Karen: An Outrage Simulator
I went into this game expecting 45 minutes-1 hour’s worth of silly little content that would give me, someone who’s worked in food and retail, a good laugh.
What I got was 3 hours of organ rupturing good humored, nail on the head scenarios that were so scarily familiar but also insanely ridiculous.
Without spoiling anything (yes, yes, there is a plot, and it is delicious), you go through a good handful of incredibly unique, inconvenient situations that could truly happen to anybody. No level feels like a repeat, no joke feels overused or like low-hanging fruit (unless you count the entire premise of the game as low hanging fruit). If you play on Normal mode, you have to figure out how to manipulate different characters to get what you want purely through intuition and guess work, WITHOUT you (Karen) becoming outraged and making a disaster of the place.
– Real player with 4.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best Comedy Choose Your Own Adventure Games.
Similar to other reviews, I thought this game would be shorter…offering maybe an hour of content. I ended up streaming it for over 3 hours.
I played this with a couple of other friends and we all took turns voice-acting Karen and the other characters. We spent so much time laughing our sides were sore!
I’ve also worked 7 years in retail and, again like other reviewers, have encountered my fair share of “Karens” and this game accurately depicts the stereotypical Karen in her natural habitat.
– Real player with 4.0 hrs in game
MyHouseMyRules
It’s a fun game. I love the developer’s authoring approach, it’s really fun. 10/10
– Real player with 0.7 hrs in game
Read More: Best Comedy Perma Death Games.
I don’t know if I really totally recommend this. It was pretty scary and gave me quite a few jump scares. It was also pretty funny as well in the beginning. Towards the end it gave some homophobic jokes and also just the translation to English kinda got lost. Overall if you just look at the first 3/4ths of the game I would recommend it. If you want to watch my play through you can check out the link below.
– Real player with 0.6 hrs in game
HaremKingdom
9/10
20 hrs for a fast reader
18+ Patch: https://www.johren.games/games/download/haremkingdom-dlc-en/
For:
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People who want harem routes:
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People who want a light hearted comedy
Not For:
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People who want a deep story
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People who want a 1 on 1 relationship with a character
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People turned off by incest (half-sister)
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People annoyed by minor bugs with the VN system
HaremKingdom is the 2020 Smee game, winner of a 2020 pink award from Moe Game Award, the 4th officially localized Smee game, and the 1st one to be localized by Shiravune. Like in typical Smee fashion this is a very light hearted comedy featuring virgin heroines, but this time Smee uses the recently popular Isekai setting and features harems instead of single pairings. Also in typical Smee fashion, this is better than every Smee game that came before it, imo, but that recommendation comes with a lot of caveats.
– Real player with 67.2 hrs in game
Read More: Best Comedy Colorful Games.
I swear Japanese can actually make good comedy when they try, HaremKingdom is the proof. The game is absolutely littered with over-the-top humor and intentional ridiculousness, it takes tropes from isekai and fairytale fantasies and twists the shit out of them to fit into the game’s crazy story. Comedy is all about subverting expectations, after all. When it comes to jokes, well, it’s almost always the delivery that sells. And yeah… This game does deliver. Seriously, HaremKingdom is legitimately the funniest game (VN) I’ve played (read) this year, no contest. Royal Seal of Approval.
– Real player with 32.6 hrs in game
Wonderland Nights: White Rabbit’s Diary
You are the white rabbit working for the queen of hearts. There is a 4 day submit with the other kings and queens from the other countries in wonderland to decide how they will govern between war, magic, trade and borders. For the 4 days you’re there it’s your job to schedule the activities between the kings, queens and their daughters/sons/advisors.
Quite an interesting game, I’d say. Basically, you will unlock mini plots and stories between the characters depending on who you pair off with who. Re-playability is a given. It’s highly advisable to play it many many times to get all of the plots and it will involve a lot of trial and error for a lot of the acheivements without a guide. Luckily for you, 1 complete playthrough is quite short so you wont have to worry.
– Real player with 4.0 hrs in game
Plan B from Outer Space: A Bavarian Odyssey
A funny, replayable and “Zork-esque” Choose-Your-Own-Adventure game that compensate the shortness of a single run by offering lots of different choices that lead to extremely diverging paths and endings.
– Real player with 2.5 hrs in game
forgot to cover my space ship, created new beach front property, 10/10 would do it again.
– Real player with 1.6 hrs in game
Solar Echoes: The Star Legation
STORY
Soon after the alien races began to explore outside their own star systems, they discovered each other. Hostilities grew into skirmishes and eventually, wars. However, some still desired peace. We’ve been taught that the Interstellar Union was formed in the year 1,023 LN. And we’ve been told of the human, Trey Donovan, who led the peace legation to unite everyone across the stars.
Details beyond that are varied and embellished, but we do have records of Trey’s past. This man, now considered a legend, was no diplomat. He grew up in entirely human-centric surroundings and had never ventured beyond human territories. He was banished to an exile colony after a dishonorable discharge from the military. He received no training for the peace legation that he supposedly led. Trey’s only known redeeming quality was his leadership and success in bringing law to a planet overrun with criminals.
How did this man travel to alien worlds and speak before powerful leaders? How was this human able to convince those alien leaders to send a representative with him to join the Interstellar Union? How did he survive the dangerous journey through space among an alien crew, several which were technically still at war with each other? There are still many unanswered questions about Trey Donovan and his journey across the universe. What really happened aboard that starship?
ABOUT
Solar Echoes: The Star Legation is a Sci-Fi Visual Novel game with RPG elements, full of intriguing alien characters, bizarre foreign cultures, and interstellar conflict. Journey through space to gather and manage an alien crew, visit new worlds, negotiate with alien leaders, and even risk romance across the stars! Survival and success depends upon your choices and the reputation you’ve built among your alien crewmates. Can your diplomatic efforts with alien leaders lead to a peaceful alliance between all the races, or will you incite a massive interstellar war? Will your words bring unity, or chaos?
FEATURES
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The Star Legation’s beautifully authentic style blends realism with a cel-shaded, anime touch. Design, art, and audio create a unique space-opera atmosphere.
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100’s of decisions to make in this epic, choice-driven branching story
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Experience an engaging narrative filled with intrigue, humor, science, treachery, and heart.
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RPG elements with 8 different character design skill choices to make
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32 possible endings (including 5 main endings)
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Immersive and realistic dialogue: some character sprites have over 100 different expressions!
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Optional Romance story routes with 2 human characters
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Detailed background art, cinematic camera work, expressive character sprites, and animated sequences make this visual novel a dynamic experience!
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Build relationships with memorable characters and develop a reputation that will alter the course of the story!
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Over 20 hours of gameplay, with additional hours in alternate routes and endings
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Awesome SciFi soundtrack by composer Andy Mitchell, featuring over 75 minutes of original music!
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15+ High Res CG’s to unlock, designed by the talented artist, Aeghite!
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Hidden skill-related choices based on your character design that unlock extra routes
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Optional Combat (auto-win option), or Challenge Mode
The Grand Lord
I have tried the game only for two rounds yet I’ve already discovered some very surprising outcomes from different choices. The endings I’ve got is quite general thus I am really intrigued by the other possible ones for I’ve gone two opposite directions by being good and mean. The dialogues involved are quite interesting and the great colours are used as an indication for status. Recommend it!
– Real player with 1.8 hrs in game
Really enjoyed the game. Very funny and makes me want to beat all the endings as it’s very re-playable. Really glad i gave this game a shot, 100% worth giving it a shot
– Real player with 1.8 hrs in game
Renowned Explorers: International Society
For the TL;DR: Renowned Explorers is a shockingly-deep game about accumulating and utilizing knowledge that is shockingly-easy to get into.
Renowned Explorers: International Society is the most creative Roguelike I’ve ever played. One assembles a team of three explorers from a pool of 20 (24 with the Emperor’s Challenge expansion) and charges forth to exploit lands undiscovered by Europeans. Your goal is to amass as much wealth, reputation, and knowledge as possible, and become the most Renowned Explorer in the process.
– Real player with 430.3 hrs in game
I seduced a nun, got spat on by a llama, fought Charles Darwin riding a dinosaur, and made grown men cry. 1000/10
But if you need more of a reason to buy this game, here’s the breakdown: you play as a group of explorers, traveling the world, earning status and money while doing research, collecting treasures, and all around making a nuisance of yourself. It’s a turn-based strategy game with a really interesting mechanic: moods and attitudes. Each side of the battle (you vs. them) each have one of three attitudes (friendly, devious and aggressive), and the combination of your attitude and the enemy’s creates an overall mood (ex. hostile = both parties aggressive or persuasive = you friendly and them devious). Each mood has bonuses or penalties, and there’s a rock-paper-scissors system so you know which way to shift your attitude to get the bonuses and avoid the penalties. (Friendly beats devious, devious beats aggressive, aggressive beats friendly.) You win battles with your built-in powers. There is some overlap between characters on the powers, but not a lot. There are area attacks, line attacks, and single-target attacks, and by default every character has one attack from each attitude, plus some bonus ones that fit their own personal strengths and personalities. (Yes, seduce is an attack you can actually use, and no, it’s not gender specific). It’s good for all kinds of different playstyles.
– Real player with 188.1 hrs in game
🧠 OUT OF THE BOX
It really is a shame that this game doesn’t seem to be getting much attention. I think it is quite a hidden gem.
I really like the art style. All the character sprites just ooze personality. The only thing that bothers me a bit is that the idle animations in some cutscenes look a bit exaggerated, with some characters constantly headbanging for no reason. Less animation would have been more here. But I am willing to overlook that minor flaw because I just enjoy the style so much. Also, don’t let the cutesy look fool you. There are some really brutal scenes in this game.
– Real player with 12.1 hrs in game
It’s a good game where you play a bouncer hired by your maffia boss after being released from prison and no one else will give you a job, while all the while trying to stay on the straight and narrow and keep your bills paid. You have to check people coming into the night club for simple stuff to start with (dress code, ID, correct tickets, not under age, not drunk etc) but as things go along, you start getting extra requests and criteria to meet.
There’s a basic storyline. It doesn’t have many ways it can significantly branch from the linear storyline (so far the majority I tried don’t make a lot of difference or cause you to hit dead ends (sometimes literally.) So unless you enjoy the ticket checking side of things, replayability is limited. Checking tickets is fun and challenging for the first round, but does have threshold where it starts to lose its shine. (I kind of wish it was mixed up a bit with more variation.)
– Real player with 12.0 hrs in game