This might be a slightly unusual attempt at a prompt, but might draw some appealing unusual options.
The way it goes: Suggest games, ideally the kind that you believe would have relatively broad appeal. Don’t feel bad about downvotes, but do downvote any game that’s suggested if you have heard of it before (Perhaps, give some special treatment if it was literally your game of the year). This rule is meant to encourage people to post the indie darlings that took some unusual attention and discovery to be aware of and appreciate.
If possible, link to the Steam pages for the games in question, so that anyone interested can quickly take a look at screenshots and reviews. And, as a general tip, anything with over 1000 steam reviews probably doesn’t belong here. While I’d recommend that you only suggest one game per post, at the very most limit it to three.
If I am incorrect about downvotes being inconsequential account-wide, say so and it might be possible to work out a different system.
Underhero is a RPG. There is (bad) 2D platforming and an interesting blend between turn based and real time battles with decent amount of player expression, but I find most interesting the writing and scenarios you will find yourself in during the game. You play as an Underling after the Hero has an unfortunate accident after all, and while technically a silent protagonist, all entries in the journal/hint system/to-do list are just brimming with personality.
I swear I first saw this game in list of “Paper Mario-likes”, but I can’t find a single video with that topic that mentions it, and now I realize that it only has like 600 reviews on steam.
Azimuth is a metroidvania game, and something of an homage to the previous greats of the genre (Super Metroid in particular). You will need to pilot your ship, explore the inside of the planet, fight enemies, overcome obstacles, and uncover the storyline piece by piece. Azimuth features a huge game world to explore, lots of little puzzles to solve, dozens of weapons and upgrades to find and use, and a wide variety of enemies and bosses to tangle with.
It is open source and available for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Severed Steel. F.E.A.R. meets Tron, plus a Mega Man arm cannon, plus the movement out of Titanfall. It’s incredibly fun and satisfying to play, and it has an exceptional soundtrack (if you like synth).
Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1227690/Severed_Steel/
Soundtrack: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1754220/Severed_Steel_Soundtrack/
So I have seen this came come across my radar several times and knowing that I am not actually a huge fan of this type of game but really enjoyed Verlet Swing do you think you would still recommend this game on fun and vibes alone?
I unfortunately haven’t played Verlet Swing so I can’t say. What I can say is that this game is one of the most fun of any shooter I’ve played in probably a decade.
Oh verlet seing is a super indie darling but it’s got a strong vaporware synth vibe so I was wondering if it felt similar. But that’s still a glowibg review.
Honestly if you’re unsure, just check out the OST on YouTube and maybe look at a bit of gameplay. If you find yourself bobbing your head and like the artstyle, I’d put my money on this game being worth a buy
Archive.org mirror of the game download
I genuinely have NO clue if this game is known, but i suspect it mostly isn’t.
It’s Keyboard Drumset Fucking Werewolf! It’s kinda like a music video, but it’s a music video game 👉😏
It’s a collaboration between 2000s indie weirdo darling gamedev cactus and Swedish synthpunk band Fucking Werewolf ASSO.
it’s aggressively strange and moderately challenging, but I think it’s just a goddamn delight and maybe you will too.
AAAAXY. AAAAXY is a nonlinear 2D puzzle platformer taking place in impossible spaces. You can take a walk on a Möbius strip, try to find the platform with your train at the train station, and play a piano that makes the Shepard tone. It will be a bit confusing at first, but I promise it will eventually get fun.
It’s not on Steam, but it’s available for download on the website for free. Linux, Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. Also on F-Droid and FlatHub. give it a try im begging you
Tin Can is a space survival simulator, where you are trapped in an escape pod after the loss of your ship. There are a few systems in your escape pod, and each system has components you need to look after. Your pod regularly flies through astoroid fields & other space phenomena that break these component parts forcing you to repair, replace or do without the systems keeping you afloat.
Downvoting per the rules, as I spent months obsessed with this game, having notes with the codes open on my second screen. Excellent game.
I did mention in the rules, if it was good enough to actually be your game of the year, you can make an exception. (I’m trusting that doesn’t mean we see Baldur’s Gate 3 on top or something)
I don’t think it was my GotY, but still an excellent game
Requisite downvote, but also mention that the devs of Tin Can are about to start alpha testing of their multiplayer sequel named Space Chaos.
RTS. Kind of reminds me of the ground comabt from Star Wars Empire at War crossed with Starship Troopers. Command a squad of space marines tasked with battling an overwhelming alien horde. Pretty fun campaign (if a bit of a predictable story), plus an endless mode. Not exceedingly difficult, but definitely challenging enough to make you think tactically and keep you on your strategic toes. Somewhat limited replayability makes the sticker price hard to recommend (unless your bread and butter is RTS), but it regularly goes on sale for less than $5, which it is absolutely worth!
Out of Space a cozy co-op game similar to Overcooked but less chaotic.
I came here to write about this one… It gets chaotic once you’re a 4 man team that doesn’t know how to play the game :)
Megabyte Punch is a side scrolling fighting game where you build your robot with different parts salvaged from fought robots that give you different abilities and powerups.
It is a super fast, casual game that you can bang out in a few nights. It has a pretty good electronic soundtrack, boss fights feel weighty even if they are relatively simple.
One of my favorite games as far as just fun and de-stressing!
Eternum (warning: NSFW) is an adult visual novel that keeps touching me with every new update. It’s completely free, and I can’t help but think of the creator as a master of the genre.
The characters are all well written and (those who are meant to be) lovable. The story is interesting, compelling even, and the humor is often hilarious. When you go to the website, you might think “Porn game!!!”, and not be entirely wrong, but Eternum is so much more. It’s a story about love, friendship, and a mystery.
Setting: Orion moves back to the USA after a long time. In recent years, a video game called eternum has been gaining traction, that allows going into virtual worlds, think full dive VR like in Sword Art Online. I’d say about 60% of the story happens IRL.
I can only recommend this masterpiece of a visual novel.
Solo indie dev mashup of Risk of Rain, Helldivers, Vermintide, etc with its own soul and style of knights with guns. Dev is very active in the discord and takes feedback and actively plays with the small community the game has garnered.
I played the demo on a whim during a next fest expecting a janky joke of a game to laugh at but a decent and fun game caught me by surprise. It’s been improved and updated quite a bit since then.
Hex based rouge like deck builder. If we’re taking indy gems, this one’s probably a nice Amethyst. Not quite the most polished (the game kind of just throws you in without much of a tutorial and the story’s pretty bare bones), but overall a solid B. If Slay the Spire and Into the Breach are your jams it’ll be right up your alley.
Spin Rhythm XD is a highly enjoyable rhythm game where you spin a wheel with two colors and match them with the beats on the game’s rhythm track.Here’s a description from Steam:
Enter the Rhythm Dimension. A homage to classic arcade rhythm games (Guitar Hero, DDR), with a modern aesthetic and soundtrack. Match colours and beats, spin, tap, flick and flow through the juiciest beats in the universe. Supports multiple control styles including MIDI DJ gear on Steam!
Edit: at the time of writing this, I didn’t realize that this game had 3.5K reviews on Steam, but literally nobody I asked knew about the game, so I guess it kinda counts.
If you’re looking to kill a couple hours and love puzzle games, give 20 Small Mazes a go. I really enjoyed the variety.
Best of all, it’s free.
Sadly, it’s not available on PC, but it is available on Nintendo Switch (US eShop page linked above) and PlayStation 4 (and PlayStation 5 through backwards compatibility).
It’s a sci-fi game made by the creators of some games you might’ve heard of in passing (namely Dragon’s Crown, Odin Sphere, Muramasa: The Demon Blade, etc.), Vanillaware. I can’t go into any details about the game itself because of spoilers, but I will say it is quite simply the best and most uniquely told story I have ever seen in a game. It’s a game you have to experience for yourself. You should go into it as blind as possible, too.
I will say the English dub of the game is also surprisingly good, considering it was recorded almost entirely in COVID lockdown. The Atlus West sound engineers (Atlus published the game in the west) must’ve worked some incredible magic to get it to sound as good as it does.
If you liked this I really hope you’ve dug into 1000xRESIST. They’re not super similar but enough so that I think if you liked 13 Sentinels you’d probably like it also
I’ve started playing through it, but I’ve got other games currently that I’m focusing on (currently Trails in the Sky FC, then Persona 3 Reload: The Answer, and then Metaphor ReFantazio).
Ah, a fellow Into the Aether listener perhaps? Or maybe just a big JRPG fan 😁
I gotta check out Trails at some point. The whole tetralogy thing kinda puts me off in the same way Yakuza does but you gotta start somewhere I guess!
Yeah, I’m just a big JRPG fan.
As for the Trails series, I’ve been told that the best place to start is (understandably) the beginning. Play in release order. The first three games are in 2.5D (as opposed to 3D), but they actually hold up really well.
Most people (myself included) will recommend that you use a spoiler-free guide to avoid missing hidden quests and collectibles (such as a book series you’ll collect in its entirety over the course of the first game). I’m using this spoiler-free guide for my playthrough of the first game.
It’s also recommended that you go around talking to every NPC in the town you’re in every now and then. Dialogue updates as the main quest advances and, at times, if you’ve had an interaction with an NPC in (for example) a side quest and that NPC later pops up in the main quest, the NPC will remember that interaction from the side quest. Some NPCs also pop up in later games with their stories continuing (or so I’ve been told).
Almost every single Trails game is also available DRM-free with achievements on GOG. The only one missing is the latest game (which has a “coming soon” page). The series goes on sale on GOG pretty frequently, too.
Also, examine every chest twice: once to open it and once to see the “empty chest” dialogue. The English localizers noticed that, in the Japanese version of the game, instead of having the empty chests call a single line of dialogue multiple times, each chest had its own line to call. (It was the same thing copied and pasted every single time.) So they had some fun with it and made nearly every empty chest have unique dialogue.
Also, just today, during the Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase, The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 1st, a remake of the first game in full 3D with the modern Trails aesthetic, was announced for a 2025 release worldwide. Though I don’t know how faithful it’ll be to the original game or to its localization. So you could wait for that if you want or just play the original trilogy immediately. But, again, the originals still hold up really well.
