dannydotcafe's recent activity
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Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 2 Discussion in ~games
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Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 2 Discussion in ~games
dannydotcafe Link ParentThank you! Honestly, trying to understand what draws me to certain looks/mechanics/genres and not others is the long-term project I'm doing across these backlog burners (and the games I've been...Thank you! Honestly, trying to understand what draws me to certain looks/mechanics/genres and not others is the long-term project I'm doing across these backlog burners (and the games I've been playing in between but unfortunately not taking the time to write about). Your mention of compulsion really hits home. It was fairly recently that I heard on a podcast (roughly paraphrasing), "I'm playing the game I feel compelled to play instead of the one I want to play." Somehow I'd never had it so clearly presented to me before, but in retrospect the different between the two things is so obvious. It really changed a lot about how I approach games.
If you do want to do what is essentially the reverse of my exercise, the Wolfenstein games are spectacular to play. Over the top, but not to a cartoonish degree. I'd love to see your take if you do!
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Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 2 Discussion in ~games
dannydotcafe Link ParentI was right there with you in the Jack Thompson era, sometimes I wonder if he had been less of a performative clown, there might have actually been a crackdown back then. I'm glad they didn't, and...I was right there with you in the Jack Thompson era, sometimes I wonder if he had been less of a performative clown, there might have actually been a crackdown back then. I'm glad they didn't, and I find it heartening that research has shown its a giant leap to go from media violence to real violence. I think its a lot harder to study the subtleties of how we assimilate everything we're exposed to, how it contributes to our worldview, etc. That's probably different for every person anyway, so most important is just to ask the question!
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Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 2 Discussion in ~games
dannydotcafe Link ParentI went into Hue a while back with the lowest of expectations. It looked like yet another slow paced puzzle platformer, one of the (probably) millions created post-Braid and Limbo. But it got me...I went into Hue a while back with the lowest of expectations. It looked like yet another slow paced puzzle platformer, one of the (probably) millions created post-Braid and Limbo.
But it got me with some really cool scenes. The one that stuck out the most was running, Indiana Jones style, from falling rocks, while switching colors on the fly to just barely escape. Like you said, a really cool game that does a lot with a little!
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Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 2 Discussion in ~games
dannydotcafe LinkI started writing about Conflict and Peace, and afterwards realized I'd included Perspective as well. I'll allow myself this rare 3-card elimination since I don't anticipate any more multi-card...- Exemplary
I started writing about Conflict and Peace, and afterwards realized I'd included Perspective as well. I'll allow myself this rare 3-card elimination since I don't anticipate any more multi-card weeks.
Flow Custom bingo 4/9 Causality Time
✅ Strange HorticultureComplexity Trust Legacy Peace
✅ Wolfenstein: The Old BloodPerspective
✅ Wolfenstein: The Old BloodHarmony Conflict
✅ Wolfenstein: The Old BloodPeace, Conflict, Perspective, and Wolfenstein
A couple years ago I stopped playing games with guns.
It started with a realization. Ever since I got a burned copy of Half-Life from a friend in 8th grade, the most constant feature of my entertainment has been shooting and killing. That's decades of non-stop guns. So I stopped. I never planned it to be permanent, or even especially strict. So many of my all-time favorites: the Fallouts, the Dooms, the aforementioned Half-Lives, are undeniably gun games. I never became violent myself, quite the contrary. But I know from experience that when we immerse ourselves in a culture, we adapt to it, it assimilates us in infinite small ways. What effect had these years of virtual shooting had on me? I can certainly name a few: I knew the names of real-life guns like they were Pokemon. Gunshots and blood and explosions were so normal I didn't given them a second thought. I would refer to the particular way blood splashed and enemies crumpled as satisfying, even a sign of good mechanical game design. I even used the word headshot like the most natural thing in the world. That's all at least a little messed up, right?
Anyway, I've been playing Wolfenstein: The Old Blood, a game all about shooting. This is a smaller side game serving as a prequel to Wolfenstein: The New Order. And let me tell you, this game, like the rest of the new Wolfenstein series, really makes shooting a whole lot of fun. You can dual-wield assault rifles that tear your enemies apart. Not enough? There's plenty of ways to make enemies explode in magnificantly gory ways. Need to reload? Get close for a beautifully choreographed melee execution. Bodies pile up in your wake, breadcrumbs that show where you've been and where you're going.
Of course these are Nazis we're talking about, and even worse they're equipped with sci-fi technology with which to enact their evil deeds. I'm inclined to agree that perhaps nothing is more important than stopping Nazis, normal or supercharged. But the game really wants me to take this a step farther, to revel in the carnage. Or at least to act out the game's hero, B.J. Blazkowicz taking joy in the destruction of his enemies.
Despite what he does when under the player's control, William Joseph Blazkowicz doesn't ever indicate that he enjoys killing, but he certainly doesn't voice any qualms about it. He even readily takes part in torture and executions. Perhaps he, like the players, has had violence so normalized that its no more enjoyable or painful than brushing his teeth.
One interesting aspect The Old Blood is that in it, you're fighting a losing war. The mission itself is a desperate effort to identify the source of Hitler's anachronistic technology, giving the allies one final hope for victory. When speaking to other characters, B.J. is resolute. "America will never fold," he says. Privately, in his narration, he seems less confident. His voice is weary; melancholic. I can't stop thinking about the opening words of the game.
This war is a disease. Passed through blood spilled by warriors.
Wars happen for reasons both good and bad. But regardless of their justification, the elemental particles of war are acts of violence, some of the most terrible things humans can do to each other. This happens every day in the real world, and I find it, and the willingness of so many to be complicit in it truly horrifying. The increasing regularity of political violence in the United States is terrifying, and I'm deeply uncomfortable with the glorification and fetishization of guns in so much of American culture. These are convictions I've developed through a life of experience.
I think that is the essential nuance. I won't revel in video game carnage because its depicting a just war. Normalized fictional violence is only normal until I step back and think about it. And think about it I do! Enjoying a violent game doesn't betray my convictions any more than watching Armageddon betrays my belief in physics.
B.J. Blazkowicz literally can't even exist outside of war. He's a video game character. If the good guys eventually prevail and bring about peace, the game will end, and B.J. will cease to exist outside of the imagination and memory of players.
I, on the other hand, have the luxury of existing, and of being able to consider my perspective. I write all this not to denounce anyone who enjoys violent games. But we should all consider what things our environment makes normal, mundane even. Taking a break from guns was important for me to contemplate this, ultimately reaffirm what I believe and who I am. And now, I'm having a whole lot of fun with Wolfenstein: The Old Blood.
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Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 1 Discussion in ~games
dannydotcafe Link ParentI wish I could force my company's IT team to play Textorcist with HJKL keys! Just kidding, I love those guys (I write from my work computer). Aside: I just looked at my notes from when I played...I wish I could force my company's IT team to play Textorcist with HJKL keys! Just kidding, I love those guys (I write from my work computer).
Aside: I just looked at my notes from when I played this a year or so ago, and I wrote "Switching back and forth for movement and typing is hard. Should try with vim or emacs keys." Never got around to trying it, but fun that I basically arrived at the same conclusion as you did!
My game idea was really pretty similar to Textorcist, in the sense of typing out words/sentences to fire them at an enemy while dodging projectiles. I wanted to poke fun at internet arguments and say something about the persistent idea that political debate is some gold standard of discourse. The player character is a master of winning fights on reddit, deciding to change the world by speaking truth to power. Of course, not all words can be available from the start. "You're literally Hitler" is a top tier line that one-shot ends arguments, but obviously requires a hero's journey-esque ordeal to be able to wield. I was playing around with implementing logical fallacies too, maybe a high-risk high-reward move (because they hit hard, unless you get called out on them). All just thoughts of course, rough ideas that I might be able to mess with at a game jam or something.
Unfortunately, my game dev experience is limiting to messing around a bit with Godot every couple of years, and I don't have it figured out intuitively enough to be able to throw together prototypes with any sort of efficiency. But designing is still fun, even if I never do anything with it!
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Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 1 Discussion in ~games
dannydotcafe Link ParentAs someone who played Bastion once in 2016 (and admittedly loved it), but has constantly listened to the soundtrack ever since (even buying the vinyl release), I can say that listening to...I've probably spent more time listening to their games than playing them.
As someone who played Bastion once in 2016 (and admittedly loved it), but has constantly listened to the soundtrack ever since (even buying the vinyl release), I can say that listening to Supergiant games is a completely valid way to experience them.
But also I really need to get back into Hades.
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Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 1 Discussion in ~games
dannydotcafe Link ParentI just have to say that you're so close to reinventing vim keys! If you're going to train anyway, this will give you an extra skill for the next time you SSH into a container with nothing but vi...I just have to say that you're so close to reinventing vim keys! If you're going to train anyway, this will give you an extra skill for the next time you SSH into a container with nothing but vi to edit a config file with!
My story about Ray Bibia: for years I'd had an idea floating around in my head to prototype a game with a combat system based around words. I iterated a bunch on the ideas but never got around to actually building something. Then I played the Textorcist, and it was a point-at-the-screen moment. They'd actually made exactly what I'd been trying to come up with. Its encouraging at least that I got pretty close design-wise to what they implemented. Ah well, one of these days I'll actually follow through with an idea.
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Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 1 Discussion in ~games
dannydotcafe Link ParentI'll admit this is the first I'd heard of Indie Pass. There's some aspect of channel surfing obscure games, essentially panning for gold, that deeply intrigues me. But yeah, that's a floodgate I...I'll admit this is the first I'd heard of Indie Pass. There's some aspect of channel surfing obscure games, essentially panning for gold, that deeply intrigues me. But yeah, that's a floodgate I don't need opened at the moment, I'll stick with my much more finite Steam library and wishlist. It does look like they have noble intentions, so hopefully they can resolve some of these issues (if they are indeed platform issues and not just bad luck!)
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Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 1 Discussion in ~games
dannydotcafe (edited )LinkFlow Custom bingo 1/9 Causality ✅ Strange Horticulture Complexity Trust Legacy Peace Perspective Harmony Conflict My bingo board gave me possibly the greatest theme I could imagine for a backlog...- Exemplary
Flow Custom bingo 1/9 Causality Time
✅ Strange HorticultureComplexity Trust Legacy Peace Perspective Harmony Conflict My bingo board
(which I'll post later tonight when I can get it from the browser tab on my other computer)gave me possibly the greatest theme I could imagine for a backlog burner month, be it Mellow or Motivated. The game is pretty cool too.Musings on Time (Strange Horticulture)
"Must be nice to have that kind of time." I still feel a wave of anger when I remember the condescending tone of this phrase. While this has usually been a petty attempt to dismiss as frivolous the things that I enjoy, there's a real question lurking in the background. Are there better things that I should do with the time I have available? As I've settled into the latter part of my 30s, became a parent, and developed healthy habits around cooking and exercise, the amount of time available for anything else seems to keep shrinking. Obviously the answer to the question is that I do spent most of my time on more important things.
Games are special though. I love playing games, reading about games, thinking about games, and thinking about writing about games. For me they're worth making the time, even though it might just be an occasional hour a few times a week. The scarcity of time adds some pressure. I need to choose games I'll maximally enjoy, right? Or worse, I need to compress the games to fit my time, play as fast as I can. Then I get to the next one in the queue faster, right?
Obviously this isn't my philosophy. I know some people like games as systems to break down, understand, and ultimately defeat. I'm the contrary. Games are a place where I can exist, be part of a narrative, or construct my own in a virtual space. When I was a kid I played Age of Empires slowly, more interested the ever-unfolding story of my civilization and its citizens than I was at attaining any win condition. When I discovered custom campaigns on the internet, I realized other people played this way too. Later I would come to love Bethesda games for how dense they are with little environmental details. Things you only notice when slowing down and taking the time to live in the world.
This brings me to Strange Horticulture, a game about running a plant shop in a setting I might describe as low-fantasy Victorian. Each day you fill customer orders for plants from your collection. Knowing which plant to sell involves an in-game guidebook filled with descriptions that are sometimes obvious, but more often require guesswork. You can leave your shop to seek new plants throughout the world, via a map with locations that when selected provide a text vignette describing your experience. This is a game about existing in a world of dusty libraries, mystical forests, and villainous towns best avoided. Yet this is all done so minimalistically, with essentially one screen and a Papers Please-esque interface. The game's music is ambient, almost meditative, but it has a sinister edge. The world is dangerous, its telling you, but your shop, with its vibrant plants well-worn wood furniture is a refuge. It all feels beautifully balanced.
All games use magic tricks to convince the player that they are more than just art and text and code. Once you see through the artifice; realize how the systems work, the illusion falls. At the moment I'm still completely under Strange Horticulture's spell. I know it won't last forever. The game is probably steering me through a linear set of events, I may not have any real choices at all. But for the moment I can stop and listen to the sound of rain while I read a letter, arrange my plants on a shelf for no other reason than aesthetics, peer through a magnifying glass at the names of tiny villages on a map, and feel, just for a few minutes, like there's no hurry. I have all the time in the world.
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Comment on Announcing the Backlog Burner event for May 2026: Shrink your unplayed games list this coming month! in ~games
dannydotcafe LinkI can't believe it's been 6 months. Since I don't think I'll be able to hit anywhere near the volume of games I did last time, I'll make it easy on myself with a 3x3 flow card. My real goal has...I can't believe it's been 6 months. Since I don't think I'll be able to hit anywhere near the volume of games I did last time, I'll make it easy on myself with a 3x3 flow card. My real goal has always been to force myself to write something coherent every week anyway, so the abstractness of the flow board will hopefully spur some creativity (and maybe a few good games!)
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Comment on November 2025 Backlog Burner: Conclusion and Recap in ~games
dannydotcafe LinkI'm very glad I was able to take part in this event! Despite limited time for games, I managed to officially play and write about 9, 3 of which I went on finish. Mode: Standard Winning Bingo!...I'm very glad I was able to take part in this event! Despite limited time for games, I managed to officially play and write about 9, 3 of which I went on finish.
Mode: Standard Winning Bingo! Finished 9/25 Has both combat and puzzles Has a lives system
✅ Darkenstein 3DHas multiple playable characters Is mostly text-based Is one of the oldest games you own
✅ WizorbOwned for more than 5 years
✅ Victor VranA solo-dev project
✅ GunpointAn updated version (remake, re-release) of an older game
✅ Grim FandangoFrom a different culture or country
✅ Call of the SeaHas a review score above 92
✅ Baba is YouUses a unique control scheme Focuses on relationships
✅ The Novelist★ Wildcard Chosen for you by someone else A romhack or total conversion mod Randomness determines your fate Considered a classic Adaptation of other media type (e.g. board game, movie)
✅ Indiana Jones and the Fate of AtlantisHas creatures Recommended by someone on Tildes Known for its replay value A modded game Set underwater From a studio you haven't heard of before Has great reviews, but not your usual type A few other games I played didn't make the cut for different reasons, but here's some scattered thoughts about those.
Special mentions (non-bingo games)
I played a bit of the beginning of Kingdoms of the Dump, a game I backed on Kickstarter way back in 2019 which dropped this month. It has wonderful pixel art and seems to hit all the right classic JRPG notes early on, but I don't think I played enough to really get a sense of the game. When I started to write my thoughts, they quickly devolved into ruminations on the passage of time in the past 6 years, so to save everyone the indignity of reading that I left it out.
I also took a stab at a few visual novels. Earlier this year I played Eliza which was the first real visual novel I've played in full, and I really enjoyed it. So I jumped into a couple that have been sitting in my library forever: Go Go Nippon and Analogue: A Hate Story. Go Go Nippon was interesting as basically a tourist guide for visiting Japan. Having visited Japan for the first time in 2014, it was nice to revisit that experience. Unfortunately I think it was a bit too, shall I say, cute-anime-girl-centric? I don't mean to imply there's anything wrong with it, but its all a bit over the top for me, so I moved on. Analogue was more interesting from the beginning. As an admitted notes & audiologs aficionado, I love the idea of piecing together a story from the logs of a derelict space ship. The ship's AI has a cartoon girl avatar, but it avoids the tropiness of the previous game. Unfortunately I found the interface clunky, and the story wasn't quite enough to capture me, so I ultimately put it down after only about half an hour.
As a last stab at VNs, I booted up The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog, a free game released a few years ago on April Fools day. I actually really liked this one. Visually it was simple Sonic the Hedgehog comic/cartoon styled, though they used some sort of texture that I think made it look wonderful. The dialogue was very well-written, and the story was surprisingly touching. The fact that it was completely linear didn't bother me (sometimes its nice not to worry about making a bad choice or missing anything). Perhaps best of all, it wrapped up in just a few hours! A great game to play over a couple evenings.
My goal wasn't to play a certain number of games, but just to write a bit about games each week, which I accomplished. It was challenging but I enjoyed it enough that I hope I can keep it going between now and the next backlog burner. Speaking of, I'm already thinking about what bingo variant I might try out. I also hope I can spend more time reading and discussing everyone else's updates, as that's the one thing I felt like I never had enough time to do!
Let me think of some highlights off the top of my head:
- Realizing Point & Click Adventure games are bad, only to subsequently re-realize they're good actually.
- Bumping into Geralt of Rivia in the most unexpected of places.
- Reminiscing about the dawn of Steam for Linux and the Golden Age of Humble Bundles.
- The great review score fiasco of 2025.
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Comment on November 2025 Backlog Burner: Week 4 Discussion in ~games
dannydotcafe Link ParentIn my mind there was still a whole lot more of this month to go, but I guess I just haven't looked at a calendar in a few days! Thank you so much for organizing this, it was a lot of fun. Forcing...In my mind there was still a whole lot more of this month to go, but I guess I just haven't looked at a calendar in a few days! Thank you so much for organizing this, it was a lot of fun. Forcing myself to write out a few paragraphs was surprisingly challenging in the beginning, but I felt like each week it got slightly easier as my dormant writing skills started to reawalen. Now to keep it going!
I played everything on Steam (for Linux of course). The first 3 weeks were split between my Steam Deck and desktop (technically a server running a Bazzite VM with GPU and NVME passthrough, but we can call it a desktop). Due to holiday travel, games from week 4 were played on my laptop (Framework 14 running Bluefin).
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Comment on November 2025 Backlog Burner: Week 4 Discussion in ~games
dannydotcafe Link ParentI'm so glad you got to Thief! Since I played it via an Eidos Demo disk when it was new, its been among my favorites. I do think the worldbuilding is a huge draw. That they start you off in what...I'm so glad you got to Thief! Since I played it via an Eidos Demo disk when it was new, its been among my favorites. I do think the worldbuilding is a huge draw. That they start you off in what seems to be just Medieval Europe, and then drawing back the curtain to show its something much more unique. And I've always loved the way it looked, but especially now in the age of retro-throwbacks, those textures and polygons are absolutely perfect!
Though it won't help you at this point, I believe TFix gives you a control preset for modern WASD, so you should be able to skip the rebinding.
And thanks for reminding me about the Forgotten City. Its been on my radar for a while, though I think I'll want to make sure I have some time and space to take my time with it!
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Comment on November 2025 Backlog Burner: Week 4 Discussion in ~games
dannydotcafe Link ParentI think I only played around with Façade for a few hours way back when it came out, but I still remember it being really cool and very ambitious. When I wrote this post I looked it up again,...I think I only played around with Façade for a few hours way back when it came out, but I still remember it being really cool and very ambitious. When I wrote this post I looked it up again, actually hoping it had been open sourced so I could take a look at how it all worked behind the scenes (I've done a lot of NLP projects, so I'd call it a professional curiosity). Unfortunately it hasn't, but if I play it again I could probably make some solid guesses.
Funny you should mention horror games. I'm not actually a big fan of most (I played about 20 minutes of the first Amnesia before swiftly exiting), but it was actually the first Alan Wake that made me start thinking about a game being more effective when the mechanics are invisible. I found walking through the woods at the beginning of that game legitimately quite scary, but once I understand how the monsters worked, had mastered the flashlight/gun combo, the illusion fell away and it was a game with mechanics. Of course its still one of my favorites! (though that goes for just about everything Remedy has ever made)
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Comment on November 2025 Backlog Burner: Week 4 Discussion in ~games
dannydotcafe Link ParentThey are Billions is a game I really need to go back to. It was originally sold to me as a game for people like me who thought the most fun part of Age of Empires was building elaborate walls and...They are Billions is a game I really need to go back to. It was originally sold to me as a game for people like me who thought the most fun part of Age of Empires was building elaborate walls and towers to keep attackers at bay. I found it way harder than expected though. That lone zombie you mention kept getting in and knocking off the first domino. I'm ready to give it another shot though!
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Comment on November 2025 Backlog Burner: Week 4 Discussion in ~games
dannydotcafe (edited )LinkNo special strategy on filling squares at this point, just putting games where they best fit Mode: Standard Winning Bingo! Finished 9/25 Has both combat and puzzles ✅ Darkenstein 3D Has multiple...No special strategy on filling squares at this point, just putting games where they best fit
Mode: Standard Winning Bingo! Finished 9/25 Has both combat and puzzles Has a lives system
✅ Darkenstein 3DHas multiple playable characters Is mostly text-based Is one of the oldest games you own
✅ WizorbOwned for more than 5 years
✅ Victor VranA solo-dev project
✅ GunpointAn updated version (remake, re-release) of an older game
✅ Grim FandangoFrom a different culture or country
✅ Call of the SeaHas a review score above 92
✅ Baba is YouUses a unique control scheme Focuses on relationships
✅ The Novelist★ Wildcard Chosen for you by someone else A romhack or total conversion mod Randomness determines your fate Considered a classic Adaptation of other media type (e.g. board game, movie)
✅ Indiana Jones and the Fate of AtlantisHas creatures Recommended by someone on Tildes Known for its replay value A modded game Set underwater From a studio you haven't heard of before Has great reviews, but not your usual type Focuses on relationships - The Novelist
The most notable thing about this game is that I continued playing it *because* I found it boring. But I'll get to that.The Novelist is a narrative game focused on the struggles of a family. It takes place completely within a house they're renting for the summer. The house itself has minimal furniture and decorations, drawing attention to notes and items that are relevant to the story. Visually it reminded me a bit of the old dinner party simulator Façade, although much better looking than that game. Also instead of interacting directly with the residents of the house, you observe them.
The player character sort of helpful ghost who hides in the house's lightbulbs, and literally reads the minds of of the family, using what it learns to whisper in their ears while they sleep and introduce new ideas (Inception, I guess). Writing this out it makes it seem much more sinister than the game presents it as.
Each of the three family members (Novelist Dan, Painter Linda, and their son Tommy) have notes, letters, journals, or drawing scattered about the house. You can also literally enter their minds and see a snapshot of a memory. Doing this detective work tells you what each of them hopes for on that particular day. You choose which of them will succeed, followed by a second person who will get a compromise version of their desire. The remaining person suffers disappointment.
During the first day in-game I was interested (its a notes & audiologs game after all). But after just a few in-game days, I realized something. I was doing basically the exact same thing every day.
The situation is different. The notes you read and the memories you see are unique. But its always 3 notes per person, one memory, and you can make 2/3 of the family happy. Their struggles are the normal struggles of a family, and they're not all that different from one another. Its not a time loop game, the summer progresses and days make reference to your choices on previous ones, but after playing for an hour it was starting to feel that way. Mundanity in both narrative and mechanics.
This couldn't really be all the game has to offer, could it? There had to be some twist, some mind-blowing revelation. I was so incredibly curious that despite my mounting boredom I kept playing. The cycle repeated 12 times in total, but I just had to know if it would actually go anywhere.
And there was no big twist, just human struggles fit into a very logical framework. As I'm sitting with the experience now, I do see the intent. Its a narrative game where choices aggregate into branching outcomes. Fallout New Vegas with a microscopic focus and scope. While playing the game it was seldom clear whether the narrative branched or would have been the same with a different choice, though that's a bit like life I guess. Looking up some of the other endings, I realize that there's a lot more variance in the story than I had initially credited it with. This combined with the fact that it takes only about 3 hours to finish, and is the work of a single developer does make me appreciate it a lot more as an art project.
But I don't think I can get past just how coldly mechanical the experience of playing it felt, just a few steps removed from reading plot points from a spreadsheet. Multiple endings are interesting, but there's no chance at all I'll want to play again with different choices. Something I'd like to write more about at some point is how much I love the experience with a game early on, before I can see how the machine works. Early on I can suspend disbelief that a game is a cohesive world, and at a certain point once I see how the mechanics of it control everything, it loses some of that effectiveness. I think that point was far too early in this game, and once the illusion dropped there just wasn't all that much left.
Adaptation of other media type (e.g. board game, movie) - Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
Last week I played a bit of Grim Fandango, a Lucasarts Adventure that had caught my attention years ago, hooked me with it its setting and style, and then immediately put me off with the obtuseness of its puzzles. It prompted an existential crisis - did games like Monkey Island and Sam & Max, which I'd played so many years ago and thought I loved, just as bad? Had I been living a lie because I hadn't known any better?
JCPheonix's comment on my post gave me some hope that maybe Grim Fandango was an outlier. So this week I gave Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis a try, a chance for classic Point and Click adventure games to have a redemption. And I can say right away it did! Adventure games are good actually!
Right from the first screen the game shows off great art and a sense of humor. It's very much a cartoon caricature of Indiana Jones, but this fits the style of the game well. I laughed when Indy made a difficult trek through dense jungle and over a chasm to arrive at Tikal, only to discover souvenir stand and a direct road his companion took instead. Having lived for a while not too far from Mayan ruins in Central America, I think that's about right. On the fact that the only other person near Tikal is a snobby Englishman, I guess I'll point to my mention of colonialism in Call of the Sea and leave it at that.
I think the puzzles are great, providing a bit of friction without being overly difficult. I haven't finished the game yet, so there might be a difficulty jump later. The times have have looked up hints have been more about keeping the game moving. With limited time to play I don't want to waste too much of it running back and forth across the world. I do hope Indy is cashing in on frequent flyer miles though, since he's been back and forth from Azores and Iceland at least 4 or 5 times.
Mostly I just wish I had played this as a 13 year old, when I was hungry for new computer games and a huge fan of Indiana Jones. I'll give this game a final rating of very good, and much better than Grim Fandango.
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Comment on November 2025 Backlog Burner: Week 3 Discussion in ~games
dannydotcafe Link ParentIts good to know that my memories of enjoying those games weren't completely youthful ignorance. In my list of potential backlog burner games I have another classic Lucasarts point and click that...Its good to know that my memories of enjoying those games weren't completely youthful ignorance. In my list of potential backlog burner games I have another classic Lucasarts point and click that I've never played - Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. After Grim Fandango I wasn't planning on touching it, though your comment gives me hope, and I think I'll give it a try before the month is up!
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Comment on November 2025 Backlog Burner: Week 3 Discussion in ~games
dannydotcafe Link ParentThanks! Watching a letsplay is probably what I'll do at this point, since in the few days since I played Grim Fandango, any desire to go back and engage with it's puzzles has completely...Thanks! Watching a letsplay is probably what I'll do at this point, since in the few days since I played Grim Fandango, any desire to go back and engage with it's puzzles has completely evaporated.
The puzzles of Baba however, keep growing on me! I'm sure the difficulty will scale as I continue playing, but I suspect in this case mental exhaustion could be mitigated by a willingness to back off (and arrive at the solution a little bit later when folding laundry).
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Comment on November 2025 Backlog Burner: Week 3 Discussion in ~games
dannydotcafe LinkTwo more games gives me a 5-in-a-row! I'll definitely continue filling out the board, though there's zero chance for a blackout. Unless maybe I get kidnapped and held in a room with nothing but my...Two more games gives me a 5-in-a-row! I'll definitely continue filling out the board, though there's zero chance for a blackout. Unless maybe I get kidnapped and held in a room with nothing but my steam deck and browser running tildes. If you see me complete the full board send help! (no rush though)
Mode: Standard Winning Bingo! Finished 7/25 Has both combat and puzzles Has a lives system
✅ Darkenstein 3DHas multiple playable characters Is mostly text-based Is one of the oldest games you own
✅ WizorbOwned for more than 5 years
✅ Victor VranA solo-dev project
✅ GunpointAn updated version (remake, re-release) of an older game
✅ Grim FandangoFrom a different culture or country
✅ Call of the SeaHas a review score above 92
✅ Baba is YouUses a unique control scheme Focuses on relationships ★ Wildcard Chosen for you by someone else A romhack or total conversion mod Randomness determines your fate Considered a classic Adaptation of other media type (e.g. board game, movie) Has creatures Recommended by someone on Tildes Known for its replay value A modded game Set underwater From a studio you haven't heard of before Has great reviews, but not your usual type An updated version (remake, re-release) of an older game - Grim Fandango
Only a few weeks late for Dia de Los Muertos, I gave Grim Fandango a try. Since playing Monkey Island and Sam and Max long long ago, I've declared myself a fan of Lucasarts adventure games, although I haven't touched one in years now. Even from a quick glance, you can see that Grim Fandango is a wonderfully unique game, and I've wanted to play it for about as long as I can remember. When the remaster came out I grabbed it right away. And checking the calendar, I realize that was 10 years ago, of course.
Finally starting this long-awaited game, I immediately fell in love with the presentation. The graphics are simple 3D models against pre-rendered backgrounds, but with a really great sense of style. The voice acting is good and the dialogue is very funny. I don't know how they came up with the idea to make a Film Noire game about Day of the Dead, but I love the setting.
The remaster is also well done, mostly because it actually changes very little. There are updated, smoother models, though they're quite faithful to the originals, and there is new lighting and shadows that complements it well. I can make a direct comparison between old and new because swapping between them is just a button in the game, something I'm always happy to see in a remaster.
As far as actually playing it, the game's first few tasks were straightforward, clearly directing me to whatever was next. This signposting lasted for a half hour or so, and then abruptly ended.
A couple early-game spoilers in the next paragraph!
I had deduced that I needed to plug up the pneumatic message tube system to advance the story. I knew the what, but didn't have the how. But I was open to a bit of trial and error. I had a loaf of bread which could be sent through the tubes, though nothing happened. Then I realized I could fill a balloon with packing foam and send it through the tubes, which I tried. But still nothing happened.
Finally I checked hints online, which told me I had done the correct thing, but I needed to do it 3 more times to trigger the event! What value did this add to the puzzle, or the experience? At the very least there could have been some hint that repeating the action was the way to go.
"Seriously? This isn't like the Lucasarts adventures I remember," I say to myself. And then I think a little bit more, I remember that this is EXACTLY like those other games. Retreading every room for the 100th time, clicking on every object I see, trying to figure out how to trigger something, anything! I had youthful resilience and a lot more free time, and was willing to chip away aimlessly until I stumbled on a solution. These days I don't consider that especially fun.
I'm not sure how much longer I'll play Grim Fandango. I like the setting and writing enough that I might continue, but I'll certainly be using hints or maybe even just a all out walkthrough to keep things moving.
Has a review score above 92 - Baba is You
Honestly I can't think of a lot to say about this game. It might be flawless, a pure puzzle game, deceptively simple. Solutions range from straightforward to something that feels like I've hacked the game and broken the fabric of its reality.Puzzles are small, and I think almost always optional. Advancing to a new stage just requires solving a certain number in an area, so the one time I got stuck was more a function of my own compulsion rather than a gate put in place by the game.
Despite all this, its probably not a game I'll play all that often. I'm generally more inclined towards narratives, cohesive worlds I can explore and spending time in. Still, Baba is You will probably live on all my computers, maybe forever. 100mb of storage devoted to the occasion when the mood strikes.
Errata: Some fact-checkers might point out that it Baba is You has a Metacritic score of 87, which I just discovered as I was about to hit post. In my defense, I had picked it by sorting my library by Steam review score, which doesn't provide a numerical value, although steamdb says that translates to a 95. And since we all know Metacritic is meaningless anyway, I'm going to stand by my choice.
This is a very interesting looking game, multiplied by the fact that it only exists in one place outside the mainstream.
But mostly I'm just excited to see a reference to the Arcane Kids Manifesto! Bad is more interesting than good, and Stop listening to advice are probably way bigger influences on how I live my life than I'd like to admit!