#if you like the scorpion and the frog fable you.. you should play hikeback for me prettyyyy pleasee

[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!!!)

[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!

[malhare-archive]

Oh yeah pal, the wolf monologue basically made the film for me. Like before I was just like "This is an interesting weird movie I guess" but after that I was like "Oh god. Oh fuck." Like personally I'm more of a scorpion person, I've been obsessed with them since a young age and also playing HIKEBACK, a psychological horror / sci-fi short visual novel about abuse and change (or the ability to), did something to me that no other story will ever be able to do, and that game used Aesop's scorpion and the frog as character themes (it can even be seen in the designs now that I think about it) and metaphors. And also I'm like weirdly obsessed with that pop culture retelling of the fable, where the scorpion doesn't sting the frog and says that it can't choose its nature but it can control its actions or something like that? I also have a love/hate relationship with the original fable because on one hand I'm like "REAL SHIT 👀👀👀???" and on the other I am like "When I die I will take a book of these fables with me and I will hit Aesop really hard with it every afternoon for the rest of eternity because this fable is wrong and goes against all my convictions and ideals and it is imperative to my wellbeing that Aesop is aware of that."

But anyway wolves are cool too, it's just that, I don't know, I just hate relating to wolves because if I say it, people will surely think that I'm one of those weird guys who are like "Oh I'm a total wolf I'm a Super Mega Alpha Male haha lol". Or they'll think that I'm saying that they're like cool and badass and majestic and I'm too. But what I am in fact saying is "I was born with; or perhaps was made to grow; metaphorical claws and teeth so sharp they bite when they should kiss and cut when they should pet. My love is caustic and smells of burning plastic, it bites and takes and tears your throat out until there's nothing left of you to give to me, to nurture my empty body with. My hair raises at the tiniest sound and my heart is always racing to run or fight. I'm a wild animal, a pack animal, but I'm rabid." you know?

Anyway the wolf songs. Well the most obvious ones are:

I Know I'm A Wolf by Young Heretics

Little Red Riding Hood by Amanda Seyfried

Wolf Like Me by TV On The Radio (or this cover)

Then there's WOLF by Siamés, which is from the POV of the wolf and uses it as a metaphor for addiction

Then The Wolf Song by OMNIA, which actually may be rather literal because OMNIA is a bit out there

Then Be Nice To Me by The Front Bottoms uses the wolf metaphor once but it isn't the focus

Songs that are focused on their metaphor but use a slightly different animal are:

Lion by Hollywood Undead

and Dog Teeth by Nicole Dollanganger (actually I'm mildly sure this one is supposed to be about sexual assault but I can't really be sure sure about it and personally I don't treat it as that kind of song but as a general thing. Mostly because I can relate to "You're cold on the inside, there's a dog in your heart, and it tells you to tear everything apart." and actually a lot of the lyrics in general.)

Some other miscellaneous songs are:

Wounded Wolf by Giles Corey, which is named that but never actually mentions a wolf???

Bitten by Patrick Wolf (lol), which yeah talks about being bitten and stuff but isn't really focused on that. Honestly I just like the song.

Silt by Half Waif, which uses a few lyrics of a lion metaphor but otherwise talks more generally about loving with venom

Tongues and Teeth by The Crane Wives, which is also pretty vague in terms of metaphors but it fits the general concept.

I'm actually somewhat sure I knew more very specific wolf songs, but I can't find them at all right now?? Idk might get back to you with more if I ever remember the titles lol.

YOOOOO, sorry this took me a while to get around to I just [inhale] have a lot of thoughts and wanted to be able to give a thoughtful response! Thank you so much for the reccs, I LOVE getting music reccs and I LOVE wolf metaphors/imagery so I put all these songs on a playlist to listen to at work!

I've already heard a few of these - Funnily enough, "Wolf Like Me" is my favorite TV on the Radio song! I also love "I Know Im a Wolf" and "Dog Teeth"!! Im excited to listen to the rest <3

I really like the Scorpion and the Frog fable too! That "nature vs self determination" debate is really close to my own heart.

I also definitely feel you on relating to wolves in that way, especially the bit about “having claws and teeth” that accidentally hurt others. My connection to wolves isn't some macho lone-wolf deal, it's about trauma, overcoming your own nature and life obstacles, and inner strength though I'm now starting to get more into my relationship with my patron deity, Fenrir.