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.

D#16 (2024-09-03) #Midautumn #demo

A roguelike where the protagonist, Robin, has just moved in with their grandmother in a small town and was given some sort of guardian of the spirit world role to pay rent.

You fight spirits in arenas by absorbing green blobs of energy they can fire at you and send it back before it rots and hurts you.

I wasn't sure if I should create an entry for this one, given that it didn't really vibe with me and I ended up not finishing the demo, but... here it is.

D#17 (2024-09-03) #QuantumWitch #demo

The demo doesn't feature much on the choice side, but this is a narrative and choice-driven #platformer #adventure, as advertised on the Steam page. It's mostly a fetch quest to collect some escaped sheep while learning about the town of Hus.

The pixel art is cute and soothing, and the dialogue entertaining. Also, everyone's a #lesbian, which is pretty great. Reminds me of a thing I've written for a possible future game, actually.

Full game next year!

D#18 (2024-09-05) #SlayThePrincess #demo

I've been pretty nervous about playing Slay the Princess as I've wondered how terrible it would make me feel. I've had the demo installed for 4 months and finally gave it a shot.

It's a dark and intriguing narrative game, for sure. With a nice sense of (dark) humor, and beautiful but unsettling art. The ending splash screen also advertises 10 paths and 1 ending, so that leaves me wondering if that one ending will be slaying or saving the princess.

D#19 (2024-09-05) #PrincessFarmer #demo

#Match3 type games aren't really my jam, but bunny girls flirting with each other are significantly more that?

It was all very cute and pretty enjoyable despite that I'm not into this particular puzzle genre. When you're not doing Mass Effect-style dialogue stuff you're pulling up and pushing down vegetables in the ground to do that whole Match 3 thing that is the focus of the game.

Got to know a bunny named Garlic, a bear, several cows, and...aliens!?

D#20 (2024-09-06) #ScarletDeerInn #demo

Okay. So this is a #narrative #platformer with maybe a touch of #Metroidvania to it, what with the puzzle-like exploration.

The art is apparently #embroidered before being turned into assets for the game, and you can see clear #StudioGhibli (i.e. Miyazaki) influences in the designs. Importantly, though, it's all based on #Slavic folklore.

You play as Elise, medieval mother of two, who runs an inn and falls backwards into a terrifying murder(?) mystery.

D#21 (2024-09-08) #MinuteFighter #demo

I tried out two other demos yesterday, before board game night, but meh'd out of both of them because they were clunky and kinda uninteresting. Best not to name names, I guess. 😜

Minute Figher was more interesting. It's basically a #FirstPersonShooter controlled entirely with the mouse. Hold MOUSE2 to control movement, click on items to pick them up, click the gun to fire or cock the hammer, etc.

Interesting but kind of a pain to play, tbh.
#VideoGames

D#22 (2024-09-09) #Supplice #demo

Supplice is a GZDoom-based #FirstPersonShooter. Assets are made from scratch rather than recycling from other #Doom engine games, but you can still very much "feel" that it's #GZDoom. Has freelook but no jumping.

The game takes place on a people's co-op space colony that comes under attack from bio-mechanical zombies, and it's up to the #FemaleProtagonist to rescue off-screen civilians and blast through the attackers with some fun weapons.

#videogames #FPS

#5 (2024-09-16) #Dustborn

Pax and her friends travel across a post-apocalyptic and alternate timeline America where JFK turned the country EXTRA authoritarian after his wife was assassinated in 1963.

Doing concerts under the band name The Dust Born as a cover story to get to Nova Scotia, the gang are on the run from both Pacifica's creepy Puritans and the Republic's militarized Justice.

Make choices and play rhythm games! Solve mysteries! Fight disinformation!

#AdventureGame #VideoGames

#6 (2024-09-17) #DepressionQuest

It's free, I know I've had it installed before, and I probably should have played it a decade ago.

Some weirdo GamerGator on YouTube felt the need to shit on the game after I mentioned Zoë Quinn, though, so that gave me the jolt I needed to finally give it a try.

So it's a text-based adventure game about a guy with depression. Mechanically, the depression manifests in the form of disabled choices. And... I can relate to a lot of this, to some degree.

#7 (2024-09-20) #TheLegendOfZelda #ALinkToThePast #randomizer

Not something I've put in my "finished games" thread before, I believe, but I started a new seed/run of the old ALttP randomizer two days ago and have played when I've had the opportunity.

I've learned a bit from watching streamers recently, but I also found I'd forgotten some item locations since it's been so long since I last played.

Finished at just under 4 hours.
#TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast #ALttPR

D#23 (2024-09-25) #ColossalCave #demo

An adventure game discussion not too long ago reminded me that this remake of #ColossalCaveAdventure exists, so I gave the demo a try.

Not much demo in that 2.6 GB download, to be honest, but enough to get a feel for the controls, which were functional enough. You look through a well house for items, unlock a grate at the end of a stream, climb down, and then the game ends as you try to proceed further.

#VideoGames #AdventureGame #RobertaWilliams

#8 (2024-09-26) #TheLegendOfZelda #DungeonsOfInfinity

Fanmade Zelda #roguelike made in #GameMakerStudio by #JustinBohemier over the duration of 4 years. It's using #ALinkToThePast assets, but as I'm typing this it hasn't been DMCA takedown'd by Nintendo yet.

https://justinbohemier.wixsite.com/portfolio/game-design

The moment to moment gameplay is almost entirely faithful to the original, and it's a very cool concept... although it definitely has room for polish & some expanded mechanics.

I can't beat Agahnim. 😢

#VideoGames

#9 (2024-10-02) #TheLegendOfZelda #EchoesOfWisdom

Funko Pop aesthetic, "borrowed power" gimmicks, and unnecessary dialogue about Link being "the hero" while Zelda is "the priestess" aside...

I had a mostly great time. Too many monsters for a game where fighting is less than straightforward, perhaps, but there were some great combat puzzles.

The game also expanded #ALinkToThePast's map in interesting ways, with neat puzzle and obstacle designs.

#VideoGames #TheLegendOfZeldaEchoesOfWisdom

#10 (2024-10-08) #SlayThePrincess

You are on a dark and lonesome road leading up to a small cabin, accompanied only by two voices in your head: that of the hero and The Narrator.

The Narrator informs you that, in order to save the world, you must slay the princess imprisoned in the dungeon below the cabin in order to save the world.

Decide what voices to listen to, what claims to question, and how to respond to failure.

#VideoGames #VisualNovel #HorrorGame

#11 (2024-10-10) #WhisperingWillows

You play as Elena Elkhorn who arrives at the Willows mansion grounds looking for her dad, who works at the otherwise abandoned property as a groundskeeper.

Elena and her dad are both descendants on the native tribe who once lived in this land, before the deranged colonizer tried to kill them all off.

To find her dad, Elena must uncover the property's past and use her gift to help several spirits move on.

#VideoGames #AdventureGame #supernatural #GhostStory

#12 (2024-10-19) #NightCascades

Okay, so this turned out to not be a great Halloween Month fit. There was a #supernatural tag and the #occult was mentioned in the description, but that was honestly a very minor theme (and a bit of sequel bait).

It was a really sweet #VisualNovel about a pair of #UselessLesbian ex-girlfriends who reunite to solve an arson case in an #AlternateHistory 1980s. (One of them is a cop.)

Good art and writing, but no real choices and light on interaction.

#VideoGames

D#24 (2024-10-20) #SorryWereClosed #demo

New #SteamNextFest, so I'm dipping into some interesting demos again.

First one's on-theme for Halloween: a cool, stylized #VideoGame (a colorful evolution of the chunky PlayStation 1 style) that exists somewhere on the edge between #SurvivalHorror and #PsychologicalHorror.

Our hero, Michelle, is a #sapphic lady who seems to have some sort of demonic encounter and ends up solving puzzles in a twisted world while fighting or evading strange monsters.

D#25 (2024-10-21) #MushroomMusume #demo

#LifeSim (with very light stat/resource management elements, so leaning towards #VisualNovel). You're a recluse in the woods who gets help from a witch to raise a Mushroom Daughter.

Your choices decide what kind of mushroom she is and what her strengths are. Dice rolls are also involved.

Then the Mushroom Daughter grows up and you play as her instead; soon reaching one of the game's many endings before you get to start over.

Very cute #VideoGame.

D#26 (2024-10-22) #LoveCurseFindYourSoulmate #demo

#Chinese #sapphic #VisualNovel by a studio called Xso. You play as Selene; a university junior looking for an internship who almost gets hit by a car but is saved by the mysterious Phoenix before being informed that you must find your soulmate within one year to avoid death.

Cute art and story. Some minor English grammar issues. Everyone seems to have anglophone-friendly given names and Chinese family names?

#不恋爱就完蛋了 #VideoGames #yuri #LGBTQ

#13 (2024-11-06) #TheCosmicWheelSisterhood

Part #VisualNovel, part card-crafting, and part divination simulator. You play as an exiled space witch, Fortuna, who out of desperation makes a pact with an otherworldly Behemoth after 200 years of her 1000 year sentence.

Once you take up your trade again with fresh cards, you meet witches new and old and get dragged into the coven's politics.

Only you can tell what the future will bring.

#VideoGames #FemaleProtagonist #LGBTQ #wlw #sapphic