The Sunday Gaming Club #2

You thought we wouldn’t come back, but we did! We totally did! The header picture is unrelated, except that I’m listening to it as I’m posting, and it has the word Sunday in it.

This week’s games have a decidedly adventure flair to them. One of them is very British, so would be a fun play if you just finished watching the new episode of Doctor Who. That’s what I do on Sundays, apparently: Doctor Who and indie games. Speaking of which, hit the jump to find out which ones we’ve got for you:

The Marquee: Ben There, Dan That

I would go so far as to say this and its esteemed sequel (available on steam for a pittance) are two of the absolute best adventure games ever made by human hands. These games are what you remember games like The Secret of Monkey Island being like when you were kids. You know, actually funny, as opposed to nostalgically chuckle-worthy.

Ben There, Dan That stars two blokes (guess their names!) who may or may not happen to be the creators of the game as they go on a quest to find a new TV antenna, and from there conquer time and space itself. I’ll be honest: most of it doesn’t make sense. But that’s okay, because the puzzles are logical, and the situations are so hilarious you won’t care.

It’s one of my favorite games ever, free or no, and I highly recommend plunking down the cash on steam or their website for its sequel, which is longer and funnier. Which I thought was impossible.

The Appetizer: Pathways

A game made by Terry Cavanagh, creator of one of my favorite titles of this year, VVVVVV (so good I’ve beaten it three times). Pathways is nothing like VVVVVV, though. It’s much more adventure like; heck, you can’t even die over and over trying to jump over a pit of spikes!

Does that mean it sucks? No. It’s a neat little exploration of life and death. Yes, this makes it one of those art games you don’t care about, but you should give it a go. It’s got some excellent pixel art, and it’s a pretty thought provoking experience. And it’s also quite short.

The Main Course: Desktop Dungeons

The time sink. Maybe I didn’t capitalize that right. THE time sink. Perhaps the most addictive game I’ve ever played, it’s equal parts puzzler and roguelike, where you are tasked to explore a small dungeon filled with monsters and kill a terrifically difficult boss. With 18 classes to play, along with 7 races and 6 dungeons, there’s a lot of content here.

The game itself is a puzzle because the enemies don’t move. They don’t actually seem malicious. I like to imagine you’re just playing as a dick who moves into these poor monsters’ homes and steal their things, but that’s just me. Anyway, the game is difficult, but it’s imminently playable.

Did I mention you can also play it ten times in a row when you’re trying to write a column? Because I did. It may or may not ruin your life, I must warn you.

See you next week, everyone! With three more games you may or may not consider playing!