Okay so hear me out. I just watched videogamedunkey's The Last of Us Part II follow-up video and it stirred some thoughts in me. I've never played that game but I was following along closely with what he was saying, and it's inspired me. It got me thinking about some of my unusual opinions on a few other games we like, and the idea blew up until I just had to write it down. So here's why the "murder route" in games doesn't always have to be one-dimensional. Spoilers for Undertale, Everhood, the Deponia series, Deltarune, and Iji In Undertale, the conceit of the game, even as far back as the game's Steam trailer, is all about choice and morality. Power is given to the player to choose to spare or kill every monster in the Underground. Now, in the game, you're very much steered toward pacifism. It's the far more rewarding route emotionally and from a story standpoint, and the true lab and the "true final boss" can only be unlocked by befriending and sparing everybody. You're made to feel

I've been hyperfixated on an indie game called Backpack Hero for a few weeks now and it's been carrying me through some lonely nights. From what I've seen, the game doesn't have much attention right now and some fans think the developer's abandoned it. I want to share my experience, played blind in June 2024. It's a simple premise, an inventory management roguelike where you explore randomly generated dungeons filled with enemies, finding loot and placing it in a tile grid in your backpack. Some items take more than one space, but you can rotate items to fit, like a puzzle. Items have different interactions with each other, giving buffs if placed at the bottom or top, or boosting block or damage near items of a certain type. You can buff your items with forges (once unlocked) and make a unique build that you use to go through increasingly challenging levels and boss fights. So, here's what I really enjoyed: The good 1. Atmosphere and charm It might not be everyone's cup of tea but I re

Recently I decided to try Rain World, which I'd previously seen my partner and some friends play and gush about. I was drawn in by the cute slugcats and the art style, especially the whole "abandoned world" aesthetic. You go through areas with lots of rust, pipes, broken machinery, stuff like that. I was also aware going in that this was an "exploration" kind of game, the kind that doesn't hold your hand and gives little instruction. I figured it wasn't going to be that bad. Here's how my first experience went, playing blind. Starting out, learning to hunt for food and hibernate was easy and intuitive. Surviving and fighting monsters is hard, but I can understand it. I enjoyed narrowly escaping a giant lizard and getting to the next shelter. My problem began with the Drainage System area. There's this area with a big pit, and a shelter on the other side. I, assuming I was making progress, jumped the pit and saved in the shelter - now I respawn there. I found that the adjacent room was