Interesting games on itch.io: May 31

I’m a big fan of itch.io for the freedom and open platform that it allows for developers to be creative, experimental, and directly canvas the audience for feedback for games that are not yet ready for primetime on Steam and its ilk. In addition, itch.io allows you to be transgressive, subversive, and downright dangerous. It’s a true “art gallery” for game ideas and creative developers, and it should be celebrated for that.

What makes itch.io a little difficult at times is finding things that are interesting to play. Discovery is a real issue when great ideas are buried among high school projects and nasty little efforts to scam a quick buck from players. With that in mind, I thought what might be helpful to readers would be if I did a brief write-up of interesting games that I’ve come across on itch.io each week. In many cases these games will be unfinished or “in development,” but I’m highlighting them because they promise something special and are well worth keeping on the radar.

Note: I also haven’t played these games. I highlight them as interesting based on the itch.io description and concept. Where I find the time to do actual reviews or other coverage, I will compose separate articles on the game in question. These aren’t so much an endorsement (or piece of criticism) as they are a head’s up.

Naturally, if you want to pick up a couple of the Dee Dee visual novels while you’re there on itch.io to support our work here, I would be eternally grateful! There’s a new one that recently came out, Sade!

Petal Crash Online

The game melds together some beautifully abstract art to give you some distinctive, fascinating spaces to move around. There’s no violence to deal with, but, based on the trailer (which does a much better job of describing the game than the actual description), you can see that there’s a lot of different activities to get up to as well. Don’t let this game skip you by. It might look like something that has been lazily thrown on itch.io, based on how little effort has gone into “selling” it to players, but it does look like a lot of heart and soul went into its creation.

It seems that we end up highlighting a new visual novel every week on our itch.io wrap, but the platform is good for indie VNs indeed. Nenorocire is a brief (3-4 hour) visual novel about friends that had drifted apart coming together again, and the mystery behind the complex relationships that they now have with one another.

I get a real strong Myst vibe from this one. A really, really strong Myst vibe. And therefore, as a fan of Myst, I am very intrigued. TIERRA is a point-and-click adventure game with some gorgeous art and a powerful sense of mystery behind it. From the game’s description: “… you thought a more sedate walk through the woodland area more locally would aid in your recovery. However, on following a downloaded orienteering map, you soon discover mysterious buildings and puzzling locations not listed on the map.”

The rest of the game then involves piecing together the secrets that these mystery buildings hold. To dig to the bottom of the mystery, you need to collect, combine and use items to solve puzzles, while also exploring and paying careful attention to the world around you. You’ve got some freedom in how you tackle the puzzles, and you don’t need to worry about pace; this is one to be savoured, not powered through.