raccoons4444
1990
19 years before the Balloon Boy saga, Pax Sofnica warned us about the dangers of sending a child drifting away to the sky on a balloon. For real though, I enjoyed the loop of going for a 1cc run of the eight-level campaign, then giving the much more challenging Balloon Trip mode a couple of shots before starting another run.
2021
Said lovingly, the "B-Movie" version of a freeware horror RPG maker game, with some great sprite-art and animated cutscenes courtesy of legendary old-school youtube animator Rong Rong. The setting where smaller injustices at an art school take form due to a root evil is cool, but I was laughing at most of the spooks, and Charles Worth has got to be the goofiest looking horror villain in gaming.
If only there was a way to play Advance Wars over the internet with a welcoming and active community without being restricted by the anti-consumer practices of Nintendo...
https://awbw.amarriner.com/
https://awbw.amarriner.com/
The most skill intensive, hardcore game I have ever played.
Lore: https://youtu.be/n2NrXK6EJAk
Lore: https://youtu.be/n2NrXK6EJAk
2007
A fantastic hack-and-slash that flaunts the unique humor, sublime aesthetic and undeniable charm you'd expect from a Suda51 game. As fun as the primary bodybaggin' and boss fightin' is, the part-time jobs and missions are a great pace-shift that allow you to catch a breather in between the more involved combat sections (that is, when you aren't grinding the baseball minigame or Gamble Fight over and over because that sweet leopard print jacket bankrupt you).
2017
A two minute "contemplation" about how it feels to reach the summit of a mountain where the air is thin and you are very, very cold. Some days I have to scrape ice off of my car's windshield in the morning before work, so I can relate to this experience.
The hottest white rap duo since Insane Clown Posse get down to 3 of the shittiest pop rap songs you may ever hear! Enjoy rhythm games with awful hit detection, simping for the cops, and pouring grape juice on your shirt in this ...unforgettable 15 minute audiovisual experience!
A 30 minute game about covid-era depression you brave together with your fleabitten companion, Lambshank. Man, I miss my dog like you wouldn't believe...
A practically perfect expansion to the Talos Principle, where the puzzle difficulty picks up from where the end of the base game left off and the environments/puzzle setpieces are more beautiful and elaborate. The story follows a different part of the universe where a society of AI that have studied and created art based on the humans before them now find their world on the brink of collapse; it takes a lot of class to pull off a serious story about the end of days where some of the characters are internet trolls and discord moderators.
2020
4th-wall breaking puzzle-shooter where you find a hammer that can perform out of bounds anywhere. This is a really strong proof-of-concept; there's just not enough games which embrace the idiosyncratic game-logic of glitches and design situations intentionally around them.
2007
What else really needs to be said about Portal? It's a modern classic puzzle-shooter with one of the most inventive core mechanics in gaming, with witty writing and well-designed puzzles, and a gloomy atmosphere that stays cold and mysterious throughout.
Everything you'd ever want out of a "cozyge", who's rough edges can be forgiven with awesome music, charming characters, and fun (albeit shallow (to its benefit)) moment-to-moment gameplay. Like, the enemy mooks have these goofy little comedy skits before you encounter them! (That's adorable!)
Although it does embody the spirit of Touhou fangames fairly well, there's just not enough here that's solid enough to justify spending money on. Sigyaad Team's self-help short story disguised as anime (imo their strongest conceit) takes a backseat to talking with a couple characters in a wholesome but unsubstantial way, the writing is eh, the art is........and in a game with this budget, the VA could reasonably be dropped.
I feel like I bought a used game at Gamestop and loaded into somebody else's file at the part of the game where the s/o dumps you. Might've been better if it were framed like an actual buzzfeed quiz up until q9 or 10, and used your responses to create a "personalized" story about the relationship instead of going gung-ho into the messy bitterness at the start.
1992
Slugcat from Rain World kicks everybody in his way in order to stop flower king rabbit guy from sitting in his castle, being all evil or something. The game is drop-dead gorgeous for the original Gameboy, and also a technical marvel for all the unique physics stuff they pulled off, although its easy as pie and a little short.