Quirky Indie RPGs - Depression is optional

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I've an itch that I want to scratch. What's a good recommendation for a classic turn based RPG that's not an Undertale copycat or 3deep5you as YIIK? It can be made with RPGMaker as long as it's engaging
 
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I've an itch that I want to scratch. What's a good recommendation for a classic turn based RPG that's not an Undertale copycat or 3deep5you as YIIK? It can be made with RPGMaker as long as it's engaging

There are a few good original and non pretentious ones, can't think of all them right now but some ones i recommend

LISA THE PAINFUL

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Effectively a post apocalypse game where your step daugher is the only female left and she was kidnaped so you must find her.

+True and honest rpg combat with only unique enemies and not random encounter (other than caves)
+Lots of characters to unlock and secrets
+DARK EDGY Comedy with a rather emotional story beats
-Game has permadeath and trolls you sometimes, dont play painful mode and dont be afraid to reset
-Early game can feel hard and frustrating if you go the wrong places or dont know you can train in the caves

Suits and Suits Absolute Power

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Monochrome RPG about a guy trying to rise in the corporate ladder that exploits him, then in the sequel you play the final boss of the first game. The sequel The first game is free and short, the second game is 5 bucks and short.

+Great soundtrack, character designs, weird maps and nonstop joke npcs. Can't grind in this game either, just spend money on top shop gear (especially armor) and you'll be fine.
-Combat is really shallow and has very low production values with no unique VFX and SFX. Good ending requires you to drink water every now and then.

Felvidek

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Actually non fantasy medieval rpg that takes place in slovakia during otoman invasion or something. You play a goofy drunk knight and petty priest duo trying to deal with the demon cult problem around.

+Greaaaat soundtrack, full of high energy zany bangers.
+Victory doesn't award exp and no respawn so you can't grind, only use stat ups. Very tight balanced combat that rewards careful stun usage, turn optimization and target priorization.
-Kinda short and mostly revolves backtracking many zones.

Jimmy and the Pulsating mass

Game about exploring a little boy's imagination, until it's consumed by horror monsters

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+True and honest quality rpg gameplay with bizarrely high amount of customization due to MC classes and gimmicky gear
+A lot of content and secrets, easily 40~ with post game hard dungeons and even a tabletop dungeon with 100 floors or something.
+Amazing contrast between cutesy quirky dream and gody edgy nightmare with many cool designs, with many well writen human characters. Good soundtrack for something made entirely by 1 guy.
-It looks kinda SHIT, to the point everyone thinks it's not worth 15 dollars.

Omori

Boy with depression has been stuck in his house for years until his old friend calls him and realizes everyone changed so much after these years. Alternate between dreamworld and real world. Actually very popular and a mainstream sucess. PLAY IT BLIND.

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+Easily the highest production value of these games and probably the most of any rpgmaker game. Sounds and look amazing, with extreme effort put in it's emotional beats and final cutscene.
+Has some good amount of content, with a second route that ignores story entirely and focuses on gameplay.
-Gameplay is extremely shallow and easy to break, with only the second day boss being any remotely hard. Characters only have 4 skill slots and 1 gear slot. At least it's fast enough.
-It's a bit of a love or hate kinda game, i liked it but it dissappointing and jimmy is a much better "dreamworld rpg". This game isnt that funny or dark, and i find the cast very shallow and the fanbase insufferable.

Barkley shut up and jam gaiden

The fansequel to Barkley shut up and jam a basketball game. It's a shitpost game that is 1-free 2-funny 3-good to play. You play Charles Barkley surviving in the post b-ball cyberpocalypse until he's falsely accused of dropping a chaos dunk and killing millions of people, having to escape underground.

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+It's funny, it's free, it plays good, there is no grind, it's perfect. I never watched a basketball match in my entire life and i'm not even american.
+It also makes fun of weebs, furries and oldschool rpgs. The humor is a bit outdated but somehow makes it funnier. It's peak.
-The only downside is that the original website died so you have to find a download link somewhere.

One short free rpg named Franken that has a lot of funny jokes and parodies dragon quest, altho it does lean a lot into undertale-esque humor (creator would later work on deltarune) it's worth checking.


Other game that is really good is Cassette Beasts but thats more of a monster tamer game with little to no story.
 
The title is putting me off, how gay is it?
From what I've seen ...it actually looks normal?
Like, really normal. Shockingly normal.
Some of the character designs are a bit sus but you mostly play as some kid and a guy in a metal mask and they're a good sign because there's no way in hell you'd be playing as them in one of *those* games.

I'll have to play the demo but it's really old and the developers have joked about how different the actual game is so it's not that good of a dipstick.
 
Other: Her Loving Embrace is finally releasing in full it seems

Man, i remember this game launching the kickstarter 5 years ago, i was confident it was gone and forgotten. I know Covid was probably the blame but jeez.

And i still don't see any release dates or implication on the kickstarter, not even a vague 2025 there so i actually don't expect it to release any time soon...
 
Other game that is really good is Cassette Beasts but thats more of a monster tamer game with little to no story.
Thanks for the suggestions man, I've only seen Lisa on playthroughs but didn't got my attention at the time, might give it a chance alongside some of the others
 
The Remake of the End of the Greatest RPG of All Time: The last hour of a non-existent RPG remade in "HD". The idea is that the game is actually meta and makes the behind-the-scenes stuff a part of its narrative.
Turned off a bit by this meta crap. I think I can get some hipster dev thinking that (what I assume will turn out to be) a workplace drama narrative is infinitely more interesting than straight-up sword 'n sorcery fantasy, but I really don't agree... (This is likely what the dev is going for; he names the other game to do this meta game dev thing, The Beginner's Guide, in a comment to the video.) The way it's set up dooms the game to me; either the game is shit to play, or if it's good, it is wasted on, again, whatever game dev drama the maker fantasizes about (and I do believe it's a fantasy, lot of "creative" types seem more interested in acting like a creative than in creating). No guarantee that this is how the game will roll, but (again) the dev implies that's what he's going for.
 
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.
Late but nearly finished the dlc and it's overall a great game. If think I enjoyed the puzzle and exploration way more than the combat, that felt either way too easy or too hard and is pretty mindless most of the time.

The puzzles can be a bit overwhelming and I think some QoL features like auto aim and few second rewind function could have made a lot of them less frustrating when a bad throw or small misstep makes you repeat a multi minute sequence.

The exploration is fun but it can be annoying when you are just looking for a starting point rather than actually parkouring, or when you do a long puzzle segment only to get a collectible you could have grinded for in a fraction of the time.

Music and characters are pretty great, even if they are a bit too heckin wholesome.

Still don't get how the fuck does the game world functions. Whether it's an irl simulation or not.

Right now stuck on the DLC boss of the final temple, don't know if to just read a guide on good gear or give up since finally managing to get through the first phase which is 5 minute long only to be lasered to death before I realize what happened is infuriating. Fuck teleporting bosses.
 
psychodelic gross (horror?) rpg about bugs with a bunch of minigames named Eulogy of an insect. They got Hylics 2 composer so i think it's aiming for the trippy quirky crowd.



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(Strong deviantart bugsona energy)

Btw i've been too busy to finish horrorvale but i'll say it's a great game, good enough gameplay with a ton of references to horror, creppypastas and games, but sadly it's all demolished by having waaay too much sidecontent and playable characters.

You reach a new act and an NPC gives you a dozen of letters basically saying "Time to forget the dog you're trying to save and spend 4 hours unlocking more party members".

And yeah, i know i don't *need* to do that but it feels bad. There is also a recurring theme of the sidequest villains joining a cult faction that make me think there is a true ending that WILL require all sidecontent done.

And before someone say Lisa has too many units, it never gets in the way of the story or feels worthless. Most party members are quick recruits you find by chance while exploring or an opportunity to get stronger. Sidequests also get you strong loot and rewards.

A sidequest in horrorvale is like, 30 minute dungeon to get a party member or one party member ultimate spell and thats it. And the worst part is that, they're actually good sidequests. Some feature backtracking or fetchquesting but many have new areas, new enemies, more worldbuilding, short but good character arc, a few funny references etc. There is a high effort put into them and if you don't mind breaking the pace you'll like it but i find it jarring.
 
That definitely looks like it is trying too hard to be different
BUT more Chuck Salamone music is also a very good thing, so it's not all terrible
 
I have played the Hymn to the Earless god demo aka "That new game from jimmy dev".

The game was delayed and checking the steam page i can kinda understand why now, as it seems fairly ambitious.

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This makes me think kazey was biting a bit more than he could chew, but if he actually pull this off i'll be impressed. I dont expect live-a-live levels of different stories but even something like Sword of mana 3 from snes would be fine, where it's mostly the same but the final boss is connected to your chosen protag.

Okay, so there 4 different protags. Pox is a slave that was left for dead and wants to claim the throne. Capella is basically a chosen one heroine wanting to save everyone. Phlegm is a roach hustler and Shear is a female mantis that ate her husband in a failed mating and became suicidal (thats rough buddy).

But the demo there is only Pox and a bit of Capella. I started with Pox and he gets a real intro cutscene about him being a slave in a fucked up opressive kingdom that either eats or banish the weak. Pox is even weaker and smaller than other slaves, and they also bully and starve him.

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(Game actually looks kinda good and well animated. Huge glowup from Jimmy)

Pox eventually faints due to starvation and we get a black screen and 2 other slaves fucking eat his eyeball and arm while talking how his arm is all bone but at least the eye is delicious.

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(Pox actually gets a sprite change after losing his arm and eye)
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(Pox had a hard life)

Pox panics, picks a bone and kills them in self defence, but he seems to snap and starts swinging wildly screaming WEAK WEAK WEAK. He gets taken to the queen where they banish him.

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(Look at this obvious boss line up)

Pox asks the queen if she was a slave like him, and she admits she was, but she is not pathetic like him and she did what it took to take over and knocks him in the hole where all the weaks and freaks are thrown.

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The voices in the dark taunt pox that they'll wait for him to starve and eat him. Pox screams that he's not afraid and he will devour the queen and take over the throne, and everyone in his way is free to join his army or die by his hand.

Not gonna lie, it lacks higher production but this i really like this intro. It's 5 minutes of peak edge but it tells you all you need to know about the protagonist, his motives and the world he lives him. Pox is the most underdog and you root for him.

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(terrain proficiencies include moon and star? hmm i wonder...)

We also see that Kazey is doubling down on the horror and the sludge hole is dark and fucked up. Bugs are hiding in holes taunting or pulling you into traps, some are fucked up almost dead, others are infected by shrooms.

Also, there is no free healing here, Pox only heals by eating corpses so you start with 8 hp and gotta cluch it hard to survive.

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(you can choose to eat this fucked up tutorial dude if you want. I didnt but i should've)

This combat is standard rpg fare but this system is really unique and there is a lot of nuance. For example, if you a bleeding abomination, another enemy will eat it's corpse to heal. On the other hand, if you devour the spore infected guy you get poisoned and you don't eat it after fight so i might be better to avoid fighting it. Corpses are eaten first by the fastest party member and if you eat while full you "store" it as a "food meter" that heals next fight.

This also really sells how fucked up this world is where cannibalism is the norm. Pox demo is really hard and tight with HP so i recommend saving often. You can explore a bit to find some gear and there ia village you see where people agree to not eat each other, if you do they gank you into an unwinable fight.

Anyway we find a way to bypass the guard taking a detour and reach the cave exit and... pox demo ends! Which is way too sudden to me, especially compared to Jimmy's demo that is perfect. I'm not expecting a big boss fight but it needed it needed a more climatic ending.

Capella's demo is shorter and we start with 2 extra party members. They're her guardians and they protect as she is "The chosen one who will give birth to a god". She is a nice gal and unlike Pox she is vegetarian and only eats plants monster.

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(we fight some mini spiders and leeches. Just realized Capela looks a lot like starfire on her portrait and sprite)

We go through a forest until she hears someone asking for help and decides to save them. Her guardians say this is stupid and it's natural for the weak to die but they have no choice but to obey her. It's an obvious contrast to Pox.

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(Look at this jprg priestess princess lol)

Capella is unsurprisingly a healer and her guardians are warrior mages. One has a counter that sleeps and heal and the other has 2 offensive spells. There is rpg maker tp and MP and tp recharges naturally. They're front row so they automatically block capela from melee attacks and they're level 10 so they're strong and carry, but you can still die if you goof around.

There is little more depth to the hunger system here cause you can't actually use heal magic out of fight so you want to heal near the end of fight so you store the overheal for emergencies. The turn system is speed based but in a twist, after the first turn the fastest (or first?) of the previous turn gets a bonus turn, letting them act 2 in one turn. Status effects also only proc at the end of this universal turn so you can get poisoned and kill the enemy before the turn ends.

The only problem with Capela's demo is that YOU CAN ACTUALLY ATTACK by pressing space out of battle and the game never fucking says that so i had to watch a youtube video and check the controls. This attack is used to get a bonus turn on random enemies and destroy the webs in the way. Destroy a web and we fight the only boss in the demo, a tank giga spider with 700 hp.

Enemy spiders can throw web and if you get hit twice you get cocooned and basically "frozen" until something attacks you. You can actually attack your own team to unweb them which still hurts but is really clever. The best way to kill this boss is to hope for a sleep counter then use the knights technique to buff next spell cast then their double spell that only works on sleeping enemies for +170 damage. Yes, this game apparently has chrono trigger double techs and i aprove.

Then the demo ends right after the boss fight rather anticlimatically! Shaaame.

I know it's not very quirky but i feel like the roach story might be more comedy focused since he's an charming rogue pickpocket. I assume Kazey wants each protag to give a different vibe to the story so other ones won't be as edgy as Pox nor hopeful as Capella.

Overall i think this has a lot of potential and will keep an eye on it.
 
What about West of Loathing as far as quirky indie RPGs goes? That one is notable for being part of that rare "Overwhelmingly Positive" club on Steam.
It can get boring really quick. The humor is stupid so don’t expect anything mind blowing. As the humor is retarded that means that some of the solutions or choices will inevitably be. Get it on sale as it’s way too expensive. It tries its best to be neutral when it comes to pronouns and shit like that.

What about West of Loathing as far as quirky indie RPGs goes? That one is notable for being part of that rare "Overwhelmingly Positive" club on Steam.
It can get boring really quick. The humor is stupid so don’t expect anything mind blowing. As the humor is retarded that means that some of the solutions or choices will inevitably be. Get it on sale as it’s way too expensive. It tries its best to be neutral when it comes to pronouns and shit like that.
 
There was an undertale and deltarune "fan event" 5 days ago, it has shown fanimations and fangames i think. I didnt see any finished game, only a few demos but it's gonna be funny if some of them release before chapter 3- of deltarune.

Be warned, it starts with 20 minute animation of OCs traveling the multiverse and then it gets DARK (i'm tired)


Some other games

OFF: The original weird french rpg maker is getting ported to steam and consoles but the original composer was replaced for *gulp* Toby Fox, the combat changed and more story content will be added, effectively making a completely different game.


Reminder that OFF is free! go play right now if you havent.

That Prisma game i mentioned a while ago finally got a gameplay trailer, it's from the cris tales devs. It's trying to be more anime streetstyle like Persona 5 but with the quirkyness that you can choose to be a hero or villain (i dont expect any real edge from this).


Maliki poison of the poison looks like a quirky rpg with agressively chibi models and a farm whereyou grow crops, because every indie game wants that #cozy tag on steam. Releases march.


Eco Breaker is not really quirky but it's clearly aiming for the "Xenogears at home" nostalgia so i'm interested. There is no release date and the dev froze development to work on another game so i wonder if it will ever release or how much will be delayed.


In other news, My Familiar is a mario & luigi like, Play Rogue is a lisa-the-painful-like, demon school and that backrooms rpg are all scheduled for 2025 but i won't be surprised if they get delayed. Oddventure will finally after dozens of delays in EARLY ACESS. Deltarune ALLEGEDLY releases this year.

Currently no release date for
-Escape from ever after (paper mario like)
-Kingdoms of dump
-other her loving embrace
-Hymn to the earless god
-Hypersomnia
-Probably more i dont bother to remember right now

Lets hope this will be the year of the quirky rpg releases and not the year of the same games getting delayed again and again...
 
To add to that list of stuff this year, Everhood 2 is supposedly out in a few months if it doesn't get delayed. Looking forward to that although I have no idea how you follow a game entirely about immortality being a curse where the one and only ending is equivalent to Undertale's genocide run.

Have any of these recent ones had fun equipment/mechanical stuff? For all the crap people give Jimmy about grinding it really felt like exploring was worth something with the gear and monster variety, and that seems to be one thing that the quirky rpg subset generally tends to drop the ball on.

Reminder that OFF is free! go play right now if you havent.
Seriously. Solid as hell game (save for a couple dumb puzzles) and you can beat it in one 4-hour session. The OST's very memorable too but diametrically opposed to the leitmotif-heavy stuff Toby writes. Sucks they had to cut it but I can see why given how much weird stuff it samples.
 
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