Yume Nikki is a 2004 adventure game created by pseudonymous Japanese developer Kikiyama. The player controls a girl named Madotsuki and explores her dreams, collecting 24 effects that change her appearance and equipment. Random events also occur throughout the game in the form of cutscenes and unique gameplay sequences. The game was developed using RPG Maker 2003 without a traditional plot or battle system. Gameplay instead focuses on exploration of the dream world.
Terraria is a 2011 action-adventure sandbox game developed by Re-Logic. The game was first released for Windows and has since been ported to other PC and console platforms. The game features exploration, crafting, building, painting, and combat with a variety of creatures in a procedurally generated 2D world. Terraria received generally positive reviews and sold over 44 million copies by 2022, making it one of the best-selling video games.
Factorio is a construction and management simulation game developed and published by Czech studio Wube Software. The game was announced via an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign in 2013 and released for Windows, macOS, and Linux on 14 August 2020 following a four-year long early access phase to positive reviews. The game was released on Nintendo Switch on 28 October 2022.
Atelier Marie: The Alchemist of Salburg is a 1997 role-playing video game developed and published by Gust. The first entry in the Atelier series, it originally released for the PlayStation, then received ports and enhanced versions on other platforms. A remake for modern platforms, Atelier Marie Remake, was released worldwide in 2023 by Koei Tecmo. Following the efforts of alchemist-in-training Marie to pass an exam within five years, the gameplay focuses on exploring for materials to create alchemical recipes, and completing story missions and requests within the in-game time limit.
Job Simulator: The 2050 Archives, commonly referred to as simply Job Simulator, is a virtual reality simulation video game developed and published by Owlchemy Labs for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Oculus Quest, Oculus Quest 2 and Meta Quest 3, in which players participate in comical approximations of real-world jobs. A sequel, Vacation Simulator, was released in 2019.
VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action is a 2016 visual novel developed by Venezuelan studio Sukeban Games and published by Ysbryd Games. The game was initially released for Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux on June 21, 2016, and ports were later released for PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch, with the Vita port developed by Wolfgame and published by Limited Run Games. The game puts the player in the role of a bartender at the eponymous VA-11 Hall-A, a small bar in a dystopian downtown which is said to attract the "most fascinating" of people. Gameplay consists of players making and serving drinks to bar attendees while listening to their stories and experiences.
Cultist Simulator is a card-based simulation video game developed by indie studio Weather Factory and published by Humble Bundle. It was released for Microsoft Windows, macOS and Linux computer systems in May 2018, with mobile versions developed by Playdigious and released in April 2019. A port for Nintendo Switch was released in February 2021.
Atelier Lulua: The Scion of Arland is a 2019 role-playing video game developed by Gust and published by Koei Tecmo for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Windows. It is part of the Atelier series, and the fourth entry in the Arland subseries. Following trainee alchemist Lulua Frixell as she goes on a journey following the discovery of a magical book called the Alchemyriddle, gameplay features exploration and battles using turn-based combat, and alchemic synthesising for items and quest objectives.
The Longing is a 2020 point-and-click adventure game created by independent developer Studio Seufz. Set in an underground kingdom, the player controls the Shade, a creature tasked with watching over a sleeping king for 400 days. The Shade performs recreational activities, including reading and exploring, as it waits out the 400 days in real time. The in-game timer continues regardless of the player's actions but moves faster if the Shade performs certain actions inside its home, such as decorating the walls with drawings.
Teardown is a 2022 sandbox–puzzle game developed and published by Tuxedo Labs. The game revolves around the owner of a financially stricken demolition company, who is caught executing a questionable job and becomes entangled between helping police investigations and taking on further dubious assignments. Teardown features levels made of destructible voxels, and the player follows the campaign through consecutive missions. In most missions, the player must collect or destroy objects connected to a security alarm. The player has unlimited time to prepare and is given upgradable tools, vehicles, and explosives to create a path within the level that allows them to complete the objectives as quickly as possible. A timer starts as soon as the security alarm is triggered, and the player must complete all required objectives and reach a getaway vehicle within sixty seconds.
Starseed Pilgrim is a 2013 puzzle-platform game from independent developer droqen. Players plant 'starseeds' which grow into plants, each with different growth patterns and interaction mechanics. Players plant these starseeds on floating platforms and on fully-grown plants in order to traverse the game world. The game was developed in Adobe Flash and was released in April 2013 for Windows and OS X. Reviewers praised Starseed Pilgrim's game mechanics and the process of learning their interactions, but criticized the learning curve as steep. The game was a finalist for the Excellence in Design award at the 2013 Independent Games Festival.
Unsighted is a 2021 indie video game developed by Studio Pixel Punk and published by Humble Games for the Nintendo Switch, Windows, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and PS4. The game is a Metroidvania adventure game in which the player and all non-player characters exist within a time limit, with the player required to find and allocate 'meteor dust' to characters to maintain their survival. The game was designed by Brazilian developers Fernanda Dias and Tiani Pixel, who cited the Metroid and Legend of Zelda series as influential to the design of the game. Upon release, Unsighted received generally favorable reviews, with critics praising the innovation of the game's use of time as a narrative and gameplay mechanic, its visual presentation, and combat.
Ravenous Devils is a horror cooking simulation game developed and published by Bad Vices Games. It was released for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on April 29, 2022. The console versions of the game were ported and published by Troglobytes Games.
Legendary Gary is a 2018 video game created by independent developer Evan Rogers, notable for work as a programmer on the 2017 Giant Sparrow adventure game What Remains of Edith Finch. The game is an adventure game about the titular main character's engagement with a fictional role-playing game, Legend of the Spear, and the emerging parallels between the game and his real life.
Strange Horticulture is a 2022 video game by British independent developer Bad Viking, published by Iceberg Interactive for Windows, Nintendo Switch, macOS and Xbox One. Described as an "occult puzzle game", Strange Horticulture involves the discovery and identification of a fictitious herbarium of plants for sale to a range of mysterious and unscrupulous customers. Gameplay involves the completion of puzzles by matching the details of customer requests of plants to their descriptions, opening up access to more plants and identifying information.
Mu Cartographer is a puzzle game released by Dutch independent developer Titouan Millet for Windows and MacOS in 2016. Described by Millet as an "experimental exploration game that can be enjoyed as an interactive visual toy", the game requires players to navigate a landscape by learning how to use the interface of a machine. Mu Cartographer was met with a generally favorable reception by reviewers, with praise directed toward the game's visual presentation and cryptic design, with some criticism focused on the intuitiveness of the game's mechanics. Following release, the game was nominated for several awards at the 2017 Independent Games Festival.
Haven Park is an adventure game developed by Bubblebird Studio and published by Mooneye Studios in 2021 for Microsoft Windows, Macintosh, Linux and Nintendo Switch. Players maintain and explore a nature park by collecting items and building structures to attract visitors. The game was the first released by Swiss developer Fabien Weibel, and the first game released under the publisher's Mooneye Indies series to support smaller developers. Upon release, Haven Park received average reviews, with critics praising the presentation and tone of the game and its encouragement of player exploration, whilst critiquing the gameplay mechanics and puzzle design.
Caveblazers is a 2017 video game developed by Rupeck Games and published by Yogscast Games. Described as an "action-focused roguelike platformer", players in Caveblazers defeat enemies across runs of procedurally-generated dungeons to accumulate items, weapons, and potions with random effects. The developers, Rupeck Games, described the design of the game as aiming to "move away from the simplistic combat systems" of other roguelike games to focus on "fast-paced combat". Upon release, the game received generally favorable reviews, with praise directed to the game's roguelike mechanics, customisation and challenging difficulty, and criticism for its lack of variety of environments and enemies. A port of the game for the Nintendo Switch was released the developer under the name Deadpan Games in 2019.
Atelier Judie: The Alchemist of Gramnad and Atelier Viorate: The Alchemist of Gramnad 2 are a duology of role-playing video games developed and published by Gust for the PlayStation 2. Forming the fourth and fifth entries in the Atelier series, they were respectively published in 2002 and 2003. Expanded versions of the games were released for PlayStation Portable in 2010 and 2011. Both titles follow a young female alchemist from the kingdom of Gramnad; Atelier Judie focuses on the character Judith after an accident transports her through time, and Atelier Viorate follows the young Viorate running an alchemy workshop in a dwindling town. The gameplay has the characters exploring for items to perform alchemy, fighting enemies in turn-based combat.
Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows is a downloadable content (DLC) expansion for the 2014 platform game Shovel Knight, developed and published by Yacht Club Games. In the expansion, the player takes control of Plague Knight, an alchemist on a journey to create the ultimate potion, capable of granting any of its user's desires. Gameplay is similar to that of the original Shovel Knight, but features a new story and main protagonist. Plague Knight attacks by throwing alchemical potions that explode, and has the ability to double jump. He can also and can charge up an even higher jump that sends him forward through the air. The expansion received generally positive reviews upon release.
