thanks to @ricklane.bsky.social for talking to me and other modders. sorry not-sorry for the ludicrous headline quote
btw credit to @asponge.bsky.social who coined “concrete murderzones” years ago to describe QBJ1 and it stuck in my head all these years
One of my absolute favourite games!
If you enjoy chill, first person exploration, puzzling with machinery, and carefully crafted, detailed worlds, you really need to play INFRA
EVERYTHING SPIRALS TO A FINAL POINT OF UNIFICATION
THE SACRED ΩMEGA POINT
cathroon.itch.io/omega-point
A MIXTAPE AT THE END OF THE WORLD
[FLASHING IMAGE WARNING]
It's time!!! Independent Games Festival judging is wrapping up and thus comes my list of IGF Games I Want To Talk About for the year!
As usual, I'll threadpost this later (maybe tomorrow) but people willing to click on a link can read it in full right now on my blog! auratriolo.com/blog/2025/11...
cyberpunk city
Beyond Sunset represents a collaborative effort from too many people to name in a single post. It began as a solo project in 2015. Today, it's a first person shooter made with love by a bunch of extraordinarily talented people. #indiedev
This was really cool.
Turn on the radio, lean back in your mech and wait for the end of the world.
Archival footage like this of a place that no longer exists is the kind of ref you should just let wash over you and watch it when it suddenly appears in your recommendation like this just did for me. A Space is not just how it looks but its how its used and the people that do so and their history.
Calvin & Hobbes "I'll show you something interesting" meme format Calvin's Father: "Playing an immersive sim? I'll show you something interesting." / "All immersive sims actually fall into two categories: Deusex-likes and Thief clones. Gloomwood? Thief clone. Ctrl Alt Ego? Deusex-like" Calvin: "Yeah" Calvin's Father: "Dishonored? Thief clone. Weird West? Deusex-like. In spite of being created before it, system shock is actually a Deusex-like." Final frame is Calvin, sleepless and distraught.
I gave up after around 7 hours. But people leaving reviews on Steam (both good and bad) clock in over 50-70 hours, so be warned it'll likely take some time to figure out if this is for you.
I also gave Void Stranger a shot. It's a really weird sokoban style puzzle game that gets more and more complex as you play. I really like the concept but I honestly don't have the patience for the replays needed to progress.
store.steampowered.com/app/2121980/...
Completed Öoo and it's just as awesome as everyone says. It squeezes everything it can out of the concept. Progression is entirely by learning new tricks and secrets and returning to old rooms, not unlocking new mechanics.
store.steampowered.com/app/2721890/...
Contrary to what you might think, we've actually 𝑛𝑜𝑡 been sleeping and / or dead since launching Dread Delusion...
...we've been making a dying earth JRPG called
🍄 ⚔️ 💀 𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐘 💀 ⚔️ 🍄
& you can wishlist it on Steam rn!
store.steampowered.com/app/3940340/...
“You can buy something on Itch and give Itch itself $0. Many people do. Many more people are doing so now as some form of boycott or protest. There are many anecdotes that say that Leafo runs Itch completely on their own, even going so far as to hand-process payouts and do their own social media and PR. I'd call that overworked, but that isn't the point either. Recently a journalist (I don't want to even draw attention to the thread) reported Itch "knew for two years this was coming" (dubious), and did nothing about it mostly due to a lack of resources. They recommended boycotting Itch to punish them for this. My take here is this: there was never a reality on the table where pressure would force Itch to somehow find a solution faster, or a better solution. They lack the resources and can't absorb the fees of high risk processing. The reality here is this pressure is more likely to kill Itch than improve the situation. In my opinion, what they need is support coupled with the pressure to use that support to find a better solution. That may involve a surcharge on adult content and piping those transactions through a high risk MSP. That may involve saying "We have to institute a minimum share on purchases" and using those funds to expand staff and develop a better option. To do so at this particular moment though would be the PR nail in the coffin. But regardless, if they didn't "do better" because of resources, denying them resources won't fix it!”
on the payment processor situation from someone with experience in fintech…
voidfox.com/blog/payment...
“I guess I'm asking for some understanding, both of Itch's position, and the entire landscape, before declaring them at complete fault and dumping them in the sewer with all the other bad actors.”
Unfortunately I've been let go due to cutbacks.
If you know anyone who could use a game programmer with ~14 years of experience, let me know! Let them know!
Preferably around Copenhagen, but let's have a chat, I'm open to remote and shorter projects for the right fit.
aergia.dk/about.html
The Amstrad CPC being *very* impressive, and also illustrated by the great Oliver Frey.
On the other hand I stopped playing Void Stranger because it had too much repetition. Redoing puzzles I've already solved to find new secrets was also annoying to me. Has to be the right amount I guess 😅
store.steampowered.com/app/2121980/...
I bounced off the demo. Something about having randomness in Myst like puzzle games sounds like exactly what I don't want. And the negative reviews seem to have my complaints 🤷
It looks cool, though so perhaps I'll give it a shot if I ever run out of puzzle games 😉
Tons of clever, short puzzles with slowly expanding mechanics and an open-ish overworld to explore.
Currently about a hundred or so puzzles into UltraNothing, but judging by the trailer I've seen nothing yet.
store.steampowered.com/app/2662590/...
I'm forgetting to share all the cool little games I've played lately.
I had a great time with Grunn! Don't let the low-poly, spooky vibes fool you (it only has a few joke jump scares), this game plays more like Outer Wilds than PS1 retro horror.
store.steampowered.com/app/2720950/...
NORCO SALE! 65% off on Steam ($5.24 USD) through May 8th. Point & click suburban New Orleans ennui videogame.
modems screaming at us in the 90s was a warning and we didn't take it
What do you know, my silly carrot game finally got enough reviews for a score on Steam. Coinciding with getting an actual payout from the platform. AND coming up on the 10 years since I first uploaded it on GameJolt👴
A Christmas miracle or something.
store.steampowered.com/app/1247730/...
Yesterday, on our On the Horizon live stream from the Ghost Ship office, we could finally reveal our latest addition to Ghost Ship Publishing portfolio:
GUNTOUCHABLES
Preppers gone wild :-)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=spRs...
Hey! I've announced my next game and I am asking for money already so I can finish making it. :)
www.backerkit.com/c/projects/m...
Created a starter pack of 100 smaller gamedevs and artists that make cool things. Kindof a broad spectrum of styles. Lots of lowpoly, psx, and experimental stuff.
bsky.app/starter-pack...
I'm thankful there are still places like itch.io and people like @alienmelon.bsky.social keeping this spirit alive.
shovelware is part history class, part walking sim and part manifesto. Mourning our lost DIY, open, creative tech communities, and making a case for their continued importance.
alienmelon.itch.io/shovelware
Funeralopolis is exactly the type of game I want way more of. A short, detailed, first person experience. It's weird but coherent, atmospheric and spooky without jump scares.
Give it a try if you're in the mood for something creepy!
by @bananajeff.bsky.social
banana-jeff.itch.io/dniostatnie
Should try and restart my endless list of notable indie games I've played. Maybe even copy over the old thread from the dead bird site at some point...
Will try it out! Managed to download the arm version yesterday and couldn't figure out why it didn't work 😅
