Gaming

Thanks for the list, very intrigued by Ctrl Alt Ego being an immersive sim fan

Shout out to Fishery (309 reviews). It's pretty niche as an aquarium simulator, but very relaxing and well made.

Also, Ozymandias (770 reviews) is a great strategy game that manages to squeeze the feeling of a full game of civilization into less than one hour.

If you're interested in classic board games, The Conquest of Go (397 reviews) is a great entry point into Go, with nice tutorial features and a campaign mode that scales difficulty as you win games.

My go-tos. Granted, they’re largely city builders, but my main jam is WoW, so city builders “tickles” different part of my brain - my downtime when I need a break from the MMORPG space.

Planetbase - A survival/sim/city builder. Guide a group of space settlers trying to establish a base on a remote planet. Grow food, collect energy, mine resources, survive disasters and build a self-sufficient colony in a harsh and unforgiving environment.

Dawn of Man Command a settlement of ancient humans, guide them through the ages in their struggle for survival. Hunt, gather, craft tools, fight, research new techs and face the challenges the environment will throw at you.

The Pale Beyond You didn’t ask to lead this expedition, but here you are. Stuck in the ice, Captain missing, miles from civilisation. Someone has to take charge. Manage your meagre resources, balance safety and morale, make the hard calls, and head in the only direction you can - through The Pale Beyond.

Kingdoms and Castles Kingdoms and Castles is a city-building simulation game about growing a kingdom from a tiny hamlet to a sprawling city and imposing castle. Make trade agreements, alliance, and war with neighboring AI controlled kingdoms. Each villager and resource is individually simulated.

The Wandering Village The Wandering Village is a city-building simulation game on the back of a giant, wandering creature. Build your settlement and form a symbiotic relationship with the colossus. Will you survive together in this hostile, yet beautiful post-apocalyptic world, contaminated by poisonous plants?

Homewind Home Wind is a minimalist, relaxing and cozy city builder about creating large settlements based on proximity tactics. All for free!

Getting major Exile vibes from Environmental Station Alpha; must check it out.

Two exploration games that I found enjoyable are 廃村巡り | Haisonmeguri and Umurangi Generation.

Haisonmeguri is super short with a few alternate endings, quite janky but the atmosphere and feel of the game are really well done.

Umurangi Generations is more polished and more of an actual game with objectives. I dislike that it's timed, but that's the only big criticism I have.

Space Tyrant is a 4x space conquest game, but it plays like a fast paced solo board game or adventure. Fun balance between strategy and random space goofiness.

Fotonica definitely deserves more love. A simple adrenaline-rush timing-based running game, but extremely addictive! Good for getting really into that hyperfocus zone.

You know of any other Oregon Trail remixes? Been looking for a game like those ever since I was a little kid.

Thanks for the lists! Seems like whenever someone asks for some lesser-known indie games, people start mentioning ones like Stray and Hades, which are good, but not exactly deep cuts. :)

I looked through my most played and least reviewed indie games on Steam, and found these three. They're super cheap for the summer sale right now, too.

Venineth - 178 reviews - currently $8 - released 2020

• Physics-based 3D puzzle platformer. You play as a ball, with a lot of momentum, that rolls around some amazing looking, mysterious landscapes. Chill ambient music plays in the background. I haven't gotten very far yet; the reviews suggest that it gets harder as it goes on. The first couple hours are very relaxing.

Stealth Bastard Deluxe - 628 reviews - currently $1 - released 2012

• 2D puzzle platformer with the best soundtrack ever (and the soundtrack is 40 cents right now). You need to have very precise jump timing, so it has more difficult platforming than most puzzle platformers. Very replayable with leaderboards, community-made maps, and unlockable new skills that let you solve a level in different ways.

AaAaAA!!! - A Reckless Disregard for Gravity - 625 reviews - currently $2 - released 2009

• I stayed up way too late playing this one many years ago, and I can't even explain why it was fun. You just kind of fall downwards, aiming at things as you go down, and trying to find new routes to hit the things you want to hit and avoid the things you don't want to hit. I can't really compare it to anything else, except for maybe some platformers where there's a "falling level." Except this is all falling levels. It's weirdly good. They're working on a new one, although it's very delayed at this point.

DIG, Deep in Galaxies looks awesome. Thank you!

Survivalist, just check it out, looks janky but is a really fun cool game.