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frankiesmileshow · 7 months

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Crystal Project Review

Ive been having a lot of fun with Crystal Project, a well made FF5-inspired RPG. The combat is very tightly designed and the exploration aspect is top notch. The art style put me off a bit at first, but I think it grew on me over time.

The game does a great job of slowly uncovering its breadth and letting you break its sequence through curious exploring. Lots of fun to search every part of its gigantic map for secrets. This is a game that loves hiding secrets within secrets within secrets. You might even occasionally stumble into a late game area, and exploring carefully could lead to finding items meant for the end of the game, giving your party a significant early game boost.

Exploring will often lead to surprise optional boss battles that are completely out of your league - but dying has few consequences in the game (you just lose a bit of money) and dying from bosses has no consequences at all, so you rarely feel truly punished for having explored too far, and its always worth it to have a peek at a boss battle.

Don't expect too much of a story. There is one, but it keeps a very light touch, this is mainly a game about exploring and fighting monsters. It does have characters and some personality, but dont expect something dense story wise.

It manages to avoid feeling like an open world game - it feels more like a linear game that just lets you break out of the confines of its intended path if you explore enough. It strikes a very good balance between having direction and having freedom. The world map just keeps expanding as you play, leading to many little shocks about the games' scope, a feeling you might be familiar with if you played Elden Ring.

The games combat uses a very well balanced, strategic system. Battles give you a lot of information to let you choose your actions carefully - you can see any enemies' next action in advance, and you even know who the enemy will attack next (notice the dotted lines in the screenshot above). Manipulating the enemies' current target is actually one of the fundamentals of the game- enemies choose their next target based on a "Threat" system which is entirely open to you as you fight, and many classes have abilities to help you manipulate this. Some class abilities also depend on the current threat state of a character - for instance, the rogues' many powerful skills only work if they are considered an enemy's bottom threat, and will otherwise always miss, which requires careful actions on your part.

The class system will be familiar if you played Final Fantasy 5 - you obtain new classes by exploring the world and finding large crystals, each unlocking a new one. The classes set a characters' stat growth on level-up, equippable items, main abilities and all have a unique "Innate passive" which are usually quite powerful (for instance, the base Cleric class receives a significant boost to all healing spells).

You can also add the abilities of a secondary class to your characters' moveset- like adding a clerics' healing spells to your Samurai. There is a lot of fun to be had mixing one class's abilities with anothers' passive boost - for instance, one class has an ability which makes the first action this character makes in a battle always target All enemies or All allies, allowing you to either massively boost your whole party or nuke the enemy party with a powerful spell usually meant for a single foe.

There are also passive abilities you can unlock from any class and assign regardless of a characters' current class, limited by a point cost system. These can range from a boost to max HP, to adding a poison effect to any weapon attacks, to allowing your character to equip a shield regardless of their class.

You can get very creative with the games' class system, there are countless ways to mix and match character abilities and classes to figure out some powerful strategy. The endgame has several challenges that might require you to make custom party setups just for them, turning the combat system into something resembling a kind of puzzle - though one with many possible solutions.

Boss battles have a way of feeling like a desperate struggle of improvising as your strategy falls apart - then winning by the skin of your teeth. This happens a lot. At least half of the boss battles for me ended with most of my party dead, and being one or two turns away from a full wipe-out.

I think the only real misstep is the games' analogue to chocobo breeding, introduced at the very end of the game. It feels tedious, I gave up on it after an hour of wasting my money on food for the creatures and not getting anywhere. Luckily it seems to be completely optional.

All in all I recommend it to anyone who likes FF5 and who likes RPGs that have a focus on exploring. Visually it might look a bit basic, but underneath that is an extremely robust game.

#game development #rpg #indie rpg #crystal project #final fantasy #final fantasy v #game review #video games

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it-happened-one-fic · 7 months

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Fight Till the Very End - Jade

Author Notes: The header for this fic, which also serves as the inspiration for this is, comes from @thegoldenshi-shi and is a lovely design for Punk Jade (Follow the link to see the full picture!) I listened to Jane Child's "Don't Wanna Fall In Love" while writing this and I honestly had the time of my life. As a fair heads-up this fic contains a bit of a headcannon of mine involving Jade and his punk phase. I highly recommend both the song and the art! As per usual, reader is gender-neutral. I hope you enjoy!

Type: Gender-Neutral Reader/ Fluff/ Flirtation/ Romance/ feat. punk Jade

Word Count: 1749

It was one of those days at NRC where you really didn’t know what to think. And truthfully, that wasn’t exactly odd when one lived at a magical school with a talking cat monster in a haunted house.

But this instance was unique because it also robbed you of words. So you didn’t say anything at all as you stared at Jade, who smiled at you in return. Far-too-pleased with himself, judging from his expression.

But he probably was pleased with himself. After all, he was the reason for your loss of words and utter surprise.

In your defense, though, it wasn’t everyday that one saw the usually well-pressed, carefully dressed Jade Leech in an outfit that could only be described as very, very punk.

With cornrows long enough to reach past his knees hanging from his now spiked-up hair, a chain connecting his pierced ear to a sparkly new nose ring, black cloth arm cuffs that extend from his wrists up to his biceps so that his shoulders were visible, and a low-cut top that showed a considerable amount of cleavage paired with silver necklaces that only accented his full black ensemble, you could definitely say this was different from Jade’s usual suit and tie.

It wasn’t a bad different, though. In fact, if you were to be honest, he looked really good. Frustratingly so.

Especially since something about Jade’s expression, from his amused smile to the glint in his mismatched eyes, made you feel like this was all part of some elaborate scheme.

You adored all of the Octatrio, but you were also no fool and knew perfectly well that all three of them enjoyed their little plots and games. So this being a part of some new plot was all too possible.

But at the end of the day, you were never going to learn anything if you just kept staring at Jade. And the longer you stared in stunned and perhaps awed silence, the more amused the young man seemed to grow.

So at last you broke your silence, tilting your head as you continued to scan Jade’s new ensemble, “Well... You certainly are dressed up today. Is there something special going on, or…?”

You trailed off, half-pondering the possibility of some new event that required new clothes and half-hoping that Jade would fill in the rest for you.

And he didn’t disappoint, chuckling softly and shaking his head as he answered, “No, there’s nothing special going on… Rather, Floyd just happened to mention to me that you might wish to see how I dressed back before you arrived at NRC.”

His eyes were all a glimmer as he shifted, almost as if he were posing for you, but there was no way to ever prove it since Jade seemed to be perpetually posed. Another part of his charm, you supposed.

You blinked, refusing to give him what he wanted and instead questioning the obvious: “You had a punk phase?”

If he was disappointed, Jade didn’t show it. Rather, he seemed oddly pleased by your persistence in not reacting to his new look as he nodded, “Yes, I only changed my style of dress a little before you joined us at NRC.”

A part of you wanted to ask why he stopped, wondering if it had something to do with marketing the Mostro Lounge or himself with his infamous butler persona, but another part of you decided against it.

After all, Jade was hardly one to really let others' impressions of him hold him back. It wasn’t like he hid his love of mushrooms, and he seemed to revel in others' occasionally frightened reactions towards his and his brother's general aura of illegal activities.

And perhaps concerns about someone using his jewelry as a handle to yank him down while he was indulging in said illegal activities had something to do with it. It would be tempting to use that chain against him after all if you were in a fight with Jade, though you honestly didn’t think it would do much good in the long run.

As you thought more about Jade going about his usual activities, a smile crossed your face at the mental image of Jade doing his usual work as part of the waitstaff in such get-up “Does Azul know you're dressed like this?”

The grin that spread across Jade’s face was perfectly evil, “No.”

You nodded, letting out a little “Uh huh,” as you began to circle the young man. Taking a closer look at his entire ensemble.

“How did you get your hair to grow out so fast? Extensions?” You eyed the many, many cornrows that swayed with every motion he made. Half impressed by how tightly they were braided.

“Magic, Dear. Floyd helped.” You almost rolled your eyes at the way his explanation rolled off his tongue. Magic. Of course they could use magic to grow their hair out if they wanted.

You finally made your circuit back around the young man, and Jade’s eyes immediately latched back onto your face. The amusement within their depths was obvious as he continued to gaze at you. Ever patient as the two of you played whatever this game was.

“Why did Floyd think I’d be interested in seeing you all,” You gestured vaguely to Jade as you paused, searching for the right word as you fought to keep the smile off your face, “Dressed up?”

The more you evaded actually giving your thoughts on his attire, the more amused Jade seemed. And both of you knew why.

It was because he looked nice. In fact, he looked practically beyond nice. He looked amazing, rather like a devastatingly attractive bad boy male lead from an 80’s movie whose sole purpose was to sweep some poor, good girl female lead off her feet.

At least a part of this game was him getting complimented, but you could see that easily becoming a slippery slope that would end with you in the same position as the good girl female lead.

He tilted his head, pretending to ponder your question, before a smile slipped smoothly onto his face. Confident that he would win whatever this was by the end, “He mentioned how much time we’d been spending together and said he thought you might be interested in learning a bit more about us. I must admit that after what he said, I was curious to learn what you might think.”

You nodded because it was true. Jade had been hanging around you more and more lately.

Initially, you’d wondered if you had something he or Azul wanted, but it had quickly become obvious that wasn’t the case. Instead, it was more like Jade had his own personal stake in spending his time with you. In fact, if you didn’t know any better, you would say that Jade was genuinely trying to charm you.

It was hard to not let your eyes scan over Jade once more. It was odd to see him like this, but it was also interesting. Almost like he was opening up and showing you just a bit more about his person, and judging from his words, that was true. Though you also couldn’t deny that this still seemed like a part of some elaborate plot.

But you weren’t the only one who was staring at him. In fact, it seemed like everyone that walked by was staring at the usually menacing young man.

Normally people did their best not to look too closely lest they draw his attention, but either the shock of seeing Jade in punk clothes was so great that they didn’t care or they were confident that he was too focused on you to notice their stares.

And Jade was focused on you as he stepped closer to you, leaning down slightly so that he entered your personal space. You had enough room to retreat if you were uncomfortable, but he was close enough to easily hold your attention solely on him.

“And, what do you think?” His voice had softened, almost as if he were trying to lull you into giving away every secret thought that went through your brain. And maybe he was, but you weren’t about to lose quite so easily. Not when you weren’t sure if you were even ready to face your thoughts and feelings towards him.

But you smiled, used to his many charms by now, before nodding. Not about to lie to the young man even as you refused to surrender, “It looks nice. I bet you were popular back in your old school if you dressed like this back then.”

He grinned, his sharp teeth flashing as, for once, he didn’t even bother to hide them at your words. But he was pleased. Not only had you complimented him, you hadn’t backed down from the subtle challenge.

But you’d already decided that even as Jade slipped continually closer, you weren’t going to just give way. Even as you felt your fondness for him growing, you’d already promised yourself you’d fight till the very end.

In no way were you prepared to fall in love in this world that wasn’t your own. You couldn’t take that on top of everything else. Not when it could so easily hurt, what with your future being so unpredictable.

And it was scary how close Jade pulled you to the brink of falling for him, even despite your defenses.

At this point, you knew perfectly well that if you did slip too far, it would be him that you would fall for. But you weren’t going to make it easy for him. Not when he made that cutting edge that love held feel something impressively close to good.

So it didn’t matter how charming, easy to get along with, or attractive Jade was, and it didn’t matter how tempting it might sometimes be. You weren’t surrendering. And if Jade’s expression was anything to go by, he liked that.

Despite yourself, you found yourself smiling back at him, not quite able to stop it even as you felt yourself slide a bit closer to where he lingered. Waiting for you to fall.

But Jade leaned back, murmuring a soft but incredibly pleased, “Thank you,” as he slipped out of your space. Retreating for now, but no doubt already plotting his next attack in his head as he smiled down at you. Perfectly smug as you both prepared for the next round.

And you’d be ready.

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thesmumbo · 1 year

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Smumbo's top 10 games he happened to play in 2022

Not necessarily games that were released in 2022, just my favorites that I played for the first time last year.

10: Night in the Woods (2017)

by Alec Holowka, Scott Benson, and Bethany Hockenberry

Peak fall vibes game. Night in the Woods features a compelling mystery and some great spooky moments. The setting and characters really resonated with me, so I got a lot out of it.

9: The Pedestrian (2020)

by @skookumarts

Pleasant puzzle game inspired by the signage that surrounds us in our day-to-day lives. Some of the puzzles were quite difficult, and I kind of dislike the direction the game took in its last act, but it was still a very fun and unique experience.

8: South of South Mountain (2022)

by @colorbomb

Cute & hilarious visual novel with a fantastic art style. I could not stop laughing throughout the whole experience.

7: Portal Reloaded (2021)

by PORTANIS

From a pure gameplay standpoint, this was a very satisfying sequel to Portal 2, and it's possibly the closest we'll ever get to a Portal 3. Portal Reloaded introduces a third portal which allows you to travel to the same place at a different time, so certain things have been moved/removed. It gets really complicated, and I’m amazed this was able to be created as a free standalone mod for Portal 2.

6: Frog Detective: The Entire Mystery (2022)

by Grace Bruxner and Thomas Bowker

Approximately 3-4 hours of pure, unadulterated joy and whimsy. I can’t believe it took me this long to play Frog Detective, but I’m so glad I did. Everything about these games resonated with me strongly.

5: OneShot (2016)

by @girakacheezer, @nightmargin, and Eliza Vasquez

A transcendent experience. Explores the unique ways in which video games can tell stories, and the nature of free will. Features some interesting meta game mechanics which require you to interact with files outside of the game. The visuals and soundtrack are spot-on as well. Weird how there’s so many great RPG Maker games which work so well in spite of the engine.

4: Scorn (2022)

by Ebb Software

An incredible audiovisual experience. I liked the gameplay too, even though it seems like a lot of people were disappointed by it. I'm amazed that a game like this even exists. Absolutely oozing with atmosphere and symbolic meaning. The story spoke to me on an incredibly deep level despite lacking words, or even any semblance of humanity.

3: What Remains of Edith Finch (2017)

by Giant Sparrow

One of the greatest games ever made. All of the vignettes and set-pieces throughout the game are flawlessly paced, with a wide variety of gameplay and visual styles. Packed with detail, made with love, and so emotionally resonant. I loved this game.

2: Bloodborne (2015)

by From Software

For years, I would try to play Bloodborne whenever I had access to a PlayStation 4, but I wasn’t able to do a full playthrough until 2022. It lived up to the hype. This is my favorite From Software game, and it’s already one of my favorite games of all time. I really hope this gets a remaster/PC port some day. It’s a masterpiece.

1: SIGNALIS (2022)

by @rose-engine

One of the greatest horror games I’ve ever played. Amazing visuals and atmosphere, fascinating world and lore, and a captivating, mind-blowing cosmic horror sci-fi story. I especially loved the evocative UI designs throughout. Highly recommended if you like Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Dead Space, PS1 style games in general, or if you have even a passing interest in survival horror. This is my #1 game of 2022.

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catastrophic-crisis · 3 months

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It's the February Steam Next Fest, so here's some potential game demos to check out this weekend!

Hollowbody | Press Kit

It's a Shipper's biggest fear. You're grounded in the exclusion zone, twenty miles of death and decay sealed off by the towering, suffocating walls erected after the collapse.

Hollowbody offers early 2000s-style survival horror, citing titles like Silent Hill 2 and 3, Rule of Rose, and Kuon as inspiration. As you ascend the apartment building to try and make contact with outside of the exclusion zone, the demo makes use of a blend of dynamic and fixed camera angles. This approach extends to combat, which strikes a nice balance between a more classic style in which you must work with the camera angles, striking fear in you when you can't quite see what is in the room with you, just offscreen, and making movement and fighting feel natural.

If you were craving horror of a particular period, Hollowbody strives to capture that with its visual presentation, and with a particular update to the demo, Hollowbody now has the option for tank controls.

Rusty's Retirement | Press Kit

For a more casual player, Rusty's Retirement is an idle-farming simulator that lives at the bottom of your screen while you work, watch, chat, or play. Automate your farm with the help of robots, and produce biofuel for them with the plants you grow.

The game includes a cameo from Haiku the Robot, as the two games share a creator. Haiku can be found helping your automated farm :)

Crow Country | Website

The year is 1990. It’s been two years since the mysterious disappearance of Edward Crow and the abrupt closure of his theme park, Crow Country. But your arrival has broken the silence, Mara Forest. If you want answers, you’ll have to venture deep into the darkness of Crow Country to find them…

Another throwback third person survival horror game with an armed female protagonist, Crow Country establishes an atmosphere switching between "tension and tranquillity", trying to steady your aim at the head of a shivering, approaching enemy and the warm glow of the fire in a save room. The game places an increased emphasis on puzzles and riddles, and as you try and manage your resources and slip past enemies (the game emphasizes that you don't have to defeat every enemy you come across, which could bring trouble later) you'll be able to absorb the whimsy and detail of every region and room.

If the creatures around every corner frighten you, or you'd just like to be able to absorb every detail of the theme park uninterrupted, the game offers an "Exploration Mode" difficulty for you to enjoy.

Trash of the Titans | itch.io

What if your turn-based fantasy tactics had an urban mammal element and was very, very purple?

Enter this roguelite to fight a rat gang over dumpsters, upgrade your skills, and play trash-eating Tetris to get stronger. Learn your abilities and how to utilize the antics you can pull against the waves of rats (large rats, small rats, caster rats summoning demon rats).

Your party is a Badger Barbarian with a charge attack that increases damage the further away she is, a Raccoon Rogue that uses stealth to rack up kills and move across the map, a Skunk Wizard that casts more than just poison spells, and a Possum Ranger with a ricochet that will stack up the RAT CRUE kills.

Find surprises like the fact that your Possum Ranger's "turrets" in fact refer to possum babies, and their ability to retreat along a path back to her upon defeat can be used to your advantage.

Magical Delicacy | Press Kit

A wholesome pixel art platformer. Cook magical delicacies from a vast collection of ingredients in your own shop. Explore an unfamiliar town and deliver tasty treats to the townsfolk. Learn new ways to traverse, discover secrets, and experience a unique witchy world.

If you like cute titles where you cook and manage a shop but craved a little more verticality, Magical Delicacy offers you a platformer with witches and a dash of intrigue. The game offers cooking, gardening, shop management, and double jumping your way across a surprisingly formatted town.

Hey, you're a witch with a red bow going out for deliveries. Sounds familiar.

#otherworld exploration game aesthetics #jupiterposting #steam next fest

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best-underrated-anime · 1 month

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Best Underrated Anime Group J Round 3: #J4 vs #J7

#J4: Kids conquering dungeons to change the world

#J7: Lecherous young man gets engaged to an alien princess

Details and poll under the cut!

#J4: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic

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Summary:

A Magi is a magician whose inclination toward magic is so immense that they can be said to shape the world. With their significant influence, each Magi chooses a worthy candidate to become a king, then helps them conquer strange labyrinths called "Dungeons" and acquire the power of mythical djinns within. Above all else, the Magi supervises their elected representative as they build a country that might one day bring the world to its knees.

Aladdin is a young Magi wandering the world in search of his true self. However, his journey is not a lonely one, as he is accompanied by his friend and mentor Ugo—a djinn he summons using his flute. On his travels, Aladdin also befriends Alibaba Saluja and guides him to a nearby Dungeon. With this newfound friendship, they begin an epic adventure across the world, witnessing various irregularities that seem more frequent than ever.

Propaganda 1:

Imagine characters from Arabian Nights/1001 Nights coming to life in an anime. Even though it is loosely inspired off of the tales, it is a unique time and place from most anime settings. It has action, humor, and deep concepts. One of my favorite parts about Magi is how well-developed the background characters are.

Propaganda 2:

This anime has a lot of philosophical takes on what fate is. Basically, is everything that happened to you caused by a force you can’t control or is it what you make of it? Is there something or rather someone pulling the strings on what should or shouldn’t be? Is the person you are because you were lucky or unlucky to be born in the wealthy family or not? Why are things the way they are? Why was I dealt with a shitty hand in life? Is it because I’ll never amount to anything, or is something doing this to me? Why are we here just to suffer kind of deal, but you know not the meme version, the really sad and real version. Then you have the side of the people who may have not had the best life, but found a way out of it. Why do some people get to feel the light when you went through the same thing, but still lost and in the dark?

Trigger Warnings: Partial nudity and slavery. One of the mains is a slave in the beginning, but the other two mains help free her from that.

#J7: Urusei Yatsura (2022)

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Summary:

When aliens known as the Oni threaten to invade the Earth, they promise to leave under one condition—a randomly-chosen human must win a one-on-one game of tag against Lum, the beautiful daughter of the Oni leader. The “lucky” person selected happens to be the lustful and unlucky high-schooler Ataru Moroboshi. Given 10 days to attempt to grab Lum’s horns, Ataru realizes how impossible the challenge is as he is faced with Lum’s extraterrestrial powers.

Motivated by a promise of marriage from his childhood friend Shinobu Miyake, Ataru manages to catch Lum off guard. He mistakenly grabs hold of her bikini top first, but he eventually achieves his true goal. Although the game is over, Lum misunderstands that she is the one whom Ataru wants to marry, and she decides to move in with him. The poor student constantly tries to shake off the clingy Lum while doing his best to reconcile with his desired fiancée. After Ataru's heroic feat results in such a disastrous outcome, it is questionable whether luck will ever be on his side.

Propaganda:

This anime is actually a reboot; the original came out in the 80s. It honestly does the manga justice compared to the 80s anime. I absolutely love the animation, it really does stick to Rumiko Takahashi’s art style. Though the pacing is a bit different, overall it stays true to its manga counterpart. (It’s honestly too bad the series isn’t very popular in the west, it’s a great comedy/harem type show. And the thing is, it’s not your traditional harem where “the basic guy gets all the girls” which makes the show so much more enjoyable.) Everything about this show really captures the essence of the series. It’s able to be funny while still having its more serious moments. I just really love Urusei Yatsura, it’s so good.

Trigger Warnings: The art style is very colorful and could cause eyestrain

When reblogging and adding your own propaganda, please tag me @best-underrated-anime so that I’ll be sure to see it.

If you want to criticize one of the shows above to give the one you’re rooting for an advantage, then do so constructively. I do not tolerate groundless hate or slander on this blog. If I catch you doing such a thing in the notes, be it in the tags or reblogs, I will block you.

Know one of the shows above and not satisfied with how it’s presented in this tournament? Just fill up this form, where you can submit revisions for taglines, propaganda, trigger warnings, and/or video.

#anime #best underrated anime #polls #poll tournament #tournament #anime tournament #animation #group stage #group stage round 3 #tournament polls #group j #magi #magi the labyrinth of magic #magi labyrinth of magic #magi: the labyrinth of magic #urusei yatsura #urusei yatsura 2022

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the-otome-freak · 5 months

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Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly Review!!

This is my first ever official, extensive otome review!! I hope y'all enjoy, I went through so many ups and downs with this game. I hope this review inspires more people to get the game, or maybe even helps people realize it might not be for them! I also attempted to keep it as spoiler-free as possible, but there are parts that might dive into spoiler territory. I made sure to mention it, if so! Enjoy~ . . . .

Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly is a visual novel developed by Otomate and published by Idea Factory in 2015, available on the PS Vita and Steam. It’s an extremely dark, gothic story with very heavy themes and romance akin to Shakespearian tragedy. When I first picked up this game, I had been previously warned about the angst it contained but nothing prepared me for what I was about to experience. This game contains themes of death, guilt, regret, grief, trauma, isolation, and more. The last time I cried so much consuming a piece of media was when I watched Les Misérables for the first time when I was 15, so that says a lot. POTBB has an iffy system, but this is easily overshadowed by the incredible storyline, jaw dropping art, compelling cast, and beautiful soundtrack.

Before we get into plot points and character routes, I’d like to talk about POTBB’s system. It’s a typical visual novel at first glance, which means mostly just clicking in order to read the text and watching the events unfold. The features that set it apart however were quite interesting- and frankly quite frustrating as well. This includes its combat system and its flowchart.

POTBB has a combat system that pops up a couple times throughout the story while you’re fighting monsters. The instructions for the combat system were very vague and confusing, especially since I played on PC where the button configurations aren’t clarified in the “Options” menu, so it was a lot of trial and error. It instructs you to shoot your gun, but not how (on PC). I had to figure out on my own that I had to use the left and right click of my mouse to shoot/lock onto targets, so the first couple of plays I was very confused and frustrated. The object of the game is to shoot as many butterflies as possible in the allotted time while also getting a good score, which is achieved by getting combos. Playing the game earns you points. Another problem is that it’s quite glitchy and hard to lock onto the butterflies properly to shoot them, but with practice you can improve (with the sacrifice of a couple of hand cramps).

The other unique thing about POTBB’s system is its flowchart, which is useful because it allows you to jump to any point in the story you’ve already unlocked, but it can be very frustrating sometimes. You’re required to use the flowchart in order to access the “Side Stories,” aka extra content you slowly unlock as you play. To access the flowchart, you have to go to the menu. The game doesn’t notify you when you’ve unlocked a Side Story, so you just have to remember to check the flowchart every once in a while to see if any have unlocked. And even if a Side Story is “unlocked”, you still have to spend your points you earned in the minigame to actually view the content. Certain character routes, endings, and choices can’t be unlocked unless you’ve viewed these Side Stories. I actually got stuck a few times during my playthrough because I didn’t realize some of the Side Stories were unlocked, and you need to read them to progress. I found that the process of scrolling through the flowchart in the middle of the story often took away from the immersion, but it wasn’t awful.

On a positive note, I have to talk about POTBB’s art, which was created by Satoru Yuiga. Yuiga has an expressive, sort of water-color art style that adds to the spiritual and mystic elements of the game. I actually didn’t like the style at first; I thought some of the character sprites looked strange, but I quickly got used to it and was soon blown away. The CGs were gorgeous and added so much life to the characters. The facial expressions were so vivid, they displayed perfect depictions of terror, shock, love… I felt every emotion through the art. I’m looking forward to playing more of Yuiga’s games just because of her art. (Images below are promotional CGs)

Now, let's talk plot! (I summarize the Common Route in this section, so feel free to skip if you consider that spoilers!) The story and characters are the best thing about this game, in my opinion. You play as a girl named Beniyuri who has just woken up in a strange mansion with no memory of her past or even herself. You see the world through Beni’s eyes as she traverses the mansion and tries to figure out what’s going on and why she’s there. The mansion is dark, gothic, and scary. Its halls seem endless, every window and door is locked, and mysterious butterflies can be seen practically everywhere. And just when things seem their darkest, Beni hears the loud roar of a beast. Two large lion-like creatures appear and attempt to attack her. Imagine if a Minotaur had a lion’s head; that’s what they look like. She thinks she’s a goner, but suddenly she’s saved by a mysterious man with dark hair and purple eyes. They hide from the monsters together, and Beni learns that this man also doesn’t have any memories. They team up and explore, eventually coming across 3 other men in the mansion who also have amnesia. The four of them find a large hall within the mansion to make their ‘base’ where they’ll be safe from the monsters. They realize that they all have phones on them, and though there isn’t any service, each of them has received one message. “Collect the shards. Complete the kaleidoscope.” They’re in this mansion for a reason, and clearly someone is pulling the strings.

I can’t go into too much detail about the individual routes because the amount of plot twists and spoilers in this game are insane. I will describe each guy and a summary of what their route meant for me and how it made me feel. Some of the routes were phenomenal in their story writing and character development, others not so much.

The first route recommended is a man named Kagiha, the 2nd person that Beni meets in the mansion, and I have complex feelings about his route. He’s a tall, soft spoken, polite man with light brown hair and green eyes. He’s very kindhearted and treats Beni with a lot of care, cheering her up when she’s depressed about their situation. Kagiha was my favorite in the beginning simply due to how kind he was. All of them were in a very depressing situation with no memories and barely any hope, so his kindness was a sort of light in that darkness. I was very excited for his route and to learn his backstory. It turns out, his route is a branch of the “Best Ending” of the game, so you get to learn the truth about almost everything as you play through his route. I certainly wasn’t expecting this. I had been warned in the past about POTBB’s bittersweet endings, but I really wasn’t prepared like I thought I was. Due to Kagiha’s circumstances (that I can’t go into detail about), his route has two endings, and neither of them are “happy” in regard to his relationship with Beni. The “Best Ending” of the game does indeed end on a happy note, but they don’t end up happy together (again due to circumstances I can’t talk about without spoiling). The “Kagiha Ending” of the game does have them end up together romantically, but with very bittersweet conditions that’s more depressing than the alternative, in my opinion. I was very upset and I cried at both endings, regretting that I loved Kagiha so much because neither ending let him and Beni be truly happy together. But even though I was upset, I have to admit that the “Best Ending” was written phenomenally and deals with the concept of death, grieving, acceptance, and change in a beautiful way. The themes in this game are very heavy but discuss them in a beautiful, important way that really gets your brain going. I sat in silence for a while after the “Best Ending” just… thinking.

After that emotional wreck, I was ready for a happy ending or at least some more closure. Hikage’s route is recommended after Kagiha, which surprised me a bit. Based off of the cover art and his introduction, he seemed to be the “poster boy.” Hikage is the first man Beni meets in the mansion, the man who saved her from the monsters. I can barely describe his route without getting into spoilers, but it was intense. I didn’t like Hikage at first because he had this misogynistic mindset and constantly scolded Beni for being “weak, just like all women” and yelled at her for “slowing them down.” I wasn’t excited for his route because obviously it meant Beni would get more of this treatment, but I was honestly surprised at what his route had in store. There’s a major plot twist within the route and you come to understand why Hikage has this mindset, and that it doesn’t come from a place of misogyny, but rather trauma. The ending to his route shocked me so much and I bawled my eyes out. It definitely ends on a bittersweet note as well, but the very last scene offers some sort of closure (though not enough, in my opinion.) I overall liked his route plot-wise and thought it was also very thought provoking, tackling themes of abuse, death, mental instability, and despair. Romantically it was okay, but I felt like it took a side-seat to the plot which can either be good or bad, depending on how much you value romance and/or get attached to the characters. Without spoiling, I can tell you that Hikage is written in a way where it makes sense that romance isn’t the focus. Thankfully I wasn’t attached to Hikage as much as Kagiha, but I still cried a river anyway…

You’d think after two routes with horrifically bittersweet endings that the whole game will probably be this way, but surprisingly, the third route in POTBB filled my heart with joy. This route centered around Yamato, who’s a short-tempered, sporty guy with ice-blue hair. He has a bit of a foul mouth, often yelling or getting angry at their situation, but never in an irrational way. Yamato actually ended up being my favorite character overall. He has an unexpected soft side and his romance with Beni was the most realistic among the cast. I also felt his route was quite tragic, despite having the happiest romantic ending in the game. Yamato and Beni’s relationship is really complex, and they actually bond over grief and guilt. Both of them harbor so much guilt in their hearts and it shackles the both of them to their pasts, but by grieving together and finding strength in one another, they’re able to push each other to move on and grow. I really enjoyed this route in a moral sense. It teaches you that it’s okay to grieve and that people grieve at different paces, and sometimes it’s okay to bond over said grief. Healing and forgiveness take time, and having someone else there to heal with you can make you both stronger. The themes in his route were so beautiful and even watching his bonds with other members of the cast grow were incredible too. He has the happiest romantic ending in the game as well, which just added to how good it was. Interestingly enough, Yamato’s route also helped me come to terms with the bittersweetness of the previous routes. I was finally able to accept the circumstances and reasonings behind the depressing endings, allowing me to appreciate the game more as a whole.

After Yamato’s romantic end, I was excited to finish the rest of the game. I prayed that this next route had a happy ending as well, and that Yamato wasn’t just an exception. I began to pursue Monshiro, who’s a mysterious man who wears a fox mask that Beni has spotted wandering the mansion sometimes. I didn’t know what to expect from him during the first bit of the game because he’s sort of absent until the end of the common route. I was pleasantly surprised, though! I learned more and more about him as I played, even in the other routes, and he’s wonderful. He’s adorable, loving, and incredibly sweet. His route tackles themes of isolation and loneliness, with Monshiro being severely traumatized due to being alone in the mansion for several years. He’s very clingy with Beni and values their relationship more than anything, his main fear being him getting left alone again. His ending was quite happy as well, but their romantic development and deep connection never really got the ending it deserved. Their bond was almost as strong as her bond with Yamato, but I feel like in the end they didn’t get to express that to each other properly. It also felt quite short to me, I wish I could have gotten more content with them that wasn’t plot-related and just focused on their bond and how much they care for each other. Overall, I enjoyed it because Monshiro is so loveable, but the ending just left me unsatisfied and begging for more.

Now, the last route was a doozy. I’d like to clarify before I begin that this is all, of course, my opinion and perspective, so don’t let this discourage you from trying the game or loving this character! I will get into minor spoilers as well here, just because it’s hard to explain my feelings without talking about what happened. The last route I played was Karasuba, who is… not the best. I can confidently say I hate him, and his route didn’t really change that for me. He has bright yellow hair and yellow eyes, so his design was already creepy to me from the start, but his personality is much worse. At first glance he seems like a funny, happy-go-lucky class clown type, but his real personality is much more twisted. He flirts with Beni so intensely to the point of sexual harassment, but then backs off and laughs, pretending it was “just a joke.” Now this is already bad enough, but he’s just incredibly rude to everyone around him as well. He demeans Beni constantly for being “naive” and “cowardly,” all with a smile on his face as he pretends he’s saying it “for her own good.” He also constantly insults the other characters, starting fights with them whenever he can and giggling about it when it’s over. The whole “reason” behind why he acts like this is because he was bullied when he was a child. He projects his insecurities onto others and thus becomes the bully he hated so much when he was younger. He does later apologize for this at the end of his route, but I felt like one sorry just wasn’t enough to atone for the way he treated everyone? He sexually harasses Beni until she starts crying at one point, then backs away and claims it was “just a joke to teach her a lesson at how dangerous men can be.” He’s just awful and I don’t think he develops very much, even in his good ending despite his apology. His bad ending was even worse, which involved him brainwashing and manipulating Beni to be with him. I know some people who enjoyed his route and while I do respect that, it’s just hard for me to understand how someone would enjoy a character like him. I do think he’s interesting because he has deep flaws and trauma and instead of growing from it, he let them taint him and he ended up becoming the very thing he hated. So, he is interesting, but that doesn’t mean he’s a good love interest for Beni or even a good character in general. If I’d have to state one major flaw about this game, it’s Karasuba’s existence and his lack of character development or redemption.

After the 5 character routes are over, you’d assume that’s the end. The game actually continues after this, though, with the “Summer Camp” ending that unlocks last. This was my favorite part of the game. It’s a “What-If” scenario where every single character gets their happy ending, and offers a lot of closure after the despair you experience in the character routes. It healed me and freshened my mind after the tragedy. It’s a wonderful inclusion and I actually cried tears of joy while playing it, due to how emotional it made me.

Overall, Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly was an emotional rollercoaster that I will never forget. While yes it has its flaws, I don’t regret playing it. The topics covered, such as isolation, death, and guilt, were so heavy and intense; but they were also so meaningful and I feel like everyone should experience them. I feel my favorite theme was the deep dive into Survivor’s Guilt and how people process and deal with it differently. The mystery surrounding the mansion and their circumstances was also very interesting and the plot twists were well executed. The whole cast is so full of life and each of their bonds are extremely complex. Beniyuri is a wonderful main character and I found myself rooting for her and her happiness the entire time. I definitely recommend this game to anyone who loves tragedy and complex plots, but I probably wouldn’t recommend this game to someone who’d be uncomfortable with really dark themes like graphic death. This game definitely took a toll on my mental health for a few days, but also offered life lessons that I’ll no doubt remember and value for a very long time.

Rating: 7/10!

#otome #otome game #otome fandom #otomate #english otome #psychedelica of the black butterfly #potbb #idea factory #otome review #otome reviews #otoge review #otoge reviews #otome games #otoge #visual novel #visual novels #visual novel review #otomes

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dailycharacteroption · 1 month

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Hybrid Class Review: Investigator part 1

(art by BlackAssassiN999 on DeviantArt)

Overview

And we’re back with another class review in the form of the investigator, a fun class from first edition that proved interesting enough to be later included in Second Edition as its own unique class!

As a hybrid class, the investigator is a fusion of the concepts of the alchemist and rogue, combining the skill and street-smarts of the rogue with the analytical mind (and alchemical extracts) of the alchemist!

But investigators are no mere fusion, for while they share bones mechanically with the two classes, investigators are conceptually their own beast, the master detective as applied to fantasy settings where murderers and thieves use magic to cover up their crimes and the killer isn’t always a human or even humanoid.

The presence of these master detectives in a campaign changes up the sorts of challenges that the party can expect to face, as well as how they approach more familiar conflicts. Sure, the investigator can be surprisingly effective in combat, drawing upon how fictional detectives often fight by thoroughly analyzing their opponents and take them apart like a Mr. Potato Head, but their real focus is in using their various skills and expertise to analyze a situation and reach conclusions that would be lost on an untrained eye.

While not exclusive to investigators, their presence in the system opens the doors up to more complex mystery games, where progress is achieved through not just skill checks, but clever and outright lateral thinking on the part of the players, and even in games that are more straightforward action and combat, their presence and the mindset that comes with them can lend useful information to the party with their observations.

What’s especially interesting is that much like the bard class, the investigator archetype may be typically used for it’s intended role as a detective, but it also can and has been used to represent all sorts of characters with cunning and deductive mindsets which they leverage, not just criminal investigators. Without archetypes I’ve seen it used to represent brilliant tacticians and military commanders, scholars with a knack for combat, and more. And with archetypes, we can see everything from brilliantly competent butlers or Moriarty-style criminal masterminds.

Of course, no great detective character is without inspiration, and it would be remiss to not talk about how major characters will inspire your very own flavor of investigator. Perhaps you’re inspired by Holmes’ deductions and observation, or by Columbo’s ability to catch people in their own lies just by being annoying enough to frustrate, or perhaps later versions of Hercule Poirot’s analysis of psychology. The detective mystery genre has had a lot of characters from many walks of life and skillsets, and that can be reflected in both the mechanics and the portrayal of your own character.

That will do for an intro, but as always, look forward to seeing me break down their abilities, archetypes, and such throughout the course of the week!

#pathfinder #hybrid class #review #investigator

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bioluminosity · 7 months

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What did Witnessian culture look like? And do you have a name for the species?

I don't have a name for them beyond whatever I make up on the fly ("origin species"). If I had to make something up though I'd probably look at the choice vocabulary in the lore like Unveiling, Inspiral, etc., and etymologies related to them, but that's like a whole essay's worth of consideration, so I'll get back to you on that. As for aesthetics. Concept art from Bungie has notes on the disciples' appearances taking after its culture X, and we have the pyramids (in which apparently the mural styles of Rhulk's may be more Witness-aligned than his own work, but it's also more than likely the graphics were used in the origin cutscene for consistency, anyway that is less important), but something that interests me the most right now is Tessellation. There are visual references to that "artifact" vibe (and I am curious for the quests surrounding its catalyst), it shares material from TFS trailers (+rainbow roads in the Mars relic/some pyramid maps), and the flavor text/lore are formatted much like other "Witness" stuff we've seen.

Namely the handle's spinal shape (think Mykel's Reverence from Root), the tassels, barrel, and the top is literally shaped like a pyramid. It looks crafted with the reverence of a species' dogma. That part might be biased.

Beyond that, though, there is a lot to garner from the pyramids and other Witness-aligned environments. Rhulk's has the horse statues and a lot of general cityscapes (plus a "Dark City" in Savathun's throne world), there are some greyhound-looking reliefs in the Witness' pyramid (but it does not strike me as a dog person lol?), strange floating lights everywhere, etc. Generally speaking, we see a lot of "tomb" architecture (+actual tombs which makes sense given themes of death + disciple lore), but also themes of conquest, so I use all of these in my visual library for picturing their home world and the fleet (where most of the AU takes place, thus the story is a bit grim). That is all to say nothing of the structures we got on Europa which feel a bit unique in presentation (garnering feelings of discovery, unlike stuff from LF's season of defiance which is more clearly meant to invoke "invasion", but of course the other stuff was still being worked on for TWQ+TFS).

If I were to try and extrapolate anything besides what we've been given in-game, though, I'd go back to the (alleged) utopia landscape of their "Garden" world along with a desert/nomad background, [which is what I started my AU with: literal travelers], as the idea of conquest -- if it did not already exist within their culture -- definitely arose from their...integration and newfound purpose with the Final Shape. (Cue separate essay about war, falsehoods in utopias, and paracausal resources.) It feels redundant to say religion and philosophy were important -- Unveiling is right there, and Inspiral has some parables from ambiguous sources -- but I like to think these disciplines were more highly regarded than war or economics in a society that would have had its material needs being met, or maybe just exerted itself with overwhelming force. (Edit: The AU expanded on the powers we now know were granted to them by the Traveler + the Veil, letting them be sorts of planetary/universal curators, though that's a surprisingly less developed portion of that story. It would allow these ideas of authority to pervade their culture over time.)

Needless to say a LOT of the imagery hinted at in TFS trailers looks like really cool expansions on this "empty" empire, with a more personal effect with the hands and half-figures everywhere. like dont even get me started bc we will be here all day about design themes and motifs. But a lot of it also references the whole of Destiny rather than the species.

Sorry that was really long and a bit broader than like, what they would wear in different time periods/decorate with/paint etc. Those sorts of things are very interesting to me and would be born from the foundations laid out above!

#u gotta take my word for a lot of it bc i am not going thru like 900 screenshots #asks #prj: conserva me #destiny 2 #the witness #going more into canon stuff here ig #I really want to do polished design stuff with a lot of this but the Horrors. the Adulting. we will see.#the wicked implement mission is also a FEAST for this stuff #i REALLY wanted to draw smthn for this ask and i prob still will since its been on my mind as i get back to portfolio things.#am just 1 little guy with many work to do.#mortality au #witness me

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linabirb · 7 months

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Go ahead, Lina, talk about why you like Rollo. I need a reminder on why he's the best ever :DD

SORRY FOR A LATE REPLY AURORA I GOT HOME A FEW HOURS AGO AND NEEDED TO REST and the power went out while i was typing this. why is this world so rollophobic

warning for lots of rambling under the cut!

first of all, his design.

"haha funny boy with a bowl cut and a huge hat" virgin vs "literally the most fun design to draw" chad. yes i'm the second one.

of course his design is heavily inspired by his counterpart but i just love it a lot! i really like the colors (some of them lowkey remind me of a bi flag JDKDLSLSL) of his outfit and i like how the color of his hair and his eye color look with them!

i actually disagree with people who say that he'd look better with longer hair or a more detailed/"unique" hairstyle bc i think in that case his design would feel very overwhelming? meanwhile here it looks much more balanced! when i draw him, it feels really nice bc i don't have to do much when it comes to his hair, i can just focus on the outfit! (though i had to get used to drawing his hairstyle, bc my art style is just. floofy hair.. soft hair..)

speaking of his hair..

I'M STILL NOT OVER HIM HAVING MORE MESSY-LOOKING HAIR AND EVEN HAVING AN AHOGE. I'M STILL INSANE ABOUT IT THIS IS SO CUTE. i've talked about it with my other friends and i hc that his hair is like that simply bc he wears a hat most of the time and.. yeah, your hair can become like that after you wear a hat. and like, maybe his hair has no choice but to look like that no matter how much he tries to take care of it and make it look better, so he also tries to hide it with his hat HDJKDKSLD.

also, i find it so funny how on some images it looks like he has really bad dark circles, meanwhile on other images you can clearly see that he wears makeup, so here's my rollo headcanon number 420 (i have so many of them. so many. literally about any topic. i am going insane): rollo tries to hide his dark circles with makeup, but fails miserably and he's really bad at it and nobody has a heart to tell him that he's actually not really doing a good job.

HIS CHIBI VERSION IS SO. SQUISHING AND BITING HIM. WHAT'S THAT EVIL SMILE FOR. YOU SILLY GOOFY MAN

now, his personality.

HE'S SO. SIFGHDHJFBDFBHDJNDVFDNM!!!!!! i love how rollo isn't just a "cold and emotionless anime guy". HE HAS EMOTIONS!! HE HAS SO MANY OF THEM!!! LITERALLY THE WHOLE MASQUERADE EVENT CAN BE A METAPHOR FOR EXPRESSING ALL THE FEELINGS YOU HAD REPRESSED FOR SO MANY YEARS AND ENDING UP DOING SO IN A WAY THAT'S HARMFUL FOR OTHERS (and probably you).

okay, i've said it before in my other post (the ask game one) but the fact that he's literally one of the few characters (if not the only one) who actually says that yuu must feel weird being the only magicless student and that it can be very scary and tiring. man. and like, when everyone has to split up into groups, rollo is the only one who asks what yuu will be doing. i could try my best to not go "this man is in love with them" at least for a second, but no, this man is in love with them. "oh it's only because they're magicless" shut up. so what if it IS because they're magicless. what if yuu is so pure to him, nobody can touch them. what if he wants to protect them from magic users. rolloyuu can either be the cutest and softest ship ever or they can be the most toxic ship BUT IN A GOOD WAY. IN A WAY THAT MAKES YOU GO "waittttt 👀👀👀 that's kinda. that's kinda. hold on a minute" LIKE YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYINGGGGGG. all variations of rolloyuu are good. all of them. his ghost room voicelines are also so. it's like, even if he's studying at nrc currently, you can clearly see that he still has favoritism for yuu. it really feels like he sees them as the only "good" student here. it feels like he's a little bit more.. um.. maybe he's more of a tsundere now, since now he knows that yuu likes magic? such as him being surprised when yuu shows him that they want to be friends with him and thinking that it's all just some kind of evil scheme and then being shocked that they're just genuinely nice and saying that it just makes everything even worse. OTOME GAME LOVE INTEREST BEHAVIOR. and him also kinda scolding them for "asking for a present" from him but then saying that birthdays really are important and that he hopes he won't disappoint them with his present. man. m a n. AND HIS OTHER VOICELINES STILL MENTION HIM FEELING SORRY FOR MC AND SAYING THAT THEY CAN ALWAYS RELY ON HIM AND ANYWAY ROLLOYUU ARE MARRIED-

but i should go back to the topic of his personality! you know what makes me insane. it's that rollo, no matter how hard he tries to look like this serious and organized person who has everything under control is canonically a dork in the most affectionate way. HIS FLYING LESSONS VOICELINES ARE SO FUNNY. the fact that he goes "WHY WON'T THIS THING LISTEN TO MEEEEE" when it's not working out, but when everything is fine, he immediately goes "oh, it's quite simple actually"?? i'm going to kiss you on the mouth, you idiot SJKDKDLSLS. he's also canonically a horse girl, which makes sense bc of his counterpart, but also HORSE GIRL ROLLO REAL. i need his lab coat sr. or at least let him take alchemy classes with his current card i want to know what he'll say.

his battle voicelines are so cool, i'm literally obsessed with them. HE LITERALLY SAYS THAT HE HAS UNFINISHED BUSINESS TO TAKE CARE OF AFTER BEATING UP SOME GUYS. HOW COOL IS THAT. some of his voicelines totally didn't make me giggle and kick my feet. totally. don't look at me. me reading "good, how obedient" and "it seems you still desire punishment" and choking on my tea

also i love how his vignette exceeded my expectations and didn't just make me go "i love him <3", it made me go "i need to take care of him, i need to give him a blanket, i need to force him to go to sleep when he needs it, i need to kiss his stupid face, i need to tell him that he's enough-". like what do you mean he eats the exact same things (and not just food, but also the exact amount of it) for lunch and i'm pretty sure he does the same with breakfast and dinner. what do you mean he wakes up BEFORE SUNLIGHT to clean the bell and the gargoyles. what do you mean he likes the bell of salvation (yes, i'm sticking to fan translations) because "it rings when it's supposed to", meaning that he likes predictable things and things that he "already knows" (i think you can say that it's also implied in one of his voicelines where he can't understand why mc is "acting so familiar with him". they're being unpredictable. it's too hard for him to understand them.) what do you mean even when he knows that it will be easier/more convenient for him to do something different, he still does it the same way that he always does. i need him to go to therapy, this man has at least one mental illness and i'm like 100% sure that he's neurodivergent. (i've said it so many times on discord but he's ocd-coded. i say that as someone who has ocd. that's it. i do so many of the things that he does, it actually was a little uncomfortable (but also validating) to read his vignette, i was like "?? DUDE?? PLEASE?? PLEASE TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF DO YOU UNDERSTAND HOW UNHEALTHY IT IS?? wait i don't have a right to say that". the bit where he says that he eats the exact same foods to "avoid unnecessary desires" especially reminded me of my own behavior, because my brain often makes me stop taking care of my needs because "otherwise the Bad Stuff will happen". but i won't go into detail)

also i like how he's loved by literally all nbc students?? say whatever you want, call him manipulative and all that, but it takes hard work to make people like you and admire you and rollo is definitely hardworking.

now, his role in the story. sure, him and idia have very similar backstories, but rollo's past resonates with me much more, because i really wish we had more characters that express their grief and other negative emotions as anger. of course, some people cry, some people isolate themselves, some people become afraid of everything, but in those cases those characters are usually portrayed as sympathetic, meanwhile those who want to punch people, want to fight back, want to scream and yell at everyone, often get portrayed as unsympathetic, scary or even abusive and toxic or just evil. which is.. not good. not good at all. anger is a valid and understandable emotion and it's actually good to be angry about things. i actually was shocked when my therapist told me that i SHOULD "bite and scratch people more" (as i've said it myself) right after i was describing to her how easy it is for me to get angry we also found out that it's actually one of my alters' doing and i was like "i sound like some kind of monster don't i". so it's really nice and actually kinda healing to see him just steal everyone's magic, set the town on fire (with flowers, but whatever) and still hate magic and not really getting a redemption arc. it's okay, he'll get there someday. him immediately starting to sob the moment he remembered what happened to his brother also broke me.

however, there is one tinyyyy problem with his backstory, though that's just me, probably. you see, idia blaming himself for what happened to ortho was more.. i wouldn't say understandable, but it makes sense story-wise. he really was involved in it, even if it really wasn't his fault and he was only a child, i can still see why he'd blame himself. but in rollo's case, him secretly blaming himself.. doesn't really make sense to me? i mean, his brother just wanted to show him his magic, sure, rollo could blame himself for just standing and not being able to help him, but.. i don't know, it just feels a little bit weaker to me. so when the story goes "hey, look at him, he's blaming the magic users for not saving his brother, when he actually thinks it's his fault"! i'm like ". okay. what do you want me to do. do you want me to give him a hug and tell him that it really wasn't his fault." like, according to him, other mages really couldn't help and they ignored him, so what do you want me to do?? do you want me to point at him and go "HAHA SO IT REALLY IS YOUR FAULT"?? i'm not gonna do that!!

also, the thing is that rollo isn't selfish at all. i don't think he thinks that highly of himself. i actually bet that his self-esteem is horrible. when idia tells rollo that rollo wasn't trying to save other people, but he actually wanted to save himself, rollo is genuinely confused and can't believe it and idia himself says that it looks like rollo really did think that he was doing it for others. and even if he secretly wanted to do it for himself, i don't think him saying that he wants to save others and end their suffering is selfish. and he also says that he'd love to lose his magic too and he doesn't like using his magic.

his parents also being worried about him and making sure he's fine in the vignette also breaks my heart.

soooo yeah! that's all i can think of right now, but of course, there's most likely much more, my brain is just a little tired, haha.

maybe none of this makes sense and i'm just biased and i'm projecting, but who cares. at least i'm having fun.

if you've read all of this, thank you and congrats! have a pic of my croissant plushie (+ a bnuuy!!) :)

#[ 💌 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬 ]#[ 💕 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐚'𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 ]#[ 💫𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝: 𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐫𝐚 ]#eh you know what #twisted wonderland #rollo flamme #twst rollo #i'm probably gonna regret it later but rn. i'm too sleepy to care and i need to do my hw

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thydungeongal · 4 months

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No one asked but here's my top 5 games of 2023

5. Laika: Aged Through Blood

A weird hybrid of one of those 2D motocross games where you need to balance on your bike while doing cool flips, a shooter with bullet time, and a Metroidvania. Also, starring a cast of furries in a post-apocalyptic setting.

Laika is not a nice game. It starts with a person getting gutted and strung from a tree using their guts. Its story is very dark and seemingly hopeless at times. I have yet to finish it, but it very much seems like one of those stories where things get progressively worse because the people in power are short-sighted and motivated by selfishness. But besides that, it's a dang good game.

Laika really shines in the gameplay department: you'll find yourself doing insane combos where you'll shoot two enemies while doing a backflip only to rotate your bike midair to deflect the bullet of a third enemy, switch to your shotgun to kill one more enemy while using the boost from the shotgun's recoil to dodge another bullet, and finally to completely on accident kill the final enemy because one of the shotgun's pellets ricochet'd off of an enemy's assault rifle.

When the game works it is extremely rewarding and really gets you into that high-octane flow state. It's not quite perfect though: as I said, I have yet to finish it, but thus far I've had enough fun with it to give it a place in my top 5, and the main reason keeping it away from a higher spot on my list is that as apparently dictated by law when it comes to Metroidvanias that take after Dark Souls, the game has a few bosses that are both exercises in frustration while not actually utilizing the gameplay to the fullest. The cool worm in the mines is an early-game highlight, but the goddamn giant chicken pope can go fuck itself.

4. Sea of Stars

Sea of Stars is an indie JRPG inspired by many classics of the genre, but with its most obvious inspiration being Chrono Trigger. Combining a beautiful pixel art style with a turn-based combat system with action inputs in the style of the Mario RPGs and a system based around using appropriate attack types to interrupt enemy attacks and make them vulnerable, on a mechanical level it's a fantastic game. The soundtrack also kicks ass.

Having said that, while the story is by no means bad it's also not terribly memorable? Also, the two main characters (who you choose one to be your main at the start... Which actually doesn't affect anything) are almost devoid of personality while still not being silent protagonists, which I think is the worst of both worlds. Anyway, the cast is saved entirely by the nicest and coolest character in the history of JRPGs GARL!!!

Anyway, I know that comes off more critical, but the truth is it wouldn't be on my top 5 if I didn't think it was a fantastic game. It's a fantastic game that just happens to be the weakest in the main character and story department, but not to the degree where it detracts from the experience. JRPG fans, you should really check this out.

3. Halls of Torment

Vampire Survivors is one of my favorite games of the past couple of years, but it didn't come out in 2023 so I can't put it on this list. You know what did come out in 2023? That's right, Halls of Torment.

Halls of Torment is best described as "what if Vampire Survivors but Diablo instead of Castlevania," and honestly? That simple twist kinda takes it over the top for me. The gameplay loop is much the same: walk around a big map, killing hordes of monsters, picking up experience points and new weapons along the way, upgrading your abilities as you progress. Much like in Vampire Survivors it's a game that tests your ability to avoid enemies while making little spreadsheets in your head at the same time.

I wouldn't say it's better than Vampire Survivors, because for the most part it's just more of the same, but the variety in characters, weapons, and upgrades makes it a unique twist on the formula. If you've wanted to use a flamethrower to take down Diablo's hordes while overdosing on dopamine, this is the game for you.

2. Lunacid

A true throwback and tribute to those PS1 and PS2 days when FromSoft hadn't quite figured out what a Dark Souls is and was mostly making janky mech games and janky first-person dungeon crawlers, Lunacid is basically a spiritual successor to those FromSoft dungeon crawlers.

Lunacid not only nails the atmosphere of pressing loneliness that comes with exploring a mysterious, interconnected underworld, it's also a game that oozes personality and charm. None of its actual gameplay systems are revolutionary, but there's enough variety of weapons, spells, damage types, and possible builds to allow for a very personal gaming experience.

Couple that with a soundtrack that is genuinely spooky at times while also really selling the ennui and loneliness of the setting at others, it's definitely one of the highlights of this year.

1. Cassette Beasts

Cassette Beasts took me completely by surprise and completely consumed me for the next month since its release after which I felt a mighty need to 100% it. It's a rare game that manages to do that to me.

Cassette Beasts is a monster-collecting game in the style of Pokémon but with a few important twists: first of all, you always control a pair of characters instead of just one. Secondly, your characters don't call monsters into battle, they transform into them (this is mostly important in trainer battles where it's entirely possible to take out the trainer's monster form and knock them out before they can transform into a new monster!), and finally its elemental rock-paper-scissors system isn't based on just boosting damage, but on a system of elemental interactions granting buffs and debuffs.

Hit a plant time creature with a fire attack and they're now burning. Hit a glass monster with a metal type move and now there's glass everywhere, dealing minor damage to any character making a melee attack. Coupled with a system where all moves and abilities come in the form of stickers attached to the monsters and which can be detached and attached onto other monsters, you have a monster-collecting game with a lot of tactical depth.

It's obviously not perfectly balanced for competitive play, which will be coming in a future update that'll add online multiplayer, but idk it's an extremely cute, heartfelt, and deep little game. Also, the soundtrack is one of the best video game soundtracks I've had the pleasure of listening to, and also there's a cute doggy.

#cassette beasts #lunacid #sea of stars #halls of torment #laika: aged through blood

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comicaurora · 2 years

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How would you say is the way to write a morally unique / blue and orange morality character without letting a writers own moral code leak into their characterisation?

I understand that most of the time, the protagonists of a story are likely meant to portray the virtues of a moral code and the antagonists are meant to portray the reverse or absence of that code, but whenever I try to work out a morally weird character into a story I make up, I keep seeing conspicuous little pieces of the normal morality mixed in so the character doesn’t feel quite right, so the blue and orange character starts seeming more white/black and orange.

I know this is because of my own moral biases and I was wondering if you had any particular thoughts on it, or if this problem is just me and it’s not something that’s you’ve encountered as an obstacle in your own writing?

(Also, I freaking love this comic and your art style, it inspired me to start learning drawing and digital art this year. Since I’m in Australia, the pages upload around dinner time so I get to spend the days they come out looking forward to them!)

I love this question!

I think it's probably impossible to completely separate an author's core moral compass from the stories they tell, since an author's self-awareness only runs so deep and there will always be things about themself and their worldview they aren't actively aware of, and thus can't consciously leave out of their work. But I think this is more of a problem in heroes that the author is trying to make good people, since that'll naturally follow from their idea of what "goodness" means. I do think it's possible to construct individual characters that operate on very different rules than the author does, and the trick to that is figuring out what internal axioms they operate on, if "right and wrong" aren't applicable.

To simplify, most real people have desires they pursue, and a gradient zone surrounding the space of things they won't willingly do that starts with "things they might do but won't enjoy" and escalates until it reaches the center point of "things they absolutely will not do." Separate from this dichotomy of "want vs don't want", most people also have something approximating a moral code, "should vs shouldn't". Despite cultural attempts to standardize, everyone's code is different. If we wanted to imagine a cartesian coordinate system showing this person's internal judgment of any possible action, the X axis could be "desire" and the Y axis could be "morality", and the (0,0) point could be complete neutrality - an action they neither like nor dislike, that they consider neither good nor bad.

"Blue and Orange Morality" is the term typically used to describe characters who do not have a black-and-white moral code anywhere in their brain. They don't have things that are Right and things that are Wrong - they operate on a completely different axis. Most commonly, Blue And Orange Morality applies to characters who are entirely driven by the "want vs don't want" axis; their actions are not colored by an external code, but only by their personal drives and desires. However, this is not the only way to write this character. Sometimes, Blue And Orange Morality takes the form of a Y-axis that is something completely different than "morality". Someone with a really, really strong honor code might approach Blue And Orange Morality if they gauge all their actions based solely on how much honor it will gain or lose them; characters embroiled in games of status and power might have a similar internal compass, where the morality of their actions doesn't factor into their decision-making because they're too busy calculating how much clout it'll gain or lose them. A glamour-obsessed fairy creature might weigh all actions based on the drama it will reap them.

A character who operates under Blue And Orange Morality might have a moral compass somewhere in there, but they typically believe whatever other axis they operate on is more important and relevant. Power play stories like Game of Thrones seem to highlight that doing the right thing is a good way to die horribly. Immortal beings often lose their attachment to their moral compass as they age and perhaps become jaded, doubting the long-term good of acts of heroism after seeing so many hopeful efforts fail and be forgotten; or maybe they become detached, not malicious but generally uninvested.

I write a lot of characters that are, for various reasons, disconnected from the people around them.

Some, like Kendal, operate on a moral code that I personally agree with, but this is almost the only axis he currently operates on, as personal drive isn't something he recognizes within himself, producing a different kind of Blue And Orange Morality where he works so strictly on Right Vs Wrong that it puts him at odds with the people around him. Others, like Tynan, understand morality enough to know that it's an exploitable weakness in other people, but operate only on the want-vs-don't-want spectrum - Tynan wants to be feared because he likes what that belief turned him into, and hurting people helps him get that. Beings like The Collector were once mortal, with presumably a standard moral code associated with that state, but she experienced a world-shattering eldritch existential crisis that instilled in her a new axis that completely superseded her existing drives: a being vaster than comprehension and older than the world desperately wanted to be free, and she will make that happen. Anything that serves that is good; anything that hinders that is bad. Nothing else matters, because everything else is so much smaller than the mind she briefly touched. She has no need or intention to be purposefully cruel, but cruelty happens because her ultimate goal will unmake the world and her process to get there involves a lot of vivisection.

Tahraim is an interesting case. I won't say too much, but his primary axis really is "interest". Anything old, overdone or stagnant doesn't interest him; he pursues innovation and transmutation, the process by which things become better and more efficient. He has the patience of immortality and clearly takes joy in talking to people and seeing new things, but he is essentially what happens when a craftsman becomes boiled down to his absolute essentials. The pure joy of creation and improvement, the sweet enthusiasm of concentrating fully and entirely on making something - uninterrupted by mortal concerns like food, pain and time. While morality can be assigned to his actions, it holds very little weight for him.

#asks #writing stuff #aurora

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journalsouppe · 9 months

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ORACLE OF AGES MY BELOVED!!! Mwah mwah I love you so much OoA you were so silly and fun and charming. If only there was a third game about Farore since she's my favorite golden goddess!!! Oh well, at least we have two fun Oracle games and at least Farore is in both.

The images are printed screenshots from the game I found online!

Writing typed below:

Rating: 8.5 Played: Fa 2022 Port: 3DS (GBC Version)

Comments

Feels older than ALTTP

Great reach with sword, better than ALTTP

the screen scrolling caught me off guard

why is the tree in love with Link T-T

let me see Farore!!!!!

loved L-1 boss!

omg riding on the animals <3 love you Moosh

the puzzles are unique but very Zelda like

some similarities to the minish cap

you really need to unlearn everything you know about Zelda to play each game -> potions and fairies are switched in this game

the man's ceremony is gonna make me lose my mind

love the return of the gorons

the gorons all dance, just like smth I believe each Zelda race does

the Ghini are back ahhhhh

mermaid link!! so cute

baby Jabu Jabu!!

very experimental with play styles, I love it!

LYNELS?????

koji kondo killed it as usual

pixel art is 10/10

I like collecting the relics for L-8

omg both types of zora exist I absolutely adore that

omg a little statue of LInk <3

love the skeleton pirates

LINK TEACHING RALPH SO CUTE!!

final boss wasn't too bad, I liked dark link and her final forms (veran)

My holodrum code

Summary:

What a unique game. The whole concept was super cute and I am surprised the oracle games aren't that popular. There are many aspects inspired by OOT and MM such as the Hand in the toiled and some of the enemies but it definitely takes even more inspo from the 2d games. There's a lot of similarities between this game and the Minish cap! It was super cute and it really felt like they let the developers explore silly ideas. For one, they included both river and ocean Zora which I believe is one of the only games to do so. It also has bonus content if you play its sister game, seasons. The dungeons had a good difficulty to them and the bosses and mini had really cool designs - honestly designs you probably wouldn't see in any other game. There was also a good amount of down time content for when you aren't in the dungeons with really fun scenery and characters. Speaking of, the character designs were super cute and unique since they a different pixel art style! (Before I knew this was inspired by Link's Awakening). I highly recommend this game to anyone with a 3DS (rip you can't get it anymore). It is absolutely worth it. A Zelda fan must!!

#journalsouppe #bullet journal #journal #tloz #legend of zelda #loz #the legend of zelda #Zelda journal #oracle of ages #nayru #loz nayru

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thedeafprophet · 3 months

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#1 and #7 for the art asks? (from @neathyingenue btw ;D)

1.When did you start creating art?

I would argue that everyone, always, and forever is making art in their own invidual unique ways. while we may have certain perspectives on various art forms, i think to create is simply part of being human.

....if u wanna know when i started drawing i would say maybe around 13/14 was when i frist started sketching? I was never one of those kids who's been 'drawing since they could hold a pencil' or whatever. I never really had any natural inflication towards drawing - as a younger kid i spent more of my creative time building structures out of popsicle sticks and whatever else i got my hands on.

When i was in my preteens/early teens, i mostly started trying to draw because my friends at the time were all doing it and i felt left out 😅😅 it was a bit of an uphill climb starting from a place with less experience and no natural talent for it.

I sorta clawed my way up from there, trying and failing since then. The real skill of an artist isn't drawing in my mind; its continuing to work at it even when you feel like it sucks.

I only really have my digital art saved back to when i was 18, but i started doing it a bit before then. And it was only in the last few years that I really feel like ive gotten a handle on how I draw, where i've ever felt solidly good about things i create, even if i still struggle with self esteem. Its funny what having a muse, so to speak, in your own characters will do for your art.

hmm. this. turned into a ramble. apologies lmao

All that is too say: For awhile and with determination to not back down from it.

7. Who are some artists that have inspired you?

So when I was 13 I was like, really really into Skyrim. Like. A lot lmao. (And one of the first things i really tried learning how to draw was my skyrim character. )

Anyway, the point of this is that my biggest art influence when i was a kid was Kayla Marquez/thewickwheat on tumblr, who used to do a lot of skyrim oc art, and was very inspirational for me learning how to draw. I feel you can probably still see remenants of that past in the way i draw now. I still seriously recommend checking her stuff out, her character design and linework is phenomoinal to me to this day.

I would say one of my current inspirations, of which im sure is no surprise, is J.C Leyendecker. Specifically in the way he draws clothing. While we obviously have quite different styles, i found our form when it comes to cloothing folds to feel somewhat similar, so i find using his stuff to be very inspirational when it comes to how i approach clothes now, especially suits and shirts.

Beyond that its like... so many artists. Honestly i'd need a whole seperate ramble of a poss just for that alone, and i've already rambled. I have hundreds of photos done by various artists i like saved and sorted across different artstyles on my computer to look at and Be Inspired By. I would say now adays i take a lot of inspiration from Edwardian and Victorian era paintings in general, as im drawing the topics of those contents quite a lot.

Ask Game From Here!

#ah i had a lot to say about these.... uh hope u dont mind the ramble lmao #and yes hello i know ur main blog name XD <3 i know everyones if they use a sideblog #i pay attention 👁️👁️#ask game

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vertebrae-entertainment · 3 months

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23.01.24 - Environments

Hey y'all, happy new year! Things were pretty much busy from the get-go for us, so we haven't had time to post a proper update. But now we're here, and here's whats up!

This is a reference picture my partner took for me on one of our trips to my hometown of Stavanger, Norway a couple of years back. Stavanger has been a great influence of multiple of my games, mostly due to a love-hate relationship, complicated nostalgia and pride. Its a gorgeous town with lovely nature and bustling culture, but it is also full of rich jerks and elon-pilled right-wingers. Thats what the oil industry will do to you!

Anyway, thats neither here nor there- i think anywhere you grow up, you have a complicated relationship with.

If you've been peeking at our discord (hey, come hang out with us!) lately, you might have noticed that i've been posting a bunch of mockups for environment art and i thought i could give y'all an insight into how important dirt is to me!!

Environments have been on the backburner for a long time for me, mostly because im not an environment artist and i am pretty intimidated by the task ahead. My task is: portray post-apocalyptic Norwegian society and nature, and make it so that Fangst wont be mistaken for just any other game. It needs to be both unique and also very deliberately reflect real world locations. That's no small task!

But i've made some visual breakthroughs lately, and that has made me able to grasp the task much easier. Its been in the art recipe for this project all along, the key words being impressionism, brutalism, texture! The trick was combining it in the right way.

Here is a mockup i posted earlier this month. The angled texture on the rocks is strongly inspired by brutalist concrete sculptures, with a thick outline to show the player what is and is not a platform. Overlaid is a real-world picture my partner took of some algae and plant growth on rocks close to the sea.

The background is impressionist, clearly distancing it from the lens and 'player space' by taking on a different artstyle. We have mentioned earlier that we're inspired by the work of Munch, and have earlier tried to replicate the sun from this piece in-game.

The characters are also modernist, but in a different sense- taking inspiration from the UPA revival movement most famously seen in early 2000s cartoons such as Dexters Laboratory and Samurai Jack. I suppose this could make them a third, separate layer of modernist art!

Right now some aspects don't fit as cleanly into the formula- plant life is proving tricky, and remains semi-realistically styled. UI is deliberately made to look like real-world objects, because i think it helps it stand out against the other layers. Readability is my primary concern right now, i have a tendency to soup that away in the hunt for exciting art direction.

Next time, i'll be talking about a whole separate beast again- architecture. Nothing is more norwegian to me than dingy little wooden houses along a coastline, so you bet your ass im putting effort into it! But also, GLOBAL GAME JAM IS COMING UP- so i might also talk about that :3 We'll see.

Have a good one! -Hauk

#update #fangst #indie game #indiedev #gamedev #gamemaker #indie games #fishing game #norway #devblog #devlog #game design #game development #game art #concept art

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onewhoturns · 8 months

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A-Z Challenge GAME 4

A game is done. B game is short. C is getting voted on now, but I also have far too many options for this one.

(Seriously, this started with 9 options) (...I'm just a very indecisive person okay. ><)

As always, more info about the game options below the cut, including blurbs, tags, and trailers. DOTO I played once and will eventually play again, whether as part of this challenge or not, it's just a matter of getting around to it.

1. Dark Nights With Poe and Munro (2020)

youtube

"Guide local radio hosts Poe and Munro through six TV-like episodes of supernatural strangeness and sizzling on-screen chemistry. From the creators of The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker and The Shapeshifting Detective." Steam tags: choose your own adventure, fmv, detective, interactive fiction, multiple endings, point & click, dark comedy, horror, romance

2. Dead Synchronicity: Tomorrow Comes Today (2015)

youtube

"A dying reality, a universe that’s fading away. A merciless world thatgets sick and vanishes. No past, no present, no future; only the impending moment of “dead synchronicity” ahead. Will you be able to stop it?Because, otherwise… what will you do when Time dissolves itself?" Steam tags: adventure, point & click, indie, post-apocalyptic, story rich, atmospheric, mystery, horror

3. Detention (2017)

youtube

"Detention is an atmospheric horror game set in 1960s Taiwan under martial law. Incorporated religious elements based in Taiwanese/Chinese culture and mythology, the game provided players with unique graphics and gaming experience." Steam tags: horror, indie, psychological horror, atmospheric, puzzle, story rich, adventure, drama, dark, point & click

4. DIVINATION (2019)

youtube

""What if you're born into this world without your permission?" DIVINATION is a very short visual novel where you act as a fortune teller in a futuristic world. Talk and listen to people's stories, then foresee their future using the runes they had drawn." Steam tags: visual novel, cyberpunk, short, philosophical, experimental, point & click, noir, text-based, story rich, choices matter, sci-fi

5. Dry Drowning (2019)

youtube

"Dry Drowning is a psychological investigative visual novel set in a futuristic dystopian city. Follow the story of Mordred Foley, unscrupulous private detective haunted by his dark past, and look into a series of macabre serial killings inspired by Greek mythology." Steam tags: futuristic, adventure, visual novel, mystery, sci-fi, noir, horror, investigation, psychological, thriller, puzzle

6. Dishonored: Death of the Outsider (2017) (I have 17/30 achievements after 30hrs of play, hltb estimates an average 17hrs completionist so obviously I play slow lmao)

youtube

"Be a badass supernatural assassin and take on the role of notorious Billie Lurk as she reunites with her mentor Daud in order to pull off the greatest assassination ever conceived. Building upon Dishonored® 2’s signature gameplay and art style, Death of the Outsider features all the series hallmarks, including brutal combat systems, unique level design, and immersive storytelling that responds to your every choice." Steam tags: stealth, action, first-person, female protagonist, assassin, steampunk, atmospheric, story rich

#a z challenge #turner plays things #indie games #indie gamer #poll #dark nights with poe and munro #dead synchronicity #dead synchronicity tomorrow comes today #detention game #divination game #dry drowning #dishonored death of the outsider

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