I’ve been wanting to write up a list of games that I enjoy that maybe most people haven’t heard of, so here it is! This list is by no means comprehensive, so maybe I’ll write more lists one day.

Do Not Feed the Monkeys is a self-described “digital voyeur simulator.” You join a special voyeurism club in which you gain access to “cages,” AKA unsecured cameras. You spend your days working random part-time jobs in a desperate attempt to pay your rent, but if you interact with the cages, you may get more money and better bonuses. However, you can’t get caught, or the cameras will get shut off for good! 

Graveyard Keeper is a game for people who love doing tedious tasks that lead to doing even more tedious tasks. Most fans of classic Harvest Moon style games will love this unique entry to the genre. Be warned, however, there’s no meaningful relationship development or romance in this game–your little guy already has a motive and a woman he is trying to get back to. 

Hero & Daughter is a game I keep going back to time and time again. It’s a joyful waifu-collectathon and rogue-lite parody of all those RPGMaker games you’ve seen around. You get to help out the hero’s town, and have a house that you can put default RPGMaker furniture in along with building relationships with the girls of your choice. It continues to be fun for much longer than I ever thought it could possibly be.

Gleaner Heights is yet another Harvest Moon style game, with a Twin Peaks twist. It has one of the more unique towns that you’ll see in these types of games, with a lot of meaningful choices that can lead to the deaths of certain town members. Triggering all of the events was definitely my favorite part of this game. The only real issue I had was that the controls can be a bit iffy sometimes.

Draw Puzzle is like Picross, but not. I seriously can’t get enough of this game. Draw Puzzle 2, when?

And here we are again with another Harvest Moon–just kidding. Cattails manages to capture the feeling of a Harvest Moon game, but without actually being anything like it. It was incredibly fun to run around as a cat, desperately searching for food and capturing new territories for my faction. 

Verdant Skies is another farming game, but with more of a focus on relationship building and helping your little village. I loved nearly every character and enjoyed spending time with them. A more detailed review of Verdant Skies can be found here featuring Jane Titor. 

The Islander shouldn’t be as fun as it is. Don’t go into this game thinking it’s going to be like Stardew Valley, because it’s not. Instead, it’s an idle-ish game where you build your island and fill it out with decorations. I just kept playing this game over and over. I absolutely cannot wait for The Islander 2!

Always Sometimes Monsters is a game about choices. I’ve always been a big fan of RPGMaker games that aren’t actually RPGs, because I find that they often do really fun and creative things within them, and this one definitely does. At several points in the game you have to face ethical dilemmas, all leading up to the divisive ending. 

Perfect for fans of Freebird Games (To the Moon, Finding Paradise), Rakuen is perhaps the best RPGMaker game I’ve ever played. It tells an incredible story and has a beautiful world to explore. The little puzzles it has are fun as well. This one cannot be missed.

The Spiral Scouts (NSFW) comes from the creators of HuniePop, with crude jokes being the only similarity between the two. It’s a puzzle game through and through, and the puzzles are both very clever and sometimes teeth-grindingly difficult. The humor may not be for everyone, but I enjoyed my time with this game.

From the creator of Pony Island, The Hex is another bizarre and sometimes meta adventure about exploring different video games made by one creator. It’s really weird, but exploring all the different mechanics and overarching story was a joy.

Dropsy is a psychopop point & click open world-ish adventure…where you can hug everyone. There’s no text in the game, but the story is still easy to follow and puzzles aren’t too tough. Even if you hate clowns, it’s hard to be afraid of the ones in this game. 

MechaNika is a point-and-click adventure game about a little girl who wants to destroy the world. She’s a brilliant mechanic who knows her way around her dad’s garage. This, and its sequel, Agatha Knife, are both short and fun little adventures.

Foto Flash is an NSFW fetch quest game about running around and collecting pin-up photos for your boss. The art in this game really stands out, as it has both a unique style and character designs.