TyrianMollusk's recent activity
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Comment on Steam Summer Sale 2026: Hidden gems in ~games
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Comment on Steam Summer Sale 2026: Hidden gems in ~games
TyrianMollusk Link ParentHaha, we feel almost the same right down to the label names :) I honestly didn't know those all came from Steam. Can't be surprised they leave a bit to be desired. There was a time I'd have...Haha, we feel almost the same right down to the label names :) I honestly didn't know those all came from Steam. Can't be surprised they leave a bit to be desired. There was a time I'd have assumed someone at Valve had some serious metrics to pull from... Not any more. They undoubtedly scribbled them on a napkin between hookers and blow, and once they were found passed out 30 minutes before going live, someone figured it was fine because who cares about those games anyway.
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Comment on Steam Summer Sale 2026: Hidden gems in ~games
TyrianMollusk LinkI know these are totally arbitrary, but I always feel like those categorization tiers are a ways off, and also really underestimate the crushing obscurity of not being recent, which can leave a...I know these are totally arbitrary, but I always feel like those categorization tiers are a ways off, and also really underestimate the crushing obscurity of not being recent, which can leave a gem graduate practically unknown or a distant memory.
Anything decent with only double-digit-ish Steam reviews is pretty shockingly overlooked, for example, and it seems like most things under 500 fall a lot closer to 150, so I might go more like 100, 300, 800, 2000.
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Comment on Steam Summer Sale 2026: Hidden gems in ~games
TyrianMollusk (edited )LinkYes I Know I Play a Lot of Roguelites: Cavity Busters ($4.49, -70%) -- Top-down roguelite with a lot of engaging action play and a weird "toothpunk" theme. (Buried Treasure) RAM Random Access...- Exemplary
Yes I Know I Play a Lot of Roguelites:
- Cavity Busters ($4.49, -70%) -- Top-down roguelite with a lot of engaging action play and a weird "toothpunk" theme. (Buried Treasure)
- RAM Random Access Mayhem ($8.99, -40%) -- Top-down roguelite where you don't have a character but jump between controlling enemies, each of which plays differently and has its own tricks. (Cult Classic)
- Space Bandit ($1.79, -10%) -- Simpler and lightning fast top-down shooter with active enemies. (Buried Treasure)
- Curse of the Dead Gods ($3.99, -80%) -- Very good top-down roguelite with heavy melee and parry influence. More limited run variety, but good action and challenge. (Gem Graduate)
- Cryptark ($3.74, -75%) -- Top-down shooter roguelite where you infiltrate and disable the dungeons you fight in. No cross-run progression, but a grueling spending-management campaign mode and a more standard use-what-you-find mode. (Cult Classic)
- Fury Unleashed ($1.99, -90%) -- Great 2d-platformer-twinstick with good, fast action. (Gem Graduate)
- Trinity Fusion ($4.99, -75%) -- 2d platformer roguelite with some heavier action, cute mechanics, and an unlockable parry, but rather overwrought bosses. (Cult Classic)
- Maraka ($1.61, -82%) -- Janky but cute throwing-things-around game with deceptively rich active player abilities. Slow enemies but not a horde survivor. (Buried Treasure)
- Red Tether ($6.49, -50%) -- Bizarre little roguelite where you fight using bungie cables. (Buried Treasure)
- Odinfall ($7.79, -40%) -- Top-down shooter roguelite, with very Nuclear Throne feel, but with upgrade attachments for weapons, and an overmap you can choose routes through. Early access, and slow devs, but still fun and plays well. (Underrated Great)
- Metal Mutation ($1.69, -90%) -- Janky top-down melee-oriented roguelite with strong parry and somewhat unusual upgrading. (Buried Treasure)
- Replikator ($2.09, -65%) -- Top-down shooter with fairly intense but forgiving action. (Buried Treasure)
- Airlock Arena ($5.99, -50%) -- Cute local multiplayer ship-raiding roguelite hijinks. (Shockingly Overlooked)
More Shooting Things but Not Scrolling Shmups:
- Assault Android Cactus ($3.99, -80%) -- Absolutely top-tier arcade twin-stick, with a lot of variety across levels and characters. (Gem Graduate)
- Galak-Z ($2.99, -85%) -- Neat space shooter with a randomized endless mode. Often does not bother to go on sale lately, and this is a great price, so doubly notable. (Underrated Great)
- Devastator ($0.97, -86%) -- Arcade twin-stick that manages to mix more pure twin-stick play with carefully engaging rules/scenarios for a unique recipe targeting more expert players. (Shockingly Overlooked)
- Nidus ($2.60, -70%) -- Mind-bending dual-stick where you control two asymmetric characters against weird floral enemies. (Underrated Great)
- Devader ($1.83, -77%) -- Weird little arcade twin-stick with some neat and unusual action tidbits (bullets can be consumed for firepower) and creepy bosses. (Under the Radar)
- Combat Complex ($3.99, -50%) -- Early access top-down shooter loot ARPG that doesn't have much on the ARPG side, but plays like an arcade twin-stick with neat enemy-on-enemy elements. (Buried Treasure)
- Beat Invaders ($2.49, -75%) -- Space Invaders reimagined as freighter defense with some roguelite upgrades for variety. Has some simple but fun elements that enhance the action. (Underrated Great)
- Yar's Revenge ($1.99, -80%) -- Rail shmup with strong two-stick play (instead of the painful single stick a lot of rail shooters have seemed stuck on) and hit-chaining design for extra interest. (Buried Treasure)
- Bot Vice ($3.99, -60%) -- Gallery shmup with fixed but tough levels and unusual action options. (Gem Graduate)
- Relic Hunters Legend ($4.79, -76%) -- Top-down shooter ARPG. Poor, childish story, but some nice action, ability combinations, and space for team play. (Gem Graduate)
- Ardein.Fall ($1.24, -75%) -- Janky space shooter defense roguelite with cute run development and unusual structure where run generation only changes daily. (Shockingly Overlooked)
Now Some Scrolling Shmups:
- Sisters Royale: Five Sisters Under Fire ($4.19, -70%) -- Vertical. AKA Castle Shikigami 4. (Buried Treasure)
- SophStar ($4.99, -50%) -- Vertical. (Buried Treasure)
- Project X: Light Years ($8.99, -50%) -- Horizontal. (Buried Treasure)
- Shikhondo: Youkai Rampage ($7.49, -50%) -- Vertical. (Under the Radar)
- Natsuki Chronicles ($2.99, -85%) -- Horizontal. (Underrated Great)
- Rolling Gunner ($5.99, -70%) -- Horizontal. (Buried Treasure)
- Grand Cross: ReNovation ($5.99, -60%) -- Vertical. (Buried Treasure)
- Revolver360 Re:actor ($1.99, -80%) -- Horizontal. (Underrated Great)
- Super Galaxy Squadron EX Turbo ($2.49, -75%) -- Vertical. (Underrated Great)
- Zeit^2 ($1.99, -80%) -- Horizontal. Time-puzzle action. (Under the Radar)
Maybe A Little Less Shooting:
- Tipston Salvage ($4.24, -75%) -- PC didn't get a good Storage Inc, but this adorable, multiplayer object filing and retrieval game fills in pretty well. (Buried Treasure)
- Final Knight ($8.39, -40%) -- Single-player party (yes, party) beatemup roguelite with a rich space for player action. Early access. (Underrated Great)
- Trials: Evolution ($4.99, -75%) -- Looks like goofy biking but actually fascinatingly advanced 2d platforming, with a host of user-created levels (that you need to download separately in a pack, because Ubisoft shut the servers down). (Gem Graduate)
- SpiderHeck ($5.99, -60%) -- Fun versus platform fighter. (Gem Graduate)
Some Always-Cheap Mentionables that Tend to Skip Sales and are Unsurprisingly Not Discounted this Time Either (aka Oh Look There were More Shooting Things After All):
- Radio Free Europa ($4.99) -- Space shooter roguelite with some nice action and a lot of weapons and enemies. (Shockingly Overlooked)
- Huenison ($0.99) -- Bizarre amalgamation of puzzle and shump. (Shockingly Overlooked)
- Nova Swarm ($3.99) -- Gallery shmup with random enemies and a lot of fun personality. (Shockingly Overlooked) This has a 30 key giveaway thread open for a few days in their news. Please only enter if you'd play, since this is just a solo dev trying to get their game noticed and get some more players on the leaderboards. And the game's only $4 you cheapskate thinking about clicking that giveaway. Yes, you. You're making the game cry.
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Comment on Steam Winter Sale 2025: Hidden gems in ~games
TyrianMollusk (edited )Link ParentIt definitely draws heavily on Geometry Wars, and of course there's the dev's previous game Trigonarium which has a lot of the exact same (but less refined) elements. Shape-fighting is used in a...It definitely draws heavily on Geometry Wars, and of course there's the dev's previous game Trigonarium which has a lot of the exact same (but less refined) elements. Shape-fighting is used in a lot of twin-sticks, so the Geometry Wars DNA runs through the genre after GW led to a kind of resurgence back in the Xbox 360 days, and anything that looks like GW is going to look like a lot of things.
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Comment on Steam Winter Sale 2025: Hidden gems in ~games
TyrianMollusk Link ParentBought this the day it came out because the demo was so good, and it hasn't disappointed. I only wish the dev put a little discount on it so we could legitimately push it in sale threads, but it...Bought this the day it came out because the demo was so good, and it hasn't disappointed. I only wish the dev put a little discount on it so we could legitimately push it in sale threads, but it seems to still be doing well for such a niche game, and even without a discount, I'm seeing it pop up in Winter sale threads here and there.
Don't forget the great little side-modes. They really add and can also be a gentler way to learn some things outside campaign runs, plus boss practice in boss rush (I hold my strikes way too much in boss fights, so I really do need to focus-practice them if I'm ever getting even an "easy" clear).
Sektori is probably the best arcade twin-stick since Assault Android Cactus, which is actually discounted to $4, instead of their usual $5 sale price. Play Waves for free, then buy Cactus and Sektori.
If someone wants even more hidden gem twin-sticks, there's AtomHex (off-Steam shareware, but cheap), Twin Ruin, Devader, Windowkill, Devastator, and Combat Complex (tries to be a top-down shooter crawler ARPG, but comes out feeling like an intense and clever little twin-stick shooter with some pointless stat gearing rigamarole, and a sad lack of scoring).
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Comment on The 2025 Steam Winter Sale is live (runs Dec 18 - Jan 5) in ~games
TyrianMollusk (edited )Link ParentI've only played it a bit, but for my partner and myself, Hero Siege felt really simplistic and clunky, and half-paying-attention to it over the years, it really seems like the devs are just kinda...I've only played it a bit, but for my partner and myself, Hero Siege felt really simplistic and clunky, and half-paying-attention to it over the years, it really seems like the devs are just kinda doing whatever, not like they have a great plan or vision... On the other hand, they seem to be transitioning to a model where the existing class DLC nonsense will just be skin DLCs, and the classes will be included as part of the game, so the base game's future value is likely much higher than its current price... at least unless they change their minds again.
Suggest studying some play videos too see what it really looks like in action, and make sure it'll be worth playing, not just pushing numbers around. Unless pushing numbers is your thing, of course :)
Maybe consider Chronicon ($5 or $11 with DLC--one a class, one an endgamey pets thingy), if you don't have it.
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Comment on Crunchyroll is destroying its subtitles for no good reason in ~anime
TyrianMollusk Link ParentYes, yes, pedantry aside, basic video compositing is something a major service like Crunchyroll needs to help partners get going in return for the non-trivial cut of CR's money they're skimming.Yes, yes, pedantry aside, basic video compositing is something a major service like Crunchyroll needs to help partners get going in return for the non-trivial cut of CR's money they're skimming.
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Comment on Crunchyroll is destroying its subtitles for no good reason in ~anime
TyrianMollusk Link ParentIf a major streamer can't figure out their caching infrastructure and such to balance the burdens, maybe they need to work on their app so it can handle video overlays on a basic level.That's a usage of transcoding and can be rather computationally expensive, especially to perform at scale
If a major streamer can't figure out their caching infrastructure and such to balance the burdens, maybe they need to work on their app so it can handle video overlays on a basic level.
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Comment on Crunchyroll is destroying its subtitles for no good reason in ~anime
TyrianMollusk Link ParentThe trick here is what's effectively on-the-fly hardsubbing, and it removes any endpoint device dependency issues from the equation. Even a free home streaming box app like Plex has the ability to...If it was more widely supported they could use PGS to soft sub while still making it look almost as good (it's possible to hard sub animating subtitles though I don't think you can do that in PGS, but that kind of thing is exceptionally rare).
The trick here is what's effectively on-the-fly hardsubbing, and it removes any endpoint device dependency issues from the equation. Even a free home streaming box app like Plex has the ability to stream subtitles by combining them with the video as it's sent out.
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Comment on The video-game industry has a problem: there are too many games in ~games
TyrianMollusk Link ParentThis is kind of where Steam curators were supposed to come in, to make narrower views of the massive Steam store, but like most things Valve does, it was half-baked, half-assed, and abandoned...This is kind of where Steam curators were supposed to come in, to make narrower views of the massive Steam store, but like most things Valve does, it was half-baked, half-assed, and abandoned without even being meaningfully functional.
If the game industry finds this issue a problem, they should get a discovery consortium together and build something that people can use to help connect each other with games. Something that isn't owned by one company/store/platform, that isn't built as a lowest common denominator marketing arm for mass releases, and where the companies do their diligence to support it but step back and let people actually be the actors.
If someone pretty much picks up the same games I do (and more importantly, passes the same games I pass), they shouldn't need to be a professional influencer for me to see when they like something I haven't noticed. That should be easy technology, but it needs to be done one place for everything, and user oriented so we can tune out the noise.
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Comment on Karen Gillan joins the new ‘Highlander’ and has the best reaction to the news in ~movies
TyrianMollusk LinkUgh. Her? She's a pretty face, but I hope she doesn't drag it down too much with her "acting". If only they would just give us a way to get the superior theatrical cut of the original, instead of...Ugh. Her? She's a pretty face, but I hope she doesn't drag it down too much with her "acting".
If only they would just give us a way to get the superior theatrical cut of the original, instead of the bastardized other versions, I'd give them any pass on the remake they want. It's sad how few have seen it.
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Comment on What are some great actual comedies made in the last twenty years? in ~movies
TyrianMollusk LinkMy Super Ex-Girlfriend 2006 Crank 2006 Going By the Book 2007 KOR Tropic Thunder 2008 Get Smart 2008 Dachimawa Lee 2008 KOR Phobia 2 2009 THA - segment 5 The Other Guys 2010 Detention 2011 John...- My Super Ex-Girlfriend 2006
- Crank 2006
- Going By the Book 2007 KOR
- Tropic Thunder 2008
- Get Smart 2008
- Dachimawa Lee 2008 KOR
- Phobia 2 2009 THA - segment 5
- The Other Guys 2010
- Detention 2011
- John Dies at the End 2012
- The World's End 2013
- Search Party 2014
- Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping 2016
- Central Intelligence 2016
- Game Night 2018
- Extreme Job 2019 KOR
- Hobbs & Shaw 2019
- Night of the Undead 2020 KOR (note: not a zombie movie)
- Smoking Causes Coughing 2022 FRA (we go for pretty much all of this guy's willfully bizarre work, but it's very YMMV, and this will give you a good taste without without too much investment)
- Krazy House 2024
For shows, I'll throw out Angie Tribeca (season 1), The Middleman, Garth Marenghi's Darkplace (2004 but I'll list it anyway), Pacific Heat, Danger 5, Bullet in the Face, Archer (season 1), Toast of London, and if you want a sketch show, Auntie Donna's Big Ol House of Fun and That Mitchell and Webb Look.
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Comment on Steam Summer Sale 2025: Hidden gems in ~games
TyrianMollusk Link ParentYeah, a pretty cute game. Finally someone at least doing a little to fill that Storage Inc void in the world. It's not quite it, but at least it's something and actually has user levels, the only...Yeah, a pretty cute game. Finally someone at least doing a little to fill that Storage Inc void in the world. It's not quite it, but at least it's something and actually has user levels, the only thing Storage Inc really needed. A shame Storage Inc 2 went the wrong direction, but at least Tipston is trying something.
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Comment on The 2025 Steam Summer Sale is live (runs June 26 - July 10) in ~games
TyrianMollusk LinkIt's kind of funny, looks like my main sale purchases are going to be Netherworld Covenenat, which is still on its launch discount, and Bloodrush Undying Wish, which is inexplicably launching in...It's kind of funny, looks like my main sale purchases are going to be Netherworld Covenenat, which is still on its launch discount, and Bloodrush Undying Wish, which is inexplicably launching in the middle of the seasonal sale. There's also BlazBlue Entropy Effect's new character DLC, also on launch sale, so none of that is really seasonal sale stuff.
I'll pick a couple shmups to pick up, probably Divine Orders and Assault Shell 2, but those are both stingy sales. Only particular sale-sale items I'm looking at are Void Expanse finally putting their DLC back on sale after 2 1/2 years of nothing, and 30XX's character DLC finally getting its first sale, but those are minor even if holdouts.
Was actually rather hoping to pick up Relic Hunters Legend, after they finally put a demo up so I could see the game had more meat to it than it looked like, but annoyingly, they seem to have put the demo up right in the middle of the Feb NextFest with the game on sale for only a few days, and then nothing since for anyone who saw the demo later, despite pushing release (from early access) back to Q3. Indie devs man, it's like they are just flailing around doing random things. Someone in their forum mentioned devs had said on discord they would run another sale alongside launching their next game (Hell Clock), so end of July-ish I guess for that. Better than nothing, I suppose.
I guess I'll pick up Idun Frontline Survival (tower defense game where you move the towers around, not a horde survivor) instead, but was hoping to get some partner co-op going with Relic Hunters. We'll have to get that from Synthetik 2 instead, since they finally got their next update out after like two years stalled early access, though the game still seems like rather a mess plus it already screwed up my save. I knew it going in, but man those are terrible devs. I so wish someone else made something like Synthetik, so I could just never deal with these guys again.
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Comment on Steam Spring Sale suggestions in ~games
TyrianMollusk Link ParentFar as I know, you can't use Steam Input without a controller, and you can't key events off non-controller actions. You can send kbm, not react to kbm. 3rd party tools like autohotkey might be...Far as I know, you can't use Steam Input without a controller, and you can't key events off non-controller actions. You can send kbm, not react to kbm. 3rd party tools like autohotkey might be able to, though, and if hobbes64 has a controller around then they can certainly use Steam Input to cover it.
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Comment on Steam Spring Sale suggestions in ~games
TyrianMollusk Link ParentThanks. Pointed compliment, too, given I coined it from the historical source of royal purple dye: grinding up snail shells in Tyr. Sadly, I later started playing Guild Wars 2, which is set in the...Very regal.
Thanks. Pointed compliment, too, given I coined it from the historical source of royal purple dye: grinding up snail shells in Tyr.
Sadly, I later started playing Guild Wars 2, which is set in the continent of Tyr, and around there I just look like some bozo fansnail :/
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Comment on Steam Spring Sale suggestions in ~games
TyrianMollusk Link ParentThe moderation is pretty important. Steam has a weird moderation policy. The devs can have mods and do anything they want, zero rules enforced by Steam whatever the mods do. Alternatively, the...I find that how usable a Steam forum is directly relates to how large of a community the related product has.
The moderation is pretty important. Steam has a weird moderation policy. The devs can have mods and do anything they want, zero rules enforced by Steam whatever the mods do. Alternatively, the devs can not provide mods, and the forum defaults to Valve's mods, who will only check reported posts (eventually) and only for clear, obvious community violations. So a few people can troll endlessly and completely destroy a forum as long as they stay in the rules enough. You get a big game that goes that way, or devs with bad mods, and you really get the worst of Steam.
Not all the forums are bad, but Steam does seem to attract a lot of toxicity that no one does anything about, and so many people are absolutely hateful in so many ways.
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Comment on Steam Spring Sale suggestions in ~games
TyrianMollusk Link ParentValve is stingy on the weirdest things. Like, why do we only have a total of only 100 slots to follow or ignore curators, but they'll track our helpfulness thumb for every review and game on the...Valve is stingy on the weirdest things. Like, why do we only have a total of only 100 slots to follow or ignore curators, but they'll track our helpfulness thumb for every review and game on the site? Let us make shopping lists instead of just the one wishlist. Or make shopping guides we can post places. Something. Anything to bring more curation to the store.
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Comment on Steam Spring Sale suggestions in ~games
TyrianMollusk (edited )Link ParentI think you can manage your news a bit from right clicking the news items in your library and selecting "show less". You can also click the gear by What's New and tell it to only show updates and...I think you can manage your news a bit from right clicking the news items in your library and selecting "show less". You can also click the gear by What's New and tell it to only show updates and not other stuff there.
I look over the Steam news page somewhat obsessively since I follow a lot of games, so the same things broadcast in my library is just a nuisance to click away every startup to remove the clutter from my games view.
Thanks for letting me know. Always glad to hear I helped a game find another owner.