Super exciting set of games here! Been really fun going through each with the fam. Windblown may be a bit violent, but we've been playing Dead Cells, Hades II and Cult of the Lamb… so we're ok with it when it's in good taste.
Oddada #
Get this game and get a bunch of cool instruments and effects that you use in a 6 part level to create a song. The song gets stashed on a cassette tape, which you get to design and put in a carrying case.
The songs guide you really well, there's tons of creative possibilities. Everyone in the fam has made a song, and each wants to make another. Very fun, 15-20m creative time making a song through a random but guided experience with strange but familiar instruments.
Plucky Squire #
Be the hero in the book, and help him transcend the page and enter the kid's desk where it's being written. At first the game feels like Zelda on Super Nintendo, side scrolling to different map areas, but cleverly doing it like it's a page turn. But then things break that 2D barrier.
Not only is the art cute, the story telling and narration spectacular, but it's just rad to jump off the page as the hero. The game has you cleverly rewrite the story, bring things from the real world into the book, and even play a Guitar Hero style battle or 2.
A very cool family story time experience.
Windblown #
From the creators of Dead Cells, a rapid paced metroidvania type dungeon crawler I loved, comes a 3D crawler that feels like a blend of Hades II and Dead Cells.
Tiny Glade #
Cozy up in this specialized design tool for building castles and cottages. We've spent hours in here already, just dreaming and molding the land to the perfect abode.
The design tools are entirely custom made, and it shows as the game is often described as cozy. How could design tools feel cozy when they sometimes they feel like a battle?! This game nails it, and makes me wish there was a web design tool that got the same cozy reputation… somehow.
Driftwood #
My buddy suggested this game to me because I love the OlliOlli series, aka it's good for hitting that zen vibe when nailing something super technical. Well…
I played this game with my kids and it immediately turned into a comedy. Within 20m my kids were cry laughing from watching my sloth ragdoll after I biff on the skateboard. Not exactly the gift my friend was suggesting, but a gift nonetheless.
Hidden In Plain Sight #
This is an oldie but goodie, a coop game that always results in a fun time. The premise is, you need to become invisible in the crowd of CPU characters. There's a few different mini games that involve this strategy, but they always pit you against the other players, where some are hiding and some are seeking.
I've got the kids playin it with their friends and the funniest phrase gets yelled out while they're playing:
I found myself!
They yell this because at the start of each level, there's like 50+ random characters on the screen, and no one knows which one is them at first. You have to find yourself, stay hidden like a computer moving dork, and the others are hunting for your human movements. Very silly to role play like a random computer character.
