games i’ve played recently II
(aside from Kind Words 2, which got its own post recently)
Marvel Rivals
I’ve been missing Overwatch 1 badly. I stopped playing when it was shut down because OW2 is not for me. Marvel Rivals brings OW1 back but better. I am not a Marvel fan and know nothing about the lore, and it’s still fun anyway. If you’ve played OW, you’ll quickly figure out the equivalent heroes. I always loved Zenyatta, for example, and Mantis plays very similarly. Others I like are Hela, Starlord, Psylocke, Rocket Racoon and Luna Snow.
I had no issues with Linux and the anti-cheat so far; just ignore the popups on the start about unfitting OS and graphics card driver. I needed Proton GE and X11 to run it well, since games have largely been a shitshow on Wayland for me recently and some video sequences didn’t show on normal Proton.MiSide
I like games like Doki Doki Literature Club, Needy Streamer Overload and Pockedate - cutesy things, often in pixel graphics, with some disturbing or gruesome twists. I thought this would be like that too, but man. It’s really really good, but it’s also much more horror than I thought. I like horror movies or TV shows or Let’s Plays, but having to move the character myself is always something that added an extra fear element I was super afraid of. But I like the game, so I’m forcing myself through it, squinting and screaming and all. I started it on the Steam Deck but I can’t recommend that - many keys are not mapped. So all the times the game tells me to run, I can’t, and I’m terrifiedly walking, hahah. I’ll switch to laptop.Caves of Qud
I feel drawn to try out games that have a pixel, retro, or ASCII type of style and look like they’re played in the terminal. I also have Warsim: The Realm of Aslona, which is similar but a bit less complex both visually and conceptually than Qud. Qud has a really interesting world and lore, even if you have to piece it together yourself out of tiny crumbs everywhere. The game is difficult; you are meant to die a lot. While you can set a lot about your character like you’re preparing one for D&D, there’s nothing about character or personal lore for good reason. You’re just not supposed to get attached, they’re just your vehicle around the world and if you crash one, you’re just supposed to make another and continue. I personally prefer to play on Wander mode because otherwise I make zero progress.Dystopika
Very relaxed citybuilder without management or goals. It’s more for creating an aesthetic. I think it’s great to make some cyberpunk, neon, dark metropolis type of wallpapers. The controls are great, everything is easy to customize and you’re unlocking more and more just by doing. Lets you add custom text and images to billboards as well. Check out my city:
Coffee Caravan
I like funny little minigames when I’m drained. One similar one I own and love is Boba Simulator :) this one is about having your own little coffee truck. You assemble the furniture, unlock recipes and better machines and have to follow the right steps in the recipe. Great on Steam Deck.Beacon Pines
I haven’t played it in a year on accident but picked it up where I left off and it was fairly easy to get back in. It’s hard to describe… it has a great artstyle, a funny narrator, and lots of story branches and decisions that actually have effects. The story is read from a book, and while you play, you gather words. You’ll enter those at decision moments to alter the sentence, and then play it out. That makes for a lot of things to try out. Thankfully, they made it easy to test new and different words out for all kinds of story branches because you can visit the story tree and switch up words, you don’t need a new save file or replay chapters. This is great on the Deck too.Arctic Eggs
I would recommend just going in blind and not reading much about it. That’s what I did. Found it very engaging and interesting, the controls feel very good and the physics for pan flipping are very accurate. I think while it’s difficult, it has a rewarding, relieving kind of difficulty instead of enraging, smug difficulty. Keep in mind though that I am a fan of all fishing minigames and especially Stardew Valley’s, so the pan flipping might not be your style if you hate those. I got all achievements within my ~4h of game time, even the boss in hard difficulty.Slay the Princess
Also went in blind. It’s about your choice of slaying a princess or not - will you follow the task or get persuaded by her? Has a ton of paths and story lines, the 134 achievements reflect that. I have played through some rounds and routes, but I have a ton still left to do. I think you can get truly lost in that game, the lore, the rules, the loop (in a positive sense).Mr. Saitou
Small short game with easy puzzles and cute, very funny story. I intend to play through it again to catch 2 achievements I missed, since the end game last save doesn’t let you explore.Until Then
Currently very obsessed with this game. I love pixel art VN-like games, reminds me of A Space For The Unbound, which I also loved. This is a game that’s not finished after the credits and you need to continue playing through the chapters at least two more times. One playthrough took me about 10 hours and I’ve barely been able to put it down. Highly recommend. It deals with themes of loss, grief, destruction, illness, and finding purpose and friendship in life.
Published 31 Dec, 2024