#indie video game recommendations

[cozyvideogame]

Marie’s Room

Another short Indie game recommendation for you guys!

Marie’s room is a short story exploration game. You play as a girl names Kelsey who is remembering Marie’s room from 20 years ago, trying to discover what happened to her friend and exploring the unconventional friendship between the two girls.

It’s a fun and captivating little game, that only takes about 45 minutes to get through, and only an hour if you are a completionist like myself if only takes about an hour to unlock all the achievements.

[wolfnanaki]

You: "What's your favorite video game genre?" Me: "Furry." You: "What?" Me:

[suckingham-phallus69]

20 reasons to play I Was A Teenage Exocolonist

1. You can date emo boys

2. You can date emo girls

3. You can date basically everyone in the game that’s your age

4. You can date people no matter your gender

5. Bio gender and pronouns are separate sliders that you can change at any point, and it includes gender neutral options too if you’re like me!!!!!

6. A lot of the characters are lgbtq+, and there are more than the cishet characters

7. Accurate representation of anxiety and other mental disorders

8. It’s just a fun fucking game

9. Overthrow the government

10. Your girlies are allowed to be girls, sexism just doesn’t happen in this game <3

11. Overthrow that bitch ass named alum

12. All forms of abuse, including in romantic relationships, are treated as terrible and not romanticized

13. There are so many potential sexy men you have no clue

14. Silly little alien boy- did I mention that you could date everyone?

15. Dating isn’t required, and isn’t even brought up as necessary at all so you can totally aroace this shit

16. It has more diversity than any other game I’ve played

17. Rip lum’s barely there heart out of his ass and take over

18. You can hyperfixate and play through multiple times (and playing multiple times is actually a feature)

19. You can play on switch so it’s portable too

20. Just fucking play it. It’s such a good game you have no clue.

[febrilepenguin]

Lads. Chants of Sennaar might be one of the best games I've ever played. Right up there with Outer Wilds in terms of how much joy and curiosity it brought me and how freakin creative it was. It's honestly a genius game, and it was kind enough to let me feel like a genius too. It's also a kind game, and it was genius enough to be able to make me feel kind as well. Iunno, Im just rambling.

Just, if you're gonna play it go in blind like you would with Outer Wilds, most of the joy is in the discovery. Just know that it's sort of a puzzle game about translation, and people have compared it to Return of the Obra Dinn and Tunic. I still havent been able to pick the pieces of my blown mind off the walls after the ending. It's also a pretty short game, I finished it in two days. But it could take months to complete and i'd still play it. Honestly i'd love it if it was that long and let me play around in it more. But the length is already perfect for the story, so im not complaining.

Just, i dont know go play it it's a fantastic game.

[multidimensionalsock]

A list of indie games that take you to weird places with weird vibes.

My favorite genre of video game, go to a weird place and meet other weird people while you explore the weird little world and learn about the meaning of life.

Truberbrook

A sci-fi set in 1960s Germany. Quantum physicist, Hans Tannhauser wins a lottery he quite determinedly, did not enter, to visit the tiny, strange, remote and rather dead town of Trüberbrook. On your first night you have your research papers stolen, meet a woman who insists on you going up the mountain with her, and get far more than you bargained for in terms of multidimensional, universe warping nonsense.

Night in the woods

Mae, and anthropomorphic cat, drops out of college to come back to live with her parents in her dying home town in the American rust belt, for reasons she refuses to explain. Here she discovers that not only has the town moved on from where it was when she was younger, but the people have too, and she's forced to battle with this as well as supernatural dreams about instrument players, and a town full of a range of weird people that feels just as alive as she does and have their own stories and lives.

eastward

After the world was threatened by a substance called 'miasma', the lasting human population hides in cities that offer some form of protection. Your main character finds himself a miner in a controlling and subterranean town, knowing nothing of the outside until he finds a mysterious girl and takes her in. You go from being the best, frying pan wielding miner, to getting kicked out of the town into the wider, post apocalyptic world, exploring the weird settlements of the outside and making friends with equally weird acquaintances.

oxenfree

A group of 5 teenagers take the last boat out to an old military fort for an overnight party on the beach. There are legends about the island, that sometimes you can pick up frequencies to radio stations that don't exist, and that is how you unwittingly open a ghostly rift tied to the islands past, your friends start disappearing, and you need to solve whats going on by exploring the island, and the frequencies in the old military tech that haunt it.

disco Elysium

You're a cop, or rather the closest this unpoliced area of revachol can call a cop. You're drunken, and a drug addict, and a body has been hung on a tree outside for the past week, threatening to start a civil war between corporate and unions and minor militias for the past week, beginning to rot. As a husk of your past, apparently accomplished self (though you cant remember that, you cant even currently remember your own name after the bender you went on) you need to try and solve the mystery, alongside your partner Kim. Along the way you can also decide to join a union, or a bootlicker, a drug addict, or wear some very questionable clothing while telling a woman her husband died, all while being fully narrated to by 24 weirdly talkative voices in your head.

Everybodys gone to the rapture

This is a town with no people, just an empty place with the stories of those that were. In the shopshire countryside a town exists where everyone has disappeared, only bright orbs to lead you around the valley, listening to telephones, radios and recordings, as well as the lights themselves morphing into their human counterparts, to show the past events that led to everyone disappearance, symptoms of illness, before eventually fading, unexplainably, into lights, an infection created by a none human entity, a 'pattern', which can travel from human to human. A look at the tangled lives of humans in the town, and eventually how they reacted to their quarantine and those around them vanishing.

[theanonymousclown]

I played the Tavern Talk Demo around a month ago and have been eagerly waiting for today (the release date!!!!) since then!

If you like DnD I definitely recommend giving it a spin! It's a DnD inspired Restaurant Manager/Visual Novel where you prepare magical drinks for your adventuring customers, who in turn will bring you rumors you can compile into quests!

Seen here are my two favorite characters, Mal and Melli, who form an adorable little grumpy + sunshine duo!

My favorite duo notwithstanding, Tavern Talk is super fun and diverse in a subtle way! The characters all have unique personalities and even their own usual orders, and I've come to appreciate every one that walks through my doors!

Please go play Tavern Talk, it has a 10% discount on Steam currently and deserves all the love it can get!

[grave-gift]

If you guys are gonna buy one thing during the steam summer sale make it Dave the Diver.

The best word to describe this game is delightful. Catch fish with your spear gun during the day and run a sushi restaurant at night, and discover the secrets of the magical blue hole you dive in where every species of fish is present and the geography is changing everyday. There's combat, there's collection, there's a great story line, there's farming, there's fish farming, there's minigames, the animation and art and music are fantastic. It's GENUINELY fun, and genuinely funny. I've played it for 60 hours and I'm not done the main story line yet. Oh did I mention it's $20? And it's on sale for less?

[faislittlewhiteraven]

Me a few days ago: I think I need a break from my Undertale fanfic plotting for a bit as I'm getting a bit obsessive. I'll just go recharge by playing some random game... Hm this 'In Stars and Time' looks cute, let's try it out :)

Me a week later: ... ... ... Best mistake of my life holy crap..!

*Is now obsessing about two games instead of one and thinking of how I'd write a crossover between them XDDD*

[malicocks]

oh god, i- i just. yeah.

sometimes games hits you so hard you wonder just who you are and what you're doing

and this stupid (amazing) game made me smile and bite my tongue and laugh and gasp and cry so much and i-i.. god, what a truly beautiful game.

so much wisdom, spot-on climate crisis consequences, love, fear and humility packed into just a few hours of gameplay. i'm truly in awe of this wonderful, wonderful experience. it's one of the sharpest, cutest games i've ever played, and i will never ever forget it.

[stuffydollband]

Hey my buddy Teddy of Teddy Hold On (one of my favorite bands) did the soundtrack for this game, Lord Of the Rings: Return to Moria! It’s great music, and you can get both the game and the soundtrack on hella sale right now on Steam! I don’t know a ton about video games but I know music and I’m hyped as all hell to see a friend making stuff for a LotR property

[catartac]

When i was younger and my brother still lived with us i would sometimes go to him asking for piano improvisations based on different themes i would give him. Often times this would be based on my OCs or scenes from my "story i will someday totally write but for now daydream about and monologue to my siblings". It was nice to sit back, eyes closed, imagining the action with my own background original soundtrack. He was pretty good at it too.

He was the first one to leave home as he went to uni, and he was the only one to never really come back to live with my parents at any point. He was never really the easiest to communicate with and being away didn't make things much smoother.

However, every year, on our birthdays, we will compose songs for us. He knows what we like, so he always crafts them based on our preferences. He knows I'm a sucker for a repeating melody, for violin and piano sounding sounds, he knows I dream of vocals and man he's come close. My sister is all about rhythm and a bit more electronic. One year we collaborated and I made a moving backdrop to his song for her (which also included audio from Kermit the frog in the background... it kinda worked ngl).

He's been working on a game for some time (you know, if being a talented mathemagician and musician wasn't enough) and even though we are definitely not the target audience (it's a rythm game and man i suck at anything that requires reflexes) he kept asking us for feedback every step of the way. He made it very clear that even though the game has a very high skill ceiling he wants to make sure "even mum can play it".

For context, my mum is first adorable and also she's an og gamer. As in, she got carpal tunnel from playing too much tetris when she was younger. Now she loves playing overcooked and animal crossing with us but she get a bit overwhelmed with more complex games (she's just like me frfr).

It came out today! I bought it (he did offer me a key but I kinda couldn't be bothered and also he was one of the first people to but from my Redbubble so i gotta do what i gotta do). I started playing it. Immediately changed my settings to four keys maximum because i was honest with myself. Actually, that's a lie, the first thing i did was change the colours because that's the kind of person i am. Started playing, really loved the first song, quickly realised another one was waaaay out my league, liked another one. Tell my bro, he says "oh you should also check out Bi Katuak, I think it's your birthday song" I check it out, love it but doesn't ring that much of a bell but now that I am on the second page i see it

La Danza del Fenix

Immediately i am transported back, i imagine Amanda, the character, riddled by anxiety and regret, that i then thought i related to the least but have since then came to realise portrayed very accurate parts of me, dancing surrounded by fire in a joyous way for the first time, the freedom, how her daughter will dance at a ball carefree and excited on what will be the real proof that war and tragedy is over

My brother only gives side hugs and half smiles

It's an easy song. With a lovely repeating melody that makes me want to dance around as I play it even if that makes me make mistakes. You're not penalised for mistakes, you can only see your records get higher. The songs never end unless you want them to, and yet they don't loop in any obvious way (something to do with the algorhythm he kept trying to explain but I kind of gave up understanding at some point.

This game may be for you if you like music, rhythm games, or just videogames in general. Though in a way I am sure it will never be for you in the way it was made for me.

It's called EnternAlgoRythm Give it a shot! There is pretty much nothing you can't customise in terms of gameplay and cosmetics and if there's anything you notice you can tell him and he'll do his very best to fix it or improve it. There are plenty of songs for any skill level (some i dare not even touch) and the songs are named in different languages based on the countries we have lived in/had influence from. My favourites are the aforementioned Danza del Fenix, Bi Katuak (defs also made for me, it's an easy cat themed song), Violet Voyage, and Ingranaggi Striscianti.

TLDR: im very emotional pls go play my brother's game

[enby--ghost]

Hey you! Do you like puzzle games with dark humor and cute art styles? Do you want to go around an office building cleaning up progressively more insane messes? Do you want to be a werewolf janitor? Then i recommend The Werecleaner. I just finished it today, and it's absolutely lovely. A wonderful sense of humor, decent challenge, an adorable artstyle that made me smile, and a genuinely super fun time! and the best part? IT'S COMPLETELY FREE! Go grab it now and show these indie devs some love!

[itchy-indie]

Game #6: A Date With Death

A Date With Death by @twoandahalfstudios is a chat sim in which you are a human who was tracked down by a grim reaper for avoiding death too many times. Get to know your reaper over the course of 7 days and help him figure out why you've avoided death for so long

Game Tags: Chatsim, Visual novel

TW's: Major character death (bad ending)

Platforms: MacOS, Windows, Linux, Steam

Notes: full character and room customisation including pronouns and name, choose a pet that you can interact with between chatting segments, 3 endings bad good and special, 1 existing dlc and 1 upcoming dlc that's live on kickstarter, 1 babygirl reaper

[ijsthee]

Hi friends, here are some lesser known/underrated games I want more people to play, including steam links! (many of these are also on other platforms, steam is just easiest to link)

tldr: heres the list on backloggd with the same comments

Outer Wilds (exploration, puzzle, mystery) - not by any means an underrated or even unknown game, but a game I simply have to recommend to anyone, any time. My favourite game ever. Genuinely imo one of the best games ever made. Anyone will tell you not to look up anything about this game (and theyre right, uncovering every part of this game IS the game) but I recommend if you really get stuck or frustrated, play with a friend or ask someone who has played it for a nudge!

Tunic (zelda-like, souls-like, adventure, puzzle) - an homage to retro gaming that I am slightly too young to fully understand.. and still one of my favourite games! A simple (but charming) zelda-like with souls-like elements on the surface, an intricate mind-breaking puzzle game at its core! Highly recommend if you like games that you have to keep physical notes for

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (puzzle, mystery) - Puzzles puzzles puzzles! One big mystery puzzle game dripping with atmosphere and intrigue, a non-linear story that will pull you in and puzzles that youll be thinking about for hours after exiting the game. its a crime that this game seems to be slept on for now

In Stars and Time (rpg, story-driven) - the story-driven time-loop RPG that tumblr needs. WILL make you cry. the characters are at the heart and core of this game and they are AMAZING. Extremely trans story also

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles (visual novel, mystery, story-driven) - so listen i know Ace Attorney is not niche by any means. But it feel like either people dont really know about this game or havent given it a shot yet. Well I'm here to say if you have any interest in Ace Attorney, these games are some of the best the whole franchise has to offer. The story is intriguing and interconnected in ways the best Ace Attorney stories are, the main cast are charming as hell, the music is amazing, they are by far the best looking 3D Ace Attorney games of the franchise, etc. If youre familiar with ace attorney i dont need to sell you on the whole murder mystery bit, i just need to emphasize that this is some of the best mystery writing in the whole SERIES

Chants of Sennaar (puzzle, language) - puzzle game where you gradually learn the languages of various peoples by context and logic! Not only is the language and puzzle aspect of this game really well done, it also has a really nice theme and beautiful art style

Hypnospace Outlaw (puzzle, 1990's internet) - play as a moderator on an alternative universe's 90's internet, put your detective skills to use in order to find those pesky users breaking the rules! or spend hours digging through peoples pages to learn wtf ''frostpunk'' is and what happened at ''coolfest'', y'know, like the internet

Nine Sols (metroidvania, souls-like, action/combat) - can be described as a ''sekiro inspired souls-like metroidvania'', if buzzwords do anything for you. If not I will mention that it has a beautiful art style, incredibly satisfying (tough, but fair) parry-focused combat, and intriguing lore and story. Its good!

[d3f3n3str4t10n]

I finished In Stars and Time last night! I didn't do everything but I don't have a desire to go back for the stuff I missed for several reasons. A: Don't wanna put Siffrin back in the loops B: Don't want to finish sidequests that are ultimately meaningless for characters and lore, and don't do much for gameplay It was a pretty interesting take on a timeloop story. (Not to spoil any of the major reveals regarding that, ofc.) For every gripe I had with the gameplay you eventually got some way to remove or mitigate it, though going through Floor 3 over and over for the Star Crest did get a bit annoying near the end.

Still, doing it that way made progression feel really nice, which is good in an RPG with 1 main area and barely any regular gear/loot lol

Some of the scenes got pretty intense, too... ;p I'll share a couple gripes I have with the story now, which of course means SPOILERS BELOW!!!

Spoiler Line | V ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

^Watch Out!^

My one gripe main gripe with the story is that the situation with Siffrin's home country never really got resolved. I don't think I'd mind that main gripe as much if the middle portion of the game didn't build it up as one of the main mysteries, on the same level as the time loops. It gave off the vibe that it's something we'd at least figure out, or learn more about the country itself, even if the problem wasn't fully resolved by the end. Maybe I could've gotten more if I went through more loops, but I didn't have the interest to do that for the gameplay, nor did I want to make Siffrin suffer longer.

... and also Siffrin's main wish at the end... it's not that it was bad but the way it was revealed felt... almost too... I don't want to say 'childish' but the tone did feel a little weird to me

the tone of the whole game varies quite a bit, which isn't always a bad thing-- in fact it's usually done very well! But this particular moment just felt like it was delivered oddly to me... I'm not sure. In any case, It's still a very good time that I highly recommend if you haven't played it yourself!

[caffeinautilus]

I just want to recommend this one SO bad. So here goes

Summerhouse is described by the dev as a love letter to the feeling of long lost summer afternoons. And that stuck out to me, because it does!

It's a small game- hell, it's barely a game. It's creating cozy little places. Buildings that you pass by only once, on vacation. Quaint little restaurants, and sheds at the side of the road. As someone who often travels through Europe, it hits the nail on the head when it comes to this strange, nostalgic fleeting feeling.

I find that it's given me a couple hours of relaxation, and touched me in a way that little games made with love occasionally do. If you have a few bucks to spare, consider getting this one!