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Recommendation engine: Downvote any game you've heard of before

This might be a slightly unusual attempt at a prompt, but might draw some appealing unusual options.

The way it goes: Suggest games, ideally the kind that you believe would have relatively broad appeal. Don’t feel bad about downvotes, but do downvote any game that’s suggested if you have heard of it before (Perhaps, give some special treatment if it was literally your game of the year). This rule is meant to encourage people to post the indie darlings that took some unusual attention and discovery to be aware of and appreciate.

If possible, link to the Steam pages for the games in question, so that anyone interested can quickly take a look at screenshots and reviews. And, as a general tip, anything with over 1000 steam reviews probably doesn’t belong here. While I’d recommend that you only suggest one game per post, at the very most limit it to three.

If I am incorrect about downvotes being inconsequential account-wide, say so and it might be possible to work out a different system.

Paradachshund ,

This one isn’t super new, but Druidstone. It’s a story based tactics game with some RPG elements and it’s just excellently done. I’ve never heard anyone else mention it and I think more people should know about it.

SandLight ,

It was pretty good, but I got stuck on an annoying mission and dropped it. Really wish that dev had just made grimrock 3, but I respect not wanting to do the same thing over and over…

ABCDE ,

Return Fire was a head-to-head military shooter, with a choice of four different vehicles of destruction, and is played split-screen on PC with one keyboard. I think I only ever had the demo but it was fantastic.

Mad_Punda ,

Calcium Contract is a boomer shooter with a pretty unique rewind feature. Humorous with old school feels, but for a modern time. It’s a one man project.

DrowningInteger ,

I don’t have any suggestions but I do like this prompt and I see a lot of games I’ve never heard of

helloharu ,
@helloharu@lemmy.world avatar

I don’t either but this is such a great discussion. I’ve come across quite a few interesting sounding games here. Thanks OP.

mox ,

If I am incorrect about downvotes being inconsequential account-wide, say so and it might be possible to work out a different system.

Wouldn’t “upvote if you have never heard of it” accomplish the same thing?

I guess it would depend on people reading and following the instructions, instead of just upvoting games they like. Maybe that’s a bit much to ask. :P

Katana314 OP ,

It can be hard to encourage people to only do this for the obscure - and can sometimes lead to moments of “Witcher 3 / Factorio Unknown Indie Darling” moments. The dream is for threads like this to not contribute to successes that are already basically “lightning in a bottle”, but focus attention where developers haven’t seen so much of it.

scops ,

Fair points, but I can’t participate in this thread because I’m on an instance that doesn’t allow down votes. The up vote solution is at least a bit more inclusive

ABCDE ,

Wouldn’t “upvote if you have never heard of it” accomplish the same thing?

That is also what is happening.

JackbyDev ,

HyperRogue has 352 reviews. It is a rogue like that is played on a hyperbolic plane rather than a euclidian one.

If you’re not familiar with hyperbolic geometry, don’t be fooled by the videos. It has the illusion of looking like it is on a sphere in many of the videos. It’s not! Also, you don’t need to be some master of hyperbolic geometry to play. I don’t really understand it but can still play the game well enough.

Essentially, imagine a hexagonal grid. Now, replace some of those hexagons with septagons (7 sided). The further away you get from a point there will be way more tiles in the hyperbolic grid than the euclidian.

The UI is pretty bad, the menus are pretty icky. Those are my only real complaints.

The game is charming. It has.a very retro feel to it. The music reminds me of something of hear from an old school point and click game or RuneScape. The graphics are minimal but charming.

The mechanics are easy enough. You get hit and you die. Most enemies die in one hit. There are no weapons or stats. It’s more like chess in a way. The game will also not let you accidentally move somewhere you’d die, so, yes, very much like chess with checkmates.

Because the game is so simplistic you can get into a flow state where you quickly move and attack enemies. It’s very satisfying to play.

silverchase ,
@silverchase@sh.itjust.works avatar

Hyperbolic bonus: Hyperbolica, a first-person walking simulator set in a universe with hyperbolic geometry. You do odd jobs and play games that explore the strangeness of this geometry. Also, there’s a slight digression to explore spherical geometry as well.

JackGreenEarth ,

Hyperbolica is much better than the rogue game

silverchase ,
@silverchase@sh.itjust.works avatar

Toodee and Topdee (559 reviews)

Puzzle platformer/block pushing hybrid

The 2d platforming world and top-down world have smashed together. You control one hero from each dimension, who share the same space in the levels. You switch between platformer and top-down modes and must get both characters to the goal. The boss levels are hard but very cool, combining action and puzzles.

Also features local 2-player co-op and a generous assist mode.

Cocodapuf ,

That looks really cool!

tlo ,

Cozy Space Survivors is a short (few hours) cozy survivor-like indie game with pixel graphics. A run is only ten minutes, so it works also for people with not too much time. It is developed by a single person and it is his first release.

HeavyRaptor ,

Tactical Breach Wizards

It’s made by the Developer who made Gunpoint and Heat Signature (also amazing games if you somehow haven’t heard of them BTW).

It’s a turn based tactics/puzzle game where you command a squad of wizards with different magical abilities to dispatch a room full of enemies. A bit like Into the Breach but hand crafted scenarios, not procedurally generated.

It also has a fun story, character customisation, and ability unlocks. Almost every scenario has a bunch of optional extra goals, so you decide how hard you want to wreck your brain. Highly recommend it!

ampersandrew ,
@ampersandrew@lemmy.world avatar

Concord is a…nah, I’m just kidding. I’ve never played it, and I don’t intend to. It has fewer than 1000 reviews though.

Nurse_Robot ,

Minecraft (do your worst)

BombOmOm ,
@BombOmOm@lemmy.world avatar

I see you are doing some downvote farmin’ today!

Is a good game, especially with mods.

Nurse_Robot ,

Gotta try everything once

JackbyDev ,

Literally the only game I’ve heard of on this thread so far lol.

all-knight-party ,
@all-knight-party@fedia.io avatar

Voices of the Void a free (likely while it's in pre-alpha) light simulational game about receiving outer space signals and recording them to sell. You use the currency to clean up, upgrade, and decorate your small facility while moving around the Swiss forest valley you're in to repair and upkeep the satellite dishes that make the operation function.

It sounds very purely simulational, but there are a lot of secrets and interesting signals that are more than signals. It's also an Unreal engine game, but features a lot of Source engine love, for example the art style is reminiscent of Half-Life 1, all of the sound effects are EXTREMELY Source game nostalgic, and there's crouch jumping.

tigeruppercut ,

Doom II

…wait don’t downvote yet, you’ve gotta play it with the new ray tracing mod

tetris11 ,
@tetris11@lemmy.ml avatar

Grand Theft Auto IV

It’s a little known game from a small publisher originally located in Scotland.

The main premise is that you drive around a city as quickly as possible and go bowling with your cousin. Think Big Lebowski meets Driver. You can also play Pool and Darts in various locations around the town, and earn money doing small side jobs such as being a taxi driver or a paramedic.

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