My "Definitive Collection"
Nice to meet you! Let me help you find - and discuss - your next favorite game.
Before I was in the game industry, I was a (middle and high school) teacher. And while that job has PLENTY of ups and downs, one of my favorite things to do was to help students fall in love with storytelling by connecting them with books, movies, and yes, even games. While I'm not a classroom teacher anymore, I still love recommending media to folks! I believe in the power of stories to help us learn more about ourselves and the world around us. And, games immerse us in stories, play, and experiences in ways that I especially enjoy. For that reason, one of my goals since entering the industry has been helping surface and recommend games to people -- particularly folks who may not feel like there's a game out there for them -- because I really believe there is.
SO! All that's well and good, but what do I do? Why should you check out my work? I've been in the industry in various capacities over the last decade: I've worked as a game developer (particularly in production and community, with some small bits of writing here and there) as well as in games marketing and publishing doing a little bit of everything: general marketing strategy, trailer editing, social media, influencer strategy, biz dev, Steam events, games funding, pitch evaluation, etc. Right now, I'm one-fourth of the Wholesome Games team (we curate showcases, host Steam events, and publish games). I also spend a lot of time helping with other game showcases and consulting with studios on production, marketing, and influencer strategy. You can find my other work covering games in places like Geeks & Grounds, my game discussion club where we play games and brew thoughtful conversations together! And, if you like watching Let's Plays and thoughts on games via YouTube? Well, you can find me there, too. I also am part of The Indie Council: shoutout to Jill Grodt and Janet Garcia, my fellow council members!
I'm looking forward to sharing my thoughts on a variety of games: not just how they play, but how they made me feel. How I think they'll make you feel! I enjoy nearly every genre and will try most games at least once to see for sure, but I especially seek out turn-based RPGs, puzzles -- especially deductive mystery-style puzzles -- farming sims, life sims, metroidvanias, adventure games, and even the occasional horror game. Bonus: I also love a game that makes me cry. It's cathartic! It's fun! (See? I meant it when I wanted games to make me feel things). Games with time loops are a personal favorite mechanic, and if I know the themes explore found family and hope? Done. Sold. I'm in!
While I do play occasional triple-A titles (Final Fantasy 7 Revelations will absolutely take over my life when it releases), I am a MAJOR fan of indie games and the opportunities they take to tell stories that we haven't heard, explore mechanics we haven't quite seen, and blend what we know to make things feel totally fresh. So if you follow along, anticipate a LOT of indies.
The "Definitive Collection"
To help you get to know me, I wanted to share a few games that I'd say are my "Definitive Collection". To be clear! This isn't 100% comprehensive...that'd be impossible, I think the ACTUAL "Definitive Collection" would go too long, and I'm already a bit wordy. But, these are games that, right now, are constantly top of mind for me and represent the foundations of what I seek out in gaming experiences.
If you connect with these, then I'd encourage you to stick around ~ follow me here, or find my work over at Youtube, Instagram, or via Geeks & Grounds!
Fellow Traveller
1000xRESIST is a thrilling sci-fi adventure. The year is unknown, and a disease spread by an alien invasion keeps you underground. You are Watcher. You dutifully fulfil your purpose in serving the ALLMOTHER, until the day you discover a shocking secret that changes everything.
🐋 You can't fit everything in a backpack ... and I can't really fit my love and adoration for this game in a few characters. It's hard for me to know where to start when talking about 1000xRESIST. I could share how this is one of the best sci-fi experiences out there or how this game weaves in themes of intergenerational trauma, cultural memory, resistance, healing, Sapphic yearning, the pandemic, and more in one theatrical package. Instead, I'll just say that while it can feel abstract and heady at times -- there are a fair number of "trust the process" moments -- this is up in my pantheon of "Games That Altered My Brain Chemistry" in how much it impacted me. 15/10, a game that remains (and remains, and remains) in my mind.
NPC Studio
Start your new life! Build the farm of your dreams as you discover a world brimming with possibilities. Magic, romance, and adventure all await you in this nostalgic farming / life sim RPG!
🐮 One of my all-time favorite farming/life sims! I still love classics like Stardew Valley, Harvest Moon: FOMT, and Coral Island, but the precise combination of nostalgia, polish, and personality make Fields of Mistria an absolute delight to play.
Nintendo
A turn-based JRPG and sequel to the then-Japan-only Earthbound Beginnings (1989) in which Ness, a young boy living in a land based on the USA, leaves home to go on an adventure through strange locations, get to know quirky characters, and defeat an unknowable alien threat called Giygas while facing up to the realities of growing up and becoming familiar with the real world.
🍔 The DNA of my more current favorite games can nearly all be traced back to Earthbound, and after finally playing this just a few years ago, I can see why it's been such an inspiration. Even with it's many rough edges (especially from a modern RPG perspective), the combination of fantastic and mundane, the way it embraces and encourages nostalgia, and even how it examines the corruption of adults through the lens of idealized childhood fantasies of heroism still rings true today.
Square Electronic Arts, Square, Sony Computer Entertainment
Final Fantasy X is the tenth main installment in the FF series and the first title released on sixth-generation consoles. It was also the first game to feature fully three-dimensional areas rather than including pre-rendered backdrops, and the first to include voice acting. Final Fantasy X tells the story of a star blitzball player, Tidus, who journeys with a young and beautiful summoner named Yuna on her quest to save the world of Spira from an endless cycle of destruction wrought by the colossal menace Sin.
🌊 We just celebrated 25 years of this game, which makes my bones feel like they're evaporating into ash, but it's a testament to Final Fantasy X that I just replayed it last year, and I feel it's themes and mechanics still hold up as one of the greatest games of all time (not just the Final Fantasy series). The love story of Tidus and Yuna (and their cut scene in Lake Macalania) is a canon event in my life and appreciation of games, and To Zanarkand remains one of the most striking piano pieces in games. This is also one of the most approachable Final Fantasy games -- and RPGs -- out there, one that I can easily recommend even to friends who don't consider themselves "gamers".
Namco
The King of All Cosmos accidentally destroyed the stars and—having recovered—wants the prince to rebuild them. Unfortunately the prince stands a little less than half a foot tall, so recreating the stars will require some effort. Enter the Katamari, a sphere the prince can push around our world to “roll up” items increasing the Katamari’s size until it’s suitable for the King. Taking place in stylized versions of Japanese houses, cities, and environs, the prince pushes the Katamari around collecting items which adhere to it. At first, the prince can only pick up smaller items, but as the Katamari grows, the more it can collect. Push pins and paper clips cling to the Katamari increasing its size so it can roll over obstacles and pick up bigger items. Over many levels, the Katamari can eventually pick up people, cars, and other bigger items. Players steer the Katamari from a third-person perspective using the analog sticks on the PS2. A tutorial stage takes the player through the controls and sets up the story as well as introducing a side story about a Japanese girl who can feel the cosmos. Wanting to challenge the prince, the King sets requirements on the Katamari’s size and sets time limits on the level. Bonus missions restore constellations and have their own restrictions. The world of Katamari Damacy is brought to life with off-beat animation and a catchy soundtrack. Players can find presents hidden in the levels that contain accessories for the prince. Two players can also battle head-to-head in a Katamari competition.
⭐Naaa nanana nana na na na Katamari Damacyyyy! Is there a game more chaotically joyful, existential, and bizarrely perfect as Katamari Damacy? I think not! From disappointing your father, the King of the Cosmos, to rolling up paper clips and people to recreate the stars in the sky, the game feels like a fever dream to play. This may very well be the first cleaning game out there, as there's nothing as satisfying as rolling through an area and completely clearing it of all the assets. And, like so many games on this list, the soundtrack is one for the books: One Lonely Star is my personal favorite, but every track is bursting with personality!
tobyfox
UNDERTALE! The RPG game where you don't have to destroy anyone.
❤ One of the most hopeful and sincere games I've played. It does require you to invest in the journey and truly take a leap of faith into the world and characters, but if you do, I think the ways it encourages and trusts players to try and be kind is truly remarkable. Not to mention, Toby Fox is one of the best composers of our time: this OST is outrageously good!
Annapurna Interactive
Named Game of the Year 2019 by Giant Bomb, Polygon, Eurogamer, and The Guardian, Outer Wilds is a critically-acclaimed and award-winning open world mystery about a solar system trapped in an endless time loop.
🚀 Whenever I hear the twang of a banjo, my heart skips a beat and I think of marshmallows, campfires, and the end of it all. This game won me over because of it's focus on curiosity and knowledge, it's open-universe format encouraging me to chase where my interests led. Should I adventure to the depths of Giant's Deep? Or the haunting Dark Bramble? (Actually, no, definitely not Dark Bramble...I avoid that place as much as I can!) Outer Wilds is about exploration and awe for the universe around us, and for fellow fans of mysteries and note-taking, I can't recommend it highly enough.
BONUS! (I just thought of this one and needed to share an extra, okay?)
Armor Games Studios
Live with the ever-present burden of being trapped in a time loop only you can know about in this turn-based RPG. Create a better future for you and your friends. Find hope where there is none left. Pray to the stars and free yourself from time.
⏳ Time loops? Turn-based RPG? Found family? Angst? Romantic tension?!? When I say this game has everything I love, it really does. Just go play it. It's brilliant.
Thanks for Reading!
If you made it this far, thank you! I really do love sharing my thoughts on games, so I hope you enjoyed getting this peek into my brain and why I do this. And, again, If you want to follow along for the ride, please do! Find me on here, YouTube, Instagram, and https://www.geeksandgrounds.com
🌻💌 Until next time