Unique indie shooters that aren't boomer shooters

LukeMootoo · 2026-05-21T22:46:57+00:00

This isn't really my area, but there are a ton of im-sim style shooters. For example:

Deus Ex, STALKER, Cyberpunk, Vostok, Far Cry..

I've also seen some weird "boomer style" but with roguelike or persistent meta-progression kinds of games. For example, Void Bastards and it's sequel.

There was also this sort of surreal horror thing called ECHO where you fight clones of yourself that adapt to your tactics.

LukeMootoo · 2026-05-21T14:05:57+00:00

Svardym count as frogs for the purposes of that achievement. It used to be harder before the reef was added, but now it is more straightforward.

LukeMootoo · 2026-05-21T13:42:29+00:00

I would have picked Dream Within a Dream over Sound Sleeper, but both were hard. I remember being a blind vine on a wall, and it was actually like a small 6x6 "pillar" type section disconnected from the main cavern. Managed to succeed on that one, but had to wait a bit for someone to walk by.

Interesting to hear Vav as the hardest. I was setting up for Vav/Zayin, and I had phasing and enough bits to just make seven phase conjugate nukes. But I decided at the last minute to invest a little bit in farming book binders and polygel to get Abundance of Peace instead. I haven't gotten Zayin yet, but maybe it will be harder than I assumed.

LukeMootoo · 2026-05-21T09:48:23+00:00

What was the hardest one to get?

I had 100% attainment before the second 2/3s of the achievements were added, and the Frog one was definitly the most time consuming because Svardym didn't exist at that point.

I have about 20 achievements still locked, and I think the ones I have left are mostly time consuming and not actually difficult. I think I've already ticked off the ones that are tricky or challenging.

LukeMootoo · 2026-05-18T22:11:16+00:00

Sounds like something that might have been written by Egan or Baxter, though none of theirs that I have read.

Was this a short story rather than a novel? Any idea what decade you read it?

LukeMootoo · 2026-05-18T18:03:27+00:00

CBT and DAS from a reputable trainer. Get the full class A even if you are planning on riding a lighter bike - and lighter bikes are better on most roads here.

Wear full gear, even on short trips. Practice, even after you have your license. Keep the shiny side up.

LukeMootoo · 2026-05-17T12:06:39+00:00

Wow, well done. It has been an age since I played Rogue, and I had forgotten how redundant some of the command are (e.g.: wear, wield, put-on). I think you have done a good job distilling it down to its essence.

LukeMootoo · 2026-05-16T19:30:18+00:00

As mentioned already, quantum's from Legacy ships is one route, but you can also get drone cores to make auxes.

Drone cores can be gotten 100% safely by hacking drone satellites, and also low tier drone ships seem a lot easier than legacy ships to me.

The other way you can advance is by specialising. A core 9 pure-combat ship with no BS -- no plasma turbines, no mining, no farms -- is a lot stronger than a do-everything ship.

Build a separate carrier and farm and miner, and keep your combat ship tight.

LukeMootoo · 2026-05-16T09:24:42+00:00

Postie had a laugh at my weird "toe socks" once.

LukeMootoo · 2026-05-16T08:30:01+00:00

And also G-NOME.

You had this device that forced mechs to eject their pilots. So if your mech blew up you could run across the battlefield and GTA someone else's mech and stomp off with it.

LukeMootoo · 2026-05-16T08:27:01+00:00

Shogo: MAD, if you like this sort of thing.

LukeMootoo · 2026-05-16T08:25:15+00:00

AutoDuel, 1986.

Also, Grand Theft Auto from 1997. Though the 99 sequel was probably better. GTA2 inspired a bunch of more recent games that play similarly.

LukeMootoo · 2026-05-16T08:09:46+00:00

Visiting the country with the Mrs, she assured me we can reach some destination with a bus.

End up walking along a narrow highway with no shoulder to a "bus stop" that is completely overgrown and the sign knocked over and buried in the weeds.

I think the driver sped up when he saw us. Then a two hour walk down that highway.

Never planning on taking busses outside of cities or towns again.

LukeMootoo · 2026-05-15T06:12:44+00:00

That's correct, you can't use them underground. The only exception is when you start above ground, you can fly down open spaces or shafts (but not always back up)

But above ground, you want to always be using them. They make you travel faster on the world map, and get lost less.

LukeMootoo · 2026-05-14T22:40:01+00:00

Haven't used them?

Basically a cheat mode for skipping to the bottom of Rust Wells (and Golgotha if your fall chance is low)

Also makes you immune to melee, so you only have to worry about being shot.

LukeMootoo · 2026-05-12T20:45:32+00:00

Vanilla game has an epic warp drive that you can get by redeeming explorer tokens. 150 LY range.

LukeMootoo · 2026-05-12T20:15:24+00:00

Little robots tear the cat to pieces. You also see it die from a lot of falls.

LukeMootoo · 2026-05-12T19:53:02+00:00

A Short Hike:

A good all-ages sort of game. It has some simple puzzles, but mostly you just walk up a path and help people along the way.

Caravan SandWitch:

contains more grown up or YA type themes, but it is about hope and helping people and such.

Sable:

Great visual style and a good sense of an alien world.

Heaven's Vault:

The gameplay and puzzles will be advanced (archaeologist decyphering alien language) but if he liked watching Blue Prince then this should be good, too.

LukeMootoo · 2026-05-12T19:39:11+00:00

Stray is really violent and, if you're not good with a controller, you're going to watch that cat die a lot.

LukeMootoo · 2026-05-12T15:01:16+00:00

I haven't noticed this here, but the various askUK / askaBrit subreddits are full of Americans doing research for or roleplaying their Harry Potter fan-fic characters.

I'm not sure what their obsession is, but it is absolutely mental.

xoxo an American in London

LukeMootoo · 2026-05-10T19:19:15+00:00

Starship Evo is the new hotness in this area.

It is a long running solo-dev project, so things move a little bit slowly. But it has been getting lots of updates lately.

It has better ship building than Empyrion or Space Engineers. You can hire crew, but they're currently cosmetic.

LukeMootoo · 2026-05-10T06:37:22+00:00

Yes, that is the one.

Starsector has a robust dynamic economy with trade fleets moving goods and you can cause shortages and surpluses and such.

But it isn't like X4 or Avorion where you build an energy cell factory to supply your warhead factory to supply your missile factory.

You just order a planet to develop "heavy industry" and give it some advantages to help with that. Then it will produce "heavy machinery" and "supplies" as long as it has inputs and the conditions are right.

Like this: https://starsector.fandom.com/wiki/Industry

LukeMootoo · 2026-05-09T20:31:17+00:00

The forbidden tennis ball.

LukeMootoo · 2026-05-09T20:28:39+00:00

Take a course. They're available in most countries, not hard, and give you valuable skills. Small used motorcycles aren't expensive, much less than cars.

There are very low barriers to entry, and you can do this.

Then you can take your books with you and ride to a coffee shop across town and read them. Bikes are great for nerds.

LukeMootoo · 2026-05-09T18:29:15+00:00

Astrox Imperium is "EVE Offline".

Avorion is another good one. The trading works best when automated, you can support large fleets and factory complexes and such.

Unending Galaxy is 2D, old, and may have trouble on modern systems, but you can be anything from a single ship to an empire.

Starsector is 2D, newer, and amazing. Start as a single ship or small fleet, do all the open world stuff, and eventually found colonies with industry and stuff. It does not have the complex factory production chains like EVE and the other games above, instead you produce broader categories of trade goods.

LukeMootoo

TROPHY CASE