Maximo! It’s a 3D hack and slash collectathon. It’s based on the Ghosts and Goblins games. There was a sequel that fell a little short of expectations (got rid of the really fun hub worlds). They were going to do a third game but Capcom canceled it.
The Thief series. I LOVED the first one especially, Thief the Dark Project. Medieval (low magic fantasy?) stealth shooter. The more valuable you pick up directly translates to what you can buy as a load out for the next level so you’re encouraged to explore, though even the low level enemies can kick you ass so you have to be sneaky. Actually great stealth mechanics even for an old game. The world building is amazing, with it’s own lore, culture and slang. The plot of the games are also great.
The Kingdom of Loathing is a game I’ve played almost non-stop since about 2003. Web based and free, it’s based off of old text based games. But it’s fun. Really fun. And hilarious. The currency is meat. The classes are goofy. Saucerer? Disco bandit? Seal Clubber? A lot of games deal with things like power creep or inflation, or how the heck to get people to actually help pay for it. This game solves problems like these elegantly. The user base is fun and friendly and corporative, there’s always new stuff coming out to try, they do a holiday special every year, and all the pictures are crudely drawn stick figures.
Kinda cheating, since this game (hell, entire series; linking my fave entry) has kind of a cult following in Central/Eastern Europe.
The video looked cool but for the picture they had to go with the Pixar face??
Dark Fall 1 & 2 (specifically not 3)
couple of my favorite point and click adventures, and I’ve played a lot
Dead Head Fred, that game is awesome and sadly forever locked to the PSP. That it has never gotten a console port is nothing short of criminal.
Tactics Ogre. I see people drop Final Fantasy Tactics as the greatest tactics game of all time. Then you always see Fire Emblem, Advance Wars, and Disgaea after. People sleep on Tactics Ogre. It’s a mechanically superior game to all of the mentioned. It’s story is equally as good as FFT. I think the graphics are better. It’s a challenging game from the start. FFT was created with the Tactics Ogre director and lead artist to be a more accessible version of TO. People see 90s golden era Final Fantasy and automatically put FFT on a pedestal. TO is like Undertaker stalking AJ Styles ready to obliterate whatever is in its way.
Strife - last commercial release (at least until a recent retro game using it) of the Doom Engine. Picked it up for £3.50 or something about '97.
Think Hexen but plot, charming pixel-comic art, and some potentially frustrating boss fights and rpg lite elements.
Lots of fun, and does interesting stuff. I quote the voice acting quite a lot, but no one notices.Cyber Empires (PC), Shadowrun (Genesis), Betrayal at Krondor (PC).
Betrayal at Krondor was amazing. Masterfully written, with fun riddles, and that music chef’s kiss
Shadowrun for Genesis was amazing! Ahead of its time. The way it semi randomly generated jobs for you to do was pretty unique. Like Bethesda radiant quests, but decades earlier and better. I really enjoyed rising up from the weakest street runner to someone with enough reputation to skip the line at the expensive club.
The leveling system was also pretty advanced for Genesis.
Also the cyberspace hacking was wacky and fun.
Guardian Heroes was an outstanding RPG beat 'em up on Sega Saturn. It had
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a two player co-op storyline with branching choices to get alternate endings
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unlockable characters for a 6-player arena mode
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incredibly unique characters to unlock, spellcasting with ➡️⬅️⬆️⬇️ input
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and a kick ass soundtrack.
Nothing has really scratched the same itch since (yes, I’m aware there’s a sequel, but it’s terrible).
That sounds great. The kind of game I’d’ve loved but never had any Sega consoles (and no one really spoke about emulating them) so missed all of it.
If you have an Xbox, by some miracle they have it available, and it’s $5. I highly recommend it.
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Balrum
Beautiful isometric game inspired by 80’s and 90’s CRPGs.
Mars: War Logs, and Technomancer
I think I’d have to say La-Mulana.
Dysmantle.
Casual post apocalyptic survival etc game. It’s also available on consoles, switch and mobile.
Endless Sky According to wikipedia it is a space trading and combat simulation game. Its free and open source, has a lot of content (even more with plugins). You do missions to get the storyline forward and to get money, you can also mine asteroid, trade with other planets, attack other ships and plunder them. You discover new species and Outfits to make your space ship better, etc.
Shadow Tactics Desperados III The Thaumaturge
