Don’t make fun of my category name, I couldn’t think of anything better. Am I even a gamer? Do the types of games I play count as being a “gamer”??
Anyway, games! I played more games this year than I ever have before, which is surprising considering the head nerve problem I developed last year that gives me headaches to look at electronic screens. But many of these games were entirely or partially accessible for blind players (which meant I could play with my screen off), and, interestingly enough, some of them I probably never would’ve discovered or tried if it hadn’t been for my problem.
To be fair, I only played maybe twelve new games this year, but—I’m being honest here—all ten of these were fantastic! A couple were maybe not quite for me as much as the others, but even those were still great games that I’d recommend.
Many of these are quick games that can be completed in half an hour to six hours. A few are even free. All of them can be found on Steam and/or Itch.io. And they’re all great. So, in no particular order, here they are!
*If you want to know more about the diversity and accessibility in these games, check out the games section of my Diverse Books/Games page!*
A Blind Legend
This is one that I never would’ve tried if not for my own disability, but I ended up loving it! The audio-only aspect was super cool and immersive, even if all the hacking and slashing made this easily stressed gamer sweaty with anxiety lol. For real though, I was surprised by how much fun I had (since I never play hack-and-slash games) and how accomplished I felt when I won.
Red Embrace
It’s no secret I love vampires, so this vampire visual novel was right up my alley. It only took me about seven hours to complete all four routes, but none of them felt lacking. I felt for these characters and rooted for their relationships, and funnily enough, I ended up liking the human romance options the most!
Cute Demon Crashers
This quick, free, NSFW visual novel was super cute and sexy! It was all about sex positivity and consent and even had choose-your-own-adventure sex scenes for each character. Gotta love that!
Arcade Spirits
I had a couple small issues with this one but overall found it a charming and sweet visual novel set in a similar time to ours, but with more arcades!
I Love You, Colonel Sanders!
I am legitimately recommending a Colonel Sanders dating sim because I legitimately loved it! I laughed SO MUCH. It is the perfect blend of humor and ridiculousness. It’s free. Go play it. Trust me.
The Good Time Garden
This game is just super weird (and NSFW), and I loved it! It’s also free and only takes about half an hour to play.
Grimm’s Hollow
This one is a quick, free, cute rpg that has a touching/bittersweet story element and a couple different endings.
[REVIEW SOON]
Blind Men
This fairly quick (about four hours) visual novel about a super villain set in a sort of alternate timeline was so much fun! It played with typical spy movie tropes and made me laugh a lot. I loved it.
As We Know It
This post-apocalyptic visual novel had drama and romance, but the best thing was how developed the characters were. All of them felt so fleshed out and realistic, and I loved the way feelings built up over time in the romance and also how each route allowed you to experience the story from a different perspective.
Overland
Oh gosh, I loved this game. I loved a lot of games, but I really loved this one. It has such fun and challenging gameplay, a cool post-apocalyptic setting and premise, beautiful graphics, wonderful attention to detail, casual inclusivity, and even though the “characters” are just randomized blocky people with two-sentence bios, it managed to make me care about them so much and feel real emotion for them. Just an incredible game!
I always find new stuff on steam. It’s dangerous for me to go there. 🙂 I think I remember you reviewing Arcade Spirit and that one does sound fun to me. Plus, I love arcades. The last one sounds fun too b/c apocalyptic roadtrip!
Lol there’s always new games to find! Yeah I did review that one, the arcade idea was fun. Overland is so good!
My grandson is 7 and has a Switch he plays after schoolwork. He’s always showing me what he’s playing since I don’t play games.
That’s sweet!
Sounds like these were all fun games. I liked reading about what you liked about these. And that’s interesting you discovered some games you wouldn’t have otherwise when you were looking for games you can play with your screen off. Overland sounds really good. And Cute Demon Crashers sounds fun too, yhat sounds neat how it has some sex positivity and consent in there as well.
I played some great games this year, mainly Outward and Eastshade. Maybe some others too, this year feels so long and I can’t really remember which games I played this year or earlier. I think you might like Eastshade, but as it’s mostly about exploration I don’t think it would really work without screen. I am currently playing a pokémon like game and it’s so fun and nostalgic. Games sure can be a great escape :).
I haven’t heard of those, I’ll have to look them up 🙂 Lol it gets confusing, time is weird. I keep a simple doc each year to kind of keep track. Not like the way I do with books, but just to remember what year I played a game, my personal rating, and thoughts or notes.
You totally count as a gamer. I hate the idea that ‘serious gamers’ always pay the big top rated games. I waste loads of time playing indie games (and The Sims) and so this list is awesome. I know I’ve seen these mentioned on your blog before but there are still a couple I really do need to get to playing.
I get so self conscious like I’m gonna be judged that I’m not gamer enough lol, but I hate that idea too. You should definitely check some of these out if they sound good to you, they’re so fun!