Upholding the pedigree of @hauntedps1.bsky.social Demo Discs, Flipside Frights contains a beautiful variety of demos full of love for surrealism as well as early internet culture. 500 Caliber Contractz from @brycebucher.bsky.social might be my favorite this year, full of creative and fluid movement.

A time and a place an often feel ephemeral as it twists from tangible to memory and prone to distortion. But even as the physicality of it disappears, the emotions remain. @despelote.game captures this well while offering insight into Ecuador as its culture is affected by both economics and sports.

Blue Prince is one of the most delightful rabbit holes I've delved into. A well-crafted puzzle roguelike that opens up into layer upon layer of worldbuilding, intricate puzzle-solving, and vast note-taking. It instills and rewards a healthy sense of paranoia as many puzzles lurk within plain sight.

Grief and heartbreak are immense feelings that people struggle to tackle at the best of times, and My Lovely Wife is a game that toys around with the underlying desperation. Would you go the full length to bring a dead lover back? Or will the temptation of something new degrade your steeled resolve?

Hello my diamonds! I am an official co-streamer for the Women-Led Games Showcase #SummeGameFest Edition by @womenledgames on June 7th 10AM PT / 1PM ET. Make sure to join the stream with me on my channel twitch.tv/meowimasu

I'm always enamored when a game tests my skills in new ways, and Dreams of Aether pushed my dexterity and split-second reactions to a new level. Every new stage finds a creative way to offer a refreshing challenge in a matter of seconds, while also offering practical lessons for Rivals of Aether.

Split Fiction is a game filled with creativity and a desire to explore new ground. Its narrative and gameplay all reinforce its core theme: Art is a human process. Our personal experiences color that which we create, making them all the more vibrant the more one embraces all of life, including pain.

A story almost always has multiple perspectives. Shifting between them can often be a dance, one that's fraught with missteps, but one that can expand the story in pivotal ways. It's a style that lends well to noir-inspired works, where a mystery often has steadily unfolding layers from many sides.

There's always been a special place in my heart for Under Night. Its aesthetic and dedication to pixel art is a strong draw, anchored by its fantastic mechanical design choices. Massive normals and offensive pressure are offset and defined far more by how much power lies in fundamental defense.

Shadow of the Colossus is a truly timeless classic. A game that, despite having much influence on games that followed, has yet to be replicated. From the moody atmosphere and art style to its unique gameplay loop, it brought a forgotten world to life, pushing the PS2 to its limits with every step.

Of the many cinematic adventure games across the decades, Until Dawn understands the assignment better than most. A strong love letter to horror films, weaving multiple subgenres into a cohesive narrative. Choices feel more meaningful when you truly control who lives and who dies by the story's end.

Speed kills frequently in Hell of an Office. The final stretch was a particular highlight, offering a high-stakes slip n' slide, wall running, and greater control of your jump height. Side quests throughout the story portions add to the absurd humor and set dressing, often in unpredictable ways.

Haunted Castle is a game that's sat in the backlog, taunting me for years. A Classicvania built for arcade, quarter-munching difficulty? It's a recipe for quite the mountain and one that, finally toppled, was made all the sweeter by getting to share and revel in the moment with so many dear friends.

I'm not one to get lost in puzzle games very often, but I found myself losing track of time so easily in Lorelei and the Laser Eyes. Every puzzle opens a new door, cascading into a grand, interconnected art piece. Even when building upon established ground, there's always a new twist to be solved.

It's always endearing to see a community take to a game. After steadily spreading the good word of Granblue Fantasy: Versus, not only have friends made notable strides in improving at the game, but even important steps in handling mental health and the stresses of PvP. You can't forget the C in FGC.

Indie developers are important for any field, showing more of what a medium or genre can be, unrestrained by the need to turn infinite profits. This is especially true for older and more niche genres where perceived design rigidity leaves room for a wealth of new opportunities to flip the script.

2024 had a recurring trend among indie fighting games: Channeling the past. So many concepts rooted in an idea from a bygone era in some form or fashion, but each of them build upon those foundations with fresh ideas. Not simply repeating the past, but carving many new paths towards the future.

Among 2024's indie fighting games, Rivals of Aether 2 stands alone atop the mountain. No matter how you play, be it 1v1s, 2v2s, or free for all, the game just feels rewarding. Every character has a distinct skill that offers satisfying layers to even the characters most built to pick up and play.

Familiarity has its time and place. In many ways, Visions of Mana feels like a safe, classic JRPG, especially in its visuals and storytelling. Perhaps too safe, but for someone who doesn't frequent the genre, its idealism is refreshing in an era full of antiheroes posing as philosophical villains.

Shadows of Doubt from @colepowered.bsky.social is such a unique experience. Procedural generated crime-solving is something you don't know you want until it's right in front of you. It may not be as infinitely satisfying as some procedurally generated games, but the fantasy provided is incomparable.

Finished commission for @lillikat.vtubers.social! Shanoa's outfit really is quite stunning, more vtubers should cosplay her~ Want your own commission? Check out my Ko-fi or site here: ko-fi.com/LilithNoxVT lilithnox.net | #vtuber #vsky #art #commission #castlevania #shanoa |

Using real world examples of inexplicable deaths and disappearances, Tokyo Psychodemic opens your mind to the possibility of the supernatural before asking you to solve them logically. You can lose track of who's in control at times, you or the narrative, creating periods of friction in progression.

Time capsules are important. A way to remember a specific moment so easily lost to time. Arn's Winter Quest is a love letter to the culture on the Starmen boards in the 2000s. It can prove grindy, as many RPG fangames do, but there's a youthful whimsy to it that's not embraced enough by other works.

Holidays tend to carry a story. A moment of importance that resonates throughout a culture for centuries and millennia to come. Through those celebrations, you can learn to connect with others in new ways, as long as you're willing to listen with an open mind and, most importantly, an open heart.

I never grew up with the cultural phenomenon that is Beyblade, but I'm immensely interested in exploring the video game incarnations after playing Dreiblade. Beautifully over the top and inspiring earnest curiosity into Jewish traditions, it's a brief but memorable time full of Spinning Spirit.

Ebenezer and the Invisible World is a game that naturally draws comparisons to Hollow Knight and works inspired by it, especially as many metroidvanias in its wake seem primarily focused on art direction. Ebenezer holds up well visually, but its mechanical depth and intrigue can often feel lacking.

Rail shooters are a staple of classic games and one of the arcade hits, woefully vanished in the modern day. Licensed titles often feel lacking and Die Hard 2's Commodore rendition was no different. Serviceable while lacking magic but user error may be in play, as a button to use grenades eluded me.

Vampires are near and dear to my heart. Complicated creatures, rife with possibility around the human condition and the fear of the familiar. It was wonderful to finally go through a marathon of vampire games after intending to do so back when Bloodlines 2's first iteration was still in development.

While Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood lacks some of the addictive magic of Vampire Survivors, it does offer a distinctive twist on the formula. To date, I've yet to see another autoshooter have a time attack structure rather than a planned time limit, opening several doors for speedrunning tactics.

-Puppeted/Forced Divinity- Something I've been working on here and there as part of my warmups before working on commissions every day. I've been working on refining parts of Lilith's lore and this era in particular has given me a lot of inspiration lately~ #vtuber #art #Lilillust

(a bit of a late) HBD gift for this handsome fella @jogiwolfe.bsky.social !! Appy Bird Dayy Jogiii 🐺

It's heartbreaking when a game has potential but falls so immensely short. Despite making a solid first impression, EvilVEvil never quite captures the fantasy or satisfaction its aesthetics or premise enable. The feast or famine trend of live service aspirations left it consuming itself from within.

Bloodlust Shadowhunter channels VtM Bloodlines in nearly every aspect of its setting and writing but while this draws naturally unfavorable comparisons, it's one of the best legally-distinct variations I've played to date. It's loosely held together with earnest passion and rebellious punk spirit.

A common pitfall of games is featuring too many one-off mechanics. They can often be intriguing and worth exploring further, be it in a sequel or successor, but few do well enough to get that luxury. Darkwatch had remarkable potential but ends up just a solid campaign shooter with strong aesthetics.

I cannot begin to express in words how much my life has improved by merely having @lilithnox.vtubers.social in it. In just over a year, we've built a magnificent foundation for both of us to grow from. No dream or fantasy could compare to the reality that I've been so lucky to share in. I love you.

A game being a product of its time isn't a bad thing. The early 2000s, in all of their edgy glory, run throughout BloodRayne's veins. While it may lack substance by modern standards, it succeeds at a simple and easily forgotten aspect: Brainless fun, painting a satisfying portrait of blood and gore.

The PS1 had many lesser known survival horror entries that explored the systems in interesting ways. While its power fantasy removes some typical tension, Vampire Hunter D rewards managing multiple meters in addition to your health bar, especially with some enemies only falling to stronger attacks.

Blade for the PS1 has many of the woes of old shooter design. Unwieldy tank controls, surprise deaths, ambiguous weaknesses... It is a serviceable action game once adjusted to however, rewarding a strong sense of timing and preparation, with hidden collectibles if you're keen on mapless exploration.

Some works are nigh-impossible to make a successor to. Boktai's solar sensor fundamentally makes it a unique title because not only do you need to maintain enough sun to charge the gun, some bosses and puzzles require you to block the light. Eccentricity pays off beautifully when you see it through.

For the first game from an animation studio, #BLUD from @exit73games.bsky.social is a strong showing. The animations are front and center and, at times, can feel lengthy when combat gets more frantic, but it remains a potent love letter to works from the 90s and early 2000s from start to finish.

Few games feel as aggressively personal as @strangescaffold.bsky.social's El Paso, Elsewhere. Lulled in by Mad Max-esque shooting and a twisting hip-hop soundtrack, it draws you into a trance. You stop playing the game. You feel it. And that closeness, that empathy, makes the story so very potent.

October is a wonderful time for crafting scary stories. Sometimes, it's best to shift the perspective from the hunted to the hunter. Is the hunter truly without fear, or merely pushing forward despite terror? And at what point does the hunt consume you, seeing naught but nails to match your hammer?

Remnants of the Rift from @bromiodev.bsky.social combines the frantic speed of action roguelikes with the precise decision making of tactics games, leaving you darting around the map to protect your modulator rather than yourself. New tools and twists only make every moment all the more important.

Despite its reputation, Redfall is an inoffensively incomplete game. It had the groundwork for something special, weaving the immersive sim core into a new twist building upon the experimentation in Prey: Mooncrash. Given more time, even its misdirection from corporate meddling could have blossomed.

Happy anniversary to my darling demon. You hold my heart with such softness and tenderness that I've never known. I am fortunate beyond words to share in this life and love with you, and how dearly I treasure every moment we spend together. I wouldn't trade a second of it for the world. Mwah.

A fair mystery is hard to craft at the best of times. To weave a well-made supernatural mystery on top of it is a remarkable selling point of Reaplaced. A brief visual novel that earnestly gives you all of the clues you need, but still requires you to think outside of the box to solve the mystery.

It's the small things that create immersion in @mikeklubnika.bsky.social's works. The contrast of a tantalizing larger place while you find yourself confined in a small, desolate space. The believably analog function of every interactive item. A beauty in knowing and feeling the unfeeling machinery.

Capturing the legacy of a classical artist in other media can be a grand challenge. Throughout Impasto is a constant feeling of awe at the way pixelated textures and the skybox equally captured both the drastic lighting contrast as well as the tonal difference in the periods of Francisco Goya's art.

Noita might be one of the most deranged games I've ever played. I fucking love it. From alchemy, to spellcrafting, to exploration and engaging combat. Everything it does it does well, and it beautifully combines them all in its unique environments. #Noita #gaming #roguelikes