Rainy Day (PC)

Source: Screen Capture

Rainy Day is a text based game created by Thaisa. This game is very near and dear to my heart, as it depicts an existence plagued by anxiety and/or depression and the never-ending cycle of trying to get out. Trying to be productive. Trying to be meaningful. Trying to BE. It is not a long game, but it gets its own blog post cause it’s special and because I said so.

This game is all about choices. It’s easy to just pick the choices that you think are right. “She/He needs to go to work, so just get up and go to work already.” But the point is try to try to put yourself on another person’s shoes. It’s not a matter of “can” I get up, its fighting the voice that says, “SHOULD I even get up? What is the POINT? What will CHANGE if I get up today?” In the case of anxiety, it’s a lot of “WHAT IF... (insert terrible scenario here).”

This game will loop you through the same sequences of dialogue until you muster your way out and get out of the house to go to work. You have rent to pay. You must be an adult about this. How will you react when everything seems to go wrong? Will you be able to salvage what is left and move on? Or will you retreat and return home where you feel safe and secure…?

The art of the game is simple, often just small sketches, but I felt that the design really fit the game very well. The emptiness of the rest of the page with just that one small illustration matches the feelings of depression, I think. There is also a lot of blue, which is often associated with that down in the dumps, feeling "blue" of depression. The aesthetic is just well done.

I have struggled with depression and anxiety for as long as I can remember, and this game is so very real to me. You can try to call in sick to work, and you wonder why you are sick of people and you get this screen:

Source: Screen Capture

This entire screen is my life. My life of anxiety. It takes me forever to even call and make a doctors appointment. I know it needs done, I know that delaying is ridiculous but the feelings can be so overwhelming. I enjoy games that are given more meaning. Being able to relate to a game makes it so much more of an experience.

In any case, that is why this game gets a special blog post, and it so important to me. You can certainly try the game for yourself. It is free and can be played right from your internet browser by clicking *here* to go to the Itch.io page.

Happy Gaming, Friends!

Bell

Free Itch.io Games #8

Hello, Friends! Welcome once again to “What Can We Find on Itch.io!” Where we dig deep into the free games catalog on Itch.io to find, hopefully, some hidden gems around them. Let’s get down to business! (To defeat <dun dun> the Huns….)

1. Kaiju Dating Simulator

Source: Screen Capture from Game

Kaiju Dating Simulator is a dating simulation game(duh) created by Chaheezor. You play as a normal human having a stroll in the park, when you encounter a monstrous creature—Godxena. Godxena is a large lizard like the more familiar Godzilla.  You can end up with 3 different endings depending on the choices you make.

This game is very short, taking me only 5 minutes to complete, but it was humorous all the same. The art is not amazing, and I did encounter a couple of issues through the game (one click skipping a few lines of dialogue, and at one point Godxena became see through). However, the game is free and was entertaining. You can try the game for yourself by downloading from Itch.io *here*.

2. Shrub Bubs

Source: Itch.io

Shrub Bubs is a simulator game where you take care of plants created by carpetbones. I’ll be perfectly honest, I didn’t get anywhere in this game. Which upset me because the trailer looked super cute. I have no idea what I am supposed to do. No matter what, my plant just sighs and seems unhappy. So I gave up(bad me), but I didn’t know what else to do.

The pixel graphics are cute, and so is the plant. You have controls for temperature, water and the sunlight. Perhaps you can fare better than I did. If you want to give it a try, you can download it for free from Itch.io *here*.

3. Something to Hide

Source: Screen Capture from Game

Something to Hide is a short action game created in a combined effort from FuryAndMadness, AcidSpaceshipp, Alex Evdokimov, and Sveta Sokolova. In Something to Hide, you play as a young lady who is left to hide her Uncle’s monsters before someone comes to take them away! I actually found this game to be pretty cute. I like the animations of the girl and the monsters, and the colors.

The issues I had with the game were the lack of hiding spaces (you seem to just hide them in the same 3 spots), and it was too easy. A challenge such as, “This monster likes darkness, hide it somewhere dark!” or something like that would have been appreciated. Still it was a cute little game to play, and it was free. You can try it for yourself for free by downloading from Itch.io *here*.

4. QUUR

Source: Screen Capture from Game

QUUR is an action adventure game created by a team of students at Supinfogame RUBIKA in France during the 2015-2016 school year. In this game, you exist in a world that is sustained by a magical liquid known as the color. You play as a strange being with the ability to manipulate the liquid. The game can be played with keyboard or a controller, but the game felt a lot better being played with a controller(to me anyway).

The most wonderful thing about this game is that it is BEAUTIFUL. The visual graphics and the vibrant colors really make this game stunning to behold. The music and the sound effects are also beautiful. The controls felt a bit slow to me, but the game also ran a bit slow for me, so I can’t say whether it was due to the control scheme or because of my computer. In any case, this game is a beautiful visual experience, and I highly recommend a play through. You can download the game for free from Itch.io *here*.

As always, be sure to leave your words of encouragement or helpful criticism so that the creators can continue to improve their skills and creations.

Happy Gaming, Friends!

Bell

See the Gaming in Pajamas Compendium *HERE*

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Email: bellannmae@gmail.com

Demos to Keep an Eye On #3

Hello Friends! Today I have brought you some more game demos to get a pick at the games that are upcoming this year(and maybe next)! Some of these games are a little mature, but I'll keep my commentary PG-13. Without further ago, let's get to it!

1.Blood for the Blood God(In development)

Source: Screen Capture from Demo

Blood for the Blood God is a visual novel, dating simulator game in development by Crimson-Chains. You are a servant created by the Blood God for the purpose of hunting down and killing 3 of his former servants. If you choose to accept your task, you are sent into the world to find them. However, in order to kill each of them, you may need to take the time to befriend—perhaps romance?—each of them, so that they will drop their guard and give you the opening that you need to stab them in the back, or wherever you can get to.

The 3 servants are Asstaroth, Beelzebabe and Lucifine. They are all so attractive, and the art style is wonderful. Each of them has a very different personality, different story, and I really wanted to play more after the demo ended. I’m looking forward to the full release of the game, which is estimated to be in December of 2017. You can download the demo to try for yourself *here*. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

2. Lethe(In development)

Source: Screen Capture from Game

Lethe is, from what I can tell, a romance mystery visual novel written by Pacermist with the efforts of Red-Baby, Shortycake, Alteredgingerr, and Akka. You play as a character who has retrograde amnesia after an incident that involved falling off a roof with another student. The other student seems to have died. With no idea what has happened these last 3 weeks of your life, you must now try to piece it back together with, hopefully, the help of Jaden and Cameron. You remember Jaden, he is your friend, but Cameron is a stranger to you… or is he?

I enjoyed this demo quite a bit. At times it can seem unrefined(some of the CG images), but I find the story interesting and our MC(main character) is relatable. I think some sound effects (doors, footsteps when a character runs, etc.) may have been nice to have as well. There is a lot of mystery, and I am eager to solve it! Hopefully there will be plans for a full game release soon. If you want to try the demo for yourself, you can download it from Itch.io *here*.

3. Sentimental Trickster(In development)

Source: Itch.io Page

Sentimental Trickster is an 18+ only visual novel style romance game created by Lazuli. It’s BL/yaoi, so be warned. There is nothing 18+ in the demo, but you get to meet the characters and get a bit of story. Haru is moving out of his parent’s home and going to live in a boarding house where he can learn to be independent, and also attend art school.  He’s living with 3 other gentlemen with varying personalities, who we get to refer to as: the mean one, the hot one and the gently old guy.

I thought the demo was well written, had beautiful art, and wonderful music/SFX. The demo is very high quality so I am certainly looking forward to seeing more of the game as it is released. If you want to try the demo for yourself, you can download it from Itch.io *here*.

4. BestLuck (In development)

Source: Itch.io Page

BestLuck is a bit of an enigma. The game is in development by Jae Hyun Yoo, and is a puzzle adventure game. The demo is agonizingly short, and involves only 2 puzzles, but give you a decent idea of the mechanics behind the game. You have to open doors, and what you see when you look through the door frames may be different than what you see outside. I think it’s a creative way to do puzzles.

The demo is yet unrefined. There needs to be camera controls, and the character movement can seem off. Otherwise, this game has a relaxing atmosphere about it, which I love, and puzzles, which I also love. The game is set to be released around March 2017 right now, so hopefully I can do a full review soon. You can download the demo to try for yourself *here*.

As always, be sure to leave your comments of encouragement, or helpful criticism, to help the developers improve their skills and craft. 

Happy Gaming, Friends!

Bell

Treat Series (PC)

Hello, Friends! Today we are actually going to look at three games that exist as part of an ongoing series. The series is created by Nami, who also created the Syrup and the Ultimate Sweet game I played a couple weeks ago. These games are just as cute and explore the friendship of Treat, Mochi and Moxie. Without further ado, we can take a look at the games. 

1. Lonely Wolf Treat

Source: Itch.io Page

You play as Treat, a humanoid wolf, who is outcast by the nearby bunny village, due to fears that the wolf would eat them. Treat expresses no interest in trying to eat any of them, and is taking shelter in a nearby empty house that lies just outside the village. One day, a resident of the bunny village barges into the abandoned house where Treat is hiding out. The bunny girl is named Mochi. Turns out that she has been chased by a fox, and needs Treat to chase it away so she can get home. Treat agrees, and a friendship begins, despite the previous held prejudices by her fellow village mates.

Mochi wants to make Treat a meal as a thank you, but because bunnies don't eat meat, there is none in the village. The foxes have a lair outside of the village also, across the train tracks. They would probably have meat, right? So Mochi and Treat head to find out. They run into the same fox that had chases Mochi! Turns out, her name is Moxie. Will Moxie help Mochi and Treat?

The first installment of the game is short, and sweet. The music is pleasing, and the art work is downright adorable. I always liked humanoid animals too, so it was a plus. You can download the first installment from Itch.io for free *here*.

2. Friendly Bunny Mochi

Source: Itch.io Page

We pick up from little Mochi’s POV, that's point of view, in this sequel game. Mochi’s cousin Juju is still upset with Mochi for befriending foxes and Treat, the wolf. Mochi decides to take a trip to the hot springs and runs into Moxie, the Fox. Moxie says she is going to eat Mochi! But Mochi doesn’t believe her. She takes Moxie to the Springs with her, and then back to her house. Mochi says that she’ll find something more delicious for Moxie to eat than rabbits, that way they can still be friends and keep the peace… but will it work?

In the second installment, you can expect the same adorable character images and the same serene music. The game still holds to its theme of friendship and accepting others for who they are.  You can download the second installment from the Itch.io page *here*.

3. Clever Fox Moxie

Source: Itch.io Page

In the 3^rd installment of the Lonely Wolf Treat series, we follow the clever fox Moxie and her quest to pay off the debt she owes her mother for their home, the Fox Den. Following a scene where some cats weren’t able to pass through Frosting(the rabbit town), since it was closed off after the last game, Moxie gets an idea. The Fox Den has empty rooms, and these cat girls need a place to stay… so let’s run a hotel! Not only that, a murder mystery hotel! You need to have entertainment, right? What could go wrong? Murder Mystery--I would totally stay there! I love the murder mystery theme.

After months of doing the murder mystery shows, Moxie’s friends decide to quit and go home to their hometown of Ginseng. Moxie is now all alone… But she won’t let that stop her! If her friends want to leave, then she will just get an ALL NEW cast to work with! She’ll be bigger than ever! … The only problem is, she can’t seem to find any actors to join her. What can she do now…?

To find out, you can download the third installment of this series from the Itch.io page *here*.

To Be Continued…?

I really enjoy the sweet and innocent nature of these games. The themes of friendship and acceptance, the cute, child-like sprites, and the sweet naïve nature of Mochi make for such sweet games.

The 4^th installment has not been released yet, so for now we are left to wonder: Will Moxie find her calling and be happy? Will Frosting ever take down their walls and let others in again? Are Treat and Mochi an item or not!? I don’t know, but I can’t wait to find out!

Be sure to give Nami your words of encouragement and helpful advice! 

Happy Gaming, Friends!

Bell

Haunt the House: Terrortown (PC)

"When I was a child I was afraid of ghosts. As I grew up, I realized that people are more scary." --Unknown

Source: Screen Capture from Game

Haunt the House is an action (with a dash of strategy, maybe) game created by SFB Games. You play as a ghost, and your job is to scare the humans away.  You do this my possessing the items in whatever area you happen to be in. There are achievements to be won, and people to give a fright, so let us take a closer look.

There are 4 different areas to play, thus far: The mansion, Terrortown(which has 5 different areas itself), the north pole and the train. The train is the newest area added.  Each area has a unique layout, and a plethora of unique possessable items that you can use to scare the bejeebers out of people. It’s great fun to find the different uses of each object. As the terror level rises, you can perform more actions with each item as well. Since scaring all of the humans away usually takes a bit of time, it keeps the experience interesting.

Source: Screen Capture from Game

The graphics are very cute, and cartoony, which I like. The animations are smooth and attractive, and the game over all ran very well for me—and I don’t have that powerful of a laptop to play on just yet. I mean that I was impressed by how well it ran. It did crash once, but I’m not sure if it was the game or something of my doing. Typically while I play I have other things going on as well, so that might have been an issue.

The music and sound effects are also fitting, and they also offer a good variety in the game. The musical score is beautiful. Each area has it's own music to fit in with its theme and they all sound wonderful. It kind of gave me the old time-y "dastardly villain tying a damsel to the train tracks" feeling at times. I think the train music is probably my favorite track, however. 

You start off with a default ghost, but through the course of the different areas, you may kill of some humans to gain other ghosts to keep you company. Seems cruel, but so is life, people. You can then play as the different styled ghosts. As far as I could tell, I didn’t see any discernable differences in gameplay, except for their ghostly calls, “OoooooooOOOOoooo~” and so on.

You get rankings when you complete an area. An area is completed once you have scared away every human there. You are ranked on the number of items you used, the time it took you to complete the area, and the terror levels you achieved. I S ranked all of the levels without much trouble.

Source: Screen Capture from Game

A lot of people have stated that the game is too childish and not suited for adults to play, but uh…. I really enjoyed it, and I’m 27—almost 28. I did think the game had a bit of a child-like aesthetic, but I didn’t enjoy the game any less because of it. In fact, I really enjoyed the art style and bright colors. I didn’t find the game particularly challenging, but not every game has to make you want to shake your keyboard in frustration. Every once in a while, it’s nice to play a simple game that is just fun. While the game isn’t teeming with replayability, it is good for killing 15 minutes now and again.

I did have some issues with the game. Other than the one time the game crashed, I had some issues with humans getting caught on items, particularly in the mansion area. I also had issues with the humans getting stuck running between floors. They would run up the stairs, stop, run back down the stairs, stop, run back up, and repeat. It would take long amounts of time for them to get unstuck. Or, they would be running hysterically towards the front door, then stop and run another way. Sometimes it just didn't make sense. 

In any case, I personally recommend the game, if you can get it on the Steam sale. This game was actually a gift to me from a dear friend of mine (She runs a Youtube channel where she does let’s plays—lots of SIMS and she recently started Subnaituca too, so you can check her out *here*) and I’m not sure what the price was at the time. Normally the game runs at $4.99 on Steam, and that is what it is currently. Isn't the spring sale coming up soon though? You can find the Steam store page *here*. If you don't have a Steam account, you can also get the game from Itch.io *here*.

If you've played, let me know what you thought. Did you find the game too childish? Did you have any issues with the game? Let me know below!

Happy Gaming, Friends!

Bell

SUPER HOMO!!! Magical Girlfriends! (PC)

“All women are lesbians, except those who don’t know it…” -Jill Johnston

Source: Screen Capture from Game

SUPER HOMO!!! Magical Girlfriends is a cute visual novel styles simulation and time management game created by lunicole. You play as Pumpkin, one half of the crime fighting witch duo that is Pumpkin Spice. Your nemesis Candy Cane, has just been defeated by you, but he swears he will be back in 15 days, more ready than ever to finally get the upper hand and win.

It is your job as the player to help Pumpkin manage her daily tasks to make sure that she is sufficiently ready when Candy Cane returns. Using a planner, you decide what Pumpkin does in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Each choice affects a stat for Pumpkin: Intelligence, Magic, and Strength. Raise intelligence by attending class, studying, or calling Spice. Raise your magic by attending work, meditating, or baking. Raise your strength by skateboarding at any time.

I liked the idea of this kind of time management. You see it in some other VNs that I have played, and it’s used in the Persona games also. However, the use of it in SH!MG seems somewhat less intuitive. It was easy to figure out which skills I needed to raise and how to do it, I was maxed long before day 15. Skateboarding is the only way to raise strength. I wish there had been other options for activities. The dialogue for each activity is also repetitive. Every time I go to work(except one when Spice was there), she repeats the same dialogue, “I work here to pay for school.” I get it, saying it once was enough. Variety would really make a difference here.

Source: Screen Capture from Game

The music was nice. I like both of the main songs used separately, but so little time is spent in each place that the songs end up cutting back and forth frequently and it give the music a choppy quality.

I really like the character design of this game—both Pumpkin and Spice are unique in appearance, as is Candy Cane. I would have like more background on the characters, though. My connection to them felt very superficial because I didn’t know much about them. It’s a short game so I know that I can’t ask for much, but I know next to nothing about either of the characters except that they are witches, and Spice is really smart.   

The backgrounds are alright. They appear like pictures that were taken and then altered through a filter to make it appear more artsy. I’m not opposed to these types of backgrounds, but in some cases the character sprites and the background proportions don’t seem quite right. For example, like the picture below, the bed looks entirely too large compared to Pumpkin.

Source: Screen Capture from Game

Overall, this game, while enjoyable, feels incomplete to me. I feel like this game could be so much more, with some touch ups. As it is, the game is still enjoyable, if a little monotonous due to the repetitive dialogue during activities. The game is short(I completed in about half an hour), but I did enjoy the game. You can find the game on Itch.io, and it is free to download and play *here*.

If you play, be sure to leave a comment on the Itch.io page for the developer, and let me know what you thought too!

Happy Gaming, Friends!

Bell

See the Gaming in Pajamas Compendium *HERE*

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Imaginary Friends for PC

“I had imaginary friends and even they were mean to me.” –Oliva Wilde

Source: Itch.io Page

Imaginary Friends is a retro style horror RPG created by mannytsu using RPG Maker software. You play as 14-year-old Hailey, who has spent her entire summer vacation alone in her room. Her mother wants her to go outside and get together with her friends, but she doesn’t have any. When Hailey accompanies her mother and brother to the store, something strange begins to happen… Before she knows it, she finds herself in a strange world. To get home, Hailey will have to confront her childhood, and look deep inside herself so that she can move forward and grow.

I don’t play a lot of horror games, and I don’t know what made me decide to play this game to begin with, but I am glad that I did. For good portions of the game, I was just waiting for the jumpscares—but they didn’t come. No, the horror aspect of this game comes from the atmosphere of uncertainty and unease that are created. I use a headset with one ear piece because having both of my ears covered makes me anxious(I might miss something important, like if my daughter needs me), but I imagine the atmosphere would have been intensified if you used both. Particularly in the school towards the end of the game, the shuffling and whispers were pretty unnerving for me.

Source: Screen Capture from Game

I also died a lot in my playthrough, and I mean a lot. Everything and everyone is out to kill you, so save often. Make extra trips back to save points to save again. I must have saved 50 times by the end of my game. I came to think that everything was going to kill me, even inanimate objects—who knows what could happen.

The game is in a charming top down retro style, which I love. In addition to the sprites, drawn images appear of each character next to their dialogue boxes. The artwork for the characters is well done, and the environments are wonderfully made as well, able to be either dark and foreboding, or light and whimsical. The NPCs in the Cloud Kingdom are varied and interesting, as are the dolls in the doll house. All around the style of this game was great. The music and sound effects did a great job of complimenting the environments as well. 

One particular thing that I liked was that during some parts of the game, you would traverse though crayon dawn areas that would flow into the normal game backgrounds. This is something unique that I haven't seen in many games before, so I really liked that. 

Source: Screen Capture from Game

In addition to the horror aspect of the game, the game also has some great puzzles to solve. I did always enjoy a good puzzler. The puzzles aren’t overly difficult, but enough to make you think. I did get help up a little bit in the school because I wasn’t being thorough enough in my search for what I needed. There were puzzles I did not complete. There is a safe in the school that requires two different keys and a combination to open, but I only managed to find one of the keys.

The story is about loneliness, the difficulty of making new friends, and moving on. Hailey will need to reconcile her past friendships and move forward to make new friends. For as unsettling and tense as the game was, the ending was oddly uplifting. I appreciated the entire ride. Kudos to mannytsu for putting together such an amazing game.

Source: Screen Capture from Game

You can try this game for yourself by downloading the game for free on Itch.io *here*. As always, I hope that you’ll also leave your words of encouragement and helpful criticism(if you have it), that way the creators and continue to develop their skills.

Happy Gaming, Friends!

Bell

See the Gaming in Pajamas Compendium *HERE*

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Rose of Winter for PC

“It was rather beautiful:

The way he put her insecurities to sleep.

The way he dove into her eyes

And starved all the fears

And tasted all the dreams she kept coiled beneath her bones.”

--Chris Poindexter

Source: Steam

Rose of Winter is a charming visual novel style game, developed and published by Pillow Fight. You get to play as Rosemary, an aspiring knight who left her home farm to follow her dream. The game begins in a tavern, and Rosemary is trying to find some work. Lucky for Rosemary, there are four princes who need a knight(or rather a mercenary), to assist them across the mountain. What adventures, and possible romance, await?

The art style is very charming, and I’m a big fan of each of the characters’ designs. The colors also have a soft quality to them, giving this visual novel a very fairy tale appearance—to me anyway. Rosemary isn’t your typical small, helpless otome girl. She’s got a little meat on her bones, she’s tough as nails and she isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. This is a girl I can relate to! The princes are each also unique—different races, stories, and personalities. I've seen in some forums where people complained, or wondered about Rosemary being a bigger girl. I look at it this way, if Rosemary were an RPG character, she would be the Tank. She needs to be a bigger lady to handle that giant Cloud-esque sword, right? Plus, she's adorable. 

Each of the Princes has a happy and a sad ending. I have played through and gotten the happy endings for all of the princes, and replayed to get the sad ending for the dragon prince. Each of the princes has their perks, but the dragon prince, Tirune, would have to be my favorite prince. Tirune, Crow, Kuya, Falkner would be the order of my princes. Falkner would have been higher on the list if he hadn’t acted like such an insufferable jerk most of his arc.

Tirune

Source: Screen Captures from Game

The music also was also wonderful, and fitting for the game. The title screen music is dramatic and sets the tone for the game. Once you start, the music changed to something more upbeat and bouncy—fitting the introduction of Rosemary.  For sentimental moments, there is charming harp like music that plays, setting the scene just right. Pillow Fight really did a marvelous job with the music selections.

Kuya

Source: Screen Capture from Game

  

The stories are all a good mix of romance(of course), drama, and comedy. No two stories are alike. Each ending was unique, and I didn’t mind replaying them to get the endings (or even again just for fun!). There is an achievement for playing through the Crow arc 5 times, and I enjoyed each one. While Tirune was my favorite prince, I am a sucker for dragons after all, I enjoyed Crow's story the best, and Kuya's story made me laugh the most. 

Crow

Source: Screen Capture from Game

Overall, this game was so enjoyable. I would go as far as to say that it is one of my favorite otome games I have ever played. The only downside for me is that it is so short. I have about 4.5 hours worth of gameplay in, with all the endings and achievements. If there was a sequel or spiritual successor to this game, I would buy it so fast! Anyhow, you can try the game for yourself, it’s available on steam *here*. 

Happy Gaming, Friends!

Bell

See the Gaming in Pajamas Compendium *HERE!*

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Fingered for the PC

“Unless you are good at guessing,

It is not much use being a detective.”

--Agatha Christie

Source: Softonic

I hope the quote covered it, but just in case let me say that, given the kinds of games I am known to play, this game is NOT what it sounds like! At least, not like it sounds like to you perverts. I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Fingered is a casual indie game created by developers Edmund McMillen and James Id. In Fingered, you are a detective and, with the help of some eyewitnesses, it is your job to doom the guilty individual to the electric chair. This is a matter of life and death, so choose wisely….

Each eyewitness will give you 4 hints. Some hints are more reliable than others, and some witnesses have important quirks that will determine how useful their hints are, so it’s important to be able to discern those things. Some of the clues given are also subjective. Such as “I’m positive that they were tall.” Or, “He was cute!” Alright, tall compared to whom? Would I think he is cute? Even with the clues, the answer can require a bit of guessing, like any detective. If you murder an innocent man, you get one pass. Murder a second one and its game over, and you return to the beginning of the game. Even if you start over, the hints and suspects will change, so you can’t just pick your way through it easily.

Source: Gamesena

I really enjoyed the idea of this game. I have always enjoyed the “whodunit” variety of games like Clue, Guess Who, Murder Mystery Theatre, etc. The art style is interesting. I neither love it, or dislike it. It can be hard to discern some features of each suspect. It’s also important to note that some items that suspects may be holding are indicative of the hints that were given. Such as a subject holding a book connecting to a suspect being considered “smart.” I was surprised, however, the first time I sent a suspect to the electric chair, since you also have to be the one to pull the handle that activates the chair. Having to do that made my anxiety flare up a little bit! I mean, it’s not super realistic or anything but the thought of doing such a thing.

As much as I enjoy this game, it is definitely frustrating at times. At my best, I made it through 16 rounds before I had reached my limit for killing innocent people. I haven’t made it that far since! This game definitely provides a challenge, but not without losing what makes the game fun. Also, I’m not 100% sure, but it seems like there may be some cameo appearances. One of the suspects I saw looked like Super Meat Boy with a beefy muscular body. I also saw a suspect with a face that looked an awful lot like Isaac from The Binding of Isaac. It may have just been my over active imagination, but I thought it was kind of neat.

Sources: Isaac(?) and Meat Boy(?)

One other thing that is really neat, is that on the opening screen of the game, there is a computer. If you click on the computer, then type your name in the empty space and click “Go”, the computer will bring up a suspect with your name and a short profile. I thought it was amusing to look up all of my friends to see what they were guilty of and how they were punished. I got the name Agitated Ashley. Apparently, I shot my mother and got sentenced to two hours of home arrest. You can even print the profile to keep for yourself!

The music is also nice, although listening to the same song for as long as I played the game got boring and I ended up putting on my own music instead. The game music isn’t bad, it just got repetitive and dull. It sounds like the music from an old detective movie—very “snappy”.

Overall I think the game is a great game to sink some time into. Since the hints and suspects change all the time, the replayability of this game is pretty high. For only $1.87 on Steam, this game is definitely worth it’s price. You can purchase the game on Steam *here*. Download it, and have fun cleaning up the filthy streets of your town!

Happy Gaming, Friends!

Bell

See The Gaming in Pajamas Compendium *HERE!*

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Lads in Distress for PC

“I think women should be more independent. In society, we’re portrayed as people who simply wear make-up and sit around. We need a Princess Charming—a woman who rescues her man and slays the dragon instead of the other way around.” -Adora Svitak

Source: Itch.io

Princess Charming is exactly what Catfish Crews delivers in their free to play game, Lads in Distress. It’s no secret that otome and dating simulators are a guilty pleasure of mine, so when I saw this game on Itch.io I was intrigued. The art caught my eye as it’s just beautifully styled. I can sometimes be a little shallow when I play otome and dating games. I was to see cute looking guys and gals. Not necessarily gorgeous, but well drawn at least. 

In this game, we play as Princess Charming herself! She is the Princess of the Lunar Kingdom, but unfortunately, the Lunar Kingdom is also near a financial crisis. To help save Lunar Kingdom from being completely broke, it is decided that a ball will be help and Princess Charming will choose a suitor from a, hopefully, more affluent kingdom. Doing this will form an alliance and therefore remedy the financial situation. Charming is not thrilled at the idea, preferring to focus on her magic. Her closest friend Nicholl, who doesn't seem thrilled either, advises her that three of the potential suitors on the list of guests are to be avoided at all costs. So of course, those three suitors are going to be the ones we want to choose from, right? Right.

Source: Itch.io

Our three princes are Prince Mer of the Water Kingdom, Prince Snow of the Snow Kingdom and Prince Zel of the Forest Kingdom. You get the opportunity to briefly meet Prince Mer and Prince Snow at the ball, however Prince Zel has been missing for years. I have played through all of the Princes and gotten both endings for each of them, and I have to say that Prince Mer is my favorite of the 3. His story genuinely surprised me at the twists and turns. Both of the endings are so starkly different that after the second ending of Mer’s, I stared at my computer screen, mouth agape in surprise at the whole thing. 

Normally I go into otome and dating sim games expecting typical clichés and tropes… and Lads in Distress takes them and reverses the roles, throwing the clichés and tropes out the window. I was overjoyed with each Prince’s story and the surprises held within each one. Mer's story was unlike anything I had heard before, and I loved it. I won’t talk about them too much because I don’t want to spoil the surprises, but it was worth it to replay each path to get the other endings, especially Mer’s.

Source: Otome Twist

This game plays as a visual novel, with beautifully crafted characters and stunning background locations. The visuals are just lovely, and the music is a great compliment as well. The game did have a few spelling errors I happened to notice, and the game did crash on me once during my second play through of Mer’s path. There were no serious flaws or anything that I noticed otherwise.

The game is not complete. Catfish Crews is currently working on an expansion, with more princes and more wonderful fun. I’m going to keep a close eye on it so that I can play it when it does release. I’m genuinely looking forward to it!

If you want to try this wonderful creation for yourself, which I highly recommend, you can find it on Itch.io *here*.  The game is free to download and play, so you have nothing to lose, and a few hours of enjoyment to gain, so get at it! Then be sure to leave comments of encouragement for the creators, cause that’s the nice thing to do.

Happy Gaming, Friends!

Bell

View the Gaming in Pajamas Completed Compendium *here!*

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XOXO Droplets Demo by GB Patch

Hello Friends! Today I want to share with you a demo that I recently played called XOXO Droplets. It’s a visual novel style, dating simulator/otome game created by GB Patch. The MC(main character) is a girl who is, quite frankly, a real jerk. She is being transferred to a new school, but her parents will only allow her to stay if she doesn’t make everyone at the school hate her, like she has apparently done previously. 

***This entry IS a part of an initiative run by the developers. You can find the information on the initiative *here!* ***

Since she has such trouble making friends, she is put into a special group of kids at the school. Lucky for her, this group is nothing but boys! Cute boys, even. However, she has her work cut out for her, because these guys are just as big of jerks as she is, perhaps even more so. The cold shoulder, insults and general air of unpleasantness doesn’t dissuade your MC, no sir. In fact, it may just make her try even harder.

Source: Itch.io

I was drawn to this game at first by the art work. I’m a sucker for cute otome boys, and most of these boys are super cute! I don’t really care much for Pran or Nate in terms of appearance, but that’s fine. Someone else may find them cute. To me, that just means there is something for everyone! There are several other characters to build relationships with, like the guys and gals that belong to the different cliques, but to be honest I didn’t mess around with that so much. I wasn’t quite sure how the clique system worked. I kind of just… randomly did whatever. There didn’t seem to be any consequence for when I had the clique bars drop to zero.

The music fitting in most cases. I am a big fan of piano music so I found it relaxing and pleasing to listen to. I can’t help but feel that some places, such as “Fuchsia” which is supposed to be like a hip trendy place where teens hang out, the piano music doesn’t quite fit. Maybe more of a musical variety would be beneficial. 

I played through the game 3 times, getting all of the boys I liked except for Shiloh. My first play through was with Bae. My second was for Everett and my 3^rd was with Jeremy. Each of the boys brings something different to the table, and I liked learning a bit about them. I would have liked more back story, but this is just a demo after all.

Bae is definitely my favorite of the guys. I couldn’t resist his snarky grin and his cute little pet names for everyone(Starfish, Cookie, Dear, etc.). I also love that he works at a daycare, and that kids love him. Big, tall, mean Bae may just have a soft spot, eh? On top of that snarky charm--LOOK AT HIM:

Source: Screen Captures from Game

One things that I wanted more of, was more choices. You have choices during school days that alter your status with the cliques, but I wanted more choices with the boys. The dialogue feels almost static otherwise. Most of the conversations were I felt, "Oh I'll have to make a choice. I better think carefully about this..." the MC simply answered herself. Other than the boys’ individual dates and events, everything is the same. It makes replaying the game for the other guys seem sort of monotonous. The skip bottom is great as it allows you to skip through those monotonous part, but I’m wishing that I didn’t feel like I wanted to skip them.

A little thing I didn't get was that the swear words were censored with asterisks in the game. This seemed pointless since I (and most players, I'm sure) can already tell what the words are. It may have to do with ratings, maybe? Or an act of courtesy, but it seemed pointless to me. 

I hope in the full version to see more choices for us to make with our character, perhaps so more diverse music selections, and perhaps more visual representation of the cliques. 

All in all, I really enjoyed the demo and I'm looking forward to the full version of the game when it releases. I would recommend that if you are a fan of otome games, or want to try one, to give the demo a play. You can go to Itch.io to download the demo *here*. The characters are diverse, and you can be as much of a jerk as you want(or maybe could be, if there were some more choices). I want to see where the story goes from here. 

Happy Gaming, Friends!

Bell

See the Gaming in Pajamas Compendium *Here!*

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I Hope You Enjoyed Your Holidays!

Hello, Friends! The Christmas weekend has come and passed. I hope that everyone was able to spend some time with their family and feel the warmth and love of the season. If you don't celebrate Christmas, then I hope you enjoy the other Holidays that December has to offer. I did enjoy my holiday with my daughter and boyfriend. I got to see my younger brother, who lives far away so I rarely get the chance. I got to enjoy my grandmothers cooking, and the company of my family. Holidays are exhausting, but they bring happiness as well.

I received much more than I anticipated this year in terms of gifts. I don't ever really expect them, and I was happy to know that so many people thought of me in this season.

One of my good friends, who I am going to call Gigi, gifted me some new steam games, and I returned the favor for her, of course. If you want, you can even check out her YouTube Channel, GamerGirlsNetwork, by clicking *here*. She does plays of a variety of games, but a lot of Sims action happens on her cahnnel. It's pretty entertaining! She's also been a good friend of mine for a long time so it would be a nice gesture to both of us. As a gift from her, I received:

• BattleBlock Theatre
• Hatoful Boyfriend
• Kitty Powers' Matchmaker
• Stardew Valley
• Haunt the House: Terrortown

Thanks again, Gigi!

I also took advantage of the Steam winter sale to build up my own library a bit. I purchased for myself:

•  Oh...Sir! The Insult Simulator
• Amnesia(TM): Memories
• DRAGON: A Game About a Dragon
• Dream Tale
• Fingered
• Forget Me Not: My Organic Garden
• Golf With Your Friends
• Home is Where One Starts...
• If My Heart Had Wings
• Last Word
• Long Live the Queen
• Mold on Pizza
• Plastiland
• Replica
• Road Not Taken
• Rose Winter
• See No Evil
• The Happy Hereafter
• The Way We ALL Go
• Turbo Pug DX
• Wind Child
• The Men of Yoshiwara: Kikuya

So I look forward to playing all of those! Thanks to everyone again who comes to read my blog, I really appreciate it. And a special thank you to everyone who has been sharing my blog with others. You guys are the real MVPs! I hope you all have a fantastic New Year celebration!

Happy Gaming, Friends!

Bell

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Seduce Me the Otome-- for the PC

“Seduction isn’t making someone do what they don’t want to do;
Seduction is enticing someone into doing what they secretly want to do already.”
 -Benjamin T. Russell

 I am going to beg, that as you read this review, don’t judge me too harshly. We all have our guilty pleasures, and one of mine happens to be dating simulators, or dating sims as they are called sometimes. I’ve played good and bad dating sims, and I picked up Seduce Me the Otome in the steam store because it was free! And free is always good. Because it was free, I didn’t expect much out of it. I was, in some ways, pleasantly surprised. First, let me explain what an Otome is. Otome literally means “maiden game.” These games are typically geared towards the female market, where a female character can form relationships with several other male characters. The opposite of an Otome is a Bishojo game, where it would be a male character with several women. I like to play both…

Seduce Me the Otome is a visual novel written by Michaela Laws, and brought to you by Seraphim Entertainment. It has recieved greatly positive reviews on Steam and Itch.io.

Source: Steam Store

In Seduce Me, you play as Mika Anderson, the granddaughter of Harold Anderson, CEO and founder of Anderson toy company. Sadly, Mika’s grandfather has just passed away. At the reading of the will, Mika is surprised to find that her grandfather left her his entire estate and all its contents. Mika’s father is upset over this, but says its best if she moves there immediately so she can prepare to go to business college. Mika’s father and her grandfather never had a good relationship, and her father is visibly upset that her grandfather did not name him the next CEO of the company. When Mika moves out of her parents’ home into her grandfather’s manor, she is shocked to find 5 boys collapsed in the lobby. These 5 boys turn out to be Incubi who are on the run from a Devil who means them harm and sought shelter in the manor. Mika is in shock and doesn’t believe them. After one of the boys proves that they aren’t lying, Mika faints. In the morning, Mika awakes and starts to learn about the strange boys who were found in her grandfather’s manor…

 Mika also has trouble at school, but her two best friends, Naomi and Suzu, have her back no matter what. Naomi and Suzu may not always agree completely, but they’re as close as friends can be. I was surprised to find that Naomi and Suzu were also love interests in the story. However, it was also nice to have some extra variety in pairings.

Source: Itch.io

 The five boys are, admittedly, a little cliché. But, let’s be honest… most games and tv shows have those clichés. We have James, the eldest and the brains with his cute glasses and tie. There’s Sam, the rough and tumble smart ass. Damian is the quiet, mysterious guy. Matthew, the childish and innocent of the bunch. Last, there’s Erik, the insufferable flirt. Although their personalities are the typical anime clichés, each of them has a different reason for leaving the demon world to start anew in the human world. I won’t spoil those.

 Now that we’ve discussed story and characters, let’s talk the game itself. The game plays like a visual novel, as many Otome do. The graphics are like an anime, and are, mostly, pleasing to the eye. Some angles have a weird appearance at times, like when you wake up and Diane is standing over you. Although as such an angle it would be hard to appear flattering. The colors are bright and pleasing to the eye as well. The soundtrack isn’t terrible, although it can get repetitive, and you can sometimes hear where it breaks to loop again. Some of the piano tracks are actually very pretty.

There are some minor issues I have with the dialogue, I did spot a spelling error or two. There was also a time when Diane asked us which boy we were talking about and Mika replies with the boys age, “The oldest…”, “The third…”, etc. However, this was never discussed between Mika and the boys before this scene(unless I missed something), so Mika wouldn’t have actually known. I thought Matthew was the youngest, until I found out it was actually Damian. They were small instances, but caught my eye a lot as I replayed the game about 40 times to get all the endings.

Source: Anime2Mira

I’ve gotten all of the endings except for 4, but I’m still working on it. Some of the dialogue can get repetitive, as some passages are the same, save a name change. This is particularly true for Suzu and Naomi. Leading up to their confessions, the exchanges are almost identical. It may also take a couple tried to get everyone’s “true” ending. You can get a happy ending, but each character has a special ending that you are rewarded with for making the correct choices and raising that particular person’s affection to the max. This may seem monotonous, but after you get through the game once, you get the options to do a rapid text skip through the parts of the game that don’t change. So that makes it more palatable.

I can’t complain too much, as Seduce me the Otome is free for download on Steam. The game is good for what it is. Otome and Bishojo aren’t to everyone’s liking, but I do really enjoy them and the visual novel style. For free, though, why not give it a shot?

P.S. There is a Seduce Me 2: The Demon War that I plan to pick up as well!

Happy Gaming, Friends!
Bell

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