Why you should read this paper

Gaming is super popular these days, with games such as Minecraft, GTA, and Fortnite taking over YouTube and being viral sensations. I mean, if you haven’t heard of these games are you living under a rock? (No, seriously, are you okay?) Whether you call yourself a niche gamer, a casual gamer, or just a normal person who likes to have fun, we all have one thing in common: overspending. Now don’t lie, all games you have cost an absurd amount of money (seriously, Nintendo, why do you want me dropping $60 on Mario Party?) and you are sitting waiting until you have enough to get your hands on that shiny new game. But here I propose a solution: spend your money now, on these more cost-effective weird games. Believe me, they are worth it. 

What is a “Niche Gamer”? 

Now if you were confused by the title and want to know what the heck a “niche gamer” is, let me explain it to you. The easiest way to describe a niche gamer is to think of that really annoying kid (we all know one) who goes “I bet you haven’t heard of this” or “If you’re a real fan name five things about it.” Niche gamers can usually be stuck up, but some are tolerable. That is beside the point, but you probably know a niche gamer, someone who plays the most obscure games and doesn’t like too many popular games. A real “indie-head” as I would put it. Well, now that you read that terrible explanation we can move on to the games themselves. 

Game One: Katamari Damacy Reroll 

Genre: Third-person puzzle-action

Price: $30 (digital) 

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, Google Stadia, Xbox One

How long does the game take? 

~5 hours to complete and ~15 hours to 100% 

What is it about? 

Katamari is about everything and nothing. It follows The Prince of all the Cosmos, played by you, and his quest to roll up a bunch of stuff to replace the stars, constellations, and the moon. These were all destroyed by his father, The King of all the Cosmos, and now he is forcing you to fix it. There are little clips after each level that show a family watching constellations or stars come back. This little family has their own story of how they see this all happening, after all the Prince is about five centimeters tall and barely seeable. The story isn’t the greatest and most intricate, but it is weird. 

Quirks: 

You roll up anything and everything. From spoons and thumbtacks to people and the Kraken. The prince is rolling around a huge mass of chaos while still remaining five centimeters. At one point, when you are big enough to roll up people, they start to run from you. 

This game looks and sounds easy enough, but it is actually strangely difficult. Each level has a different time limit and size goal (which gets bigger for each level). The game is filled with color and the art style is very pleasing.

Final Thoughts:
If you’re a completionist, you will scream a lot, but not that annoying painful scream, just a mildly frustrated scream. (Completionists know what I mean, I hope.) If you like to mindlessly play games, this also is a great game. Just roll around and have fun. 

Game Two: Va-11 Hall-a: Cyberpunk Bartender Action

Genre: Simulation, Visual Novel

Price: $15 

Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS, PlayStation Vita, Macintosh operating systems

How long does the game take? 

~10-11 hours to complete and ~18-20 hours to obtain all the endings

What is it about? 

The story follows Jill, a bartender at Va-11 Hall-A, as she serves customers and helps them while coming to terms with her past and future. It is set in a post-dystopian cyberpunk city where corporations are in power and everyone has internal nanomachines to suppress them. The gameplay is a true simulation of what bartending is like: serving the customer a drink and therapizing them or enjoying a casual conversation. Jill meets a multitude of characters from Kira-Miki, a pop idol, to Donovan D. Dawson, the chief editor of a popular newspaper. The gameplay allows the player to slow down and enjoy the dialogue and story, rather than rushing and trying to complete orders. As the game progresses you learn more and more about the characters and get some strong character development for how short this game is. 

Quirks: 

The most recurring characters are super quirky and interesting. You have Dana, the boss of the bar, who says the strangest things and has a mysterious secret. There’s talking shibas and corgis, one who becomes a co-worker in a sense. Alma, a lady hacker with a cybernetic arm, and Dorothy. Ah, Dorothy is inappropriately hilarious. She is an android and a prostitute, which leads to some fun dialogue interaction between her and Jill. Jill has her own dialogue which is predominantly sassy and annoyed. You can also decorate your apartment and talk to your cat Fore (it’s really Jill giving him a voice—very cute).

Final Thoughts: 

I really like this game, and even though I have completed all six endings, I keep going back to play it. The dialogue is so fun to read, and it has its serious moments. The ending is satisfying, but I wish the game was longer so that there could be more development of relationships between certain characters (you’ll know who I’m talking about when you play the game). It’s not a hard game and it’s not a confusing setting (like most dystopian/cyberpunk games) and is really chill. The score is great, the character designs are fantastic, and the plotline is easy to follow. 

Game 3: My Friend Pedro: Blood. Bullets. Bananas. 

Genre: Platform, Shoot’em up (action) 

Price: $20

Platforms:  PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, Xbox One

How long does the game take?

~4 hours to complete and 7.5 hours to 100% 

What is it about? 

You play as the unnamed protagonist who is instructed by a sentient banana named Pedro to kill certain people. You start with an arms dealer named Mitch, then you move on to a few others. The game is about friendship, imagination, and control, ending with a surprise twist. 

Quirks: 

A sentient banana. He talks to you, and he is a banana. The protag is a dual-wielder, so you can control both of the guns separately to aim at two targets at once. It has a little bit of platforming but mostly just shooting all the bad guys. The fight scenes can be moderately difficult especially because of the third-person view and having to control both arms, but once you get the hang of the controls battling is a breeze. When you murder the “bad people” (as Pedro calls them), they fall and there’s a splash of blood that comes from them, so if you don’t like blood, this game isn’t for you (there’s a lot of it and a lot of killing). 

Final Thoughts: 

It’s not a story-heavy game and is rather an action-based shoot-and-kill game. It is fun to play, and the length is good for this type of game that can get repetitive after a while. The soundtrack is great as well as the visuals. Plus, it is pretty humorous at times. 

Game 4: Indivisible 

Genre: Action RPG, Platformer

Price: $40

Platforms:  PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS, Nintendo Switch, Classic Mac OS

How long does the game take?

~18 hours to beat and ~30 hours to 100%

What is it about? 

The story follows Anja, the “daughter” of a hero who helped save the world by stopping Kala (The Goddess of Life and Rebirth) from recreating the world, as she discovers more about her Father’s past, where she comes from, more about the world, and how to save it. The cast of characters is pretty big, with a bunch of playable characters and non-player characters (NPCs). Anja is your stereotypical bubbly, stubborn teenager and sometimes you can get annoyed with her rash decisions, but she is a great leading character. She is forced to befriend an enemy and meets several other characters who help her on her journey. 

Quirks: 

The weird thing about Anja is that she absorbs the other characters in her brain. She accidentally did it at first and has come to accept she can just harbor people in her brain and be a traveling roster basically. You are able to go into her mind and talk to the characters you have collected so far and level up your defense and attack powers. The battle sequences are like a clicker game, but you need to time blocks in order to not take as much damage. Battling can be repetitive but addicting. The art is hand-drawn, and the animation is truly adorable. The cut-scenes seem like a cartoon or comic book, which is great in helping understand what is going on. The platforming is just platforming, but the world is pretty big and there are four or five places to travel to and platforms around looking for Ringets (that can level up your attack and defense). As you progress you get more and more special moves to use in platforming, such as smashing through doors, double jump, pogo-stick (it’s actually very useful), and air dash. 

Final Thoughts: 

This game is pretty unique, both in the story and in the gameplay. I really enjoy this game and over the break played all of it and am currently in the process of completing it. The platforming can be annoying (because I hate platforming and am bad at it), but even though I hate it, it’s really fun to explore. The battles are so fun but can take too long sometimes if you don’t level up your attack and defense. I love the cast of characters, and if you’re a fan of platforming, story, or love the art style, it’s a great choice to play. 

Animation link if you’re interested: https://www.gamereactor.eu/video/468153/Indivisible+Opening+Animation/

  Game 5: Omori

Genre: RPG, adventure

Price: $20

Platforms:   PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, macOS, Xbox One, Nintendo 3DS, Microsoft Windows, Macintosh operating systems

How long does the game take?

~20 hours to complete and a whopping 68 hours to 100% 

What is it about? 

The game focuses on Omori, a colorless (most likely to represent depression) young boy, as he travels the world with his friends and helps the people he meets. The game is categorized as a psychological horror, so it’s not as innocent, sweet, and colorful as the world and art seem to be. The plot really dives into depression, mental illness, and trauma. It deals with the heavy theme of death and suppressing memories that are associated with trauma. Omori opens with the text of “the story is already over, you just have to remember.” I haven’t finished the game and I’m only five hours in (prologue completed and start of chapter one), and the story is already pretty developed and interesting. 

Quirks: 

The world called Headspace, where Omori takes place for most of the game (at least the first few parts) has parts of it that are just blank. Omori’s room is bare, with just a computer and a shelf and a bed. As you move on into the next area, more and more color comes into the game until you reach the playground. The world is super colorful and cutesy, very retro, and like Earthbound (also known as the Mother series, which this game was inspired by). You move in a group with Omori as the leader and his friends following behind him. The battle sequences are turn-based with your party going against loveable characters (and maybe some terrifying ones) and implementing the use of emotions (like type matchups in Pokemon) to win (if you want to). If one of the party members gets KO-ed, they just turn into toast (their picture turns into a piece of toast). The artwork is very simple but can be dark and psychedelic at times, which I really enjoy.  

Final Thoughts: 

I may have only started this game, but it is really exciting. I typically can’t play adventure games too long (sorry, FF7, I will eventually pick you back up again soon…) because I get bored of repetitive battle sequences and worldview, but Omori isn’t too bad. I’m really excited to finish it and probably cry over the story. It’s not for the faint of heart, but if you enjoy a story-heavy game with adventure elements, this is a perfect game for you. 

Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you found at least one game to possibly play. Let me know if you have any game recommendations, and I can review them in a later paper. I might do a lore paper and dive into the story of certain games or movies, so let me know what you want to read! I’m always around campus near the Quad. So, if you see me around, feel free to come up and talk!