Indie Games

I'm not doing a poll this time, because that doesn't give me enough info to make a good decision. Last month, all five of of the games had good reviews and were widely-known enough that I wasn't worried about picking; this time, all the games are pretty much unknown.

Last month's theme, if it had one, was "games that had good enough reviews that I'd heard about them from multiple sources." This month, the theme is "free games from the Megabundles" so that people who don't have any of the bundles, or who only have some of them, can afford to play even if they're stretched thin with holiday expenses.

Discussion post will go up on Saturday, January 10th (or, erm, soon after), along with the next month's choices.

I looked over the free games in the bundle (well, I looked over a lot of the free games in the bundle) and discovered some things.

• Some games tagged "free" in the bundle-searcher are not actually free. I skipped those.
• A lot of free games are demos for larger games. I avoided anything that looked like "first chapter is free and here's a link to the paid version." (One of the games is incomplete, but "4 chapters out of 6 planned" sounded substantial enough.)
• Some are TTRPGs. I'm also avoiding multiplayer games, because I am a Cranky Introvert and I assume several of you are as well.
• Some are very, very short. I avoided short games with little/no replay value; a puzzle game that can be solved in 10 minutes can be fun but there's not likely much to discuss.

On to… THE GAMES! I'm putting these in alphabetical order because I can't think of any other way to arrange them. It was hard to narrow the choices down to 5; I tried to get a range of very different art & play styles. Links:

• Cromwell by The Digital Technologist: "The King is dead. Long live the Commonwealth!"

• Inside | Out by YoanAllibert: "Recursive First-Person Atmospheric Adventure."

• Lavender by Clockwork Prince: "An alternate take on the classic fairytale of Rapunzel. Puzzle game with horror elements."

• Pet the Pup at the Party by Will Herring: "you are at a house party. you do not know anybody. the clock is ticking... can you find the pup at the party??"

• Vincent: The Secret of Myers by dino999z: "A horror adventure visual novel with point & click components."


More Info

Cromwell is a historical decision-making game inspired by Reigns; it uses the same mechanic. (Swipe left/swipe right.) "Step into the shoes of Oliver Cromwell, the King In All But Name, as you rule the newly established Protectorate. Make tough decisions and try to keep the realm stable during this turbulent time."
It was in the Bundle for Racial Justice and equality and is free. Windows only; 60mb.

Inside | Out is a 3D adventure where you "progress and transform the environment around you, bring items into the smaller world to scale them up and use their larger form to advance."
It was included in the Indie bundle for Palestinian Aid and is a "Name your own price" game. Windows only.

Lavender describes itself as: "An alternate take on the classic fairytale of Rapunzel. Puzzle game with horror elements. Please be aware that it's entirely possible to finish the game without coming across anything horror related."
It was included in the Indie Bundle for Abortion Funds and is free. It is Windows-only, but the devs nicely provide links to emulators for other platforms. It's available in English and Korean, and is about 144 mb. It's an RPG Maker game. Dev says it's free and will remain free.

Pet the Pup at the Party is more action-y than the other games on the list. (Recommended by Kid the Elder.) "You are at a house party. You do not know anybody. But legend tells of a ~very good puppo~ hiding somewhere in this house!" You have two minutes to search rooms, dodge people, and find the pup to pet.
It was included in the Indie Bundle for Abortion Funds and the original Bundle for Racial Justice and equality and is free. Is tiny - about 50-55mb, in Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Vincent: The Secret of Myers - is a visual novel with point-and-click and puzzle aspects. "Investigate Myers Corporation and dig up dark truths that were probably better left forgotten. Solve puzzles, explore, and survive as you learn about the dark secrets held inside the decommissioned facility." It is not quite complete - it has 4 of 6 chapters.
It was in the original Bundle for Racial Justice and equality and is a "Name your own price" game. Warning: This game contains jumpscares, flashing imagery, and other horror elements. Windows and Mac, about 250mb.

What looks fun? What looks "interesting, but not for me?" Are there any "hard no" games here?

What I really want to know: What's your top choice, and what's your second choice?