Steam

[Violentvixen]

LudoNarraCon is back, this narrative game festival is one of my favourites because I always find something interesting here, and often something short enough I can actually play through it! Sadly there seem to be far fewer demos than previous years, but a lot of stuff is on sale.

Demos of interest:
Stray Gods - Roleplaying musical, this came up on here recently and I'm so intrigued. The cast list has some impressive names.
The Case of the Golden Idol - I haven't played this but have heard really good things, and some new DLC just came out yesterday
A Space for the Unbound - beautiful pixel art and an interesting story. A few odd translation/English quirks that made it hard for me to understand what to do next when I played a demo/beta a while ago, but maybe that's been fixed.
Monorail Stories- I wanted more out of this than I got, but there's some interesting stuff here. A case where this game makes me curious to see what this developer will do in the future.
Coffee Talk 2 - I loved the first one and so recommend this, but also should be clear that it's on Gamepass right now if you want to save some money.
Norco - I tried to play this on the Xbox since it's free on Gamepass and the interface did not work with a controller so I wanted to try on PC, it seemed really interesting from the bit I played.

Game I haven't played but have heard good things about:
Neon White
Frog Detective- There are a bunch of these games and I haven't played any, oh well
The Longing - here read the thread
Return to Monkey Island
Beacon Pines
Citizen Sleeper- I think this might still be free on gamepass, I really need to check it out

Games I've played:
Chicory - this came out in 2021 but I didn't play it until 2022 and it's possibly my game of the year for that year. Also they just released a plushie you can draw on which is adorable.
Inscryption- Brilliant game, here's the thread.
Boyfriend Dungeon- this is goofy fun and I recommend it.
Lake- take over your dad's mail route in a small town in the 80s! I liked this on Xbox but it was glitchy and some things moved too slow. I would bet it runs much better on Steam.
Teacup- I played a demo/beta of this a while ago and it was cute and chill, but I remember there being some text issues or something. Reviews seem positive so that might have been resolved
Genesis Noir- a lot of people really like this, it was a too artsy for my taste but I respect what they're doing
In Other Waters- This game has the weirdest interface but I really liked it. I can't really recommend it at the normal $15 price, but the current $5? Hell yeah.

Games I'm just curious about for no good reason:
A Tavern for Tea: I've discovered in the last couple years that I really like bartending games so always curious for more.
Venice 2089: A game about future Venice dealing with climate change just sounds interesting
Chinese Parents- I've heard mixed things about this but am curious. People seem divided on if it's "racist" or "authentic" and I'm curious to try it myself and make an informed decision

 

[MCBanjoMike]

I'm not sure why you couldn't get Norco working with a controller, I played the whole game that way about 2 months back. It's very good!

 

[Violentvixen]

I'm not sure why you couldn't get Norco working with a controller, I played the whole game that way about 2 months back. It's very good!

Yeah, I'm not sure either. The D-pad worked to cycle through options on each screen but it's mainly that trying to move the pointer with the joystick to do the minigames. It didn't seem to be aligning right or was too slow, a mouse seemed like it would be much better. At one point I definitely did have a bug, the entire Mind map just disappeared. When I moved the pointer with the joystick the icon would change as if the map was still there. Couldn't interact with any of the menus or back out or quit, had to go to the main level of the Xbox and force close the game.

 

[John]

Thanks for this writeup, VV!

Case of the Golden Idol's very good, in the Return to the Obra Dinn vein but not as abstract. I'm not very good at this type of puzzle adventure games, but I enjoy trying them out until I get frustrated!

Norco I did beat, and enjoyed, but didn't like like it. It definitely had style, reminded me of the game 2064: Read Only Memories in function, just with a southern gothic style.

IMMORTALITY is another Sam Barlow FMV game. I really enjoyed Her Story, but never finished Telling Lies. I don't know if this hews closer to the former or the latter, but I think these games work best with limited scope and story constraints.

Paradise Killer is the visual novel that the Danganronpa games wishes they were. Smart, funny, and sexy, and no Japanese High School students in sight!

 

[Violentvixen]

IMMORTALITY is another Sam Barlow FMV game. I really enjoyed Her Story, but never finished Telling Lies. I don't know if this hews closer to the former or the latter, but I think these games work best with limited scope and story constraints.

Oooh neat I didn't know there was another one! And I also like Her Story better. Telling Lies just felt off somehow. I think the issue was was the weird breaks every now and then with the lady who was his coworker (I think? Don't quite remember). It really took me out of the game and felt limiting.

Paradise Killer is the visual novel that the Danganronpa games wishes they were. Smart, funny, and sexy, and no Japanese High School students in sight!

Oh yeah, watched my spouse play this, he liked it!

 

[ShakeWell]

Someone recommended The Invincible to me, saying it's basically Firewatch in SPACE, which is good enough to pique my interest.

 

[Paul le Fou]

Paradise Killer is the visual novel that the Danganronpa games wishes they were. Smart, funny, and sexy, and no Japanese High School students in sight!

I fucking love Paradise Killer; just watched my friend play through it a few months ago and it was still rad. Plus, the soundtrack is my most-played album on Bandcamp.

 

[Violentvixen]

A couple more I realized I forgot once I opened Steam today:

Moon Hunters- This is $1.50 and absolutely worth that! Best described as a pixel-y roguelike where your choices shape your character? Has couch co-op. But it's a bit odd to control so I can't recommend it at the normal $15 price
Flat Eye - I've just started this but there's clearly a deeper narrative going on. You are in charge of managing what is essentially a gas station convenience store in Iceland, but there's there's some questionable AI overseer stuff going on and I get the feeling someone is going to try to stop me. Also you start every day on the computer chatting with coworkers at other sites and again, something is off. Really intrigued by this one.

 

[Felicia]

Someone recommended The Invincible to me, saying it's basically Firewatch in SPACE, which is good enough to pique my interest.

Having read the book it's based on, I am also somewhat interested in it. On the other hand, the developers apparently include some of the people who worked on Cyberpunk 2077, which makes me a little leery.

 

[Classic]

Did a purchase of I was a Teenage Exocolonist during the sale. Would recommend.
The central gimmick is that your character has dreams of alternate lives, which is how the game makes mechanical any savescumming you do. Though I think it's more fun if you don't. Planning to start a new game eventually and see different paths.

The big asterisk on it is that there's a lot of content warnings. The game has a big list of content warnings, which I decided not to read because I didn't want any events spoiled. Further, I'm not effected enough by the content I saw to know if the game handles it with appropriate maturity.

But I liked it well. And don't want to spoil any surprises for you.

I do have one small mechanical spoiler, but I almost recommend against reading it if you want to go in blind:

Spoiler: Mechanical spoiler

In the early game, I found it very difficult to find tasks to increase the Empathy score. This may have had to do with my character playing too much sportball and doing too much biology homework.

 

[Violentvixen]

Did a purchase of I was a Teenage Exocolonist during the sale. Would recommend.

Oh, I totally missed that was on sale. That was another demo I played a while ago and liked.

 

[Violentvixen]

The current Steam festival is Cozy Family Friendly games which is a fun theme. Here are games I'd call out:

Peglin - peggle but dungeons. There's a demo
Wingspan - one of the best board games, and one of the best conversions to digital
Mineko's Night Market - I think this was on a Direct recently? It sounds fun.
Timber born - this seems to be SimCity or Civ but beavers? I hear about this a lot.
Shapez- My spouse loved this, has a demo
Wavetale - played the demo of this a while ago and looks like the demo is still available
Cattails: Wildwood Story - I can't tell you why I enjoyed the first Cattails game so much, nothing about it really stood out but I really did like it. So I'll be checking out this demo too
Button City - this didn't click for me but I've heard lots of good things about it
Research Story - I know nothing about this but the premise looks quite applicable to me! Has a demo so I'll be trying that out.

 

[Torzelbaum]

Hey, do you like the Final Fantasy Tactics series, especially A and A2, but wished that the characters were only furries (and scalies)?

Well then this might be the game for you:

Save 35% on Untamed Tactics on Steam

Untamed Tactics is a Tactical RPG set in world of colorful animals. Relive the legend of Greycoat’s escape into the untamed Wilds in a tale of lost honor and finding a new home as you fight, talk, and think your way through this beautifully illustrated adventure!

store.steampowered.com

Also, it looks like they just released a free prologue / demo:

The Beginning on Steam

Untamed Tactics: The Beginning is a Tactical RPG set in a procedural world of colorful animals. Relive the legend of Greycoat’s escape into the untamed Wilds in a tale of lost honor and finding a new home as you fight, talk, and think your way through this beautifully illustrated adventure!

store.steampowered.com

 

[Violentvixen]

Hey, do you like the Final Fantasy Tactics series, especially A and A2, but wished that the characters were only furries (and scalies)?

Well then this might be the game for you:

Save 35% on Untamed Tactics on Steam

Untamed Tactics is a Tactical RPG set in world of colorful animals. Relive the legend of Greycoat’s escape into the untamed Wilds in a tale of lost honor and finding a new home as you fight, talk, and think your way through this beautifully illustrated adventure!

store.steampowered.com

Also, it looks like they just released a free prologue / demo:

The Beginning on Steam

Untamed Tactics: The Beginning is a Tactical RPG set in a procedural world of colorful animals. Relive the legend of Greycoat’s escape into the untamed Wilds in a tale of lost honor and finding a new home as you fight, talk, and think your way through this beautifully illustrated adventure!

store.steampowered.com

I am always interested in more Tactics games so downloading the demo now.

 

[Issun]

Steam turns 20 today.

 

[Falselogic]

I've only had my account for 18.7 years...

 

[Sarcasmorator]

How do you check? I have to be close to the full 20.

 

[Falselogic]

I used the SteamDB calculator

It will be at the very top of the results below your name and next to your "level" and country

 

[Sarcasmorator]

Hm. It says 18.8 years. Maybe I didn't install it until Half-Life 2, that would track for the timing.

 

[John]

Mine says 19 years, set mine up in the run up to HL2.

 

[Violentvixen]

I used the SteamDB calculator

It will be at the very top of the results below your name and next to your "level" and country

Ooh this is fun. 13.3 for me but I joined fairly late. Can't remember what I joined for honestly.

Also I've played 104 out of 263 games which is not bad. A lot of the ones I haven't played are probably random bundle things so meh.

 

[Falselogic]

Hm. It says 18.8 years. Maybe I didn't install it until Half-Life 2, that would track for the timing.

Mine says 19 years, set mine up in the run up to HL2.

I'm pretty sure I set up my account for HL2 as well.

 

[Violentvixen]

Steam turns 20 today.

They have a fun little retrospective of each year that's neat. I had forgotten how little was on there at first.

Edit: Oh, this is has answered this question: a little over 13 years ago is when they added MacOS support, I didn't have a PC before then.

Ooh this is fun. 13.3 for me but I joined fairly late. Can't remember what I joined for honestly.

 

[Becksworth]

Oh yeah Next Fest is going on...

Europa: The post demo trailer makes it looks like there is more action/puzzlely in later levels, but the demo itself at least had very strong "Journey if made by Studio Ghibli". I was down for just vibing through pretty environments, now I'm confused as to what the core experience will actually be.

Jusant: Probably the standout for me. Took a bit to get used to the climbing mechanics, but once it clicked it felt great, and the world building looks intriguing. Went from being vaguely on my radar to hotly anticipated.

That Inti-Creates Metroidvania: I know others had hopes this would be be a return to form after Grim Guardians, but the demo just didn't feel good to me at all.

 

[ShakeWell]

What's the name of "that Inti-creates Metroidvania"?

 

[Peklo]

Yohane the Parhelion: Blaze in the Deepblue. It's a Love Live tie-in, as opposed to Inti's own Gal Gun property adaptation the previous time they riffed on Castlevania. I really liked the demo--it veers toward the interconnected exploratory end of the form and aesthetically has a distinct aquatic theme to the world and creatures. It probably also won't do anything creepy and crass, if only because Love Live isn't that kind of franchise, so Inti's hands are probably tied as far as their worse tendencies.

 

[Violentvixen]

Jusant: Probably the standout for me. Took a bit to get used to the climbing mechanics, but once it clicked it felt great, and the world building looks intriguing. Went from being vaguely on my radar to hotly anticipated.

Thanks for mentioning this, really enjoyed the demo and hadn't heard of it before.

 

[ShakeWell]

Yohane the Parhelion: Blaze in the Deepblue. It's a Love Live tie-in, as opposed to Inti's own Gal Gun property adaptation the previous time they riffed on Castlevania. I really liked the demo--it veers toward the interconnected exploratory end of the form and aesthetically has a distinct aquatic theme to the world and creatures. It probably also won't do anything creepy and crass, if only because Love Live isn't that kind of franchise, so Inti's hands are probably tied as far as their worse tendencies.

Cool, thanks!

 

[Torzelbaum]

So apparently this is a thing:

Mouse on Steam

Join private detective in MOUSE, a gritty, jazz-fueled shooter. With guns blazing and a retro rubber hose animation style, battle your way through a corrupt city full of crooks and danger. Inspired by classic FPS and noir films, MOUSE is the explosive shooter you've been waiting for.

store.steampowered.com

 

[Violentvixen]

Year in Review is up and I'm embarrassed by how much I've played of Chinese Parents. It's not a good game! But I keep playing it because things are unlocked and numbers go up send help

WTF happened in May