I’ve played both of those games actually! Citizen Sleeper was great! I feel like there’s this interesting design space of text-centric narrative RPGs with unconventional mechanics…
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Also in this category recently: Roadwarden, Betrayal at Club Low. Also The Pale Beyond which is coming out in a few weeks.
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I bought Roadwarden for Christmas. I haven’t gotten around to fully immersing myself, but what I have gleened from the little peek I took is very, very promising.
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I’ve been playing through the first Half-Life game, which I got recently for like, 1 dollar in a Steam sale. I’m also playing the fan-made reimagining of the game, Black Mesa, which is actually a pretty neat (though graphically demanding) product. After I finish the first Half-Life and/or Black Mesa, I plan to replay the sequels, which are games I have played through quite a few times and totally love.
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I’m currently playing Legend of Kyrandia 2 and Gateway by Legend Interactive. I’m trying to play through all 3 Kyrandia games for a little adventure game discord I run and while I thought 1 was pretty rough, 2 seems to be a big improvement on that.
Also played some short IF/IF-adjacent things on Itch that I thought were neat, No Substitutions and Waste Eater
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That second one is fairly dark. Reminds me of that marvel comic run where a besieged Earth gives mutant powers to teens to help fight off alien invaders, but even those who survive the procedure only have a year to live after recovering. If I remember the name, I’ll come back and add it in an edit.
ETA: Found it. It’s called Strikeforce: Morituri.
The premise is that aliens have invaded Earth and nearly succeeded in conquering it and stripping it of its resources. A scientist discovers a process which can provide humans with superhuman powers, effectively creating a group of defending superheroes. However, the process would also ensure that the empowered humans would die within a year of being empowered. The series thus focused on the heroism of the main characters in fighting the invaders, while living with the knowledge that their fates were sealed regardless of whether or not they prevailed.[1]
The title comes from the Latin phrase “Ave Imperator, morituri te salutant” (“Hail Caesar, we who are about to die salute you”), a salute that according to popular legend (although not academically agreed) was uttered by Roman gladiators before battle in the arena. The subtitle of the comic was “We who are about to die”.
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I recently played through the entirety of Apollosboy’s The Magnus Archives fangame series, The Usher Collection. Great time all around–I hope the author returns to finish the series one day (based on the source material, there should only be two left to go!).
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Ryan Veeder & Emily Boegheim’s Robin and Orchid, which has a fabulous diegetic hint mechanic.
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I’m still on my Slay the Spire kick – killed the Heart with the Ironclad and Defect now. Neither were at all close; for the former, I got the Dead Branch relic that gives you a random new card when you exhaust an old one, then got the Corruption power that makes all skills cost 0 and exhaust upon use; for the latter, just a bunch of frost-orb powers and some focus-boosting were the key. In both cases, I had decks bigger than I usually use (30ish, as compared to low 20s) which I think is actually an indication that in this one case slightly larger decks are a good idea.
Now I need to decide whether to keep going and see if I can do the same with the Watcher, which I’ve always found a slightly harder nut to crack than the others, or call it good and move on so I’ve still got something concrete to aim for the next time the StS bug bites.
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In the middle of Enchanter, Anchorhead, and Ballyhoo. Currently stuck on all three.
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If you don’t mind a hint, all you need to do is frotz the cup of coffee and take it to the… midway? (I’ve never played Ballyhoo).
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I tried loading the Enchanter save into Anchorhead but it didn’t work. I’ll try a different interpreter in the morning.
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I played 10:16, which is a game that @catskets put out recently and I had been saving to play when I had a spare moment this weekend as a little treat for hauling myself through the week. I’ve met Dorian before in writing with Kat in the past, and had been curious about learning more about this particular little meowmeow. (Well, not little, he’s over 6 feet. But come on, the guy likes kitten pictures and memes and is dripped out in Roman Catholic imagery. How was I not supposed to like him?)
I totally get why Dorian has such an enthusiastic fanbase around him. I want to squish him like a squishmallow. I got ending four, (there are several!) and it was a lovely atmospheric piece that handled having a developed nameable protagonist really well. Totally worth the time it takes to play through. There was a bit of singing and a wonderfully cinematic opening included as well! Super cool. Love seeing how Kat plays around with presentations in the engine. Reading their writing is always a treat.
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Ah! Mention jumpscare! Glad you enjoyed, Sophia!
Might as well use this as an excuse to contribute to the thread. I just played Sucker For Love: First Date on stream with a friend of mine. It’s a ridiculous visual novel which parodies shoujo and dating sims from the 90s with its own horror twists! I really enjoyed it.
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I am near the end of Fire Emblem: Engage. Some thoughts:
It really has a classic Fire Emblem feel. Despite the continued absence of weapon durability (except for staves), resources feel very scarce. It’s hard to keep weapons upgraded as difficulty rises. Not only is money highly constrained, but upgrade resources are, too.
The weapon triangle system is back, and in this iteration you can “break” your opponent’s guard by using the correct weapon. A weaker character or glass cannon type can follow behind without fear of counterattack. This new mechanic does add depth to combat, but it also makes armored units a tad overpowered (their guard is unbreakable).
The big, new feature is the engage system. Twelve rings (and some bracelets if you buy the season pass) house the spirits of past heroes in the Fire Emblem franchise. They grant stat bonuses, new skills and, can also merge with the character via the “Engage” command. Engage only lasts three rounds (at first). While the character is engaged, they have access to special weapons and one “ultimate” attack. The ultimate consumes all remaining turns for the Engage state. Recharging the meter takes time, though there are special titles on maps that will charge it immediately for one character. Long-time fans will enjoy seeing their favorite characters (Lyn is in this! 
).
Do I like it? Mostly! I enjoy min/maxing and grinding, and the lack of resources/money make this difficult (impossible?) in Fire Emblem: Engage. The maps are well-designed, and the classes seem well-balanced (except for armored knights and generals as mentioned above). While my personal tastes tilt more to the sim/management elements of Three Houses, this is a good tactical RPG that newcomers and veterans will likely enjoy.
(I don’t like the MC design, but it’s not so bad as to be distracting)
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I’m playing Dorm Game by @Carrington, of course! Officially halfway through (50/100) after first few sessions. If I could only find a silly necktie…
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Doom.
Specifically the GZDoom port with community-made maps. Not too much in the way of gameplay changes; most of the mods I have are mainly sound mods and a custom player character.
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Just started playing Sorcerer with my wife. Still in the middle of Anchorhead and Ballyhoo.
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I’ve been playing Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup. And by playing I mean mostly dying to Rupert in Lair.
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Ballyhoo is so good! Underrated late Infocom game. Make sure you read every word in the feelies 
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