RPGCast – Episode 508: “I Need Waifus”

Fire Emblem Three Houses released this week and we’re (almost) all playing it – but there’s a bit of controversy afoot. Pascal talks about poor choices he’s made in other games. And the news section is all twisty, tumbly, and turvy. Now back to our respective waifus, husbandos, and depressing games…sos.

Question of the Week
Do you play “downer games” – ones with challenging, heavy themes like death and war with consequences?
Examples: Heavy Rain, Papers Please, Corpse Party, That Dragon Cancer, etc.

Check out the show notes here!

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5 Responses

  1. Shaymin Shaymin says:

    QotW: I’ve tried to play some really dark games, like Oninaki and Persona 3, but I’ve had to get out of them because of depression kicking in. I’ve watched a former roommate play Papers, Please and it wasn’t that bad… but the scariest thing about Heavy Rain is in the director’s chair.

  2. Krull Krull says:

    QotW: Never really gone out of my way to avoid or seek out downer games, but I’ve certainly played a few. Papers, Please is simply a really well-designed game, with a deliciously dark sense of humour alongside the oppressive police state atmosphere. This War of Mine does a good job of hammering home the senselessness of war – at least until the point when you crack the game’s systems and work out who can be killed with impunity. Corpse Party just scared the bejeebers out of me, but I eventually became numb to the darkness and, to my surprise, ultimately enjoyed it.

    A standout, for me, was Retsnom, which is a physics-puzzle-based adventure game on Steam and mobile. I did find that one unrelentingly bleak – but it was all the more memorable for it.

  3. FeatherHoof FeatherHoof says:

    QOTW: I think so, assuming your definition and mine line up. I’ve played games like Gone Home, Her Story, and Soma and absolutely loved them despite how they tug so hard at the feels. Maybe *because* they tug so hard at the feels. I’d even put Ori and the Blind Forest in this category, despite being primarily a metroidvania (albeit an extremely pretty one).
    I know many have a problem with David Cage games, but I played Beyond Two Souls and thoroughly enjoyed it.
    But the most emotionally impactful game I ever played was A Way Out. Me and my buddy were blubbering like babies by the end of it.

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