Sci-Fi and Fantasy Gaming
- Any good scifi blog/website recommendations?
I'm trying to find good sources for new* scifi content. Google is being extremely unhelpful at finding blogs and I know there have to be a few out there. I'm really focused on games but at this point I would be interested in any writer who covers science fiction content.
Bonus points for any blog that focuses on aliens.
*by new I mean new to me, I dont care if it came out yesterday or 100 years ago
- What have you been playing 10/15/23
Been playing a lot of Steam's NextFest demos and posting about them. There's a lot of fun and interesting games being highlighted. Also finally getting around to Psychonauts 2 and it's great. It picks up directly after the events of the VR game Rhombus of Ruin (which I haven't played due to lack of VR) which apparently picked up right after the first game, keeping a strong narrative thread between the games. You also have all of your powers from the first game, avoiding the classic yet annoying trope of arbitrarily losing everything just to get more or less the same powers. The gameplay is exactly what you'd want from a sequel, keeping the basic loop the same while expanding on it with new abilities.
- Welcome to SFF Gaming!
Hello! Welcome to SFF Gaming, a hub for all things related to Sci-fi and Fantasy gaming. My personal experience is mostly with video games but I'd love to see content about PnP, board games, larps, and anything else that could be considered SFF gaming. My first piece of content will be a review for Sea of Stars, if I can get myself to finish it, but I hope to be able to do more and to help grow this community. Thanks for checking it out and please feel free to post, I don't intend to be too strict unless it becomes necessary. Thanks to the instance mods for giving me this chance!
Also, please don't forget the rest of our instance, the Sci-Fi Fantasy Alliance. There's a lot of potential here and I'd love to see it bloom.
- Vampire and werewolf hunting third person shooter El Paso, Elsewhere takes an interesting approach to difficultywww.thegamer.com El Paso, Elsewhere Has Discourse-Shattering Difficulty Settings
El Paso, Elsewhere has guns, vampires, and the best difficulty settings I’ve seen in years
- The Great Below Preview - Mansions, Maps, and Mysteries (Demo)indiegamereviewer.com The Great Below Preview - Mansions, Maps, and Mysteries (Demo)
The Great Below combines moody atmosphere with an intriguing map-based navigation system. Read our preview of this upcoming horror game.
- Enshrouded, the most-played Steam Next Fest demo, enters Early Access in Januarywww.vg247.com Enshrouded, the most-played Steam Next Fest demo, enters Early Access in January
Keen Games has announced Enshrouded will go into Early Access on Steam on January 24, 2024.
- MAGNAGOTHICA: MALEGHAST - A necromancer tactics wargame from the creator of Kill Six Billion Demons
"MAGNAGOTHICA: MALEGHAST is now out! It’s a full color, heavily illustrated skirmish scale necromancer tactics wargame heavily inspired by heavy metal music and gothic comics"
Considering the author, I expect this to be awesome on all fronts. It looks like it is all digital. You can also get it from their Patreon.
Also as a side note, if you decide to read K6BD go here. If you go to the main page you'll probably see major spoilers, since it's the latest chapter.
- Introducing Free Stars: Children of Infinitypistolshrimpgames.com Introducing Free Stars: Children of Infinity
Introducing Free Stars: Children of Infinity and the re-release of Free Stars: The Ur-Quan Masters on Steam.
- Europa - A beautiful puzzle game with very enjoyable movementstore.steampowered.com Europa on Steam
On the moon Europa, a lush terraformed paradise in Jupiter’s shadow, an android named Zee sets out in search of answers. Run, glide and fly across the landscape, solve mysteries in the ruins of a fallen utopia, and discover the story of the last human alive.
They don't let you get very far in the demo but what I did play was very pleasant. When you're running around on foot you slide down hills and can zoom along the surface of water, keeping your character moving and avoiding awkward stoppages as you explore. If you get some air, like with the charged jump or the levitation ability, you can glide gently back to the ground. All of these things make it very fun and satisfying to explore the world.
- Darkest Abyss - An excellent action platformer that harkens back to the original Castlevaniastore.steampowered.com Darkest Abyss on Steam
Darkest Abyss is a platform/action game inspired by the Classic-Vania genre.
Overall this game feels a lot like the classic Castlevania without so much retro jank. The controls feel great and the action is satisfying.
- WitchHand is a fun combination of card game and resource managementstore.steampowered.com WitchHand on Steam
You're a witch, leading your coven into new, unfriendly lands. Use the cards you find to build and expand your civilization. Befriend the local covens or use their bones to fuel your spells. Gather your familiars, the witching hour is nigh.
One of my highlights from NextFest, this game feels like a lighter version of Cultist Simulator and I cannot wait for it to come out. Definitely worth playing the demo.
- Talos Principle 2 Discussion [First game spoilers]
I've finally beat the first game and I'm very interested to see where the next one goes. Having passed the Independence test, The Child has left the simulation that the first game took place in and now seems to be in our world post-apocalypse. What will the world and puzzles hold without the trappings of the simulation? Will we hear the voice of the Serpent? What will be our goal? I assumed the in-world purpose of the project was to ensure sentience continued in some form but now what will we do with it?
Only things you need to spoiler tag are puzzle solutions and hints.
- The Thaumaturge - Official Gameplay Trailer | PC Date Reveal
YouTube Video
Click to view this content.
Looks pretty fun and interesting. Kinda like Pokemon in a dark Victorian CRPG.
- What are you playing 10/08/23
Still working on the ever-challenging Talos Principle. Area C is where things seem to start getting real tough. The recording and the carriable platforms have so many possibilities that they can be overwhelming to my tiny brain.
Beat Blasphemous 2 and it was excellent. The 3 different weapons are a fun way to mix up combat, even if I did stick with Ruego for most of it. Of course the Spanish inspired art is as grotesquely beautiful and occasionally horrifying as the first and makes meeting any of the physically large NPC'S a fascinating experience.
Sea of Stars was also incredible. I promised to write a review about it but I'm struggling with that. It's an absolutely beautiful and incredibly fun JRPG that's absolutely worth completing 100%. None of the goals are a pain in the ass to achieve and are mostly centered around collectibles that give you rewards along the way. If you manage to complete everything and get the 4 flimsy hammers there's one last beautiful secret to get but it doesn't tell you how to find it in game as far as I can tell, which bugs me.
Started Psychonauts 2 and so far is exactly what I'd want for a sequel. The story picks up immediately after the events of Rhombus of Ruin and you still have the powers from the first game which keeps things moving forward and prevents the game from falling in to many of the traps that retro revivals can fall in to.
Still trying to get regular with these posts. I think I want to shoot for Sunday mornings.
- Fable Designer Releases Ultima-Like RPG for Free on Steamwww.escapistmagazine.com Fable Designer Releases Ultima-Like RPG for Free on Steam
Fancy a free old-school RPG? Moonring, from one of the designers of Fable and Dungeon Keeper, is out now on PC via Steam — and it’s free. Moonring has rather come out of nowhere. Developing as Fluttermind, designer Dene Carter calls the game “..a retro-inspired open-world, turn-based, tile RPG in th...
Moonring Steam Page I do plan to try it but even if I weren't I always love seeing things clearly made out of love and a desire to create.
- The Talos Principle First Play/Replay Discussion
With the announcement of The Talos Principle 2 coming out on November 2nd and the original game having come out in 2014 it seems like an excellent time to get the first game fresh in our minds. How are you enjoying it and if you played it back in the day, what's it like coming back nearly 9 years later?
I'm going to try to take a moderate stance on spoiler tags as I know entire threads of REDACTED aren't very enjoyable. If you have been playing for more than about 8 hours you should start tagging story. All puzzle solutions must be spoiler tagged.
I had apparently played 14 hours already but epilepsy deleted those memories so this is as good as my first time playing. I've just barely started but right away the game is very pretty. Hard to go wrong with crumbling grassy ruins. It'd be quite serene if it weren't for the occasional mine drone or auto gatling gun. So far it feels like it's aged excellently and could easily have been released yesterday. Also I get the feeling this is the kind of game that will hold a lot of secrets.
- What have you been playing? 09/26/23
My main games have been Blasphemous 2, Sea of Stars, and Halls of Torment.
Blasphemous 2 has been an excellent follow up to the original. It's very tough Souls-like (punishing, skill based combat with a strong focus on parrying and dodging) 2D Metroidvania (Large focus on exploration and getting new abilities to explore new areas) with incredible pixel art. The imagery is based on the Catholic imagery and lore of Spain, where the devs are from. This makes for a unique and bloody experience with art that feels fresh and classical at the same time. Highly recommend.
Sea of Stars is possibly the prettiest pixel art game I've ever played. It's a JRPG with lots of interesting systems to mix up combat. In addition to the classic timed hits to deal/block extra damage the game includes several other systems that combine to make combat quite tactical and occasionally puzzle like.
Halls of Torment is a Survivors-like with a Diabloish aesthetic that mixes things up a bit. Unlike most of the genre you're able to attack fully manually, but there are also options to make you attack and aim automatically. The extra nice thing about that is even if you auto-aim it'll still let you aim manually, letting decide moment to moment how to play. There's also a system where you can essentially sacrifice an item from your run to unlock the ability to buy it permanently back at camp. Been playing with the summoner character.
- Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior Allows You to Become an Awesome Army of One - IGN
Very interesting sounding time mechanic in this game. I'm almost certainly gonna get it.
- Square Enix announces FF XIV TTRPGwww.square-enix-shop.com FINAL FANTASY XIV TTRPG | SQUARE ENIX
The official site for FINAL FANTASY XIV TTRPG.
- Sucker for Love - For when 3D girls just don't have enough dimensionsstore.steampowered.com Sucker for Love: First Date on Steam
Put the 'love' in 'Lovecraftian horror'! Perform terrifying rituals to win the affections of eldritch horrors and smooch 'em... at any cost!
Sucker for Love is a very funny short dating sim where you try to woo a handful of attractive horrors from beyond space and time.
- Improbable Island - An absurd Persistent Browser Based Game
The storyline involving one of the side characters is actually really interesting and, ironically, one of the most existentially scary things I've ever read.
- Cosmoctopus: A board game that tackles cosmic horror without invoking Lovecraftwww.polygon.com Cosmoctopus board game tackles cosmic horror without invoking Lovecraft
Grappling with Lucky Duck’s newest engine builder
While there's nothing wrong with enjoying Lovecraft's work and being able to separate the art from the artist it's also nice for people to be able to enjoy Lovecraftian style imagery without directly invoking him or his works.
- Crown Trick, an adorably animated turn based roguelitestore.steampowered.com Save 75% on Crown Trick on Steam
Enter a labyrinth that moves as you move, where mastering the elements is key to defeating enemies and uncovering the mysteries of this underground world. With a new experience awaiting every time you enter the dungeon, let the power bestowed by the crown guide you in this challenging adventure!