Inspired by a conversation in the Let’s Play thread.
Obviously, there’s games that almost everyone recognises are great. Slammed!, for example, has justifiably had large amounts of praise lavished on it.
But what do you see as the hidden gems of CoG? Those games that you love and think deserve a wider audience. Whether official or hosted, tell us what you love about them here.
I’ve got four.
Choice of the Star Captain is just amazing. Great writing, with a really dry wit. I also think the characterisation is top notch throughout. Without it being derivative in any way, the writing and satirical intent reminds me of Harry Harrison’s Bill the Galactic Hero.
I’m also a big fan of the two games from Gavin Inglis, Eerie Estate Agent and Neighbourhood Necromancer. Again, they both have strong comedy elements, but it’s understated rather than wacky. (I don’t do wacky). I think where is real strength lies is in mixing the supernatural with the mundane of real life, in a way that feels really natural.
From hosted games, Apex Patrol is great. It feels like you’re in complete control; there’s almost no false decisions. Of the games I’ve played from here, this is the one that I think captures the feel of an epic space opera best.
Choice of Kung Fu has a really epic quality to it imo, and it’s a game I often come back to. Same with Eerie Estate Agent and Choice of Star Captain, which both have plenty of wit. I think those three games are fairly underrated.
Choice of Kung Fu was a game I really liked, and don’t really see mentioned on the forum. Marine Raider as well, written by the redoubtable Allen Gies.
Choice of Kung Fu actually has great ratings and (seemingly) some of the highest sales of any of the CoGs, so it does seem a little weird to me that it isn’t mentioned as much on the forums.
I’ve had a bit of a naff day and that links cheered me up as changing choice of games to hosted games showed Unnatural was not only 2nd but it had jumped up 117 places to 184 overall
Neighborhood Necromancer and Psy High. I don’t know, there’s just something about a high school student who discovers they have powers plot that appeals to the angsty teenager within me. It’s sad that these two gems are often overlooked by the community.
Wow, I should start checking which games get a steam release! Maybe overlooked wasn’t the right word. More like overshadowed by the other great games that came out around the same time.
Not to critique your choice, but I’d say that none of the Steam games count as under-rated.
So that’s Slammed!, Curse of the Black Cat, Choice of the Petal Throne, Hero of Kendrickstone, Mecha Ace, Hollywood Visionary, Heroes Rise trilogy, Psy High, Choice of Deathless, Choice of Robots, and Tin Star.
Of note I think are the votes we as a community did for 2014. I’d say underrated is at the bottom half of the list.
Choice of Games 2014 Final results:
Title Average Stdev
Choice of Robots 4.5 0.8
Heroes Rise: HeroFall 4.1 1.0
Mecha Ace 4.0 1.0
Psy High 3.7 0.8
Creatures Such as We 3.6 1.0
Thieves' Gambit: The Curse o 3.3 0.9
The Last Monster Master 3.0 1.2
Neighbourhood Necromancer 3.0 0.9
Yeti's Parole Officer 2.8 0.8
NOLA Is Burning 2.6 1.0
Choice of the Rock Star 2.5 1.0
Hosted Games 2014 Final results:
Title Average Stdev
Tin Star 4.6 0.8
Life of a Mobster 4.1 0.9
Fatehaven 3.8 1.0
Unnatural 3.7 1.0
Divided We Fall 3.3 1.1
Somme Trench 3.3 1.1
Silent Gear 2.8 1.0
Trial of the Demon Hunter 2.7 1.0
Planetary Quarantine 2.7 0.8
Gangs of Old Camp 2.2 0.9
Path of Light 2.2 0.9
Sword of the Elements 2.0 0.9
The Ascot 2.0 0.9
I actually don’t like Neighborhood Necromancer. I was really excited for it when it was released, but I always have issues with the coding. I always die at the same place, no matter what, unless I’m playing an evil psychopath - that really killed my enjoyment of the game.
I like most of the other games I’ve played, though. Psy High’s one of my favorites.
Well, you’ve stolen my picks with Star Captain and the Inglis games. Don’t know which others I’d describe as underrated… I’ve yet to hear a bad word about Kung Fu and have heard lots of good ones, but it’s true that it doesn’t get a whole lot of conversation.
I think the Cloud City game is… over-hated? I wouldn’t call it a hidden gem, but back when people talked about it, they were a lot more vitriolic than I thought it deserved.
Edit: oh, and in the Hosted category, I think Divided We Fall counts as a hidden gem. A historical game with four different first-person protagonists of both genders – there’s definitely nothing else like it on the site.
Since everyone has basically mentioned my picks, I’ll venture out and say that all CoG games are underrated in general.
Whenever I try to explain the concept of CoG games to someone who’s never been exposed, they’re usually like “No pictures? No sound?? Just reading??? That sounds boring!” And those who are familiar with CoG usually only played Choice of the Dragon, Choice of Broadsides, and/or Choice of the Vampire. They don’t think the experience is worth paying for, so they brush off the other games. Is reading really so appalling to most people?
I haven’t had this problem, but I think it’s because I start from the context of the printed page rather than the context of a game. My spiel goes something like this:
“Remember Choose Your Own Adventure books from the 80’s? Choice of Games are like that, but aimed at high schoolers and adults rather than kids, and you play on your [phone, iPad, computer - whichever device this person prefers]. Because CoG games are digital, they can track much more complicated decisions than a physical book can.”
…and I go straight from there into a pitch for Choice of Robots, because it’s my favorite CoG and reliably interests people when I pitch it.
If I have a device available, I sit them down and get them to try Robots on the spot. If I can keep them from dropping out during the weird prologue, then I usually have them hooked by the end of the first chapter.
When I talk about Trial of the Demon Hunter to strangers or acquaintences, they seem amazed. Most people have never heard of interactive fiction, so it really intriques them. The thing is, you’ve got to call it a “cool book” instead of a “boring video game.”
That’s an interesting tactic. FWIW, I usually ask to see their phone, and then put Dragon, Broadsides, Romance, and Necromancer on their phones. That way there’s no “oh, I’ll download it later…”
