More than Nothing: Partopian Police

[Part of the Party Time journal]

Having been arrested and stripped of all gear, the teens find themselves in an arena with seventeen other prisoners in a trial by combat against four sabretooth cats! Ughh spends most of his time convincing the other NPCs to fight while Jerghonson makes the cats hit each other while Aah and Mamita dextrously do acrobatics to avoid them. Ultimately, all the cats are slain and the eight survivors (the four PCs, their friends Waywocket and Rowina, and previous race contestants Yuriet and Crixus) are congratulated by Praetor Artorias who then recruits them into his army so that they can be more than nothing. 

It is night time, beneath a handful of stars, when the recruits officially graduate and are given clubs and blue tunics. Captain Tamir tells them that Aeteran Emperor Julian is in need of man power in a war against the hordes of Bhir'Beli to the South, so the new recruits will serve as the Partopian police force while veteran soldiers are sent off to battle. 

Their first few missions are simple affairs: clearing out a blockage in the sewer caused by some whack job trying to make bigger rats, find the stolen offering box from the temple of Koochikoo (stolen by the simple groundsman who wanted to impress a girl but the girl then tossed it in the river, Ughh makes her go swim for it), and being temporary prison guards to an underground jail where incarcerated criminals were recently vanishing (one of the locked up people was a shape shifting slime, eating the others in their sleep - set on fire by Aah after Ughh discovers it).

They also retrieve a wagon for caravaner Jhonen from some bandits who pose as farm hands who are no match for the team that have a surprisingly cinematic fight sequence with them (the players tell me what they do and the dice decide if it works or not, I only decide the effectiveness of the action or the repercussions for failure).

Plot armor was used this time (mainly in the arena)!

Jerghonson had a sibling Jimgonson who was always his biggest rival as he was much wiser, claiming "you're not smart enough to read my books!"

Mamita always had a hard time making friends because she's smarter than them.

Ughh has a story when his caretakers lost him in a forest as he was "hiding in the shadows". Ever since that time could merge with the shadows as long as no one is looking.

Aah was a street orphan but she was taken in by Governor Quintus. While delivering vegetables for Quintus to a market stall one day she gave some to a beggar figuring they wouldn't be missed.

More than Nothing: Those Thieving Teens

[Part of the Party Time journal]

At Partopia (after a time skip), a bunch of teenagers including Ughh, son of Ugh (Juris), Aah, daughter of Sith (Rose), Mamita, the daughter of Mama (Mom), and Jerghonson, the son of Jerghon the great (DL) have been roped in by their friends Waywocket and Rowina into a race across the city for some free drinks. Mamita ends up winning this with Aah's help, who physically body blocked Yuriet, another race competitor into a river.

Enjoying their drinks at the tavern they learn of another contest, this time one of thieving. The rules are no killing, no buying, and only it can only be a singular item (so lots of coins won't count) from within the city of high worth to impress the thief "king" Autolycus who promises a nice reward to the winner. Rowina and Waywocket want to participate and be more than nothing and... I am surprised my usually goody two shoes players goes for it! Getting some promising leads from the bartender they all pick different targets to rob!

Aah and Waywocket steal a jeweled crown from a jeweler's store via some Mission Impossible skylight acrobatics, Jerghonson frees a harem of high value slaves from a slave trader via distracting the guards away, and Ughh has a challenging time breaking into Governor Quintus' manor fortress via wall climbing, sneaking past multiple guard patrols and breaking into the Governor's vault which is only filled with sentimental artifacts like an arrowhead and a broken sword. 

Mamita has the easiest time plucking an "Everliving flower" from the temple of Koochikoo (a diety of growth) but the "Everliving" part turns out to be a lie as it wilts just as she presents it to Autolycus. Also fake is the crown Aah stole from the jewelers as it is the replica Autolycus placed there himself after he stole the real thing. The thief king refuses to put a value on the lives of the slaves Jerghonson rescued, disqualifying him from the contest but at the same time earning some massive applause as that well known slave trader he stole them from is a douche, and Ughh's stolen trinkets get him nowhere. (PCs didn't ask around enough for better targets) 

Despite losing the contest (some kid got the key to the city somehow lol) all participants are given a small gem as a token of Autolycus' appreciation before he then sets up a different challenge: the assassination of Governor Quintus! The team decide to nope the hell out of that one but as they are leaving soldiers (having been tipped off) arrive and arrest the vast majority of them (Autolycus escapes) and they soon find themselves sent to the arena for the amusement of the crowd...

Paradise Killer Trash Goblin Sunderfolk

Three chillaxing games.

Paradise Killer

In this first person detective game you need to find out who killed a bunch of people on Paradise island. With easy controls, a very beautiful 3D map and a cool sound track it really makes it an inviting place to explore. I do wonder then why the place is populated only by a dozen or so 2D anime sprite characters who don't move? There's a bit of backtracking to talk to people and find things but my main problem is that in the game's narrative the world is about to end and reset anyway so it feels like its all for naught and doesn't matter. This one is an odd duck for sure.

Trash Goblin

In this game you are a newbie goblin tinkerer in a fantasy city with an endless supply of junk that you need to chisel the grime off, clean and possibly put together to then sell to visitors that come by (or at the market when you unlock that) - and then you can upgrade your tools and little basement shop using said funds. So its a lot like Toy Tinkerer which I really enjoyed until they put so much grind into it. While this one also has a bit of grind, there's also a story to follow which I very much appreciate - and there's no real negative consequences to deal with. Can't supply what someone is asking for? It's ok, they'll come back another time. Run out of money? No problem, you'll be able to sell stuff eventually and your shop somehow has ZERO expenses (all expenses are just to make your life easier) so you can just ignore everyone / close the store window and focus on assembling stuff if you like. I really like this one. :) 

Sunderfolk

This game feels like Gloomhaven light. In it you play a fantasy party who take turns strategizing and battling on hex maps using your available "cards" to move. Unlike Gloomhaven those cards aren't "two sided" and don't get removed from your deck. The story and art is pretty cute and the town interactions are fine, but most of the game is the combat itself which is pretty decent - until they slowly but surely push every encounter more into the "puzzle" territory rather than keep it tactical. Once it got to the bit where I had to position enemies and characters on pressure plates at the same time,  which is easy enough but freaking annoying, it no longer was fun for me.

Doomblade Arranger Down in Bermuda

Three Epic freebies that aren't so epic.

Doomblade

This platformer has you playing as an imp who follows some whispers that lead her to the titular sword (an opening that worked for Conan right?). This sword is bloodthirsty though and soon enough you'll be backtracking your way through enemies like mad. Backtracking. I hate it. Also there's a strange design decision here where your character is actually kinda slow and not super agile, but if there's an enemy you can click on with your mouse cursor you fly directly at it with the sword. Half the time this kills them. The other half it just stuns them because they are needed for platform traversal. I didn't like it.

Arranger

This is a super strange puzzle game because when you move, everything in your row or column moves with you - looping around to opposite ends if possible. This means the fastest way down a hall is usually to walk into the wall behind you so that you appear on the other end! That sounds neat, but most of the game is trying to move stuff to exact places, and not everything can be conveyor belted around. You want to kill that worm thing in the way? Work out how to move the sword to its face. You want to open the locked door? Work out how to move the key from point A to point B. It's definitely different, and while I didn't mind the village stuff as there's story there - once you get out into the wilderness it feels like there are puzzles in the way just for the sake of puzzles being in the way.

Down in Bermuda

In this kiddie friendly puzzle game you move from island to island after unlocking the "gates" in each, but the game play is more akin to Boxes: Lost Fragments where the islands themselves serve as a box that you (as god/the player) can manipulate which is really handy because these islands have buttons, levers, and locks that need keys? Not the sort of puzzle game I thought it would be. Not recommended.

Fear the Spotlight and Sorry We're Closed

Two horror LGBT Games.

Fear the Spotlight

A nerdy girl agrees to help her goth chick crush sneak into the school library to conduct a seance during a thunderstorm and, yeah - bad things start to happen! With blocky graphics and an intentionally bad shaky cam this actually isn't a bad horror game that's decent at building tension with some decent jump scares and a "sneak past the monster mechanic" while solving the puzzles that keep increasing in difficulty. I was pleasantly surprised by this one - it might not look like much but its pretty good. Recommended!

Sorry We're Closed

Keeping in vein with the above, this game has got demons and monsters and possibly zero straight characters and a bit of a step up art wise, though a fair bit of it is odd. It isn't a stealth game though and instead plays more like Resident Evil with all its fixed camera angles and needing to save at pay phones. While its still a horror (of a more adult variety) its not as scary as the above, simply because you can fight and destroy the monsters in your way. It's annoying that they respawn though, and that there's a fair bit of backtracking. While I liked this one, I felt Fear the Spotlight is better.

Eurovision 2026

This years Eurovision has come and gone, and surprisingly there was a shortage on "women lacking gowns". Instead we got nice gowns, some opera, men in armored gowns, face masks, a silver man, a cat man, a banging Moldovan song, a trip back in time with nice dance moves, some mandatory witches, someone setting the stage on fire, a bonkers UK entry, and a few acts into rope play? The winner had a pretty catchy tune, and I think you can appreciate the awesome choreography more from this audience POV video! That last link is a must watch!

I also very much appreciated the Wasted Boat comedy opening by the hosts which is a parody of last year's winning song, Wasted Love.

For some bonus non-Eurovision tunes, here's Lyv's bardic music channel once again - she's been making a whole bunch of songs! And if you need something *much* heavier after all that, how about "Wrecking Ball, but in the style of Linkin Park"?

Take it easy everyone! :)

Mongil: Star Dive and Girl's Front Line 2: Exilium

F2P games with gacha fanservice!

Mongil: Star Dive

This game is set in a fantasy land where fauna are starting to exhibit violent tendencies and its up to a squad of monster -hunter- tamers to sort it out. Good graphics, excellent animation, an interesting actiony fight system and a good dose of humor are all very welcome surprises in here (as well as being simpler than some of its competitors). The humor especially as the game plays out much like a comedy, including the "taming" process itself. 

That said it is still very "new" with lots of empty unused spaces that you can just tell will be for future content. Also the leveling up system for your random party and their gear, is quite a grind once you hit those level walls which you'll get to sooner than you think. Again, it might just be a case of being new but that killed the game for me.

Girl's Front Line 2: Exilium

This game is set in a post apocalyptic land where fauna ARE violent, just like the numerous PMCs you go up against with your squad of combat "dolls". Yep, its very Ghost in the Shell here with disposable bodies, body parts, and consciousness backups and uploads. Combat here plays more like XCOM and has a puzzle challenge component to it (kill 3 guys in the first round etc) which is neat - though you can also get one support "doll" from someone else and just deploy a level 60 each time to power your way through. :P

The story pieces come in fully voiced (no English dub) visual novel style which I find annoying, but the stories themselves are pretty neat and the art is quite good. While there's also a grindy component to level up your squad its easier to do so here than in Mongil, and because its an older game there are many game modes available to play through even if you find yourself lacking resources or levels to forge on through the main story. Recommended, but be careful as this is an addictive time sink!