#Halls of Torment

[efangamez]

Hey y'all! Here is Efan's quick rundown and review of almost all the cool games I played this year, as well as my Steam in Review!

1. Darkest Dungeon

I've been playing this game for nearly ten years, and I finally beat it this year. Not a 2023 release, but a huge milestone for myself. After a terrible year before it, I made it a goal to face my fears and beat this game. Lo' and behold, I did, and it's one of my own personal gaming accomplishments. It's solidified as the best turn based game I've ever played, but it does have its late-game issues, specifically with the Crimson Court maps and the final dungeon maps. It's just absurd tbh. However, this is one of my favorite games of all time, if not my favorite, and it's a must have for horror fans, HP Lovecrft fans, and turn based game fans. 9.7/10

2. Sun Haven

A wonderful and cute farming sim that scratched an itch no other could scratch. Its characters are fun, the music is solid, the graphics are very bright and fantastical, and the combat was simple yet kinda fun. I really loved the progression in this game too. It still has its issues, such as the late game (it may have been fixed because this game was in early access) and some of the utility of the workbenches you can use. All in all, a very solid farming sim (and just life sim in general tbh) if you like a little bit of fantasy mixed in. 9/10

3. Halls of Torment

My favorite Survivor game. The music, aesthetics, progression, characters, and maps are all different enough to keep you coming back for more. As I am disabled, these games are actually super fun to play because I only have to play with one hand. It was in early access when I played it heavily, so it had some issues like the handling of inventory, some balance issues, and feature creep issues, but they may have been fixed now. 9.3/10

4. Cassette Beasts

A must-play monster battler with an amazing plot, an incredible soundtrack, interesting monsters, and great characters for the most part. If you've been really wanting a game that is reminiscent of Pokemon colleseum but also want that 2d love of the Black and White games, this is a must have. It does have some balance issues (again, early access game when I played), but other than that and maybe some performance issues that are probably fixed by now, it was an incredible game that made me want a 2d Pokemon game more than ever. 9/10

5. Roboquest

A fantastic FPS roguelike game with great gunplay, movement, art direction, and music too. Each weapon feels pretty unique, it has melee weapons (wish there were more though) and a progression system that's really cool. It plays like if Doom Eternal had a kid with Borderlands, and I think plays a bit better than any other RANGED FPS roguelike/lite that I've played. I will say the difficulty settings are really cool, but I think they are a little too enticing due to game balance as of 1.0 due to progression being a bit of a grind. I think that having different endings for each difficulty might be a cool idea, each as satisfying as the other, but I know that can be a pain to develop. 9/10

6. Mortal Sin

A beautifully dark and trippy mostly melee FPS roguelike that takes the intensity of DOOM and the melee weapons of Elderborn and drenches it in a slow-mo filled, heavy swinging fun time. It's definitely the most FUN game this year as I've been craving an FPS melee roguelike for a while. It accomplishes this and then some with pretty cool progression that adds some variety to each game. The art direction reminds me of a more purple and red MORK BORG (fellow TTRPGers rejoice) and I LOVE it. The only issues to me are that the story and lore are a bit boring and lacking, but again it's in early access, so it has time to cook. 9.5/10

7. And last, my game of the year, LUNACID by @stylishkira

What a gorgeous game all around. The music has probably the most atmosphere out of any indie game I've played outside of Darkest Dungeon. Its levelling system is accessible but fun, you can create your own character with their own name and profile picture which I think is SO cool (Mortal Sin should totally do this if it's not too much of a copy). The combat is really fun and the sound design is probably second, once again, to Darkest Dungeon. It was an absolutely magical experience playing this game, and an experience I don't think I'll ever forget. I do think, however, that the ending feels really really rushed, and that sullied my experience a little bit, and the bosses are pretty unbalanced because you can just spam all of your health potions and tank the bosses, but the experience leading up to the ending is amazing. Also, I know the true ending is purposely a little complex, but tbh, if the goal was to have the "true" endings similar to the Souls games, having the final climactic boss (which I won't spoil, but is really cool) be the core of the normal ending, paired with alternate endings WITH that really cool final boss I think, might make the experience a bit more satisfying. It's already kinda implemented, but I loved this game so much that the standard ending just kinda felt....empty. Don't let these critiques stop you from playing this game, however. It's one of my favorites of all time, and I only give these critiques because I love this game so much. This is a MUST PLAY, and for the price, it's an absolute steal and should be priced up, imo. I cannot wait to see where the direction of possible King's Field style games come, because I am THIRSTY for more! 9.6/10

Annnddddddd that's it! Some great other games I played this year were the Demon Souls remake (9.2/10) Shadow of the Colossus (9.3/10), and Bloodborne (for probably the 30th time, and that's no joke, 9.8/10), and Quake (9.8/10).

#ttrpg #indie ttrpg #trans #queer #indie #gamedev #game dev #cyberpunk #scifi #dnd #indie games #indie game development #halls of torment #darkest dungeon #bloodborne #lunacid #roboquest #sun haven #cassette beasts

[thydungeongal]

No one asked but here's my top 5 games of 2023

5. Laika: Aged Through Blood

A weird hybrid of one of those 2D motocross games where you need to balance on your bike while doing cool flips, a shooter with bullet time, and a Metroidvania. Also, starring a cast of furries in a post-apocalyptic setting.

Laika is not a nice game. It starts with a person getting gutted and strung from a tree using their guts. Its story is very dark and seemingly hopeless at times. I have yet to finish it, but it very much seems like one of those stories where things get progressively worse because the people in power are short-sighted and motivated by selfishness. But besides that, it's a dang good game.

Laika really shines in the gameplay department: you'll find yourself doing insane combos where you'll shoot two enemies while doing a backflip only to rotate your bike midair to deflect the bullet of a third enemy, switch to your shotgun to kill one more enemy while using the boost from the shotgun's recoil to dodge another bullet, and finally to completely on accident kill the final enemy because one of the shotgun's pellets ricochet'd off of an enemy's assault rifle.

When the game works it is extremely rewarding and really gets you into that high-octane flow state. It's not quite perfect though: as I said, I have yet to finish it, but thus far I've had enough fun with it to give it a place in my top 5, and the main reason keeping it away from a higher spot on my list is that as apparently dictated by law when it comes to Metroidvanias that take after Dark Souls, the game has a few bosses that are both exercises in frustration while not actually utilizing the gameplay to the fullest. The cool worm in the mines is an early-game highlight, but the goddamn giant chicken pope can go fuck itself.

4. Sea of Stars

Sea of Stars is an indie JRPG inspired by many classics of the genre, but with its most obvious inspiration being Chrono Trigger. Combining a beautiful pixel art style with a turn-based combat system with action inputs in the style of the Mario RPGs and a system based around using appropriate attack types to interrupt enemy attacks and make them vulnerable, on a mechanical level it's a fantastic game. The soundtrack also kicks ass.

Having said that, while the story is by no means bad it's also not terribly memorable? Also, the two main characters (who you choose one to be your main at the start... Which actually doesn't affect anything) are almost devoid of personality while still not being silent protagonists, which I think is the worst of both worlds. Anyway, the cast is saved entirely by the nicest and coolest character in the history of JRPGs GARL!!!

Anyway, I know that comes off more critical, but the truth is it wouldn't be on my top 5 if I didn't think it was a fantastic game. It's a fantastic game that just happens to be the weakest in the main character and story department, but not to the degree where it detracts from the experience. JRPG fans, you should really check this out.

3. Halls of Torment

Vampire Survivors is one of my favorite games of the past couple of years, but it didn't come out in 2023 so I can't put it on this list. You know what did come out in 2023? That's right, Halls of Torment.

Halls of Torment is best described as "what if Vampire Survivors but Diablo instead of Castlevania," and honestly? That simple twist kinda takes it over the top for me. The gameplay loop is much the same: walk around a big map, killing hordes of monsters, picking up experience points and new weapons along the way, upgrading your abilities as you progress. Much like in Vampire Survivors it's a game that tests your ability to avoid enemies while making little spreadsheets in your head at the same time.

I wouldn't say it's better than Vampire Survivors, because for the most part it's just more of the same, but the variety in characters, weapons, and upgrades makes it a unique twist on the formula. If you've wanted to use a flamethrower to take down Diablo's hordes while overdosing on dopamine, this is the game for you.

2. Lunacid

A true throwback and tribute to those PS1 and PS2 days when FromSoft hadn't quite figured out what a Dark Souls is and was mostly making janky mech games and janky first-person dungeon crawlers, Lunacid is basically a spiritual successor to those FromSoft dungeon crawlers.

Lunacid not only nails the atmosphere of pressing loneliness that comes with exploring a mysterious, interconnected underworld, it's also a game that oozes personality and charm. None of its actual gameplay systems are revolutionary, but there's enough variety of weapons, spells, damage types, and possible builds to allow for a very personal gaming experience.

Couple that with a soundtrack that is genuinely spooky at times while also really selling the ennui and loneliness of the setting at others, it's definitely one of the highlights of this year.

1. Cassette Beasts

Cassette Beasts took me completely by surprise and completely consumed me for the next month since its release after which I felt a mighty need to 100% it. It's a rare game that manages to do that to me.

Cassette Beasts is a monster-collecting game in the style of Pokémon but with a few important twists: first of all, you always control a pair of characters instead of just one. Secondly, your characters don't call monsters into battle, they transform into them (this is mostly important in trainer battles where it's entirely possible to take out the trainer's monster form and knock them out before they can transform into a new monster!), and finally its elemental rock-paper-scissors system isn't based on just boosting damage, but on a system of elemental interactions granting buffs and debuffs.

Hit a plant time creature with a fire attack and they're now burning. Hit a glass monster with a metal type move and now there's glass everywhere, dealing minor damage to any character making a melee attack. Coupled with a system where all moves and abilities come in the form of stickers attached to the monsters and which can be detached and attached onto other monsters, you have a monster-collecting game with a lot of tactical depth.

It's obviously not perfectly balanced for competitive play, which will be coming in a future update that'll add online multiplayer, but idk it's an extremely cute, heartfelt, and deep little game. Also, the soundtrack is one of the best video game soundtracks I've had the pleasure of listening to, and also there's a cute doggy.

#cassette beasts #lunacid #sea of stars #halls of torment #laika: aged through blood

[i-can-even-burn-salad]

Halls of Torment

[ID: The name of the game, Halls of Torment, in big, red letters next to a sword fighter and a person with a bow, surrounded by a horde of undead monsters. End ID]

A while ago, I couldn't scroll 5 min on reddit without coming across Vampire Survivors. Luckily, I really don't like vampires, so I blissfully ignored it, until the day I found this one instead. Now the problem is, I really do like Diablo, and that's how I lost several weeks of my life.

I mean, it's obviously not Diablo. But the artstyle reminds me of Diablo II, which was one of my first video games, with the isometric graphics and character select and flashy spells and big health bubble.

[ID: Main screen of the game, with the Halls of Torment logo above 9 characters standing around a large campfire. Text below reads Choose a hero! The rest of the area is blacked out. End ID]

I don't usually play roguelikes/lites, so I can't compare much, but the game consists of 30 min runs (+ menu time, + final boss) through procedurally generated maps with waves of monsters to be defeated.

When you start out, you are a warrior and have nothing, and the amount of different upgrades you can unlock is a bit overwhelming. There are:

New classes

New maps

Stat boosts

Items

Abilities

Traits

Potions

Everything is tied to achievements, and most of it has to be paid with gold. Beat a certain boss, unlock the next character or map. Deal a certain amount of damage with an ability, unlock a new upgrade for that ability.

Find and save the wellkeeper, and you unlock the ability to send the gear you find up one at a time, where you can purchase it with gold. Find and save the alchemist, then gather potion ingredients and then retrieve (and purchase) bottles to unlock potions that allow you to reroll traits, abilities, and gear, or to remove traits from the selection from this run, or even apply them twice.

[ID: Level up screen, showing a selection of 4 different traits that will increase movement speed, crit chance, area or block strength. Next to it is a box with several different potion options. End ID]

Does it have some annoyances? Sure. The randomness of the abilities and traits can be a pain when hunting for certain achievements — one is to inflict 100k slow stacks, for which I wanted two certain abilities and their upgrades. If I don't get them that run, tough luck, 30 min wasted.

The game is in early access, so things still change regularly, and your overpowered favorite item might get a nerf, or the requirements for an achievement you almost reached change. For a while, I also had some crashes with some of the new skills, annoyingly after 20 min of a run, but those were quickly fixed.

[ID: The game screen, with the left side showing a round health bubble and a blue experience bar, and the right side showing all active abilities, blessings, the agony IV (4) rank, as well as gold, monsters slain, and remaining time. In the middle, the map is basically covered in monsters, with many bright red debuff effects over their heads, as well as fire, and floating damage numbers. End ID]

The effects can be a bit much. You have pretty much every variant of flashing, blinking, glowing, moving lights. Luckily, a lot of the effects can be turned off, and a lot of the abilities you don't have to use ever again once you unlock their achievement.

There is a demo available, but the worst offenders are pretty late unlocks. One item, for example, is a pair of boots that charge while moving and then send out a circular shockwave.

[ID: The item stash, showing the equipped gear of the Sorceress, with 4 fields for loadouts below, and all available items to the right. They're sorted in categories of helmets, amulets, rings, armor, boots and gloves. A note below reads: You can buy new items from the Wellkeeper, once you've retrieved them through the well. End ID]

The maps aren't spectacular, but visually very different, and two of them have fun gimmicks. Some of the quests/unlocks require specialized builds, some brute force, and you can always farm more gold to unlock all items. One thing I love, there isn't only one valid build. I was able to kick ass on pretty much every class.

Watching my weakling warrior grow from dying in 5 min to standing still killing everything on screen with his hands tied behind his back was very satisfying. So far, I got 70 hours out of this, and the last level isn't even out yet. I played all of them on the steam deck, which it fully supports, even if the text is a bit small, and the overcrowded effect mess severely affects the performance.

Best 5 Euro I've ever spent.

#salad-games #Halls of Torment

[ojiisan01]

Thumbnail comms for Ampty Brains on YT

#my art #commissions #my commissions #my commission #point blank #halls of torment

[honoraryravenwatch]

has this been done?

#elder scrolls online #teso #the elder scrolls online #tes online #sai sahan #the five companions #eso meme #halls of torment #this is dumb #i love it tho #my post

[captainchaosartworks]

Halls of Torment: Exterminator

Halls of Torment has really grabbed my attention lately. It's one of those "Bullet Heaven"-type horde-survival roguelites. This one is a bit more methodically-paced and channels the aesthetic of the old Diablo games with pre-rendered sprites and such.

I wanted to draw something from it so here's the Exterminator, my favorite class. Need a light? 🧑‍⚕️🔥💀

Posted using PostyBirb

#halls of torment #fanart #exterminator #plague doctor #flamethrower #skull #fire #color practice #flames #hat #bullet heaven #gameart

[wolfgabe]

My favorite video games of 2023 so far

#legend of zelda tears of the kingdom #pizza tower #hi fi rush #system shock #dead space remake #vampire survivors #halls of torment #pikmin 4 #video games

[sanguine-tenshi]

Play Halls of torment, it's only 4$ on steam currently.

#halls of torment #no im not addicted #who are you? the cops? mind your business

[kurogamu]

Diablo but Bullet Heaven! Halls of Torment Gameplay

#youtube #bullet heaven #vampire survivors #gameplay #game #indie game #halls of torment

[replicate9]

#gaming #youtube #video games #indie games #roguelike #halls of torment

[thegamingcavern]

How to Unlock the Exterminator in Halls of Torment

Learn how to unlock the Exterminator in #HallsOfTorment

There are loads of character to unlock in Halls of Torment, like the Exterminator. The Exterminator is a mean character who, unlike the Swordsman and the Archer, uses a flamethrower as his primary weapon. Unlocking the Exterminator can make a big difference in your gameplay and allow you to get into elemental damage types. Below we’ll discuss how to unlock the Exterminator in Halls of…

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#Halls of Torment

[hellsite-hall-of-fame]

Did you know that on desktop, when you see the color of the sky on your dashboard, mouse over it, and press and hold the R key, something magical will happen? I think it only works if you hold R for like 10-15 seconds tho

what an incredible fun fact!!

everyone should go do this magical trick :)

#please and thank you :) #I just love tormenting people with the color of the sky ! #ask #hellsite hall of fame curator’s bullshit

[thegreatmoof]

This is so fucking funny. Blizzard, one of the oldest and largest game dev studios in the world, is getting it's shit absolutely embarrassingly wrecked by a free fangame made by some silly vtuber fans.

#holocure #overwatch #if you like vampire survivor or halls of torment then check out holocure #it's free and a legitimately fun game #i main fauna #hololive #vtuber

[vinlynce]

Before I realized it, false cries resounded with spite- Those coloured eyes are melting you- My self in the mirror begins to crack- It's a [fake] distortion everyone mistook for me.

RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Finally finished this beast! Been rotating around in my brain for a good few months :D! Link in quote has the translation I was following teehee

#lisia pokemon #idol lisia #pokemon #coordinator lisia #canary in a coal mine au #hall superstar lisia #HI. SORRY TO THE LISIA TAGS IVE BEEN TORMENTING WITH THIS AU /LH #animatic #gym leader wallace #for a quick sec lol

[lordgrimwing]

okay, i know about all the aus in your post except the Art Therapy in Mandos one. can you pleeeease enlighten me? :>>>

Ok, it's very simple and here goes.

Art Therapy in Mandos

So, we all know how Feanor must constantly be working on projects and doing things or else he might actually die (exaggeration), right? Well, filling your mind with projects etc isn't great for having time to meditate upon your actions and heal from traumas in Mandos, but Namos can clearly see that the traditional 'meditate in silence and isolation' that works for most of the eldar is not going to cut it for firey Feanor.

Namo comes up with a new kind of healing method for Feanor that involves 12 crayons and one of those adult meditative coloring books. He gives these items to Feanor without explanation.

Feanor hated it so much. It's so dull and pointless to color everything in, but he has to be perfect and the best so he colored the first several books in shocking realism given the limited colors, staying exactly inside the lines. Every time he finishes, a maia comes and takes the book away and replaces it with another.

He doesn't understand the purpose of this ridiculous assignment, the maiar hardly speak to him, and Namo won't answer his shouted demands for answers. They just keep giving him fresh books and replenishing the crayons and the only explanation Feanor can come up with is that he somehow isn't completing the books the way the Vala wants him to.

'Namo is unreasonable' he seethes to himself as he creates yet another near exact replica of Lorien's gates. Never have any coloring books been competed with such exacting attention to detail and symmetry using only the waxy crayons given to children who have yet to earn the right for better tools. 'The Valar are unreasonable,' he spits as he recreates a swan boat with the lightest touches of yellow and orange and pink and white.

So it continues until one day Feanor has screamed himself nearly hoarse at the absent Vala. Why persist in playing this game when Namo makes it clear he will never accept his work and will always make him do it again, he wonders. He takes up the red crayon. It has no purpose here in this picture. He drags it across the page anyway, crossing over the lines with an out of place streak of red.

Somehow, through all of this, Feanor learns to let go of his perfectionism, accepts that his ability to create wonderful and miraculous things does not determine his worth, etc etc, healing and understanding, etc etc.

Eventually, Namo lets him out of Mandos :)

Ask me about fics that live rent-free in my head!

#that's it #that's the au #just me giving feanor a little light torment as he lets go of perfection and being the best #because that isn't healthy and namo definitely can't let him go until he learns to let go of that #feanor #namo #halls of mandos #the silm #grimwing gripes #rent-free fic game

[dragonboots10]

I watched episode 6 last night

He was so funny for this I was laughing out loud at 2 am

#I’m sorry: #you gaslit this poor man #in front of the cops and his girlfriend #and you’ve been actively tormenting him for fun #the fact that you would look him in the face #and say ‘woah babygirl you’re in a mood today’ #as if you aren’t literally the reason he’s currently screaming at people in the hall #is hilarious #strangers from hell #hell is other people #seo moonjo #lee dong wook #yoon jongwoo #im siwan #kdrama #horror #ldw #mjjw #kdrama gif