XenoTown

XenoTown is an RPGmaker game that takes less than ten hours to complete. It does the Earthbound thing but with a completely different style and perspective: you're an alien invader here to conquer Earth, and you pair up with a misfit Earth kid (and a germaphobic robo-toilet). You place mind control goggles on people after battle to make them friendlies, and your ultimate goal is to mind control the principal of the local school. There are no random encounters which is nice. Maybe the creators planned for random encounters then later took them out, because the maps are laid out like a game with random encounters would be: lots of long empty hallways and mazes. To compensate the game throws a lot of items your way (mostly found by digging through trash or going to vending machines). The setting is a small American town called Pinewood in the 1990s. Like Earthbound, but more down-to-earth and at times cynical in an authentically American way. Your earth child companion is a misfit/bully. You have to fight his drunk, abusive father. I got it on sale and you should too, if you have an evening or two to kill, liked Earthbound, and aren't expecting too much.

A cozy but clunky invader zim inspired RPG. Lots of funny dialogue and a decent but item/skills heavy turn based combat system. If you want an indie RPG with soul try this out.

By the barest margin, I do not recommend this game to other people. The setting and premise are unique (You play as the invading force, rather than defeat them) and the art style, while looking a tad amateurish, is charming in its own right, akin to a crayon drawing come to life, but the game-play has some serious strikes against it. I found it a tad strange that the player characters don't get any EXP until all three party members are in your ranks. If that decision was made as a technical thing, then fine; I don't expect RPGMaker to be that perfect. What irks me the most (and ultimately decide to not recommend the game) is the fact that the bosses and other scripted fights have an ungodly amount of HP. The player characters' health varies around 25 to 40 points worth, which is appropriate for low levels. The fight with Inventor Verne and subsequent fights were just bullet sponges, with HP in the low 300s and high 400s. I tried using clever tactics to beat Inventor Verne, like using Dill's solar slap and Tyler's trailer park move to stun him and make him bleed to supplement the damage I was dealing. Was costly, but felt appropriate given the scenario. The next major fights (Kid in the library and the brothers Gym and Lunch teacher) were the same deal, with no common enemies in between them to help me level up any. Finally, I gave up when the bathroom fight had me go against an opponent with more than 500 HP. I stopped playing after that. You have an almost-wonderful game on your hands, but please, [i]please[/i], lower the HP of the enemies. More health does not equal more engagement.

A story that has made me screen record dialogue to share with my friends so they can laugh too, it's engaging and throws many unique chapters at you throughout the whole game. The music made by Myles Lynn ties the scenes smoothly together and fight scenes keep you on your toes by needing to be strategic on how to use one's abilities. It's a great fun game and I can't wait to see what Boatmeal Brothers release next

Very enjoyable. It's a straightforward role-playing game that looks Earthbound inspired, kind of reminds me of the movie They Live but just with really quirky teenage dialogue.

Works great on Steam Deck! I can only recommend this with reservations. There's good and bad, but the bad can mean the game feels a bit tedious. Positives The art, music, and story are all really fun. It has an Earthbound vibe, and they created a game that pays homage while also finding its own identity. Negatives The biggest problem is the dungeons. It feels like they were designed for a game with random battles, but the game only has battles at pre-planned locations. Therefore, you end up walking through long, empty corridors. I saved a lot because I didn't want to have to walk through empty hallways again if I died. Because there aren't many battles, it feels like the developers decided to make the battles longer, much like Cosmic Star Heroine did. However, CSH had an interesting battle system with interesting decisions. The battles here find you simply repeating the exact same actions over and over.

No malarkey, all neck.

I received a free copy of this game to Let's Play on my YouTube and I gotta say, this has probably been my favorite thing I've been sent this year! Something about this game's structure is really up my alley. I love how you have this whole town and things just open up one at a time, introducing new utilities and things to do as you go. Seeing brainwashed people you've met previously as you're making your way through the game gives a real sense of progression too. The slow level ups also make you appreciate the bonuses becoming stronger gives you. It's hard to explain but this game's visual style makes me a little uncomfortable. Everything from the egg café to the trash and dirt littering the town to the gross food and cockroaches. It adds to the atmosphere a lot! This town feels run down and clinging onto dignity. And you're this little alien taking advantage of it all. It's such a unique set of emotions it gives me. They did a fantastic job with this! I absolutely loved the soundtrack as well! Every recording session I was finding new favorites. I really wish this OST was available on YouTube so I could add it to my work playlist. It *nails* quirky indie RPG with it's huge, catchy variety. My two favorite tracks are "Robot Scraps" and "Kindly Put on the Glasses " So many songs do this thing too where they sound confusing for the first portions before shifting to being very serene and analytical. It's like a calm bass drop, if that makes sense.

A quirky MOTHER-inspired RPG that takes place in a charmingly dismal slice of America. Had a good time with it and am interested to see what else the creators will put out in the future!

Good humor, good story. Check it out!