Against the Storm! It’s a city builder / roguelike mashup.
I.e., you start a new city, build it up, try to meet objectives and citizen demands before the inevitable, overwhelming storm eventually comes and wipes everything out. Then you do it all again, but better, using whatever new cool stuff you unlocked from the last cycle.
The faster you work, the more dangerous the environment becomes. But build too slowly and you won’t get enough done before the storm arrives. So you have to balance growth vs caution when building.
Each run you have different resources and buildings available so your city always evolves differently and it doesn’t get stale. The vibes are impeccable as well, it’s moody and ominous yet somehow cozy at the same time.
Highly recommend it. This is a pretty decent run down: https://youtu.be/8SVw2ZJ73N0?si=4dcZEvyTjW_7qCbR
Dear God that sounds like it would send my anxiety through the roof. Crazy original idea though. I’d still try it.
Haha it can definitely be challenging at the higher difficulty levels but I probably made it sound a bit more hectic than it is.
It’s pausable at all times so you can always work at whatever pace you want.
The pacing balance that I mentioned is more around having to make the right decisions. I.e. choosing when is the right moment to explore deeper into the forest for more resources. Choosing when to take on more citizens. That sort of thing.
That sounds like something I’d very much enjoy! Thanks for the recommendation!
You’re welcome! Good luck!
Inscryption. First person puzzle horror/card battle game. It’s one of the coolest games out there, and I detest card battle games.
Nier atomata. Hack and slash RPG/bullet hell. Wild story, fun gameplay, feels a little like kingdom hearts but more serious.
Hunt:showdown. First person survival horror/Battle Royale/intense shooter. Probably my favorite co op and has a killer aesthetic. Historical guns are fun to play with as well.
Inscryption is such a wild ride! For anyone interested, stay away from story spoilers and experience the unfolding plot first hand. Recommended for anyone that likes David Lynch and psychological thrillers in general. As someone who also isn’t a fan of card battle games, the ease of picking this up and fun of it added on top of the storyline really made for a worthy experience.
+1 for Nier Automata. Everyone should play that game once in their life. Just ignore the weebo look if that’s not your thing. You will question your whole life.
Is nier: automata the first one? I have some of them on my ‘look towards’ list, but haven’t gotten to them yet.
Crypt of the Necrodancer, roguelike meets rhythm game. You explore randomly generated dungeons but you can only move on the beat of the soundtrack (which obviously slaps)
Man this has been on my game list for so long! I really need to play it! But I have to finish BG3 first!
I ended up putting the soundtrack on my workout playlist and now I jam out when lifting weights. Thanks for making me aware of this!
Odama. Navigate your troops through a battlefield set in feudal Japan, but throw in pinball machine mechanics. Also, yell commands at your troops with the included microphone. For N64.
Returnal is a great mix of Dark Souls, Roguelikes and Bullet Hell shooters. Highly recommend for if you want something arcadey for 15 minutes, or a nigh impossible challenge for the hardcore.
Roguebook. It’s a roguelite deck building game that has really fun new mechanics that is probably my favorite deck builders that’s come out in the last few years. Instead of going node to node in a branching path like Slay the spire, you have to reveal the map via “inks” and “towers” that open up the map piece by piece and you gain cards via stores and wells that can be skipped (though they tie perks to the total number of cards in your deck which gives fun risk/rewards). Additionally, there are multiple characters and you have to take 2 of them on each run which means you have to juggle two decks at once.
The only caveat will lay out would be that it’s not for trophy hunters. About 10% of the trophies are nearly impossible unless you play an upsetting number of runs. It’s a fun game, but it’s not the only game you’ll play for the rest of you life.
Dishonored, my favorite game of all time. Mixes light RPG with stealth and has an awesome world to boot.
X4 Foundations, mixes space sim with 4x and real time strategy.
Cozy soulsborne.
