I just wanted to gush for a minute about Mark of the Deep, Tombwater, and Hunt the Night. All of them are top-down (or isometric) exploration games with eldritch horrors and difficult combat. I'm terrible at "real" souls-like games but these top-down games are definitely scratching my itch.

Mark of the Deep has an isometric view and more modern graphics (compared to the others). The map is a set of interconnected regions where each region is a labyrinth of hidden paths. This one is very easy to get lost in but I think it's well-made. It does a good job of letting you unlock shortcuts as you progress so you don't have to backtrack too much after dying and restarting at the last save point. It took me ~20 hours to beat.

Tombwater is a new game that feels more like A Link To The Past than Mark of the Deep. It's a spread-out open world with optional bosses and 32-bit graphics. I really like how it lets you disable the "corpse run" mechanic that is common in souls-like games. Like I said, I'm terrible at "real" souls-likes so this is a huge selling point for me (Mark of the Deep doesn't have corpse runs either). I'm ~8 hours into Tombwater and I'm really enjoying it.

I've only played the demo for Hunt the Night but I absolutely loved it and since there was a bundle with Tombwater, I bought it on an impulse. I'm looking forward to playing it after I beat Tombwater though.

I know Tunic and Death's Door both have great reviews and souls-like aspects but those are too cute for me. I don't just want a zelda-like with difficult combat, I need that eldritch horror aspect to really scratch my itch. And I'm not sure about Mina the Hollower yet. It isn't nearly as cute as Tunic or Death's Door but I don't know if it's all that "dark" either with that artstyle.

Anyway, if you know of any other top-down/isometric action games with an eldritch horror aesthetic, please let me know. I can't get enough of them right now.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.today/post/55540150

Some games will be more obscure than others. But I promise every game I post will have had a retail English translation.

Can you guess this game ?

I will post the answer in 8 hours (if not answered)

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.today/post/55501379

This is self explanatory; to all who do not support the idea of ownership, there shall be no more funding, regardless of their game's quality.

Advice:

buy from GOG, avoid single player games which require internet connection or 3 party launchers.

Repost from reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/StopKillingGames/comments/1ugzirg/stoppayinggames/

Awesome infographic

I recently had to chat with Patrick, the founder of Afterplay, along with James, the platform's Head of Emulation, to talk about one of the more interesting projects I've spotted lately in in the retro gaming space specifically.

Afterplay's a browser-based retro gaming platform that lets you play classic games on desktop and mobile with cloud saves, cross-device syncing, and a focus on making retro gaming accessible.

More recently (and more interestingly to me), it expanded into a storefront where indie developers sell browser-playable games, which I think is an fascinating topic and angle for an article.

In the interview here we talk about how Afterplay began, the technical challenges of browser-based emulation, where the idea of becoming a "Steam for retro games" came from, the new storefront, the future of the platform, and plenty more.

I hope you enjoy the read, and as always I'd love to hear your thoughts here!

https://gardinerbryant.com/afterplay-and-the-push-toward-a-steam-for-retro-games/

Today’s game is some more Jedi Survivor. I ran into the bounty hunter lady this time. It really reinforced the western themes I’m feeling from this. Out in the frontier. Chasing a bygone era. And you even get a gun.

I tried to do some fun stuff with lighting and the brim of her hat. But there seems to be a seam between the rim of the hat and the base. Which kind of threw it off. I still like it though.

I also finally met Merrin again. I liked having her as a companion in the game. The magic stuff she does I feel pairs nicely with Cal’s stuff compared to Bode.

After heading back to Koboh and getting that weird cylindrical thing, i went and ran into the lobster fisherman guy. I saw he only had 12 fish to collect so I went and collected a few of them. I figured it’d be a nice detour from the main story. That’s kind of how I spent the rest of my evening.

Hey I'm very happy with the development of my 2D musou roguelite, Starfish ROOM: DEFEND THE ROOMS, check out the trailer below.

In a 2D musou roguelite called Starfish ROOM: DEFEND THE ROOMS, your home planet, Cat Planet, is being colonized by conservative aliens. The protagonist, Kibo Wave, was chosen by his home planet to slay monsters using his golden blade and fight six randomly assigned aliens to complete an Eternal Loop. In the end, his future mecha clone, Boki, surrenders to the aliens to kill Kibo Wave.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/4520420/Starfish_ROOM_DEFEND_THE_ROOMS/

Add Starfish ROOM: DEFEND THE ROOMS to your wishlists and play this 2D musou roguelite game!

This rare Treasure Hunter G interview originally appeared in Square's official strategy guide published in 1996 and covers the team's inspirations and character design.

This whole game consists of only four image files. It was meant to be printed on paper but use whatever tools you fancy.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/66937274

This is the first of a series of puzzles I've made a long time ago. You'll need these additional pages in order to solve it:

INTRO

INDEX OF CREATURES

INDEX OF SYMBOLS, ITEMS, AND NOTES

Please use the spoiler tag when proposing a solution. A new quest might be posted after someone submits a correct solution.

Some games will be more obscure than others. But I promise every game I post will have had a retail English translation.

Can you guess this game ?

I will post the answer in 8 hours (if not answered)

It is a bigger, don't have the Steam Controller dongle integrated, and you need to manually install SteamOS on it.

But you get a machine that can be upgraded way more easily than the Steam Machine, and a better GPU from the start.

Today’s Game is Jedi Survivor. I keep nearly typing that as Fallen Order. Old habit I suppose from typing the name so many times while working to 100% it.

Anyways. I made my way through the Forest Array. I just want to say thank god for the fast travel in this game. Makes getting around so much easier. I do feel there’s been a sense of accomplishment lost from it, but I can fully accept that’s on me and I’m not being forced to fast travel.

The gliding that got introduced im a little mixed on. It’s a fun idea but it does feel a little like a patch for what the first game had for the level design. Not any sort of deal breaker though. It’s a fun mechanic I like. The mounts too with how it’s moving to be a little more open of an open world.

Anyways. Finally, Dagan Gera. I like him. He feels like a Sephiroth type. Won’t go into any spoilers but I had fun taking pictures of him. Technically the shadow cast by the lightsaber is impossible I think, but that’s okay. I like how it casts a shadow over his eyes. I was playing with the spotlights too while doing this so I feel like that produced some really stellar screenshots.

When the games came out, I remember the old 4 screen multiplayer Mario Kart 64 days. Then soon after Goldeneye 007, which blew my mind.

what're you buying?

> sell the company to playstation

> stop updating or supporting your most successful game

> ???

> layoff your developers

> profit?

Some games will be more obscure than others. But I promise every game I post will have had a retail English translation.

Can you guess this game ?

I will post the answer in 8 hours (if not answered)

Microsoft has announced significant price rises for Xbox consoles, blaming the ongoing “components crisis.”

Xbox console price rises June 2026:

Xbox Series S 512GB: $399.99 ---> $499.99  
Xbox Series S 1TB: $449.99 ---> $599.99  
Xbox Series X 1TB Digital: $599.99 ---> $749.99  
Xbox Series X 1TB: $649.99 ---> $799.99 

Sega is facing backlash after a recent Sonic the Hedgehog alternate-reality game - a sort of marketing campaign that takes place online - was revealed to be training AI models on participant data.