Appendix D: YHL’s Taste in Games

Updated: 2025-03-16.

For personal reference.

Since this VN does not have a goal of wild commercial success, I’d rather create a game that I would enjoy! Based on a discussion with Joe wherein we discussed gameplay in hybrid VNs (narrative vs. “mini-game” or ~actual game components).

I’m not interested in arguing fine points of categorization. The point for me is an overview of my preferences in games I enjoyed and find memorable. The answer was a bit surprising!

Numbers are not rankings. They’re alphabetized. Literally so I can keep count of how many games in what category. 🙂

gameplay-centric

  1. Balatro.
  2. Castle (MS-DOS).
  3. Chess.
  4. Chinese Checkers.
  5. The Crew.
  6. Doom.
  7. Eye of the Beholder II.
  8. Fluxx.
  9. Gloomhaven.
  10. Golden Axe.
  11. I Love Hue.
  12. I Love Hue Too.
  13. M.A.X.
  14. Mechabellum.
  15. Minesweeper.
  16. Munchkin.
  17. OAngband.
  18. Pawnbarian. Chess-themed puzzle roguelike. I’m addicted!
  19. Realms (Virgin Interactive).
  20. Red Alert.
  21. Silent Death.
  22. Slay the Spire.
  23. Space Hulk Death Angel.
  24. Sprawlopolis.
  25. Starfighter (Yskari Games).
  26. Star Realms.
  27. Turing Machine (board game).
  28. Wolfenstein 3D.
  29. Yomi.
  30. Zangband.

leaning toward gameplay

  1. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 2nd ed.
  2. Azure Bonds.
  3. Caves of Qud.
  4. Desolate and its first two expansions.
  5. Diablo II.
  6. Dungeon Solitaire: Labyrinth of Souls.
  7. Dungeon Solitaire: Tomb of Four Kings.
  8. Fights in Tight Spaces.
  9. Gateway to the Savage Frontier.
  10. Hades.
  11. Knights in Tight Spaces.
  12. Pandemic.
  13. Pandemic: Legacy.
  14. Race for the Galaxy.
  15. Regency Solitaire.
  16. Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri.
  17. Space Quest III.
  18. Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition: Crisis.
  19. Warhammer 40,000.

leaning toward story

  1. Colostle.
  2. Creature of Havoc (Fighting Fantasy gamebook, Steve Jackson).
  3. Delta Green (TTRPG).
  4. Fallen London (formerly Echo Bazaar).
  5. For a Change (IF, Dan Shiovitz).
  6. Legend of the Five Rings CCG (Alderac Entertainment Group).
  7. Lone Wolf (gamebook series, Joe Dever).
  8. PataNoir (IF, Simon Christiansen).
  9. Planescape: Torment.
  10. Pytho’s Mask (IF, Emily Short).
  11. Shade (IF, Andrew Plotkin).
  12. Slouching Toward Bedlam (IF, Dan Ravipinto and Star Foster).
  13. Steve Jackson’s Sorcery! (Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, Steve Jackson).
  14. Thousand Year Old Vampire.

story-centric

  1. Coming Out on Top (visual novel, m/m romance).
  2. Doki Doki Literature Club.
  3. Lifeline.
  4. The Magic of the Unicorn (Choose Your Own Adventure).
  5. Slay the Princess.

…that’s right! I tilt strongly toward gameplay rather than narrative. Upon reflection, perhaps that makes more sense than I’d realized. I often want to play videogames or TTRPGs to fight things or think happily about small-unit tactics…because my day job (…writing novels) involves being steeped in characters and narrative all day long, so I need a break so my brain can recharge. :3