Indie Obscure indies that deserve more attention - Updated Jan. 2020

[Siveon]

I played it for about 10 minutes and got really bored/mad about something, I think it was the controls(?) and never touched it again. I really did like the setting though, wouldn't mind it in the hands of a more competent developer.

 

[Tito Anic]

Yeah, I believe the codex consensus was that it ultimately sucked... Personally I ragequit a couple of rooms into the furst dungeon.

I played it for about 10 minutes and got really bored/mad about something, I think it was the controls(?) and never touched it again. I really did like the setting though, wouldn't mind it in the hands of a more competent developer.

The written part is very good imo, sound and art are good too, battles are weak part of the game - standart point and click but AutoHotKey helps it: with it you could use pause aka RTwP.

 

[V_K]

I really did like the setting though, wouldn't mind it in the hands of a more competent developer.

There seems to be some bad karma following titles that mix fantasy with alternative history - Lionheart sucked, Mistmare sucked, Inquisitor sucked...

 

[kangaroodev]

This is probably not very obscure but if cataclysm dda was posted I'm sure its fine.

In case you like roguelikes but you always wanted them to have graphics, music and some side missions and a main story Elona is great for that. It was abandoned by the original dev from what I know but picked up by someone else so now it's called Elona Plus. A lot of funny things can happen in a game, you can have a girl as a pet, and you can get pregnant as a guy if you drink water from sketchy places. Can't remember for sure since I didn't play this in a long time, but it's fun if you want a more forgiving RL.

http://elona.wikia.com/wiki/Elona+

 

[Aenra]

Are you Cadmus's alt?

(hint: check your avatar privilege)

 

[kangaroodev]

I'm really trying to figure out what's the business with Cadmus, is he that popular, is he the only one using this avatar (besides me), is he known for using multiple accounts? And what's the deal with avatars, I thought it was a joke before but people really seem to care about it lol. Surely I'm not the only one using "someone else's" avatar. Right?

 

[Excidium II]

I'm really trying to figure out what's the business with Cadmus, is he that popular, is he the only one using this avatar (besides me), is he known for using multiple accounts? And what's the deal with avatars, I thought it was a joke before but people really seem to care about it lol. Surely I'm not the only one using "someone else's" avatar. Right?

He's been using that avatar for a long time, so when you post people see gothicdude and think it's him. It would be polite to choose another one

 

[kangaroodev]

Sure sure, if he's that known with this avatar then fine, I don't like people asking me if I'm Cadmus again and again, let's hope I don't get confused with some other person now.

 

[Stabwound]

Excelsior 1 and 2 are games I think would appeal to people here. They're both from the early 90s, but somehow the first game looks like it's a retro RPG from recent years.

They're supposedly good Ultima-esque clones with a bit more depth to them, skills and more equipment and such. Excelsior 2 as you can see is trying to copy Ultima 6 so hard that it's painful.

I only ever played the first one and it's cool, but I never got far. I think they're still only available as shareware on the author's site: http://www.excelsior-rpg.com/ex1.htm

Excelsior 1:

Excelsior 2:

 

[Cadmus]

Found it before it was translated to kwa. Sunk tons of hours in this one. Was tranlating texts from czech to understand what is going on
Superb atmosphere, setting - European Middle Ages, Biblical end times, coming of Satan, tortures, rape, immorality, backstabbing, meh battles.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/241620/

Action-oriented combat with a deep and involving tale of betrayal, torture, madness, and infernal damnation. If a gritty old-school open-ended isometric RPG is what you looking for, look no further. Inquisitor will provide you with hours of gameplay and a dark, involving story.

The atmosphere really was superb and the environments gorgeous but the walking and fighting sucked so bad I quit a few hours in.

Heh heh, Gates of Skeldal, kind of surprised to see that here.
There was a sequel, which looked more like a point and click adventure. Haven't played it, so I can't comment on its quality.
http://games.tiscali.cz/recenze/brany-skeldalu-2-recenze-49432

There's another sequel being made, for mobile:

http://www.7mages.net/en

Crap, I thought I had played Brany Skeldalu but I must have confused it with some other game. Is it good? I mean good good, not good for how it looks like shit.

Sure sure, if he's that known with this avatar then fine, I don't like people asking me if I'm Cadmus again and again, let's hope I don't get confused with some other person now.

Everybody's got a unique avatar. Haven't you noticed?

 

[kangaroodev]

Everybody's got a unique avatar. Haven't you noticed?

Didn't notice really. I wish there was a way to show you how many active users selected specific avatars in the profile settings, would make things easier.

 

[V_K]

Excelsior 1 and 2 are games I think would appeal to people here. They're both from the early 90s, but somehow the first game looks like it's a retro RPG from recent years.

They're supposedly good Ultima-esque clones with a bit more depth to them, skills and more equipment and such. Excelsior 2 as you can see is trying to copy Ultima 6 so hard that it's painful.

I only ever played the first one and it's cool, but I never got far.

I played (I think, finished, but I can't remember) the second one, my main gripe was that combat was very RNG-heavy and didn't have any tactical side to it.

 

[V_K]

Marquess Cornwallis, SkeleTony, you seem to be the only ones who played Walls of Bratock here (at least yours are the only posts forum search yields) - what do you think, worthy of adding? If so, how would you describe it? And what about the sequel?
I tried running the shareware version myself, but the city seems huge, the viewport is small, there's no automap and I'm very topographically challenged.

 

[Snorkack]

Walls of Bratock

Where the hell do you keep finding this stuff? This thread's a goldmine already, thanks for compiling it!

 

[V_K]

Where the hell do you keep finding this stuff?

Concerning Walls of Bratock specifically, I probably first saw it on the Eschalon forums, I don't quite remember.
In a more general sense - well, it's probsbly a habit I developed during the times when I had an outdated PC and no disposable income and had to get creative with finding things to play. :D

 

[Snorkack]

By the way, since the advent of this thread I've been searching for some obscure blobber I played that was a weird but cool PDA port.
Found it again:
Legacy
Classical turn-based blobber in the vein of MM3-5 with full party creation and tons of content. Even comes with an (unwieldy) world editor.

 

[V_K]

Ah yes, The Quest's older brother.

 

[Marquess Cornwallis]

V_K, it's kind of hard to tell, I played Walls of Bratock at least three times and still enjoyed it quite a bit when I last returned to it a couple of years ago (I bought the complete collection of Christian Boutin's shareware games -- which includes the sequel, Flame Storm -- for ~$5), but then I really really liked it back in the 90s and the nostalgia factor is only amplified by the fact that it's heavily influenced by Ultima IV. The problems you mention are real (there is an Ultima-style in-game map crystal that helps with orientation, but it's more or less one of the game's secrets and therefore not very easy to find), but I'd say it's not that hard to get into and fun enough to at least give a shot to the shareware version (which has the full game, minus some unimportant extras).

 

[Siveon]

I actually had to buy that game from email, but it was worth it. I just wish The Quest had a similar character system. And as good of an HD port.

V_K did you go about trying Free Droid? I don't think it's more than a 7/10, but I think it's quaint enough.

 

[V_K]

V_K did you go about trying Free Droid? I don't think it's more than a 7/10, but I think it's quaint enough.

Will add it tomorrow, a bit overworked at the moment.

(which has the full game, minus some unimportant extras).

Hmmm, from what I understand in the description, one of those extras is the automap-without-gem cheat. Might be worth getting...

 

[lightbane]

Many of the games mentioned in the "Lost and Forgotten" thread could go there. Anyway: LISA has been mentioned, so not that one. What about Nusakana?
http://store.steampowered.com/app/401290

An open-world JRPG made by Indonesian devs which most likely has multiple endings. There are also lots of possible waifus for you to tastefully assault romance too.


Then there's Boot Hill Heroes:

http://store.steampowered.com/app/313470/

An Earthbound-inspired JRPG, but in the Wild West! Also, supposedly the first part of a trilogy.

 

[V_K]

So, considering some games in the thread are "no more than 7/10" or have other flaws, but still deserve more recognition than they get, should I split the list into "Undiscovered treasures" and "Good for what they are" sections?

 

[Snorkack]

We should do one or more polls to rank those games.

In all seriousness - I'm against. Considering some of the titles have been played by 1-2 members, the sections would probably be very inconsistent. I'd rather have some tags, like 'dungeon crawler', 'action', 'realtime combat'... so that I know immediatly I dont need to bother clicking when I read 'platformer elements'.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

So, considering some games in the thread are "no more than 7/10" or have other flaws, but still deserve more recognition than they get, should I split the list into "Undiscovered treasures" and "Good for what they are" sections?

Nah, if they have flaws mentioned, just put them in, that'd do.

 

[V_K]

I'd rather have some tags, like 'dungeon crawler', 'action', 'realtime combat'... so that I know immediatly I dont need to bother clicking when I read 'platformer elements'.

Great idea.