#1 (2023-02-09) #AYearOfSprings

After being preoccupied by school or bouncing between a few different games for all of January, I ended up downloading the first part of A YEAR OF SPRINGS on my phone.

Instantly fell in love with this short and sweet visual novel about three queer girls figuring out their various feelings over the course of three parts (plus an epilogue).

I love them, wish them only happiness, and am very happy about the 4-ish hours I got to spend with them.

#VideoGames

Oh, had I really only finished one game in the first 6¾ months of 2023?

Well, I was busy with school, which halted my #BravelyDefault playthrough, and then I had #RAMP #RAMP2023 for all of June, so...

#2 (2023-07-24) #DoomIIHellOnEarth

I've been playing the game on and off. Started the playthrough in 2020, I think. Significantly more difficult to play on the Switch than PC, but the GameCube controller helped.

Activated God Mode against the Icon of Sin. 🤷🏻‍♀️

#VideoGames #Doom2 #DoomII

#3 (2023-08-02) #MurderByNumbers

I just realized I forgot to put #Pixross on the list as #2. Well, anyway, here's another #picross style game that I just finished, and it has an actual story and stuff. Because it's also a #VisualNovel.

It follows actor turned unlicensed private detective, Honor Mizrahi as she solves crimes (mostly murders) through the power of #nonogram puzzles.

The story is completely fine, and the characters very cute. Jena (not pictured) in particular...
💜😢

#VideoGames

#4 (2023-07-17) #Pixross

I don't have any screenshots and I'm too hungry to really put any more effort into this, but I should make sure I have this #picross/#nonogram game in my thread for completion's sake.

It wasn't as well-designed as #MurderByNumbers, actually, as it had a habit of prematurely revealing what part of a line I had just solved. So it makes MBN more impressive by comparison, since it both got the puzzles right and had a visual novel story.

It was fine, though.

#VideoGames

#5 (2023-08-03) #OxenfreeIILostSignals

To be honest, I don't completely remember how my one playthrough of the original #Oxenfree actually ended. I just can recall bits and pieces. But then... it was in 2016, apparently.

The sequel? I like it. While Riley having Jacob (and [the kids]) can't compare to the cast of Alex's peers in the original, this was still a solid story with a lot of nice moments.

It's also a very pretty game... with light pathfinding and animation issues.

#VideoGames

#6 (2023-08-10*) #PerfectGold
*01:30 AM

A #yuri #VisualNovel I'd been sitting on for over two years before I finally starting it up a few days ago. Clocked in at either 5 or 8 hours, depending on what part of the Steam GUI I'm looking at.

It's a beautifully animated #VN with a story that goes back and forth between past and present events as it untangles how magic school students Marion and Audrey's relationship formed, fell apart, and then finally...?

#WLW #lesbian #LGBT #LGBTQ #VideoGames

#7 (2023-08-17) #QuakeII (#Nintendo64 campaign)

Imagine being a huge fan of Quake II in the late 90s and not knowing that Nintendo 64 version had an entirely unique campaign until over two decades later.

Say what you will about #Bethesda and #Microsoft (they sure have issues), but this spruced up version of Quake II (which I got for free) is a heck of a thing. Old content, new content, restored content...!

Anyway, the #N64 campaign? It's really good! Easy final boss, though.

#VideoGames

#8 (2023-08-24) #StrayGods

A nasty save-deleting bug on release day aside, this little game was an excellent, focused experience from start to finish.

Most every character is really likable, which of course meant I ended up flirting wildly with both Freddie and Persephone before finally making up my mind on whom to pursue.

With 8.8 hours played so far, I'll revisit it soon for sure! I've more songs to sing and another girl to kiss, at the very least!

#StrayGodsTheRoleplayingMusical

#9 (2023-08-26) #ScarletHollow (Episode 1)

Arguably this one doesn't count, since it's basically a demo, but it's also VERY, VERY GOOD!

It's another visual novel style game, but with horror instead of singing. You might wander into the woods with a cute girl you just met (in a town you're visiting for your estranged aunt's funeral), hunting for cryptids.

Except you might also run into more than you bargained for, and have to make some tough decisions.

Also, look at those TRAITS.

#VideoGames

#10 (2023-08-27) #TheBlackwellLegacy

This was actually significantly shorter than expected. Had a few traditional Point And Click Logic issues, but it was a short and focused story, so I'm feeling good about trying the next game in the series tomorrow.

I'm looking forward to seeing how the series evolved.

#VideoGames

#11 (2023-08-27) #BlackwellUnbound

After replaying #TheBlackwellLegacy today, with developer commentary, I finally caught on about this being an episodic series.

Also took me a while to realize that you often had to ask people about the same topic multiple time to get the information you need. Once I got there, though, progress became a lot easier.

I approve of the choice to make the second game a prequel. It was nice to get to know Aunt Lauren a bit. Curious about her dreams...

#VideoGames

#12 (2023-08-29) #BlackwellConvergence

I don't know what the next two games will deal with, but as part of an episodic trilogy... I have to say this one was a fantastic conclusion.

Perfect ending, and with the Lauren game in-between, it was great seeing Rosa's growth from part 1 to 3.

I have exactly one BIG complaint (applying to the entire series so far), and it's that F12 skips through dialogue, which makes taking screenshots of specific lines on Steam more difficult than it should be.

#13 (2023-09-11) #9YearsOfShadows

Let me just start with admitting that I used a hex editor on my save file to boost my health to... many times the normal value... so I could actually defeat the final boss.

That said, with some perseverance I *did* manage to deal with all the other difficult boss battles scattered throughout the game.

It's an absolutely lovely #Metroidvania about a cool girl who has traveled to a living castle to break a curse that killed her parents.

#VideoGames

#14 (2023-09-12) #BlackwellDeception

Started playing this in the evening after finishing #13, and then did the rest of the game the day after. Today I've been checking out the updated commentary mode.

The game starts out with an introductory standalone case where a ghost drives off with a yacht at night, and then moves on to the main event that involves psychics and a string of murders.

I'm honestly not sure if I prefer #BlackwellConvergence or Deception, but it's up there at the top so far.

#15 (2023-09-17) #BlackwellEpiphany

The end of the series. Really played into the wee hours with this one. It's nearly 4 AM.

It wasn't the ending I wanted, to be honest, but it was a powerful and very good one. The story had some great twists and turns, and I'm pretty sure it had more ghosts to interact with than any other game in the series.

I'm looking forward to playing some other Wadjet Eye games after my commentary playthrough, but it does feel weird that Blackwell is over.

#VideoGames

#16 (2023-09-18) #Margo

Wasn't sure if I was going to count this, tbh. I guess I will, but I didn't take any screenshots. It's a short and free game, so just check it out on Steam or whatever!

A #sapphic girl named Margo who recently dropped out of school has to deal with a friend/crush moving away and her life changing.

It's basically a point and click adventure game you can experience in about half an hour.

#VideoGames

#17 (2023-09-26) #FoulPlay

The #yuri #VisualNovel; not the brawler with the same name.

Anyway, you play as a "cop". But at least you're a #lesbian. Also your boss is a lesbian, and the drop-dead gorgeous assassin who tracks you down to flirt with you is obviously a lesbian.

So choose which flavor of problematic fraternizing you'd prefer (if any), while coming out to your mom, and figuring out how you actually feel about your day job.

Not perfect, but I enjoyed it a lot.

#VideoGames #wlw

#18 (2023-10-04) #LunarLux

A cute #JRPG style game with a turn-based combat system with action elements (usually timed inputs, sometimes bullet hell).

You play as Bella - a "warrior prodigy" (as her rival likes to call her) with bubblegum-colored hair and an affinity for cheesecake bars.

Along with her robot sidekick Tetra, and another character who joins later, it's up to Bella to protect the people of the Luna from antimatter creatures known as Murks. And... other things.

#VideoGames #RPG

#19 (2023-12-25) #SignsOfTheSojourner

Oh, hey, I finally had the time and focus to play a game again. Not the Swedish point and click adventure I started playing back in October, but rather a deck building card game about conversation in a post-apocalyptic desert.

After a short tutorial, the game then tells you your mom is dead, so you and your best friend are taking over her store and it's your role to stock it up.

It's interesting, but it definitely won't gel with everyone. I save-scummed.

🎮 #VideoGamesFinished in 2024

It's already February, and all I've really had the time/mindset for is demos.

I'll reply to this thread every time I "finish" playing a video game this year. That could mean getting to the end of the story it tells, or just getting to a point where I think I've experienced what the game has to offer me.

I'm not counting demos as finished games, but I'll just add them to the thread anyway. I think I'll just number them separately.

#VideoGames

D#1 (2024-02-07) #LovesCrescendo #demo (2nd toot)

First bit of proper gaming I've done in... a while. It's a #sapphic #VisualNovel with a rhythm game bit to it, as it's about a multi-talented composer who can't play with the feeling needed, and a pianist who's lost her passion for the art.

I feel like I'm pretty bad at the rhythm game, but I'll definitely give the full game a try at some point down the line. Audio and visuals are charming, and the protagonists seem likeable.

#wlw #lgbtq

D#2 (2024-02-09) #MagicalDelicacy #demo

I saw an article about this game yesterday and was immediately sold on trying out the demo. It's a #Metroidvania #LifeSim hybrid featuring a #witch named Flora.

In this case, being a witch seems to largely involve #cooking, but the demo assured me that potion-making will be relevant later.

You explore for ingredients, gain new abilities like a double jump, and do food-quests for people in town. You also pay off #AnimalCrossing style debt.

#1 (2024-03-21) #RebelTransmute

So this #Metroidvania's been out for a week and a half and, while I didn't have much free weekend time, I've played 32h in the evenings after work.

Moon Mikono, space scrapper, searches for her mom after a rebellion against an oppressive colonizer corporation goes wrong. Crashing on the planet, Moon is later woken up by an artificial intelligence and sets off to explore a world that is now inhabited only by machines and monsters.

#FemaleProtagonist #VideoGames

#RebelTransmute had some neat accessibility options I suddenly realized that I want to talk about.

Whenever you want, you can toggle options for if environmental hazards should deal damage and for automatic refill of the game's "mana" equivalent.

You can also grant yourself up to three (I believe) extra health containers.

I ended up using the extra health and mana/energy against a boss or two that were particularly visually overwhelming, and disabled hazard damage entirely.

#Metroidvania

D#3 (2024-05-21) #NovaHearts: The Spark #demo

Instead of getting suckered into playing Final Fantasy XI for the entire evening, as I am wont to do, I tried out the demo version of the upcoming Nova Hearts.

It's a magical girl/enby #VisualNovel with tactical-ish turn-based #RPG battles and seemingly at least two #sapphic/#WLW romance options.

Art's pretty, too, and the dialogue had a good feel to it. I'm looking forward to trying the full game when it's out!

D#4 (2024-06-05) #KitsuneTails #demo

I'm glad that Kitsune Tails is approaching release. Had a good time playing the Steam's #NextFest demo this evening.

The game's immensely cute with its foxgirls and sometimes surprisingly detailed cutscenes, but the physics did take a while to get used to.

(I wonder how my #SMB3 muscle memory is if I were to replay that game now.)

D#5 (2024-06-06) #MindOverMagnet #demo

Another Steam #NextFest demo that I'm actually playing in a timely manner.

This one's about a little robot that needs to solve environmental puzzles to get out of some sort of underground facility, and quickly forms a team with a friendly magnet named Magnus.

Fun, and some of the puzzles later on in the demo do get a bit tricky and ask you to think a few steps ahead.

D#6 (2024-06-09) #Albatroz #demo

The demo has some flashback scenes in Isla's home, and an early section on the open roads in a beautiful forest/mountain area navigated by car, but most of it is about hiking through the wilderness.

The forest gets extremely creepy at night, and you primarily navigate with a compass, your memory of the view from earlier vantage points, and by paying attention to the environment.

Weather conditions can get extreme, and there are survival elements.

#videogames

D#7 (2024-06-10) #Undusted: Letters from the Past #demo

A short but kinda cathartic demo. I spent about 18 minutes cleaning a cup and a cassette player with a sponge and a toothbrush, and then it was over.

Really dig the 2D art, and the voxely(?) 3D art was nice and functional. The game being centered on a girl named Adora of course brought my mind to #SheRa.

Not sure if I want to get this when it releases, but I'll keep it in mind in case I just want to play something relaxing.

#videogames

D#8 (2024-06-12) #OnYourTail #demo

For my next #Steam #NextFest demo, there's this cute detective game featuring a goat girl named Diana who volunteers to help solve a mysterious theft after her vespa breaks down in the sunny, romantic seaside village of Borgo Marina.

The demo is pretty limited in scope but gives you a taste of what it's like to explore the town, talk to other charming animal characters, play minigames, and finally solve a mystery. (Not rewrite history.)

#furry #videogames

D#9 (2024-06-16) #WhimelAcademy #demo

Didn't take any screenshots for this one, but it's a cute #TimeManagement/#Simulation game at a magic school with romance, multiple ending, etc.

The writing's a bit on the weak side, which I suppose might be because the devs aren't native English-speakers and they haven't finalized the translation yet.

The art is absolutely adorable though, so I really should have taken screenshots. Also, your pronoun choice is mage, witch or wizard.

#videogames

D#10 (2024-06-19) #Absinthia #demo

I don't know why, but I'm aware of that I have a strong bias against games that were or look like they were made in RPG Maker, so I don't usually play them. It doesn't make sense: it's an amazing tool that can be used to make great games, but the bias still lives there in my brain.

Anyway, it's an #indie #JRPG that initially takes place in a village attacked by the demonic Lilith. Does some interesting setup work for the full game.

#videogames #lgbt #queer

D#11 (2024-06-20) #Decarnation #demo

Yeah, there's a lot of tough stuff going on in this game, and the demo probably only scratched the surface.

29-year-old Gloria models for a statue, finds someone molesting the statue as she visit the museum with her girlfriend (Joy), is asked to step down from her cabaret dancing role to become a full-time coach instead. And Joy breaks up with her.

Cue the horrible nightmares/hallucinations.

D#12 #FlowstoneSaga #demo

Flowstone Saga is another #JRPG adjacent game, but this one basically has a battle system that is basically #Tetris. You shift targets with the shoulder buttons and try to interrupt enemy attacks by completing one or more lines with said enemy selected.

Not sure what the story is about, though. For the duration of the demo, our girl Mirai is searching an island for her friend, Gon, and once she finds him she also finds out about PIRATES! The End.

#videogames

#2 (2024-06-24) #FinalFantasyXIV #Endwalker (patch story)

Despite Endwalker being the first expansion I actually finished the main story for in good time, the arrival of the Island Sanctuary initially distracted me from the patch story and then I got busy with school.

It's really, really good, though: starting with a treasure hunt and leading to a rescue mission for Vrtra's brood-sister (Azdaja), which of course leads to a bigger conflict with the Voidsent of the World of Darkness/Thirteenth.

#3 (2024-07-16) #FinalFantasyXIV #Dawntrail

#spoilers

Some hilariously bad luck with the in-game weather aside (just like when I played Shadowbringers), Dawntrail was one hell of a ride.

The format isn't unlike that of the previous expansion's patch content: open with a promise of light-hearted adventure, but then transition into darker subject matter and further exploration of FFXIV's limited multiverse.

Part South American adventure romp and part super-heavy Final Fantasy IX homage.

#4 (2024-08-14) #KitsuneTails

I managed to tear myself away from Final Fantasy XIV for long enough to play through Kitsune Tails. Super cute and queer #platformer game featuring at least one #FoxGirl and other people and things inspired by #Japanese mythology.

Had a lot of fun with act 1, but upon starting act 2 I first felt like it was kinda of a chore... until I suddenly just got in the groove and kinda blasted through it and felt great! Surprised by how much better my platforming was, too!

D#13 (2024-08-29) #DateTimeMelissaMorrisAnna #demo

I have 15 demos installed on Steam, so I'm back to playing some now that I have some of my Responsibilities™ (and my #FFXIV subscription) out of the way.

Anyway, "Date Time: Melissa, Morris, Anna" is a #PsychologicalHorror #VisualNovel... about playing dating visual novels? With characters based on real-life computer viruses?

It gets kinda weird, and I want to know more. Plus, heartstrings successfully tugged at.

D#14 (2024-08-30) #TheLastExterminator #demo

Didn't get any action/enemy screenshots because I'm bad at multitasking, but anyway...

Had a lot of fun with the demo of The Last Exterminator. It's a very blatant homage to #DukeNukem3D, but with a #FemaleProtagonist and seemingly none of the misogyny.

You play as Parker, who (I believe) is an exterminator who lives in her van. Suddenly, Earth's invaded by alien bugs and it's her time to shine with her bad attitude and pop culture references! #fps

D#15 (2024-08-31) #Dustborn #demo

I didn't even know that #RedThreadGames made a new game until I saw a #PCGamer article about it. (The comments section was filled up with conservative weirdos as it's apparently their latest #CultureWar target.)

Tried out the demo and apparently this "worst game ever" is a very solid Telltale-esque #AdventureGame with #RhythmGame and #brawler portions.

And, yeah, it contains all those things brainworm'd regressives hate: #PoC, #queer and #BodyDiversity rep.