(Sorry, DDR isn’t on this list - I just like the MAX 300 look)
By: RJ (@rga_02)
It’s been a while since we’ve done an arbitrary list on this site. So, for all the three readers that read my content, here are my picks for some rhythm games out in the market right now that you should consider picking up.
Note, depending on where you live some of these games may require importing.
by Amr (@siegarettes)
Before you start Unexplored the first thing you’ll see is a few words from a man at a pub. He’ll tell you a story about the dungeon you’re about to enter, and for a few drinks he’ll tell you a few more. This is Unexplored being upfront with its intentions.
Most roguelikes are obsessed with the player story. They make their on the ever golden promise of emergent play–the idea that by jamming enough systems and variables into play they’ll eventually combine into a endless set of unique situations.
Unexplored is built in this same foundation, but proceeds with narrative as its first concern. More than the usual sets of enemies and situations, Unexplored is concerned with creating a history to each dungeon. It adds an archaeological aspect, connecting floors and laying out clues in writing.
By: RJ (@rga_02)
Sometimes you ask yourself while playing a video game, “why was this game made,” or “who is this game targeted towards?” I kept asking myself that while playing Moero Chronicle. Now I’m not dragging down people who enjoy this game, we all have our weird likes - but Moero Chronicle is…special.
by Amr (@siegarettes)
If Shape of the World was an, open chill out session, then Anamorphine is its tonal complement. Taking place in a series of intimate, even claustrophobic spaces, it explores the emotional world of Tyler and Elena, a couple dealing with trauma and depression.
Anamorphine makes clear from the go it takes its subject matter very seriously. It opens with a content warning, giving players not only the option to skip the most upsetting scene, but also the option for a more detailed content warning containing spoilers for it. It’s an admirable approach that seems almost obvious in hindsight, and allows people to engage with the game on their own terms.
Which is good, since Anamorphine is a confident study in using space to communicate emotional states. There’s not a single spoken word in its entire run time. Instead it mixes the familiar with abstract, distorting otherwise everyday spaces into reflections of the characters’ mental worlds.
By Amr (@siegarettes)
Flat Heroes is a minimalist action game that demonstrates how animation and solid controls can make even simple shapes feel kinetic. Actions are simple–there’s a jump, a dash, an short burst attack, and wall kicks. Your avatars have weight–they roll around on their corners, and latch onto walls as their flat sides create friction. Enemies almost feel like they have they have personalities, operating with different behaviors, their basic shapes communicating immediately what their patterns are.
Each stage is a bite sized, almost puzzle like stage. Every stage is a single square screen. There’s a short countdown to let you take in the layout, then obstacles begin to come to life. This might be a series of shots that require you to observe and dodge their sequence, laser beams that cut off areas of the stage and require cover to escape, or enemies that chase you in waves as you pass them by. There’s a lot of variations, and they’re each slowly introduced before mixing them with other obstacles to complicate the problem. You’ll die frequently, but once you figure out the solution stages are brief, never going past a minute in length.That is, if you can nail the sequence.
by Amr (@siegarettes)
Russian Subway Dogs is pure arcade joy. It’s nothing more than a series of levels where you scare train passengers out of their food and watch a combo multiplier go up. What makes it work is the way you juggle items, and the increasing complications each new stage introduces. It’s tricky and taxing, and while it sometimes gets tough, it’s a clean design that makes the endless score chase appealing.
By Amr (@siegarettes)
I started Airheart captivated by its beautiful world. A land set in the clouds, rendered in painterly style, populated with appealing mechanical designs. The story seemed intriguing too, setting up a journey through the clouds to the top layer, with revelations waiting for me. Instead I was surprised to find that Airheart was almost free of direction. Ascending cloud layers and upgrading my machine provided an implicit direction, but after the tutorial it was largely free of objectives or guidance. So I wandered the clouds, fishing, fighting bandits, and scrounging up enough money to try and push higher each time.
For a while this provided a pleasant grind. Flying about the clouds and catching fish almost put in the same mindset as thatgamecompany’s Flow. There was a similar relaxed vibe, and a back and forth between the layers that recalled the same changes in intensity. That all changed after the first plane crash.
by Amr (@siegarettes)
[TRANSCRIPT BELOW]
Rising Dusk is an atmospheric, anti-coin collecting puzzle game. You traverse Japanese landscapes while dealing with various yokai. You can only fail by falling offscreen, so despite the spooky theme it’s not violent one. Blocks in the environment will react depending on how many coins you’ve collected, becoming boons or traps depending on the context. But mostly traps.
This results in interesting challenges, like a rainy level where you dodge coins falling from the sky, or one where you climb a mountain, being forced to collect coins along the way so that the footholds below will disappear if you fall.
