Explore Tumblr blogs with no restrictions, modern design and the best experience.
Fun Fact
BuzzFeed published a report claiming that Tumblr was utilized as a distribution channel for Russian agents to influence American voting habits during the 2016 presidential election in Feb 2018.
Some indie game recommendations from ones I’ve played or know enough about them to suggest them to others(mostly in no particular order), Part 3, since Tumblr stopped letting me add more for some reason:
Parts 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Icey
Transiruby
Little Witch in the Woods
Bug Fables
Mechstermination Force
Faith: The Unholy Trinity
Doki Doki Literature Club/Doki Doki Literature Club Plus
A Note On... Ann Ultra and the Cyber Neko+ Statues
ANNO: Mutationem is an action platformer by ThinkingStars! Explore a cyberpunk world while fighting the baddies in your way!
This game was a much-needed change from the games I've been recently playing (which were a bunch of management and strategy games). I needed a little action in my life, so to say.
I played the demo of this game way back when, during a Steam Next Fest. And I don't often play demos, but if I remember correctly, a friend had recommended it to me. It was immediately interesting with the style the dev team was going for—half side-scrolling, half 3D exploration.
The art is actually one of the best points of the game because of its unique 2D-3D thing. The cyberpunk world is really cool, especially with the bright lights in the city areas contrasting the derelict combat areas. The character design is awesome. Main/Named characters feel unique and recognizable. Plus all the shiny specials effects!
And everywhere feels rather "lived in", in that nowhere in the game does it feel they added a space without worldbuilding. It shows through the art as well as the documents and posters spread across the maps.
Speaking of documents, the narrative for this game is fairly straightforward. Very mcguffin-chasing, though it allows us to meet a variety of characters before delving into the hidden plotline that we get glimpses of throughout the game. Solid pacing and storytelling!
I also really like the supporting cast. Well, Ayane. Her banter and relationship with Ann very much fills the void in between main story points. It also helps that I found her love for her best friend (that goes as far as calling Ann, "darling") endearing.
Mechanics-wise, I really liked the upgrade systems in this game. The traditional "get skill points when defeating enemies to unlock stuff in your skill tree" is something I missed for a while. It also didn't give me enough to unlock the entire tree, which is surprising, but doesn't hurt the gameplay in any way.
I will say that the melee weapons are a bit unbalanced. Once you get the dual swords (fast weapon with a little less damage), the regular sword is pretty useless (it's slower, with middling damage) because it doesn't have enough upside. And then the two-handed sword is always good/useful because of its armour-breaking.
The ranged weapon, on the other hand, felt very extra because of the melee-focused, low item-usage way I played. Ended up with over 70 magazines of ammo for the small gun despite using it more often than the others. Plus, you don't unlock the last ranged weapon until way near the end. Ultimately, I probably would've had an easier time if I'd used them instead of hitting and running with melee.
Also super surprised that they added input combos for certain abilities in the game. Like left, left, X performed a lunging attack. Didn't expect it, but glad to have some variation in combat that would otherwise end up being button mashing (not that I dislike that sometimes).
Platforming in this game is smooth and you get new movement abilities at a good pace. There's no need to backtrack in this game, which is nice.
ANNO: Mutationem is an awesome platformer that combines 3D exploration with sidescrolling combat!
The 10 Best (and 4 Worst) Video Games of 2022, Plus Some Special Awards
The 10 Best (and 4 Worst) Video Games of 2022, Plus Some Special Awards
In many ways, 2022 feels unfinished to me. I didn’t play many of the year’s biggest releases, including Elden Ring, God of War Ragnarök, and Horizon Forbidden West. I didn’t manage to complete a couple of the games I started, namely Soul Hackers 2 and Sports Story1, and I even purchased one game but didn’t start it. (Sorry, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope! I promise I’ll get to you in 2023.)
But…
IndieCade 2022 this year was a week-long Steam event highlighting this year’s submissions and winners. I’ve sifted through all the games and compiled a list of my favorites.
(click here to see the list over at IndieGameReviewer.com!)
i haven't finished anno mutationem yet so no spoilers but i'm like a little bit after when they reveal that (bittova spoiler) ann's entangleitis was made up to cover for the fact that she's a part of this whole grand scheme and i just keep thinking about how ann and ayane are so freakin cute together!!! like every time they interact i'm just like .... girlfriends
personally i see ann as a possible demiromantic that took longer to fall for ayane (bc i'm demi and i say so) while ayane's just a disaster lesbian who fell in love pretty quick and i freakin love how when ann starts actually being affectionate, ayane just .... doesn't compute like she loves when ann's being affectionate but she doesn't know how to react bc "omg why is my darling being.... so cute..... aaaa clutches chest" (their dynamic kinda reminds me of chiyo and nozaki from monthy nozaki-kun and i love <3)
Had the pleasure of discovering this game recently and I have had a really great time with it. I wish I had known about it sooner and for anyone not familiar with it now would be a good time to get familiar because they did a really cool job with this from what I’ve played thus far. The style and the gameplay of it all really has me hooked.
Publisher Lightning Games and developer ThinkingStars have released a free update for the PC version of ANNO: Mutationem, which adds a roguelike mini-game, costume, weapons, and story. The update will be available for the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Switch versions at a later date.
The update’s contents include:
Super lite roguelike mini game “Mysterious Game Console” – Enter the pixelated three-floors dungeon world, defeat the enemies, and bring back the trapped girl Noni.
New costume “Archaic Hazmat Suit” with new weapons
Story of Ayane’s childhood
ANNO: Mutationem is available now for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store.
Anno: Mutationem is a gorgeous game with decently fun combat that unfortunately shies away from having its own voice in favor of referencing other media. Check out John's review.