It’s International Non-Binary Awareness Week!

Well, technically, we just get a day, but I’m declaring it for the whole week. Why? Because this week I’m taking part in the NonBinary Coded Games event on Steam!

As part of that, I’m playing 10 games on stream and reviewing 4 games here on the blog. There are over 150 titles included in this event, all of them either developed by someone non-binary or featuring non-binary characters. My little enby heart is overflowing and my inbox was too.

While I couldn’t get to every game that either reached out or is a part of this event, I hope you’ll all check the event out and find games that you’ll love! So let’s jump in!

Endless RPG

In all honesty, I don’t feel like I’ve even begun to scratch the surface of what Endless RPG has to offer. Admittedly I’ve only gotten to play for 3 hours but those 3 hours were definitely an adventure!

I ran with a random party, on a random seed map, on standard difficulty. I did read through all the different character races available and thought about changing things up, but ultimately decided to stick with what the RNGods decided to give me and see how much of a difference it would make. So far, there are definitely some advantages to having a Dwarf on my team, that much I can say!

The music is really pleasant and easy to relax to. I wont lie; for parts of my gameplay, I did zone out for a few minutes at a time and just let the BGM play while I did something else. I love that the game didn’t start with BGM at 100% either. Nothing drives me to the Settings tab faster than music or effects that start at 100% upon first launch.

As for the gameplay itself, it is so forgiving, which is actually its main selling point to me. I do love RPGs, though I usually reserve them for my own private game time, and I usually play them on a lower difficulty because I want to just enjoy the game without feeling the need to be in a contest with the game itself. It was actually a surprise to me that I could play this on standard difficulty and not find myself growing frustrated.

Battles are a fairly straight-forward turn-based grid movement style. Movement, cantrip or spell, action, wait. What I loved was that if you realize you’re in an encounter that is way above your current level – which does happen if you go dungeon crawling through the Infinite Caves – you can use Flee and it’s guaranteed to take you out of the fight.

Don’t worry! If you do die because you decided to take on that gargoyle who is probably 20 levels higher than you, it’s only a five day rest before you’ll be back on your feet. Not a bad trade-off to me!

There’s also party relations to explore. So far all I’ve done is make a couple friends and begun a romance between my mage and rogue. They’re not particularly deep, at least not yet, and the dialogue choices are very transparent with what they’re trying to get at, but I didn’t really expect a lot of depth. The depth is the context I write into it with my mind!

My only very very mild frustration was with the tech tree and discovering where to go to gain the skills I wanted my characters to have. I’ve since figured that out, to some degree, but I’ll give this as just a general piece of feedback: I didn’t understand how the tech tree was organized at a glance.

Luckily, there’s plenty of red text and things blocking you from progressing if you try to do things out of order. Just remember, the tech tree starts at the bottom and moves up, instead of top down. An absolutely minor thing, but it still took me a minute to realize I was doing it wrong. That said, you absolutely can create whatever character you want to play, provided you know where to go to get the skills you want!

Overall, if you’re looking for a relaxing RPG you can play in the background while you do other things, Endless RPG is perfect for that. I will definitely be going back to it in my free-time!

Unlife of Gorlak

Ahhhh…DOS and classic raising sim games. A little known fact about me: I’ve been playing raising sims since I was a kid and all we had was badly fan translated Princess Maker 2. More on that another time though, I promise.

Unlife of Gorlak follows the titular dragon – Gorlak – as he is resurrected from his grave by an upstart Necromancer you’re pretty sure is just looking to make a name for themself. While normally you would play as some kind of guardian to the character you’re raising, in this game you are Gorlak and you get to call the shots. The thing is…you don’t really remember too much about your old life, only that you and your incredibly suave-looking rival are locked in eternal combat, and now that you’ve awoken he’ll be there to defeat you within the month.

So, better get cracking on studying, exploring, and finding all your old friends to hopefully help you remember who you are.

I initially played the game on Normal mode but had a bit of a difficult time managing stress, mood, and energy. To the point where I had managed to find myself in a loop of just enough energy to do one thing in a day. So, on my next playthrough, I decided to try out Easy mode and I definitely recommend starting there.

The game has a lot of stats to manage and in encounters they all provide different ways to handle things. You definitely get a lot out of exploring, more than studying, so that’s my protip for this game: when in doubt, adventure it out. You’ll gain far more stat increases even on your worst adventuring day than you will from a single study session.

It’s a bit different than the raising sims I’m used to – generally you’re doing a combination of classes and work – but for this game it really works. My only feedback is that I wish I could spend my energy to get a few more classes in during a day, since it feels like a waste if I have 50 energy but can only take one class.

Also, let me shout out the music! While the game starts at 100% volume, you can turn it down some and really get to enjoy that classic midi-style sound. If I wasn’t just vibing out to the Lair theme, then I was bouncing in my chair to Baba Yaga’s storefront music. The music is an absolute bop! I’m still popping and humming Baba Yaga’s theme to myself around the house!

If you’re looking for a raising sim game to get into, definitely check out Unlife of Gorlak! It’s a nice change of pace on the genre as a whole and I think you’ll really find the game itself charming.

Quality Dreams, Reasonably Priced

Where do I even begin? There’s so much to like about Quality Dreams, Reasonably Priced even from just the demo.

You play as Jin, a body modification clinic consultant who lives in a cyberpunk desert tower city. We quickly learn how to sell and make a decent commission off of recommending body mods to clients as they come in. You talk with them, get to know them, recommend them or not for modification, and then try to upsell them on other modifications if you can. If you’re successful and raise enough money in two weeks, you’ll be able to afford the surgery your very sick rabbit – Nibbles Dandelions – needs.

I’m going to do my best to not go on and on about this demo, but just know that I definitely could.

First off, the music. Another soundtrack that is soothing to listen to. It’s atmospheric and unobtrusive, while still being distinct enough that you know when you’ve moved areas. There’s also a bonus surprise: as you engage with other characters, you’ll get subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) musical cues as to how they’re feeling. Listen closely because I almost missed it!

Then there’s the art! I could stare at these character designs for ages. Same for the backgrounds. The details and environments communicate so much without saying too much.

The setting and Jin’s internal thoughts about the world around them give enough context into how the world you’re in works. Most of the exposition is done skillfully, I think, and at no point was there a massive exposition dump. Everything is slowly revealed between the artwork and gameplay.

Lastly, I love how the team have handled trigger warnings. Trigger warnings are available at the start menu in their own menu. You’re given a list of warnings without context, but if you know you’re more sensitive to some topics than others, you can click on the relevant trigger warning and get more context. The context they provide includes which characters are involved, where it happens in the game, and can provide hints on how to avoid that trigger if possible.

All of this makes me really interested to play their upcoming title: I’m Making a Monster!

Capy Castaway

What. A. Cute. Game!

Capy Castaway takes place after a massive flood. You play as the capybara named Capy and Corvi the corvid is along for the journey home. Roam around finding other animals to help, clean up the debris left from the flood, and hopefully rebuild the area some to help everyone reconnect.

I’m biased to like whenever corvids show up in a game. Some of you might remember the little terror of the skies I became when we played Just Crow Things, for example. While Corvi — your companion and capybara translator — isn’t terrorizing the skies, they do still bring the comedic timing with their comments…while trying to remain sensitive to the situation at hand.

The music and sound design are another standout for me. It’s getting unfair, all these games with great use of sound design. The musician behind A Short Hike is involved in Capy Castaway, so if you loved the music from that game then you’ll adore Capy Castaway’s soundtrack too. While I only got a sampling of it in the demo, I can’t wait to hear more!

Oh, and the characters you meet! I don’t want to give too much away, even just from the demo, because I want you all to experience the silliness that these characters bring to the game. It really does remind me of A Short Hike in that regard – you meet a variety of characters and they all have their own goofy charm that adds to the experience of trying to make it to the top of the mountain. Personally, I’m looking forward to getting to meet all the different characters in Capy Castaway once the game is fully released.

In the meantime…SOUP! SOUP! SOUP!
(iykyk)

There are multiple endings depending on the choices you make, so I’m told, and it’s compatible for a good couch co-op session with your favorite people. My advice? Definitely use a controller if you can. I don’t have access to a compatible controller for Linux systems and played with keyboard and mouse. It’s possible to play, just some of the keybinds might be a bit awkward if you’re playing solo.

Either way, I can’t wait to play more. There’s a lot of promise here with this game and I’m looking forward to the full release!

Spotlight

These were titles that I thought were interesting but just didn’t have the time to play for a more proper review. Please give them a look! Some of these titles might, one day, appear in a stream.

Kerogen

A psychological horror game set out on the Black Sea. You play as Oteil, a drone operator sent to look into the sinking of an oil tanker. Investigate the deep, watch your mind get torn into two, and navigate complex relationships with your crew mates. It’s giving me The Thing vibes, but underwater, and I’m a sucker for a crew gone mad kind of story.

While I’m not usually taken in by PSX-style graphics, something about their use here really adds to the uneasy feeling. Maybe it’s just me. Silent Hill really did a lot of damage to my perception of what is scary.

Currently, a demo has yet to be released, but I’m watching this game with a lot of anticipation. In the meantime, check out the trailer and get hype for Scary Season!

Outclaw

This game I unfortunately didn’t have the time to play the demo of, but seeing others coverage has me wanting to pencil in some time to check it out!

Running around a strange alien world, collecting friend-shaped shades, and solving puzzles with a combination of brains and shapeshifting. It looks like a perfect platform puzzler for those who liked Zelda, Mario Galaxy, or Spyro style mechanics. Plus, you get to play as an adorable five-eyed cat named Comet!

Everything looks stunning from what I’ve been able to see so far. The environments look rich and the character designs clearly done with intention. Plus, you get to customize your little guys and your base, so you know there’s lots to collect and explore.

The full release is planned for July 29, which isn’t that far away! Definitely give the demo a try if you can!

And that’s all I have time for in this article. Hopefully you find a game that brings you some joy and happiness in these chaotic times. We all need a little something, a little distraction, to help our brains rest and get ready to confront the horrors all over again.

These aren’t the only games I’ve been playing for the Non-Binary Coded Games event either! Come check out the stream for a few more surprises. Maybe join us too? Some of the titles mentioned here, and some from stream, might be re-appearing in a future stream or article!

Ok, that’s enough from me. Until next time, stay safe and sane!