Is Vibe a genre?

[PutridMeat]

The question is half-joke. This is one of those games that, for me, is permeated with a "vibe" that is so strong that it is kinda what the game is all about IMO.

With most games it's about the gameplay hooks and loops, or the story, or the online features, etc. Lunacid really seems to be about none of those things. While some of them are surely present, the main takeaway for me is the "vibe". Vibes like it's 3am, I just dropped acid and popped the King's Field 2 disc into my Playstation vibes. Like the feels from playing Ocarina of Time and going down into the well for the first time vibes. High key notes of buying the strategy guide because you can't find all the secrets but also because it has cool pictures vibes. Going to your friend's house and knocking on his door to talk about a game because cell phones aren't a thing yet vibes. Listening to the Symphony of the Night soundtrack while making a cool Twin Peaks-themed bitmap for your Windows 95 desktop vibes.

Anyone got any recommends for other games where the vibe is so strong it is practically a gameplay element?

[vermis]

i guess this is going to vary between people and probably the state of mind you're in when you try it, but i can think of a few maybe. i'm assuming you don't mean "similar vibe" but a vibe of its own

you might know this one as it's also by Kira but in case you don't:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/963710/Lost_in_Vivo/

i think this one has vibes. i think this game will vibrate
https://store.steampowered.com/app/240440/Quadrilateral_Cowboy/

this is a short free game that may or may not do the vibe thing that you are looking for
https://store.steampowered.com/app/391270/Fingerbones/

pretty good vibes. i think this counts
https://store.steampowered.com/app/897030/Paratopic/

this leans more towards horror but it's also free
https://store.steampowered.com/app/952250/SEPTEMBER_1999/

oh damn i forgot the biggest vibes of all
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1129920/Tales_From_OffPeak_City_Vol_1/

well i don't know if any of these are close to the mark for you or not. i hope at least one is.

can i see your Twin Peaks themed bitmap

[PutridMeat]

Oh yes. This will do nicely. A couple of these I've heard of in passing. I've also played the original Off-Peak and didn't even know there was a follow-up, so that's exciting.

Originally posted by video game hero:

can i see your Twin Peaks themed bitmap

Alas, the original is lost to the sands of time. However, this is my current, very minimalist, desktop:

https://i.imgur.com/hxMd694.png

I have a hidden, interactive Rainmeter overlay. If you mouseover the cigarette, it lights it. Clicking on the lit cigarette will open up Firefox.

[vermis]

Originally posted by PutridMeat:

I have a hidden, interactive Rainmeter overlay. If you mouseover the cigarette, it lights it. Clicking on the lit cigarette will open up Firefox.

i love it

[hot man one eyeball]

Originally posted by PutridMeat:

Oh yes. This will do nicely. A couple of these I've heard of in passing. I've also played the original Off-Peak and didn't even know there was a follow-up, so that's exciting.

Originally posted by video game hero:

can i see your Twin Peaks themed bitmap

Alas, the original is lost to the sands of time. However, this is my current, very minimalist, desktop:

https://i.imgur.com/hxMd694.png

I have a hidden, interactive Rainmeter overlay. If you mouseover the cigarette, it lights it. Clicking on the lit cigarette will open up Firefox. :papyruswacky:

Dude I'd never heard of anything like that, thats insanely rad. I always go for no icons on desktop so this is seriously cool. Thank you for showing me my next minor obsession.

[inappropriately_gendered_fungus]

Hard to think of games where the design/gameplay feels second to the gameplay, especially to its benefit. I'm not sure if I even agree that Lunacid counts as one of these, but I agree the vibes are delicious.

The best example my currenty tired mind can come up with is Lucah: Born of a Dream. Fantastic, inspired, and difficult, and "difficult". Feels somewhat apt to describe the vibe of the game as "content warning", but I don't think I'm capable of saying exactly why. (And I think I'm being serious about that)

Actually, Riven might be one of these, to some extent. If you're interested in that, it would probably be best to play Myst first, and a somewhat antiquated version of it at that.

OH, (a large part of) FEZ.

[inappropriately_gendered_fungus]

Oh, here's an obscure one:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1805000/Retired_Mens_Nude_Beach_Volleyball_League/
(it's not what you think)

[Dezzy]

Arx Fatalis. First person RPG that takes place entirely in an underground world. Amazing atmosphere. It's Arkane Studio's first game.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1700/Arx_Fatalis/

[Ryan H]

Some amazing games with tremendous vibes and atmosphere that spring to mind:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1639790/Northern_Journey/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/505230/Pathologic_2/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/720350/Mundaun/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/274520/Darkwood/

[vermis]

Originally posted by fungal_entity:

Oh, here's an obscure one:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1805000/Retired_Mens_Nude_Beach_Volleyball_League/
(it's not what you think)

i'm buying it

later. probably