Quirky Indie RPGs - Depression is optional

[wtfNeedSignUp]

I mentioned Wooden Ocean before. It's just kind of batshit. You're supposed to kind of try and piece together what's happening through a bunch of babble. There is an underlying implication that the main character is a troon but maybe they aren't, it's really not clear.

The problem is that the solo dev does not appear to be pretending to be "le quirky" and they actually are kind of nuts.

The character portrait do look extremely troon like and it has a main plot point that the main character was supposed to be born male. I wouldn't be surprised if it really is the case.

The dev being nuts makes sense because the game looks several dozens of layers of a passion project beyond the usual zero effort/coom quirky game.

 

[X Prime]

Yeah I will say it is not a zero effort or even coomer game, I can think of only one reference to the ostensibly female main character considering sleeping with the clearly male party member. The main character's deal is that she's pretty normal personality -wise, I would not even call it edgy.

It's just a solo dev trying to make an open world meta RPG whike not possessing a high level of technical ability.

 

[Sparky Lurker]

ScotBound demo:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1302530/Cairn_Mathairs_Curse/

 

[X Prime]

No Gordon Ramsay character, no sale.

Bonus points if he is playable.

 

[LucasSomething]

I'd be open to indie RPGs that are more gameplay focused than story focused, the few I have played were pretty fun. It's just, the idea of sifting through the indie rpg steam list for a minority among a shit ton of rpgmaker games doesn't sound very appealing.

Since you like Crystal project, you can check Cassette Beasts since i'm 100% sure the exploration was inspired by it. Completely open world 3d isometric with a lot of platforming and puzzles, but it's a pokemon-like and if you catch certain mons you unlock metroidvania-esque exploration abilities like double jump dash etc. Also has randomizer and other stuff.

Another is monster sanctuary, which is just you in a 2d metroidvania world finding new mons and shit. Every mon has a surprisingly deep skill tree and their own gear so there are many viable strategies and the dev balances towards pvp.

If you like FF Tactics gameplay there is Fell Sell which is literally that but without the good story and polish.

My all time favourite JRPG is actually Lufia 2 on the SNES because of those awesome Zelda style dungeons. I know there's a few more of them out there but I wish more jrpgs had dungeons with actual puzzles and shit like that.

It's a crime how lufia 2 was never avaiable to modern stuff. If you like puzzles, Cross Code is an action rpg that has big dungeons with a ton of well designed puzzles that evolve on themselves, easily much better than any zelda i played. A lot of depth/customization on gear+skill treeand a fuckton of optional content too.

ScotBound demo:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1302530/Cairn_Mathairs_Curse/

I actually since this years ago on earthbound subreddit (it had a much different style originally). I played this for an hour till the end and felt very underwhelmed. It's a really simple rpg maker game with a very slow start.

You start with an old man getting killed during a cult ritual i guess, spooky enough. Then you play a kid having a nightmare in a cave where he watches his mom disappear just like that scene in mother 3. Then you wake up and walk around talking to your family. Then you have another dream where a voice says your mom's time is coming (double redflags?). Then you wake up and must go to town buy medicine for your grandma (triple redflags??) and meet your friend on the way.


(The MC sister is kinda stupid. She is also T-posing all the time).

Somehow this all takes 40 minutes and then the Dev appears and says the demo is over but you can move in this zone and fight a few enemies for fun.


(I dont like alex design, he's wearing rubber boots but it looks like yellow pants)

I move around and kill some random things like a cultist with penguin head, a stop sign (of course) and a few animals. Also a lamp talks to me about the tutorials because mother 1 reference.


(Enemies move a bit and change sprites when stunned which is surprisingly nice but sound design is bad and songs are weak.)

There are a few more future implications, like watching TV and see the govern implant a CAIRN project (?) and Alex refusing to talk with the bully boss fight, implying some kind of past trauma. But the boss fight is pathetically easy and all you get is an AoE swipe and a reliable cheap stun for andy.


(Jimmy did this fight better and actually hard)

Your friend even says "This one hits hard, this one has AoE and this one is a leader that buffs so i wonder who we should focus first..." but then they all get two shotted. I assume its ez mode because demo but you could have one hard fight at least.

This is also such a bizarre way to end the demo cause i doubt these bullies will be important as the cult and nightmare shit. I just dont get the hook of the game or the tone for that matter. It's clearly trying to be a bit spooky but it's not edgy enough. It's also clearly trying to be earthbound but isnt even that quirky.

Say what you want about earthbound but it's a tight as fuck rpg. In 40 minutes you wake up, find the meteor, save your neighbor, fight starman, watch buzz buzz die and are free to find mcguffins to beat giygas. That's a very strong start that tells everything you need to know. The perfect rpg demo on a game that never had one.

But at least the dev confirmed wether it's about DEPRESSION or not

https://www.reddit.com/r/earthbound/comments/1d5nb7h/just_released_the_demo_for_my_motherinspired_game/

(I love this whole chain lol)

 

[Grub]

Since you like Crystal project, you can check Cassette Beasts since i'm 100% sure the exploration was inspired by it. Completely open world 3d isometric with a lot of platforming and puzzles, but it's a pokemon-like and if you catch certain mons you unlock metroidvania-esque exploration abilities like double jump dash etc. Also has randomizer and other stuff.

That sounds kinda neat. I'll have to check it out.

Another is monster sanctuary, which is just you in a 2d metroidvania world finding new mons and shit. Every mon has a surprisingly deep skill tree and their own gear so there are many viable strategies and the dev balances towards pvp.

Not too much into PvP and multiplayer stuff these days.

If you like FF Tactics gameplay there is Fell Sell which is literally that but without the good story and polish

I've tried a bunch of times to get into tactical rpgs but I just can't. I like turn based tactical games. I played the hell out of advance wars back in the day and a bunch of those kinds of games on PC. I even used to like that weird turn based tactical Godzilla game on the nes when I was a kid. I could never get into games like final fantasy tactics and fire emblem and shit like that though. I dunno why. I just don't find them appealing for some reason.

It's a crime how lufia 2 was never avaiable to modern stuff. If you like puzzles, Cross Code is an action rpg that has big dungeons with a ton of well designed puzzles that evolve on themselves, easily much better than any zelda i played. A lot of depth/customization on gear+skill treeand a fuckton of optional content too.

Crosscode's one I've been meaning to play for a while but just never gotten around to it yet. Action rpgs with puzzles are fun and I enjoy them but it'd be cool to have more turn based jrpgs with puzzle dungeons. I find a lot of jrpg dungeons to be kind of meh. The older ones were about resource management but in later ones, you mostly had all the resources you could ever need all the time so dungeons ended up just feeling like slogs you needed to power through to get to the next story event. Puzzles make the dungeons feel more like challenges even when you've got 20 million healing potions and magic heals.

 

[HexFag]

It's a crime how lufia 2 was never avaiable to modern stuff. If you like puzzles, Cross Code is an action rpg that has big dungeons with a ton of well designed puzzles that evolve on themselves, easily much better than any zelda i played. A lot of depth/customization on gear+skill treeand a fuckton of optional content too.

I'm so glad somebody brought up CrossCode. It's a great and underrated game (probably not for those in the thread but definitely in general) game with an adorable protagonist. My only complaint is that the puzzles get fucking groan-worthy towards the end, though you could argue that it's the point. Also equipment grinding felt like a good bulk of my gameplay but you could totally get by without it. Haven't touched the DLC yet so if it's significantly worse, then I wouldn't know.

Also kudos for doing the thing that Final Fantasy games do where they have an ELP - Tarkus inspired final boss theme. It's a game that wears its influences on its sleeves.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

I'm so glad somebody brought up CrossCode. It's a great and underrated game (probably not for those in the thread but definitely in general) game with an adorable protagonist. My only complaint is that the puzzles get fucking groan-worthy towards the end, though you could argue that it's the point. Also equipment grinding felt like a good bulk of my gameplay but you could totally get by without it. Haven't touched the DLC yet so if it's significantly worse, then I wouldn't know.

Also kudos for doing the thing that Final Fantasy games do where they have an ELP - Tarkus inspired final boss theme. It's a game that wears its influences on its sleeves.

Oh I remember seeing that game, primarily because the heroine looks exactly like Kos Mos. I assumed it was like the usual indie game of being about depression and having a shit ending with teasing a sequel that will never happen.

 

[HexFag]

Oh I remember seeing that game, primarily because the heroine looks exactly like Kos Mos. I assumed it was like the usual indie game of being about depression and having a shit ending with teasing a sequel that will never happen.

Nah it's a lot more lighthearted than that. The protagonist is mute and for like half the game she only knows how to say "Hi!" and her name.

 

[LucasSomething]

Crosscode is extremely good, i dont think it's underrated at all. I played on release and the biggest weakness is probably that the story is horribly paced, probably because the game was in early acess. It starts strong then you literally go half the game without plot then EMOTIONAL CRISIS happens, then you explore a bit and get the 2 final element dungeons in a row. The original ending also felt very sudden, i dont know if they updated or the dlc helps.

It's still a game i highly recommend to anyone but it's a fairly "bloated" game . Dungeon are mostly nonstop elemental puzzle escalation, overworld exploring has a significant amount of platforming secrets, the best gear require crafting/trading and sidequests can have long chains or unique gameplay (one is a tower defense). It's a still an action rpg first so if you love the combat it should carry the experience but expect a lot more beyond that.

 

[LucasSomething]

Lots of trailers released these few days, some quirky looking indie rpgs i found

New papermariolike trailer dropped, Escape from Ever After aka "Fantasy storybook mario", and not even in an hyperbolically way, its REALLY paper mario.

edit: oh no

Escape From Ever After is an adventure RPG inspired by the classic Paper Mario games, where fairytale and storybook characters must fight back against capitalism!

Also modern day rpg with minigames echo generation, it look like Minecraft Earthbound

Also also another earthboundlike of the mc looking for her missing brother (if i had a penny...), grifford academy, but the steam page made it look like it's mostly a visual novel and certainly gives depression vibes. There is a demo avaiable on steam.

 

[HiveDull]

+1 to Crosscode, I had a lot of fun while playing it. I'd highly recommend picking it up if it's on sale.

The puzzles aren't hard, but some of the late-game puzzles are a little annoying so I'd suggested turning down the puzzle difficulty. The setting just lowers the timing in puzzles so interactables last longer and your ball (the main puzzle starter) travels a little slower. Since all the puzzles in the game are essentially jumping puzzles mixed with a reskin of those weird light mirror puzzles, you're going to have to jump from Point A > Point B > Point A while making sure your little ball is in the proper angle or else you're going to have to set up the entire thing over again. I'd say that I figured out the solution to a puzzle about 10 minutes into a room, but I would spend the next 30 minutes to an hour just trying to get the timing down only to start all over from the beginning because I fumbled in the end.

The DLC added 2 new areas (an expansion to the main town and a final dungeon), a bunch of items and enemies, and a proper good ending for the MC

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

Crosscode is extremely good, i dont think it's underrated at all. I played on release and the biggest weakness is probably that the story is horribly paced, probably because the game was in early acess. It starts strong then you literally go half the game without plot then EMOTIONAL CRISIS happens, then you explore a bit and get the 2 final element dungeons in a row. The original ending also felt very sudden, i dont know if they updated or the dlc helps.

It's still a game i highly recommend to anyone but it's a fairly "bloated" game . Dungeon are mostly nonstop elemental puzzle escalation, overworld exploring has a significant amount of platforming secrets, the best gear require crafting/trading and sidequests can have long chains or unique gameplay (one is a tower defense). It's a still an action rpg first so if you love the combat it should carry the experience but expect a lot more beyond that.

Just to be sure, it has a conclusion and doesn't end in a cliffhanger for a game that won't happen?

 

[HexFag]

Just to be sure, it has a conclusion and doesn't end in a cliffhanger for a game that won't happen?

The game has a proper ending and has finished development, just make sure to get the DLC.

 

[LucasSomething]

Just to be sure, it has a conclusion and doesn't end in a cliffhanger for a game that won't happen?

It has a true happy ending but i personally found underwhelming cause the MAIN main villain only has a presence at the finale and someone else fights for him so it's rather sudden and anticlimatic. Then you get this "one guy evil smiling before credits" cliffhanger implying it's not over yet but apparently thats solved in the dlc.

It's not an offensively bad story but 90% of the game is you playing the MMORPG with friends that have no clue about the main plot at all until the finale. It feels like the devs wanted to make a fun action rpg first and didnt really have a plan on how to tie themes together.

And yeah the puzzles are unique in the sense that they're actually action puzzles. Sometimes you'll take 2 minutes to realize how to solve the puzzle and spend 10 more to finally pull it off on practice. When i played there was no option to slow them and i dont blame anyone who uses that option.

 

[LucasSomething]

Two more indie rpgs trailer i found that seem to be about modern day teenagers having super hero alter egos and dating sim mechanics like persona: Prisma and Nova Hearts

Nova hearts features non binary and fat mcs? hmm...

And some random thing i noted, i glanced knuckle sandwich steam page and they updated the game 2 weeks ago with some significant changes

• Added area in Arcade where you can replay certain minigames
• Added more items to late-Chapter #5 shop
• Less enemies appear in normal playthroughs across the board
• Moved Fire Extinguisher to speed up Chapter #4 story progression
• Added colours and patterns to the warp pads to make it a little easier to navigate
• Adjusted layout of Apricot Maze to make it faster to navigate
• Adjusted layout of Lost Beach to make it faster to navigate
• Added an extra Dolus to make navigating the cruise ship a little faster
• Made some Skills a little better
• Made the torch a little stronger
• Made it so you can toss Key Items if they are still in your inventory after they're meant to be used up
• Minor dialogue adjustments

Less enemies is pretty huge since, areas were fairly dense for no reason and got repetitive fast, a lot here is focused on making the game faster paced but the core issues are still there so it feels a little too late. The negative reviews scared most people and it never got positive word of mouth like i expected.

It seems out of all games i played on this thread, In Stars and Time was the only one that developed a real fandom (mostly tumblr) that keeps growing months later. It has surpassed Hylics 2 in positive steam reviews and still gets +150 per month. At least felvidek got a nice boost after vinesauce vinny played.

 

[X Prime]

I don't know why, but I'm listening to (probably) tranny talk about a game that may be the peak of edgy quirky games.

It's a combination of a lot of infamous practices:
* Awful awful art, with awful awful colouring, especially the character portraits. Nearly every scene in the video is vomit inducing and the enemy designs look more like random drawings.
* Ridiculous "elements" like Cancer and Carbon.
* Plot that is way too complicated to have a point. Including overused ones like suggested time loop and "the player is a deus ex machine".
* Bad writing, at least in the scenes in the video with too much curse words.

Hopefully there will be a YouTuber that will rip this game a new pozzhole.

Unfortunately this thing has resulted in a Discord.

https://steamcommunity.com/app/684000/discussions/0/4336483289194477711/

Troonery quotient increasing, there's even speedruns now apparently.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

Unfortunately this thing has resulted in a Discord.

https://steamcommunity.com/app/684000/discussions/0/4336483289194477711/

Troonery quotient increasing, there's even speedruns now apparently.

The dev ignoring the Discord makes me respect him more, still crazy but at least not pozzed.

Also I swear I saw it here. Norwegian game about how evil White American males are:

I liked the YouTube comment on how it looks like those crazy mobile ads.

 

[Sparky Lurker]

It seems out of all games i played on this thread, In Stars and Time was the only one that developed a real fandom (mostly tumblr) that keeps growing months later. It has surpassed Hylics 2 in positive steam reviews and still gets +150 per month.

What no Deltarune part 3 did to these MFers.

Prisma

Same devs from the Colombian Chrono Trigger, bunch of reviews dunking on it:

Cris Tales on Steam

Play the debut demo now! Cris Tales is a gorgeous, indie love letter to classic JRPGs with a new perspective. Peer into the past, act in the present, and watch as your choices dynamically change the future -- all on one screen as you play!

store.steampowered.com

 

[LucasSomething]

What no Deltarune part 3 did to these MFers.

Same devs from the Colombian Chrono Trigger, bunch of reviews dunking on it:

Cris Tales on Steam

Play the debut demo now! Cris Tales is a gorgeous, indie love letter to classic JRPGs with a new perspective. Peer into the past, act in the present, and watch as your choices dynamically change the future -- all on one screen as you play!

store.steampowered.com

Yeah, it clearly suceeded at being tumblr bait at least, i assume the monochrome style helps cause people can pump art often.

I saw chris tales a while a go, it looks pretty and i'm a sucker for time travel gameplay but every negative review mentions how repetitive it gets and how the main mechanic isnt used well after the first stage so it's probably underwhelming...

Also, i have played the grifford academy demo and i did not enjoy it at all. Even as a low budget game it simply doesnt have the right priorities.

The entire thing is a nonstop loop of

1-We need to find my brother!
2-*random enemies appear*
3-Actually lets help these npcs so we can buy gear
4-*dozens of random enemy encounters*
5-We need to find brother!

Like, i dont fucking get it. It's clearly a mobile game trying to be a visual novel/book but i played 90 minutes and i dont understand anything. The main team are grifford academy students that got isekai'd into a book to search for the MC's brother which is okay but there is literally nothing the player can do besides fight the same enemies, shop or talk about nothing. The main team is very generic bashful girl / shy nerd / dork black guy trio.


(I dont know why these choices exist when the MC keeps being an asshole to black boy for no reason)



Combat is ok in a vaacum, everyone has 1 base attack + 3 you can equip and no mp so you juggle between them as cooldowns. It's a lot like Darkest dungeon 2, many tokens and secondary effects, enemies actually have real strats like the taunt tank + the self buff dps etc so it's rather tiring and becomes boring fast. There are also no stats, only passive boosts you level up and each character focuses on 1 gear stat so there isnt really customization.

Like, it could be good but it's priorities are skewed and dumb. The demo keeps updating the shop so you get acess to +30 weapons/spells with double effects and character explain out loud how weapons work and how to properly use them in battle, meanwhile i dont know shit about the story or how i got here. I did not finish it because i cant go collect a flower for 1 npc without fighting the same slugs 3 times in a row, its not fun.

But in some good news, Demon School if got a release date trailer for september 13.

This is the closest thing i'll get to a new SMT Devil Survivor game so i'll check it out.