Important Announcement:
This Wednesday will be the first episode of Pete Plays, where my roommate (that’s all he is to me) will be playing Dark Souls 3 while I watch, comment, and gently guide. He has never played or explored the idea of playing Dark Souls. This is gonna be a thrill I promise, because we are going to be relatively intoxicated. We will be live on my Twitch channel weekly starting THIS Wednesday @ roughly 7:30 PM EST. So tune in and have fun :)
Welcome back Bronze Buds!
Bronze Buds is a recurring segment where friends of Bronze League talk about some of their favorite games and why they would recommend them.
If you sent me your game rec and you don’t see it here, it may not be posted this week but it will get posted! Thank you for your patience <3
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As always, please be sure to check out the folks who gave their time to chat about these games. They put aside their time and energy for Bronze League, so all I ask is that you do the same in return! All of the names in the headlines are hyperlinks, so check out these Bronze Buds and the games they recommend!
Taco Terry - World of Horror (2019)
Retro RPG rouge lite inspired by Junji Ito.
That’s it, send tweet...
Ok but that really doesn’t do a service for the number of horror references and 90’s adventure RPG influences. The 1-bit style and soundtrack are banging too, something about the retro graphics makes you feel alive.
The gameplay consists of solving 5 random mysteries, culminating in the ascension the lighthouse as a final challenge. The mysteries have you moving around town collecting items, recruiting classmates, facing combat encounters and avoiding that creepy neighbor who has been stalking you. Despite being 1-bit style the game has a modern, intricate level of systems to manage. Thankfully it plays more like a puzzle than a survival game; your brain will be your most important tool when navigating this seaside town.
Good horror games that don’t rely on jump scares are hard to come by but World of Horror managed to unnerve me frequently. Don’t worry though, the shibe that runs the town shop is always there to bring levity. If you are a fan of uzumaki, lovecraft, or J-horror in general, I cannot recommend World of Horror enough.
Austin O'Connell - Oxygen Not Included (2017/2019)
Oxygen Not Included is a base building / colony sim game by Indie developer Klei Entertainment. I consider myself a big fan of indie games and Klei is among the greatest in my opinion. They make other games such as Griftlands, Don't Starve, and Invisible Inc. I recommend trying all of these titles but Oxygen is by far the standout for me.
Oxygen is a very unique colony sim in a genre that can definitely be overly repetitive or cookie cutter. It blends a lot of different survival systems together in both a satisfying and challenging way. Disclaimer: Oxygen Not Included IS A VERY HARD GAME, at least until you've spent a couple hours playing it and understand the different systems and hazards in the game. You must ensure your base has enough oxygen rich areas, ensure no toxic gases enter the base, make sure your colonists have enough quality food, the list goes on. My first playthrough ended about 15 mins in when I delayed constructing bathrooms and all of my colonists poo'd their pants simultaneously filling the air with polluted oxygen. If I could draw similarities to any other game it would be Rimworld (AMAZING Game). While there are so many differences between the two games and Oxygen is definitely less combat focused, I found the UI to be pretty similar between the two.
If you love this genre of game and you are looking for a challenge, I highly suggest this game. If you are not a fan of the genre, you will probably only find this game frustrating. It currently sits at an overwhelmingly positive on Steam. Read or watch other reviews, there's nothing but love for this game.
James_Kung - The Lord of the Rings - Third age (2004)
Ever thought to yourself, “Hmm, I wonder how good the Lord of the Rings (LOTR) is going to be in an open world turn based RPG format”? EA games got that answer hot and ready in this 2004 LOTR RPG game right here, given it was a game from over a decade ago but for me it really holds up to the trial of time.
I came across this gem when I just finished the good old movie-game of the LOTR franchise, and I was desperately craving some RPG game but the FF series was a little bit too much for my pea brain to handle. Picture this, back when the pamphlet in the game box still served its purpose and you are reading it intensely on your way home after copping, remember how good it felt?
With the movie trilogy out already, they had the advantage of building a robust foundation for the story, you get to play as Berethor, Idrial, Elegost, Hadhod, Morwen that represents different class in a RPG game while tightly tied to the main characters in it’s own way. Experiencing the adventure of the fellowship in an independent way, i.e. Your party and Frodo were both in the mines of Moria at the same time and crossed path when Gandalf stayed to fight the Barlog. The best part? This is where the game cleverly let you cross path and fight alongside with him! Aside from the story, you also get to walk around the semi-open world Middle Earth and explore and encounter enemies on your way, gathering loot after every battle and deck out your characters while utilizing every item to stay alive through the big battles happening throughout the movie. While my English was trash as a middle school boy, spending an entire afternoon googling the meaning of each item and compile a huge notebook of map doodles and item doodles has been my fondest memory playing this game.
After 17 years, I still have flashbacks of the grand battle and me as a kid strategizing over how to beat Grima’s ass, defending Helms deep or fighting that giant eye face to face in the end while Frodo is busy whining and crawling towards the butt crack of mount doom. It was a dream come true for me and I think everyone who grew up with the LOTR saga can enjoy this game as much as I did.
alpal - PGA Tour 2K21 (2020)
I don’t play sports. I don’t watch golf. I’m terrible at video games that require any specialized skill. I love relaxing sounds, music, and white noise. I LOVE PGA Tour 2K21. Let me revisit one of those first little sentences real quick - “I’m terrible at video games that require any specialized skill”. This still applies to PGA ‘21, I am insanely bad, I literally haven’t qualified for the first tour in the career of this game, but I still find myself coming back. There’s a weird ASMR value to this game that I can’t find anywhere else. The sounds of nature, the low, casual, almost careless voices of the announcers, and that beautiful sound when the club hits the ball. Never have I felt so relaxed sucking at a game before. I really don’t have anything else to say about this game, I haven’t progressed enough to know about upgrading clubs. I haven’t improved my swing timing or gotten smarter when accounting for the weather. I’m bad and I love it.
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