This might be a slightly unusual attempt at a prompt, but might draw some appealing unusual options.
The way it goes: Suggest games, ideally the kind that you believe would have relatively broad appeal. Don’t feel bad about downvotes, but do downvote any game that’s suggested if you have heard of it before (Perhaps, give some special treatment if it was literally your game of the year). This rule is meant to encourage people to post the indie darlings that took some unusual attention and discovery to be aware of and appreciate.
If possible, link to the Steam pages for the games in question, so that anyone interested can quickly take a look at screenshots and reviews. And, as a general tip, anything with over 1000 steam reviews probably doesn’t belong here. While I’d recommend that you only suggest one game per post, at the very most limit it to three.
If I am incorrect about downvotes being inconsequential account-wide, say so and it might be possible to work out a different system.
Dink Smallwood is an old fantasy role playing game. It has a small community that makes mods for it. It’s really dumb but it’s free to play and very short if you have nothing better to do.
edit: Wow! I didn’t realize a lot of people here know this game. That’s actually cool.
From the depths for me is a vehicle building game that’s targeted to whoever likes tuning little systems.
Haven’t seen anyone know of it besides in the community itself. It’s a bit like toying around with Lego technic.
There’s also quite a few more obscure versions of it, but I put this one out because I like it best.
This is a game that isn’t here for the game play. I think if you are paying at all attention to the boring dystopia, or climate collapse communities then this will hit in a way that is hard to define.
Its a golf game. Simple, could be played on a phone really, but you have to have the sound on for this one.
You are a member of the elite refugees who have fled to Mars and only return back to Earth to use the husk of a planet for a round of golf. And your companion is a lone radio broadcast from Mars of what they have left, which is stories and the rare music that was saved.
The combination of overwhelmingly good world building and consistent vibe even down to the level names and journal entries hits like a train and made me cry at least a couple times.
It made me feel nostalgiac for a world that has not yet come to pass and is a great on sale pick.
Tinykin
I know you said less than 1,000 reviews but this is at 1,500 so I think it just squeaks by.
This game for lack of a better description, adorable and over too soon.
Like a mashup of pikmim, Spyro 2, and Tony Hawk Pro Skater. It’s got lots of fun platforming and new puzzle mechanics in an ever adding open world that is a true joy to traverse and cute silly little side plots that make for rather grand set pieces when it all comes together. I got 100% in 12 hours but also collect-a-thons are my jam and I was plowing through the game with grin on my face for everything but the platinum time trials.
Bopl Battle is a hilarious party game for up to 4 people. The rounds go really quick so it’s a great game to play with friends when you have a limited amount of time, but the fun doesn’t wear out fast either.
Had to downvote, but the game is great. I play it with my kids and it is reliably hilarious. There are so many interactions that something surprising happens with amazing regularity.
It’s a little known game from a small publisher originally located in Scotland.
The main premise is that you drive around a city as quickly as possible and go bowling with your cousin. Think Big Lebowski meets Driver. You can also play Pool and Darts in various locations around the town, and earn money doing small side jobs such as being a taxi driver or a paramedic.
After loving GTA 3 and Vice City and San Andreas, I strongly disliked GTA4. Story was fine, but they really went hard on terrible controls and boring missions.
GTA5 apparently “fixed it” by making the driving more arcade-like, but I forced myself to finish it to get to the ending. Flying was a bore. And again, boring missions.
Maybe I just like the more zany wacky open-world chaos that Just Cause, Mercenaries, or Saints Row provides.
The controls in GTA IV were realistic! Your car tyre would blip the curb and it would affect the stability of the car. Denting the car from every angle resulted in a uniquely deformed mesh that my god would still drive. Pedestrians would bounce off your bumper in unique and interesting ways. It was a simulation paradise.
In GTA V they changed all that, made it more midnight club and arcade-y as you said. You could literally decimate a crowd of people and they’d all die with the same canned animation. Cars would at most lose a door before considering deforming the whole mesh. It just felt dumbed down.
Saints Row is fun, but you play it once and then forget about it because there’s nothing to do once you reach godhood. Mercenaries was great fun, and Just Cause was a physics funbox, I’ll give you that
I’ve never heard of it but it sounds like an interesting indie game from some rockstar guy. I wish they gave him a bigger budget to build a topdown version set in London.
Avorion - In which you command and build a spaceship designed by yourself (or others on the internet). Soon you have AIs you command and space stations you own. The game allows you to lean as much or as little as you want into the fleet command and economy aspects. If you want, you can just pilot one big-ass ship and do it all alone.
I had a good amount of fun with this game, it’s a shame I have to downvote it. It was a little difficult to get into at first, but I stuck with it and had a lot of fun. I chose to develop a big-ass ship like you speak of and eventually became a lumpy Death Star knockoff.
A first person scifi FPS-RPG. Developed in Ukraine. Very unique experience wrapped inside of a concept that’s been done before. High slavjank tolerance required.
In Grotto, you play the role of a soothsayer living in a cave who is occasionally visited by members of a tribal society living nearby. They come to you with problems, and they want you to present your opinion, but you can’t speak. You have access to constellations of stars, which each hold different meanings, and you must present your answers in the form of a single constellation, which the petitioners are left to interpret.
You’ll feel a bit of frustration as your intended message is missed completely in favor of something that the petitioner wanted to hear, and the same constellation might mean different things to different people, but that’s just part of the game. The story unfolds around you and its progression is communicated to you only through the explanations your petitioners give for their visit. Each is a uniquely unreliable narrator, so what you believe is for you to decide.
Two endings, and an interesting story with some occasionally unexpected consequences that might make you feel bad, so if a game giving you a case of the sads is unappealing, maybe take that into consideration.
Heaven’s Vault is a game about archaeology and translating a dead language. You explore a unique solar system and discover ruins, in which you uncover artifacts, and bits of text. Through context clues, you translate the passages to uncover the storyline. It’s not difficult, so if you’re looking for a puzzle, this won’t really do it for you, but it’s more of a narrative experience. If you aren’t sure about a word or phrase, you can give it a guess (based on assigning words from a collection of possible translations to specific symbols), and the game will remember that choice and let you slowly revise your translations as you find new text that rules out prior incorrect guesses. There’s an interconnected storyline with multiple paths to follow, and a very unique world - haven’t seen anything like it in other games.
The game has a NG+ mode wherein you start with all of your translations from the first playthrough intact, but, most of the bits of text are considerably longer and more involved, letting you use your prior knowledge to uncover more of the story and the lore of the world, which is also neat.
If you enjoyed it, you might also enjoy Chants of Sennar! It’s also about translating languages; it’s more puzzle-oriented and less story-based; there’s a story to uncover, but it’s not as clear-cut and narrative driven. Still a great game, however!
This sounds really interesting. I’m gonna put this on my wishlist in hopes it goes on sale or something. Can’t justify $25 right now due to circumstances.
Didn’t know that! Was going based off of the review score; 1600 reviews in 5 years seemed pretty little-known. All the same, don’t mind the downvotes - that’s the point of the thread after all. :)
Magnetic By Nature is a 2D platformer where you are generally using either attract or repel mechanics. I came across this game on the PAX East show floor, and it really wowed me. I may be one of only a few hundred people who ever played it. There’s a bonus chapter, after the credits, that was kind of bullshit, but the 7 or so hours of gameplay before it was fun, challenging, and unique. Initially available for like $15, it’s now down to $1, and it’s a steal at that price.
To be honest, I lost interest in Minecraft about 10 years ago, and never played with mods. I’ve seen some hilarious playthroughs on YouTube though, I really enjoyed the custom animations RubberRoss made.
But how about the Infinity matter dominator sword mod? It contains some of the most convoluted and basically unachievable crafting recipes Ive ever seen, just scroll down and enjoy the ride
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Hidden and Dangerous
Only H&D2 is on steam
The original was fantastic and v2 built on that. Fantastic 3rd person WW2 tactical shooter. Haven’t seen anything like it in over 20 years since.
Dink Smallwood is an old fantasy role playing game. It has a small community that makes mods for it. It’s really dumb but it’s free to play and very short if you have nothing better to do.
edit: Wow! I didn’t realize a lot of people here know this game. That’s actually cool.
This was my Diablo. Indeed very dumb, but fun in a weird way. downvoted because I already played it though!
Damn, I remember that game being included as a bonus in an old magazine CD with lots of RPG Maker 2000 stuff
Dude I loved that game back in the day. So many great mods for it too
From the depths for me is a vehicle building game that’s targeted to whoever likes tuning little systems. Haven’t seen anyone know of it besides in the community itself. It’s a bit like toying around with Lego technic. There’s also quite a few more obscure versions of it, but I put this one out because I like it best.
Golf Club Nostalgia(917 Reviews)
This is a game that isn’t here for the game play. I think if you are paying at all attention to the boring dystopia, or climate collapse communities then this will hit in a way that is hard to define.
Its a golf game. Simple, could be played on a phone really, but you have to have the sound on for this one.
You are a member of the elite refugees who have fled to Mars and only return back to Earth to use the husk of a planet for a round of golf. And your companion is a lone radio broadcast from Mars of what they have left, which is stories and the rare music that was saved.
The combination of overwhelmingly good world building and consistent vibe even down to the level names and journal entries hits like a train and made me cry at least a couple times.
It made me feel nostalgiac for a world that has not yet come to pass and is a great on sale pick.
Tinykin
I know you said less than 1,000 reviews but this is at 1,500 so I think it just squeaks by.
This game for lack of a better description, adorable and over too soon.
Like a mashup of pikmim, Spyro 2, and Tony Hawk Pro Skater. It’s got lots of fun platforming and new puzzle mechanics in an ever adding open world that is a true joy to traverse and cute silly little side plots that make for rather grand set pieces when it all comes together. I got 100% in 12 hours but also collect-a-thons are my jam and I was plowing through the game with grin on my face for everything but the platinum time trials.
Bopl Battle is a hilarious party game for up to 4 people. The rounds go really quick so it’s a great game to play with friends when you have a limited amount of time, but the fun doesn’t wear out fast either.
Had to downvote, but the game is great. I play it with my kids and it is reliably hilarious. There are so many interactions that something surprising happens with amazing regularity.
I meet with 3 friends online every 2 weeks to discuss nerd stuff and play some video games together after, and bopl battle has been great for that.
Space Station 14!
Grand Theft Auto IV
It’s a little known game from a small publisher originally located in Scotland.
The main premise is that you drive around a city as quickly as possible and go bowling with your cousin. Think Big Lebowski meets Driver. You can also play Pool and Darts in various locations around the town, and earn money doing small side jobs such as being a taxi driver or a paramedic.
I’m probably in the minority here.
After loving GTA 3 and Vice City and San Andreas, I strongly disliked GTA4. Story was fine, but they really went hard on terrible controls and boring missions.
GTA5 apparently “fixed it” by making the driving more arcade-like, but I forced myself to finish it to get to the ending. Flying was a bore. And again, boring missions.
Maybe I just like the more zany wacky open-world chaos that Just Cause, Mercenaries, or Saints Row provides.
The controls in GTA IV were realistic! Your car tyre would blip the curb and it would affect the stability of the car. Denting the car from every angle resulted in a uniquely deformed mesh that my god would still drive. Pedestrians would bounce off your bumper in unique and interesting ways. It was a simulation paradise.
In GTA V they changed all that, made it more midnight club and arcade-y as you said. You could literally decimate a crowd of people and they’d all die with the same canned animation. Cars would at most lose a door before considering deforming the whole mesh. It just felt dumbed down.
Saints Row is fun, but you play it once and then forget about it because there’s nothing to do once you reach godhood. Mercenaries was great fun, and Just Cause was a physics funbox, I’ll give you that
I downvoted you per the rules, but thanks for that chuckle.
I mean, it’s pretty well known 🤣
I’ve never heard of it but it sounds like an interesting indie game from some rockstar guy. I wish they gave him a bigger budget to build a topdown version set in London.
Avorion - In which you command and build a spaceship designed by yourself (or others on the internet). Soon you have AIs you command and space stations you own. The game allows you to lean as much or as little as you want into the fleet command and economy aspects. If you want, you can just pilot one big-ass ship and do it all alone.
I had a good amount of fun with this game, it’s a shame I have to downvote it. It was a little difficult to get into at first, but I stuck with it and had a lot of fun. I chose to develop a big-ass ship like you speak of and eventually became a lumpy Death Star knockoff.
Oh no, avorion is getting down votes!
Seems it is better known than I thought!
The Precursors.
A first person scifi FPS-RPG. Developed in Ukraine. Very unique experience wrapped inside of a concept that’s been done before. High slavjank tolerance required.
In Grotto, you play the role of a soothsayer living in a cave who is occasionally visited by members of a tribal society living nearby. They come to you with problems, and they want you to present your opinion, but you can’t speak. You have access to constellations of stars, which each hold different meanings, and you must present your answers in the form of a single constellation, which the petitioners are left to interpret.
You’ll feel a bit of frustration as your intended message is missed completely in favor of something that the petitioner wanted to hear, and the same constellation might mean different things to different people, but that’s just part of the game. The story unfolds around you and its progression is communicated to you only through the explanations your petitioners give for their visit. Each is a uniquely unreliable narrator, so what you believe is for you to decide.
Two endings, and an interesting story with some occasionally unexpected consequences that might make you feel bad, so if a game giving you a case of the sads is unappealing, maybe take that into consideration.
fantastic game by the makers of Laika, check out their whole ludography
I don’t have any suggestions but I do like this prompt and I see a lot of games I’ve never heard of
I don’t either but this is such a great discussion. I’ve come across quite a few interesting sounding games here. Thanks OP.
Heaven’s Vault is a game about archaeology and translating a dead language. You explore a unique solar system and discover ruins, in which you uncover artifacts, and bits of text. Through context clues, you translate the passages to uncover the storyline. It’s not difficult, so if you’re looking for a puzzle, this won’t really do it for you, but it’s more of a narrative experience. If you aren’t sure about a word or phrase, you can give it a guess (based on assigning words from a collection of possible translations to specific symbols), and the game will remember that choice and let you slowly revise your translations as you find new text that rules out prior incorrect guesses. There’s an interconnected storyline with multiple paths to follow, and a very unique world - haven’t seen anything like it in other games.
The game has a NG+ mode wherein you start with all of your translations from the first playthrough intact, but, most of the bits of text are considerably longer and more involved, letting you use your prior knowledge to uncover more of the story and the lore of the world, which is also neat.
This game is so unique and so fantastic.
If you enjoyed it, you might also enjoy Chants of Sennar! It’s also about translating languages; it’s more puzzle-oriented and less story-based; there’s a story to uncover, but it’s not as clear-cut and narrative driven. Still a great game, however!
Never heard of it, but I own it so I’ll install it.
This sounds really interesting. I’m gonna put this on my wishlist in hopes it goes on sale or something. Can’t justify $25 right now due to circumstances.
…well I feel really bad about downvoting this one, because it’s a really good suggestion
Agreed. However, I believe it was included in a Humble Choice bundle at one point, so it may not be quite as obscure as what the OP is looking for.
Didn’t know that! Was going based off of the review score; 1600 reviews in 5 years seemed pretty little-known. All the same, don’t mind the downvotes - that’s the point of the thread after all. :)
Magnetic By Nature is a 2D platformer where you are generally using either attract or repel mechanics. I came across this game on the PAX East show floor, and it really wowed me. I may be one of only a few hundred people who ever played it. There’s a bonus chapter, after the credits, that was kind of bullshit, but the 7 or so hours of gameplay before it was fun, challenging, and unique. Initially available for like $15, it’s now down to $1, and it’s a steal at that price.
Minecraft (do your worst)
Tell us some obscure mods
To be honest, I lost interest in Minecraft about 10 years ago, and never played with mods. I’ve seen some hilarious playthroughs on YouTube though, I really enjoyed the custom animations RubberRoss made.
Hexcasting is a cool minecraft mod about hex casting
Im not sure if its obscure, but hexal should be
Joke’s on you, I even contributed to hexcasting
But how about the Infinity matter dominator sword mod? It contains some of the most convoluted and basically unachievable crafting recipes Ive ever seen, just scroll down and enjoy the ride
I see you are doing some downvote farmin’ today!
Is a good game, especially with mods.
Gotta try everything once
Literally the only game I’ve heard of on this thread so far lol.
To shreds, you say?
How’s his wife holding up?