Mojave Mu$ic Plugs Assorted Indie Games
So, I play stuff released for RPGMaker with fair frequency. A lot of the stuff for the program is total shit or painfully generic, but some of it is pretty good. Two warnings, one: there will probably be spoilers, two: a lot of these are Yume Nikki fangames. I kinda consider myself an expert on them as much as someone can be an expert on such a thing.
I'm not going to post any full reviews just yet--I just downloaded a little title called Very Pink Game, which will probably be my first--but here are my scores (in stars) for some previous things I've played with bite-sized how'd-it-do's.
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Yume Nikki: 5/5 -- The RPGMaker "Exploration Game" genre starts here. It's the codifier for it, and arguably the best example with an ambiguous, only really implied plot. But the game is legendary for its dreamscapes, and really is a must-play, even if you never touch another RPGMaker title.
Yume 2kki: 5/5 -- This is the rare sequel that lives up to the original's premise. Unofficial though it may be, the sprawling project captures the feel of the first game perfectly while dialing back the horror elements to make an altogether lighter experience. Two of the four endings imply that Urotsuki is little more than an average little girl, which is perhaps the strangest thing of all. Yume 2kk is technically not finished, but I feel comfortable rating it, as it's been playable to-end for a few versions now.
Neftelia: 5/5 -- Neftelia's origin and creator are both lost to time. The game is infamously finnicky, but if you can get it working, it's as much of a head-trip as Yume Nikki was (the games are indeed quite similar, and there is some question of which is older). In some ways, the lack of the "dreaming girl" premise, and thus, any premise, makes the game even more enjoyable. If there is such a thing as a wholly abstract game, this is it.
The Star-Stealing Prince: 4.5/5 -- A game with a surprisingly good, fairytale-like story disguised as a generic RPG. If you can get past the rather frustrating combat system (and indeed, battles are pretty hard), it's got a lot to offer. May lag on less powerful computers due to the sheer amount of graphical wowiness going on.
Embric of Wulfhammer's Castle: 4/5 -- A surprisingly smart experience dressed up as a dating sim in a D&D campaign's clothing. Embric is incredibly difficult to explain, but the final, absolutely incredible ending (one of very many) makes the entire lesbian-antic-laden experience worth it. The answer's out the window, not in the mirror. You'll need a guide for this one.
Ib: 4.5/5 -- A trip to the museum becomes a visit to a strange world inside the paintings that hang in it. Ib is scary and heartwarming at the same time, and has that same headiness many of the best RPGMaker games do without lacking a plot. Has a number of endings of varying depressing-ness, but the best one is pretty happy.
.flow: 4/5 -- If Yume 2kki made the original YN look dark by comparison, .flow makes it look absolutely cheery. Sabitsuki's mind is a mishmash of the most surreal of horror tropes, and the game's running themes of rust and plague lead up into a terrifyingly strange conclusion. Sabi is probably the most pitiable of all the assorted YN fangame protagonists, you really just can't help but feel bad for her.
The Witch's House: 3/5 -- A rare true horror game done right on RPGMaker is spoiled by a bizarre, left-field, and overbearingly depressing ending (this is regardless of which one you get). The game's plot (lost girl visits mysterious house) is also rather cliche at this point, especially due to the number of other RPGMaker titles based on the same premise. It's still worth playing, but don't expect to come out of it with any larger sense of satisfaction with regards to the storyline.
LCD DEM: 3/5 -- Another YN fangame. It implements a much more relaxing atmosphere than 2kki's cheeriness or .flow's horror, but the ending is weird in a bad way, and has the issue of seemingly trying too hard to inject some tears into the whole thing.
Yume Nisshi: 2/5 -- Easily the most boring of the assorted Yume Nikki fangames. Not worth your time. There is nothing here that is at all interesting, and the game lacks a plot.
Answered Prayers: ?/5 -- Prayers doesn't get a score because it's currently so far from being finished. But what's here currently points to a brilliant subversion of Yume Nikki's dream-game genre. It's frankly a shame that the game isn't more well known. Notably, fanart for this game is where my current avatar comes from.
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and that's that. You're free to dis/agree with any of my assessments of course, but that's how I feel on all of them.
I might do proper reviews for these if I play them again, and I also plan to review Middens when I'm done with it.
edit: changed thread title and inserted dollar sign to mess with Naney.
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alright, so
Very Pink Game+
There's not too too much to say about this one. The game's only about a dozen screens big even if you visit all the optional areas. The graphics convey the old-timiness intended quite well, they wouldn't look out of place on the original Gameboy (well, Color maybe. I don't recall if the original Gameboy supported pink, and this game is aptly named, for it is incredibly pink). The story concerns you, a lonely smalltown girl named Ivy, reconnecting with a lost friend at an area that connects three towns, the one you live in, the one she lives in, and a third one (a possible setup for a future game? VPG's creator has stated his intention to make a series). The music is a tad annoying to me, but I'm also not really one for chiptunes, so perhaps that's just me.
It's a cute game, and very short (you'll sink 20 minutes at absolute most into this one), and very sweet. Definitely recommended if you don't mind a game with very little action.
The game also has a self-awarely dumb sense of humor, culminating with what may be the greatest joke ever told.
4/5
I might. I saw that one awhile ago and it didn't really look too interesting though.I'll consider playing it.
Hell Diary is next in my queue though. I may not give it a score, since it was posted with the dreaded status of "On Hiatus", but it also started as a Yume Nikki fangame and that kind of version-by-version release schedule is pretty common for those games.
Hell Diary is unfortunately very half-finished. There's not really enough for me to review thoroughly. It's a nice game, though.
However there is a....finished? I think? game set in the same universe that I may play.
So basically I decided to retool this thread to expand its horizons. I've found myself not playing much RPGMaker stuff lately.
Anyway, for the first new plug I am going to implore you all to try Complexitivity. It's a Kongregate game (though I think it's also available for a download) that is a very arcadey first-person platformer. If arcades were still a thing in the western world, I could see this really working as an arcade title, it'd make a great quarter-muncher.
My only real gripe is that it's kinda unforgiving in that when you die you just get sent back to the title screen. Maybe that's the point though.
Today I'll be presenting you another Kongregame. This one is SkullFace, from indie developer Greg Anims. It's an interesting retro-style platformer, and like more well known bedfellows Super Meatboy and I Wanna Be The Guy, it's really difficult.
Unlike those, though, the difficulty here never really seems unfair, and the levels are short enough that replaying them again and again doesn't seem like much of a hassle. The game's worth your time.
you're done with it already?
jeez man.
And here's another entry.
Rocky Memphis & The Temple of Ophuxoff is a semi-obscure, extremely long platformer that would not look out of place on the Commodore 64. It's not the best platformer ever made, and as a metroidvania it falls short simply due to the lack of any permanent upgrades (there are several powerups in the form of masks, though). However, the game has a very nice look, and the extremely long time it generally takes to finish the game (note that speedruns are totally possible, and there is in fact a leaderboard for them) makes it a good game to spend 20-30 minutes at a time with over the course of several weeks or months, since it doesn't demand much attention. It's also very pretty for a sprited game. There are also a lot of neat easter eggs and references that make it a fun play.
As a side note, the music is on the repetitive side since it's literally the same track for the entire game. This one's best played muted with your favorite album on full blast.
8/10
Here is the download link from the dev's official site.
hello.
Today we're going to be covering something a bit different.
Lain's Horrible Adventure is an RPGMaker title, and has nothing to do with Serial Experiments Lain (though the series is the subject of a throwaway gag), but it's worth covering nonetheless, and has its origins on DeviantArt of all places.
It's hard to give LHA an objective review, because the game is almost entirely character. There are enemy-avoiding segments, which are decent for being....well, enemy avoiding segments. And the odd boss battle. Neither of these are the main focus of the game. The abundance of jokes might lead one to think the game is a comedy, and that's sort of true, but there's also some very serious moments and the game's not shy about whipping back and forth between them with little warning.
On top of this, there are some truly horrible things that happen to the main character (the first item you receive is a razor blade, and if you "Use" it, you are prevented with the option to have Lain commit suicide, which she will readily do, and very, very graphically.) The game's main villain is a masked psychopathic manchild whose lines might have been funny if they didn't make you hate him so much. The first task he gives you is to--completely literally--make him a sandwich. He's sexist, disgusting, crass, and generally probably the most despicable villain I've encountered in a game in a long, long time.
There is a heavy comedic element though, and interacting with many objects results in Family Guy style reference/absurdist humor being offered to you in the form of snarky descriptions and dialog. So there's a lot to laugh at here provided you find the often immature and sometimes downright offensive humor funny.
I haven't finished the game, and you won't be able to even if you beat what's currently there. The game is in a 2.1 Beta and is still in development, despite having already undergone some rather drastic changes (design-wise especially).
You may download it here.
Lain's Horrible Adventure gets an 8.5/10
be a beta tester Cream
help the game to finish
Open Betas are exceedingly common in indie gaming, because actually hiring beta testers is expensive, and beta testing it yourself is next to impossible.
So, I think you're being a bit unfair here.
also some of the Known Bugs are interesting, but the section is rather spoilery.
wutit's not like that! The game's just still in development, and the full version will also be free.
Also my understanding is that it's like 99% of the way done. There are five planned chapters and I think you can currently complete chapter four.
I know, I'm just saying that's not the case here.
Also Lain is an interesting character to say the least.
That's two interesting Lains now.
first game review of 2013!
today we'll be covering another RPGMaker title, Miserere.
Miserere (the title is a latin phrase meaning, roughly, "have mercy") is another take on the Yume Nikki dream exploration game formula. But in addition to being a bit more plotty than most games of its type, Miserere also puts us in the shoes of a very different protagonist.
Spoilers follow.
Miserere's unnamed protagonist is a young woman who lives aboard a space station and has for the past twelve years. You can explore the space station, but there's very little to do. And like most Nikkilikes, the vast majority of the "action" takes place when you are asleep.
Like YN and its many venerable imitators, Miserere has you exploring several dream worlds. And of what I've explored so far, allow me to break from reviewer language for a moment to say--holy hell is this game depressing. Miserere will make you feel loneliness in its most profound form. Space Station Girl is the only living being on an entire planet, and judging by some comments she makes (separating Miserere from many Nikkilikes is the abundance of short snippets of inner monologue), she lives in a very far future where most life as we know it is gone. She passes pictures of crocodiles, ferrets, and gazelles, commenting that "she doesn't know that creature" at each one. The creatures she does recognize are all outright stated or heavily implied to be extinct. The sole exception is the rat, which she notes with disgust "will never go extinct". She may well be the last human being alive, period.
That from these scarce details we can pick up so much about our protagonist and her world is simply astounding. I've played roughly 15 minutes of the game and am already in love with it.
I am not going to score it yet, as I've not completed what the game currently has to offer (this is another beta, but it's nearer completion than some I've covered), but I can already confidently say that this is an astonishing work of art.
Download it here.
Hello again friends.
Today we're going to talk about Shoot First, another title brought to my attention via Indie Impressions over on Youtube.
Shoot First is a hybrid of traditional top-down run-n'-guns (eg. Berzerk) and roguelikes, appropriately, its graphics are incredibly lo-fi (they're sub-NES in quality in some places) but everything else about the game is terrific. The gameplay is pretty simple and mildly repetitive, but it's in a good, Plants vs. Zombies addictive fashion rather than something sloggy or boring. You play an unnamed and otherwise unfeatured hero (or heroine, the sprite's vague but you could make a good case given the ponytail) who is apparently a treasure hunter, given a few item descriptions.
The setup is simple, shoot things, gain experience (in the form of little gold orbs left behind by defeated enemies), get better guns and armor. All of this combines in a way that makes Shoot First incredibly addicting, and I could really see this flourishing were it given say, an iPhone or Android port.
As it stands the vanilla game is free, but there's a donationware version that you can drop a few bucks on, and you get a few extra weapons and an extra map for your troubles.
Also, I will personally recommend playing with the mouse shot setting. It's much easier than trying to aim with the keyboard or a controller.
Shoot First gets 9 eye-things on the wall shooting homing lasers at you, out of 10.
bonus: here's a screenshot. My apologies for the small size, that's just how it came out for some reason. The blue sprite in the center is you, everything else is either an experience coin (the gold things), an enemy, or a projectile.
wise fwom youw gwave
so today we're going to be looking at Kongregame action/puzzle platformer Gunbrick.
This one's got a lot going for it despite its inherent simplicity. It makes use of two very simple commands (you can move your ship, the Gunblock, which also rotates it, and you can fire its laser cannon, which pushes it back a block. That's it) to great effect, and it's a neat distraction. Unfortunately, the sudden jump in difficulty about halfway through will probably put some people off, but it's a solid game overall, and I think if expanded a little bit, could make a very good "real" game for download someday.
As it is though, Gunbrick is still solid, and quite enjoyable. 7/10
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
It costs $10 and has about three hours of gameplay. The site says that it has about four or five hours, but the site is not trustworthy on that point. It's also available on Steam (and you can probably get it on sale if you wait for one of Steam's many holiday sales).
Best approximation would be an RPG-Maker Visual Novel. It's ostensibly a romance. One that deals with memories and developmental disorders. It's pretty good.
uh sure
we could like make a video games thread though if you guys wanna talk about other games