msx homebrew available on steam that happens to be the most compelling thing released in 2017 in my book. tarotica goes far beyond any pidgeonholing as retro hobbyist software or whatever in how it pushes the technical limitations of its hardware in service of playing like nothing else on the system. or honestly, any other game ever.

everything about it sings to me: its cute flipbook animations that make the world feel so direct and tactile, its use of a cursor on a world map for both hotspots and to convey a kind of character movement, its rhythmic block and attack combat sequences. it has almost none of the thick layers of abstract mechanics youd find in dungeon crawlers, but it conjures this primordial idea of "pc dungeon crawling" through the arcaneness of its experience. not in the sense of it being overwhelming to get a grasp on, but that it feels strange and rough-edged and ancient, despite being technically contemporary.

theres a few weird puzzles, like one where you hit a switch for something to happen in a completely different room (check the mannequin room again) or the translation sometimes being too vague ("keep close" is better phrased as "keep doors closed"). other than that i would not change anything. i think about this game's design quirks CONSTANTLY, the dream of making something outside any expectation for how it should play.