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IndieGAF Community GOTY Voting

Took me a while to make a complete list that I was comfortable with. The top 3 are just about interchangeable, and I imagine KR0 will only get better as the rest of the episodes roll out.

Now that I'm actually aware of the monthly threads going into the new year, I'll try my best to be more involved!

1. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
2. Kentucky Route Zero
3. Spelunky
4. Papers, Please
5. Gorogoa
6. Fez
7. Rogue Legacy
8. Proteus
9. Gone Home
10. The Stanley Parable
11. The Swapper
12. Teleglitch
13. Antichamber
14. Guacamelee
15. Eldritch
16. State of Decay
17. Volgarr the Viking
18. Divekick
19. Super HOT
20. Full Bore
 
Swapped my number five game from Teleglitch to Door Kickers. Yes I'm enjoying it that much

Door Kickers - Demo here /$14.99 (PC, Mac, Linux)
2013_12_21_15_56_12-570x350.jpg
2013_12_21_16_3_192-481x350.jpg

http://inthekillhouse.com/doorkickers/

Frozen Synapse may be king in the multiplayer arena and it may offer more depth thanks to mechanics like crouching and destructible environments, but Door Kickers has become my go-to game for tense tactical action. Not only does the grounded SWAT aesthetic appeal more and not only are the controls more intuitive, there's something so satisfying about devising the best plan possible, where efficiency, speed, and coordination are all key to masterful execution. There are no FPS skills to fall back on in a crutch; fail to plan well, forget to check your corners, don't have a guy covering your back while he picks a lock, your team will pay. Similar to Prison Architect, it's an Early Access game that feels like a game rather than a concept of one, with consistent game-changing updates and a dedicated community-friendly developer.

Defining moment: Dividing your troopers into two groups, clearing the exterior of a cartel complex with suppressed weapons, then coordinating dual breaches with flashbangs and charges to clear a room with no causalities and perfect precision.
 

allansm

Member
1. Kentucky Route Zero
2. Fez
3. Knock Knock
4. Guacamelee
5. The Swapper
6. Gone Home
7. Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs
8. Waking Mars
9. Rogue Legacy
10. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
11. The Stanley Parable
12. Gunpoint
13. Dyad
14. Pid
15. Proteus
16. BIT.TRIP Presents... Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien
17. Dust: An Elysian Tail
18. Stick it to The Man!
19. Toki Tori 2
20. Papo & Yo

Honorable Mentions

21. Little Inferno
22. Skullgirls
23. 1000 Amps
24. Reus
25. Antichamber
26. Gateways
27. Anodyne
28. Volgarr the Viking
29. Kairo
30. Spelunky
31. The Cave
32. Lilly Looking Through
33. Contrast
 
Swapped my number five game from Teleglitch to Door Kickers. Yes I'm enjoying it that much

Door Kickers


http://inthekillhouse.com/doorkickers/

Frozen Synapse may be king in the multiplayer arena and it may offer more depth thanks to mechanics like crouching and destructible environments, but Door Kickers has become my go-to game for tense tactical action. Not only does the grounded SWAT aesthetic appeal more and not only are the controls more intuitive, there's something so satisfying about devising the best plan possible, where efficiency, speed, and coordination are all key to masterful execution. And like Prison Architect, it's an Early Access game that feels like a game rather than a concept of one, with consistent game-changing updates and a dedicated community-friendly developer.

Defining moment: Dividing your troopers into two groups, clearing the exterior of a cartel complex with suppressed weapons, then coordinating dual breaches with flashbangs and charges to clear a room with no causalities and perfect precision.

Door Kickers is pretty damn awesome, the controls are so intuitive.
 

n8

Unconfirmed Member
  • 01 Papers Please
  • 02 Spelunky
  • 03 Fjords
  • 04 Desktop Dungeons
  • 05 Nuclear Throne
  • 06 The Yawhg
  • 07 Jelly no Puzzle
  • 08 Super House of Dead Ninjas
  • 09 Perfect Stride
  • 10 86856527
  • 11 Save the Date
  • 12 Icarus Proudbottom Teaches Typing
  • 13 Samurai Gunn
  • 14 SuperHOT
  • 15 Pause Ahead
  • 16 Candy Box
  • 17 2x0ng
  • 18 Divekick
  • 19 Proteus
  • 20 Fez

Sorry to the games I've forgotten that may have been on the list.
Sorry to the games that would be on the list but haven't played.
 

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
So here it is:

1 Papers, please! [DONE]
2 Gone Home [DONE]
3 Gunpoint [DONE]
4 Spelunky [DONE]
5 Rogue Legacy [DONE]
6 Kentucky Route Zero
7 Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons [DONE]
8 The Stanley Parable [DONE]
9 Risk of Rain [DONE]
10 Proteus
11 The Swapper [DONE]
12 MirrorMoon EP [DONE]
13 Guacamelee [DONE]
14 FEZ [DONE]
15 Antichamber [DONE]
16 Dust: An Elysian Tale [DONE]
17 Full Bore [DONE]
18 Volgarr the Viking [DONE]
19 Gorogoa [DONE]
20 Outer Wilds [DONE]
21 Skullgirls [DONE]
22 SuperHOT [DONE]
23 Little Inferno [DONE]
24 Starseed Pilgrim [DONE]
25 Card Hunter [DONE]
26 Fjords [DONE]
27 Teleglitch [DONE]
28 Monaco [DONE]
29 La-Mulana [DONE]
30 Factorio [DONE]
31 Zeno Clash 2 [DONE]
32 Starbound [DONE]
33 Divekick [DONE]
34 Super House of Dead Ninjas [DONE]
35 Don't Starve [DONE]
36 Clairvoyance [DONE]
37 Shelter [DONE]
38 NEO Scavenger [DONE]
39 Knock Knock
40 Mercenary Kings [DONE]
41 Broforce [DONE]
42 Reus [DONE]
43 Gods Will Be Watching [DONE]
44 Steamworld Dig [DONE]
45 Depression Quest [DONE]
46 One Way Heroics [DONE]
47 Waking Mars [DONE]
48 Cart Life [DONE]
49 Door Kickers [DONE]
50 Bleed [DONE]
Now we need texts for each of those in the following format:

[b]NAME[/b] - Free Demo (if available)/PRICE (PLATFORMS)
[quote][img]PICTURE1[/img][img]PICTURE2[/img][/quote]
[url="LINK"]LINK[/url]

[i]DESCRIPTION[/i]

[U]Defining moment:[/U] EXEMPLARY GAMEPLAY EXPERIENCE THAT SHOWS WHY THIS GAME NEEDS TO BE CHECKED OUT.

As before, copy the info and enter the proper info. I'll strike through all the games that Badass already covered and Badass, could you please also edit your previous posts with the platform/free demo/price info?

Also: We need a thread title.

50 Indie Games you could have played in 2013
IndieGAF recommends: 50 Best Indie Games 2013

etcetc. Shoot away.
 

daydream

Banned
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons - Free Demo on XBLA/$15 (PC, XBLA)
[URL="http://store.steampowered.com/app/225080"]http://store.steampowered.com/app/225080[/url]

Aid two brothers on their quest to find medicine for their ill father by taking control of both at the same time. On your journey, you will come across all kinds of creatures and civilizations - dangerous enemies, unexpected friends and deeply troubled beings, like yourselves.

Defining moment: One of the game's many strengths lies in the way it conveys your progress through the world. And what a world it is: The sense of scale, the picturesque environments, the obstacles you have to overcome and the way their implemented into their surroundings - everything is part of a big, breathing tableau. By the same token, every single moment is no less remarkable than the previous ones, and picking one would be inadvertently unjust. Aside from the divisive ending sequence, not a single part of the experience stands out jarringly, and the player quickly becomes immersed in an inner and outer journey that feels as natural as it is poetically refined - with the all the subtlety and all the splendor that comes with it.

---
Hope this is correct. I'll try to do more over the coming days. Oh, and how about 'IndieGAF's 50 Best Indie Games of 2013'.
 

daydream

Banned
Perfect :) You could do a little longer texts, but otherwise good.

Yeah, I'm not sure what to add in the description without sounding like someone who writes blurbs for the back of game boxes. :p

I revised and expanded on my personal feelings, though. There was indeed more to be said.
 
As for the thread title, I like the "IndieGAF Recommends..." or something in that style. At least should have IndieGAF in the title
Without it, it could be interpreted as any other thread, but with that in the title, it tells others that there's a community effort behind the thread, maybe give it a bit more prominence
 
Starbound - No demo/$14.99 (PC, Mac, Linux)

http://playstarbound.com/

While Outer Wilds captured the essence of exploring an unknown frontier, while Kerbal Space Program made the technical side of space travel fun and engaging, and while Mirrormoon EP turned it into interactive art, Starbound presents another facet of the experience, the kind of that perhaps was summed up best by Star Trek. That desire "to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before."

Thanks to its procedurally generated universe and myriad systems and mechanics, Starbound is probably the first title to fully realize that bold proclamation. The world of Starbound is one of endless mystery and infinite discovery, where weird otherworldly creatures lurk over the next hill, where the grand structures and abodes of other civilizations wait to be found and landscapes both hostile and inhospitable wait to be explored, tamed, endured. While it's still in Early Access, Starbound already feels like a well rounded experience, a deep game rather than a facade, and the updates and content to come mean that its depth can only grow and evolve with time.


Defining moment: It's a simple thing, but I found that moving off-planet for the first time to an adjacent moon and seeing that planet you were just exploring looming large in the star-lit sky made the world feel more cohesive than any other moment I had previously experienced.
 
Gunpoint - Demo on Steam/$9.99 (PC)

http://gunpointgame.com/

While games like Uplink and Hacker have focused purely on delivering a "realistic" hacking experience, Gunpoint makes hacking your weapon. Armed with your superior agility and your Crosslink device, levels become your playground, turning the security measures meant to stop you into tools at your disposal. Not only was it simple and intuitive, it was just fun to mess around with and create long chains of connected devices.

But Gunpoint's strengths were more than just the fun applications of its Crosslink device. The game offered an engaging story, with witty dialogue and interesting twists. It was also a challenging stealth game, where speed and planning allowed you to create split second opportunities to slip out of sight and infiltrate heavily guarded locations. Some have said the game is short, as short as three hours, but the real challenge is using your plethora of gadgets to ghost each level or complete each mission non-lethally. And if the campaign left you craving for more Gunpoint, a robust level editor allowed for players to test their skills in user-made challenges.


Defining moment: Planning out a Rube Goldberg network of Crosslinks and then timing it perfectly so the guard that tries to shoot you shocks himself with an outlet, knocks out the guards on the two other floors with swinging doors and shuts off all the lights.
 
Skullgirls - $14.99 (PC)
Skullgirls is a fast-paced 2-D fighting game that puts players in control of fierce warriors in an extraordinary Dark Deco world. Featuring all-new game systems which test the skills of veteran fighting game fans while also making the genre enjoyable and accessible to newcomers.

Skullgirls is a modern take on classic arcade fighters with a hand-drawn high-definition twist. It’s a one-of-a-kind, action-packed competition complete with awesome combos and an intriguing backstory.


Defining moment: It's hard to choose a defining moment for a fighting game, but I can say the moment I saw how fluid the characters movements are it got me hooked in the game.
 
Volgarr The Viking - No Demo/$11.99 (PC)
http://www.volgarrtheviking.com/

You will die. A lot. Enter the world of Volgarr The Viking with that knowledge and accept it. This is a game built from the ground up to deliver old-school hard-as-nails challenge and it does not disappoint. The retro games that inspired Volgarr may be before my time, but as a fan of Dark Souls and brutal platformers, I feel right at home

The combat is the highlight for me though. I haven't felt so satisfied with combat in a game since well...Dark Souls. Every enemy must be taken seriously because every hit is dangerous. The smooth controls and animations combine to make you feel like a Viking badass in every encounter. Combat is no button mashing affair; button mashing will only get you killed faster. Instead every fight is a combination of timing, reflexes, and split-second reactions. Each death is a learning process, from which you become better and better until you can master each world.


Defining moment: After dying again and again and again (and again) on the first world, finally clearing the level and defeating the boss in a finely tuned flow of perfectly timed attacks, jumps, rolls make you feel like the ultimate Viking warrior.
 
Antichamber - No Demo/$19.99 (PC)
http://www.antichamber-game.com/

Perhaps better than any other recent game, Antichamber is mindfuck distilled to interactive form. Set in a world where the impossible is the norm and reality plays by a different set of rules, you need to learn those rules and adapt to every new mind-bending room and mechanic. Deducing the way the world works and using that knowledge to overcome the game's abstract puzzles never ceases to satisfy. Antichamber works equally as a challenging puzzle platformer and as an exciting journey through its weird non-Euclidean halls.

Defining moment: Antichamber is the kind of game where every room and every turn offers some new crazy moment, but it was probably the looping red-blue staircase that first made me pause and think the first of many "WTFs?"
 
One Way Heroics - $1.99 (PC)
Playism Store

A turn based roguelike where you need to keep moving right because the darkness that approaches from the left is consuming everything. Your objective is defeat the Demon Lord to save the world. One way heroics may looks simple, but there are a lot of depth to this game in form of secrets you may find, the best skills combinations to use with classes or trying to discover how to unlock the other characters.

The dimensions are randomly generated and some of them have special events, such characters to help you trough the journey and increased difficult.


Defining moment: It's difficult for me to feel tense while playing a videogames, and One Way Heroics is one of the few games that can make me feel worried during all the gameplay because the threat is always there and you need to consider it in your decisions.
 
La-Mulana - $14.99 (PC)
Steam Store

La-Mulana is a remake of one the first games NIGORO released. It's heavily inspired by Indiana Jones and 8-bits platformers games, influence you can see be it in the lack of the control during the jump and the unforgiviness difficult of the game.
You play as Lemeza Kosugi, an archeologyst that seeks to discover the secrets that lies inside the ruins of La-Mulana.


Defining moment:The first time I was able to solved a puzzle solely based on the hints provide by the stone tables you translate.
 
Dust: An Elysian Tail - $14,99 (PC, Mac, Linux)
Steam Store

A platforming and adventure game in the vein of Castlevania and Metroid with a surprisingly wonderful story and highly satisfying combat. The scenery and the art is gorgeous and the game was developed by only one person.

Defining moment:Getting used to the combat technics and applying it in the fights.
 

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
Cart Life - Free /$4,99 for an additional character (PC)
http://www.richardhofmeier.com/cartlife/

A simulation unlike any other, mixing social interaction and needs of a street vendor with calculation and the necessity of economic success, where you need to manage to balance hunger, time and conversations to make money and still be able to take care of the ones you love. A brutal look at how excruciatingly difficult even a simple life can be and a magnificient example of gameplay that enforces the narrative.

Defining moment: Barely scraping by and earning just enough cash for yourself to satisfy the worst hunger, until you notice that you arent the only one you need to feed and falling into a downward spiral of despair.
 

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
Waking Mars - $9,99 (PC)
http://store.steampowered.com/app/227200/

You are discovering Mars and its ecosystem. Mars is a dead planet? Indeed it was, until it has been visited by you and awakened from its slumber. Its your task to bring back life to this planet and all the while start to awaken something bigger. An ancient secret hidden deep underground, but you will need to understand the ecosystem and use the plants and seeds at your disposal.

Defining moment: Every single time you are encountering a new plant and discovering the possibilities that this plant opens for you.
 

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
Depression Quest - Free (Browser)
http://www.depressionquest.com/

An interactive (Non)fiction about living with depression. You are given a series of everyday life events and have to attempt to manage your illness, relationships, job, and possible treatment. This game aims to show other sufferers of depression that they are not alone in their feelings, and to illustrate to people who may not understand the illness the depths of what it can do to people.

Defining moment: Being annoyed by the fact that you cant choose certain character actions in a "game", before you realize that these are actions that might simply not be on the table for a person suffering from depression.
 

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
Reus - $9,99 (PC)
http://store.steampowered.com/app/222730/

A mixture between a god game,a puzzle game and some 4X elements thrown in (research, expansion, war). Not directly a puzzle game, but how you need to make sure that your village prospers with limited amount of space and within the scope of that, there seem to be tons of possibilities for different plants, animals, minerals, which all have a different symbiosis to something to enhance the effect, giving it a bit of a 4X touch as well. Its really charming and considering the surprising amount of variation and possibilities (100 plants), you will easily get your moneys worth if you are a person to tinker around with perfect setups. Marvellous and very well crafted game.

Defining moment: Minding your own business and creating a planet setup, until you, for the first time, reach a time period in which humans are not content with just following your will anymore and you need to consider stomping your people out of existence to save the future of the planet.
 

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
Shelter - $9,99 (PC, Mac)
http://store.steampowered.com/app/244710/?snr=1_7_15__13

Experience the wild as a mother badger sheltering her cubs from harm. On their journey they get stalked by a bird of prey, encounter perils of the night, river rapids crossings, big forest fires and the looming threat of death by starvation. Food is to be found, but is there enough for everyone? You will learn that the cubs need food not just to survive, but to enable them overcome the varying challenges they will face as they make their way through the world.

Defining moment: Before learning how important cover really is, running out in the open and losing one of your cubs because of your own stupidity and needless rush.
 
Little Inferno - $9.99 (PC, Mac, Linux)
Steam Store

Little Inferno is a simple game you buy things, burn them to earn money to buy more things to burn to earn money to buy... Besides the simple premise the game can keep you hooked with all the combos you can perform while burning things.

Defining moment: It was one of the first games that I started to discuss and reflect about the metaphors presented in it's theme. Little Inferno is not a game for everyone, one must play it without a negative bias towards it.
 

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
Clairvoyance - $5 (PC)
http://www.gameofclairvoyance.com/

You can compare this to chess, or Frozen Synapse if you know that game. You are giving orders to your robots and then the actions of both players are being run in turns. Action 1 of player A, then Action 1 of player B, then action 2 of Player A, etcetc. The fun of this kind of game comes from the mind games you are having with your opponents. You can shoot, move, turn and throw bombs and your task is to correctly judge what your opponent might do to conduct the perfect counter attack. The game is not as deep as Frozen Synapse because there are less options and less "fine tuning" needed, but its still highly enjoyable, especially since its also more quicker to play.

Defining moment: Double guessing your opponents moves and countering his really smart attack move with a perfect counter is one of the ... most amazing emotions these type of games can envoke, and Clairvoyance pulls that off splendidly.
 

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
Super House of Dead Ninjas - Free Flash version/$6,99 (PC)
http://store.steampowered.com/app/224820/
Free Flash version

Descend a seemingly-endless tower, wielding an arsenal of deadly ninja weapons and attacks, as the fearsome Crimson Ninja. The controls are tight, animations are slick, lots of powerups and randomly generated levels for tons of replayability. It's a fast, tough game, the timer keeps you moving forward constantly, there are Mega-Man styled bosses every 100 floors (you start on floor 350) and you only you get two continues per run. The kind of game that rewards you for getting better and improving your skills and punishes you for carelessness and disregarding its rules.

Defining moment: Learning the controls and eventually managing to master them and then quickly slashing through hordes of enemies with pinpoint precision makes you feel like a master ninja.
 

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
Divekick - $9,99 (PC)
http://store.steampowered.com/app/244730/

Divekick is fighting game that started its life as a parody on the effectiveness of divekicks in fighting games. However, the concept proved to be more enjoyable than its joke game origins would have you expect. The main goal of the game is to win a set of rounds with your character via dive kicking. Its a game that thrives upon intricate mindgames that explode into a fast conclusion, since every hit is a 1 hit knockout that ends the round.

Defining moment: Dancing around the level with your enemy just to find that 1 perfect opportunity to get the K.O. never feels old because the tension is being held constantly high.
 

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
Zeno Clash 2 - $14,99 (PC)
http://store.steampowered.com/app/215690/

Combine first-person punching with liberal doses of mescaline, and you also might be able to design a game as insane as Zeno Clash II. ACE Team brings the weirdness in this beat-'em-up, a game every bit as bizarre as its 2009 predecessor. Just like the first entry in this wacko franchise, this game is memorable for its psychedelic world designs and its focus on hand-to-hand combat. Although the button-mashing brawling zips along quickly enough to be somewhat hypnotic, the main reason to stick around for the eight or nine hours of the campaign is to see what kinds of dengue fever dreams the developers have concocted.

Defining moment: Punching the crap out of weird looking things doesnt get old.
 

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
Factorio - Free Demo/$13 (PC, Mac, Linux)
http://www.factorio.com/

Its basically the optimisation process of SpaceChem, mixed with light Tower Defense elements and a bit of Minecraft-style crafting thrown in. If you arent familiar with the mentioned games, it basically works like this: In the beginning you'll run around gathering resources. Then you'll use those resources to build simple mechanisms via exhaustive crafting options, and THEN with those mechanism you'll create mechanism that help you automating everything, until you planned built a huge factory that produces several dozen item in chains automatically. Incredibly rewarding genre mix and my (Toma) personal GOTY 2013.

Defining moment: Starting off with nothing, mining ressources by hand, only to eventually create a huge self sustaining factory that mines several ressources and builds dozens of products/items that depend on each other.
 

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
Gorogoa - Free Demo (PC)
http://gorogoa.com/

This game is a celebration of creativity and imagination. Its lovely, intelligent, interesting, thoughtful and most of all blurs the line between interactive storytelling and videogames. The game clearly has adventure like puzzles to push the story forward, but at the same time it employs some mechanics that are so "unvideogame-y" that people can just view it as a toy to play around with and bathe in amazement. A game that shows the potential of joy and wonder like only a few games are able to.

Defining moment: Getting your mind bent by watching this world and your perception of it change over and over again.
 

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
Starseed Pilgrim - $5,99 (PC, Mac)
http://store.steampowered.com/app/230980/

A game that is more about discovering the rules than any other usual gameplay incentive. The game has some more traditional puzzle like challenges, but the experience this game got all the praise for lies in its first 1-2 hours where you have no information about the game and just need to explore its possibilities. If you arent bothered by not having a concrete goal, this game is certainly a unique experience worth having.

Defining moment: Not knowing what a game might task you with and then gradually learning HOW to play it, IS the defining moment.
 

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
Fjords - $7 (PC)
https://gumroad.com/l/FJORDS

Similar to the more famous Starseed Pilgrim, this game revolves around exploring not only a world, but also the rules of this world. Additionally, it allows you to hack into this world itself and carve your own way. How much you'll like this game hinges entirely on your mindset regarding exploring a world at your own pace, but if you do like these kind of experiences, it doesnt get much better than Fjords, which in my opinion also outshines the more famous Starseed Pilgrim.

Defining moment: Finding out how you can bend the world to your will and progressing from a state of feeling helpless in a dangerous world, to a world in which you are making the rules.
 

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
Card Hunter - Free (Browser)
http://live.cardhunter.com/

One of the best card games in recent memory. Card Hunter combines character inventories with their skill set and deck building, which you can improve to be better prepared for combat situations by finding better cards. The combat itself plays out on a map in which you can employ the skills you equipped which gives the feeling of vast possibilities for customization. Progressing and finding good cards to equip feels incredibly rewarding and considering the basic game is free, there is no reason not to check this game if you like card games.

Defining moment: Starting out with simple cards and gradually building up your possibilities and working on better synergies is as rewarding as it could be.
 
Bleed - Free demo/$5 (PC, Mac, XBIG)
http://bootdiskrevolution.com/usefulDead/newSplash.html

Don't overlook Bleed because of its colorful cutesy style, because behind the visuals lies a fast paced action game that combines bullet hell mayhem with acrobatic platforming. It's one thing to wall run and evade enemies, and it's another to do it Bleed style, as you air dash, slow time, and weave between countless enemies and bullets. Between the wild pace, fun weapons, crazy bosses, and finely tuned gameplay, Bleed is pure arcade fun.

Defining moment: Triple dashing between an onslaught of rockets in slow motion while slicing through enemies with a katana and then shooting down the rockets with rockets of your own.
 

daydream

Banned
Rogue Legacy - Free Demo/$15 (PC, Mac, Vita)
http://roguelegacy.com/

'Rogue Legacy' doesn't do anything crazy with its rogue elements. Sure, the 'Legacy' part of the equation is fun until you've seen all the quirky traits your character can inherit - but that's not why you'll stay and keep playing. The game instead aims to make your character progression feel meaningful, while keeping things interesting with various classes, sub-weapons, abilities, items, loot, etc. There is no way you will not get further and further into the castle if you just keep at it. Thankfully, keeping at it becomes easy when a game feels ridiculously satisfying and is almost too charming for a product with 'rogue' in the title.

Defining moment: Amassing a huge amount of money in a run and actually looking forward to dying to get the chance to spend it all on upgrades.
 
Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine - Free Demo on XBLA/$15 (PC, Mac, Linux, Xbox Live Arcade)
http://www.monacoismine.com/

A game of stealth, quick wits, team work and a lot of stealing. You and a group of friends are tasked with breaking into increasingly heavily guarded buildings and making off with the loot inside. Rapid character movement and ever shifting vivid graphics gives the game a breakneck speed which will ensure that even the best laid plans will generally results in the thieves running into a guard and scattering in all directions. One for people who like to laugh in the face of chaos and mass panic.

Defining moment: Using all your characters abilities in perfect timing to stealth past a group of guards, only to have the Mole smash through the wrong wall and bring them all down on your head anyway.
 

daydream

Banned
Gone Home - $19,99 (PC, Mac, Linux)
http://www.gonehomegame.com/

It is June 7, 1995 and you return back home after spending a year in Europe. The house seems empty. Is really nobody there? You quickly learn that 'no', the house is crowded - with memories, mementos, scribblings, books, CDs, trash - and secrets of all kind. Rarely do you find a story so well told, so expertly voice acted and so powerful like in this game. You can under- or overestimate the importance of 'Gone Home' - the divided reaction is a testament to everything the game does right.

Defining moment: Watching the credits, thinking about the past few hours, smiling thankfully.
 

daydream

Banned
SteamWorld Dig - $9,99 (PC, 3DS eShop)
http://store.steampowered.com/app/252410/

A mix of games like Boulder Dash, Metroid, Clonk et al., 'SteamWorld Dig' has an addictive quality to it. The urge to go for one more dig, cash in the minerals, get some upgrades, maybe go for one more, exploring a puzzle room, finding the next game-changing tool, going deeper down, laying out teleporters, more upgrades - it's a trip that doesn't overstay its welcome in the slightest.

Defining moment: Looking at the alarm clock in disbelief, drawing up the blinds to confirm that it is indeed the morning of next day and you're still digging away in SteamWorld.
 
Mercenary Kings - No Demo/$14.99 (PC)
http://mercenarykings.com/index.php

A strange chimera of a game which despite having its two major influence, Metal Slug and Monster Hunter, being completely opposite ends of the gaming spectrum, somehow works. Mercenary Kings invites you and a few friends to battle across various wartorn jungle and city environments against a multitude of super mutants and giant robots. All while using loot gathered from these encounters to alter and upgrade your weapony into whatever suits your play style best.

Defining moment: Finding that one piece of loot from the last boss that turns your minigun into one that shoots acid, or your shotgun into one that shoots faster then most assualt rifles, or your sniper rilfe that can one shot almost everything. Then taking those weapons back out out to the field.
 
Don't Starve - Free browser version/$14.99 (PC, Mac, Linux)
http://www.dontstarvegame.com/

In a cursory glance, one might believe Don't Starve is yet another Minecraft/Terraria spin-off, with its reliance on collecting materials and crafting items in a vast open wilderness. But spend any time with Don't Starve and you'll soon find that the game is so much more. Perhaps what makes Don't Starve so engaging is its atmosphere; the world you explore is a far cry from similar games' sunny pixel/voxel environments. It's a dark lonely place, full on unknown threats to the new player and danger encroaching from around and within, drawn in a unique 2.5D style that just feels off and ominous. It's a place where the creatures that roam both above and below aren't your only hazards, where your own mind can and will betray you as you weakly cling to life through the long nights and longer winters. The focus on survival, maintaining sanity, and crafting more advanced technology and equipment further separates Don't Starve from other games in the genre. Klei's fantastic post-release support has only fleshed out the experience into a must-play filled with depth.

Defining moment: No moment defined Don't Starve for me more than the first time my character slowly went insane from lack of food and supplies as night fell and the encroaching shadows soon became something much worse.
 

OnPoint

Member
Guacamelee - $14.99 (Windows, PS3, Vita)
http://guacamelee.com/

If you're a Metroidvania and you don't have a little Mexican in you, but you would like some, then Guacamelee is the game for you. Explore the world of the living and the realm of the undead as an agave farmer/luchador on a quest to rescue the love of his life and the world itself from eternal damnation. Combat makes great use of wrestling maneuvers and feels smooth, the referential humor is well done and the journey is of an acceptable length with plenty of secrets peppered throughout the world.

Defining moment: Guacamelee's defining moment is not really a moment at all. It's the fact that it's a Metroidvania that isn't set on an oppressive alien world of in the bowels of Castle Dracula. The game takes its setting, revels in the culture surrounding it, and makes an absolute celebration of itself. The melee-based hand-to-hand wrestling combat is also a breath of fresh air, as firing beams and swinging whips is something we've all done too many times to count in games like this.
 
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