Hi, welcome to my mega post about video games I like (and don't). I'll be going over many different games, things I like about them, things I don't, why you should or shouldn't play them, and other weird stuff. This is THE infodump.
As stated in my bio, this is my favorite game EVER. And for good reason: the sheer quality, game feel, and emotion put into both of these games is staggering. If you're a fan of platformers OR metroidvanias, or you love paintings that are so well made they look real, or even if you just want to feel something for once: PLAY THIS GAME. BLIND FOREST IS LIKE $5 ON STEAM WHEN ITS ON DISCOUNT.
I should probably describe the games lol. The Ori series is a metroidvania platformer set in a magical forest. As this is a metroidvania, you gain new movement and combat abilities (mostly movement) during your adventure, including the poster child ability of the series, Bash, which allows you to launch yourself off of enemies and projectiles, sending the thing you "bashed" in the opposite direction. The first game features some combat, but mostly to accentuate the platforming experience, while the second game has a larger focus on its extremely engaging combat system, while still having amazing platforming. I highly recommend you play Blind Forest first, as Will of the Wisp's story picks up mere seconds after Blind Forest's finishes. Also, the intro scenes of Will of the Wisps are EXTREMELY rewarding for someone who played through Blind Forest first.
Heads up: these games have very emotional stories. Be prepared to cry a few times. I may not be normal about these games, as for me personally both endings still send gigantic shockwaves of earth-shattering raw emotion through me, even though I've played through both games 3 times. However, I think even if your reaction isn't nearly as severe, the endings will still pack a punch. I blame the music. This game's soundtrack is INCREDIBLE and is the biggest driving force behind the emotion within it. If the music in that Blind Forest trailer I embedded on the left side didn't already make that abundantly clear.
These games ARE art, and so is their artwork! This game's world has an awesome painted artstyle, where extensive use of parallax and normal maps, as well as bits of the world shifting under your weight, make it look almost real. The water, which is actually 3D, also looks spectacular. It's an artstyle I love a lot.
I'm not sure I have much else to say regarding the game generally. I may add a spoiler section where I rant about specific things I love and don't about these games (yes they do in fact have flaws! wow!). Dunno.
You hopefully have already played this. If you haven't, go do it, its like the best $10 you can spend. If you're under the impression this game is just 2D minecraft, then I'd like to ask you: Do you wish minecraft had more progression? Are you tired of getting diamonds and then getting bored? If so, then you probably want to play terraria. Terraria starts out a little slow with a somewhat standard survival sandbox experience, until you start fighting bosses. Terraria features dozens of bosses, each one you fight unlocking new gear and stuff to do in the world, and making you stronger. It's an awesome power rush and it feels amazing. It also has a lot of replayability, with many different builds you can do over the course of a playthrough. It's really fun, and you will enjoy it.
If you're new. PLEASE play with a softcore/classic character and a normal difficulty world. You will have a miserable experience otherwise. This isn't minecraft, you NEED keep inventory. Anyway, one of this game's big draws is the boss fights. Terraria has extremely engaging boss fights, where you use your movement to dodge projectiles and get good angles to hit the boss from.
This game also has an awesome modding scene! Some mods, such as Calamity, are almost more popular than the base game! Unlike minecraft, singular mods in this game tend to include large amounts of content designed to work together. This game is also pretty easy to make mods for, so if you're looking to get into modding, I'd recommend starting here!
This is a little game I picked up wind of by randomly getting a trailer recommended to me on youtube! This game is basically moto x3m from coolmathgames, but you get a gun you can shoot enemies with, and also its a metroidvania, and also it has an amazing story that gives a feeling I've never seen in any other piece of media ever. Be warned: this game contains very graphic imagery with strong language, including someone "crucified with their own intestines".
This game has a FREE DEMO on steam. It's a rather big demo that lasts longer than you'd expect. Try it. If you end up liking it, you'll love the full game.
In Laika: Aged Through Blood, you play as a (furry) mother in a post-apocalyptic world, who is trying her best to protect her tribe while the wasteland gets overrun with hostile military forces. The game does a very good job of putting you in the mindset of someone who is living in the end of the world, with no real hope for the future. It's freaky, and it isn't like anything I've experienced before, but I think it is very cool! The ending is also very well done. Overall I really enjoyed this game! You should try it you basically have no excuse. Free demo, remember?
This game is free at https://anuke.itch.io/mindustry, but there's a paid steam version that lets you use steam friends to do multiplayer instead of port forwarding.
Mindustry is a combination tower defense factory builder real time strategy game, and it is executed beautifully (especially the new Erekir campaign). In this game, you must build factories to collect resources for construction, and to directly supply ammo to turrets, and to supply unit fabricator buildings with ammo. You can then command the units you've created in order to defeat fully functional enemy bases. You could take the base head on, or you could gradually damage their infrastructure, leaving their turrets without ammo and their factories without power. You could bait out their defending units into traps, or you could create diversions to attack from multiple sides of their base at once, or you could deliberately waste their turret ammo to allow your more valuable units to squeeze through before the turrets can refill. However, you will also need to defend your own base against many tactics like this, making this game extremely complex and in-depth, and a great time.
This game is visually awesome despite its simplistic artstyle, piling loads of visual effects onto turret shots, explosions, and more to make battles feel much more impactful. On the audio side of things, the music is... honestly mid. I play with it off and listen to my own music in the background. The sound design is pretty good though.
The Erekir campaign (the one I recommend, as systems are much more inter-reliant and therefore it's a much more involved balancing act to keep everything operational) can get REALLY HARD near the end! You have been warned! I haven't finished Serpulo's campaign, so I can't comment on its endgame difficulty.
Spectacular platformer with very satisfying movement, an engaging difficulty curve, and a heartwarming story that covers tough topics that I don't see a lot in modern media, most notably anxiety and depression. The "gimmick" (i guess) of this platformer is that you get an 8-directional dash you can use in midair. They use this mechanic very creatively, often introducing other mechanics that interact with it in fun and engaging ways. The music is also spectacular.
In Celeste, you play as Madeline, a depressed trans woman with an anxiety disorder who came to Celeste Mountain to climb to the top. The story, as well as its brilliantly integrated gameplay, follows her on her journey to the summit, and her journey of self-discovery. There are also a few other characters you meet, who all offer something valuable to the plot, and who have troubles of their own.
The platforming in this game is EXTREMELY engaging, and has a good difficulty curve that should provide a challenge to all skill levels while still being playable for those who aren't familiar with platformers. Even my 60 year old mom who likes to use the bubble all the time in mario found this game enjoyable (I changed some settings to make it easier for her). The game usually allows the player to make mistakes and still succeed (such as dashing at the wrong angle, or not jumping high enough) because the air dash is such a versatile tool that nearly any situation is saveable. Of course, as you get later game, a lot of these safety rails are taken off, though the game is still kind to the player, giving a few extra frames of window to execute difficult tech.
Added in an update, chapter 9 is significantly harder than the rest of the chapters, but it is SO worth it to complete, and I could probably write a whole blog post about its themes and messages.