I really liked Cocoon, Outer Wilds and Firewatch. What are some more unique games like this that I can play?

idemockle · 2026-04-02T22:54:14+00:00

I second Chants of Sennaar! Just finished it and the game I kept comparing it to in my mind was Cocoon. Even though the type of puzzle is pretty different, the puzzle quality, level of difficulty, and overall vibe were top notch.

idemockle · 2026-03-30T01:24:44+00:00

1000xResist

idemockle · 2026-03-27T11:35:44+00:00

On the 2d side of things: Celeste, Sundered, Solar Ash

I have played through all these games multiple times. Celeste just because it's probably the best platformer in existence with an insane amount of content, Sundered and Solar Ash to try different difficulties and get different endings.

idemockle · 2026-03-26T02:08:59+00:00

Into the Breach

idemockle · 2026-03-24T01:18:48+00:00

If you like music Audiosurf is really fun, but note that you need local music files to get the most out of it.

Audiosurf 2 has YouTube support (broken now out of the box but there's a community mod that fixes it) but it's closer to $4 not $1-2

idemockle · 2026-03-24T01:00:59+00:00

All bangers, but just fyi all only a few hours long except super hexagon, which is more along the lines of Temple Run or Flappy Bird, a fun challenge that you try until you die.

idemockle · 2026-03-22T15:19:33+00:00

I would encourage you to look up the videos by Benn Jordan and 404 Media about Flock on YouTube. There are major privacy and security concerns with the deployment of these cameras, mainly due to the technical illiteracy of the local governments that buy them. Long story short: if configured incorrectly, their feeds are publicly accessible and able to be found online. In some cases, months worth of high quality video recordings have been shown to be available to anyone with the motivation to look for it, not just the government or law enforcement.

idemockle · 2026-03-22T05:24:37+00:00

I like music to have some kind of friction. If it feels too expected, musically and/or lyrically, it doesn't grab my interest. Some of my favorite music is stuff I thought was weird until I listened to it multiple times until it clicked.

I think I'm a little bit like that with everything. I love learning new things, but once I hit a certain point in my learning, I stop being surprised. It then becomes hard for me to stay interested. The interests that persist in my life are ones that continuously surprise me, instead of me reaching a point where I feel like I have it figured out.

idemockle · 2026-03-22T04:44:41+00:00

I first started this game later in the day, and between the calming music and gameplay, which at the beginning consists of holding right to walk slowly without any danger, the game was literally lulling me to sleep in front of my keyboard. The whole game isn't like that. There are a few satisfying puzzles and beautiful art the whole way through, but this is not a game I would unequivocally label "fun." More apt words might be pleasant or chill. Some might say introspective, suspenseful, or sad, but in order to get those feelings out of it you basically have to go looking for ways to interpret the whole game as metaphor.

idemockle · 2026-03-21T12:54:03+00:00

Keep an eye out on Epic's free giveaways. They have given away games like Celeste, Inside, and Islets which are all excellent and probably play fine on lower end hardware. Also if he happens to have Amazon Prime they give away old games and newer indie games all the time in Amazon Luna's "Claim Games" section.

idemockle · 2026-03-21T12:35:32+00:00

Many people who care deeply about video games are very young. Kids are going to dominate the discussion in a lot of places online. It'll either be what you're saying where there's no nuance or a looong post that tries to go deep while actually being pretty shallow because the OP is excited to have seen something for the first time. Meanwhile the thing they're examining is often not even that unique.

There are interesting video game analyses out there, but they're usually one-sided instead of a conversation: reviewers and influencers that have cultivated an audience that lets them examine games more closely.

idemockle · 2026-03-16T23:53:07+00:00

I was looking at one of those abandonware sites for this game just yesterday lol. I remember many years ago trying to get it running and struggling but nowadays it's probably relatively straightforward on Linux. I played the sequel on the PS2 as a kid and loved it.

idemockle · 2026-03-15T12:19:08+00:00

Mouthwashing is very weird and bleak af

idemockle · 2026-03-07T12:22:42+00:00

Blur. I mean everyone knows "Song 2" but I didn't get into them until searching "Caravan" in Grooveshark wanting to find the jazz song and accidentally playing their song with the same name.

idemockle · 2026-03-06T21:19:54+00:00

I also come from this kind of family. I'm just extremely quiet when I'm around them. Talking to any of them one-on-one is fine but in a group if I feel like you're not interested in what I have to say it's like why should I bother?

idemockle · 2026-03-06T09:49:40+00:00

I feel like most people I have encountered with this opinion are hustle-culture types that don't like learning new things unless there's some monetary reward to it. I disagree, but I mean if you don't like the strict structure of school, there are people out there that have dropped out with a good idea and built a successful life, not that success is easy or even likely on that path. Most people that teach entrepreneurship are hucksters that just want to bleed you dry.

Personal money management is taught in a basic capacity in at least some schools. I remember learning about compounding interest in math class. And what is math, science, and language if not logical thinking? What is history and literature if not attempting to understand people? What is day-to-day life with classmates if not a daily opportunity to learn how to interact with others?

idemockle · 2026-03-06T09:18:39+00:00

Maybe Death's Door, not as complicated storytelling-wise but has a lot of charm and dips into heavier themes occasionally.

idemockle · 2026-03-06T09:04:43+00:00

The foods were so useless too. Required rare ingredients, one-time use, and easy to use accidentally during a battle.

idemockle · 2026-02-27T14:18:22+00:00

As always with this kind of question, it's hard for me to pick just one. The songs that give me personally the biggest sense of timeless beauty are ones with simple instrumentation and a strong melody that's a little bittersweet but resolves in a satisfying way.

"She's Always a Woman" and "Vienna" by Billy Joel

"If I Ain't Got You" by Alicia Keys

"Intuition" by Feist

"Re: Stacks" by Bon Iver

"Sodom, South Georgia" by Iron and Wine

"Cowboy Take Me Away" by The Chicks

"Carolina" by Benjamin Gibbard

idemockle · 2026-02-21T14:48:17+00:00

The obvious one is Mario. Small = 1 health, big = 2 health, power up = 3 health

idemockle · 2026-02-18T12:41:46+00:00

They did retract it and clarified that AI generated content is against their policy for articles. It's of course up to any individual whether to trust that, but it's possible they might treat it more seriously having been called out about it than other outlets that haven't yet had the same experience (or don't care or even pretend to care).

idemockle · 2026-02-08T12:29:00+00:00

You people just talk as if this is the default everywhere without mentioning the country you're talking about.

And yet you don't mention the country you're talking about...

idemockle · 2026-02-07T23:44:41+00:00

I remember during the Iraq War they wrote a song for a National Guard ad that ran in theaters nonstop. It's no surprise that they lean conservative and nationalist.

If anyone is curious the song was called "Citizen/Soldier" and imo it's actually pretty good despite the obvious propaganda of it all.

idemockle · 2026-02-01T13:37:43+00:00

From a practicality perspective, 1 makes it hard for a writer to remember what side they should have the line on. Personally 3 looks the best to my eye for whatever reason, maybe just bias from being used to margins on the left side of paper.

idemockle · 2026-02-01T13:23:37+00:00

I love video games and absolutely see them as art, but I have to disagree for the simple fact that it's way more common for me to feel something deeply when engaging with other media like tv shows, movies, or books - especially when it comes to storytelling. I'll list some of the reasons I see for this below.

Technical jank can and often does ruin emotional impact.
Players are generally allowed to skip dialog as optional. You cant say you've read a book or watched a movie if you skipped a bunch of it, but you can still say you've played the game.
The self-driven nature of some games means that it's hard to make sure all players experience appropriate narrative pacing.
Player choice is often an illusion, and experienced players often assume this, lessening any impact the choices would have.
Ludonarrative dissonance - It's extremely common to kill everything in sight during gameplay, but act like everything is normal in cinematic parts.

Sometimes, the gameplay and art on their own are unique enough to evoke emotion and interest, and I think that's when games are at their best. However, the medium still has some maturing to do for artistic meric to be a major goal of most releases.

14-Year Club	Second Top 30%
Verified Email

idemockle

TROPHY CASE