Hey all! The indies episodes typically illuminate those elusive indie games that become my favorite games of the year. Lately I’ve been LOVING Gnorp Apologue, per Chris’ recommendation.
I, your humble listener, request that you do an indie episode each quarter. With your industry connections, podcast platform, and listener base, you have a great ecosystem that finds the true gems out there, which only benefits indie developers and games alike.
P.S. Thank you for opening up your podcast platform to the listeners via this newsletter. It feels like a very human community, in stark contrast to whatever social media platforms are achieving these days.
I don't think I played any games I really loved this year, unfortunately!
Tears of the Kingdom was probably my favorite new release, but I didn't end up finishing it. I blasted through Mario Wonder, but ultimately found it pretty forgettable. I bounced off of Dave the Diver, Chants of Sennaar, and Sea of Stars despite being very excited about all three.
My favorite game that wasn't a new release was probably Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box, which I would play for 30 minutes or so on my Steam Deck before bed. Very soothing!
I did just download the demo for Star Ocean: Second Story R and I think I'm going to really love that one.
Not sure if you’ve played Disco Elysium but I’ve been playing it on Steam Deck before bed and it’s been oddly soothing, too. Narration is excellent and wow that soundtrack
If anyone wants to play a completely missed hidden gem that came out this, I bet of you to try Let’s School, super cute and fun school simulator where you play as the principal, building and managing the school. Great for both short and long play session PLUS there’s a demo that gives a really good snapshot of the game.
Does “Let’s School” dip into any overly sexual stuff? Wondering if my pre-teen and I could play it together. It’s 100% her style of game, but I can’t tell from the steam store page whether there are areas of the game like “get students to hook up under the bleachers,” or “math teacher fancies one of the students...”
I’m not knocking anything that might be for others, but that’s not what I’m currently looking for.
excited to hear everyone else’s thoughts about the BG3 ending! i’m wondering if it’s because i played through it the first time as durge but while i felt like the cinematic ending was a little abrupt (this was pre epilogue) i really enjoyed the third act generally and the final fight
Solid picks all around, boys. It’s a rainy day here and with all the love it’s gotten on the show, I’m thinking of getting into Chants of Sennaar. What’s the rest of the video game club playing right now?
I’m so interested in Sennaar but I’m afraid I’m not smart enough for it. I may have to try that and El Paso, Elsewhere. I’m currently playing Dave the Diver and am liking way more than I thought. I know the term is muddled right now, but I need all the “indie” games!
I played it for a couple of hours last night and can confirm, you don't need to be a genius to make good progress. I found it easier than Obra Dinn (although that might just be bc OD hurt my eyes to look at for too long, and this game has a nice soothing artstyle).
You learn multiple languages over the course of the game and it ramps you up gradually. The first language is super simple, with only concrete statements and pictographic symbols. It isn't until much later in the game that you see things like a word for "to be", value judgments, metaphors, etc., and by then you have a good grip on how the game works.
It also has a mechanic where every so often it'll quiz you about 3 or 4 words you 'should' know by then and if you get all of them right it locks in the answers. In practice this means that if you're sure about 2/3, you can figure out the last one easily by guess-and-check. It's a pretty forgiving that way.
Also a great couch co-op game, it can be fun to bounce ideas. "I think that's how this language does plurals", "I bet that symbol means 'not'", and so on.
The only thing I *don't* love about the game is that it has a few puzzles that leverage tired video gamey mechanics instead of focusing on the languages: stuff like slide puzzles, clunky stealth sections, or find the key item. These don't take up that much of the runtime, but I wish the devs streamlined because the core gameplay is more interesting.
I really appreciate this reply. I did end up buying it but haven’t tried it yet. This Steam sale was a lot for my wallet but I’m pretty set for fun indie games. I’m glad you mentioned Obra Dinn, I have heard the guys mention that one a lot. Same with that one, I was worried that it might be too much for me. Do you think if I like Sennaar that Obra Dinn would be a good game to look into? I do enjoy big budget AAA games like Spider-Man, but I find the older I get the more I enjoy “smaller” games.
Awesome, hope you enjoy it as much as I have been!
I am probably the wrong person to ask about Obra Dinn. I seem to be part of a vanishingly rare segment of gamer who generally likes this kind of thoughtful indie game (loved Disco Elysium, for instance) who was not head over heels for this game. I was impressed by Obra Dinn, but I can't say I really enjoyed it.
The biggest part of it was the artstyle. Intellectually I can appreciate what Lucas Pope is going for -- i's a 1bit, heavily dithered look that calls back to the earliest era of PC games, and can look lovely in screenshots. The problem for me is that it's also a game that requires you to notice minute visual details: to identify the ship's passengers you need to scrutinize them for subtle clues to their nationality, job or social standing (including clothes, hairstyle, facial features, physical build, tattoos... plus any "props" or other details around them in the environment), *and* remember what they look like so you can recognize their face across scenes. All of that is VERY hard to do in a black and white low-resolution image, and I found it sort of unpleasant to look at, especially when moving around.
On top of that, I had some QoL issues with the game. The gimmick of the game is that you are on a ghost ship, full of dead bodies, and you need to identify all of them and determine their cause of death. To help you, you have a magic item that allows you to check any corpse and see what happened in the last few seconds before they died. It's a neat mechanic! But there's no way to know which scenes you've already viewed other than your own memory, and if you want to revisit a scene to parse it again you need to physically walk to the corpse and go through a long animation every time.
All that said, the puzzle gameplay is really top notch, and I've never played a game that makes you feel more like a *real* detective. The game is of course guiding you to conclusions, but when you finally crack a puzzle it feels like you, all by yourself, solved it. It provides a sense of satisfaction that I really haven't experienced again... until I played Sennaar.
So all in all, I went in primed to love the game, and I did like it... but it also felt like I was forcing my way through it at times. YMMV and I do seem to be in the minority on this one!
It sounds like we have somewhat similar tastes. All of that sounds really cool but I agree with you, the visuals seem to be lacking a bit for the fine details. I still want to try it eventually but I’ll probably wait for a sale. It just seemed quirky and different enough for me to love it.
Also, I know I said it earlier, but I wanted to thank you and everyone else again. I don’t do social media and I’ve found that most, if not all, online communities are too toxic for me. It’s nice to have a place to chat about games. I know I won’t love every suggestion, and I know my suggestions won’t be for everyone, but it’s really nice to have a place for conversations about video games.
Without using a stupid pun, that game is a lot deeper than I thought. Dredge is also on my list. I have a severe phobia of the water, so for the holidays I decided to torture myself I guess.
If there's one thing I give a shoutout to Dave the Diver for more than anything else, it's being the first ever game focused on deep ocean diving that hasn't triggered my thalassophobia even once. Even with all the sharks!
Same! I was very pleasantly surprised. The game has made me tense up a few times, but I can still play it. Hopefully Dredge will be similar in that way.
I've finally gotten around to starting Octopath Traveler 2. I'm about 25 hours in and I'm truly surprised how much I love it so far. It's extremely polished and thoughtful.
The Finals really surprised me at the end of the year being be of the best online shooters in a long time, easily making it into my top three this year, after Alan Wake 2 and Baulders Gate 3.
Where's the 5th Bestie, Ron Funches, top 10 games?
Did Russ like the ending of BG3???
1. BG3
2. Dredge
3. Brotato
4. Dave The Diver
5. Crab Champions
6. NYT Connections / Suika Game (putting both these under one because I love them but they are mobile browser games)
Games that are new to me this year:
1. Vampire Survivors
2. Disco Elysium
3. Tetris Effect
Games I spent another 100 hours in this year:
1. Stardew Valley (hadn’t played since before the paradise island was added)
I'm convinced at least one of you will fall in love with (the) Gnorp Apologue. Its the best idle game I've played since Universal Paperclips.
Thanks for this. I couldn't figure out what game Plante was talking about or how to spell it, and I didn't see it in the show notes.
Hey all! The indies episodes typically illuminate those elusive indie games that become my favorite games of the year. Lately I’ve been LOVING Gnorp Apologue, per Chris’ recommendation.
I, your humble listener, request that you do an indie episode each quarter. With your industry connections, podcast platform, and listener base, you have a great ecosystem that finds the true gems out there, which only benefits indie developers and games alike.
P.S. Thank you for opening up your podcast platform to the listeners via this newsletter. It feels like a very human community, in stark contrast to whatever social media platforms are achieving these days.
1. LoZ TotK
2. Spider-Man 2
3. Sea of Stars
4. Super Mario Wonder
5. Dredge
6. Octopath Traveler 2 (have not yet finished, but I have a feeling I'll move this higher if it keeps pace.)
7. Super Mario RPG
8. Metroid Prime Remastered
9. Dave the Diver
10. BattleBit Remastered
Currently playing Octopath Traveler 2, Resident Evil 4 Remake, and I'll be starting Lil Gator Game tomorrow during a flight.
Justin is a time travelled confirmed.
I don't think I played any games I really loved this year, unfortunately!
Tears of the Kingdom was probably my favorite new release, but I didn't end up finishing it. I blasted through Mario Wonder, but ultimately found it pretty forgettable. I bounced off of Dave the Diver, Chants of Sennaar, and Sea of Stars despite being very excited about all three.
My favorite game that wasn't a new release was probably Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box, which I would play for 30 minutes or so on my Steam Deck before bed. Very soothing!
I did just download the demo for Star Ocean: Second Story R and I think I'm going to really love that one.
Not sure if you’ve played Disco Elysium but I’ve been playing it on Steam Deck before bed and it’s been oddly soothing, too. Narration is excellent and wow that soundtrack
If anyone wants to play a completely missed hidden gem that came out this, I bet of you to try Let’s School, super cute and fun school simulator where you play as the principal, building and managing the school. Great for both short and long play session PLUS there’s a demo that gives a really good snapshot of the game.
Does “Let’s School” dip into any overly sexual stuff? Wondering if my pre-teen and I could play it together. It’s 100% her style of game, but I can’t tell from the steam store page whether there are areas of the game like “get students to hook up under the bleachers,” or “math teacher fancies one of the students...”
I’m not knocking anything that might be for others, but that’s not what I’m currently looking for.
Don’t worry, there is nothing sexual in this game at all, it’s kinda the definition of wholesome.
PLEASE PLEASE Justin, play (the) Gnrop Apologue. It's the best idle game since Cookie Clicker! PLEASE
1. Spiderman 2
2. Last of Us Season 1
3: Super Mario Bros Wonder
4. Venba
5. Jack Black in the Super Mario Bros Movie
6. Final Fantasy 16
7. Tie between Dead Space & Resident Evil 4
8. Sea of Stars
9. Alan Wake 2
10. GTA 6 Trailer
1 - Alan Wake 2
2 - Mario Wonder
3 - Pikmin 4
4 - Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
5 - Pizza Tower
6 - Spiderman 2
7 - Hi Fi Rush
8 - Final Fantasy 16
9 - Venba
10 - Dredge
excited to hear everyone else’s thoughts about the BG3 ending! i’m wondering if it’s because i played through it the first time as durge but while i felt like the cinematic ending was a little abrupt (this was pre epilogue) i really enjoyed the third act generally and the final fight
Solid picks all around, boys. It’s a rainy day here and with all the love it’s gotten on the show, I’m thinking of getting into Chants of Sennaar. What’s the rest of the video game club playing right now?
I’m so interested in Sennaar but I’m afraid I’m not smart enough for it. I may have to try that and El Paso, Elsewhere. I’m currently playing Dave the Diver and am liking way more than I thought. I know the term is muddled right now, but I need all the “indie” games!
Don't worry about being too smart for Sennaar.
1. You're certainly smart enough!
2. It wants the player to have a good time, so it doesn't push folks away with ridiculous challenges.
3. Guides! Bless guides!
If you say so. I’ll pick them up this evening before the sale ends. You guys haven’t steered me wrong yet. Thanks for the positive affirmations!
I played it for a couple of hours last night and can confirm, you don't need to be a genius to make good progress. I found it easier than Obra Dinn (although that might just be bc OD hurt my eyes to look at for too long, and this game has a nice soothing artstyle).
You learn multiple languages over the course of the game and it ramps you up gradually. The first language is super simple, with only concrete statements and pictographic symbols. It isn't until much later in the game that you see things like a word for "to be", value judgments, metaphors, etc., and by then you have a good grip on how the game works.
It also has a mechanic where every so often it'll quiz you about 3 or 4 words you 'should' know by then and if you get all of them right it locks in the answers. In practice this means that if you're sure about 2/3, you can figure out the last one easily by guess-and-check. It's a pretty forgiving that way.
Also a great couch co-op game, it can be fun to bounce ideas. "I think that's how this language does plurals", "I bet that symbol means 'not'", and so on.
The only thing I *don't* love about the game is that it has a few puzzles that leverage tired video gamey mechanics instead of focusing on the languages: stuff like slide puzzles, clunky stealth sections, or find the key item. These don't take up that much of the runtime, but I wish the devs streamlined because the core gameplay is more interesting.
I really appreciate this reply. I did end up buying it but haven’t tried it yet. This Steam sale was a lot for my wallet but I’m pretty set for fun indie games. I’m glad you mentioned Obra Dinn, I have heard the guys mention that one a lot. Same with that one, I was worried that it might be too much for me. Do you think if I like Sennaar that Obra Dinn would be a good game to look into? I do enjoy big budget AAA games like Spider-Man, but I find the older I get the more I enjoy “smaller” games.
Awesome, hope you enjoy it as much as I have been!
I am probably the wrong person to ask about Obra Dinn. I seem to be part of a vanishingly rare segment of gamer who generally likes this kind of thoughtful indie game (loved Disco Elysium, for instance) who was not head over heels for this game. I was impressed by Obra Dinn, but I can't say I really enjoyed it.
The biggest part of it was the artstyle. Intellectually I can appreciate what Lucas Pope is going for -- i's a 1bit, heavily dithered look that calls back to the earliest era of PC games, and can look lovely in screenshots. The problem for me is that it's also a game that requires you to notice minute visual details: to identify the ship's passengers you need to scrutinize them for subtle clues to their nationality, job or social standing (including clothes, hairstyle, facial features, physical build, tattoos... plus any "props" or other details around them in the environment), *and* remember what they look like so you can recognize their face across scenes. All of that is VERY hard to do in a black and white low-resolution image, and I found it sort of unpleasant to look at, especially when moving around.
On top of that, I had some QoL issues with the game. The gimmick of the game is that you are on a ghost ship, full of dead bodies, and you need to identify all of them and determine their cause of death. To help you, you have a magic item that allows you to check any corpse and see what happened in the last few seconds before they died. It's a neat mechanic! But there's no way to know which scenes you've already viewed other than your own memory, and if you want to revisit a scene to parse it again you need to physically walk to the corpse and go through a long animation every time.
All that said, the puzzle gameplay is really top notch, and I've never played a game that makes you feel more like a *real* detective. The game is of course guiding you to conclusions, but when you finally crack a puzzle it feels like you, all by yourself, solved it. It provides a sense of satisfaction that I really haven't experienced again... until I played Sennaar.
So all in all, I went in primed to love the game, and I did like it... but it also felt like I was forcing my way through it at times. YMMV and I do seem to be in the minority on this one!
It sounds like we have somewhat similar tastes. All of that sounds really cool but I agree with you, the visuals seem to be lacking a bit for the fine details. I still want to try it eventually but I’ll probably wait for a sale. It just seemed quirky and different enough for me to love it.
Also, I know I said it earlier, but I wanted to thank you and everyone else again. I don’t do social media and I’ve found that most, if not all, online communities are too toxic for me. It’s nice to have a place to chat about games. I know I won’t love every suggestion, and I know my suggestions won’t be for everyone, but it’s really nice to have a place for conversations about video games.
I also just started Dave the Diver (and now I can’t stop)!
Without using a stupid pun, that game is a lot deeper than I thought. Dredge is also on my list. I have a severe phobia of the water, so for the holidays I decided to torture myself I guess.
If there's one thing I give a shoutout to Dave the Diver for more than anything else, it's being the first ever game focused on deep ocean diving that hasn't triggered my thalassophobia even once. Even with all the sharks!
Same! I was very pleasantly surprised. The game has made me tense up a few times, but I can still play it. Hopefully Dredge will be similar in that way.
I’m glad to hear you’ve both been able to enjoy it!
I've finally gotten around to starting Octopath Traveler 2. I'm about 25 hours in and I'm truly surprised how much I love it so far. It's extremely polished and thoughtful.
My House was a real treat, thanks for mentioning it!
The Finals really surprised me at the end of the year being be of the best online shooters in a long time, easily making it into my top three this year, after Alan Wake 2 and Baulders Gate 3.