Lurker > Johnbobb

GavsEvans123 posted...

Kronika was indeed eligible. She was at number 178, which I think was too low in retrospect. I think what happened with her is that by the time I got to her in my ranking, there had been so many fatalities that I was using specific ones to denote tiers and comparing new ones to those, before deciding on where exactly to rank once I had decided not to place it in the next tier up. I'm sure it would rank higher if I did this again in future.

Yeah, should've specified, I saw her fatality, I meant the fatality against her when you beat her in the story mode. I don't remember if it's actually classified as a fatality directly or if it's just a cutscene

Is there a list of what characters are left?

Also I forget if it was mentioned, but is Kronika's story ending fatality eligible? If so that would've been a top 10er for me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-HWrB1fHJY

GavsEvans123 posted...

98. Ice Sculpture (Frost, MK11)

the first time I saw this one it blew me away, I can't remember the last time Sub-Zero got an ice finisher that cool

GavsEvans123 posted...

Stop, stop! Hes already dead! Since Raiden is no longer a god, he doesnt have to set a good example any more, and can let loose with all the gratuitous mutilation he can muster.

Ya know it legitimately wouldn't surprise me if that was at least part of the reasons they made him not a god anymore

GavsEvans123 posted...

83. Bubble Head (Cassie Cage, MKX)

the adhesion of that gum to the face is the most impressive part of this

GavsEvans123 posted...

78. Nothin but Neck (Jacqui, MK11)

These are making me sad Jacqui and Cassie aren't around anymore. I get why, but it's still a shame

Also I feel like in general some of these Kano ones are placing kind of high; his never really thrilled me that much

Not every game can be a 10 hour masterpiece like HANA

I've never heard of Slitherlink

But what would you grade Jason Isaacs

GavsEvans123 posted...

I'm intrigued now. You will have to point it out once it drops!

We've reached the stage now that the rankings were getting difficult, and I was regularly saying things to myself like "That seems too low" or "Did I put this too high?"

In fairness I've never done like an actual ranking or anything, there was just one in particular that stuck with me as really startling

catching up now

GavsEvans123 posted...

178. Boss Fatality (Kronika, MK11)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HZSCQ7JIgA

This one feels way too low

GavsEvans123 posted...

148. Whip it Good (Takeda, MKX)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXFCBzCOnoc

These are some of the nastiest sound effects I've ever heard in a game, even by MK standards

GavsEvans123 posted...

139. Five Point Strike (Shujinko, MK1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWygWAb8_I4

I was so excited to catch this reference in game. Like with the cameo characters, you expect it, but this is so fun

GavsEvans123 posted...

135. Bubble Burst (Rain, MK9)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJVjDSF-49g

this was 100% someone putting their fetish in the game and you can't convince me otherwise

also I believe my #1 is still in

Bitto posted...

Have you unlocked Ascension for Slay the Spire? I also have about 200+ hours in Slay the Spire and Ascension plays a big part of it.

Any time after you beat a run with a character, you unlock Ascension, which is difficulty that builds on itself. There's 20 ascension levels for each character, which is effectively about 80 difficulties in the game. My highest is Ironclad at Ascension 18 and my lowest is Defect at Ascension 5.

Nah, I haven't gotten all that far. I've gotten to the 3 area boss a couple times (which I believe is what's necessary to finish a run?) but haven't beaten it yet.

But unlike roguelikes like Hades or even Inscryption, I just haven't felt inspired to keep going back and trying again

Since this countdown ended I've played:

A Short Hike - very short, extremely cute, and a very pleasant time

Slay the Spire - This one was interesting, but didn't quite click with me, which is surprising as I'm a big fan of deck builders. I've done about 4 runs so far, but any time I've gone back to the beginning I haven't really felt all that compelled to start up again. Meanwhile one of my closest friends said she put like 200+ hours in this year, which just feels wild to me

So a game that's terrible can still potentially be worse than a game that's nothing

Merry Christmas!

Think you've gotten enough use out of it to justify the price yet?

Ya know Scream rebooting only to release two great movies and then fully drop the ball with the third is pretty on brand on a meta level

scarletspeed7 posted...

That's an old-ass Cyclops

I mean if Kelsey Grammer is still Beast at almost 70 then anything can happen

MacArrowny posted...

How do you feel about FPSs? Turbo Overkill is my favorite recent indie.

I generally like FPSs! Bioshock is my favorite game of all time (the whole series really). I also got really hooked on Overwatch for a while, and was a big fan of the Fallout and Borderlands games

I think with FPSs I usually go for the ones that combine exploration with shooting over straight combat (Overwatch being the exception I guess). Like I surprisingly never got all that into the Doom reboot.

That being said I don't think I've ever played an indie FPS since they lend themselves to big budgets so often

mnk posted...

so maybe this will mean Cyclops will have a better MCU portrayal than in the Fox movies.

https://imgur.com/a/Ri0YMdf

man I feel like the sound effects get more wet with each generation

I never understood Sonya's kiss fatalities. Not because of weird kiss magic, they've just never really felt in character for her

That's the first time I think I've seen violent delights and geez tearing someone's face off from the backside is pretty wildly creative (although it does raise some big questions about the anatomy of her opponent; is she going into their esophagus or around it?)

HaRRicH posted...

Fun list! Real surprised at #1 being Octodad: Dadliest Catch, but it's a neat game so what-ev.

I always like getting the chance to talk about it! Meanwhile 2-6 are all games I could easily see near the top of other people's lists, and for good reason

I used to be very into Pokmon but I do feel like I've gotten a little tired of the formula of it.

Legend Arceus bored me to tears and I never ended up picking up Scarlet/Violet

azuarc posted...

On that note, control-F "Cassette Beasts"

Was Cassette Beasts actually good? I heard a lot of hype about it prior to release and then nothing after it came out

Kenri posted...

I didn't think I was going to have much to recommend, but since you own it already, you should play Lenna's Inception. It's basically Link to the Past by way of Undertale and it is so good.

I remember hearing about Lenna's Inception! That's actually one of the ones that most caught my eye when I first bought the bundle but then I never ended up playing it

WazzupGenius00 posted...

Oh nice, the game I was expecting to be on this list that I absolutely hate never showed up

well now I'm curious

andylt posted...

Wow that's an off-the-wall #1! I assumed Octodad was merely a meme game like Goat Sim, and I didn't even know there were multiple entries. Interesting.

Games I think you would like:
Tunic - It's on my list!
The Forgotten City - for some reason I thought this was Xbox exclusive, I might have to check that out
A Short Hike - This one has been very vaguely on my radar but I never heard strong opinions on it
Cocoon - On my list!
Wandersong - There's a guy on YouTube I like a lot called Snoman Gaming who talks a lot about indie games (particularly platformers) and is a big fan of this one; that's really the only reason I've heard of it
Gorogoa - On my list!
The Messenger - I've heard this is one of the go-to indie Metroidvanias, a friend of mine has recommended it a lot
The Talos Principle - I've heard of this talked about a lot and still feel like I know nothing about it
Yoku's Island Express - I've heard of this loosely and 100% assumed it was a Yoshi's Island spiritual successor

Games IDK if you'd like but are great:
Katana Zero - I've heard Katana Zero is good but the gameplay didn't feel like it stood out much to me, but I might have to look more into it
Shovel Knight - Shovel Knight is a weird one because it's obviously one of the biggest indie games, but is such a big deal that I think that's made it hard to get into at this point
Stardew Valley - my ex was a massive, massive fan of Stardew Valley. I don't know that it's my thing
Dead Cells - see above
Into the Breach - I could be wrong but doesn't seem like my thing
Crosscode - same here, but this might be worth looking more into
Steamworld Heist - this is one I always thought didn't look great, but I know there are big fans, so I assume there's more to it? I felt the same way about Spelunky too

cyko posted...

This was a fun list to follow along with. Thank you for sharing.

Apparently I haven't played many indie games.... I own about 40 games off of your list, but the only ones I've played are Jackbox, Worms and both Overcooked games....

I bought the 1800 game itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice a couple years ago and played like 3 of them so I have so many unplayed games

foolm0r0n posted...

Reminding you about Chants of Sennaar since it's def in your wheelhouse

That was on the list!

NBIceman posted...

Really fun list. Haven't played a whole lot of these but it was great to follow along.

I don't know that our tastes in indie games enough to justify throwing out many recommendations, but I will mention one.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/983970/Haven

I haven't actually gotten to play this myself yet, but its developers are responsible for Furi, one of my all-time favorite games, indie or otherwise. I'd be hesitant to point you toward that one because it's similar to Cuphead in its considerable difficulty and I remember you stating you weren't the biggest fan of that in its writeup, but the storytelling around it is such that I trust them implicitly to deliver the goods on that front for every game they might make.

So Haven seems like it might be up your alley as an atmospheric game centered around romance and slice-of-life and emotional storytelling. Again, I can't confirm that myself, but I thought I'd give it a shout as something worth at least checking out.

This does definitely look like it would be my thing

Arti posted...

A Space for the Unbound is my favorite indie game this year and I highly recommend it.

I would also recommend Light Fairytale but given your comments on Kentucky Route Zero and Deltarune maybe I'll just recommend it again when the story is finished

I'm surprised I haven't heard of this one. And yeah, that's probably a good idea, I think the only times I've really managed to stay interested in a gradually released game over time was with the Life Is Strange games, and those were only released over about a year

DragonGargoyle posted...

I've been struggling to come up with words, but I'll say that I followed this whole topic, and this it may get me to play Octodad

You should!

It's worth noting you don't need to play the original, Octodad: Dadliest Catch is really the full game

-hotdogturtle-- posted...

https://store.steampowered.com/app/407900/

I've seen people on B8 be big fans of this one so I assume it has to be better than it looks at first appearance

azuarc posted...

I mentioned Renowned Explorers a few posts back. It's a game that defies concise explanation, but I'll give it a shot.

Imagine it's the 19th century, and you're attempting to join a most distinguished club of gentleman (and ladies) by embarking on tremendous acts of exploration with a crew of three eccentric individuals (from a cast of thirty.) You begin with a small foray into Wales to look for a Celtic menhir, hoping to discover research, treasure, and just all-around awesome adventures. On your first move, you find a new species of bug to study. On your second, one of your characters falls in the mud and the other decides to study that. Then you get assaulted by an angry druid and his wolf minions. Your supplies are running low by the time you bump into a reporter who agrees to join your entourage. But in the end, you find the menhir, only to have The Society's top team (led by one smug Frenchman) show up moments later, distract you, and somehow abscond with the entire thing.

And in that moment, you vow that by year's end, you're going to wipe the grin off that Frenchie and win The Society's most prestigious honor -- explorer of the year. You've got time to plan out four more expeditions, each more dangerous, lucrative, and ridiculous than the last, culminating in exploring Shangri-La, hunting for the Holy Grail, or unearthing the secrets of an ancient Pacific island before it disappears.

Not gonna lie, that all sounds pretty compelling

Bane_Of_Despair posted...

Umrangi Generation
Pyre
Dead Cells
Ori and the Blind Forest
Duck Game
Gonner
Skul the Hero Slayer
Soma (a bit higher budget indie but still counts I think)
Organ Trail
Rogue Legacy
Slay the Spire
Vampire Survivors

There's some I can think of looking at my Steam library, there's probably more in there I missed

Pyre looks gorgeous.
Dead Cells/Rogue Legacy - look good, but roguelike dungeon-crawlers are really hit or miss for me
Soma was one I was really interested before it came out, but then I never played it. Probably will at some point
Organ Trail is a funny concept, but I've never heard it talked about beyond that
Slay the Spire - just started playing actually! not sure how I feel yet
Vampire Survivors - I fully don't get the appeal of this game, gameplay I've watched just doesn't strike me as interesting
Ori and Duck Game are both on my wishlists

The others I haven't heard of so I'll have to look into them

MoogleKupo141 posted...

I was a freshman at DePaul when the Octodad guys were seniors. I glanced them from afar and probably even briefly spoke to one of them

so I feel personally invested and happy for their success, both financially and on this list

oh that's so cool, it's crazy how something that's so simple in concept can have such a significant impact, both personally and culturally. I mean, even people who've never played Octodad can look at him and think "yeah, that's just a normal human man." It's a joke that everyone is in on and it's great.

The Full 214 Indie Game List:

1. Octodad: Dadliest Catch
2. Disco Elysium
3. What Remains of Edith Finch
4. Return of the Obra Dinn
5. Outer Wilds
6. Journey
7. A Hat In Time
8. Papo & Yo
9. Immortality
10. Inside
11. It Takes Two
12. Hellblade: Senuas Sacrifice
13. Sayonara Wild Hearts
14. Ape Out
15. Hollow Knight
16. Gone Home
17. Omori
18. Papers, Please
19. The Stanley Parable
20. Blasphemous
21. Inscryption
22. Celeste
23. Bugsnax
24. Hades
25. The Sexy Brutale
26. Hypnospace Outlaw
27. The Case of the Golden Idol
28. every Jackbox Party Pack
29. the Worms series
30. Castle Crashers
31. Oxenfree
32. Firewatch
33. Golf Story
34. Night in the Woods
35. A Plague Tale: Innocence
36. Antichamber
37. Braid
38. Doki Doki Literature Club
39. Spiritfarer
40. Undertale
41. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
42. The Unfinished Swan
43. Abzu
44. Her Story
45. Kena: Bridge of Spirits
46. Stacking
47. Overcooked 2
48. Overcooked
49. Gang Beasts
50. Flower
51. Limbo
52. Nidhogg
53. Jazzpunk
54. From Dust
55. Deaths Door
56. Chants of Sennaar
57. Oxenfree II: Lost Signals
58. Storyteller
59. Thumper
60. Robot Unicorn Attack
61. Octodad
62. Concrete Genie
63. Hotline Miami
64. Broken Age
65. Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
66. Superhot
67. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
68. Little Nightmares II
69. Gris
70. The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories
71. Ultimate Chicken Horse
72. OlliOlli2: Welcome to Olliwood
73. Unpacking
74. Stray
75. Chicory: A Colorful Tale
76. Norco
77. Viewfinder
78. Wattam
79. Cuphead
80. Moving Out
81. Subnautica
82. Untitled Goose Game
83. Tabletop Simulator
84. West of Loathing
85. Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair
86. Horace
87. Minecraft
88. Roundabout
89. Sonic Dreams Collection
90. Guacamelee!
91. A Way Out
92. Ghostrunner
93. OlliOlli World
94. Rocket League
95. Little Nightmares
96. Cult of the Lamb
97. What the Golf?
98. Bound
99. Super Meat Boy
100. Toem
101. Pentiment
102. Later Alligator
103. Baba Is You
104. Shank
105. VVVVVV
106. Maquette
107. Bit.Trip Presents Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien
108. Quadrilateral Cowboy
109. The Witness
110. The Beginners Guide
111. Telling Lies
112. Twelve Minutes
113. Superliminal
114. McPixel
115. Machinarium
116. The Looker
117. Entwined
118. Donut County
119. Cook, Serve, Delicious!
120. Tacoma
121. Little Inferno
122. Runner3
123. Psychonauts
124. Maneater
125. Outland
126. Monument Valley 1
127. Runbow
128. Hohokum
129. Brawlout
130. Super Time Force Ultra
131. Sound Shapes
132. Zen Pinball 2
133. Erica
134. Apotheon
135. Fez
136. Afterparty
137. That Dragon, Cancer
138. A Little to the Left
139. Reus
140. Class of '09
141. Plague Inc.
142. Crayon Physics Deluxe
143. Grow Home
144. The Cave
145. My Friend Pedro
146. Sportsfriends
147. Pony Island
148. Everybodys Gone to the Rapture
149. Cibele
150. Dungeons & Lesbians
151. Bastion
152. Monument Valley 2
153. If On a Winter's Night, Four Travelers
154. Coffee Talk
155. The Binding of Isaac
156. Rime
157. Pizza Tower
158. Mark of the Ninja
159. Skullgirls
160. We Happy Few
161. BattleBlock Theater
162. Tokyo Jungle
163. Florence
164. Abobos Big Adventure
165. Disc Jam
166. Sky: Children of the Light
167. House Party
168. Rubber Bandits
169. Kentucky Route Zero (Chapters 1 & 2)
170. Lost In Random
171. Hue
172. I Am Bread
173. Naughty Bear
174. TowerFall Ascension
175. Happy Wheels
176. Friday the 13th: The Game
177. Human: Fall Flat
178. Foul Play
179. This Is The Only Level
180. Burly Men At Sea
181. Virginia
182. World of Goo
183. Party Crashers
184. Deltarune Chapter 1
185. Sunset
186. Toribash
187. Stephens Sausage Roll
188. KickBeat
189. Tales from Space: About a Blob
190. Quantum Conundrum
191. Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit
192. Escape Plan
193. The Bridge
194. The Swapper
195. Dear Esther
196. Surgeon Simulator
197. Joe Danger
198. Angry Birds
199. here
200. Racing Bros
201. Goat Simulator
202. We Become What We Behold
203. Facade
204. Run Sausage Run!
205. Five Nights at Freddys
206. Interactive Buddy
207. Threes
208. Slender: The Eight Pages
209. KIDS
210. Cookie Clicker
211. Bounty Battle
212. Flappy Bird
213. Hello Neighbor
214. The Unknown City (Horror Begins Now..Episode 1)

Funny to think this started at 206, and there's probably even more I missed.

Note: When I was looking up my Octodad review, I noticed I had a 3.5 star rating for an indie game called Ether One. I fully do not remember playing this game at all.

Thanks to everyone who followed along! And if you have more indie game recommendations, feel free to drop them!

1. Octodad: Dadliest Catch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJKtJG7bDME

Nobody guessed this one, and I can't say I blame anyone. I might be a bigger fan of Octodad: Dadliest Catch than basically anyone else shy of the developers. But fun fact: you could've spoiled the ranking by looking at the one and only review I've ever submitted on GameFAQs. From 2015:

Overview:

The first Octodad was a funny premise: an Octopus trying to fit in with a human family. The sloppy controls added to the humor for a while... until they ultimately made it a bit of a frustrating mess. Then Dadliest Catch comes along. The controls were refined just enough that controlling Octodad isn't as simple as controlling a human by any means, but it isn't frustrating, even on the tougher sections. In fact, players get to experience the unique advantages of the character, such as squeezing inside of a crane machine to win a toy for his wife. Speaking of which, Dadliest Catch does the impossible: it makes you sympathize with Octodad. Despite the idea being ridiculous, I felt myself becoming personally invested in Octodad's story. I felt legitimate sorrow and pride for him. This, on top of the consistent, top-notch writing and humor present throughout make it easily one of the best games of 2014 (for only $15).

Story:

Octodad: Dadliest Catch serves as a sequel to the original Octodad, which didn't have much of a story; instead it just threw players in control of Octodad as he went about a few daily tasks. Dadliest Catch takes that same mission structure of completing small tasks (which, on their own, seem mundane) and weaving them into a larger goal. The story follows Octodad as he relive moments from his past, allowing players to finally learn the origins of Octodad, the sushi chef and how the family came to be. In the present, he's still maintaining his goal of wanting to fit in with society, but this is made more difficult due to the family's decision to visit the aquarium.

Overall, the story is simplistic, nothing absolutely groundbreaking. From an outsider's perspective, it looks downright silly, which is, to some extent, the point. However, as you play through the game, you can't help but to feel for Octodad. This isn't a quest to find lost treasure or even to defeat the game's main villain. Octodad's only motivation as a character is to be happy with his family. It's a goal that we can all essentially relate to. As I played, I was left feeling emotions for this octopus man that I never expected to experience. As a player, the game brings out my own desire for happiness and security in life in a way no game has before.

What makes the story is the absolute top-notch writing, on par with the funniest games I've played. Every line from the children is hilarious, and Octodad, who can speak in nothing but differently-toned blubs, still somehow gets his points across. The way he interacts with his family portrays him as possibly the best dad in all of gaming.

Gameplay:

If you've so much as seen a trailer for the game, you probably know what to expect here. Octodad is often given extremely simple tasks such as picking up some groceries or playing arcade games which are made hilariously difficult due to the fact that Octodad is an octopus walking on two (well, technically four) tentacles. The game thankfully starts out with a sort of tutorial mode where players can slowly get used to the way Octodad wobbles and controls his arms.

The trick isn't just completing the tasks with Octodad, but doing so in a way that doesn't tip off anyone to Octodad's secret identity. Do too much to draw attention to yourself, and Octodad's cover is blown, his life ruined. Simply spending time with his family can be a high-stakes situation. Thankfully, the game includes a very welcome Easy Mode, where players who want to just experience the game can do so without needing to worry about being caught. This allows players to just wobble and slip their way through the game, which is challenge enough on it's own.

Typically, I'm not a fan of games that are only challenging because the game itself is difficult to control. A platformer where you can't control for yourself where the character lands is typically a bad platformer. Yet I was shocked at how intuitive Octodad's controls were. It may be difficult to imagine without experiencing the game firsthand, but I can confirm that as you play, controlling Octodad becomes considerably easier as you become one with the character.

Aside from the basic gameplay challenges, each level has 3 ties hidden in easy to overlook or difficult to reach places. The ties are more of a novelty than anything, but it drove the completionist in me, and gave me more reason to replay the game (be warned, however, that collecting all the ties on anything but easy mode is going to be a hell of a challenge).

Conclusion:

Octodad: Dadliest Catch is a very short, silly game. It's not going to be a huge award winner, but I think it's going to hold a solid place as an indie cult classic. The incredible writing, the oddly relatable goals, and the addictively fun gameplay made Octodad: Dadliest Catch much more than worth it's low $15 price tag. It may not be on the scale of the more popular triple-A games, but the pure joy and heart in this game is why I got into gaming.

Almost a decade since it's release, I think I've only grown to love this game progressively more. I'm 30 now, I feel myself getting older, and I haven't started a family yet but I'd still like to. Octodad's driving motivation - to just be a humble dad, proud of his kids and in love with his wife, in a normal suburban household - has only grown progressively more relateable as the years have gone by. I love this game more than I can objectively argue in its favor.

Btw, I don't have any cosplays of this one yet, but I have legitimately been considering getting an Octodad tattoo.

2. Disco Elysium
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWWA1jnI5N4

Disco Elysium is phenomenal. It may honestly be the best written game, period. It's the kind of game that makes me feel dumb sometimes, not in the way Baba Is You did, but in the way my higher level college English courses did. The variety of complex emotional states, philophies and political discussions is probably unmatched in gaming, because in most games it would drive the audience in a way. But here, it engrosses you in such a fascinating way, and will sometimes drop its philosophical discussions to have your ugly tie yell profanities at you or have a child yell profanities at you or have you yell profanities at yourself. It's follows the DnD dice roll system of success/failure, only more often than not it's not to determine the success of a physical action. It's to stop you from saying something really fucking stupid in a drunken and mentally unhinged fashion. It's probably the most interesting take on an RPG I can think of, and on top of that it's an enthralling murder mystery full of memorable characters and even more memorable events. There are plenty of game overs to be found, entire conversations you'll likely find on replays, with your version of Harry DuBois being a true mystery until the end of the game each time you play.

Also, have another cosplay:

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/3/35c10a25.jpg
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/a/a2c98281.jpg

This one's great for conventions because the more disheveled you look by the end of the day, the more accurate the cosplay is

3. What Remains of Edith Finch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_y3cLSClBM

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/f/faa9a0ea.jpg

This one fucking broke me. I really appreciate a short game that knows what it is and really focus on maximizing its emotional impact. In its maybe 3 hour runtime, 5 hours to platinum, What Remains of Edith Finch managed to make me sob and left me with several of the most memorable game sequences I've ever played. It's sort of like Gone Home, only the home you're exploring is warped and beset with tragedy, each member of the family having died unexpectedly, many at a young age. It's a bold story, exploring the very brief lives of young people and the very few family members who lived long enough to pass on the family curse. Each sequence is told in a completely different way that shouldn't be spoiled before you dive in because discovering the how of each loss and the way the game presents it to you is the biggest appeal. I do want to shout out Molly, Barbara and Lewis as having the best stories, as well as the canonical connection between Milton and the King from The Unfinished Swan. The ending stands out as both one of the best and saddest endings I've experienced, and I legitimately cannot comprehend playing this and not feeling anything.

WazzupGenius00 posted...

Necrodancer has been on sale for 2.99 probably over a dozen times. In fact its 2.99 right now!

Lol I was being sarcastic, it's on sale more than like any game I've ever seen

NFUN posted...

necrodancer

Maybe if it would ever go on sale

HanOfTheNekos posted...

I'm very surprised you don't have OW at 1! I feel as though we've talked about it hitting that rank for you before.

If it hasn't it's been very close, pretty much all of my top 5 are largely interchangeable in their position depending on my mood

andylt posted...

I'm disappointed that I missed out on Journey, I wonder what it would be like these days.

The other two are great games indeed. Did you play Outer Wilds' DLC? Although I haven't forgiven Obra Dinn for the four Chinese topmen.

I did! I'm someone who typically isn't a big DLC guy, but I couldn't resist after how good the base game is

And I admit I used the guess until the game says it's right method to solve them, only to realize after that it could've been solved based on their shoes

4. Return of the Obra Dinn
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILolesm8kFY

The followup to Lucas Pope's Papers, Please blows that game out of the water in basically every way. Return of the Obra Dinn is #1 on the list of games I wish I could go into blind for the first time again, because discovering everything is such a captivating and enthralling feeling. This is likely the detective-type game that makes you feel the most like a detective... even though you're not a detective, you're an insurance claims investigator trying to mystically determine what happened to everyone on a ship that had no survivors. And instead of a generic "figure out what happened to the ship," you have to figure out the name and position of every person on board and what their fate was based on nothing more than a painting of the crew and a magic compass that shows the last moment of one given person at a time. This is the kind of mystery that's just difficult and complex and weird enough that you feel like a genius the moment you solve it, without it ever becoming frustrating because there's always a new angle to try to approach the mystery. And the story of what did actually happen to the crew is incredible.

5. Outer Wilds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYlpUxFbgTM

We're finally at the top 5, and from this point, the games could honestly be rearranged in any order depending on my mood. These are all games that I would consider among my all-time favorites and have recommended to people enthusiastically and on mass. Outer Wilds is without competition the best space game and the best time loop game I've played. I'm usually one to actually prefer some linear-type structure to a game, even an open-world game, but Outer Wild is the single best argument to the contrary. There is so much to see in this solar system, and being free to discover it at your own pace is absoluely crucial to the experience. I mean, there are so many incredible moments here. One of my favorites is when I flew to the base on the sun after countless tries and got a trophy for doing so, not realizing that you could (and were intended to) teleport there from a different planet. The first time you fall into the black hole? The first time you find the comet and then discover you can land on it and THEN discover your window for landing safely is extremely small and requires dedicated planning? Pretty much every location plays into the time loop in a wholly unique way, and figuring out your plan for each one as you go in is such a wholly unique experience unlike any other game I've ever played.

6. Journey
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mU3nNT4rcFg

Journey was in my top 5 games of all time for a long time. I think that was partially because of how early it was, because at the time this sort of gorgeous, emotional jour-- uh, traversal was pretty rare, and frankly unheard of at this level of quality. A lot of the indie games in the top ~15 here stand out for their soundtracks, and Journey's is among the best of them; Austin Wintory is at his absolute height here. Basically any frame of this game deserves to be hung in a gallery. Over a decade later, it might be how far removed I am from playing it that makes it drop even this far. At the time, I played through the whole thing in one sitting in my college dorm room, and loved it so much that I had my girlfriend at the time do the same, who also fell in love with it. I also think this is one of the best uses of online multiplayer in a game ever. The limited communication is genius; you only have the bare minimum way to interact with your companion, and yet I felt closer to them than I have with pretty much anyone else playing online, to the point that when they started to draw hearts in the snow at the summit before we were forced to depart, it legitimately made me tear up a bit.

Yeah recasting is a pretty easy thing overall, and the MCU has already done it with Bruce Banner and Rhodey already.

it only sucks in this case in particular because Majors is a really good actor and a very good fit for the role

you can tell how good of an actor he is by how good he was at pretending to be a likeable guy

Adding on to that, I drew out whole movesets for Hat Kid as a Smash character (the pictures weren't great though)

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/e/e75bbedd.jpg

Additional fun fact, I did the same for Hollow Knight!

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/1/11e9eb31.jpg

The Hollow Knight pictures turned out much better because I had much more direct reference images

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/e/ee626810.jpg
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/f/f61dce59.jpg
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/e/ea176480.jpg

7. A Hat In Time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhPrcdjhPdQ

I don't have any of the nostalgia for N64 collectathon platformers that this was made to target, so the fact that I love it as much as I do should serve as evidence as to how great of a game A Hat In Time really is. It was even my Halloween costume a few years ago!

https://imgur.com/C1K4aHb

When I think of pure, unadulterated fun in gaming, A Hat In Time is what comes to mind. This game is an absolute joy to play, with bright colors, goofy and memorable characters, cheery environments, and legitimately funny humor throughout. I mean the dialogue here is great across the board, but the game grabbed me right away with Mafiatown. Excellent level design and hilarious NPCs scattered throughout the level. Also fun fact, I attempted to sketch Mafiatown as a hypothetical Smash Bros. level (in the very very unlikely hope that Hat Kid some day became a playable character):

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/0/09ebb4dd.jpg

Kenri posted...

I remember Papo & Yo being kind of a big deal when it first came out, and then it dropped off the face of the earth almost immediately. Yet another game I should really get around to playing.

it's the kind of game that would've won Games for Impact if it was released today and the acceptance speech would've made the entire audience cry if he got more than 20 seconds

8. Papo & Yo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkrjby0lKRE

Papo & Yo is pretty easily the least played (and probably known) game in my top 10, and it's a damn shame. This is one of the greatest examples of "games as art" I can think of that never really feels like an art game. It's inspired by the real-life story of designer Vander Caballero's love/hate relationship with his abusive alcholic father growing up. You play as a young boy in a very poor town who navigates it by magically altering the surroundings in a surreal, childlike way. Papo, a big, friendly monster appears frequently to help you navigate puzzles and have fun with you, but if Papo sees some magical frogs run by, he'll drop what he's doing to eat them. If he eats them, he turns into a Hulk-like raging monster that will break things and hurt you, so you're puzzles often revolve around navigating the world while not letting him get to the frogs, and when he does, it feels like it's your fault that he's turning into a monster, even when it's ultimately inevitable or impossible for you to prevent. Which is the whole point. The puzzles aren't exactly Baba Is You levels of complex, but their interesting and really feel magical. The soundtrack is excellent and there's one track in particular that always sticks with me: the ending track when the boy finally is forced to give up on Papo, who dies to his addiction. This game made me sob, and not just like normal Disney movie sad scene tearing up, but deeply from-the-chest kind of sob.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38udbIqG0LQ

9. Immortality
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8tV-R7Rfhg

The followup to Her Story and Telling Lies is the best thing Sam Barlow has done as a game designer by a mile and I feel like people barely talked about it. Everything that was amazing about Her Story, Immortality did better. The story follows the career of Marissa Marcel, a very promising actress (played by Manon Gage doing incredible work) who starred in three movies that were never released under mysterious circumstances before she disappeared. Instead of listening for words to search for like in Her Story, here you move between clips of her movies (or behind-the-scenes footage) by clicking on items in the scene. This could be people, props, parts of the setting, anything really. It'll immediately take you to another scene/clip featuring that person/thing, but you never really know what exactly it'll take you to, and the clip it takes you to doesn't always make immediate sense. And that's really about the extent I can say about the game, because this is one of the most twisted, complex, and unpredictable stories I've ever seen, in a game or otherwise.

and the top 10 is finally here

10. Inside
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDm6PAgNohU

The followup to LIMBO improved upon the formula in virtually every single way. It's scarier. It's more visually impressive and detailed while still keeping a somewhat minimal style and muted color palette. The story Inside tells is surprisingly deep and comprehendable despite being told without any dialogue. Like LIMBO, you're going to watch this kid die a LOT, but in ways even more brutal and sickening than getting impaled by a giant spider. Everything is timed in such a way that it requires perfect precision, not in a Meat Boy/Celeste fast-platforming way, but in a way that makes every movement feel essential to your survival. The things this does with sound just blow me away. I mean, the Shockwave level alone still gives me chills:

https://youtu.be/qd4w_XFFOsk?t=18

And then you get to the ending and holy shit. I mean, I can probably count on one hand the amount of game endings that have startled me more, and can count on zero hands the amount that have disgusted me more. Really just incredible from start to finish.

Kenri posted...

New Senua game too! Not holding my breath for Silksong though.

Senua 2 is my most anticipated game but I don't own an xbox

And a Thumper successor! And a very cute deaf girl game

New Pony Island, New Golden Idol, and a Brothers remake!

Big night for indies
Now give me Silksong