Wanted to talk about some of my favourite indie games that really inspired or impacted me through my years of gaming (still do), and I never see ppl talk about -
Dominique Pamplemousse - It's all Over When The Fat Lady Sings
Off-beat comedy, handmade, unique art-style, society commentary, musical, gender exploration - I backed Squinky on IndieGoGo when this first was announced and I still love and replay this regularly.
It's the kind of unique view and creativity I desperately want to see more of, and love experiencing. One day I'd too hope to leave the world with something like this
There's also a sequel and another exploratory game by Squinky that's worth playing too, and only 1$ https://squinky.itch.io/
🧵2/? -
Wadjet Eye games is in no way a small indie, or not well-known anymore. But my introduction to his work was actually Emerald City Confidential, and that is a game I never see ppl mention, not even him. (I think it might be the one and only contracted work he's made?)
This game made a deep impact on me, and is probably the catalyst for my interest in neo-noir.
I adore the world-building, the darker fairy-tale twist (no longer unique, but was not as mainstream back in 2009) and the strong political commentary.
The gameplay isn't perfect, but I have not seen anything else at the intersection between fairy-tale, neo-noir and strong commentary pull off this level of world-building.
🧵3/? -
Would it surprise anyone that I adore games about robots?
These games might be slightly more known, and are newer, so combining them:
Subsurface Circular - Bithell Games I think is reasonably well known by now, but Subsurface Circular does not get the spotlight it deserves when discussing either early Switch games or robot ethics exploration.
Gonna be a recognizable mantra - great world building, strong society commentary and unique style
Rumu - The one and only game by Australian studio Robot House Rumu is such an emotional and beautiful journey the whole way through, and I wish there was more games like this out there
Event[0] - AI exploration game before AI really became a thing, Event[0] is limited by its tech but strong in storytelling and environment design.
🧵4/? -
Hidden object games have always been a very niche genre, probably most known as "middle-aged mom games".
I like them bc they give me a bite-sized story I can finish in one sitting while solving manageable brain teasers.
We are far away from the golden years of HOGs, anyone slightly versed in the genre probably knows Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst (I personally preferred Dire Grove).
I've long wanted to make a video retrospective on the rise and fall of HOGs through Big Fish Games, or stream the Dark Parables series, as it is a succinct history of how HOGs developed and changed/didn't change through the years.
But my fav series from "the golden years" was the way less known -
Lost in the City
and
Lost in the City: Post Scriptum
An almost post-apocalyptic city mystery
Other notable HOG series I still consider great:
James Patterson's Women's Murder Club
House of 1000 Doors
Enigmatis
Surface
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