BailerAppleby's recent activity
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Comment on November 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 2 Discussion in ~games
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Comment on November 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 2 Discussion in ~games
BailerAppleby (edited )Link ParentWendyQuest: Legend of the Four Corner Stones I admit it: I like talking about video games more than I enjoy playing video games. This then means that sometimes I will choose to play certain video...WendyQuest: Legend of the Four Corner Stones
I admit it: I like talking about video games more than I enjoy playing video games. This then means that sometimes I will choose to play certain video games for the purpose of talking about them, at times preferring to stay away from generic crowd-pleasers that only result in reviews that serve as a workout for your thesaurus.
With that in mind, I present to you: WendyQuest: Legend of the Four Corner Stones, the free retro-themed pixel art RPG that exists only as an full-throated advertisement to promote the Wendy's fast food chain this fiscal quarter. Having come out just days ago, it is a stretch to say that this has been in my backlog. And yet, this is the kind of sensationalist tripe that I live to write about. I needed to confirm my suspicions that this was a hollow attempt by a heartless evil corporation to pander to innocent and impressionable video game hobbyists. Or, to push the suspense, will I discover that there is more to this game that I will end up actually recommending?
To find out, we need to ask the important questions.
Is This a Good Video Game?
In order for Milwaukee Brewers mascot Bernie Brewer to celebrate a home run by sliding down from a beer-barrel chalet into a giant beer mug, you first need a good GM, one to make the right decisions that allows the right clubhouse to come together. So too was it for the Wendy Games video game arm of the Wendy's conglomerate to give video game developers 81monkeys the keys to the vehicle that will drive social engagement to the venerable burger chain. And, it was the right choice, much like reusing the same grammatic device for the entirety of this text.
WendyQuest looks great. It is faithful to all the mechanics of retro RPGs (what are now known as 'RPGMaker games'). It has an overmap with more localized screens for exploring and battles. You have towns to explore, crates and chests to pilfer, NPCs to provide clues and waste your time. There are mysteries to uncover, and secret endings to reveal. It's what you'd expect from a game like this, and it's good.
To minimize bloat and costs, the game features a pared-down inventory and battle system where you mostly control the game's titular red-haired tongue-unbridled heroine. The game is rather easy, and if that wasn't enough, WendyQuest even features a super easy mode so even non-savvy olds can enjoy the sass for themselves. And there's more! For hardcore enthusiasts, there are secrets to uncover that aren't necessary to the completion of the game as well as a timing mechanism that determines the power of your attacks, allowing the preternaturally gifted among us to chain critical attacks together (that is a recorded stat on the loading screen, but again not necessary to casual play). Something for everyone, as it were.
Even though it lacks its own World Series championship and home run beer slide, 81monkeys was a good choice for this assignment. As a new studio with few games on their belt, they made the fateful decision to prioritize the publishing of this game before their own 150,000-wishlisted game World of Anterra that is supposed to come out sometime before the end of this year (somehow). The push may have resulted in a far simpler game than what we would expect from an RPG, but remains authentic to the genre with its convoluted storylines and power-leveling grind. The game is full of delightful surprises; the devs were even nice enough to do away with random surprise enemy encounters, allowing the player to sneak around trash mob battles if they so chose to.
For what it is, it's a decent video game, but probably not one you would normally choose to play. Instead, you should play WendyQuest for another reason.
Is This a Good Advertisement?
Wendy's has always been an odd duck of a fast food chain. Perennially knocked out of the top position by McDonald's and Burger King, Wendy's celebrates its beta status with contentious marketing that dunks on the competition as it punches up. As it did with the precursory meme "Where's the beef?", so too has Wendy's insisted upon our sensibilities with its rip-roaringly, burn-riffic social media channel that roasts its milquetoast contemporaries. And now with WendyQuest, the baddest bitch in the schoolyard is poised to decisively mark its territory with a video game parody that unashamedly takes the piss out of its biggest rival.
WendyQuest brilliantly reimagines rival brand McDonalds as Mech Corporation, an evil corporation hell bent on world domination through soggy French fries and non-fresh frozen beef patties with products that coincidentally have "Mech-" as a prefix (as some brands are wont to do). Led by the nefarious red-haired Dr. MechBorg who is not a clown (otherwise known as the litigiously problematic "C-word"), Mech Corporation is presented as an existential threat to the freshness and good taste of the culinary kingdom of Savoria. Some of the put-downs that target McDonald's own marketing are downright quoteworthy:
Click for McDonald's-specific insult spoilers
- Get bent like your fries
- Try this one for super size!
- Let's crisp this loser
- This meal isn't happy at ALL!
- And what are you supposed to be exactly? 100% promise and 0% follow through?
And the bit with the Ice Cream Machine that doesn't work as expected...
Unfortunately, the Wendy persona reveals itself to be lacking in main character energy, one who is at best a Milwaukee-residing Lenny & Squiggy-type side character that can make a quick exit after delivering the sass. She's not the type of character that has the levity to carry an entire narrative; instead, she's forced to help push the exposition along rather than be allowed to be at her precocious best, although her shoulder-mounted dual spatulas setup is fully ninja-compliant.
At the same time, the dev/marketers knew how to milk their audience for what their worth. This is fully on display with WendyQuest allowing players to pet a dog in an early village. This sure-fire fan service is so expected that they made it into an achievement, and to that end, also satisfied the bingo card "You can save/pet/care for animals". They know their demographic and are able to satisfy the necessary conditions as a proper entry to the genre.
As beloved as they are, retro RPGs are not for a broad audience. It does not have to be. You see, WendyQuest is not the actual advertisement, and is not supposed to be for everyone. Instead, this is the conversation starter that builds interest in the brand whenever it gets mentioned online. What's more, WendyQuest is exactly the type of marketing initiative that inspires user generated content. The game is just days old, but if you were to visit the game's Steam Artwork page, you will seen reams upon reams of Wendy's UGC: cosplay, original art, memery, the whole nine yards. WendyQuest the game has inspired unabashed goonery as Rule 34 gleefully sets its sights on the special of the day, pushing the limits of the kind of attention Wendy's is ready to accept.
Still, even if this is a decent game and will likely meet its marketing goals, an important question remains to be asked.
Does WendyQuest Represent a Good Trend for Video Games?
Marketing in video games continues to be prolific with this year's Resident Evil 9 featuring product placements for Porsche and Hamilton watches at the same time as 007 First Light's James Bond shilling for Omega watches and Coca-Cola. And yet, a fully fledged "advergame" like WendyQuest remains a rare occurrence despite the obvious benefits they bring to an industry full of laid off workers and weary consumers.
The answer is simple: Artists need support, and powerful entities need clout. Just as Michelangelo had his rent paid by painting the Sistine Chapel, so too does 81monkeys keep its lights on by stumping for big burger while Wendy's quarterly reports gets executive-ready presentation graphs pointing towards the top right corner. It's all win-win. For this reason, I heartily recommend that you download this game and give it a review (either way) even if you never play it--not because it's a decent timewaster, nor because it's a canon addition to the Wendy's Sassy Cinematic Universe (WSCU), but because it will hopefully encourage more companies to invest in ineptly-named "advergames", something that could help invigorate a flailing industry that is always on the edge of collapse.
I'm not one to just give wild recommendations without any guidelines, so if you're some CEO who lost his way from LinkedIn and are looking to buy your own video game, here are 10 tips on how to properly make advergames that work:
- Be 100% Free: In 1999, Pepsiman was released on the Playstation to a poor reception. It seemed like nobody wanted to pay for a video game that played like Crash Bandicoot but had "Pepsi" written everywhere. So if you want your advertisement -- and advergames are advertisements-- to be well received by gamers, the price has to be at a low, low cost of $0.
- No Subtle Product Placement: People hate it. Featured brands will be despised. Don't be like Darkened Skye and license the use of Skittle candy for use as your magic system. If you're going to do it, go the whole hog and put the brand name in the title. Own it and consumers can at least respect you for being honest, as did the straight-faced goods of Hooters Road Trip (2002).
- Meta Awareness: The poorly named "advergame" is not like other marketing, and so there needs to be a knowing wink shared with the audience. Pepsiman may have boosted brand awareness, but it won't endear new customers to your brand. WendyQuest tends to go too far with its post-modern references, but it remains aware that we're all in this weird marketing experience together.
- Real Money for Real Devs: Want a real game that gamers will like? Hire actual game developers that have made well-received games. It turns out that, like everything else in this world, a cottage industry has sprung up that creates advergames for companies with the money to pay (largely on--you guessed it--Roblox). Don't do this. Give your money to those guys that crank out video games just for the love of it. They deserve it.
- Pick the Right Genre: Choose an older genre that uses technology that can run on older computers and mobile phones. There is no single genre that is better than another; choose one that fits your brand. For example, a good genre for Victoria's Secret could be the beat 'em up genre; instead of walking down the runway, lingerie models are walking to the right and beating up perverts and photographers that get too close.
- Be Authentic: In 1997, Chex made the ludicrous decision to make its own video game and release it with purchases of its cereal. It was stupendously successful, so much so that they never tried it again for some reason. Part of the reason that made the non-violent children-friendly Chex Quest so successful was because it used a licensed total conversion of DOOM. Sure, there were no more demons for shotgunning, but that program ran fast, delivering first-person shooter action that transcends any language.
- Don't Go For Mass Appeal, Target a Niche: Wendy's adventurous marketing initiatives began way before WendyQuest. In 2019, Wendy's had the gall to release Feast of Legends, a tabletop RPG that you have never heard of before. The smart move here is that instead of trying to saturate the market with advertisements on every billboard, Feast of Legends lit a fire under very niche hobbyists, making them work the hype for you. And even if it doesn't work, you don't pay the ungodly sums of money Rockstar is paying for at the moment for a product that everyone who is going to buy it already knows about it.
- Be True to Brand: Every business in the world can make their own advergame, but yours needs to be unique. Because your brand is unique. Whatever your game turns out to be, it needs to be a reflection of what your brand principles are. WendyQuest works for Wendy's because their brand is sassy bitches. What are you?
- It's Just a Game: As a counterpoint, advergames don't need to completely fall in line with all of your marketing. Just as video games don't train people to shoot guns, so too are advergames not 1-to-1 reflections of your brand. Consider Sneak King, the Burger King advergame in which you play as the BK mascot as you sneak around a neighborhood, trying to gift Whoppers to unsuspecting winning recipients. The Metal Gear Solid gameplay and cringetastic premise probably wouldn't work in our modern times, but such were the carefree days of the XBox 360 in the beforetimes of 2006 when the term "creep" was still just a popular song by Radiohead. Also important: if you're going to license your car brand for a racing game, be sure to allow your product to be damaged in a crash. Don't be like Grand Turismo 3; be more like early Forza Horizon games.
- Be Fun: Video games are entertainment, so be entertaining. Make sure your game is fun to play. Yes, you have goals to meet and quotas to match, but don't forget that people play games for fun.
This write-up was never supposed to be this long, but since we're already here, let's ask one final question.
Is This Game a Celebration of Food?
No. WendyQuest smartly features its menu items as power-up items in which players will become very familiar with over a complete playthrough. But for all the freshness and deliciousness it purports to endorse, WendyQuest is just plain bitter. It knows nothing but smarm. It takes deep snipes at McDonald's because it can, because it funny, because it doesn't have much else.
I think the marketing is on point. I think the gameplay is authentic and engaging. I think the satire is fully piss-taking. But speaking as someone who loves food, it didn't make me hungry. It isn't a "food" game, it's a sassy insult game. WendyQuest is less a celebration of food as it is a confirmation that hate keeps you lean and hungry in a way Wendy's menu cannot.
I still like this game. But it is nowhere on the level of a sublime food game like Battle Chef Brigade or Sushi Cat. If I had to describe WendyQuest in food terms, I would say it is a salt,.
To end, I need to reflect upon my strange video game choices. I must admit that it's strange to have a hobby where you are so detached from the passion you have for it. WendyQuest is fun, but it represents a tier of video games that most fans readily stay away from. Maybe it's a Milwaukee thing to enjoy something not for what it is, but for what it means to you. Oh wells. As it is for Red Letter Media and its love for B-movies with Best of the Worst, so too it appears to be for my writing about weird and bad video games that are more fun to write about than to play. Maybe that's just the template I need to go with.
Stray Observations
- Did not see one "Sir, this is a Wendy's" so far in the dialog (achievements and song titles don't count); maybe I missed it? And if it's okay to bring it up, neither did I hear a single "I'd buy that for a dollar" in Robocop: Rogue City.
- Truly a wasted opportunity: WendyQuest's title screen features our hero with her back to the audience, gazing into the distance, but refrains from strapping an oversized spatula on her back as she looks up an evil Mech Corporation "M" a la Final Fantasty VII. Don't hide behind your lawyers, you cowards.
- Likewise disappointed there were no references to the coffee lawsuit (GTA's hot coffee reference doesn't count) or a parody cameo by a superbly sized character named Sporgan Murlock that outright lies and gets away with it.
- Long-shot prediction: pigtails and red-striped stockings are the new Princess Leia metal bikini.
- Yes, there is a KFC advergame called I Love You, Colonel Sanders! A Finger Lickin’ Good Dating Simulator. Yes, it looks sublimely glorious, positively ridiculous, and is a prime contender for review purposes. Consider that and Chex Quest to be added to my backlog.
- I have to admit the use of oversized dipping packets as the source of rivers of flowing sauces to be both an inspired choice and very foodie-cognizant. Same with using fried bacon strips as bridges in the last area.
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Comment on November 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 2 Discussion in ~games
BailerAppleby (edited )LinkBailerAppleby and the Giant Backlog Flux Standard bingo 2/25 Has a moral choice system Has a historical vibe It’s already installed Is beatable without killing any enemies Has a third-person...BailerAppleby and the Giant Backlog
Flux Standard bingo 2/25 Has a moral choice system Has a historical vibe It’s already installed Is beatable without killing any enemies Has a third-person perspective You wanted it when you were younger Is one of the oldest games you own Has a score system Focuses on relationships A solo-dev project Has a fishing minigame Randomness determines your fate ★ Wildcard From a studio you haven't heard of before
✅ Heading Out (Serious Sim)You're giving it a second chance You can save/pet/care for animals
✅ WendyQuest: Legend of the Four Corner StonesOwned for more than 4 years Popular game you never got around to playing Has driving From a series you have played Has a robot antagonist Is mostly text-based Released in the year you joined Tildes Features a mystery Has a review score above 95 Very slow progress, but am happy to report that I have two games done from the backlog. Again, I'll most likely to sticking to smaller and more manageable games that can be done more easily.
It appears that people here seem to enjoy my negative reviews. I get it, as brutal takedowns are always more enjoyable and satisfying for teeth-sinking pleasure. I don't specifically remember doing any "eviscerating" or "slamming" from last time, but I admit it's something that loved to happen as a result of having really strong opinions. It's weird as I'm not that opinionated about normal life stuff in real life, but when a video game is involved I will take great pains to peer into its soul to discern what the devs had for breakfast on the day it was conceived.
Glad these writeups are enjoyable/helps with the passage of time. If interested, I'll make a list of potential candidates if there's anything you want me to play. I currently have my eye on I Love You, Colonel Sanders! A Finger Lickin’ Good Dating Simulator and Chex Quest.
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Comment on November 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 1 Discussion in ~games
BailerAppleby Link ParentNice to be noticed! But, I do want everyone to know: deep down I'm actually a nice guy. I don't hold hate in my heart and am full of support and praise for my fellow humans. I don't like to make a...I'm so glad that you're back to eviscerate more games!
Nice to be noticed! But, I do want everyone to know: deep down I'm actually a nice guy. I don't hold hate in my heart and am full of support and praise for my fellow humans. I don't like to make a habit of complaining. Really. Really!
Heading Out is not a bad game, per se. I knew I had to play it when I saw it, so it did get my curiosity cooking. But as I said, my issues with it are with its fundamentals, so it's not the road trip game for me.
Seriously devs out there: make a good road trip game. We need one. But not a racing game. Something with a groovy radio station, and the (unlockable) ability to roll down the window and hang your elbow out.
Here's a pitch: Outrun Confessions-- real-time cruising in which you need to drive and talk to your passenger in real-time. Because it's your first car, you're not the fastest driver on the road, so you have to pass slower-moving trucks but also avoid speedsters in the passing lane. Meanwhile, you have to keep up a conversation with your passenger: be too boring, and your passenger falls asleep; ask the right questions, and unlock hidden childhood trauma. Basically, it's playing a video game and listening to a podcast at the same time, except both are you.
enjoy the games you play
I mean, they're video games. They're entertainment. Video games are inherently enjoyable, and playing them are mostly a fun experience. That said, I do have Lord of the Rings: Gollum in my backlog...
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Comment on November 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 1 Discussion in ~games
BailerAppleby Link ParentYou are so lucky because you are somebody that gets to finish Portal 2 for the first time. Then you will be so lucky because you'll have been somebody who actually finished it. Not sure where you...Portal 2
You are so lucky because you are somebody that gets to finish Portal 2 for the first time.
Then you will be so lucky because you'll have been somebody who actually finished it.
Not sure where you are in your life, but take it from me, you will only have net gains today. Congrats! -
Comment on November 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 1 Discussion in ~games
BailerAppleby Link ParentBWAHAHAHAHAHA I have found a community that accepts meDon’t take this the wrong way, Appleby, but I love when you play games you don’t like because your criticism of them is so well-worded and compelling.
BWAHAHAHAHAHA I have found a community that accepts me
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Comment on Save Point: A game deal roundup for the week of November 1 in ~games
BailerAppleby LinkDo you like nonograms? Try out the Non Non Nonograms Humble bundle that gives you 13 nonogram/nonogram-adjacent games for $13.97 CAD! That's just $1.07 each for all these games: Homgard Nekograms...Do you like nonograms? Try out the Non Non Nonograms Humble bundle that gives you 13 nonogram/nonogram-adjacent games for $13.97 CAD! That's just $1.07 each for all these games:
- Homgard
- Nekograms
- Piczle Cross Adventure
- Pixel Puzzle Makeout League
- SherloCAT Holmes Nonogram
- Paint it Back
- Polimines
- Polimines 2
- Charm Studies
- Voxelgram
- Mega Mosaic
- Tents and Trees
- LYNE
I have personally played Piczle Cross Adventure and found it to be very fulfilling of my nonogram needs, delivery the iconic make-a-crossword-puzzle-but-without-letters gameplay while wrapped in a groovy pixel art adventure package. It appears that many of the other offerings follow a similar formula of a chewy nonogram centre accompanied by a crunchy, innovative genre-bending presentation, as demonstrated by the long-wishlisted and poly-genre-thropic Pixel Puzzle Makeout League. Some good value here in some rather niche offerings.
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Comment on November 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 1 Discussion in ~games
BailerAppleby Link ParentHeading Out Edit: For the bingo card "From a studio you've never heard of before" On paper, Heading Out shows itself to be a list of irresistible features for an indie game: Genre-bending...Heading Out
Edit: For the bingo card "From a studio you've never heard of before"
On paper, Heading Out shows itself to be a list of irresistible features for an indie game:
- Genre-bending roguelike melange of racer with morally-consequenced VN choices
- Distinctive monochromatic art style with hints of color flourishes
- Impactful, personalized, pick-your-own narrative themes performed by voice actors
- Inclusive, topical social issues that reflect a diverse demographic
- Road-tripping across the continental USA in a series of muscle cars
That's a nice list, one any indie game would be dying to have. With all of these, even if it's not good, then at least it's probably going to be interesting. But it isn't. It's disappointing to say it, but Heading Out turns out to be pretty boring.
For a dollar Fanatical bundle purchase, it's okay to take a chance on something only for it not to work out. But for a game stacked with so much promise, it's devastating to bear witness to this sum that is lesser than its parts.
I really want a good road trip game. I really want a driving game where racing is not the main mechanic. It's unfair to judge a game on what it is not, but the haphazard execution of Heading Out makes you pine for that which could have been.
I've only played it for a few hours, but these criticisms are based on the fundamentals of the game that further playthroughs won't change, so I'm presenting them here.
First up: this game needs to decide if it is a narrative game or an action game. It's cute that it's trying to be both, but the resulting hybrid suffers. This game is notably easy; you'll breeze by cops who can not match your speed or follow you on to detours. But, it has to be easy to allow the story to play out. It's the same problem BioShock had, except it's use of plasmids and the convenient placement of big-targeted Big Daddy next to said plasmid machines kept players entertained/distracted. There are stats to show how well you performed each competitive, but it all rings hollow when your progress is more or less ensured.
The only parts rendered in 3D are the short racing parts; the rest is shown in VN-style vignettes and an road map of the continental US. This would be okay; no one really expects the entire USA to be rendered as a fully playable open world. But what makes this unbearable is that your road trip progress takes place on the map; an Indiana-Jones-style conquest trail blazes along selected interstate highways in which you are controlling the speed of your car. Infuriating. Please don't remind me of what I am missing out on. Not only that, but the path is littered with random encounters that include radio announcements that don't reward you for listening to them.
The radio is terrible. The songs are bad, the dialogs are unfocused, and the characters derivative. They are a far cry from the biting satire GTA is known for, or the vibe/world-building of Golf Club Nostalgia. If it's too expensive to buy the licensing to make your own Three Dog from Fallout 3, then do something like pay one guy to play a bunch of public domain available blues songs from a hundred years ago. I get that this game is set in the before-times when there was no internet, but the use of talking directly to the player from the radio can be done better. Not a game, but think how informative yet menacing the DJ was from The Warriors; that was a level of intimacy and engagement that none of this game's characters demonstrate, whether pro or con to the player.
Randomness can play a positive factor in any narrative game. For Heading Out, the randomness becomes an overwhelming entity, dictating a story without a point and a world without meaning. Things just happen. Things also just happen in real life, but real life is not a narrative that is trying to tell a story. Random encounters are a big part of Fallout 1 & 2, but they exist in a world with multiple narratives going on. They are a part of spaghetti and meatballs, and not one big spicy meatball dinner.
With all this out of the way, please indulge me as I play what this game should have been, a totally unfair thing to do to a game but deserving of it nonetheless. This game should have been:
- A real-time Cannonball Run where the player has to drive from NY to LA in one sitting: Like real life, players need to arrange diversions and distract police as they barrel non-stop at 150mph all the way; you speed run it every time you play it. This game probably already exists, I'm guessing.
- A road trip narrative adventure without racing: Racing is a lot of fun; racing has nothing to do with the road-trip experience where planning, getting lost, and embracing discovery are all paramount. I know this game exists already, it's that pixel art side-scroller, sorry I forgot the name.
- A narrative adventure where your choices are dictated by the roads you take: Hear me out -- it's Outrun, but where the branching paths lead to distinct moral choices. I really think cruising/vibe driving games have languished of late, but this type of game would have been so cool. Instead of trying to decrypt the floating word bubbles in Heavy Rain, you need to choose destinations/detour with heavy ramifications. Remember the end of The Bridges of Madison County? Remember Meryl Streep's anguish as she looked out the car window and at the last glimpses of Clint Eastwood's truck? Do it in a video game, in real time, as your salom through heavy traffic and narrowly make the off ramp that represents a morally dubious choice revealed to you in car conversation with your passenger.
For a road trip done right, I would suggest Death Road to Canada. This is a roguelike that knows what it is, delivers great action, and revels in its randomness with some truly inspired imagined scenarios. It's shallow narrative doesn't get in the way of the goods it delivers, making for a fun playthrough each time.
I don't think Heading Out is a bad game, but I don't recommend it. I had its ending spoiled for me when reading reviews, and it is a cringe-tastic fate I do not wish upon any of you.
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Comment on November 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 1 Discussion in ~games
BailerAppleby LinkI'm a little late, but here's my bingo card for this round: Flux Standard bingo 0/25 Has a moral choice system Has a historical vibe It’s already installed Is beatable without killing any enemies...I'm a little late, but here's my bingo card for this round:
Flux Standard bingo 0/25 Has a moral choice system Has a historical vibe It’s already installed Is beatable without killing any enemies Has a third-person perspective You wanted it when you were younger Is one of the oldest games you own Has a score system Focuses on relationships A solo-dev project Has a fishing minigame Randomness determines your fate ★ Wildcard From a studio you haven't heard of before You're giving it a second chance You can save/pet/care for animals Owned for more than 4 years Popular game you never got around to playing Has driving From a series you have played Has a robot antagonist Is mostly text-based Released in the year you joined Tildes Features a mystery Has a review score above 95 I decided to be stubborn (was actually quite an easy choice) and to stick to the 5x5 grid, if for no other reason than that things should rightfully be harder than they need to be. I tried using the other prompts for the bingo cards, but decided on going the normal way for winks and giggles. Last time, I tried going for a blackout, but this time I will really just be trying for a single bingo. Some of the bingo cards are outright impossible (i.e. I don't have any games that qualify for the "has a review score above 95"), but I suppose that is part of the fun.
I think my strategy this time is to concentrate on smaller games with limited scope so that they can be completed more easily; so, no premium grade games for the rest of the month.
I need to look at my backlog, but these cards are also stumping me at the moment:
- Has a robot antagonist (Generation Zero would have been perfect, but that was last time)
- You can save/pet/care for animals (You'd think this one would be easy, but I can only think of examples from games that I have played already)
I tried using Steam tags on my backlog, but turned up nothing. Oh wells, back to the grind.
Good luck everyone! Have fun achieving bingo!
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Comment on Announcing the Backlog Burner event for November 2026: Shrink your unplayed games list this coming month! in ~games
BailerAppleby LinkThank you for setting this up; I would like to participate again, but am not sure of the extent to which I can do that. It's not my fault as it's very hard to say no to this kind of marketing: I...Thank you for setting this up; I would like to participate again, but am not sure of the extent to which I can do that. It's not my fault as it's very hard to say no to this kind of marketing:
Play whatever you like and build the REVERSE BUNDLE of your dreams!
I don't pay any money, and it's already mine? Wow. Video games offer so much more than just the satisfaction of ownership!
I think I will try another round of using the prompts to choose the games. Again, thanks for hosting this, hopefully I will have something to write about. Cheers everyone, and happy backlogging!
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Comment on Save Point: A game deal roundup for the week of September 27 in ~games
BailerAppleby LinkCoppaFeel! Charity Bundle Pay CA$8.50 to help support breast cancer awareness and receive this fantastic collection of 10 Steam games: Haste PlateUp! Overcooked KeyWe Pine Hearts Critter Cafe Tiny...Pay CA$8.50 to help support breast cancer awareness and receive this fantastic collection of 10 Steam games:
- Haste
- PlateUp!
- Overcooked
- KeyWe
- Pine Hearts
- Critter Cafe
- Tiny Garden
- Dino Run DX
- Brunch Club
- Completely Stretchy
Your generous donation will help support CoppaFeel!, UK’s only youth-focused breast cancer awareness charity, educating the public that breast cancer can affect adults of all ages, even people in their twenties.
The games are a nice mix that span the cozy, farming, and casual gaming genres. Haste looks really good to me, but the famous ones in the mix are definitely Overcooked! and PlateUp! which, along with Brunch Club, make for a very gastronomical gaming experience. And Key We is about butt-stomping, mail-delivery kiwi birds.
Enjoy the games and support a great cause!
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
BailerAppleby LinkI unfortunately haven't been able to do much of any serious gaming lately, and when I do get to splurge, my gaming choices definitely appeal to the luddite in me, being that they are all visual...I unfortunately haven't been able to do much of any serious gaming lately, and when I do get to splurge, my gaming choices definitely appeal to the luddite in me, being that they are all visual novels. It's a change, it suits me for the time that I'm in, and while it's a departure from the type of gaming I'm more familiar with, they're appealing in their own way.
Blue Night Laundromat
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One location. Two characters. Three rooms. This free-to-play escape room is scraping the bottom of the barrel when it comes to its bare bone assets, but it punches well above its weight but creating an experience that is worth more than the sum of its parts.
Stop me if you've heard something like this before: a milquetoast MC gets his humdrum life turned upside down when a boring, ordinary trip to the late-night laundromat takes a turn for the unexpected. Very TV Guide synopsis. But developer polte doesn't resign himself to reusing tropes as he avoids using the ubiquitous underground secret lab to instead weave a story that economically ties all of its story points together. It's a very tight package of storytelling that avoids cliches while challenging the player with immersive point-and-click puzzles.
It's not GTAVI, there's no revolutionary weather system, but Blue Night Laundromat doesn't disappoint with its succinctness.
SurroundedByBoys
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As New York is to Marvel superheroes, Asian schoolgirls are the mainstay of any genre story. They've been fetishized as harem groupies, served as the unlikely disguise of thousand-year-old demons, and been the go-to starting background for many a zombie hunter. But the Asian schoolboy--where is his story?Answering a call that absolutely no one is calling, it turns out that the boys are getting it done by themselves. This "dating" game knowingly turns the convention on its head by gender-swapping a title that could be easily be mistaken for porn. With the gooners gone and no one watching, it turns out that this
appropriation of a genre that ignored has something to say.Amateurishly made by schoolboys who do away with coquettish manga illustrations in favor of mugging snapshots, Surrounded by Boys is a personal look at the growing pains of Chinese elementary schoolboys.
If you can get past the preening exaggerations, this game shows the importance of loyalty and brotherhood in a world where adolescence is constantly overshadowed by the gaokao, the national examinations that will determine the course of the rest of their lives. Slogans at the front of the class urge them towards excellence; heaps of books pile on their desks containing the multiple choice answers that they need to extract from them. And yet, between all the studying and the rounds of Valorant they sneak in, they somehow made this game.
This game does contain a rather horrendous piece of homophobia in it. It serves as a big part of the story and can't be easily removed, which may explain why the game has been removed from the Steam store despite its success as a free game. It's too bad; I hope Steam will give them a chance to change the game and make amends. It's a shameful mistake; they should be able to apologize for it and be able to grow from it.
The visual novel is a lot more jokey than these words would suggest, but this emotional core resonates with you with the final "good" ending. All this time, you're trying to make friends, and when you finally do, the nostalgia hits you. You may not be ignored like an Asian schoolboy, you may not have grown up in China, but you do remember what it's like to have friends. Good friends, among which your shared friendship is the greatest thing each of you own at that time.
('Elementary' mode finished; 'University' mode is a weird mess that lacks a emotional punch).
Buy a Croquette!
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Didn't finish it. Just wanted to share my disgust at a free game that has its beginning inundated with disclaimers and warnings not to copy its illegal behavior.
The game is a point-and-click game about a woman who wants to buy a croquette, and needs to perform in-game tasks to do so. That's it.
Could not get over the disappointment. Charming, but toothless, gutless, and self-effacing. Even the most juvenile of kid stories need a backbone. Or else how would the characters burp, vomit, and fart as needed?
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Comment on Save Point: A game deal roundup for the week of August 30 in ~games
BailerAppleby Link ParentBug Fables gets a lot of comparisons to Paper Mario TTYD, so you are in for a good time!Bug Fables gets a lot of comparisons to Paper Mario TTYD, so you are in for a good time!
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Comment on Save Point: A game deal roundup for the week of August 30 in ~games
BailerAppleby (edited )LinkIndie's Support for Venezuela is a Humble Bundle in support of disaster relief in Venezuela. It's been offered for many weeks now and is set to expire tomorrow. But here is where things get...Indie's Support for Venezuela is a Humble Bundle in support of disaster relief in Venezuela. It's been offered for many weeks now and is set to expire tomorrow.
But here is where things get interesting. After this bundle launched, more devs keep adding their games to it. When it started, it maybe had around 12, but now it has risen to 18 (of which one is DLC).
So, if you've already bought this bundle...
- Go check your Humble account, you have more games if you've gone ahead and redeemed this bundle earlier on.
If you haven't yet bought this bundle...
- You have about 26 hours from the time of this published post to get 17 games/1 DLC for CA$20.91! That is CA$1.16 per game/DLC for indie bangers like Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling, VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action, and TOEM: A Photo Adventure.
These savings may be a great reason to buy this bundle, but your purchase has a far deeper significance than your love for Steam game. That's because your purchase will directly benefit Direct Relief, a disaster relief agency that is not only involved with earthquake relief efforts in Venezuela and Colombia, but also responding to the recent catastrophic flash flooding in Nepal.
Sale ends tomorrow at midnight EST/9pm PST!
EDIT: Don't forget you can adjust your purchase so that more of it is sent to the charity. Just click on the lowest pricing tier (Humble thoughtfully assumes that you want to pay more than the advertised price) and adjust the sliders as you will.
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Comment on Peter Cullen dead: 'Transformers' Optimus Prime voice was 85 in ~movies
BailerAppleby LinkPeter Cullen explains how he created the voice for the Predator To play the Predator, Cullen describes going to an audition after doing doing 11 reels of King Kong sounds. Coughing up blood and...Peter Cullen explains how he created the voice for the Predator
To play the Predator, Cullen describes going to an audition after doing doing 11 reels of King Kong sounds. Coughing up blood and his voice tired, Cullen said the studio refused to tell him what the Predator looked like. When they finally relented, they showed him the end of the film when the Predator takes his mask off.
"When they did that I saw this ugly, ugly face and these tentacles going like this mimics the mandibles." said Cullen.
"It reminded me of an upside down horseshoe crab dying in the sun on a beach when I was a kid. It was nasty. But from that horseshoe crab was coming all these crackling sounds. Bubbles that were bursting.”
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Comment on Dolly Parton, country music legend, dies at 80 in ~music
BailerAppleby LinkA sad loss for us all. Of this tragic news, allow me to share this shining gem of a cover that may help you to better appreciate the giant of talent that walked among us. Dolly Parton - Stairway...A sad loss for us all. Of this tragic news, allow me to share this shining gem of a cover that may help you to better appreciate the giant of talent that walked among us.
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
BailerAppleby Link ParentWell, you may also find compelling: There are only two voice actors for this feature length movie: the animator, and the animator's mother There's ninety minutes of this. Not all of it is "Lisa,...Well, you may also find compelling:
- There are only two voice actors for this feature length movie: the animator, and the animator's mother
- There's ninety minutes of this. Not all of it is "Lisa, you're tearing me apart!" good, but the birth and the river crossing are forever moments to cherish
- for sure there will be copycats. Look forward to more shitty looking cows to come out of China in addition to the requisite Monkey King
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
BailerAppleby LinkNiu Lai I watched half of Niu Lai, the terrible Chinese animated film that has become a viral hit, earning more profit per cost than even Obsession on its paltry production. It looks terrible. It...Niu Lai
I watched half of Niu Lai, the terrible Chinese animated film that has become a viral hit, earning more profit per cost than even Obsession on its paltry production. It looks terrible. It has awful character models and stiff animation. It should not succeed. And yet, much like how The Room won its cult status despite its obvious shortcomings, Niu Lai wins over its audiences by presenting themes that reward continued watching despite hammy dialogue and wooden, inexpressive faces.
I don't know what it's called, but there's a specific sub-genre of Asian filmmaking in which story and dialog take a backseat to the feeling of scale. There'll be these long, faraway shots of a beautiful, lush jungle; the protagonist is there way off in the distance, allowing the audience to contemplate the inconsequence of man and the impermanence of time. Niu Lai is kind of like that, but it doesn't have the budget for beautiful vistas or high detail textures (or any textures at all, really); instead, it keeps this feeling in its back pocket as it the camera lingers on a shot where nothing happens for too long, or follows a dialogue that goes nowhere.
This may sound funny, but Niu Lai is very spiritual. It is very philosophical in how its weird-ass talking cow with a human face protagonist tries to find his identity and place in the world. But it's not overt in how it does it, instead allowing the audience to experience these ideas as themes, the same way The Room is able to put together a coherent, resolving theme in a movie with incoherent, terrible components of a film.
To me, I think the creator of Niu Lai may not be a genius, but he certainly had a true vision for this movie. He had a specific story to tell, and despite all the shortcomings (oh my god the lighting, the PS1 textures), he was able to do it. Most importantly, this vision conforms with China censorship laws, meaning that there is not one part of this movie that anyone can criticize for being anti-society or subversive. It has talking animals; the animals do not live in China, nor do they reflect at all as metaphors for culture and government. But to me, this is a very Chinese movie that is made for Chinese audiences that are used to government-approved slop and are willing to test the limits of their taste ironic appreciation.
I could be wrong about Niu Lai. I've only watched half of it. I'm not inspired to watch the rest. Maybe something will happen at the end to change everything around. And yet, Niu Lai has the tiniest semblance of a plot, making for following its narrative the same way you aren't able to retell a Bob & Dave Mr Show episode from top to bottom.
As good as this is for the creator, this must be embarrassing for a Chinese film industry stuck on obligatory anti-Japanese war films and influencer stunt casting that usually experiences box office success by running bought-out screenings in completely empty halls in the dead of night. Well, if not that, then at least a Chinese audience member can look up the grotesque, inexpressive face of a half-man, half-cow and contemplate upon the nature of the universe.
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Comment on Reminder to myself that my employer does not give a shit about me in ~life
BailerAppleby LinkI hear you. Your reminder is a reminder to me that I am replaceable, even for all the worry and concern I put into my job. All the corrections I make, all the strategic initiatives I propose... I...I hear you. Your reminder is a reminder to me that I am replaceable, even for all the worry and concern I put into my job. All the corrections I make, all the strategic initiatives I propose... I need to remind myself that I'm just a follower who doesn't need to be listened to. Especially when I am right.
Hunker down. Don't stand out. Answer with "will do", and "received with thanks". Be more agreeable. Make for a better workplace.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
BailerAppleby LinkBlackberry Honey I may have gotten in over my head with this one. Click for more So I got this free. And I think to myself, why not? So I give it a try. And now I'm overwhelmed. Blackberry Honey...Blackberry Honey
I may have gotten in over my head with this one.
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So I got this free. And I think to myself, why not? So I give it a try. And now I'm overwhelmed.
Blackberry Honey is what I think is called a yuri story. Not knowing which side of the LGBT tag this on, whether realistic or fantasy, lurid or sober, I booted up this linear visual novel to have exactly half of my expectations met, and the other half wildly exceeded.
The story follows Lorina, a plucky young woman who takes up a new job working as a maid at the Lennard mansion who finds oppressive work conditions, unfriendly coworkers, a gruelling lifestyle, and love.
The things I have come to dread about this genre are all here. As a visual novel, the story likes to take its time, wallowing at a slow pace during story beats that go nowhere, making it so that each button press feels satisfying as another step taken in this mammoth journey of words. More than that, visual novels tend embrace their limitations wholeheartedly, resulting in long passages where you're looking at nothing but a background image, or only ever see character portraits of the main characters. And I was not prepared for that.
These ladies are loaded for bear. They have personality to spare, so to speak. Or to be more colloquial about it, remember that graphic artist from the Conan show who was featured many times for his hobby of drawing anime woman with enormous breasts? This is Pierre territory. Honkers if you're horny. Like, 5318008 times a million. Like, if the state allowed people to choose their own capital punishment, and you said "motorboat," this would be your death.
It could be that I'm very superficial to focus on these points of interest, but the fact remains that the story never brings it up. No one talks about it; it never once becomes relevant to the story. The characters have massive boobs; deal with it. And so the story goes on.
And how it does. Maybe others have used it before, but there's a genre I like to call "suffering porn". It's usually a soap opera about an unlucky person and the oppression they encounter every day. As the lowest person they know, every encounter shows the hero to be exploited and picked. It brings a lot of satisfaction to the viewer for being an audience stand-in; you get to sympathize with someone else's suffering and also enjoy it blamelessly. It's a show of solidarity that acknowledges the injustice of the system without the messiness of directly challenging it.
And, very smartly, that's what Blackberry Honey is: an indictment of the class struggle that is Victorian England. All of the conflicts and injustice come from this unfair system that oppresses people like Lorina. There is no escape from the exploitation inherent this world.
But Blackberry Honey wasn't written by Charles Dickens, who might've had a big boob fetish, it's possible. The story uses the backdrop of an unjust Victoria England and populates it a complicated character like Lorina. For one thing, she's very naive. When she calls out the other maids for not being good workers, the others rightfully call her out for allowing herself to be exploited. To what use are her demonstrated traits of loyalty and diligence if she is just meat to be ground up, never to be appreciated? If she's not smart enough to avoid work like the others, then it's on her. What's more, Lorina isn't as virtuous as she may think she is. She is full of malice, wishing retribution on her fellow maids and her 12-year-old mistress, Constance.
This is all to say that she's a complicated character. She's not some Mary Sue, or some helpless damsel. No, she's somebody with conflicting morals. That has gargantuan breasts. Like, back-problems-by-30-sized chest pillows that she is depicted as using one arm to hoist up in order to stand. It's like you have to divorce the text from the visuals, that her oversexualized appearance is somehow inconsequential to the suffering porn of the story. It's like it's not supposed to be titillating, but there most definitely will be porn be to come. I understand that this is a slow burn, that the agony of the daily oppression will build up Lorina's eventual lesbian lay-up with Taohua who, from where I am currently in the story, only shows up once but remains top-of-mind. But I'm too engrossed to get the Kleenex out.
Blackberry Honey is very far removed from other LGBT-type games I've played before like Get in the Car, Loser and Arcade Spirits that have more realistic contemporary portrayals. It's a long way before I get to the end, but I'm most interested to see what the game has to say about Victorian England, but I feel the lesbian love story will get in the way of that.
Stray Observations (so far)
- Redheads? From France?
- This all-female depiction of Victorian England is a lot like the 70s Blaxploitation technique of creating all-black worlds, like The Wiz.
- I suppose Lorina can be viewed as a moral character who isn't dumb and has to do the right thing, even if that means accepting her exploitation. I guess. Having this interpretation sure won't get in the way of the porn.
Not sure how you feel about the wuxia genre, but if you want more and are willing to pay for it, maybe try Phantom Blade Zero. It's a new game still in the booster rocket state of its hype that is purportedly a ringing endorsement for game of the year as well as a clear look at the apparent nascent trajectory of Chinese gaming.