Limbo (and other indie games)

[Renosaur]

gamer hispter beware

So, Limbo
When I first saw parts of this game for the ps3/xbox live arcade I was amazed and intrigued, and now that it has recently been ported available for the pc via steam I was stoked. With help from a good friend I purchased the game and sat down to see if this small game really

and it's amazing. in an eerie, magnificent way
It's a puzzle platformer, small first time release by indie game developer Playdead (the company's name already gives the game it's own 'feel') and is currently being sold for $10 right now. It may look like an average flash platformer game, but there are many things which make it work and most importantly hip

First of all, art direction/style. The game is only black, white and filters of grey. The game has constantly a grainy filter over the screen, albeit parts where you are in complete darkness or sunlight. This is very intriguing and it contributes a lot to the atmosphere the game is trying to portray. It's dark and gritty, death scenes are my favourite part. every graphic in this game gives you the feeling of loneliness and dread
and what compliments this more is the lack of background music. The game is primarily silent, only slightly pumping heartbeat-like soundtracks at certain points of the game. The only fillers you are left with are the sounds of your own footsteps and the noises the various traps makes you have to conquer.
and the gameplay elements strings these all together. You are always facing unknown enemies, the traps are devious and can be downright nasty, the no lines of text/guide/signs of help anywhere make you feel like you are really alone
these are the qualities that make me like the game. a puzzle platformer that strings towards the horror genre? this game does it perfectly, in a fresh way



Another game I recently played this year was TRINE which funny enough was another puzzle platformer, but had the hip feature of co-operative gameplay!
but that's my small blab now I wonder: if there's a cool hip indie game like this that has turned successful, theres bound to be more right? Just wondering if anyone else knows a game that's not quite popular yet, but should get it's own slice of attention?

but there's the small argument that this will make these games mainstream but whatever

 

[Zacchaeus]

This game isn't obscure, it's had tons of attention as far as Arcade Games go within the Marketplace and now you can buy it on a disc for 360. But it's a great game

By the way (Yeah Internet Renaissance is locked but still)

 

[v]

MAN and here I was expecting a "how can you go" limbo thread! Oh well. When I was a kid I played this awesome, endearing little game called Croc 2. It was not altogether too impressive and may have been well-known but I was too young to care when I played it.

I also recently went to an arcade in New Hampshire and got to play some sweet old games. Asteroids, Pacman, Punchout!, Marvel versus Capcom (not sure), and an old Tekken. They didn't have Space Invaders though, which is my favorite game (GET THE SHIP!!) but it was still great. The hardest part was the broken buttons and joysticks. The Asteroids machine was from 1979 or so though, so some wear-and-tear is expected.

 

[Optimusje]

nowadays #smogcraft is mostly used for hipster indiegame talk. Love all the little stuff, and my steam account is loaded with em these days. Won't go reccomending any other games here, as ill get carried away >.>

 

[Renosaur]

haha oh my god asteroids, that game was the shit back then.

and sorry zaccheus, I prob should've done a thorough search. oh woe is me

 

[monkfish]

really cool indie games:
braid - beautiful, masterfully crafted time-based puzzle game
machinarium - a point-n-click puzzle game that actually makes sense? what the hell? lovely graphics too
world of goo - unbreakable emergent gameplay, the holy grail of game design

also by 'indie' i mean 'independently developed', not 'unheard of'. all of these games are relatively popular but they are still really good

 

[Nonary Game]

Cthulhu Saves The World

This game's just balls-out hilarious for all the right reasons. To best demonstrate this, here's a drinking game regarding the game:

- Every time Cthulhu facepalms or breaks the fourth wall, take a sip
- Every time the game references another work (TV show, pop star, video game, etc.), take a drink. If an area is a giant reference to another area from another work, take two drinks.
- Every time the game points out something ridiculously obvious, or the game trolls you in some insane manner, bottom's up.

You'll die before you get past the beginning dungeon/first town.