Day 29:

Wacky is the best word to describe the vibe of Cargo! - The quest for gravity. Your quasi-dirigible crash lands on an island of ugly, fat, naked baby mutants who are somewhere between Oompa Loompas and Minions, including with a tendency to break out in song, but with a fetish for being kicked or otherwise abused. The main mechanic is running around the island, throwing debris, and kicking the naked babies, in order to build up currency to buy vehicle parts from gods (who are giant masks on a elevated rail). You then get to build vehicles, mostly water/air, from the parts.

It's... interesting. The vehicle building is a bit rough to get the hang of and not super powerful or capable, but it's always fun to mess around in a vehicle builder like this and there is a sandbox mode. The physics engine is satisfactory for the physics heavy gameplay (unlike a certain other game I played recently) and while definitely aged, the graphics are fine. There's voice acting and effort was spent on audio in general.

But overall it seems like the sort of game my nephew (who found Goat Simulator 3 the height of comedy last christmas) would love. As for me, I doubt I will revisit. But given I purchased it in 2012 for $2.50, I don't feel too bad about that.

So today I started Hate Plus, the sequel to Analogue: A Hate Story. Which is notable because this game forces you to play over three days, unlocking a limited number of files per day. Perhaps for the best, because this sequel delves into files detailing how the ship somehow became a Joseon Dynasty Court Drama In Space, so uh... we already know this story doesn't end well.

Yeah, I am already seeing a LOT of tragic stories being set up. Also I can tell this was written pre-Trump because... well, let's just say I got some major déjà vu from like, the third document I read. Feels like it eerily predicted certain aspects of American politics...

As a sequel, supposedly we can copy our save data from the first game to continue. Alas, for some reason that option just doesn't appear for me. Thankfully it opens with a brief questionnaire so it's easy to just basically recreate whichever ending we want. Though sadly, without importing saves we can only choose one of our AI heroines, as the harem ending was non-canon. A shame, I really wanted to see them bicker and angst over these files together. Apparently it might be unlockable though...

Well, thanks to encouragement from @Wes, and whoever upvoted his comment, I have decided that Hate Plus qualifies for Zombies. In a totally philosophical sense. Because we can choose between our two AI guides, and well... I think both qualify.

So yeah. I was going to play this game no matter what and didn't plan to mark a square, but thanks to Wes I changed my mind. And now I have a third bingo!! :D My legal counsel wants me to emphasize how much credit Wes (and to a lesser extent the anonymous voter) deserves for encouraging this decision.

Do AI clones of dead people's minds count as zombies for bingo purposes?

Absolutely. Also, being a zombie by definition is kind of being "given a second chance". Just throwing that out there.

I started playing another game: Little Known Galaxy! It's a cozy farming game set on a spaceship, and a nice little reprieve. I won't lie, I'm not a big fan of the character sprites (head's a bit too bulbous, and body proportions feel weird), but this game has serious charm to it. The space ship is a pretty neat setting, there are aliens who aren't just oddly-colored humans (though so far they're in a distinct minority), we can go to multiple planets...

Biggest downside is that it seems to require a LOT of grinding and small, tedious tasks to acquire resources. For instance, you need 80 stones to make a Dark Matter Refiner, and regular rocks can have multiple types of drops. Meanwhile the sale price of items seems fairly low, so I can see income becoming a pain in the late game. And our movement is SLOW. Like... it's probably my number one complaint. And the game has gotten no updates since 2024, so it seems to be complete and unlikely to change that. I may need to look into mods just to speed it up...

Still, it's charming and I like it so far. This game fits no squares, but a more open-ended game like this is a good one to end the month!

Tinykin

SENDING MY MINIONS FORTH

This one is really cute. I think casual gamers would love it.

Tinykin is basically Pikmin, but in large, vertical worlds. The game leans more heavily on being a collect-a-thon than puzzler or platformer. Those elements do exist, but are deemphasized.

I was actually hoping for a little bit more of a challenge, but the game aims for a lighter feel. I'm thinking it may be a good pick for after a hard day.

You play in a miniaturized world, exploring the different rooms of a house. There you find assorted pikmin tinykin, each have different abilities. Some can lift heavy objects, form climbable towers, or explode.

There's so many collectibles to pick up that I found it hard to stay focused on a single goal. However, there's no time pressure, so you can always double back later and collect something you missed. You also unlock shortcuts as you go which make traversal faster.

The game controls well, and the movement is fun enough to keep the exploration interesting. They give you a "soapboard" which you can slide around on, useful for grinding rails and building up speed downhill. It's also used for the race minigame, which is strangely much harder than everything else.

The game's graphics are cheery and look great. The one thing I can't get over though is that your character is constantly staring at the camera. It's a stylistic choice, but it felt a little creepy to me at first.

The game's soundtrack mostly stays out of the way, but I was impressed by how dynamic it was. Entering buildings or large objects would adapt the music, such as playing a strumming track when hopping into a guitar.

I'm about halfway through the game, and am enjoying my time with it. I don't plan to binge this one, but expect to finish it over the coming weeks.

Pinball Spire

KEEP PUTTING IN QUARTERS

Finally, a worthy candidate in the pinballvania genre.

Definitely a mashup for the ages. This one has you guide a ball through a series of vertical rooms, controlling it with just the pinball paddles that are available. Each room has an unlock condition before you can move on, such as collecting letters from around the room.

The game starts as pretty vanilla pinball, but eventually distinguishes itself as you start unlocking abilities (thus the "-vania" label). Two of the more useful upgrades are slowing time to make precise shots, and of course bumping the table to make last-second corrections. No tilt detection here.

The physics feel really good for pinball. I never saw the ball get stuck or bounce unexpectedly. But it's still pinball, so randomness plays a major role. Thankfully, the later abilities do make things more controlled.

I have to admit that I'm not the biggest pinball fan. I've played some physical tables, as well as a fair bit of Windows Space Cadet pinball, but the game somehow never clicked for me. Still, I played through this one to completion in just over three hours, and liked it well enough. It's a unique idea, and the customizations for your ball are cute.

This one has been in a few bundles already, so it can likely be picked up for cheap. It's also published by indie.io, so I'd wager it's included in the new Indie Pass.

Sorry to hear about the eye strain and fatigue. There's definitely no obligation to participate, especially if it causes discomfort. Hopefully things improve soon!

I had an eye surgery last year, so I also needed to take frequent breaks for some time. I used BreakTimer on Windows, which was unobtrusive and very configurable. Maybe it could help.

Great screenshots, as always. I didn't quite realize what kind of game Ape Escape was before. In fact, now that I think about it, I suppose I've always associated it with Super Monkey Ball for some reason. There was no reason for that, other than both featuring primate protagonists. As a big fan of retro 3D platformers though (jank and all), I'm glad to learn of another.

Dang, 25 hours is a lot of investment. Maybe not 13 Sentinels-levels of investment, but still a lot!

Having never played XCOM or knowing what a Rabbid was, this comment largely went over my head. But I do enjoy puzzle based combat games, and it seems like a single player version of something like Frozen Synapse, which I can definitely get behind.

Rabbid Yoshi: Has a minigun, a super shield that can absorb up to 2 hits, the rubber ducky grenade, and a fear effect that makes enemies run away and leave cover.

If a rabid Yoshi were traipsing about with a minigun, I might run away too.

Modded with the Remaid of Dreams fanpatch. The installer for linux is named "FatamoruLinux-V4.0" and it admittingly took me a bit to realize I had to rename the file without the dot for it to function properly. For some reason, it added a non-steam title called Spacewar which is apparently tracking the time I played at about 19 hours?

Tales of the Neon Sea

I've been busy this past week and haven't been able to make as much progress as before. But what really slowed me down was my playing Tales of the Neon Sea to completion. I didn't enjoy it all that much as evidenced by my previous writeup, but I simply had to know how it ended. I was driven to find out if what I thought about was true.

I will say that it isn't a bad game. A lot went into it, and it appears to be a success that had humble beginnings as a Kickstarter campaign. It's complete, (mostly) bug-free, and delivers on being a point-and-click video game. There's lots of puzzles, you go to new places, you uncover stuff. It's what the kids want, and this game delivers.

On the other hand, I can't give a recommendation for it. And yes, while I can see that there is fun to be had with this game, I find it to be flawed on a fundamental level that makes it a detriment to the genre. It's a slight on pixel art, cyberpunk, and point-and-click adventures. It's best case scenario is to be forgotten and lost to time because anything influenced by Tales of the Neon Sea will be worse for it.

The Mystery That Isn't a Mystery

Tales of the Neon Sea fails at being a mystery. Or, even a noir, which it also references. Maybe it was never meant to be a mystery; maybe I, a man of mystery of note, am projecting myself onto this game unfairly. And yet, this game:

• Features a private detective as its protagonist who wears a fedora and a trench coat
• Features a massive conspiracy that is revealed at the end (think Chinatown, True Detective)
• Has you solve murders. At crime scenes. Using deduction and evidence, as it goes. Like people die, and you get asked, "So, what do you think?"
• The first words on its Steam page are: "Welcome to a world of intrigue and suspicion."

But no. Mystery genre fans who love whodunnits get blue-balled. There is no interactivity on solving crimes; you just solve puzzles and follow prompts and you get your answer. More than that, the game doesn't tell it's story as a mystery. As far as I know, the mystery genre hinges on drip-feeding the reader with info that allows the solution to be discovered; the best ones hide the clues in plain sight, requiring a second run-through so you can kick yourself for missing it. On the other hand, Tales of the Neon Sea doesn't even set up its low-stakes mystery, neglecting to make it personal for the hero even though the ending retcons his importance in the entire affair. Certain past cases are referenced, but it's not woven into the plot, nor does it resonate with the hero, who just goes wherever the story needs him.

To be clear, Tales of the Neon Sea doesn't have to be a mystery, but it also didn't have to dress itself up and pretend to be one either. For a video game that does mysteries right, check out Murder By Numbers, a great game more people should play. It's a picross-cum-visual-novel (yes, that's a thing) that is expertly made with great writing and fun nonogram gameplay. It doesn't have any interactivity when it comes to solving crimes, but the writing is pure mystery genre, setting up all the characters and clues for the reveal at the end. Best part: even if you hate mysteries, the game blasts through the exposition, so it appeals to everyone.

(Yes, I just recommended another game while reviewing this one. Tales of the Neon Sea is that bad.)

Cyberpunk? More Like Pseudopunk

The hologram prostitute advertisement is a mainstay of the cyberpunk genre. It's in both Blade Runner movies; it's a diehard reference that emphatically states which genre you're in. Sure. But for Tales of the Neon Sea, it's basically all that cyberpunk means to its dev. That, and neon shop signs in Chinese: that's it, that's cyberpunk. This game fails to address any of the main themes of cyberpunk, instead liberally copying its aesthetics to complete its homework assignment. Whereas any self-respecting cyberpunk genre entry asks "What is human?", Tales of the Neon Sea can not get past objectifying women in ways that the present can not yet provide.

Speaking of which, Tales of the Neon Sea is super weird about gooning women in its background. There are endless posters advertising prostitutes (in addition to the hologram ones; a window-shopping brothel makes a notable appearance as the solution to a puzzle; there are copious amounts of masterbation jokes and references to porno games. This, along with the ending, point to an indulging of depravity that does not speak kindly about the devs.

This all points to a lack of fundamental understanding about the very genre this game is supposed to be part of. It's all a mish-mash of interesting bits from other stuff the devs watched.

Pixel Art Non-Pick

I mentioned this before, so I'll keep this short. I like pixel art. I do not like this type of pixel art. From my layman's point of view, it looks fake, as in not true to the spirit of pixel art.

I like the backdrops, all the stuff that doesn't move. But the animations aren't pure, if there is such a thing. It just looks like textures grafted onto a skin. Those loopy Adventure-Time-style elbows don't cut it here.

I'm beyond my element here, and should be as trusted as your friendly drunk at the bar, but to me, pixel art should be reductive. It should embrace its limitations. It has its own visual logic that it abides with. This game doesn't have any of that. I know many games are made with "pixel art with QoL updates" such that "true" pixel art doesn't exist anymore on a certain level. But with Tales of the Neon Sea, it looks bad.

As I said before, even a smaller game like Terror of Oakheart looks much snappier as a pixel art game than this. I feel that Tales of the Neon Sea uses pixel art as lower-tier style upon which they can upload higher-tier effects like smoke and haze, making it look impressive (in a cop-out way).

About that ending...

The End (The "You've Got to Be Kidding Me" Part)

As if I wasn't supposed to be playing and talking about other games, I just got to say this about the ending.

The Verdict (True Ending)

I'm bad at puzzle games; I get frustrated and give in to the temptation and look up the solutions. But not with Tales of the Neon Sea; I blasted through each puzzle, even if it took me a moment to figure out. And it's not like I'm smart or a pro at puzzles; it's that these puzzles weren't meant to be solved easily. It's that type of game.

Netflix has changed their strategy to have the dialog of its self-produced movies to repeat plot points so as to make them easier to watch. Because it's just content to consume. That's what Tales of the Neon Sea: just a video game to finish that has easy puzzles and is easy on the eyes (i.e. neon boobies, which would be a better name for this game). It doesn't challenge you with difficulty or its themes. It's meant to titillate tourists with its depravity that you can forget within hours. That's why I don't recommend it.

Homebody

It was too scary to play in the dark of night. But, having found my courage by the light of day, Homebody is a real treat to play... a real gem even.

Homebody fills the bingo tile for "Released in the year you joined Tildes" which would be "2023", and comes courtesy via the generosity of @Eidolon. I've only played it for a little bit, and it doesn't seem like that long of a game, but boy is it neat.

This is one of those "go in completely blind" type of games, so the less I say about it, the better. So I'll stick to the basics:

• Horror genre with mild jump scares (they're minor, and won't give you David Lynch nightmares); would recommend this to people who don't like to be scared. From what I've seen, this is more suspenseful than anything; it makes great use of little creaks and doors opening to ratchet up the tension, but that's what it is: suspense. There are no Silent Hill monstrosities or whatever. EDIT Boy, did that turn out to be wrong. Some scary stuff in here. The scariest is the small details that will make you question yourself.
• Very indie: no voiceover, no mouth speaking animations, lots of repetition. Keep your expectations down.
• As with all great genre examples: Makes great use of its limitations to transcend its genre.

Homebody, as its title suggests, deals with themes of anxiety. They are front and center in this game. For me, it makes for a great topic to use in a horror game; it works very well with the modern horror ruleset of flawed protagonists rather than following the "have sex, will die" rules of earlier slasher films.

Best of all (and I won't explain how this game expertly weaves it into its narrative), there is an actual story here. About people. With problems. And overcoming them. It doesn't detract from the thriller here, but it's told so well with good writing and characterization. You'll even sit up and pay attention to it rather than button-mash your way back to the action.

I can already tell this game is going to be good. It sets itself up so well that you know there's a payoff, one that you are invested in and want to know, so it doesn't matter even if turns out to be disappointing.

What an impressive little sleeper. Totally recommend this one; get it when on a sale. And don't ruin it for yourself! Don't read anything else about it. This isn't some amazing game that will change your life, but it is an impressive find that makes for a delightful playthrough. Someone had a great small idea, and then that idea was executed well into a small game, and now we get to play it. Wins all around.

Really coming down to the wire with this one. Only a scant few hours left, and yet the desire for bingo remains strong. I resolve to making some more submission of lightly-played games to get them off my no-play list, at the very least.

Octahedron

Old school arcade action with old school vector graphics: Octahedron has got them in spades. Filling in the "You wanted it when you were younger" (if last year counts as "younger"), this game comes courtesy of @culturedleftfoot and is a neat platformer that feels old, but plays fresh. There's nice Tron feeling to this game that gives it a timeless feel to it, if such a thing can be said now that we're safely ensconced into the Information Age.

I have to say, I am a bit disappointed because I thought this was a music/rhythm game, but no: this is tried-and-true platformer -- it's just that the music is bangin'.

A lot of good, all the same. I think the best things about Octahedron's presentation is that there are not much in the way of tutorials; you're faced with a new obstacle and you have to figure it out yourself; only upon completion are you given any explanation. Makes for "pure" gaming, one that necessitates quality from the player and the devs making said game. Also, I think its hilarious this Tron-adjacent game takes it time to create an origin story that shows our digital hero in his decidedly analog beginnings and was transformed into our titular hero when looking for firewood in the forest, as one is wont to do.

Very playable. Good platforming. Tight controls. Fair difficulty. It's so old school, you scan the top row to see if it keeps score. Old school, but with modern QoL features like checkpoints. And it looks great; really pops off the screen. A good modern platform along the like sof BZZZT and Slime-San.

Here is my final bingo card:

And now, the final submission, a small tasting and not from a full playthrough:

60 Parsecs!

Choose your own astronaut survival adventure

60 Parsecs fills the bingo tile for "You control a party of characters" and comes courtesy of @cheep_cheep. Your choices as the leader of a group of stranded astronauts determines their survival as you need to take care of emergencies, manage food rations, and delegate responsibility. But really, what happens is that you watch your followers suffer as a result of your bad choices.

Like any survival game, it grows on you; as your scrappy survivors fight to stave off the inevitable, so too does this game do its best to stay relevant in your playlist. Tops here is the writing and setting up of emergency after emergency, each day bringing with it yet something else to worry about.

I have to say I am mostly disappointed because I thought a major part of the gameplay was animated, but it seems its only the beginning. It's a shame because the Mad-Magazine-type cartoon characters are wonderful caricatures, lampoonish and endearing all at once.

I know the original 60 Seconds! was a hit back in the day, but the basicness of watching a static image of your stranded astronauts gets old, even as they slowly change over time. I almost wish they didn't animate the introduction of snatching up the supplies so well; I just loved the exaggerated responses and the impact comic sounds.

I could see myself liking this/playing it more, but it hasn't aged well, unfortunately.

And that's it! Sure was a lot of fun! I think there will be a recap post, so I'll make my final comment there. Thanks for letting me be a part of this; was great to actually work through my massive backlog.

Tails Noir

Video games aren't known for making bold statements. They're not celebrities looking to leverage their fame for a cause, or enfant terrible filmmakers looking to shake up the status quo with the next 20-minute standing ovation. Video games are products looking to satisfy their customers. As transactional as it gets; give your fans what they want, and take the bacon home. Easy peasy.

So when the very first in-game footage of a gorgeous pixel art video game is an ugly, boxy closeup, you wake up as a player. This game is willing to make a statement at the expense of alienating its customer, and that takes guts, something that great games do.

It's too early to tell if Tales Noir is a great game, but not too early for me to write about it as the Backlog Burner winds down in its final hours. This game fills up the bingo tile for "It's already installed" and comes courtesy of the irrepressibly irreplaceable @kfwyre, making this the seventh (!) game I've played for this Backlog Burner that belongs to my angel investor of gaming.

I can only talk about Tales Noir in general terms since I've just started playing, but it really stands out for its bold choices. The game takes a gritty approach to the urban decay with realistic depictions of anthropomorphized animals that could have fallen into Disney-fication, but stays grounded as these animals talk about drugs and crime. Instead of doubting the fantastical absurdity of this world ("How do you buy pants in this world as a raccoon at the ape store?"), the world building draws you in with rich characterizations and personable dialog. The game never loses a step in unravelling its story, so you stay invested in its narrative instead of finding the fictional fallacies.

I'm maybe an hour in, but the main thing I wanted to talk about is how Tails Noir is everything that Tales of the Neon Sea is not. Tales Noir is true to its influences, being cognizant of genre standards. It relishes its pixel art, unashamedly using choppy animation that works so well to breathe life into its characters. It has a suitably grimy cityscape in which all of its characters look like they have a story to tell. Its gumshoe detective even wears a trench coat because it's raining. I'm not going to keep harping about Tales of the Neonsea, but the differences are night and day.

And the music! Wow! It's not full-on improvisational Ornette-Coleman-calibre free jazz, but the jazz-tinged music used in Tales Noir is great. Both games have scenes that take place in a "jazz" bar. Here's the comparison of the music:

• Tales of the Neon Sea: Repeats alternating two short sections, one half time to the other. Over and over.
• Tales Noir: Features a jazz song by a Billie-Holiday-styled singer (portrayed by a mouse in-game). Like, a whole song.

These types of stylistic design choices just keep adding up. Maybe Tales Noir will falter in the end, maybe all the animals will decide it's not worth it in the end and all go back to the forests and jungles. But it has such an interesting setup that you can tell it will make for an interesting playthrough, no matter what.

Tales Noir's intro is a lot like Celeste's intro in which a cutscene plays out introducing the hero. Instead of showing in normal game ratio, Celeste decides to zoom in on its character's faces. Of course, this is hidden gem Celeste that has its top-notch platforming to fall back on, but the bold choice remains the same.

Good stuff, Tails Noir. Now if the femme fatale were to show up right after the prologue, then I'd say this film-noir-influenced game is right on track.

The Let's Plays are back!

Halfway definitely felt very Signalis to me, too. More tactical, I suppose, but thematically similar.

Symmetry is pretty, and I dig the minimalist art... but I don't think I'd enjoy it either. And yeah, per your video, the labelling on the difficulty levels was beyond confusing.

Poor Desmond. More useful in death than in life.

Coffee Talk was a nice way to close out the month. It was indeed very mellow, and I can understand the allure of having that public space -- especially in times when we're feeling more isolated than ever.

Nice roundup of titles!

Nice work on finishing the full game! I think the "Double Fine Adventure" was the very first thing I ever Kickstarted. No regrets about it, Double Fine delivered.

I'm glad you had fun, and found some titles you enjoyed.