a real sleeper hit of 2022. it's gay, it's cute, it's delightfully humorous (made me genuinely sit back and cackle a few times already), it's got the requisite soundtrack* and pixel art you'd need from a classic RPG (as well as wonderful hand-drawn art), it's really affirming, and the mechanics are straightforward but slot nicely into the ludonarrative in fun ways (such as Melody and Allison kissing each other in battle to give each other stat boosts). if the name makes it sound porny or fetishistic, it is not at all, it's just a ball of earnest, unbridled gay cuteness. while I'm neither trans** or a lesbian (nor a furry, for that matter), it's just nice to see what is evidently great, natural representation like this for other queer folks. (for anyone curious—I'm aro/omni, so I've got a x2 multiplier of borderline absolutely nothing for personal queer representation :x)

its presentation can be a tad spartan (rebinding keyboard controls is slightly cumbersome, full-screen makes it a bit blurry), but these are minor quibbles in the face of what is by far one of the most fun RPG's of this year. between it and Chained Echoes, RPG fans are set this December. if I had to recommend one over the other? screw that, I say—pick this one up on Steam and Chained Echoes on Game Pass if you like the look of both and have to choose.

I wasn't aware of this game until I just saw it while perusing Steam's upcoming releases (apparently it's been in development for at least 5 or so years), but I pulled the trigger on picking this one up right away cuz it just looked so nice and the user reviews were promising. I'll have to join them in saying that you should absolutely check this out if you're on the lookout for great, queer indie games, great RPG's, and/or great comedy games, as it is certainly all three. furthermore, this is the first time I've seen trans representation in a commercially released RPG in this vein, and I think that's wonderful and worth celebrating unto itself.

UPDATE, 9 HOURS IN: just finished act 3. holy ♥♥♥♥, this is genuinely growing into, without hyperbole, one of my favorite games I've played, going by what I've seen thus far. while, yeah, it still knows how to make me laugh really hard (like the reveal of Nef, which I would not spoil the joke of, cuz it is absolutely perfect), and it's still very sweet—it also has some really effective, tense scenes depicting anxiety and self-loathing in a way that is very genuine. this game's the total package, and I can't wait to dive into more of it soon. please, do not write SLARPG off.

UPDATE, UPON FINISHING, 16 HOURS IN: yup, my expectations from the previous update have been confirmed. genuinely, truly incredible. felt like tearing up as the credits began rolling. not cuz the ending was sad necessarily (not that it wasn't sad—you should figure that out for yourself), but because of how beautiful the experience was and how perfect the note it leaves on is. I will eventually go back to it for some completionism and probably new playthroughs down the road, but for now—damn, what a game. completely blew away my limited expectations going in (thinking it'd be a cute, fun riff on classic RPG's with lots of queerness). outstanding.

*seriously, I need the OST on Bandcamp, it is exceptional. edit: turns out, it's due out next month, I just needed to check the game's website more closely. soon I will be able to listen to these absolute banger tracks on their own.

**lmao look at my dumb ass past self. an unmitigated egg in her natural habitat. I am, in fact, trans, and this game was the single biggest help in making me realize that. I don't experience much gender dysphoria, at all really, and I have had this little voice in the back of my head for the past few months asking me why this game spoke to me SO MUCH. then the floodgates opened, and I was asking questions like: why it kinda started to sting whenever I lied to myself and said that I am cis. why people blasting me with transphobia (while still an egg, who thought she was just a good, cis friend and ally to trans folks) started to feel more and more personal. and why is it that people calling me "ma'am" at work felt right—and, it's like, "OH MY GOD, YOU ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ NERD." I have felt AMAZING since finally admitting that I am trans to myself. I always have known that I never cared about being a man (I just said, "eh, I guess"), but I didn't seriously consider that I do care about being a woman. a lot.

so... thanks, ponett. I cannot say enough of them. not only is the game hilarious, and heartful, and grand, but it taught me so much about myself. I don't think I'm strong enough to say that this is the single greatest game ever yet, but I am going to have to admit something else: it is certainly my favorite, and the one that means the most to me.

for more thoughtful recommendations of the best games on Steam, check out my curator, The Absolute Finest.

you don't need me to tell you that Hades II is already on its way to being a masterpiece and surefire GOTY whenever it releases--it's a Supergiant game. they simply don't do anything less than masterful. hell, even if they never updated this again, it'd certifiably be well worth its current asking price, without question. it feels dumb trying to explain why it is so good--again, it is entirely obvious that it'd be a modern marvel. coming from arguably the best developer studio currently active (perhaps ever? who else has 5 masterpieces in a row that run the gamut like Supergiant?), hot off the heels of a blindingly obvious all-time great in Hades 1, it would be an unforeseen, tragic fall from grace if this was even "merely good."

in spite of it feeling magnificently dumb to have to say "oh, this is so artfully crafted in its narrative, and combat, and dialogue, and music, and characters, and sound effects, and visuals, and voice acting, and..."--it is all of that. but it also goes in some fresh directions from Hades. don't mistake me for meaning that this is not a faithful sequel (it is), but it expands upon the world, the cast of characters, the boons, and introduces a new magic system (more or less meaning all of your charged attacks have to come from mana), as well as a moon magic system that effectively replaces the god gauge (though it works quite differently in terms of charging your chosen boon and how the spells from it work). it pushes the story forward in exciting new ways. just an EXCELLENT game all around, as we all expected, and I can't wait to spend more time with it.

for more thoughtful recommendations of the best games on Steam, check out my curator, The Absolute Finest.