SimplyGayming

Indie Game Reviews, But Gayer 

[simplygayming]

Homicipher: Prologue - Review

Homicipher is an adventure horror game where you’ll decipher a language, fall in love and escape. 

That line along got me hooked. When I delved into it, I felt a searing horrific joy! This game, while just a mere prologue for a full game in the works, has such an interesting concept!

You are in a strange world. You don't know how or why you're here. You encounter terrifying, strange men (my favorite kind) who speak in an unknown language. You'll need to try your best to decipher this language and escape this world.

Here lies the main gameplay. These horrifying men speak to you and you have to guess and what it is there trying to say to you. Getting it wrong could lead you to some...bloody consequences.

The horror elements are spectacular. And I don't say this lightly, I am an avid horror lover and rarely am I caught off guard or jump scared, but with the element of having no solid idea what is being said, there is a whole another layer of fear and dread coursing through me while I play. Is this man friend or foe? Is he helping me or does he have other plans?

I have no idea what these strange, severely off putting men are saying to me. But I'm sure my heart is racing. It may not necessarily be out of fear though...

Seriously though I am very excited to check out the full game and give it a full review. More importantly, I want to see some more of the dating sim elements!

For now, check out this free prologue for yourself!

Get it on itch.io

Get it on Steam

[simplygayming]

Today I'm Harvesting You! - Game Review

You ever been on a date and thought "wow, i wish i could harvest this guy's organs"?

This cute game lets you do just that.

 Date cute guys or harvest their organs, the choice is yours! 

Harvest them all and stay single. Date them all and stay poor. Ah yes, one of life's hardest decisions.

How is this game so damn adorable?? 

I downloaded this game from the title alone and was delighted by the direction it went into. It’s short, cute and delightfully dark in the most wholesome(?) way. 

There are three guys to date. Gideon, Jun, and Dante.

This is like a dating sim where the guys are trying to seduce you to save their lives unbeknownst to them. Dating them is bittersweet, mostly seen through the endings for each guy. But I’ll leave that for you to discover on your own.

I love a game that encourages a little bit of evil doing. As a treat.

A feature I find very important when it comes to visual novels, is re-playabilty. This game is short, has a few different pathways for players to take making it enjoyable to play up to two or three times in order to explore your options.

Overall, this is a simple, short game that puts a delightful little spin on dating sims and I am 100% here for it. As an entry for Ludum Dare 52, short and sweet can be expected, but I found the characters and premise charged with potential!

~~~

Overall Rating: 10/10

Is it Gay? No.

Story: 9/10

Gameplay: 8/10

Do I recommend it? Yes! 

Get it on itch.io

[simplygayming]

The Darkside Detective - Game Review

Growing up, I spent nearly everyday after school on my family’s laptop absorbed in some kind flash games, especially of the point and click and mystery varieties. This is where my love for games began.

For me, The Darkside Detective feels like a good memory. Players join Detective McQueen and Officer Dooley as they investigate a variety bizarre cases in the peculiar city of Twin Lakes.

"McQueen and his sidekick Officer Dooley are, for better or worse, the first and last line of defence against things that go bump in the night (things that go bump during the day are the jurisdiction of another department)."

This game is made up of short, episodic cases that players investigate. The Darkside Detective's strongest aspect is definitely it's old school humor. Plentiful puns, a dry wit, and countless ridiculous occurrences and pop culture references make this game a lovely, almost nostalgic experience.

In addition to the humor, the game follows the traditional puzzles of a point and click mystery game with its oh so familiar simple minigames. Some may find this game far too simple, but in my opinion it’s just a straightforward experience. Definitely give it a try if you're not too fond of overly complicated puzzles and want a more so relaxing experience. 

Twin Lakes is filled with strange happenings and quite a few interesting characters that we don't get to know too well. The character we get to know the most about is Officer Dooley. At first, I found myself a bit annoyed by Officer Dooley, finding him too much of the stereotypical annoying and useless sidekick trope. The comedic relief character. But by the end of my playthrough, I have decided that he is actually my best friend and no harm shall ever come to him or so help me-

Though this game did not stick out to me in particular as something memorable, it was a generally lighthearted and enjoyable experience with a delightful hit of nostalgia. By the end of this short game, I was invested enough to want more from this world and its characters. I will almost definitely be checking out follow up game and seeing what adventures are next from Spooky Doorway's The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark.

~~~

Overall Rating: 6/10

Is it Gay? not really

Story: 6/10

Gameplay: 6/10

Do I recommend it? Yes! 

http://darksidedetective.com

Get it on steam 

[simplygayming]

Dialtown: Phone Dating Sim - Game Review

Have you ever wanted to date a phone? Me too!

“The game's a visual novel where you wander around the town of Dialtown, seeking romance, all because you want someone to pay you into a funfair, all so you can find a dank pit in which to lay your eggs. Yeah.”

Dialtown has everything a dating sim needs.

This is one of the most hilarious, most fun games I have played in a long time. I’ll be honest, I went into this game expecting a few chuckles. Instead I found myself (and my audience) fully invested in the characters and humor.

As I am an avid fan of weird and wacky dating sims, this game called out to me like a sweet, dank hole in the ground.

The game takes place in a world where everyone’s head has been replaced with some other object most commonly a phone or typewriter. Yes. This includes the entirety of the animal kingdom. And in this odd world, you are the strangest of them all.

You play as a green skinned, egg laying, six-nippled cryptid who lives in a tent in the park. Your goal? Get someone to pay your way into the funfair so that you may lay your eggs. From there springs forth an engaging and comical story capturing love, found family, and following your dreams. While the story begins with you attempting to manipulate others for your own advantage, it ends with you actually having a positive impact on their lives.

(In the good endings at least.)

Does that story make any real sense? Not particularly. But, honestly, that’s kind of one of the best parts. It’s chaotic and fun. Do all the dialogue options hold the utmost importance in how the story plays out? Does anything matter? Who cares! It’s silly and enjoyable at every turn.

One of the most enjoyable facets of this game are the charmingly developed (and datable) characters that make this game what it is.

There’s Oliver. Resident monster-fucker and amateur film maker. He’s also trans and gay, not showing interest in the player character unless they’ve got a phone for a head as he's a “Phone-fucker first, monster-fucker second". He wants to film you laying eggs in the funfair in all its gnarly fashion. His head is a cream-colored wall phone which is topped with a red fez. 

There’s Randy. Part time phone sex hotline operator, partime swan wrangler. Full time sob story. I mean, the man lives in a dumpster. Randy described his sexuality as “Beggars can't be choosers” and his head is a Nokia 3410 with the word “fuckface” stuck on his bandaged forehead. 

There’s Karen. A bank teller with a chestnut-colored printer for a head. On her face is a sticker of a horse, a nod to horses being the character's special interest. She’s also autistic. She’s a lesbian and will only date players with typewriters for heads. She’s more on the possessive side and has a niche horse art talent.

There are countless other characters to meet and with 26 endings (including several hilarious deaths), there is plenty to explore in this game for my fellow completionists. 

In addition, the soundtrack is a wonderful accompaniment to the chaos. This chaos is only enhanced with its interesting and unique visual style doing wonders in creating an engaging and thoroughly entertaining experience. There's even a free demo to test the slimey waters.

Also you get to meet god. He’s kind of terrible. And maybe a dog? Just don’t tell him I said that.

~~~

Overall Rating: 10/10

Is it Gay? YES!

Story: 9/10

Gameplay: 9/10

Do I recommend it? Yes!

Get it on steam

Get it on itch.io (free demo)

[simplygayming]

We Went Back - Game Review

This free, short horror game is all about the little details.

“We Went Back is a time-looping horror game in which you wake up in an abandoned space station utterly alone. The exit door is locked and you must find a way to escape what lurks within. Find clues, experience dynamically changing environments and confront terror in order to find a way out.”

This game follows you waking up on an abandoned space station. 

Alone?

You walk through the station, look at your surroundings, and search for clues to solve a puzzle to escape. As you loop around, you’ll notice the environment around you change. Sometimes subtly, other times not so much. This is wonderfully executed through the loop that the player finds themself trapped in. 

There are a few decent scares, mostly coming from the unsettling changing environment. There are also a few jump scares, some that are better than others. The horror factor comes from the creepy, unsettling atmosphere that creates a sense of anxiety. The visuals and sound are especially well done in this aspect. I found myself jumping out of my skin and a couple points in the game.

It essentially becomes a walking simulator or escape room with one, relatively simple puzzle. But I was hooked the entire time. I would most definitely consider myself a horror fan and any horror game that takes place in space always catches my eye.

This is a short game, taking at most an hour to complete. During my initial playthrough I rushed through and missed out on so much, I recommend taking your time and exploring to the fullest. We Went Back is a Free to Play game with an emphasis on environmental storytelling. The almost nostalgic sci-fi vibe of the space station makes this game an incredibly enjoyable and fun experience.

Most importantly, there is a rat. Sadly you cannot pet the rat “but he’s loved nonetheless.”

~~~

Overall Rating: 8/10

Is it Gay? No

Story: 8/10

Gameplay: 6/10

Do I recommend it? Yes!

Get it on Steam

[simplygayming]

Transient - Game Review

“In the distant, post-apocalyptic future, what is left of mankind lives in an enclosed citadel created to survive the harsh outside environment. Delve deep into this dystopian world and investigate what is happening to you and your friends. Solve puzzles, hack systems and plug in to explore other dimensions. Discover a truth that might tear apart your sanity and question your very existence.”

Horror and cyberpunk go well together and I think aesthetically, the game nailed it. The neon lights and the damp tentacles. This game absolutely presented a wonderful combination of cyberpunk and the Lovecraftian cultism vibes.

I found myself a bit disappointed in this game, at least story wise. It had a lot of potential, but really fell short.

The story fell flat. The characters didn’t feel fleshed out enough for me to really care about any of them. They just seemed to be a group of people who searched for trouble and suffered the consequences. It wanted to be a mystery but it had no motive or hook for the player to become invested.

The ending was vague which isn’t an inherent problem in the world of Lovecraftian horror, but in this case it’s the kind of vague that makes you think “...that’s it?”

The puzzles and mini games were simple enough and offered enough variety to be a fun experience. I didn’t find them to be super challenging, but the game also offers a means to skip a majority of this content. I really enjoyed some of the "games within the game" and the sort of nostalgic factor with the games.

One such minigame features the player playing an arcade game where they investigate a mansion and kill zombies. The controls felt a bit off, but this comes from the sudden change in perspective.

The hacking game, an apparent essential in an cyberpunk game, isn't annoyingly frustrating, especially since it is only seen once or twice.

Thematically, the game is lacking a strong footing. Which may be the main source of my disappointment as both cyberpunk and Lovecraftian (at least in its current state) has so much potential to explore.

I’ve also seen several complaints about the animation in the sparse cutscenes, but as usual, I do not rate graphics. I only will critique what I know best, which is writing and design.

Overall, Transient is a very beautiful game that had mounds of potential. It is by no means a bad game, but just a bit lackluster.

~~~

Overall Rating: 6/10

Is it Gay? No, sadly

Story: 5/10

Gameplay: 6/10

Do I recommend it? I’d say pass on this one or at least go for it at a discount.

Get it on steam

[simplygayming]

Our Life: Beginning and Always - Game Review

“A nostalgic visual novel where you design your own character and grow from childhood to adulthood with the lonely boy next door. Create an experience that’s all your own in this near-fully customizable, choice-heavy story.”

Our Life: Beginning and Always game follows You throughout your childhood into adulthood. You play through certain situations taking place over four different summers throughout your life and develop your character and your relationships, particularly with the new kid, Cove Holden.

“It’s a wholesome experience that faces large steppingstones of life, while having a focus on familiar everyday moments. With notable amounts of customization for even tiny details, you can enjoy pleasures as simple as having a preferred type of drink and a neighbor who cares enough to remember what it is.”

To quote myself during my initial playthrough, “Wow, I am so gay. This is great.”

This is a game with emphasis on choice, but not in the typical sense. In my playthrough, for example, my character was trans, simply done by changing my character's pronouns after a certain point. The game lets me decide what that meant to me. How does my character want to transition? Hormones? Any surgery? And so on.

In this way, the player is part of the story telling, making decisions of what they want to happen and how they react. It’s a fun and thoroughly comforting experience. At the same time, I was never forced to be particularly opinionated. As somebody with a passion for storytelling, this game has a perfect place in my heart.

Yes, there is the fair share of conflict as any good story needs, but it always ends with comfort. Comforting your loved ones, being comforted.

Because it’s your life. That's the story. And just like in life, you have choices. Decisions on how you will react and what you want to do, who you want to be.

It’s a free game with some inexpensive DLC to create a longer experience, including one where you plan and attend your wedding to Cove. It’s a visual novel, so besides the many, many choices, gameplay is a lot of reading. Honestly though, with so many options, it felt a lot more engaging than some visual novels I’ve gone through in the past.

Now for the gay factor. Not only can you customize your character's pronouns (he, she, or they) but eventually make decisions about your sexuality and romantic attraction in a conversation with Cove (who is demisexual). Additionally, your character has two moms and a friend who eventually comes out as transgender sometime off screen. Even if the character you create is cisgender and heterosexual, the game is still chock full of references to LGBTQ in its characters, something I absolutely adore.

Overall, playing this game was a unique experience. It is all too rare to be able to experience this level of comfort and acceptance in a story for me. Albeit, sometimes the characters were awkward, but I personally found this to be charming and realistic, if anything.

Recently I played through the demo for the kinda sequel Our Life: Now & Forever and I’m already so excited to have my heart strings pulled by GB Patch games yet again.

~~~

Overall Rating: 9/10

Is it Gay? Yes!!

Story: 10/10

Gameplay: 8/10

Do I recommend it? Yes!

Get it on Steam

Get it on itch.io

[simplygayming]

A Taste of the Past - Game Review

“What do you do when you lose someone you love? A Taste of the Past is an emotional side scroller about reconnecting with your Chinese culture while navigating a train to the afterlife. Featuring a wholesome story, cooking minigames, and hope.”

I’ve had my share of grief, as many have. The loss of a loved one can make your whole world feel empty.

A Taste of the Past is a short, free experience, roughly taking 30 minutes. The colors are soft, the music is gentle, and the story is bittersweet. Of all the approaches to grief, this one is calm and puts more emphasis on culture and self love than some others I have experienced.

This game follows Mei, a Chinese-American high school student, who is dealing with the sudden passing of her mother. Mei is upset at losing all of her mother’s recipes and is struggling in her grief. The setting of the game is a train, of which Mei realizes that her ancestors have boarded from the afterlife.

Players navigate the train, speak to family members long since past as they help her come to terms with her grief, while also helping her to uncover her mother’s recipe for traditional noodles so that she may continue the tradition.

The game also features some cute, verys simple mini games reminiscent of cooking sims. The final mini game features a young Mei wrapping up dumplings with her mother. It starts off with guidelines for players to drag their mouse along, but after a few, the guidelines disappear and it becomes almost muscle memory. Afterwards, Mei’s mother expresses pride in Mei being a fast learner. It’s sweet and really feels like a mother teaching her child with a kind, guiding hand. There are also dialogue options that don’t hold much impact besides allowing the player to further step into the role of Mei.

It’s a very short, simple game. However, this should never be considered a bad thing. It’s a great, comforting little game, especially for those who have gone through similar experiences of grief and/or those who want to ponder the importance of family and food. Or even if you just need a good little cry.

~~~

Overall Rating: 7/10

Is it Gay? no

Story: 9/10

Gameplay: 7/10

Do I recommend it? Yes!

Get it on itch.io

Get it on Steam

[simplygayming]

2064: Read Only Memories - Game Review

Welcome to Neo-San Francisco.

“2064: Read Only Memories merges old-school adventure gaming with modern storytelling to explore some of the social challenges we will face in the near future. Explore the colorful future metropolis of Neo-San Francisco, meeting a huge cast of fascinating characters and solving a far-reaching mystery. Think carefully about your choices, because you never know how they will affect this dynamic, branching narrative further down the line.”

I’ve played this game three times now. Once on my own, once with my brother, and once on stream. Each time I’ve discovered something new.

Now, the cyberpunk genre is perhaps my all time favorite. I have studied and written about it for quite some time, but so often media that wants to call itself cyberpunk focuses on the wrong ideas. Often being too occupied with the (arguably intriguing) aesthetics of neon lights, robots, and human enchantments.

This game is not that case.

2064: ROM is a wonderful experience that well encompasses the genre of cyberpunk. It’s a story-rich adventure game that follows the story of a struggling journalist protagonist, alongside a robot named Turning who claims that they are the first sapient machine. Together Turing and the player set out on an investigation to find Turing’s missing creator, only to unravel an even greater conspiracy.

In terms of aesthetics, the game nails exactly what it set out to do. The lo-fi electronic synth soundtrack is thoroughly catchy and does wonders at setting the mood for the story and gameplay, while the game’s pixel art screams nostalgia. There are robots (ROMs or Relationship and Organizational Managers), hackers, mega corporations, genetic alteration, rebellious youth, and basically just about everything to solidify this game as cyberpunk.

The game is fun and seeks to push forward the common questions of its genre such as what it means to be human and delves into concepts of identity and individuality. It’s an interesting discussion to be had and with a combination of its classic point-and-click gameplay. Albeit, the game is quite wordy and heavy on its technobabble. The introduction especially is slow and players less knowledgeable on cyberpunk texts can easily lose interest.

This seemed to be the case during my second playthrough, my brother found himself to be a bit bored with just how intensely text heavy the game can be. Once the story picked up, however, he was very much engaged and enjoying his time.

What the game lacks in this sense, it makes up for in its setting. Neo-San Francisco is a diverse and charming place that features multiple queer characters befitting of just how queer its genre is, mostly through its thematic exploration of identity and humanity. The game leans into this and even goes as far as to allow the player and Turing to directly discuss this. Depending on the player’s choices, the player is able to ask Turing their pronouns and identity after learning about what is essentially Turing’s sister, a ROM who was very confident that she was a girl.

The character customization goes beyond the typical naming in many visual novels and allows the players to pick out pronouns from an extensive list as well as the option to add their own. The player can also specify dietary restrictions. It's these minor details that create a detailed and engaging world for the player.

Like many adventure based visual novel, 2064: ROM has mini games in addition to its many intense choices. I found the puzzle mini games to be stress inducing in a high stakes kind of way. The outcome of the games, whether it be success or failure, is yet another choice that effects the game, though to a seemingly lesser degree.

The game pushes many of the common tropes and ideas of the cyberpunk genre, including the neo noir aspects that iconic films like Bladerunner follow. Despite the heavy conversation on the technological, this game left me engaged with each twist and turn that the investigation took. I found myself adored with the characters and their stories and, in the end, I had my own questions about the world of robotics and technology.

Honestly, I could go on to such a deeper depth with this game, but I will save that for another time.

~~~

Overall Rating: 9/10

Is it Gay? Yes!

Story: 10/10

Gameplay: 9/10

Do I recommend it? Yes!

Check out the game

Get it on Steam

Get it on itch.io

[simplygayming]

Backbone - Game Review (no spoilers)

“Backbone is a post-noir narrative adventure. Become raccoon private eye Howard Lotor and explore dystopian Vancouver inhabited by animals as you uncover a deeply personal story of change and transformation.”

Backbone is a game that makes you constantly wonder “What could I have done to change this?”

The answer? Nothing.

This is not a game about choice, but the lack thereof.

All things considered it was a fun experience that truly kept me at the edge of my seat as any good adventure game should. It’s simple gameplay highlights itself as a shorter narrative experience, but it really felt like two separate games, and hey, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

A full heartedly beautiful and witty game chock full of existentialism and anthropomorphic animals. The setting and worldbuilding is wonderfully done and engaging, creating a dystopian world that I enjoyed exploring (a vital aspect of point & click). Backbone’s strength is in its dialogue which is deeply philosophical, yet fun and witty. It seeks to get players thinking about deeper themes, while also keeping things entertaining.

“Backbone is inspired by film noir, weird sci-fi, post-soviet aesthetics, modern political regimes, the works of Lynch and Kaufman, and existential philosophy of Sartre. It is a linear, cinematic narrative experience that subverts genre and challenges your perception of what it means to be a person.” Or in this case, raccoon.

Perhaps the game’s ambitions were too much as the ending was lackluster and left far too many plotlines unanswered for my liking. It seemed as if some really interesting ideas were never fully explored. The game is also on the shorter side, about 3 hours or so worth.

That said, Backbone is a game I thoroughly enjoyed and plan on engaging with again. I truly hope to see more from the game studio, EggNut.

~~~

Overall Rating: 7/10

Is it Gay? Slightly.

Story: 8/10

Gameplay: 7/10

Do I recommend it? Yes, but maybe go for it on sale.

Get it on steam

Get it on itch.io