#Story Rich Games

[nerdsleaze]

Stray Gods: Orpheus

NEW DLC for Stray Gods hitting PC on June 27th, 2024. Coming soon for consoles.

About Stray Gods: Orpheus DLC

Experience 6 brand new original songs, where each decision changes the song and the story. Composed by Austin Wintory, with lyrics by Simon Hall (Tripod), Montaigne (Jess Cerro) and new addition Tom Cardy (Red Flags, Artificial Intelligence), SG: Orpheus has hours of interactive music for you to explore again and again.

When the curtain has fallen and the show is over, who do you go home as? Choose to reject, embrace, or rewrite the stories the world expects of you. Is the mortal world ready for the return of Ancient Greece’s most infamous bard?

Source: nerdsleaze.com

Stray Gods: Orpheus Stars

Anthony Rapp (RENT, Star Trek: Discovery), Erika Ishii (Dimension 20, Worlds Beyond Number) and written by David Gaider, Stray Gods: Orpheus is a comedic feature length experience that history buffs, hopeless romantics, and rock stars alike can enjoy.

[fogaminghub]

🎉 Master "Polite Society, Valentine Style" in RDR2! 🎮

Join Arthur and Uncle on an epic journey to Valentine with our detailed guide! Learn how to tackle the mission's challenges like a pro and earn that coveted Gold Medal! 🏅

[thomasedmund]

A Deep Dive "Inside"

Hope you’re not hydrophobic (well thalassophobia), claustrophobic, or huddleophobic The meaning of Playdead’s Inside. byu/Phormicidae inGames I originally played this game over the 2020 lockdown, basically straight after working through Playdead’s previous indie hit Limbo (another very dark game with deep story/ludo-narrative) but still find myself sometimes thinking about it still. I’ve…

[beobraed]

i'm obsessed with this one!

[mjthefaeva]

Update: I’m gonna use this as a Thread to live react my Reactions for Lost Records :)

And as a note, I’m going to avoid comparing this to Life is Strange 1 as much as I can, but I don’t think I’ll need to worry because right off the bat this game does a pretty good job of differentiating itself. If there’s a game I’ve gotten more vibes from it’s probably Road 96 honestly? Which is weird, but anyway, from this point on be warned, I will be live blogging my experience!

So far: thoughts

God I feel you I am so sorry about your Mom, Swann

I love Swann’s character design! She’s super cute!

Oh my god she’s a total dork, talking about copies of the dark crystal, oh god I don’t want to say it this early but I fear im attaching myself to this character

The two different time periods being shifted in terms of perspective is absolutely wild

Ok ok so we start off with the weird shit as usual (good to see as always)

WOLF MASK MAN

So far this game is kinda striking a really similar feeling of wonder that I got from Life is strange 1 which I think is an amazing sign for a game that I am now playing as a 22 year old woman (two things that were different when I played life is strange lmaooooo)

More spoilers bellow the Cut

Soooo I went a little further and God the bullying in this is really fucking intense……

I completely forgot Lost Records comes out today, I’ve tried to avoid a lot of the trailers but LIS GANG IM SO SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS HAMS, NOT TO MENTION AVOWED IS RELEASING TODAY????

Today is a big day for mj 😌

[jinlai]

Jinlai | Domineering CEO Simulator

You play as jinlai - an heir(ess) to a massive conglomerate in the fictional country of Toswana. Scheming relatives, millions in cold crypto drives, parties with the movie stars, totally legal lobbying of the politicians and everything else that comes with big numbers in your bank account.

Fight a succession war to gain control of one of the biggest companies in the world - will you remain just as ‘wealthy’ or will you become filthy rich?

Invest in companies, manage them, take over. ‘Optimize’ their workflows, squeeze every penny of profit or be a decent human being.

Curry favor with the powers that be, threaten your competitors, bribe whoever it is you need to bribe. Or, you know, don’t. Remaining an upright and honest citizen is always an option.

Steal your uncle’s fiance for a beneficial marriage, date a movie star living next door, seduce your loyal, slightly older bodyguard, get involved with a single mother (your own mother definitely doesn’t approve), discover something daunting about your casino-owning loan shark friend or (and) sleep around with a bunch of random people.

All ROs are heterosexual.

DEMO LINK

WORD COUNT:

Chapter 1 - 53k Chapter 2 - in progress

[bongosinferno]

A devastating and confusing thing about the Fallout setting, when you explore the pre-war aspects, is what the creators think about pre-war America. In the first games we only get hints of the pre-war world, but they seem to be some sort of wild fascist nation invading Canada. In Fallout 1, the first thing we're introduced to of the pre-war society is seeing a soldier shoot civilians and laughing.

Now, for the first 2 games and New Vegas we don't really know much. What we know is that there's a fascist military group known as the enclave who were a sort of US deep state even before the war, and that the government teamed up with corporate interests to preform vaguely MKULTRA-ish experiments with the Vaults. Basically, the government was an extreme version of the 50s American jingoism and McCarthyism.

This is well and dandy, I guess issues come up more when we get to the later games, especially 4, where it seems like none of this extreme plotting and societal civil unrest which would exist is seen. The society as presented in 4 also seems quite progressive, gay people are featured in the opening, and none of the baggage of say, civil rights not existing are included. Now on a baseline, I don't want settings to be more conservative, homophobic and sexist etc., but it becomes a very confusing setting when it's displayed both as this jingoist extreme thing with fascist tendencies aswell as a progressive place where everyone is seemingly equal. If you're focusing on the 50s as your setting, and American nationalism in the 50s, then you can't have McCarthyism spoofs and anti-communism as a societal paranoia norm while also general equality is the norm without misunderstanding why McCarthyism and nationalist jingoism is bad. A massive harm done in anti-communist paranoia is how it degrades and vilifies any progressive movements (women's rights, civil rights, homosexuality) as being morally un-American and therefore connected to communism. To ignore this just makes any critique of MacCarthyism and jingoism weird!

Basically, pre-war America in Fallout 4 becomes this both sides thing where America is both pure and equal and white fences in every instance that we see as the player (the intro), while also supposedly being this dystopic MacCarthyist hellscape that's broadcasting gladly about their war crimes in Canada, and wants to root out communism. I guess the only fix for this issue without getting into the fine print like they had to do is just not to focus too much on the pre-war world.

[outtamynoggin]

Dick, at a family dinner: -and THEN the cheese in the fondue started spinning like crazy because he used the wrong kind of cheese, HAHAHAHAHA! I mean, it was basically string cheese. And the fondue spinner was going so fast it started levitating off the table!! So now this giant cheese tentacle is just whipping around, slapping people in the face, knocking over wine glasses, and the guy just SCREAMS and dives under the table like-

Batfam: *between laughing and annoyed*

Jason: I refuse to believe this happened. This isn’t fair, how could this happen without me there?!

Tim: PLEASE tell me this happened at a high-profile gala. Please, please, please.

Damian: *arms crossed, looking disgusted* Only you could witness a culinary disaster and recount it like a battle strategy.

Dick, sticking his tongue out at him: You’re just jealous you weren’t there to see it in person, little D.

-

Dick, in his head: The Marcalone family made a deal with the Sarvanos so they’re both going to be at the harbor on the 14th at 1AM. Julian Viscan knows about this deal because his thugs caught wind of it but he decided to stay out because he’s dealing with Bella Cane after she started a riot on his territory so she can get her hands on the shipment. But I can take out both the Marcalones, Saravnos, Viscan AND Eli Smith, the gun dealer, if I move Viscan to interfere with the shipment on the 14th. Cane's also making moves on Smirth's supply chain while troubling Viscan, which means if I pull Viscan into the fray, I can collapse all four of them in one night. But I need to make sure Vsican thinks Smith's going to betray him to do this.

Dick, to the batfam: *gesturing wildly, eyes laughing* So then, the cheese tentacle just SLAPS this guy's glasses right off his face and he screams and then he starts screaming even louder that he's going to start suing EvErYtHiNg-

Dick: If I remember, Viscan's sister works at Smith&Hopkins Inc so if I mess around with the BPD and get them involved with the company, I can control all 4 of them while causing trouble for-

[emilyliuwho]

sports au: 1st year pitcher felix and 3rd year catcher sylvain

[artsekey]

A Spectacular, Spooky Spectacle!

I feel like I always preface these little game recommendations with, 'I'm not a gaming blog, but...', so I'll spare you this time.

(This post is not in any way sponsored-- I just like highlighting games that really knock it out of the park!)

Beacon Pines is a well-paced choose-your-own-adventure game with a compelling narrative that delivers at every turn. You step into the shoes of 12 year old Luka only a few months after his mother goes missing. Armed with nothing but the help of his good friend Rolo, the sly wit of his newest neighbor Beck, and the power of Charms, it's up to him to unearth the truth behind their quaint town... and save it from catastrophic ruin.

Without spoiling anything, Beacon Pines is gameplay light. Instead, it takes it's cues from the visual novel genre... with a twist. The story unfolds as a narrator guides you through the various chapters, and through your journey you'll encounter branches where one word makes all the difference. That's where you come in! Using the collection of terms you pick up by exploring the world, you can radically alter the course of fate. You'll rarely get everything right on your first try, but don't worry-- even failure is rewarded with new clues, new threads of the mystery, and new hooks that will draw you further into the story.

Sitting at a runtime of 5-7 hours, Beacon Pines is short but satisfying. The art is bright, fun, and well-rendered. The characters are all well written, and the music perfectly encapsulates whatever mood the story demands-- whether it's the comfort of a slow morning or a warning of danger in the dark.

However, the thing that really sets Beacon Pines apart from other visual novels is the writing! The mystery is a fun romp that keeps you guessing, the "multiple paths" mechanic is executed so well that you never really feel like you've made a bad choice, and best of all, the characters and their interactions feel sincere. I found myself smiling, laughing, sometimes stunned silent, sometimes teary-eyed... Though the game is short, the world is just deep enough for the story and it's characters to swim.

Beacon Pines is really just... sweet and genuine. I think that's the best way to describe it. If you need something to whittle away a few hours and get away from it all and like story-driven games, give Beacon Pines a go! It was recently on sale for $4.00, but it usually retails for $20.00.

For reference, other games I love that I'd put in a similar category (note, not the same-- I'm mostly looking at high-quality narrative games here! I'm providing this so you can decide if my taste aligns with yours!):

Firewatch

Oxenfree

Disco Elysium

TellTale Games (Tales of Monkey Island, Tales from the Borderlands, etc)

Inside

Night in the Woods

Slay the Princess

[alicentflorent]

I didn’t sit here for years tryna stay calm and silent while listening to your bad takes on gale (who grew up oppressed, in poverty and then witnessed his entire district getting wiped out then rightly went to fight in the rebellion because it was his inlg chance of tearing down the system the wanted him and his family dead) being a ��terrorist war criminal who is single handedly responsible for killing innocent people including prim and who is the REAL villain of the hunger games” just for y’all to turn and start stanning and defending actual facist dictator and child trafficker Coriolanus Snow because you saw a young hot version of him.

[where-the-wind-travels]

pb in 2022: "this chapter contains discussions of sexual assault which we are aware might be triggering to some, so we added an option to skip over the dialogue and only mention the relevant details. feel free to skip over this scene if you feel most comfortable doing so, you matter."

pb in 2024: "omg a love interest that thinks you saying no to them is a turn on (and there's no option at all to be concerned or squicked out, only to tease them for it) 🥰 isn't that so hot??? <3"

[redlettermediathings]

Such a wonderful comment on the Breakdown video.

[luminouslumity]

Time to use this meme again!

[mrporg]

Signalis is a truly weird and scary game. It is however beautiful and it has wonderful lore.

Imagine a world where humanity has conquered the solar system and is divided into 2 opposing factions at war with one another. One is mostly unknown, the other is what would happen if the DDR (East Germany) had become a full communist dictatorship powerhouse on steroids. Sprinkle on top of that a caste of biomechanical individuals who are tasked with both keeping order and doing menial work in a very codified society.

A nightmare to be sure, but a beautiful one.

The story itself starts with you playing as Elster, who is one of those biomechanical persons called replikas. You are looking for your human partner, in a mining facility where things seemingly went very very wrong after they dug too greedily and too deep. After a while it takes a really weird turn and I'm not too sure what to make of it.

Spoiler alert, it's a tragic love story with no happy ending, sorry to disappoint.

However, I don't want to talk about the story for once, but about the replikas, who are nothing short of fascinating. Each model line is derived from an original human and has inherited some of their traits and personality. Within a line, they are usually assigned to the same kind of tasks. Because of personality disorders issues which seem to partly come from imperfect duplication technology, a very big part of managing replikas consists in placing them in known safe (for their issues) situations and "anchoring" them through various means (music, caring for plants, alone time, …) to stabilize their emotions.

For instance, Kolibri units work best as a group when they can feel part of a whole. They talk about "singing in unison". On the other hand, Adler units are loners who only need to have a strong emotional attachment to the Falke unit in charge of the place.

Conversely, replikas also inherit trauma from their initial source. For instance, Elster units are described as stoic and reserved, best left alone. But it is also noted that talking to them about the war will destabilize them as their neural patterns originate from a late soldier.

Earlier I said that something went very wrong in this facility, and indeed, most replikas have "degraded". As a result, they have become very violent and will usually attack you on sight.

Credit: /u/Likopinina

Elster units have a height of 1.78m (5'10"), so you are not small. However, when you are facing Mynah (2.6m / 8'6"), Falke (2.5m / 8'2") or Storch (2.4m / 7'10") units, who all are very intent on terminating you with extreme prejudice…

Well, like I said, it's a scary game. But one I will be thinking about for a long time I'm sure.

Oh by the way, all the replika models are named after birds in German, how cool is that? :D

One last note: for some reason the fandom for this game is super horny, so remember that if you want to dig in. You've been warned ;)

[jinlai]

new sneak peak