Come see all the games, more games than one can play. I put some of them in my special book, thinking of days distant with hours unturned.
In this episode, twenty-four more games I have not played are added to the Crashbook.
276/ Forever Skies
Forever Skies is a first-person post-apocalyptic survival game. Return to Earth, ravaged by an ecological disaster. Fly, upgrade and customize your mobile high-tech airship base. Scavenge resources to survive, face dangers on the surface and hunt for viral pathogens to cure a mysterious illness.
Crash notes: Another air-based survival/base building game, procedurally-generated. Slightly in the mould of No Man’s Sky, I think, as they’re planning to implement 4-player co-op after full release but I’m not convinced that’s going to be an easy addition to a dedicated single-player codebase.
Windows, PS5, Xbox | Steam Link | Early Access
277/ NIDUS
Emerge into Nidus as a mind-bending Symbiotic Duo. Control Two Characters Simultaneously in challenging Twin-Stick Top-Down Arena gameplay. Gather power, devour the swarm, and shine brilliantly as your strive to complete the mesmerizing collective lifecycle.
Crash notes: New entry in the visually exciting 2D shooter category.
Windows | Steam Link | Unreleased
278/ Cassette Boy
All you see is all there is—Cassette Boy: an RPG where what exists depends on you.
Crash notes: I’m unconvinced this blurb will sell this Japanese game to you. Further down on the Steam page are more fightin’ words: Cassette Boy looks like a 2D game, but its world is actually 3D. In order to solve its puzzles, you will have to turn and twist the map around, changing the perspective. Things that you can’t see from your perspective, for example because they’re hidden behind a wall, stop existing—this is called the “Schrödinger system.”
Windows | Steam Link | Unreleased
279/ Hex Strikers
High Striker, the classic funfair strongman game, is now a roguelike deckbuilder. Strategically place hex tiles with strikers, gain tokens and unlock upgrades from the shop to rack up the highest possible score from 1000 strikes.
Crash notes: I’m not a fan of “High Striker” but I’m definitely intrigued how someone used it as the raw material for a roguelike deckbuilder.
Windows | Steam Link | Unreleased
280/ Marathon
A DREAM IS MOTIVATION
Crash notes: I wasn’t there for the original Marathon trilogy. I tried playing Aleph One some time later but it was already well past DOOM o’clock and the shooty action just didn’t grab me. I haven’t a clue whether the new PvP Marathon will be any good but the teaser trailer (“not actual gameplay”) is a great watch. Huh, no Mac release?
Windows, PS5, XBox | Twitter Link | Unreleased
281/ The Talos Principle 2
The Talos Principle 2 is a thought-provoking first-person puzzle experience that greatly expands on the first game’s philosophical themes and stunning environments with increasingly mind-bending challenges.
Crash notes: OH MY GAWD
Windows, PS5, XBox | Steam Link | Unreleased
282/ GYLT
Shape your fears… Fear the shapes. Embark on a journey where you face your worst fears and are confronted with the emotional impact of your actions in this narrative adventure game with puzzles, stealth and action.
Crash notes: GYLT was an exclusive to Stadia but now the Stadia is dead, it is geting a new home on every other platform – next month.
Windows, PS5, XBox | Steam Link | Unreleased
283/ Forgetting
Forgetting is a procedurally generated panel-solving puzzle game. Inspired by games like the Witness, but with each playthrough offering a new dungeon to explore, new puzzles to solve, and new mechanics to learn.
Crash notes: Panel puzzles from the developer who you might know from free titles such as At the Hedges of Time.
Windows, Mac | Steam Link | Unreleased
284/ Moons of Darsalon
Retro action “save-them-all” platformer including advanced physics combined with an unique retro feel. Complete rescue missions leading your colleagues to the closest base station. Fight enemies using your laser gun, jet pack, destroy terrain and even make new paths with the ground maker.
Crash notes: Reviews suggest Darsalon is the bastard child of Lemmings and Worms. Funky visuals evoke the 90s, perhaps the tail end of the MS-DOS days. It has charm.
Windows, Mac | Steam Link | Released April
285/ Backbeat
A mashup of puzzle and strategy games. Manipulate four threads of time to guide your band through sokoban-style puzzles. Manage squad resources over a set of limited turns. Experience a homage to 1990s ensemble dramedies. Customize the dynamic soundtrack with audio effects.
Crash notes: Might see if I can take a look at this on a Thinky Games stream.
Windows, Mac | Steam Link | Released March
286/ TailQuest Defense
Explore a tiny world, defeat hundreds of enemies, experiment with the environment, find all secrets and enjoy the Adventure with a friend or in single player mode!
Crash notes: The Steam synopsis doesn’t make it clear this is a tower defence game.
Windows | Steam Link | Just Released
287/ Planet of Lana
A young girl and her loyal friend embark on a rescue mission through a colorful world full of cold machines and unfamiliar creatures. Planet of Lana is a cinematic puzzle adventure framed by an epic sci-fi saga that stretches across centuries and galaxies.
Crash notes: Looks to me like a wholesome version of Inside. The trailer was well constructed and the soundtrack is great.
Windows | Steam Link | Released May
288/ Still Wakes the Deep
1975. Disaster strikes the Beira D oil rig off the coast of Scotland. Navigate the collapsing rig to save your crew from an otherworldly horror on the edge of all logic and reality.
Crash notes: The Chinese Room. Horror. Anything else?
Steam Link | Unreleased
289/ CODA
///CODA is a surrealist exploration game with four diverse chapters that each tell unique stories connected by a surreal museum. Take a peak through the looking glass and wander…
Crash notes: Electron Dance bait.
Windows | Steam Link | Just Released
290/ Myriads: Renaissance
Myriads: Renaissance is a turn-based strategy game with city-building and 4X mechanics. Set in a fantasy world made up of thousands of floating islands, you must grow your capital and expand your kingdom. Resist waves of powerful corsairs and construct defence towers to survive their incursions.
Crash notes: Always in the market for a 4X game with a different look. Of course, I’ll never play it.
Windows | Steam Link | Just Released
291/ Mushroom Musume
Once upon a time there was a lonesome Recluse, plagued with the desire to raise a child. A wandering Witch overheard this wish, and with a twisted humor gifted them a pot of dirt. Help guide the Recluse through the maze of fungal parenthood, then discover how many types of person (mushroom?) your daughter can become!
Crash notes: Ended up on the list after reading this.
Windows, Mac, Linux, Android | Itch Link | Released 2022
292/ Angeline Era
Angeline Era is a fast-paced 3D Action RPG filled with intense boss fights! Hunt down Sinners in an esoteric land of Angels and Fae, as you slash and shoot through ancient and futuristic dungeons filled with outrageous hazards, charming creatures, and unholy abominations.
Crash notes: From the developers of Anodyne and Even the Ocean.
Windows, Mac | Steam Link | Unreleased
293/ Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical
Gods. Romance. Murder. Musical Numbers?! Play as Grace in a world where Greek Gods live in hiding among us. Change your fate as you draw friends, foes & lovers into song using your powers of musical persuasion to unravel the mystery of the Last Muse’s death.
Crash notes: Very, very strong The Wicked + The Divine vibes.
Windows, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox | Steam Link | Unreleased
294/ Return
Return to your home planet after 200 years of space travel in this atmospheric, art-driven adventure. Shoot, slash, and roll your way through dangerous enemies and ancient bosses, purchase items and unlock powerful weapons, and explore your unfamiliar home for parts to repair your ship.
Crash notes: Love the art style.
Windows | Steam Link | Released May
295/ Venba
Venba is a short narrative cooking game, where you play as an Indian mom, who immigrates to Canada with her family in the 1980s. Players will cook various dishes and restore lost recipes, hold branching conversations and explore in this story about family, love, loss and more.
Crash notes: Has a great trailer.
Windows | Steam Link | Unreleased
296/ Blue June
Blue June is a 2.5D story-driven adventure game with elements of exploration, puzzle solving, stealth and horror. Play as June, a student of the prestigious Rose Hill Academy, and uncover the truth that lies within her mind.
Crash notes: I liked some of the backdrops. That’s it. That’s all I can say.
Windows | Steam Link | Unreleased
297/ KILLBUG
KILLBUG is a fast-paced, first-person movement shooter set in an endless arena. Slash and shoot your way through hordes of ravenous insects, mastering fluid aerial movement mechanics as you fight for glory on the leaderboards.
Crash notes: From the developer who brought you the restful Feather and the first-person invisible deathmatch Screencheat.
Windows | Steam Link | Released May
298/ Little Kitty, Big City
You’re a curious little kitty with a big personality, on an adventure to find your way back home. Explore the city, make new friends with stray animals, wear delightful hats, and leave more than a little chaos in your wake. After all, isn’t that what cats do best?
Crash notes: FINE, YES, IT’S ADORABLE.
Windows | Steam Link | Unreleased
299/ R.O.O.T.
This story is about a corporation named RavenTech, set in the near future. R.O.O.T.
Crash notes: A Chinese title. Looks like it’s some kind of puzzle game?
Windows | Steam Link | Early Access
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Mushroom Musume looks like matt w bait. That post about it is matt w comment bait. “I was amazed at how well this works as a roguelike, even though it’s a visual novel, even though it lives in the Ren’py engine.” There is definitely going to be a comment about this.
Backbeat seems interesting but the trailer where they sing the description to a funk tune… I think maybe it’s better if I don’t give that clause a verb.
Obviously the kitty game is one where I desperately wish there was a Mac port but so is Planet of Lana.
(KILLBUG screenshot is Blue June.)
Thank you Matt, fixed.
Venba looks right up my alley. On first glance, it reminds me a lot of Coffee Talk. That’s a game where you play as a barista and listen to the stories of your most frequent patrons. I quite liked it, and it’s a pleasant morning surprise to see that the sequel to it that I’d forgotten about came out a couple months ago! Now I’ll have two games to take on for the summer.
Talos Principle is in my top 10 all-time-favorite games (if I include Gehenna and the original as one game). The quality of puzzle design is incredible and the ways they make “breaking the rules of the game” into a game mechanic for finding secrets is unmatched by any other game that’s tried to support that. And the robot conspiracy is hilarious and compelling.
I don’t see how they can match or top that, but “adding portals” seems like a pretty promising idea to me and I’m excited about it.
pebbles I don’t spend anywhere near enough time on narrative games which is weird, right, because a lot of narrative games aren’t as long as your standard roguelike/puzzle. I note them down, though. I even buy them, sometimes! They just never get installed.
Urthman I still think about my time with Talos and I’d been waiting for the Talos 2 news for years, ever since it was hinted here on Electron Dance: “…the stars would have to drastically misalign for it not to happen at some stage in the future.”
I have to admit adding portals doesn’t excite me but, for some bizarre reason, green lasers do???
Yeah, that Marathon trailer had me sit up in my chair, purely because of the visual style. All that white with the splashes of bright colour, organic tech and crisp graphic design plastered over everything. SWOON. Reminded me of Chris Foss, Designers Republic and that Mad Capsule Markets’ PULSE video. “well past DOOM o’clock” Yeah same here.
I’ve been playing through the Halo games since about Christmas—I’m totally new to the series bar a little split-screen MP at a friend’s house. I’ve done Halo Reach, Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2 and currently playing Halo 3 co-op. It’s a lot. Bungie frequently get lost in their own nonsense and the worst thing is how seriously they take it. At least with Combat Evolved (the first Halo) there was no ‘prestige’ to maintain so it was actually pretty fun and ‘free’. It’s the best of the bunch (with the original graphics) as far as I’m concerned. It gets the balance right with the story beats, memorable encounters and set-pieces and a nice rhythm of new toys to play with. I dabbled with Destiny co-op and belly laughed at the story or at least the presentation of it. Not even Lance Reddick could sell some of that. There was even a ‘Lore’ button for certain bits of gear which set me off again.
Using the Marathon IP for an extraction shooter is pretty wild to me though! I love Hunt: Showdown and have been playing a bit of Deceive Inc. recently so I like the genre but there’s no denying it’s quite niche and probably not the best vehicle for carrying story.
The trailer to Moons of Darsalon was irresistible to me so I ended up buying it day one! It’s really charming and I love the little pixel guy dance routines 🙂
And, yeah, I really need to get on to The Talos Principle!
Marathon was great because it really pushed the boundaries of what narrative could *be* in a game. Its ambition did strain against the constraints of an early 90s FPS engine, ludonarrowhatsit diffidence and all that, but on the other hand, being a first person game added a significant amount of immersion to being trapped at the behest of a spoilers spoilers spoilers against a space opera backdrop of spoilers spoilers spoilers. So I’d definitely say it made an emphatic point about the potential of the medium. And I’d eat a chaux if System Shock didn’t take direct inspiration.
Hmm, sorry, I got distracted. The comment I wanted to make was big kitty, little kitty, cardboard box
Gregg I’ve only ever played the first Halo and I was hungry to play the sequels at the time (I got in the I Love Bees ARG) – but they came out on PC much, much later after I had lost interest. It did sound like the story had disappeared up its own proverbial, which happens sometimes when continuing stories add layers of narrative filth that just make them less interesting (the BSG reboot and Harry Potter come to mind).
CA To be honest, I am sad that I never got to experience Marathon at the time.