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.
Occult Crime Police is a fantastic free offering for those looking for a bit more Ace Attorney. It mostly follows the gameplay of Ace Attorney games, in which you investigate murder scenes involving strange, paranormal phenomena, and then discover contradictions in people’s witness accounts to uncover the culprit. It’s a bit easy, but maintains some great humor and charming animation production value.
Adding one more to the Ace Attorney spinoff block:
Tyrion Cuthbert: Attorney of the Arcane is a well-written fan spinoff of the AA formula, taking place in a fantasy universe where magic is real, but mostly the domain of the nobility. Trials are a form of theatre, where the nobility knows how to tip the scale, but your mentor knows how to tip them back.
It introduces some very enjoyable mechanics, in which knowledge of each spell’s effects and conditions constitutes its own evidence. Tyrion bears his own magical ability that lets him view the thoughts of witnesses. He is also accompanied by the defendant of his first case, a mercenary-mage named Celeste, who gets a lot of investigation banter with Tyrion, much like Maya and Phoenix.
Five cases in all, and none of them are shortened crapshoot cases, nor is there a downer ending; all the major threads conclude with satisfying endings, and the developer hopes to make a sequel from the world they’ve built.
Oh, and as is common for AA games, take a listen to “Eye of Horus”, the game’s equivalent of the “Objection!” theme when Tyrion nails a contradiction. The game’s soundtrack as a whole has some real bangers, for both the high points and the emotional pulls.
This is SOLID GOLD holy shit
edit: OKAY I FINISHED THE FIRST CASE ABSOLUTELY PLAY THIS
Continuing this in the same thread as it’s a bit topical:
Are you a fan of Love Live! School Idol? Me neither! I basically knew nothing about it at all. Regardless, Gyakuten Live is an incredibly detailed cutesy Ace Attorney style game, in which the characters of the show gather for “school trials”. Though you may need to put up with a cutesier all-girl cast, and the stakes are much lighter and involve things like stolen possessions rather than murder, the mysteries end up having a surprising number of twists and even some heartfelt motives at the end. Features a fully custom soundtrack and LOTS of custom artwork, matched with some traditionally silly Ace Attorney humor.
So far, THREE cases are available, and each features a different prosecutor. The game’s page lists plans to continue up to 6 episodes.
In ItchIO’s standard, the game is “name your own price” - so you can choose to download it for free. It’s unlikely to come to Steam since it technically infringes on an anime/manga without permission.
One more coming if my AA recommendations are well received.
Magnetic By Nature is a 2D platformer where you are generally using either attract or repel mechanics. I came across this game on the PAX East show floor, and it really wowed me. I may be one of only a few hundred people who ever played it. There’s a bonus chapter, after the credits, that was kind of bullshit, but the 7 or so hours of gameplay before it was fun, challenging, and unique. Initially available for like $15, it’s now down to $1, and it’s a steal at that price.
Ooh, I’ll play.
Final Profit: A Shop RPG is an RPG about a deposed elf queen who opens a humble shop and slowly advances through the ranks of the Bureau of Business with the eventual goal of defeating Capitalism from within. It’s unique. It has some incremental game like mechanics, and can get a little repetitive in the mid-game, but it has a surprisingly compelling story and a lot of unfolding mechanics that keep it interesting all the way through.
Roughly a 30 hour playthrough with many endings, NG+ and some optional challenge modes that remove or change some of the most obvious strategies for advancement, so if you finish it and still want more, you can play through again with a somewhat different experience.
Man this made me feel guilty downvoting. Great game, a real surprise packet for me, think I got it in a Humble Bundle and tried on a whim and had a great time.
Think it’s an Aussie dev (single person?) too, and still getting pretty frequent large content updates
The dev is also very responsive! I left a (positive) review with some critical feedback and they commented on it very quickly and had a bit of a dialog with me about the comments I’d made; they ended up revising the Steam page based on review feedback (mine and others), too, which made me want to support them even more!
I really can’t handle the RPGMaker look of it.
I’m willing to give it a try though
It’s unfortunate that RPGMaker games have such a consistent and distinct aesthetic, it’s really obvious when a game was made with the engine, and a lot of the reviews mention it, too.
That said, this is definitely one of the best RPGMaker games I’ve played. They really stretch what’s possible with it. Can’t get away from that look, though.
The worst part is, there are certain ways a top down spritework game can look unique, and even put some personality on the characters. But the classic NES RPG look just seems so arcadey and wrong to me.
I think the To the moon series hides the fact that it’s RPG Maker rather well
Definitely another great one!
In Grotto, you play the role of a soothsayer living in a cave who is occasionally visited by members of a tribal society living nearby. They come to you with problems, and they want you to present your opinion, but you can’t speak. You have access to constellations of stars, which each hold different meanings, and you must present your answers in the form of a single constellation, which the petitioners are left to interpret.
You’ll feel a bit of frustration as your intended message is missed completely in favor of something that the petitioner wanted to hear, and the same constellation might mean different things to different people, but that’s just part of the game. The story unfolds around you and its progression is communicated to you only through the explanations your petitioners give for their visit. Each is a uniquely unreliable narrator, so what you believe is for you to decide.
Two endings, and an interesting story with some occasionally unexpected consequences that might make you feel bad, so if a game giving you a case of the sads is unappealing, maybe take that into consideration.
fantastic game by the makers of Laika, check out their whole ludography
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.
Toodee and Topdee (559 reviews)
Puzzle platformer/block pushing hybrid
The 2d platforming world and top-down world have smashed together. You control one hero from each dimension, who share the same space in the levels. You switch between platformer and top-down modes and must get both characters to the goal. The boss levels are hard but very cool, combining action and puzzles.
Also features local 2-player co-op and a generous assist mode.
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.
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.
Twinsen’s Little Big Adventure 2 Classic (aka LBA2 or Twinsen’s Adventure)
You are Twinsen, a little tank-like controlled character that’s about to go on an adventure to save his planet!
The tank controls may be getting a bit used to, but you can jump, roll to the side, hop backwards, etc, so you can apply some creativity to your movement. Shout out to the Magicball Network for staying alive all those years!
Go out there, meet a godess, defeat a dictator!
The Last Sovereign (NSFW) is an 18+ RPGmaker game. The basic premise is this: What if you had a setting with a bunch of hentai tropes lumped together and played straight, with no porn logic or stupid characters?
You play as a middle aged, very competent army veteran who gains the powers of an incubus, and reluctantly uses them with the aim of making the world a better place, slowly developing a harem of well realized, cool characters along the way. There’s sex scenes, obviously, but you very quickly forget all about them as you are plunged into an underdog story where you have to manage your fledgling armies + resources and have to constantly make tough decisions.
It speaks volumes that this is the only game in the comment section I have to downvote
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Piss off Steam, this sounds hilarious
The game is free, you can also get it on the author’s blog or through itch.io
f95zone has it almost certainly, if not, request it in a request thread, done.
works for pretty much any NSFW title ;)
I’ve got it already from the itch.io page the other user posted. But thanks!
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
Maize, a point and click/walking simulator/puzzle game about a secret military project to create sentient corn. Quite possibly the silliest game I’ve ever played.
Link doesn’t seem to work for me because the parentheses breaks the link.
Here’s the steam link for anyone else
That’s weird. The link should be to the Wikipedia entry but thanks for making a steam link too!
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.
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
Rabbit and Steel - Cross between a bullet hell and roguelite with raid style gameplay. Requires very close co-ordination with your team to survive (up to 4 player co-op). Punishing but rewarding.
the GDQ playthrough of this game should be required watching, it’s beautiful and impressive
Had a great deal of fun with this one and it’s still getting updates!
Surprised to see the downvotes (by which I mean, I’m surprised so many people know this, I’d never heard of it at all).
“Roguelike co-op game requiring close coordination” seems like a mega-fail by concept since I tend to think of co-op games as more relaxed. But, looking at gameplay videos, it reminds me of FFXIV raid mechanics in a simplified game format. I can see how that would appeal to some people.
