I stumbled across Astral Chain when I saw a trailer for it when I was a younger and thought "huh, that looks cool" and got it for Christmas on a whim. ...I poured way more hours into that game than I thought I would. I grew up a Nintendo kid so a lot of the games you've mentioned earlier in the video were ones I was always familiar with. In fact, I was surprised by how many of these I recognized, and even more by the fact that I didn't consider a lot of them "niche". But that might just be my Nintendo background. I guess I just haven't been as exposed to the whole Xbox/PlayStation AAA Game player community as much, which makes me look at gaming slightly differently. My favorite niche indie game is Opus: Echo of Starsong. It's more of a visual novel almost, incredibly narrative focused, with deep worldbuilding, lovable characters, and a heart-wrenching story that almost made me cry, and it's rare for a story to do that. It's a game I recommend to gamers, but also people who don't really play games, because it's not a hard game, and it's really about the world and story more than anything. It's definitely worth checking out.
Astral Chain and Spiral Knights being mentioned is a W in my book. Can't say anything bad about Astral Chain since it's still available, though finding a physical copy might be tough. Spiral Knights is one of the games I've probably spent the most hours on, even before I started playing on Steam. It's a shame they pumped a lot of microtransactions and premium currency into the game, even before it was mainstream, it really made the game go downhill from what it once was. Still, the game is an absolute gem. The soundtrack is great, the combat is simple but fun, worldbuilding is great, armor pieces are interesting. Would recommend if it still had a bigger playerbase.
I just want to say "Thank You" for introducing Xenoblade to me in your Elden Ring video. It's like you have opened a pandora's box for me. It's been so much fun experiencing Xenoblade blind. The childlike wonder I seemed to have lost somewhere is back again. Hats off to you.
You have no idea how happy I am to hear that :) Really glad that you're having a good time with it! And I also wish you a lot of fun with the rest of the series!
It's really important to have an open mind and trying new thing (not just in gaming, but life in general ahah). During the pandemic I tried Ace Attorney games and now I'm a huge fan of detective/visual novel (Danganronpa, Zero Escape, AI: The Somnium Files, Emio, etc). 😁
I didn't list any games last video so I'll do that now. I recommend Maze of Galious for MSX, Legacy of the Wizard for NES, Ys IV: Dawn of Ys for PC-Engine CD, Sweet Home for Famicom, Monster World IV for Mega Drive, Neutopia for Turbografx-16, Kid Dracula for Gameboy, Koudelka for PS1, Berwick Saga for PS2, Soma Bringer for DS And also smash ultimate for switch
My hot take is Fire Emblem Engage has a perfectly serviceable Saturday morning cartoon story that I enjoy more than some of the serious, but mid, stories
Sparks, I have a question. If a gamer is already in their late 20s, can they still have formative experiences with games like they did in their childhood?
I'm not that old, but as I grew to be a teenager and almost an adult, I've actually started to like games more than I did as a little kid, so I don't see why someone in their late 20s wouldn't be capable of having fun with video games.
Absolutely. The experience may vary from person to person, but if a game hits you, you'll know and feel it. I’ve started to appreciate certain things in video games way more now than I did as a kid, since I actually understand what I'm doing and what's happening in-game-or what the intention and message are that the devs possibly put in. I think it isn't that much different from music or movies. I actually think all of them are rather similar in a way. Though it seems to me that it's more accepted nowadays to say that a song with its lyrics or a movie with its message has changed you in some way, rather than a video game. Which I think is nonsense. Games can do the same. The things developers do nowadays with narratives and storytelling… or maybe even different gameplay that you’ve never experienced before… I think games, especially nowadays, can rival movies and deliver even better stories than ever before. Though, to be honest, I had the same fear at one point: that I would lose interest in video games, or that they simply wouldn't hit the same anymore. But that changed when I started to play games beyond the usual AAA stuff. And especially XC has changed me, man. Essentially the reason I started this channel. Me trying to encourage people to do the same. Many people may call it BS, but I'm more and more convinced (even toward other aspects in life) that variety and change from time to time are such great things, which also improve enjoyment in... heck, even in life. More people should try to change things up from time to time. :) TL;DR: Yes, I think so. 100%.
@@SparksOpus Thank you for responding. I'd like to preface my next comment because I think in hindsight it's a bit silly. The only game that ever made me cry, was Pokémon mystery dungeon explorers of sky that I played when I was 12 at it's release. I have played the more "cinematic" and "emotional games" like gow 2018 and ragnarok (as a classic god of war fan), uncharted 1-4, the last of us. Those games didn't hit me at all the same way. Over time I think games didn't hit me emotionally in a more somber way like explorers of sky did. So I think its a self fulfilling prophecy that these game stories came across as c tier Hollywood dramas. So I moved to games that focus on gameplay and now I don't think I can appreciate games that try to tell actual stories. It seems I can only appreciate games that focus on gameplay.
Compared to what's actually mainstream, a lot of them are. This video may not be directed at you if you know of all of them. Wanna tell me what kinda games you like? I can probably think of some recommendations for you
![[FULL] RETROSPECTIVE : Final Fantasy Tactics](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/RUBmYqs1jZ0/mqdefault.jpg)
I stumbled across Astral Chain when I saw a trailer for it when I was a younger and thought "huh, that looks cool" and got it for Christmas on a whim.
...I poured way more hours into that game than I thought I would.
I grew up a Nintendo kid so a lot of the games you've mentioned earlier in the video were ones I was always familiar with. In fact, I was surprised by how many of these I recognized, and even more by the fact that I didn't consider a lot of them "niche". But that might just be my Nintendo background. I guess I just haven't been as exposed to the whole Xbox/PlayStation AAA Game player community as much, which makes me look at gaming slightly differently.
My favorite niche indie game is Opus: Echo of Starsong. It's more of a visual novel almost, incredibly narrative focused, with deep worldbuilding, lovable characters, and a heart-wrenching story that almost made me cry, and it's rare for a story to do that. It's a game I recommend to gamers, but also people who don't really play games, because it's not a hard game, and it's really about the world and story more than anything. It's definitely worth checking out.
Astral Chain and Spiral Knights being mentioned is a W in my book.
Can't say anything bad about Astral Chain since it's still available, though finding a physical copy might be tough.
Spiral Knights is one of the games I've probably spent the most hours on, even before I started playing on Steam. It's a shame they pumped a lot of microtransactions and premium currency into the game, even before it was mainstream, it really made the game go downhill from what it once was.
Still, the game is an absolute gem. The soundtrack is great, the combat is simple but fun, worldbuilding is great, armor pieces are interesting. Would recommend if it still had a bigger playerbase.
I just want to say "Thank You" for introducing Xenoblade to me in your Elden Ring video. It's like you have opened a pandora's box for me. It's been so much fun experiencing Xenoblade blind. The childlike wonder I seemed to have lost somewhere is back again. Hats off to you.
You have no idea how happy I am to hear that :)
Really glad that you're having a good time with it! And I also wish you a lot of fun with the rest of the series!
It's really important to have an open mind and trying new thing (not just in gaming, but life in general ahah). During the pandemic I tried Ace Attorney games and now I'm a huge fan of detective/visual novel (Danganronpa, Zero Escape, AI: The Somnium Files, Emio, etc). 😁
I didn't list any games last video so I'll do that now.
I recommend Maze of Galious for MSX, Legacy of the Wizard for NES, Ys IV: Dawn of Ys for PC-Engine CD, Sweet Home for Famicom, Monster World IV for Mega Drive, Neutopia for Turbografx-16, Kid Dracula for Gameboy, Koudelka for PS1, Berwick Saga for PS2, Soma Bringer for DS
And also smash ultimate for switch
My hot take is Fire Emblem Engage has a perfectly serviceable Saturday morning cartoon story that I enjoy more than some of the serious, but mid, stories
Sparks, I have a question. If a gamer is already in their late 20s, can they still have formative experiences with games like they did in their childhood?
I'm not that old, but as I grew to be a teenager and almost an adult, I've actually started to like games more than I did as a little kid, so I don't see why someone in their late 20s wouldn't be capable of having fun with video games.
Absolutely. The experience may vary from person to person, but if a game hits you, you'll know and feel it. I’ve started to appreciate certain things in video games way more now than I did as a kid, since I actually understand what I'm doing and what's happening in-game-or what the intention and message are that the devs possibly put in.
I think it isn't that much different from music or movies. I actually think all of them are rather similar in a way. Though it seems to me that it's more accepted nowadays to say that a song with its lyrics or a movie with its message has changed you in some way, rather than a video game.
Which I think is nonsense. Games can do the same. The things developers do nowadays with narratives and storytelling… or maybe even different gameplay that you’ve never experienced before… I think games, especially nowadays, can rival movies and deliver even better stories than ever before.
Though, to be honest, I had the same fear at one point: that I would lose interest in video games, or that they simply wouldn't hit the same anymore. But that changed when I started to play games beyond the usual AAA stuff. And especially XC has changed me, man. Essentially the reason I started this channel. Me trying to encourage people to do the same. Many people may call it BS, but I'm more and more convinced (even toward other aspects in life) that variety and change from time to time are such great things, which also improve enjoyment in... heck, even in life. More people should try to change things up from time to time. :)
TL;DR: Yes, I think so. 100%.
@@SparksOpus Thank you for responding. I'd like to preface my next comment because I think in hindsight it's a bit silly. The only game that ever made me cry, was Pokémon mystery dungeon explorers of sky that I played when I was 12 at it's release. I have played the more "cinematic" and "emotional games" like gow 2018 and ragnarok (as a classic god of war fan), uncharted 1-4, the last of us. Those games didn't hit me at all the same way. Over time I think games didn't hit me emotionally in a more somber way like explorers of sky did. So I think its a self fulfilling prophecy that these game stories came across as c tier Hollywood dramas. So I moved to games that focus on gameplay and now I don't think I can appreciate games that try to tell actual stories.
It seems I can only appreciate games that focus on gameplay.
based twewy pick
nah thanks I only play actually niche games with less than 80 copies sold
Ooh, niche games, I can't wait to hopefully discover something new!
...
(I played every game in the thumbnail and know every game listed)
...
huh
I've played most of these, and they're not exactly obscure, "hidden gems".
Compared to what's actually mainstream, a lot of them are. This video may not be directed at you if you know of all of them. Wanna tell me what kinda games you like? I can probably think of some recommendations for you
I wouldn't recommend Risk of Rain 2 on Switch. The Switch isn't really powerful enough to handle it when the game gets hectic. 😅
How is this even niche if I know all of these
these arent niche most are top selling indie games ever