I recently got UFO50 after initially not thinking it is for me, but hearing about it in Grogpod got me interested. I was born 1990 so games from the 80s really have more of a relic character for me, but it is still really good! I got it on switch because I saw many of the games have a multiplayer mode and that is fun, too!

Some games from it I enjoyed so far:

• Porgi: submarine metroidvania where you need to collect fuel upgrades to dive/explore deeper and deeper
• Party House: roguelike deck builder / boardgame; bit like Dominion and fun game for wife and me but also fun alone
• Devilition: puzzle game
• Avianos: Turn based strategy / boardgame
• Rock on Island: Bloons style TD
• Magic Garden: snake like arcade game
• Golfaria: Golf 2d isometric metroidvania / zeldalike
• Onion delivery: 2d car driving kinda roguelike… reminds me a bit of GTA 2… hard as a brick though

Pro tip: get multiple legs and then the trade of movement speed for AC is super worth it and makes you insanely tanky.

I got myself Cross Blitz in the steam deckbuilder sale. It’s a very hearthstone inspired TCG / deckbuilder - even including some recognisable HS archetypes like thief rogue (lol). Defo scratches the HS itch for me, but if you haven’t played Hearthstone, you might find it a lot initially.

It has a story mode with separate story for each of the 5 classes and there it is really a TCG. I played through one of them and it was pretty good, but left me wanting for more (especially given the TCG nature). I’m sure if you play through all 4 storylines, you get your money’s worth, but there isn’t really a point where your deckbuilding skills are heavily challenged.

It also has a roguelite mode which seems pretty extensive with many unlockable characters/starting decks. I’m pretty far in that and it’s fun. It also has a hard mode, which is kinda needed, as normal is a bit on the easy side.

Generally wouldn’t say it’s super deep, the powerlevel of passive relics tips it more into a “build OP deck” playstyle. But it’s really fun and has a nice colorful and cure artstyle.

As I understand it, it’s not about “just chill by playing tetris”, but more uses tetris to reinforce another mental method to make intrusive visual memories less intense and prevalent.

After recalling a memory, participants learned how to use a cognitive skill called mental rotation, which involves rotating 2D and 3D shapes using your ‘mind’s eye’. They then used this skill to play a slower form of the video game Tetris, which similarly involves rotating geometric blocks. This is thought to occupy the brain’s visuospatial areas, competing with the visual flashback, weakening its vividness and emotional impact – and critically, the frequency with which it intrudes.

Started another run of Monster Sanctuary - one of my all time favorites. It’s a mix of Metroidvania and monster tamer and both parts work really well. Monster combat is teams of 3v3 and is pretty deep with individual skill trees for each monster and tons of synergies. Metroidvania elements also work really well - there is defo quite a bit openness to which area to explore first and there are also some optional and post game areas to find.

They also included some cool features for replayability - randomizer, permadeath for monsters, and a “bravery mode” giving you 1 random monster per area only for a cool challenge to come up with a build. I have over 10 playthroughs of it :D

There is also online pvp - not sure if the scene is still active, but there was an interesting tournament scene. I’m more about the single player though

Cool sounds good!

Not sure if it’s part of Winter Sale, but I’ll get Mandragora Whisper of the Witch Tree (I’ll get it on Switch though where it’s also on sale). A work colleague heartily recommended it to me and it looks like a cool game; 2d platformer with hard “soulslike” combat, but doesn’t look like it’s going too hard on the “soulslike”. Supposedly very good exploration.

Zelda Link’s Awakening … this one somehow has both the most Nostalgia and replayability for me even though I have also played the N64 Zeldas when growing up

Factorio - of course can’t go without Cracktorio

Caves of Qud - really good mix of roguelike and open world RPG. Lot’s of replayability as well.

Diablo 2 Resurrected - one of my favrotie games of all time. Got back into it recently on Switch and it’s just soo good. Also big Nostalgia for me

Mario Kart Double Dash - need to have something I can play with my wife and Mario Kart is just the Couch Multiplayer game. Double Dash is my favorite entry of the series as well

I’d say I hit a solid ish genre mix as well with it. Pity I couldn’t fit an FPS though

Whoa you put the tree into trees

Gem of a game! I kinda 100%ed it. I like how the difficulty is fair, but can be extremely punishing - one wrong move can fck you up big time. Like “ohhh I did not consider that this attack also pushes the monster D:”

Black Metal \m/

You need to find Allah

They announced some upcoming expansions, I wonder if one of those would address the “story always the same” part, since that does seem to be a common criticism

I got really deep into Caves of Qud (classic rogue like) after initially dropping it for being too difficult. It has a bit of a learning curve, but beyond that, it is really fun. Very engaging sci-fi fantasy world, lots of interesting things to do or see, some fun random quirks/jank, and very diverse character customization. I think what I love the most is that it’s a knowledge game, where you excel by learning some bits and tricks here and there, like the effects of cooking with certain ingredients or getting some special items with an important effect (aka cheesing stuff).

Also besides being a very hard roguelike, it is really chill in a way (also helpt by the music).

If you do have struggles with it, I can recommend giving roleplaying mode a spin, where you don’t have permadeath, or there is a website called qudzoo with some seriously good advice.