My playthrough of Reality-On-The-Norm continues with the 8th game in the series. It was nice to play two entries in a row without having to fuss too much with getting them to work. This one has you playing as Elandra, who has appeared in some of the previous games, and you must help an amateur rocket builder. On average the series has been improving in the quality of the art and gameplay design. This one even features a really nice location select screen.
The game’s location select screen
I think the writing is the best in the series so far too! It’s genuinely fun going back to these and seeing topical nerd humor like an unironic All Your Base Are Belong to Us reference. Part of the fun of playing this series is that it’s a time capsule of a specific point in the adventure game community.
Folks, we’ve got an All Your Base reference
Another way this thing is a time capsule of the community is how many Yahtzee references it has. I posted the following screenshot without any context, because I forgot, and someone thought that there was maybe some in-community fighting happening but no, he had helped with the art in this game and someone in the team threw this reference in there as a fun joke. Maybe there was drama at some later point but it certainly wasn’t happening with this game.
I mentioned in a previous review that a dev saw my RON posting on Bluesky and this was that game. It was entirely positive, since I did have a good time playing this game, but I still imagine that it’s probably weird to see someone playing a game you made almost 25 years ago. They even mentioned that it was like doing an excavation on their 19 year old brain when I mentioned that reference. So generally I’ve kept any and all criticism off social media, as light as it may be, because who wants someone throwing rocks at something you made that long ago when you were a kid. The only real criticism I even have with this is just that it had some frustrating pixel hunting but that’s kinda it. I may have played an updated version too? It makes references to picking up items later and a walkthrough I found references picking up an item and going to rooms that I never came across.
A fun thing about it being a shared universe is that we’re starting to get more callbacks and it’s almost a sequel to the first game. I thought the epilogue and animated cutscene in an early AGS game was fun to watch. Even though I just complained about this game having some goofy design stuff, so far I think it’s the best one I’ve played and it’s fun watching a community learn how to make adventure games and referencing stuff that happened in this universe 8 games ago. Overall I had a lot of fun with this short game and would recommend it to others. Just be sure to play previous entries like the first game before doing this one.
Developer: Ben Pettengill Publisher: Ben Pettengill Year: 2001 Genre: Adventure Game
Well this one was weird. My playthrough of the Reality-On-The-Norm shared adventure game universe continues with the 7th game in the series. I skipped ahead a few because I couldn’t get some to work in DosBox, ScummVM, or my Windows 98 VM. Return of Die Vie Ess is about a scientist in Reality who has plans to take over the world. You play as Nameless Law Official and must stop his scheme. Other than the return of Davy Jones as a character you interact with, and walking around the town of Reality, there isn’t that much of a connection to the previous games. Most of the characters are new and the scientist does all of his scheming from a room that you never go in, so it feels very disconnected from your actions. I’m assuming that some of the new characters will pop up in later games.
The game itself is very straightforward and only took about 5 minutes to beat. It’s still pleasant enough, except for the ending making a very odd detour with a random joke from the scientist about a sex worker and Davy Jones having a comment about unprotected sex. They come out of nowhere and it’s unfortunate mark on an otherwise fine game. Other than that, the game is ok enough and I think it’s worth playing if you’re going to take the same odd journey as I have and try to play through this series.
Like I said in other reviews, it’s hard to be too critical because these were games by teenagers and folks in their early 20s in the early 2000s. I cannot even imagine what 14 year old me would have put in a game if I made one at this time, probably jokes that have aged much more poorly than anything in these games, so I can’t judge anyone for a joke in a freeware game from almost 25 years ago and really isn’t as bad as I’m making it out to be.
I’ve been posting about these games as I play them on Bluesky and Mastodon and even with me being completely positive about the games on there, because I am genuinely having a good time playing these including this game, I think it did trip out one or two devs who worked on these when they saw them on Bluesky, since they had worked on them decades ago. I took a screenshot of an All Your Base joke and a dev commented that it’s like I’m doing an excavation of their 19 year old brain. They liked the post so I don’t think they were mad about it. I wasn’t dunking on the game, but it’s still probably a trip to have someone commenting on what you were doing at 19, 24 years later. I don’t know how I would feel about it if I had made games at that age, which is why I’m not really broadcasting these reviews despite enjoying the series, other than the automatic posts my blog does to Mastodon.
Is this probably more thought than what should go into a 5 minute freeware game from 2001? Yeah probably, but I like logging everything I play through on here since other folks aren’t talking about these games. Not that I’m really expecting anyone to talk about something like this on social media, and demanding that people do would probably make me sound like Jim Gaffigan wanting to talk about the movie Heat, but I think someone should since it’s an interesting time for the genre that I don’t see discussed too much. It’s also why I went back and removed the “Review: ” title from all of my review posts. You can still check out the Review category that all of these posts have, but it’s almost more of a log at this point and having it categorized in the post title made it sound too dang formal. But who knows, maybe I’ll sell out and throw it back in when I desire that SEO boost.
Developer: Ben Pettengill Publisher: Ben Pettengill Year: 2001 Genre: Adventure Game
My playthrough of the Reality-on-the-Norm series continues. I tried to get the 2nd game working but wasn’t able to so I gave up and moved ahead to the third game. It doesn’t matter too much since they’re all standalone games that make references to previous games, but that’s it.
This one has you once again playing as teen magician Davy Jones. His magical ring has been stolen by Russian spies and it’s up to you to get it back. There’s not a whole lot to say about this one. It’s not as good as the first one in my opinion but is still alright enough. It’s more immature than the first game and there’s some humor in it that hasn’t aged great, although neither game has aged as poorly as I expected, given that it was made by people in their teens or early 20s in the early 2000’s, so that’s been a nice surprise. It’s hard for me to be that critical of them since it’s such a weird project and people are also figuring out how to use the engine. So far each game has had a different project setup too.
As you can see in the above screenshot, there’s some weird perspective stuff going on in the MS Paint art, but I think that’s actually kind of the charm for me. I really enjoy that the art isn’t polished but also isn’t just trying to emulate The Secret of Monkey Island or King’s Quest. I have a lot of nostalgia for this era of adventure games, where the community decided to make their own games since Lucasarts and Sierra stopped making them, and had to figure out how to do that. Like I said with the first game, it’s hard to recommend specific 15 minute games, especially ones in the middle of a shared universe, but it is fun going through this series if you can get the games to work.
Don’t have a whole lot to say in this intro paragraph. If you enjoy these, do a blog post with your own game and art recommendations. If you don’t have a blog, consider starting a free one on neocities or bear blog. I also have start putting more effort into my recommendation list on Itch.io if you want more recommendations. Consider starting one of those too. I’ve heard they’re way cooler and sexier than Steam Curator pages. I like these ones by Meagan and WildWeasel. And leave nice comments on things you like! Anyway, as Geoff Keighley always says, “Now more than ever, video games.”
Video Games
I have been playing adventure games my whole life. If there’s a hater of slider tile puzzles, it’s me. That said, I think landflip (Itch.io) is different enough that it’s not one of those, or at least they cracked the code and made a good one. It’s probably the best looking one too.
mausimus released version 1.0 of ShaderGlass (itch.io) last night and it does a really need CRT monitor effect on whatever game you’re playing. I tried it with Doom 2 and it was really neat. I don’t buy into the thought all old games must be played on a CRT by some folks in the retro gaming world, but it’s still fun to look at.
I haven’t played twin stick shooter roguelike Star of Providence (Steam/Switch) but I guess it just got a release on the Nintendo Switch and I’ve seen so many people praise it. It also got an update on the PC.
Super 10 Pin (Itch.io) just got a demo and I haven’t seen a game nail the feel of the N64 era of games like this in long time. Even it being a bowling game makes it feel like more of a N64 game to me. Fortunately it’s a good one and does more than just “roll a ball down a lane.”
Open-and-Shut (Itch.io) is a free noir sci-fi point-and-click adventure game made for the Cyberpunk Jam on Itch.
I missed this one when it came out early this month but Slender Threads (Steam) is a paranormal point-and-click adventure that I’ve seen get a lot of praise by folks in the adventure game community.
Oplero (Itch.io) is just a really solid bullet hell shmup that you can play in your browser window.
FISH FEAR ME (Steam) by Heather Flowers is possible the world’s first fishing roguelike?
Adam Saltsman has been on a roll lately with all the PICO-8 games he’s been making. His newest game Weasel (Itch.io) is a Snake-like.
SNØ: Ultimate Freeriding (Steam) looks like an incredibly chill skiing game and has a demo too!
People are still making games for the Commodore 64. Pirates of the Black Seas (Itch.io) is a new text adventure available for Pay-What-You-Want created with the classic IF writing software Quest Writer by Loadstar.
Smol Gods (Itch.io) is the newest game by game dev collective PUNKCAKE Délicieux. It’s a card deck creating game where you try to have a powerful deck of monsters by drawing and swapping cards.
I love covering games by local devs and this week some students at Michigan State University have created a zero gravity horror game called BURN (Steam), which looks like if someone used the classic game Descent to make a horror walking sim (complimentary).
This bluesky post describes it better than I could, so please read that, but Fahmi Mohammad’s final game Afterlove EP (Steam) is here after being completed by his studio after his passing.
Rapture Island (Itch.io) is a low poly walking simulator where you explore an island in a relaxing environment. Available for Pay-What-You-Want.
This week’s Downpour game is Back of My Hand#HISS (Downpour site) by Florence Smith Nicholls.
Neyyah is a Myst-like game that’s been in development for quite a while and now it has a demo on Steam!
Peripeteia (Steam) is a first-and-third-person role-playing stealth game taking place in alt-history cyberpunk Poland. It has just entered Early Access and sounds wild. A lot of folks are excited for it but have recommended playing the demo first before buying it.
Star Fox-like Whisker Squadron: Survivor (Steam) has just left Early Access and is on sale as part of the full version launch.
The tabletop rpg Pale Dot is running a Kickstarter for a print run. It has already reached its funding and is just looking for additional funds to do more now. The digital version of the game has been out for a while now and I recommended it if you’re looking for an Outer Wilds inspired ttrpg.
I continue to post about indie games on here because it’s either that or spiraling about the state of the world and I don’t know if anyone needs that. That said, there’s a couple of cool bundles this week where you can get a lot of great games and help folks out, so that’s alright.
The first bundle is the Grève bundle GG25 (Itch.io). All money goes to the strike fund for the Video Game Workers Union (STJV) to help compensate for loss of income linked to the 2025’s video game general strike. For $10 or more you can get a ton of great games and some come with Steam keys. I’m a big fan of PUNKCAKE Délicieux, who has a few games in this bundle and it also contains PicoMix, which is a collection of games I just covered very recently.
The second bundle is the HRT Harm Reduction Toolkit Bundle (Itch.io). For just $25 or more you can get a ton of great tabletop rpgs and help trans folks. I want to get a special shoutout to the game Dinocar that’s in this bundle. It’s the first ttrpg that I played with my kids and we had a great time. People that make tabletop rpgs you can play with your kids are my heroes.
And finally, this bundle on Itch.io for Palestinian aid is looking for submissions.
Knotdoku (Itch.io) is a cool twist on the classic sudoku game. In addition to all the rules you must follow when solving your typical sudoku puzzle, all the numbers are tied together with string and must never cross each other when you place the numbers on the board. This free browser game was created by LCB Game Studio, the developer of horror visual novels like Mothmen 1966. This isn’t a horror game though, just a very chill puzzle game with some music that slaps.
Worldwide Wizard Racket Rumble (Itch.io) is a cute, free ping pong game between wizards, where players can cast spells to help win points. I was really impressed by the level of polish and I’m looking forward to playing this one with my kids.
Renkon has done a journal entry in Bitsy (dev site). I think that’s a fun use for Bitsy and you can find other journal entries here.
Adam Saltzman has been on a roll with all the PICO-8 games he’s been making lately and this is another solid one. In Skeleton Gelatin (Itch.io), you explore a cave as a blob and solve puzzles. I think Adam described it as something along the lines of a Metroidvania without the jump button. Instead the game has you stacking bubbles to climb up and bases the puzzles around that.
We also got a ZX Spectrum game this week called Plyuk (Itch.io) that uses a very similar stacking mechanic for solving puzzles. Maybe 2025 is the year of stacking. This one is available for Pay-What-You-Want.
oceans::ephemera (Itch.io) is a walking simulator (they use the tag! It’s ok!) by the collective INFINITE TEARS and the designer Farfama where you explore a surreal space for 7 minutes and 43 seconds. I have always loved games where you just explore a space for a while and this was a beautiful space to meditate in for the duration of the game. From looking at social media posts, it sounds like there is a hidden part of the game that no one has seen yet, and while I really wish I could know what it is, even what I experienced is fantastic. It’s available as Pay-What-You-Want and if you enjoyed this, I also highly recommend city::ephemera.
286 Miles (Itch.io) is a short browser game about everyone’s favorite Luigi. It uses music by John Maus, who I kinda think can go fuck himself, but good lord the animation in this is incredible. The dev’s itch also has a game I’ve previously played called Cathedrals that I think is worth checking out if you want to build sculptures with Tetris blocks.
Breaker Box (Itch.io) is a free browser shmup where you must also shake to charge your flashlight and see your enemies.
Juan made an arcade game with his 7 year old (dev site) and it’s good. It makes me want to do more game dev with my kids too, so maybe I’ll mod this one since it’s open source. My 7 year old beta tested my last game and found some stuff and it made her incredibly happy that she’s listed in the credits for the game. We’re also poking at some adventure game stuff and using clay. If you’re a game dev and have kids, you should make something with them too. It’s the best. Am I doing the thing all parents do and just bragging about how cool my kids are? Yeah maybe.
If you’re like me and have mixed feelings about the new Dragonsweeper redesign (although you can still download the old version), maybe you’ll be interested in this version by Brianna Townsend (dev’s site) that looks like a DOS game and has some really nice new features.
If you’re a developer that has a ton of projects, cécile (post explaining it on Bluesky) has created a project that turns your Itch page into more of a grid layout and making it easier to read. You can download it on Itch.io.
It’s not new but I don’t think I’ve ever given a shoutout to Fireflower Games before. If you’re looking for DRM-free adventure games, consider picking up a game from their store. Itch.io doesn’t get every indie game and this site has done a pretty good job building up a catalog of games from various adventure game folks. Plus a chunk of their proceeds gets donated to environmental groups (see their FAQ).
Whale Flesh (Steam) is a horror game where you dig through the flesh of a giant whale to find out what happened to your team. Yep, sound great, sign me up.
Fill the world with your rainbow 2 (Itch.io) is a free browser puzzle game and rerelease of a Puzzlescript game from 10 years ago. I never played that one so I was happy to see this rerelease and it has a message that I think a lot of people could use right now.
Stewpot (Itch.io/Print) is here! Stewpot is a tabletop rpg by one of my favorite designers, Takuma Okada, where you tell the story of a tavern run by former adventurers through a series of mini games. The games absolutely works as a standalone thing but would also work very well at the end of a ttrpg campaign, once your adventurers retire and you want a more cozy way to continue their adventures.
I am a big fan of games inspired by the frustrating parts of Sierra adventure games, like Stair Quest and KIDNAME:ICEBOY, so I was thrilled to see Drive Quest 3 (Itch.io). DQ3 is a browser game based on the incredibly frustrating driving parts of Police Quest 3.
Shadowgate 2 (Steam) comes out today. You’re probably thinking “oh wow, it took them this long to make a sequel to Shadowgate for the Mac and NES?” NOPE! Buckle up, here are all the Shadowgate games we’ve got so far, not counting ports:
Shadowgate (1987)
Beyond Shadowgate (1993) for the TurboGrafx CD
Shadowgate 64 (1999) for the N64. I believe this one has mixed reviews but I remember actually really liking it
Shadowgate (2014), a remake of the original game.
Beyond Shadowgate (2024), a completely different game than the previously named Shadowgate. Why does it have the same name as the first sequel? Don’t know!
There was also a VR game and a board game too. Anyway, we now have a Shadowgate 2, which I guess is based on some concepts from a canceled N64 game called Shadowgate Rising. “Michael, aren’t you generally just optimistic about video games in this?” Yeah usually. The game is probably fine! I heard that Beyond Shadowgate game from last year was good and I think that remake from 2014 is solid too. So I’m actually generally a fan of this series, just a weirdo grump about how they name things.
Terry’s Other Games (Steam/Itch.io) is a collection of various small games by Terry Cavanagh, of VVVVVV and Super Hexagon fame. Notably, it features the first commercial release of a game made in Downpour, the game dev tool that you can use on smartphones (and I highly recommend). The developer of that wrote about it on their blog.
Zine month is happening right now in the ttrpg world and while I haven’t followed it too closely because I simply cannot afford to back everything I’ll get excited about, I did back Underneath (Kickstarter) by Seb Pines. I’m a fan of Seb’s games and solo ttrpgs in general and this one has you exploring unknown cave systems.
I haven’t played Reality Break (Steam) yet but it looks like a fun action rpg set in space and already has a few hundred reviews even though it just came out a few days ago. I heard about this from Aura’s blog, who seems to love the game.
The Creation of Wonder (Itch.io) is a tabletop rpg that can either be played as a solo game or for groups of 2-4 people and uses a tarot deck. It’s described as a narrative worldbuilding game about the labour that goes into the creation of art, and about the art that lives on when its makers are forgotten. It’s available for Pay-What-You-Want.
Steam Next Fest is coming up (or is already happening? I don’t know.) so a bunch of demos are being uploaded. Old Skies has a demo and I’ve mentioned before that I’ve beta tested it and think it’s probably their best game, so go play that one or just take my word for it and wishlist it. Axyz also looks like a fun vaporwave puzzle game.
Finally, it’s not a game but a musician I’m a fan of, Alpha Chrome Yayo, has released an album called Dream Chaser (Bandcamp) that is packed with tunes inspired by PSX-era racing games. It also comes with a Stepmania chart.
As much fun as these posts are, it came take a while to write them so if you enjoy these, add the site to your RSS feed reader, tell a friend, and do your own roundup! Social media and search engines suck and we need to build up a better web that doesn’t rely on the same 3 websites.
Wow, what a year huh? Glad it’s almost over right? Anyway, as usual, looking at little things on Itch.io and elsewhere is keeping me from losing my marbles so I will keep doing that. If you posted that people need to make weirder stuff, and you aren’t a game dev, idk, consider supporting some of the games here. Also considering buying more from Itch.io than Steam in the new year. They take a smaller cut from devs and don’t make everyone use forums that only an incredibly toxic community uses. Please let me know in the comments what you’ve been playing lately.
Dragonsweeper (Itch.io) is a free browser game that adds dungeon crawling and rpg elements to Minesweeper and it works wonderfully.
Vampire Versus Pope Army (Itch.io) is another great browser puzzle game, this one being made in PICO-8. In this game you’re a vampire and must drink blood from all the popes.
Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders (Steam) is a downhill skiing game that’s just some goofy fun. It just felt really good for me to control and was really easy to get going. I played the demo and it’s good! Not a whole lot to say about this one, just a straightforward downhill racing game that is well made.
Pillbug’s Domain (Itch.io) is a fun setting made for the Tiny World TTRPG jam. The page suggests using it for a science fiction or cyberpunk campaign. It’s probably just me but the art reminds me of an early 90s shareware game, so that’s always a plus. Available as Pay-What-You-Want.
Asterism (Steam) is an interactive concept album by Claire Morwood, filled with lovely music, but the highlight for me is this stop-motion art. Everyone probably knows by now that if a game has stop-motion art I’m required to put it in here. Look at it! Incredible. It also has a demo.
I thought Red Pandamonium (Itch.io) was a neat little free roguelike FPS made in 72 hours. You’re a red panda and move from room to room, clearing all the enemies, and buy upgrades. Plus it has some good retro FPS-inspired graphics.
I’m so fucking excited for Realis (Itch.io). It’s a tabletop rpg by Austin Walker of Giant Bomb/Waypoint/Friends at the Table fame. It’s a diceless ttrpg where characters deploy powerful Sentences, which are rewritten over the course of their saga. It’s currently in development but buying it now gets you the Ashcan edition. Usually that means it’s a shortened version of the game that can still be played, but the version you get is still a pretty beefy book. I think $15 is a pretty fantastic deal for the book. Even if this was all we were getting, it would still be worth buying. You can also listen to it being played on the current season of Friends at the Table.
Horizons: The End Of Words (Itch.io/Steam) is the newest game by the PUNKCAKE Delicieux collective. In this one you explore space by making chains of words using the letters you’re given. I’m a big fan of this collective and folks, I think they made another banger.
I never played Dungeon Ruins but people seemed to enjoy it. The sequel just came out (Steam) and the Steam reviews are positive for that one too.
That’s it for this week. If you enjoy these, subscribe to the blog through the RSS feed, tell a friend, and check out these games. If you’ve got your own blog, think about talking about stuff you like! More obscure art could always use more people praising it. I also have an irc channel for indie and alt games/gamedev talk at AfterNET at #AltGames. Consider giving it a try! No registration required!
Well the world is a dumpster fire right now so I’m distracting myself with video games. Bon appétit!
Tunnels of Vextro (Itch.io) is a free chain anthology of games made using different engines and in conversation with each other.
Finalists for this year’s Independent Games Festival have been announced. This has always been a great way to discover smaller games and I’ve always been excited to ready these ever since they started posting these when I was a kid and discovered that you could make stuff like Bad Milk and Pencil Whipped.
Rob’s Spooky Tomb Of Videogames is back! They’re kinda like these roundups except they were first and are much better. I’ve discovered so many great games through Rob and I highly recommend subscribing.
There’s a new HauntedPS1 disc! I already covered it in a separate post but you should go check it out!
Radiant Lens (Itch.io) is a fun little tarot thing made in PICO-8.
Remora (Itch.io) is a demo of an upcoming visual novel by Swanchime.
Submissions are being taken for a charity bundle on Itch.io. You can read more about it on Wraithkal’s blog.
The Shadow Over Cyberspace (Steam) is a free visual novel about the Old Ones and Y2K approaching.
The Roottrees are Dead (Steam) is an expanded version of the original version created for Global Game Jam 2023. I never played the original but have heard wonderful things about this new version and I’m looking forward to playing it.
CyberCetacean (Itch.io) is a fun browser arcade game with vector graphics.
New In Town (Itch.io) is a solo TTRPG about being in a new place and reminding yourself of the possibilities. It was created for a game jam where the prompt was to be inspired by a random Nintendo DS game, with this one being based on Animal Crossing: Wild World.
World Pole Stone Dusk: Diadem of the Pole (Itch.io) is a new action platformer by Jazz Mickle featuring very nice art and looks to be very challenging.
Fragrance Point (Steam) looks like an incredibly trippy platformer adventure game.
AirbornEmpire (Steam) is a new city builder where you create a city floating in the sky. I will always get excited about city builders that try something new and so far this one has very positive reviews, which is nice when people can be very fussy about early access games.
Cyclopean: The Great Abyss (Steam/Itch.io) is a new dungeon crawler that has just entered early access. I really like the dev’s previous games and this one seems to be influenced by very early pc rpgs where you have an overworld and then it switches to a first person view when you get to a dungeon.
SoundBath (Itch.io) is a free and relaxing tool for creating ambient music.
Hengähtänet (Itch.io) is a bilingual poetry game featuring nice artwork.
Someone made a neat little remake of the DOS classic Pharoah’s Tomb on their website
HouseCall (Itch.io) is a free point-and-click adventure that’s playable in the browser.
Buried Treasure highlighted a dungeon crawler that looks pretty nifty called Tower of Mask.
Indie Games+ has a new review of a horror game that is very retro looking and aesthetically pleasing to me. Pretend it’s not there is available as Pay-What-You-Want.
Usually I put all my indie game stuff in the roundups but there was enough here that it deserved its own post.
EEK3, a virtual showcase of horror games inspired by the PSX era, just wrapped up and you can watch it all on YouTube. Overall it was good, I discovered a lot of new upcoming games from it, and we got a new HauntedPS1 demo disc that you can now download on Itch. I thought I would highlight and link to some of the ones I’m most interested just to get some extra eyes on them, but you should just watch the showcase and download the demo disc. This might be a weird list anyway because I like creepy stuff, but not games that are actually scary or have jump scares.
Angeline Era is a new bump combat game by the developer of games such as Sephonie and Anodyne 1 and 2. Bump combat is back!
Ticky’s Tower of Time just looks like a nice 3D platformer from the PSX era. Sure, I’ll play another one of those. The music in the trailer is pleasant too.
I’m not quite sure what Of Love and Eternity is, maybe an adventure game? But it looked interesting and it has a demo so I should probably go play that.
Eclipsium looks like a horror adventure game and man, I get so excited about digitized sprites.
Axyz looks like a fun puzzle game with a vaporwave theme.
The art in Juice is so fun and Colorfiction has made plenty of cool games before.
I didn’t know until now that No Players Online was getting a commercial release but I was a fan of the original free game.
Spyrit Walker looks like a fun retro FPS and has a demo too.
Children of Saturn is really exciting to me. I will always be into stories about teens trying to get by while it feels like the world is ending. It’s an interactive fiction game that doesn’t seem to be horror, and it has a demo.
Prison of Husks looks like a combination of the slower, difficult combat in Dark Souls with an aesthetic inspired by ICO.
Scissors in Hell is a first person turn-based dungeon crawler so yes, I will be playing that.
Death in Abyss looks like a Star Fox-type game but horror themed and set under the water.
Morn is another horror retro shooter and it’s got a demo so you can see if being a priest and shooting demons is for you.
Shrimp Game is a roguelike where you are a shrimp under the water. Wonderful.
It’s kind of funny seeing something with the Wholesome tag make it into the showcase but VORON does seem like a nice adventure game where you are a raven exploring the world.
MOTORSLICE is a non-horror platformer that actually reminds me of the PS2 era of games and the movement in it seems really well done.
Please Insert Disc is a horror adventure where it seems like you explore a haunted PS2-era disc? It’s by the devs of Home Safety Hotline, which I never played but people seemed to love.
Tamarindos Freaking Dinner looks like a very trippy and silly adventure game and was a nice way to mix things up with all the very serious games in the showcase.
RADIANT ELUSION seems to be a 3D platformer with a vaporwave theme.
And then finally, Soup Rooms sounds fascinating to me. I guess it is inspired by a 2007 game from Japan. It’s 100 rooms that I think you just explore and will be free. That sounds pretty great to me.
After a little bit of a break I’m writing about games again! If you enjoy these, post about a new indie game that was exciting to you on a blog or website.
Video Games
The Forgotten Holiday (Itch.io) was made for a secret santa, where you move a camera around a snowy landscape and watch tanks sponsored by various brands fight each other.
Bluejeweled (Itch.io) is a version of the classic puzzle game Bejeweled that you cannot lose.
ABI-DOS (Steam) is one of those programming puzzle games that I struggle with because I have 5 brain cells. However, this one seems to be very good from looking at the Steam reviews. It was apparently released commercially a few months ago but after sales weren’t as big as expected, the developer went ahead and just made the game available for free, which is very nice.
SNAKE Lucky Laugh (Itch.io) is a little tool with a Macintosh aesthetic where you dress up a snake.
A new Indiepocalypse (Itch.io) is out! My recommended game for this one is the retro fps BITCH HELL.
If you have an interest in interactive fiction, consider checking out the Interactive Fiction Showcase 2024 on Itch.io, where folks submitted the IF games they made last year.
Keep Warm and Go (Itch.io) is a cute tiny browser game about getting dressed to go outside in celebration of the new year. I never heard of Flickgame but it seems like a neat tool for making really small games.
Quiet Journaling (Itch.io) is a relaxing walking simulator for browsers where the game generates a new landscape to walk around each day.
A Butterfly (Itch.io) is a pay-what-you-want experimental and interactive poem. Like with their previous game Blue Suburbia, I was really impressed by how it tells a story with multiple games-inside-a-game.
Stimulation Clicker (standalone site) is a browser game that probably represents the modern web better than anything else today. I personally had a hard time playing it because it became too overwhelming for my senses at a certain point but that’s kinda the point and it’s brilliantly made.
Helihopter64 (Itch.io) is a demo where you fly around dropping packages on targets in a N64 inspired world. It took me a minute to get the hang of the controls but once I did I was really into it. I hope this gets expanded into a larger game at some point.
Unicellular 3 (Itch.io) is a pay-what-you-want arcade game where you eat little things to grow bigger. Those are always fun and this one has you getting upgrades when you complete levels and the music is catchy too.
Cryptid Detective Club (Itch.io) is a cute storybook for browsers where you use a lantern to uncover secrets on each page.
Tabletop RPGS
.DUNGEON has launched a Kickstarter for the newest edition of their game about being in a dying MMO. The original version won plenty of awards and acclaim so check it out if it sounds interesting to you.
Esther and the Queens (Itch.io) is a Purim-themed Jewish ttrpg featuring Queen Esther, carnival games, and lots of drama. The gameplay is inspired by the Firebrands frameworks and uses a collection of mini games to advance the story.
Sauna of the Stone Moles & Puritanical Dwarven Temple (Itch.io) are two 12-page dungeons by Aaron King about:
weird underground creatures who decided to make a sauna out of a storage space for hazardous dwarven materials
an angry hobbit messing with ancient dwarven cleaning techniques
The dungeons are available as Pay-What-You-Want.
Everspark (Itch.io) is a new fantasy tabletop rpg by Cezar Capacle that is meant to be easy for folks new to ttrpgs to pick up, but let them go on fun fantasy adventures that you would see in the artwork for these books. I haven’t played it yet but I am a big fan of the author and I’m looking forward to seeing how this is all implemented.
Books
Light Leaks (Itch.io) is a browser zine of photos accidentally exposed to light.
Learning from the Best of Text (Itch.io) is a 300 page book on the history of interactive fiction available for free.
It’s the last one of these of the year! If you enjoyed reading these and have a blog, consider occasionally posting about games or other things you’ve enjoyed in the new year! Search engines and social media are falling apart and the only way people will know about the weird things you like is if you tell them.
The big one for me, and to get some self-promo out of the way, is that a small games anthology I organized for the local Ann Arbor District Library, featuring a point-and-click adventure by me is now out on their website. This was the game I mentioned working on in my dev logs and I’m so proud of this. I’m already seeing things I would maybe fix if I were to do it again, but I’m still happy with how it turned out and I think it’s a fun little adventure game. The anthology also features a cool puzzle game by Flyover Games and a new Game Boy game by Lilycore Games. Anthologies are neat because you get to work with people who are far more talented than you. I’m also just so proud that I got to be part of a series that so many great artists have participated in. Please check out the rest of the Ann Arbor 200 series if you can. I’ll do a larger post on this later with entries I was into and more thoughts on the anthology.
Ok, self-promo time is over. Let’s move onto great games released by other folks:
Dex Vex (Itch.io) is a free browser puzzle game made in Decker. If you’re not familiar with Decker, it is a free tool for making Hypercard-like applications for the browser. So not only is it a fun game, it’s also just impressive seeing people using a tool like this for a puzzle game.
Speaking of Decker, Count Kagura (Itch.io) is a free visual novel made in browsers by swanchime.
And here’s yet another Decker game. Wasteland Mall (Itch.io) is a surreal point-and-click adventure set in a mall. Just seeing all these games with a Macintosh aesthetic makes me want to do an adventure game that feels like it was made with Hypercard. Decker is great.
Alien Intruder (Developer’s site) is a new game for DOS where you save people from aliens and get to the exit. It’s free, really easy to pick up, and it’s always fun for me to fire up DOSBox to play a new game.
Broken Links (Itch.io) is a free puzzle game inspired by the Zelda and Adventures of Lolo series. I thought the pixel art was cute and liked the variety in puzzles too.
Cuppa Quest (Itch.io) is an interactive fiction browser game made in Twine where you’re just trying to get a cup of tea.
pastel sandfish (Itch.io) is a free game where you explore dunes on your hoverbike. I loved the psx-style graphics in this and being rewarded with interesting encounters through exploration.
Lovely Composer (Steam/Itch.io) is a music game inspired by the tool in Mario Paint. I don’t know if it has weird, fucked up baby noises like Mario Paint but it still looks very nice. The Itch page has a trial version if you want to try it out first.
How Am I Still Waiting for the Bus (Itch.io) is a browser game where you are a ghost waiting for the bus and can listen to other people’s thoughts and must also keep your ghost from floating up too high.
in Death we Love (Itch.io) is a 2D cinematic sidescrolling adventure by colorfiction available as Pay-What-You-Want. An earlier version of this appeared in the Cartomancy Anthology, which I also strongly recommend.
If you’re a Ren’Py developer, you might like this script for doing shiny cards on Itch.io.
Girls’ Day (Itch.io) is a short interactive fiction browser game by Nice Gear Games about a memory.
Funeral for an AI God (Itch.io) is a free LARP for four people about attending a funeral for an AI deity.
Assassinvisible (Steam) is a puzzle stealth game set in a student’s notebook. I really like how everything in the game looks like it was sketched on paper.
Escape From PETSCII Castle (Itch.io) is a new free FPS for the Commodore PET inspired by Wolfenstein 3D.
Warhawk (Steam) is a remake of a Commodore 64 game and looks like a pretty snazzy shmup.
In the free browser game Car Artist (Itch.io) you drive around inside a box and try to survive as long as you can by avoiding cars. By the time you’re done, you’ll have a nice little picture made by skidmarks.
John Calhoun, creator of Macintosh classics like Glider and Glypha, made a fun little first-person browser moon lander game called Mooncraft 2000 (website).
Garden of Fools (Itch.io) is a free game made for the Devzone Secret Santa Jam 2024. It’s a 2D roguelike but the combat is like the Mega Man Battle Network series.
Burntime Remastered (Steam) is a free remake of the strategy game of the same name from 1993. I’m not familiar with it but I think it’s really cool that the designers of the original gave the ok for a fan to remake it and put it online for free.
While Christmas may be over, maybe you’re still in the mood for a seasonal game or something to play next year. Verhex the Halls: Merry Crisis! (Itch.io) is a GM-lite tabletop rpg where everyone works together to make this year’s Christmas a successful one.
Ink Inside (Steam) is a co-op beat em up rpg. Those are usually pretty fun!
Divorce Chatroom (Itch.io) is a free visual novel where you must divorce your husband.
Sequence (Itch.io) is a new puzzle game available for the Game Boy for only $1. It’s published by Thalamus, who I feel has a very good record of publish retro and retro-feeling games.
We also got a walking simulator (the dev’s words, not mine) for the Game Boy. Curse of the Mantle (itch.io) is a retelling of the radio play of the same name and available in the browser or as pay-what-you-want.
Well that’s it for this week. If you enjoyed this, subscribe with your RSS feed reader of choice and do a roundup on your blog.
