kfwyre's recent activity

  1. Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Conclusion and Recap in ~games

    kfwyre
    Link Parent
    No worries! I was super happy to have you join us. It's always nice to see new names hop on our funny little train we've got going here. I'm sure Wes has already told you, but we run these every 6...

    No worries! I was super happy to have you join us. It's always nice to see new names hop on our funny little train we've got going here.

    I'm sure Wes has already told you, but we run these every 6 months each May and November, so if you're feeling up for feeling the burn again, feel free to join us for the next one. We'd love to have you back!

    2 votes

  2. Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Conclusion and Recap in ~games

    kfwyre
    Link Parent
    Love the non-Steam focus, and I'm impressed with how much you committed to your games. Like, those are NOT short titles and you still got through so many! The Backlog Burner mullet. You love to...

    Love the non-Steam focus, and I'm impressed with how much you committed to your games.

    Like, those are NOT short titles and you still got through so many!

    motivated towards game clearing, mellow towards the bingo

    The Backlog Burner mullet. You love to see it.

    2 votes

  3. Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Conclusion and Recap in ~games

    kfwyre
    Link Parent
    Hey, I just wandered in here off the street. Great coffee! Anyway, I'm looking for the meetup for the Dream Daddy fanclub. Am I in the right place?

    Hey, I just wandered in here off the street. Great coffee!

    Anyway, I'm looking for the meetup for the Dream Daddy fanclub. Am I in the right place?

    2 votes

  4. Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Conclusion and Recap in ~games

    kfwyre
    Link Parent
    Forget bingo -- this is a REAL backlog win right here! I like that you were able to play some really meaningful, impactful games (as well as finally closing the door on one from two years ago!). I...

    I haven't bought any new games since December,

    Forget bingo -- this is a REAL backlog win right here!

    I like that you were able to play some really meaningful, impactful games (as well as finally closing the door on one from two years ago!).

    I do love the idea of you continuing the pattern of closing those doors, so it would be cool to see you play this specific card again in November (especially so I can finally know what a "Heart Event" is).

    No pressure though (genuinely).

    3 votes

  5. Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Conclusion and Recap in ~games

    kfwyre
    Link Parent
    Your writeups were a ton of fun to read. You've got a way with words, and I liked that you were willing to be honest about your frustrations (e.g. Tales of the Neon Sea/Neonsea) as well as...

    Your writeups were a ton of fun to read. You've got a way with words, and I liked that you were willing to be honest about your frustrations (e.g. Tales of the Neon Sea/Neonsea) as well as thoughtfully reflective (e.g. Proteus).

    I tend to be a bit of a Pollyanna who loves everything or at the most tries to see the best in everything, so seeing someone willfully take a more critical eye was nice, especially because the criticisms make your endorsements stronger because they feel more earned.

    It was awesome having you in the event, Bailer! Thanks for participating so enthusiastically. Plus, playing games from the Tildes Game Giveaways made this THE crossover event of the season.

    2 votes

  6. Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Conclusion and Recap in ~games

    kfwyre
    (edited )
    Link
    I'm definitely sounding like a broken record at this point, but I continue to love these events. Like, I can and do play through my backlog at any time, but the bingo card, plus the deadline, plus...

    I'm definitely sounding like a broken record at this point, but I continue to love these events.

    Like, I can and do play through my backlog at any time, but the bingo card, plus the deadline, plus the camaraderie make it feel so much more special than my regular everyday gaming.

    As always, a huge thank you to my co-pilot @Wes who, while guilty of being awesome, is of course innocent of any wrongdoing. We didn't plan the Mellow/Motivated "rivalry" by the way. It just sprung up organically from one of Wes's comments and we ran with it, which turned out to be a lot of fun.

    I love that we have some recurring regulars at this point (thanks for sticking with it!) as well as some new names joining.

    A huge thank you to everyone who participated in any way (including any lurkers who simply read our comments!). You all make this a wonderful event and continue to make Tildes my favorite place on the internet. I'm a touch exhausted from being so motivated this month, but I'm sure by November I'll be ready to burn through my backlog some more.

    kfwyre's Final Bingo Card

    Flow Custom bingo ✅ 25/25
    Ascent
    ✅ Mr Rescue    		 Happiness
    ✅ Heeey! Park-Boy    		 Style
    ✅ Assault on Proxima    		 Niche
    ✅ Blast Rush LS    		 Absence
    ✅ Vartio
    Resistance
    ✅ Zodiac XX    		 Contrast
    ✅ Quiet City    		 Causality
    ✅ Forgotten 23    		 Increment
    ✅ Aris Arcanum    		 Defense
    ✅ Cards and Towers
    Choice
    ✅ Crescent Bay    		 Humor
    ✅ Elephant in the Room    		 ★ Wildcard
    ✅ Keyboard Sports    		 Vision
    ✅ Rogue Mansion    		 Slow-burn
    ✅ Kaamos
    Love
    ✅ SuperTuxKart    		 Simple
    ✅ Donna: The Canine Quest    		 Tradition
    ✅ Blue Maiden    		 Order
    ✅ THOR.N    		 Unlock
    ✅ Roman Sands
    Pride
    ✅ co-open    		 Uncertainty
    ✅ Bubsy 3D: Bubsy Visits the James Turrell Retrospective    		 Transformation
    ✅ Subserial Network    		 Verticality
    ✅ Woten    		 Chaos
    ✅ Pie in the Sky

    CARD OVERLOAD METER ( 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9!!! )

    • DEAD LETTER DEPT.
    • Dead Space Demake
    • I Am Legion: Stand Survivors
    • Interactivity: The Interactive Experience
    • It Comes in Waves
    • It Takes a War
    • Pixel Wheels
    • Sanicball
    • Sonic GT

    Recap

    I committed to playing non-Steam games simply because Steam gets the most attention from me, but I'm also trying to deliberately branch out and break Steam's lock on "preferred platform" status for me.

    Below are the counts for the different platforms that I used:

    • Direct Install: 4
    • Flathub: 3
    • Humble App: 12
    • Indie Pass: 10
    • itch.io: 1
    • Steam: 4

    Yes, Steam is on the list, but I only touched Steam games after fully clearing my card with non-Steam games.

    I started out intending to play mostly Indie Pass games, but then I pivoted to the Humble App after finding out that it has several exclusives that are in danger of going away for good.

    Playing through 34 games in 31 days was quite the grueling pace. I certainly didn't finish all of them, and I specifically prioritized shorter games to make it happen.

    I plan to post my thoughts on Indie Pass separately at some point soon, but the general feeling I got was that most of the games on the Humble App were a cut above the ones available on Indie Pass. In fact, there were several other games I tried on Indie Pass that didn't make it on my list simply because they had issues (e.g. messed up controls, wouldn't launch, etc.). That's pretty rough for a brand new platform trying to position itself as a curated set of worthwhile titles.

    While there is some good stuff on there, the short of it is that, at present, I can't really recommend Indie Pass as a platform.

    What I can recommend, provided you're a Humble Choice subscriber, is snagging the Humble App and playing what looks interesting to you before it goes away for good.

    I do think forcing myself to play non-Steam stuff was healthy for me. It made me dive back into libraries that needed some dusting off, and it helped break the hold that Steam's achievements and playtime tracking have on me.

    A good example would be Interactivity: The Interactive Experience. I played it on itch, where there were no achievements, but at a few points I had to duck out to a guide which was focused on the Steam version for which there were achievements.

    I know that, had I played it on Steam, I would have been more focused on making sure I got all the achievements rather than just playing through the game as is. It honestly felt kind of nice to not have to worry about those checkboxes and just play the experience for its own sake.

    Highlights

    Of the 34 games that I played, these are the ones that most stand out to me (in alphabetical order).

    What's odd is that I didn't feel like I played a single Slam Dunk, Thoroughly Awesome, Must Recommend game. Instead, I played a lot of games that were definitely flawed, but made up for that by being unique or interesting or well executed.

    I hate limiting games to numbers, but in the interest of communicating the vibes right, the following all feel like really solid 8/10s.

    • co-open (Humble App, though it's also available on itch.io)

    A delightful cozy game about being an unsupervised kid at a supermarket. Captures the childlike fun of exploration really well.

    Dread-based horror rather than jumpscare-horror. Novel idea with really strong execution.

    This was a fun little throwback. Repetitive, but quite charming. Feels like a Dreamcast game (glowing endorsement).

    I was a little lukewarm on this in my initial writeup, but the longer I play it the more I like it. A solid bullet heaven with some subtle, thoughtful design touches that make it stand out from others in the genre.

    A neat, novel idea (control your character using every key on your keyboard) skillfully executed. Lots of fun.

    The Humble App version I played was a limited, early preview build, but the idea of playing OG Resident Evil as a roguelike with modern controls is really appealing. I'll be keeping an eye out for the release of this one.

    A weird, surreal VN. I didn't necessarily love the story, but its vibes are unmatched. Very skillfully made.

    If you've ever wanted Sonic Adventure 3, download this and play it. A truly impressive fan game.

    Again, similar to Roman Sands, I didn't necessarily love the story, but its vibes are also unmatched (in a completely different way). A love letter to the 90s internet.

    Another Dreamcast-but-not-actually-on-the-Dreamcast game (rave review). Love that it's open source and still supported after so long.

    A short, cute, thoughtfully made puzzle platformer. Feels like a GBA game (high praise).

    3 votes

  7. Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Conclusion and Recap in ~games

    kfwyre
    Link Parent
    Disregard Ignore Nothing to see here ... Move along Light does not touch the corners of the darkness In the darkness lies mystery No one knows what awaits in the shadows Could be anything Could be...
    Disregard
    Ignore
    Nothing to see here
    ...
    Move along
    Light does not touch the corners of the darkness
    In the darkness lies mystery
    No one knows what awaits in the shadows
    Could be anything
    Could be nothing
    Could be a phoenix, hiding amongst us

    In all seriousness, you were SO stealthy u/aphoenix that I forgot to add you to the notification list.

    So, following your lead, I tried to put this ping through, unnoticed.

    That's it
    Nothing left

    🗡️ SNEAK ATTACK 🗡️

    MUAHAHAHA, TWO CAN PLAY AT THIS GAME.

    3 votes

  8. Humble Choice - June 2026

    ~games Text 119 words
    June 2026's Humble Choice is now available with the following eight Steam games. Steam Page OpenCritic Steam Recent/All Operating Systems Steam Deck ProtonDB OCTOPATH TRAVELER II 85 85 / 93 Win ✅...

    June 2026's Humble Choice is now available with the following eight Steam games.

    Steam Page OpenCritic Steam Recent/All Operating Systems Steam Deck ProtonDB
    OCTOPATH TRAVELER II 85 85 / 93 Win ✅ Verified 🎖️ Platinum
    The Riftbreaker 80 90 / 90 Win 🟨 Playable 🟨 Gold
    Life is Strange: Double Exposure 71 74 / 67 Win 🟨 Playable 🎖️ Platinum
    INDIKA 79 88 / 89 Win ✅ Verified 🟨 Gold
    Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector 87 86 / 91 Win 🟨 Playable 🎖️ Platinum
    Construction Simulator 72 75 / 80 Win ✅ Verified 🎖️ Platinum
    Hell Clock 82 93 / 84 Win 🟨 Playable 🎖️ Platinum
    Overlooting -- 85 / 81 Win 🟨 Playable 🎖️ Platinum

    Does anyone have experience with any of the games and, if so, would you recommend them? Is there anything in here that you're particularly excited to play?

    10 votes

  9. Comment on What change would make you quit Tildes? in ~tildes

    kfwyre
    Link Parent
    I think you might have misread the question. This topic is for potential problems not clear improvements.

    Unmuteable polka music that plays while you type any comment.

    I think you might have misread the question. This topic is for potential problems not clear improvements.

    30 votes

  10. Comment on Save Point: A game deal roundup for the week of May 31 in ~games

    kfwyre
    Link Parent
    Thanks! I always love it when they put the game (in this case games) on steep discount before it/they go(es).

    Thanks!

    I always love it when they put the game (in this case games) on steep discount before it/they go(es).

    2 votes

  11. Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Conclusion and Recap in ~games

    kfwyre
    (edited )
    Link
    This is the final ping for the May 2026 Backlog Burner. Thank you for participating! Use this topic to share your final thoughts, favorite games, highlights, etc. IMPORTANT: See the topic text to...

    This is the final ping for the May 2026 Backlog Burner. Thank you for participating! Use this topic to share your final thoughts, favorite games, highlights, etc.

    IMPORTANT: See the topic text to see which team won out overall! Will the Motivateds take it, or did the Mellows grab the win?

    Our next Backlog Burner will be in November 2026. I will ping everyone on this list once more to let you know when the announcement topic for that goes live.

    Notification List

    @1338
    @BailerAppleby
    @Bullmaestro
    @CannibalisticApple
    @CompChris
    @dannydotcafe
    @Durinthal
    @Eidolon
    @J-Chiptunator
    @JCPhoenix
    @ShroudedScribe
    @sotix
    @Wes

    7 votes

  12. May 2026 Backlog Burner: Conclusion and Recap

    ~games Text 1327 words
    The May 2026 Backlog Burner event is officially over! Over the month of May, 14 participants moved 176 games out of their backlogs. Congratulations to the following Bingo winners: u/aphoenix...

    The May 2026 Backlog Burner event is officially over!

    Over the month of May, 14 participants moved 176 games out of their backlogs.

    Congratulations to the following Bingo winners:

    Special congratulations:

    • u/1338 playing a total of 39 games (including many that you can't even buy anymore)
    • u/aphoenix for masterfully executing a thematically relevant plan for participating
    • u/BailerAppleby for playing so many games from the Tildes Game Giveaways
    • u/dannydotcafe for a truly mellow win
    • u/Durinthal for finishing a game from the 2024 Backlog Burner
    • u/J-Chiptunator for prioritizing their health
    • u/JCPhoenix for posting awesome Let's Plays
    • u/Wes for his many thoughtful comments

    To everyone who played games, shared their thoughts, or even just read through the comments for the event:

    This event is amazing because y'all all make it amazing. Thank you for playing.

    Use this topic to post your final bingo cards, give recaps of your games, and share any thoughts you have on the event itself.

    Who won?

    The question on everyone's mind.

    The feud between the Motivateds and the Mellows was a (possibly one-sided?) rivalry for the ages.

    Who came out on top?

    Well, I'm happy to report that the final numbers are in, and the Grand Winners are:

    Winner

    🎉 Team Mellowtivated 🎉

    We are all one team! There's no actual rivalry. We've actually been gaming together as one wonderful little group this whole time! (Now everybody saw "AWWWWWW" and get all sappy)

    Also, the jury has returned a verdict in u/Wes's trial:

    Verdict

    He has been found guilty of being awesome. His sentence is that he is required to feel immensely proud of his community service in making the amazing Backlog Bingo site and responding thoughtfully to everyone all month long.

    Statistics

    • We averaged 12.6 games per person and 40.0 games per week.
    • There were 424 comments posted across 5 topics.
    • Games starting with the letter S accounted for a full 12% of what we played.
    • Shortest game title: 3 characters (Hue)
    • Longest game title: 54 characters (Bubsy 3D: Bubsy Visits the James Turrell Retrospective) (a 1700% increase)

    Game Lists

    Full Game List (alphabetical)

    0-9

    A

    B

    C

    D

    E

    F

    G

    H

    I

    J

    K

    L

    M

    N

    O

    P

    Q

    R

    S

    T

    U

    V

    W

    X

    Y

    Z

    Full Game List (by week)

    Week 1

    Week 2

    Week 3

    Week 4

    Week 5(ish)

    16 votes

  13. Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 4 Discussion in ~games

    kfwyre
    Link Parent
    I went to install Squirrel With a Gun as my first post-Backlog Burner title to play because you re-sold me on it (and, honestly, it's been pretty high on my list ever since you first played it)....

    I went to install Squirrel With a Gun as my first post-Backlog Burner title to play because you re-sold me on it (and, honestly, it's been pretty high on my list ever since you first played it).

    In doing so, I learned that there's a free Pride Month DLC, which makes this the absolute perfect game to start out on June 1st.

    I'm so excited to be gay and do squirrel crimes.

    3 votes

  14. Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 5(ish) Discussion in ~games

    kfwyre
    Link Parent
    Ape Escape sits somewhere near the top of my nebulous list of Games That Most Deserve a Remaster/Remake. Don't get me wrong, the original game itself is still something special and I'll recommend...

    Ape Escape sits somewhere near the top of my nebulous list of Games That Most Deserve a Remaster/Remake.

    Don't get me wrong, the original game itself is still something special and I'll recommend it to anyone wanting to visit (or revisit) PSOne classics.

    But like, its draw distance, which was noticeable even for the time, is really rough by modern standards. Also, IIRC, you can't save mid-level (correct me on this if my memory is wrong though). In the later levels, which get quite large, this is particularly burdensome (though avoidable if using save states).

    I think it was one of the rare games to capture a "Nintendo feel" on a non-Nintendo system. I think a large part of that is because it went so hard in the direction of toying with the new hardware features of the Dual Analog controller, and Nintendo is known for its quirky utilizations of novel hardware features.

    Like, there's a parallel universe out there somewhere in which Nintendo released a 64 controller with two sticks and this as the flagship game for it, because it genuinely feels like it fits in better with the N64 library than it does the PSX one.

    Anyway, I'm glad you're enjoying it, but of course take whatever screen breaks you need. Health always comes first, and I hope you're able to find relief from your symptoms.

    3 votes

  15. Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 5(ish) Discussion in ~games

    kfwyre
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    I have two slots left on my CARD OVERLOAD METER -- a count that I added completely arbitrarily and stopped at 9 because going in todouble digits would have been less aesthetically pleasing. This...

    I have two slots left on my CARD OVERLOAD METER -- a count that I added completely arbitrarily and stopped at 9 because going in todouble digits would have been less aesthetically pleasing.

    This is also the final day of the Backlog Burner, so I used DeckFilter to find games in my Steam library that were beatable in less than an hour.

    Weirdly enough, I found two completely unrelated games with similar titles that I decided to play as companion games: It Takes a War and It Comes in Waves

    It Takes a War (played via Steam)

    This is an old-school team-based FPS in the vein of the original Counter-Strike.

    Extremely Minor Spoiler

    Except it isn't.

    It Comes in Waves (played via Steam)

    You are on a hostile desert planet carrying around a specimen. You must grow the specimen while also surviving the unbearable heat. You constantly use up water and need to replenish it by finding supplies or killing the bandits roaming around who also want your water.

    It is a deliberately antagonistic game towards the player: if you die you have to start all over; your run speed is quite slow and the world is quite large. Rather than being action-packed, as the shooting and existence of bandits might imply, this is a game that has an almost glacial pace, inviting reflection and meditation as you traverse the dry, often featureless sands.

    I chose to play these as companion games simply based on the similarity of their titles, so I was surprised to see that I basically have the same thoughts about both of them.

    Both of them hearken back to an older era of gaming. Both of them attempt to do something novel and interesting. Both of them are genuinely compelling to play (though in completely different ways). Both are didactic.

    And I, sadly, consider both of them to be a bit flawed in their executions. Neither one left me fully satisfied.

    It's not that either game is bad. It's that, much like many of the other games I've played this Backlog Burner, there's a clear trajectory towards something great that I can easily see within each game, but they both fall a touch short before getting there.

    I suppose this is a game-half-empty look at things, because I think I'm coming across more negative about them than I intend to be. I think both of them do FAR more right than they do wrong, and that's certainly no easy feat and something to be celebrated. That's a double-edged sword though, because the presence of so much of those good design decisions creates the expectation of a fantastic payoff in the first place.

    Neither one totally hit for me, but I'd still say these are both worth a look, especially because each was made with such a clear and unique vision. Consider It Takes a War if you want an opinionated FPS, and consider It Comes in Waves if you want an opinionated survival game. You might not love the opinions yourself, as was the case for me, but you have to admire the earnest conviction with which they're held.

    2 votes

  16. Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 5(ish) Discussion in ~games

    kfwyre
    (edited )
    Link
    24 hour notice! The end of May and therefore the end of the Backlog Burner is soon upon us (or possibly already here for some of you). I’ll posting the Recap topic approximately 24 hours from the...

    24 hour notice!

    The end of May and therefore the end of the Backlog Burner is soon upon us (or possibly already here for some of you).

    I’ll posting the Recap topic approximately 24 hours from the time of this comment, so please make sure you have shared all of the games you have played by then so that they can be counted.

    3 votes

  17. Comment on Tildes Survey #6: Vote for the next four surveys we do! (Results) in ~talk

    kfwyre
    Link Parent
    I vote for whatever you think is best, given that you'll be running the survey and know how long it takes to do all the fancy footwork to prepare the data and visualizations.

    I vote for whatever you think is best, given that you'll be running the survey and know how long it takes to do all the fancy footwork to prepare the data and visualizations.

    3 votes

  18. Comment on Tildes Survey #6: Vote for the next four surveys we do! (Results) in ~talk

    kfwyre
    Link Parent
    I should certainly hope it's inclusive of everything. Games are games!

    I should certainly hope it's inclusive of everything. Games are games!

    2 votes

  19. Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 5(ish) Discussion in ~games

    kfwyre
    Link Parent
    Pixel Wheels (played via Flathub on Steam Deck) Pixel Wheels marks the third open source racing game that I've played for this event behind SuperTuxKart and Sanicball. I didn't set out to do that,...

    Pixel Wheels (played via Flathub on Steam Deck)

    Pixel Wheels marks the third open source racing game that I've played for this event behind SuperTuxKart and Sanicball. I didn't set out to do that, but it just sort of happened.

    This is an old-school top-down 2D arcade racing game with powerups. As someone who cut my teeth on R.C. Pro-Am as a kid, I'm an ideal audience for this one.

    The game ran fine on the Deck, but I couldn't get it to recognize my controller inputs initially. I ended up switching Steam to the "Keyboard and Mouse" setting which changes your d-pad to WASD, and that worked. This did make the steering feel a little stiff, and I'm not sure if that's because I didn't have analog control or if it's just the way the game is. (Note: there is an open issue about the Steam Deck controls on the game's tracker, so hopefully it'll get resolved one day.)

    I played through the game's three championships on the easiest difficulty. I had a good time. The game is well-made and enjoyable. I don't know that I'll keep coming back to it or trying to go for harder difficulties though.

    2 votes

  20. Comment on May 2026 Backlog Burner: Week 5(ish) Discussion in ~games

    kfwyre
    Link Parent
    Interactivity: The Interactive Experience (played via itch.io) I haven't played any itch.io games for this Backlog Burner yet, despite the fact that it is by far the largest pool of games that I...

    Interactivity: The Interactive Experience (played via itch.io)

    I haven't played any itch.io games for this Backlog Burner yet, despite the fact that it is by far the largest pool of games that I have thanks to those megabundles that happen every so often.

    I think part of this is that it's the least Deck- and Linux-friendly of the options. I keep hoping that, either the itch.io Linux app will let you run Windows games through Proton, or Heroic will add itch.io support so I can play them that way.

    For this one, I simply streamed the game from my Windows PC to my Linux one, rather than trying to get it up and running separately.

    Earlier I praised Forgotten 23 as a smart way of reusing assets by looping you through the same setting multiple times. This game does the same, though admittedly it is less upfront about it and I almost stopped playing after completing my first runthrough, thinking that I had fully finished the game.

    It's one of those meta games that knows it's a game, plays with tropes, and breaks the fourth wall directly and repeatedly. It's got some light humor here and there, but tonally it's a little more serious than some of the others in the genre.

    It's hard to talk about without spoiling anything, but I'll say that, while I enjoyed my playthrough(s) well enough, I don't particularly recommend it. The game has some neat ideas, but it feels like it never gets fully fleshed out. It doesn't take any really big swings, instead sort of minorly incrementing some things that make each playthrough fairly similar to the last. I wanted it to go all out and really surprise me or play with my expectations.

    1 vote