Spooky_0ne's Picks: Games That Re-sparked My Love for Gaming

Now and then I find an incredible game and a recurring fear sparks within me — that I may never find something like it again; that my gaming experience has hit a peak. Thankfully, as the years have passed, I've begun to realise that gaming is much like mining in Minecraft — you're always just one block away from finding your next diamond! If you suffer from similar anxieties, I am here to hopefully help you find a diamond or two. Here are my little gems that helped me when I thought gaming had become stale.

Children of Morta

Tags: Pixel Graphics, Multiplayer, Roguelike, Action

Children of Morta is a story-driven co-op roguelike game about a family that is living in a world haunted by darkness. Although there's no dialogue except for the narrator, the game still manages to make a charming, loveable cast of characters for whom you end up caring deeply for.

Aside from the story, the gameplay is phenomenal. Children of Morta feels very smooth to play, is quite challenging, has many different playstyle options, and overall just had my wife and I glued to the PC for hours (not that that doesn't happen every day). 

I highly recommend that if you try this incredible gem of a game, you do so with a loved one, as the story is very "strength of family" driven and having someone you love there makes it feel all the more real. 

Still not sold? Check out my wife’s review of the game! 

Graveyard Keeper

Tags: Pixel Graphics, Simulator, Indie

I'm a big fan of life sim games and after so many years of milking them, it felt like there were very few new experiences to be had in the genre (although I don't mind, I still love it!)... that is, until I saw Graveyard Keeper. I didn't think that doing autopsies, exhuming bodies, and building up a graveyard could be something I'd ever consider relaxing but I became totally obsessed.

Although the game is a bit weird with things such as having the option to feed the meat you slice off the autopsies to the town, it's still very fun to play. I do want to warn everyone though, the story has a pretty aggressive stance on religion that I personally didn't like. But if you don't mind that or the strange and edgy features, this is a definite recommendation. 

Graveyard Keeper has been reviewed by one of my co-workers here at GameGrin, in case you’d like to have a better insight on it! 

Graveyard Keeper

Tags: 1990s, Relaxing, Platformer

Time Loader is one of the smoothest experiences I've had in gaming thus far. Much like a perfect orchestra, everything comes together for one of the best relaxing experiences: the gorgeous graphics, the captivating ‘90s setting, and the incredibly well-done controls. Although the puzzles that Time Loader offers aren’t really difficult, it was still an incredible experience. Everyone that enjoys walking simulators should absolutely try it! 

My wife also reviewed this one, if you wanna check it out! 

Reventure

Tags: Adventure, Indie, Pixel Graphics, Multiple Endings

Reventure is a blast to play, if not just for the silly humour then for the incredible amount of "endings". The prospect is a strange one — you run around trying to find endings for your character to unlock more things to find more endings (or even just new skins). Although at first it seems pretty silly, the game actually became a bit challenging on the puzzle aspect near the end and I had to pass my wife the controller because it needed quite a bit of memory and brainpower.

If you're into troll-y games, this is definitely one to try out. Even if the graphics are a bit too retro, at least pick it up at a discount. I promise you, the silliness and vastness are worth the lack of graphics.

Also reviewed by my wife, in case you’d like to know more about why I’m so in love with it! 

Kingdom Come: Deliverance

Tags: Medieval, RPG, Open World, Realistic

Few games nail the feeling of really living the protagonists' life quite as Kingdom Come does. Even just watching my wife do mundane things like in-game cleaning up, sharpening weapons, and practising battle looked so fun in this game that I just had to start my own save. 

You can tell how much love the developers poured into Kingdom Come: Deliverance just by the attention to detail they've put into the making of the story. Any fan of historical accuracy and such will be happy to know that Warhorse Studios hired historians full-time to try and make the game as accurate as possible. I can't vouch for how well it went because I wasn’t born then but lemme tell you, it's incredible regardless.

A writer here at GameGrin wrote their opinion about this game, in case you wanna check out their review!

And that is it! Lemme know if I helped at all in finding something to play! Tweet at me, join GameGrin's Discord, or leave a comment below! Let's talk about it.