#Story-driven

[chlmera]

Local Enby Writes Indie Game

hey guys, my name is kiri, and i’ve been the lead writer at studio kumiho for 4.5 years. we just released our first game, Cricket JRPG, and if you like story-driven games with lots of heart and laughs, you should totally check it out! feel free to send me any messages about bugs <3

[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

[kodynoko]

It's episode 4 of RPG Potential, featuring @ponett!!

In this episode, I encounter Bobby Schroeder of Super Lesbian Animal RPG! 👉💖⚔️

Venture into a discussion of how a fan game started her career, and hear about how @slarpg formed from her struggles and striving to make her dreams a reality!

Find SLARPG on Steam and Itch.io!

[sref-favorites]

[gamegem]

https://www.fogaminghub.com/post/thrilling-outlaws-walkthrough-conquer-star-wars-outlaws-missions

[linuxgamenews]

AETHUS Gameplay: Survival and Story Await You

AETHUS a gripping story-driven sci-fi survival game, is fully playable on both Linux and Windows PC. All of this comes to life thanks to the creative mind of solo developer Pawsmonaut Games. Which is working to make its way onto Steam. Grab your trusty mouse, crank the RGB, and prep your titanium coffee mug—because AETHUS is digging its way onto Steam in 2025. It also has “late-night-session” written all over it. But this story-driven sci-fi survival offers Linux support via Proton.

...people have played the game via Proton and even Nobara Linux, and the game plays well...

Pawsmonaut isn’t planning native support at launch, but since it’s built with Unreal Engine 5, AETHUS runs smoothly through Proton. So Linux players are still in the game.

Meet Maeve—the runaway miner who won’t stay buried

You play Maeve, a mining engineer who finally snapped the corporate leash. Astral Resource Corporation (ARC)—the kind of mega-corp that chews people up for quarterly bonuses, then buries the evidence six miles below the bedrock. With only a half-scrapped utility drone named Roland for company (think Wall-E with more sarcasm and a bigger therapy bill), Maeve stumbles into an abandoned dig site. One that’s also full of secrets, grief, and the ghosts of bad business decisions.

Low-poly beauty, high-stakes survival

The alien cavern system of AETHUS isn’t just eye candy for your Mesa drivers. It’s alive—pulsing, growing, and occasionally trying to crush you beneath tons of rock. Crack veins of neon ore with industrial-strength lasers, drop explosives like confetti, and carve out tunnels that would make a dwarven architect jealous. Everything you yank from the earth—gems, fungus, scrap tech—feeds your next invention or scores coin on the black-market console.

Build, tinker, automate…then chill in your fungal lounge

Start with four rusty panels and a dream; end with a neon-lit outpost worthy of a banner. Hidden blueprints let you snap together habitat pods, hydroponic farms, even furniture that looks like it was salvaged from a starliner’s first-class deck. When the power grid hums and the conveyor belts chug along on their own, kick back in Rol-Mart™ recliners and watch your mushroom farm pay the bills while you plan the next dive.

AETHUS | New Anti-capitalist Colony Builder

A story that hits where it hurts

This isn’t just another “mine, craft, repeat” loop. Every corridor drips with the fallout of ARC’s greed. Such as missing crews, shattered families, and one stubborn drone who knows more than he lets on. Maeve’s journey is fully voiced and surprisingly raw. While hitting themes of family, resistance, and what it costs to dig for truth when the whole planet wants you quiet. Expect genuine gut punches between laser blasts.

Built in AETHUS, zero crunch, zero micro-transactions

Solo dev Pawsmonaut Games (UK) promises no AI-generated filler and absolutely no “$5 pickaxe skins.” Just one person’s passion project, polished for Linux PC and primed for Proton.

Gear up for AETHUS now

A Windows demo is already blazing through Steam—perfect for Proton. Smash that wishlist button so Valve’s algorithm does the marketing work while you frag in Tux Kart. 2025 can’t come fast enough. Until then, keep your GPUs cool, your kernels updated, and your drills spinning. The depths of the AETHUS story-driven sci-fi survival are waiting, and they won’t mine themselves.

[davidelalocomotive]

Scrum, Actually: Confessions of a Reluctant Scrum Master

True story: I hated Scrum.I thought it was broken, pointless, bureaucracy wrapped in buzzwords. Then someone made me a Scrum Master. I reluctantly decided to learn how it was supposed to work. And somehow… it worked. This is the story of how a reluctant Scrum Master accidentally built happy, productive teams—and why I want to write about it. A while ago, I was sitting in a conference…

[chloesimaginationthings]

The Afton kids deserved better in FNAF..

[imfromsixam]

Modern Eclectic (CC Pack for The Sims 4)

I pictured this late-night scene in the Landgraab estate as pure drama. Geoffrey and Nancy, whispering on the ivory sofa, under the soft glow of the chandelier like they’re hiding something. Johnny Zest lounging on the loveseat, looking way too confident, like he already knows he belongs back in the family. And there’s Malcolm, standing across from him, arms crossed, clearly ready to explode, furious that Johnny has secured his claim once more in the family. You can feel the tension.

Everything in the room adds to the mood, a modern eclectic vibe with an urban twist. There’s a classic torso sculpture standing right next to graffitied walls, curvy coffee tables sitting on a rug with a street-style pattern, and this massive, bold, angular mirror. It’s modern, it’s messy, it’s got a story.

This was inspired by my love of art galleries and the luxury-meets-street vibe. And I wanted this pack to feel like that. I made sure every surface and swatch could flip from sophisticated to edgy. Like you could take it anywhere: elegant and refined one minute, bold and rebellious the next.

That’s what the Modern Eclectic CC Pack is all about. It’s yours now, go ahead and write your own scene. And if you do, tag me. I’d love to see what kind of chaos (or beauty) your Sims bring to it.

About this CC Pack

This CC pack includes 27 items

Build: 2 wood floors, 3 paneling walls (classic and modern styles)

Comfort: Fluffy armchair, Loveseat, Sofa

Decorative: Graffiti decals, Tulip centerpiece, Fireplace, Oversized mirror, Classic framed painting, Modern canvas painting, Rectangular rug, Skateboard sculpture, Male torso

Lighting: Chandelier in 3 ceiling sizes, Floor lamp, Male torso stand lamp

Storage: Console / dresser

Surfaces: 2 versions of a center table (coffee table), Iron and wood end table, Marble pedestal-style end table

GET EARLY ACCESS HERE

[kav3h]

is this too niche? svsss hadestown au starring 79

[kodynoko]

Listen to the most recent episode of my RPG Potential podcast!

In this episode, I encounter Jimmy Spencer of Cricket: Jae's Really Peculiar Game! 👉🦗🌙

Hear about how Jimmy has gone to the moon and back to create a story that connects personal experiences in his life to all sorts of RPG inspirations!

Find Cricket on Steam, the Nintendo eShop, and more!

[maranull]

anyway, Elden Ring is about love and hope

Marika burns everything she has build out of sorrow

Ranni banishes the Outer Gods and also fucks off the Lands, giving agency back to the normal beings of the Lands

Fortissax endlessly fights Death for his friend/lover

Melina burns herself and Erdtree in hopes of a better world in the hands of the Tarnished

Blaidd fights against the very reason he was created out of love for his sister

Ranni and Rykard always keep an eye on their mother, protecting her

Radahn evokes so much love from his troops that they organise a whole festival to give him a honorable death even in his madness

Radahn learns an entire new school of magic in order to still ride his favourite horse

Boc's love for his mother, his mother's love for him

How all but two endings are build on the hope that this new era (whatever it might be) will be good

Miquella attempting to create an whole new world-tree to host the forsaken and the damned

Miquella turning on the faith he was raised and even believed in to an extent, when it was unable to cure his sister's curse

The Cleanrot's loyalty to Malenia and their endurance of the Rot, only to stay in her service

Malenia marching through the entire continent in search of her brother

Finlay traveling all the way back on her own, carrying the incapacitated demigod on her back

Tanith's love for Rya

Dialos' entire questline

Edgar being driven mad after his daughter dies

Vyke embracing, to a point, the Frenzied Flame in order to save his finger maiden

or you know, that's just how I see it

[gamegem]

https://www.fogaminghub.com/post/the-evolution-of-stealth-in-assassin-s-creed-a-journey-through-time

As we gear up for Assassin's Creed Shadows coming this November, we're taking a close look at how stealth mechanics evolved throughout the series. Learn about the contrasting styles of Yasuke and Naoe, and how past games laid the groundwork for innovative gameplay. 

Don't miss our exploration of this iconic franchise! Check it out: 

[linuxgamenews]

Ministry of Order: A Dark Game Experience

Ministry of Order is a dark, story-driven logic puzzler game in a totalitarian maternity ward coming to Linux, Mac, and Windows PC. Thanks to the team at VoltekPlay for bringing their creative fire. Due to find its way onto Steam.

The folks at VoltekPlay have a wild story to tell — the kind of indie dev rollercoaster you don’t expect to survive, but somehow… they did.

Back in February 2025, VoltekPlay entered Brackeys Game Jam 2025.1 with this weird little idea: what if you had to match babies to their parents based on eye color and blood type... but set in a grim 1920s-style authoritarian state? Add a dash of Papers, Please and some unsettling conspiracy, and it's title, Ministry of Order.

It is simple, dark, and surprisingly fun. But they didn’t expect it to blow up.

But here’s the gut punch: the game was stolen. Someone ripped it, slapped on a fake name, and uploaded it to mobile stores. Then going viral on TikTok, shot up to #1 on the App Store, while pulling in somewhere between $40–60k — all before it got taken down.

Imagine watching a creation go viral while someone else takes the credit (and the cash). But dev's didn’t fold. They fought back.

And turned that chaos into fuel.

Fast forward to today: Ministry of Order has its own official Steam page with over 11,000 wishlists. It’s back on Google Play with 25,000+ downloads, and reclaimed its place on the Apple Store, where it hit 76,000+ downloads and counting. This has taken everything they learned — from the pain to the passion — and we’re building something even bigger, for Linux.

Ministry of Order - Official Reveal Trailer

And get this: Ministry of Order was just featured in the Women-Led Games Showcase: Summer Game Fest Edition. That’s huge, and the dev team are seriously proud.

So what is Ministry of Order exactly?

It’s a story-driven logic puzzler takes place in a creepy 1920s-era maternity ward where the regime watches everything. Your job? Match newborns to the right parents using genetic clues. Get it right, you eat. Mess up, and the state punishes you.

But that’s just the surface.

You’ll uncover a branching web of secrets, form friendships or rivalries, maybe even fall in love. Every decision you make — every child you match, every co-worker you trust (or betray) — shapes your story. Will you just survive in New Albion… or help bring the whole system down?

So the team is pushing Ministry of Order to Linux, Mac, Windows PC, and mobile because they know real player — especially indie fans — play everywhere. And yeah, it’s dark. It’s weird. But it can be yours too.

So come be part of the rebellion. Wishlist story-driven logic puzzler Steam, play it, share it. Because this journey is due to release in Q4 2025 - Q1 2026 with a price of $11,99 - $17,99 USD (TBA).

[quillver]

WRITING TIP: Make your dialogue beats do more.

A beat isn’t just filler; it’s how you write the silence.

The best beats reveal what’s felt, not said:

– hesitation

– discomfort

– tension

– hidden motive

What’s a beat?

A dialogue beat is a small action or thought that shapes rhythm and reveals what’s left unsaid.

Avoid:

“Sure,” she said, with a shrug.

(Filler beat. Adds no emotional value.)

Use beats with intent:

“Sure,” she said, without looking up from her phone.

(dismissive)

“It’s fine,” she said. The fight was over. And she’d lost.

(self-censorship)

“I’m fine.” He lined up the silverware again - and again.

(anxiety)

A good beat doesn’t echo the line - it complicates it.