#173: Itch Roundup for October and November
I. Dear Reader,
Another regularly scheduled roundup of games that have been released on itch.io that caught my eye over the last two months. Usual disclaimer that I haven’t really read or played these games; they just seem cool based on the pitch alone. Also, most of them now come to me by people using this form.
In no particular order:
RAD: A Mausritter-style OSR game set in a post-nuclear fallout Soviet Russia. (Hipólita)
Five Fires: A game about being a hip-hop whose art can change the world. This is a free ashcan of a game that has been in development for a long time. (Quinn Murphy)
Tabletop Gone Mad: This game features Madlibs-style adventure sheets where you all sit down and make it up together and that alone seems fun as hell. (Linnie Schnell, Twice Rolled Tales)
Ara Ġejja l-Mewt Għalik: A game about the personification of death in Maltese folklore. Uses blindfolds and spinners! (Għar Gremxul)
// electric sheep //: A solo journalling game where you document (made-up) dreams and make friends. I found the idea of a playalong audio version really neat. (Skylar K. Swift)
Vanity: Glass & Stone: A solo game inspired by Snow White and Medusa where you explore a labyrinth of mirrors, trying to outrun a curse. Based on the Wretched & Alone system so you play with a jenga tower. (Marco A. Torres)
Sound Check: A Firebrands-hack about being in a band. You rehearse, party, fool around, and get ready for the big show. (Misha Grifka Wander and Envi Wiklund)
Insatiable Cravings: A two-person game where one person plays a ravenous monster and the other person is making a meal for them. Supposed to be half-sexy, half-spooky is my read. (J Strautman)
Meet Me Where I Am: This is a larp-ish game about intimacy and negotiating boundaries that is clearly very personal. (Morgan Eilish)
Salvager’s Isle: A supplement for Bump in the Dark, a lovely monster of the week and blades in the dark hybrid game. This has three scenarios or adventures all set in the same weird location, Salvager’s Isle. (Mynar Lenahan)
Yours with a big announcement next week,
Thomas
II. Media of the Week
A lovely essay by Aaron Voigt about Moby Dick, the Christian idea of hell, and a new TTRPG called Hellwhalers about damned sailors trying to kill a demon-whale and go to heaven.
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III. Links of the Week
Cannibal Halfling reviews the new edition of comedy scifi game, Paranoia.
Roll20 is finally getting a complete overhaul called Jumpgate.
IV. Small Ads
All links in the newsletter are completely based on my own interest. But to help support my work, this section contains sponsored links and advertisements. If you’d like your products to appear here, read the submission form.
A wondrous worldmaking game with tension, traitors, and a living chimera you call home — The Marvelous Children of Inang-Uri by momatoes. All proceeds donated to Doctors Without Borders.
Beyond the Pale is an adventure inspired by Jewish folklore and mysticism. The adventure takes places in tight-knit but divided religious community, facing its efforts to fight the march of progress.
Dive into the darkness with Spirit Fall. Immerse yourself in a stress-based dice system, rewarding teamwork, and a post-apocalyptic NYC transformed into a haunting nightmare. Our Kickstarter has just launched!
This newsletter is currently sponsored by the Bundle of Holding.
A bundle of Sly Flourish’s DM advice books including Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master.
A bundle of Bluebeard’s Bride, the iconic game of gender and horror from Magpie Games
Hello, dear readers. This newsletter is written by me, Thomas Manuel. If you’d like to support this newsletter, share it with a friend or buy one of my games from my itch store. If you’d like to say something to me, you can reply to this email or click below!