantic kiss, but the comic twists it into being a platonic kiss, because it can do that now. And now, worldbuilding has been built off the back of twisting a command as a twisting of subversion. I’ve used the word “twist” so many times I think I have lost count, twisting it’s meaning until it’s been pulled right off of it. Moving on.

OH SHOOT. THERE’S BANJO MEGALOVANIA IN THIS. OH SHOOT THERE’S REALLY COOL LIKE…Pointillism Environments in this? Hey uh I’m starting to think this might be peak. Okay yeah I’ve been convinced this is peak. If this isn’t the best one of all the Gamey Sleuthlikes, then I am *very* excited to see what could possibly top this.

Random stray note I guess: I love how many people in this are from the country and thus have Texan accents it’s great. That’s all I have to say.

[postgamecontent]

Nintendo Switch Weekly Round-Up for the Week Ending October 5th, 2024

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the Nintendo Switch Weekly Round-Up for the week ending October 5th, 2024. A little quieter this week than the last couple, at least in terms of things worth paying attention to. Plenty of garbage, but I don't feel like giving any of that oxygen. Still, any week with a new Q-Games release is one worth writing about. Let's check out this week in the world of Switch!

Select New Releases

Sword Art Online Fractured Dream ($59.99)

This is an action game that is mainly designed for online play, where up to twenty players are supported. It features a whole bunch of Sword Art Online characters, and the buzz from people who played the game via Steam Early Access is solid. Provided this Switch port has been handled well and the community is there for it, this could be a fun diversion. Those are some big provisos, though.

All You Need is Help ($19.99)

Okay, so first up and very importantly: this game is four players only. You can play local multiplayer, or you can play online multiplayer. But if you don't have four, you don't play. No single-player. None. Anyway, each player controls a different fluffy puzzle piece, and you have to work together to solve each stage. It's from Q-Games, so you can count on a certain degree of quality here. If you have the people to play it with, I'm sure you'll have a good time.

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Patrick Star Game ($39.99)

Another effort from Outright Games, specifically the team behind the rather good Justice League: Cosmic Chaos. This appears to be a Patrick Star-flavored take on Human: Fall Flat, and if that's the case then I suspect SpongeBob fans are going to have a really good time with it. You've got an open world to play around in, and plenty of activities to do in it. What's the main goal? I have no idea. We'll have to see how this one plays out.

I*CHU: Chibi Edition ($29.99)

If you want to play this particular free-to-play mobile game at a premium price with the money squeeze removed, here you go. It's a rhythm game with some story bits in between the action, focused around an academy for idols in training. Unfortunately, with the gatcha-dependent progression and rather spotty localization, this isn't an overly pleasant experience. You get all of the grind, you just can't buy your way through it. I imagine this might appeal to fans of the mobile game anyway.

Picross Records of The Shield Hero ($10.99)

Another Picross game, this time themed around the manga/anime Rise of the Shield Hero. An episode mode has been implemented here to tell some of the story as you solve puzzles. You get a bit over two hundred puzzles in total, all related to Shield Hero in some form or another. More Picross for those who need it, or those who are piling up Picross games for a rainy day.

Skautfold: Into the Fray ($14.99)

Here's a third game in the Skautfold series ported to the Nintendo Switch. This one is a top-down action game with plenty of gore and lot of ways to dispatch your foes. While it's not exactly the same kind of game as the previous ones (or the ones that will follow it should the whole series get ported), I'm sure if you enjoyed those you won't have a bad time of it here.

Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel ($5.99)

So, first up: despite that screenshot, Zero's sprite hasn't been edited in the actual game. He is still sporting the rising sun headband, and the symbol is all over the place. I'll leave it to you as to how you feel about that. As for the game, this is the Aero the Acro-Bat spin-off featuring Aero's rival Zero, and it's a very challenging game thanks to its reliance on the player mastering Zero's rather unusual move set. It's in that nicer emulation wrapper that Aero 2 released in, so that's good. For those wondering, this is also the Super NES version of the game. I'll review it soon.

Kill Knight ($14.99)

If you're hunting for your next great isometric twin-stick shooter fix, Kill Knight is a good choice. It's a tough game and it has a lot of interlocking systems that you'll have to learn before you'll make any progress, but if you stick with it I think you'll find that this is a rather rewarding game.

Circus of TimTim ($9.99)

Another horror game that relies on people being creeped out by mascots, this time with an added circus twist for that clown phobia spice. Explore a ruined carnival and watch out for things who won't be kind to unwelcome visitors. Use a metal detector to find items, but be careful as its beeping will attract attention. Not my kind of thing. Maybe yours.

Planetiles ($12.99)

Another one of those games where you place tiles strategically in a landscape to try to produce the best results, this time planet-themed. I've been into this kind of thing since around a year ago, and this is another solid one. I wouldn't recommend it over Dorfromantik or anything, but if you're looking for another game that offers a similar experience then you might want to check this out.

Macho Shot ($5.00)

This new SAT-BOX release is essentially another spin on the ol' Suika Game concept, but with macho dudes instead of fruit. Merge your machos into bigger machos, but be careful not to overflow the field. Nothing new under the Sun, but the choice of theme was so odd I had to include it here.

Dawngrown ($5.99)

Is this top-down 2D PowerWash? Not really, but it is a game about cleaning up a messed-up world. It's cute, it takes about an hour and change to run through, and while the whole thing feels like it could have used a little more everything, it's an amusing enough ride while it lasts.

Arcade Archives Moon Shuttle ($7.99)

Nichibutsu scored its first big hit in 1980 with Moon Cresta, and for a good while after that it was all about the Moon. Here's 1981's Moon Shuttle, a very simple side-view shooter. I can't call it side-scrolling, because it doesn't. You alternate between two types of stages. The first sees you trying to shoot a path through a field of debris as your shuttle approaches. The second has you fending of waves of enemy attackers while dodging their attacks. Nothing special, but for its era it does its job. Not available in the North American eShops, for some reason.

EGGCONSOLE Silver Ghost PC-8801mkIISR ($6.49)

Yes, I'm still imagining the world where D4 Enterprise puts the extra resources into localizing all of these amazing Japanese computer classics it's tossing out onto the global eShop. Silver Ghost is a beloved strategy RPG for many Japanese gaming enthusiasts, and has been cited by one of the Shining series creators as a source of inspiration for those games. It would be really nice if fans outside of Japan could more easily enjoy this, but you're again dealing with a lot of Japanese text if you choose to tackle it.

Damikira ($7.99)

Sure, this is a pretty standard-looking run and gun platforming game, but it has a grappling hook! A grappling hook! The rules say that grappling hooks and/or web-shooters add an extra point to a game's score. That's a rule. That probably brings this up to a good three-and-a-half out of five.

Rolling Football Player ($3.20)

This is a goofy little thing. You have to roll your football player through five stages, trying to land him in a cup. It's a very short game, but it's more of a weird physics toy than anything else. For the price, that's probably fine.

That's all for this week, friends. We'll be back next Saturday with another Round-Up as we continue into October and the many games that will come with it. As ever, I will plug both my Patreon (where you can find lots of cool exclusive articles) and my Ko-Fi (tips help me run this blog). There, plugged. I hope you have a super Saturday, and as always, thanks for reading!

[k1spiegel]

hi. here is that list of games i've enjoyed this year that i talked abt making, now under a read more for your viewing pleasure. not in any order besides the order i remember them

links will be to steam store pages if applicable, if not general home pages, though some of these will be available on multiple consoles

Inkbound - an isometric turn-based roguelike game in mid-beta where you play as a Needless, a blank, "generic" character with no supposed imagination or will, accompanied by a Kwill, a ball of light that helps you along. i'll be honest and say i haven't paid much attention to the story but i don't think i have to when the gameplay is so good. i love roguelikes and turn-based combat both, and the amount of customization you can get from random items and abilities during runs makes the game difficult but not soul-crushing. eventually you Will figure out how to make urself almost unkillable. no premium store or pay currency, just unlocking and in-game currency.

Cassette Beasts - a 3D environment-2D sprite creature capture game with a nostalgia theme (made in Godot!). i played(/replayed) a lot of creature captures this year, with cassette beasts probably being the earliest and one of the most memorable. there are some parts of the game i'm iffy on (the music, some of the companion quests compared to others), but the creature design and element mechanics in the fight make up for it by leaps and bounds. i've got a lotta favorite beasts in this one. suggested esp if you like 2v2 fights.

Palia - if you've hung around the "cozy games" scene at all, You Know This One. palia is a casual mmo currently in open beta that focuses mainly around farming, questing, and integrating yourself into a new community (though that's not All you can do.) by "casual" and "cozy" i mean that there's no real rush to do anything, your crops won't grow without you there and there's no friendship(/romantic) relationship deterioration. play as you want when you want. also it's free lol

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince (no link available; currently only on switch) - i have never played a dragon quest game before. i think this was the funniest way i could've gotten into it. a creature capture-creature combiner game in the dragon quest monsters series where you play as a young Psaro, The Dark Prince, The Manslayer, the future King of Monsters, and go through different echelons of nadiria(/the area where monsters rule) beating ass and taking names. i probably don't have to sell this to DQ fans so much but the monster designs are fun, the story is funny to me whether on purpose or not, and i like either using the auto battle for quick levelling Or giving commands directly to my beasts. good stuff.

Lies of P - do you remember a few years back when everyone saw the pinocchio soulslike and went No Fucking Way and then forgot about it? lies of p is the pinocchio soulslike (though it's much more obviously a bloodborne-like, or to be even more specific, a code:vein-like). i love it. the setting and characters is kind of insane when you think about how it's All based on pinocchio, but it takes itself seriously enough to where you just go with it and enjoy your time with P and the npcs. the gameplay is fast and fun, with a pretty extreme amount of customization (swappable and upgradeable robot arm, usual soulslike Put Points Into Skills stuff, weapons with switchable parts that can be upgraded or change their scaling, etc.) i'm just having a really great time with it and want other people to too.

Risk of Rain Returns - an incredibly polished remake of the original Risk of Rain, a 2d side-scrolling roguelike where you play as a survivor on an alien planet full of things that want to kill you. i have almost 200 hours on the original ror and the remake has earned At Minimum 200 hours more - not only do the original characters and stages feel refreshed, but there's now new areas to visit, new survivors to unlock, and fun challenges to beat to try and get new items or abilities. plus chris christodoulou's soundtrack is, as always, The Best. if you didn't play the original RoR, i'd really recommend giving this a shot instead.

SPECIAL MENTIONS (no links. im lazy.)

Guilty Gear: Strive - tim managed to get me into fighting games this year and ggst was probably the best introduction i could've gotten. classic weird as fuck characters and story + an insane soundtrack.

Lethal Company - you've seen someone playing this, somewhere or somehow. funniest game to play if you and your friends are wussies. now has arachnophobia mode (<- is an arachnophobe, so i like it.)

Fortnite - sorry

[froghubb]

Project Zomboid Mods That You Must Install

Project Zomboid Mods That You Must Install – Project Zomboid, the isometric zombie survival game developed by The Indie Stone, offers a deep and immersive experience as you try to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. One of the best aspects of Project Zomboid is its modding community, which has created a plethora of mods to enhance and expand the game. Here are some must-install mods to elevate…