#all of hikeback

[coelpts]

tosses you a 23 for the ask!

23. A “Wow” moment of awe

HRRRRNGH okay listen. there's a problem here. if there's a moment in a game that makes me feel so reverent and in awe of it, i do not want to tell people about it because i want them to just see it on their own. no expectations, no preconceptions, because that sort of feeling of…wonder, of awe and beauty, is deeply…like, it's part of my brain chemistry, right? That's My Emotion! that's The Big One!

the biggest game that inspired that awe in me was no doubt Outer Wilds. it did something to me. but i REFUSE to spoil anything about that game. it's one of those experiences you can only ever have one single time, and going in blind is THE best option. so if you want a game full of that sort of feeling: please, PLEASE play Outer Wilds. you WILL enjoy it. it's got some horror elements, there are jump scares in at least one planet and i've heard the dlc is pretty spooky too- but i really can't recommend it enough.

BUT. i will share a key moment for you. SPOILERS FOR THE GAME TUNIC. if you want to go in blind, BACK OUT NOW.

so like…specifically i was only really around for the back half of tunic while my roommate was playing it, but that's when the good puzzle shit kicks in so i'm not upset about that. BUT. as you play through tunic, you collect pieces of its manual. like, in-game. you start out completely in the dark with only the basic controls, and get more pages as you go.

BUT. this manual is ILLEGIBLE. it's written entirely in moonrunes that you cannot read, and that are never translated at any point.

that's because you can figure out how to translate the runes all by yourself. and the moment that i realized i could READ it? that was like christmas morning. i was writing and reading and figuring out all the rules as my roommate played. i don't think i'll forget that feeling.

[s-ccaam-era-crepe]

maybe i shouldn't have picked up that hitchhiker.. or maybe you shouldn't have accepted that ride.

who's to blame at the end really

(Flash warning!!!)

[clowndream]

Just watched a playthrough of Hikeback. I'm expecting you to pay for my therapy bills.

Also gay people are the only people who can do horror right huh

smiles oh so sweetly. i'm glad you had fun.

and sometimes it really does feel that way tbh

[insertdisc5]

TIMELOOP GAMES REAL!??!??!!

hi i made a timeloop game called In Stars and Time and this is a whole post about other timeloop games you can also play.

some i liked. some i loved. some i didnt like. all are worth playing and like also listen the second friends and family heard i was making a timeloop game, i got bombarded with timeloop media recs. so here is a sampler in no particular order! NOTE: knowing some of those games are timeloop games is a spoiler. but. you are here. for timeloop games. so timeloop games you shall have

Outer Wilds

If you need to play one timeloop game, it's this one. Please play it blind. I swear to god you won't regret it. it's timeloops in space!!! it makes you think!!! there are so many "HOLY SHIT WAIT I GET IT NOW" moments!!! please just go play it please please please. some of the best environmental storytelling in a game. so many hints in plain sight. JUST PLAY IT

[way more timeloop games under the cut]

Oxenfree

I didn't actually like Oxenfree very much. But also it stayed in my mind for weeks after I finished playing it. that's how you know it's a good game. I really enjoyed the dialogue system in this, and how much the loop affected the characters. and it got so spooky!!!

Hikeback

i'm in the credits for this one because i was one of the inspirations heehee <3 i loved playing it… short little game about trust, self-sabotage, and never-ending cycles. highly recommend it

The Stanley Parable

Listen babes it absolutely counts. I replayed it a bunch while making ISAT, and I got immensely inspired by the dialogue, and how it catches you off guard sometimes? You get SO SO used to the narrator's "All of his coworkers were gone. What could it mean?" at the start of every game, and then for no reason instead it says "A soft wind blew outside and perhaps rain started, and if it did it stopped shortly after. Stanley hoped that he would one day see weather." like WHAT THE FUUUUCK IM GETTING CHILLS JUST THINKING ABOUT IT

12 minutes

ok i know we all made fun of this game when it came out because the story is batshit insane HOWEVER!!!!!!!! i REALLY REALLY LOVED how doing the same actions multiple times would have slightly different outcomes. If you battle someone, the first time you get knocked out in one hit and the loop restarts. the second time you try, you evade the first hit, but get knocked out. the third time, you last a little bit longer, and a little bit longer, until you can pretty much hold your own against your enemy. And it applies to so many things in this. Retrying different things to see how they would change was a delight.

this game is also so bad its almost good, and if you're interested you HAVE to play it with friends so you can yell about how bad it is together.

Zero Escape

it's just a good series ok. escape rooms, and also time loops! the 3rd game in particular goes deep into The Math of how timeloops would work, which i think is interesting. sometimes timeloop games just go "yeah you can timeloop dont worry about it" and others go "OK HERE'S THE HOW AND WHY IT WORKS" and both are interesting!

START AGAIN: a prologue

this game has almost everything i could wish for in a timeloop game. depression. lines repeating. dying brings you back. you get new levels and skills because you're aware of the loops but your party members don't. so you get overpowered next to them and they Notice. just. party members who dont know about the loops still noticing something is wrong. you are acting differently than yesterday. you look sad. you are acting weird. you know too much. how did you know where the keys were? how did you know this would happen? what's wrong? talk to us. and oh my god this game has a sequel? which will probably have Actually Everything i could wish for in a timeloop game? i can't wait. who made this? (its me i made this)

Ghost Trick

ok its not really time loops and more time travel and only for 4 minutes HOWEVER!!!! you should play it. you know you should play it because everyone says so. so go play it

Elsinore

im sure its a great game but ive never seen/read hamlet. so thats a failing on my part. because. you absolutely need to know hamlet to understand this game lol i did like the whole "make sure to find out which events are Important and which ones aren't so you can have The Perfect Loop"! very fun. or it would be. if i. knew. hamlet

The Forgotten City

a friend kept recommending it to me and i didn't like it. its good! just not for me. but if you like to think a lot you should play it. another "make sure to find out which events are Important and which ones aren't so you can have The Perfect Loop" game

Gnosia

Gonna be real. I didn't like the story very much, in part because the game lets you choose your gender but still acts like youre a straight dude. HOWEVER the gameplay was very inspiring to me. Every loop is pretty much just an among us meeting, and you have to find out who the imposters are or everyone dies and you loop again. and sometimes you ARE the imposter, so you need to make sure no one finds out. or you loop again. rules get added as time goes on too. i REALLY loved how quickly the loops stacked up. seeing "loop 100" was such a nice moment. ive been here so long! i tried to recreate that somewhat for my own game…

Loop Hero

Technically not a timeloop game, but a loop game. It still absolutely counts because it's about loops and memories, and what are loops and memories together if not a timeloop. You have your little guy going through a closed loop, battling enemies, getting cards, and making the world whole again by using those cards to make forests, towns, lakes come to life. I am famously a Story First Gameplay Second kinda player, but I did play this 45h for the gameplay alone. I learned a lot about battle balancing and randomness by playing this!

You and Me and Her: A Love Story

you know doki doki litterature club? this came before. and one might say. it's. better. in some parts (and i say that as someone who LOVED ddlc!) i won't say much except it's a dating sim but with timeloops. with a lot of what it implies. why are you dating this girl a second time? a third time? a fourth time? choose another one already! it was such a fascinating game to play, and is incredibly meta in the way it talks about dating sims and visual novels. had a lot of very impactful moments however, i played the hentai version. some of the worst, most cringy sex ive ever read and heard. however, one might say the sex is an integral part of the game and its deconstruction of hentai/dating sims…? no. just play the steam version which doesnt have the horrible sex scenes and you will have a great time i think (or play the hentai version. if you like. to watch. horrible sex scenes???)

Higurashi

knowing this is a timeloop game is a massive spoiler. however, this game is more than a decade old, so,,, honestly if you havent played higurashi what are you doing. i know i just spoiled you on it but i was also spoiled on it and i can GUARANTEE YOU that you will still have an amazing time. one more thing. you gotta play with the original sprites or you're a fake fan

I Was a Teenage Exocolonist

starts as a visual novel/management sim/dating sim kinda thing, until you realize that every replay is a new timeline. so the main character can save people, because they remembered about them dying in a previous one. i wish the timeloop would affect the game/story more (let me find a certain character quicker once ive found them in a previous playthrough!!!), but timeloop aside, it's a very fun game to play!!!

that's it! hope you will find a nice timeloop game you like

[k20spock]

Gecko’s list of free video games you should play right now

Hi I’m gecko I like video games and I like not paying 60 dollars for them so here’s a list of some free games I’ve unearthed and liked. Enjoy

(most of these are small, more obscure games made by a few people or even just one person, so support the creators if you can!! Some of these do have a pay what you want model)

Hikeback (Itch.io) 

You see a hitchhiker flagging you down during a long, lonely drive through the countryside. No matter how you choose to handle the situation, you end up back on that road. And then again. And again. And again, until you find a way to escape a loop of violence and self-sabotage. Hikeback is a visual novel inspired by the fable of the frog and the scorpion, and it takes about an hour to reach the ending. It’s available on Windows, Mac, Linux, and browser, and there’s a detailed list of content warnings on the game’s itch.io page. One of my strongest recommendations, Hikeback is an incredible experience, and it was made in only ten days!!

Purrgatory (Itch.io) (Steam)

Find ways to pass the time in an inexplicably cat-themed but otherwise pretty dull afterlife, and befriend its other inhabitants. Purrgatory can hit hard when it wants to, but it’s mostly a relaxed point and click game that takes about a few hours if you want the true ending (which you do). And also I really don’t like recommending things going “it’s rep!!” and not elaborating on what the thing is actually about, but Purrgatory does have a mostly explicitly LGBT+ cast and Korean characters by a Korean artist. It’s been a few years since I played Purrgatory, but I remember it was an incredible experience, and since then, even more people can play it because it’s been fully translated into Spanish and Simplified Chinese! It’s available on Windows and browser.

How Fish is Made (Itch.io) (Steam)

How Fish is Made includes incredible retro-style graphics, a sardine flopping around in a machine with a choice to make, a singing, cane-wielding, tophat-wearing, tongue-eating parasitic isopod, and a free expansion/trailer for the studio’s next game that’s like if Katamari Damacy was evil and also had fish in it. That’s the best I can do for a summary. How Fish is Made is available on Windows and takes about 30-45 minutes, but will itch your brain for much longer.

Stop Burying Me Alive, Beautiful (Itch.io)

A visual novel in which you are stuck between trying to convince your girlfriend you are not dead and she should stop burying you alive, and playing rat-themed card games with a woman you find living underground. The game doesn’t always do a great job walking the line between comedy and horror, but there’s some strong writing depicting a failing relationship and very strong artwork that makes this an easy recommendation. Stop Burying Me Alive, Beautiful is on Windows, Mac, Linux, and browser, and takes about half an hour. 

Caper in the Castro (Internet Archive)

Ok this one is pretty different, but fuck it, it was originally released for free in 1989 (with a recommendation to make a donation to charity instead) and is still free so I’m including it. Not enough people are aware that you can play the first known video game by and about gay people on your computer right now for free and it has that classic adventure game bullshit sometimes but it’s extremely playable and also funny as shit. Like it’s not just cool history it’s actually fun (sorry Gayblade). You play as a lesbian private detective named Tracker McDyke looking for your missing drag queen friend and you can get most of the doors in the game open by shooting them. People have made full walkthroughs for this game and how to get it working if you have trouble so there’s no excuse. Play Caper in the Castro.

Under a Star Called Sun (Itch.io) (Liminal Magazine)

A browser game made in Bitsy that’s extremely simple and only a few minutes long, but that’s all it needs to create a succinct, gut-wrenching depiction of grief. 

Hotel Infinity (Itch.io)

If you need more short Bitsy games you can play in your browser that are about death, you’re out of luck after this because I’ve only got the two. Hotel Infinity is more lighthearted, tasking you with checking in on your ghostly hotel guests, and helping one check out. It’s simple, but sweet and affecting. 

Water Womb World (Itch.io)

Back to marine life-themed horror. Water Womb World is about a man’s obsessive search for the Garden of Eden leading him to the bottom of the ocean. There’s a few brief moments of annoyance in the gameplay, but the atmosphere and visuals are fantastic. Fantastic enough I bought the shirt, because I like cool shirts. It's available for Mac and Windows, and takes about 15 minutes. 

Hyperhell (Itch.io) (Steam)

A rogue-like bullet hell with a hyperpop soundtrack. It’s a mess, but in a good way. A run can (allegedly, I am not very good at bullet hells and I wasn’t able to get all the way to the end) be under ten minutes, but the game is very replayable with its different characters, weapons, bosses, and DDR and fishing minigames. You might have heard of this one already because maia has a cameo in it, but it really is a fun, if slightly painful for your eyes, time. It’s available on Windows.

Magicafe HD (Itch.io)

Under a technicality, I haven’t played this one yet, but that’s because I played the original text-based version of this game and I didn’t know the dev had converted it to a full visual novel until right now when I went to recommend the original. I’m certain this version is even better! It’s a cute, simple visual novel about a girl trying to get to her job at a magical girl themed cafe, while dealing with the struggles of secretly also being an actual magical girl. Available on Windows, and lasts about half an hour. The original is available on browser here if you’re interested. 

Dedz0ne (Itch.io)

Ok, wrapping up on a weird one since this isn’t really a universal recommendation. Dedz0ne is a Yume Nikki/Splatoon fangame inspired by Dedf1sh’s backstory and the atmosphere of Octo Expansion in general. It came out before Side Order so it’s not accurate to it, but it’s a really neat game with great visuals and atmosphere. It’s available on Windows

And that’s it for now. There will probably be a sequel someday because I am unable to stop digging through free games. Or maybe a collection of not free but extremely cheap games (like under five bucks) I like. Who knows! I hope you found something that catches your eye here!

[tinygameroom]

I will try to make a more in depth post about this when I have the brains to do so but for people enjoying Slay The Princess who haven't played these before and/or are looking for more visual novels I highly highly recommend We Know The Devil and HIKEBACK.

These are both much shorter experiences than Slay The Princess but they're both also very important to me. WKTD is about three kids at an uncanny Christian summer camp where the Devil quite literally comes to mess with the attendants and someone has to sit watch with a radio to keep the Devil out. You play as all three characters, sometimes splitting off into groups of two. It's about religious trauma and queerness and self-discovery and trauma and coming of age and it can get very heavy but so very very beautiful. And weird.

HIKEBACK is the Scorpion and the Frog as a driver and a hitchhiker. With time loops.

WKTD is by worstgirlsgames and you can play it on itchio and steam, and HIKEBACK is by CLOWN and you can play it on itchio.

[faynatical]

So uh Hikeback doodles because I'm bored as sin. Headcanon names are Octave (Hiker) and Camilo (Driver), these aren't canon at all and Dandy plans on having canon names in the future!!

Also Hiker has a kitty named Cherry and it has braincells of a tuxy cat. Lilly is a good big sister even if she drools all over it.

[creppersfunpalooza]

Crepppp :( Why didn't you tell me that Slay The Princess was going to jumpscare me with a reference (not really) to HikeBack :(((( (The Frog achievement [it was in her nature])

BECAUSE I WAS NOT AWARE OF THIS. timeloop games……. all connected /j

[dragonroar64]

i see my singular post about hikeback is doing numbers(the number is 1) so here have why it's great in no particular order:

-Made me enjoy a time loop plotline(I kinda hate time loops usually)

-i am still thinking about it, at least a year or two after I first encountered it

-based on a fairytale I hadn't heard of up until encountering hikeback

-you don't even have to download the game to play it. It's free and easy to access

-eventual sequel still in progress as far as I know

-characters are really compelling. They're great I love them

-Space to fill in the fandom, especially if you write fanfic. This is totally not me attempting to get more people involved in this community so I can stare at art and writing about one of my favorite games of all time. Totally not

-Creator has a tumblr you can look at with occasional info about the characters involved(y'all are gonna have to find that yourself though)

Tldr play hikeback, please and thank you; we need more company in this fandom thank

[pridewishes]

do u have recs for rpg maker games?

Of course, we'll put them below the cut since it's a special interest of quite a lot of us

8:11 - Free / $8 [haven't finished]

Elevator Hitch - Free

Anything from VGPerson - Free (specifically Ib, Witch's House, Mad Father, Alice Mare, LiEat, 1BitHeart, End Roll, Farethere City, The Faceless Double, Paletta, Walking on a Star Unknown, Crooked Man Series, YTTD are the ones we like the most. The remakes if you want to buy some off Steam are also extremely good.)

Flesh, Blood, and Concrete - Free [haven't finished]

Hello Charlotte - Free / $3

Hikeback - Free (this is a vis novel but still)

It's Not Me It's My Basement - Free [haven't finished]

Therapy with Dr. Albert Kruger - Free (not rpgmaker but good)

Little Red Riding Hood's Wolf - Free

Underworld Capital Incident - Free [haven't finished]

OFF - Free

Dreaming Mary - Free

Oneshot - $10 [haven't finished]

Red Trees - Free

Mistrick - Free

Ao Oni - Free

Escaped Chasm - Free [haven't finished]

Grimm's Hollow - Free

Hylics - $3 [haven't finished]

Melon Journey - Free (they're working on a sequel)

Pocket Mirror - Free (they're making a new version for Steam like the ones we mentioned before too)

Pom Gets Wifi - Free

Purgatory - Free

Purrgatory - Free (also not rpg maker but still one of our faves)

Yume Nikki - Free [haven't finished]

Wireland - Free [haven't finished]

Space Funeral - Free [haven't finished]

Helltaker - Free (not rpgmaker either but still p good)

Don't Toy With Me - Free

Charon games are good, love their art style but they focus a lot on the "yandere" trope so if that's not your thing you shouldn't bother

Nomnomnami games are good but they're Not a good person so we would recommend not playing any of their games you have to buy / supporting them but they're good fun still.

omori is popular but we wouldn't suggest supporting omocat but we still enjoy it.

we also really used to like Purple & Doll Eye? We think those might be iffy games now as well but aren't in the know so I'm not entirely sure

entropy is also a favorite but it got taken down a long time ago and we doubt you could find a link or much content for it anywhere at all sadly

you can also go to ManlyBadassHero on yt and find some pretty enjoyable ones to play. he's the best.

we probably forgot quite a lot but we hope these work for now!

[little-mephistopheles]

CALLING ALL HIKEBACK FANS. a discord fan server exists and we desperately need fresh blood.

We have cool things such as:

- art!

- memes!

- cosplay!

- mr. clowndream himself is there!

- if we become more active, we're thinking of having movie nights, group playthroughs, and art streams!

stop on by if youre interested!

[s-ccaam-era-crepe]

hmmm what do i do... the speech due today. or play video games. hmmmmm this is Sooooo Harddd

[clowndream]

okay i played Hikeback for the first time today (im so late to the party ik </33) and just gonna say it affected me so much but so so well. i can't explain it very well but just know that this game means Everything to me rn and im very glad i got the opportunity to play and experience it <3

ty for making this amazing game btw :))

also question about the game if you're taking them, are there canonical ages for driver and hiker?

it's okay, i have a hard time explaining it too. that's why i made a game about it.

i'm really happy that it means so much to you, and thank you very much for taking the time to play it at all, i'm glad you could find meaning in this strange little story ^^

also no worries, i'm pretty much always answering questions. in hikeback, hiker is 24 and driver is 26. they should've been at the club

[gigglingauspice]

houghh driver hikeback or drumbot brian mechanisms for character ask meme

Drumbot Brian.

Sexuality Headcanon: Shrug! This drumbot likes men and is aromantic. I can’t get more specific than that.

Gender Headcanon: Bigender. Which two genders? Shrug! He’s got ‘em.

A ship I have with said character: Ough. Gunpowder Tim/Drumbot Brian in a distinctly alterous fashion. Also Galahad/Brian. He’s got.. a taste in men.

A BROTP I have with said character: DBB/Aurora

A NOTP I have with said character: uhhh. DBB/Carmilla I guess? not the Biggest fan of him paired romantically with anyone.

A random headcanon: I feel like he has tattoos. Well, not quite? More like… You know how some instruments have gorgeous botanical engravings? Yeah. He has nine roses trailing down from his shoulder, one for each member of the crew.

General Opinion over said character: I Know Him.

The Driver

Sexuality Headcanon: Bisexual.

Gender Headcanon: He’s just some guyyyy, in a distinctly transgender fashion.

A ship I have with said character: Driver/Hiker. Banned from the timeloop from saying what Hiker did to that weird man.

A BROTP I have with said character: there’s total three characters so we’re gonna have to delve outside of canon unless I pair him with the Hiker again. I think he could get along real well with the Waitress Of The Diner Outside The Narrative.

A NOTP I have with said character: driver/Her.

A random headcanon: I think he catfishes people with his pre-transition selfies. It’s not /not/ canon.

General Opinion over said character: I want to bite into him like a delicious slice of cake. I think about him all the time.

[mahalidael]

hikeback is a game about a driver and a hitchhiker. it's a speedy little game if you only want to go for one ending, but i would recommend taking the hour or so you need to get all of them. contains car accidents, among other content warnings listed in full on the itch.io page

YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY!

[zettasteria]

Schedule for 11.27

Not gonna be around from Friday til Monday this week, so isntead I'm streaming 4 days in a row to make up for it!

All streams are at 7PM PST/GMT-7

Monday: Modded Skyrim: VIGILANT EP4 FInale! (I hope) Tuesday: More SIGNALIS! Wednesday: HIKEBACK and Other Horror VNs Thursday: Gungrave GORE

Also starting this week I'm gonna be uploading clips daily that are made for my tiktok/youtube!