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For some reason, the gaming world always gets into a frenzy about “Game of the Year” awards. Although they are unnecessary, I do find them to have some use. It’s a great way to show people games they may have missed out on during the year! I’ve already created a top 10 list for Game Podunk but (for various reasons) kept a few separate so they could be written about here. In no particular order, here are some games I loved that (almost entirely) came out in 2013.
The Cat Lady
Soooo… The Cat Lady came out in December of 2012, making it technically not fit into a 2013 list. However, it nearly came out this year and only recently saw a Steam release so there! In any case, this is an incredible adventure game. It’s not point and click, but close enough as you navigate left and right with arrow keys. Solving puzzles is usually not tough, but the main point of playing is to see the dark story unfold. Protagonist Susan is in a very unique situation and I simply needed to get through her entire journey.
It’s no secret that I love visual novels and this was one of the couple that I jumped on for its English release this year. Since most of the lot I play deal with high school students, it was interesting to assume the role of a tired detective. His search into a string of murders was compelling, and the need to catch the culprit was my drive to continue playing. Even after figuring it all out, I went back to play more and uncover even more.
queers in love at the end of the world
This is a super short Twine game that was created for a Ludum Dare competition. The world is about to end in ten seconds and you, the player, are spending them with the person you love. How do you spend those final precious seconds of existence? I fumbled with my choice, hurried to read as if that would stop time, but then the game ends. The experience stuck in my mind and I want others to experience it too.
The world of visual novels and dating sims is immense, but there’s very little available in English that targets any part of the LGBT audience. See No Evil is one of these titles, with its focus on romanceable bara characters, it caters toward gay men primarily. But it’s not just an exercise in eroticism. Alongside mostly simple point and click gameplay stood engaging characters that you wanted to see “live happily ever after”. Actually obtaining the good end is tricky, but left me feeling completely satisfied.
