Just Finished The Walking Dead. Need a Game Reccomendation to Cheer Me Up. Budget: $20 US

[Drummodino]

I'd say Portal but I think everyone's played that by now.

Maybe Bleed? Sidescrolling 2D shooter that looks like a blast. It's only like $5 on Steam.

 

[an874]

If you have a ps3, you could get Journey. No other game has made me feel joy the way that game did.

 

[Therumancer]

So, I just finished The Walking Dead...

Dang.

Don't get me wrong, it was fantastic, but after that I really need something to cheer me up. I was thinking about trying out Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale or Dust: an Elysian Tail, or maybe Terraria or something...

I'm honestly not sure where to go next. I like virtually all types of games, though I prefer something with a good story if I can find it. So, any ideas?

I don't know your style of gaming honestly, so it's hard to make recommendations. That said "Good Old Games" has been doing this "Insomnia Sale" the last few days where they have been doing flash deals that last until they have sold so many copies of whatever the title is. It's still going on now (as of writing this) but I have no idea how long it will last.

As far as really "happy and upbeat" games I can't really suggest too many off the top of my head since almost all of the games I know of include some darkness and tension somewhere. "Agarest War" wasn't bad and is quite doable without all the cheat packs, I played it on the console, haven't tried the STEAM version of it yet, though I did buy it.

They also did a WB pack on Humble Bundle not too long ago with a couple of Batman games and some other stuff that struck me as a really good deal even if I had most of them already. If it's still running it's probably grabble for well under $20, and while I wouldn't call it upbeat, it's Batman and you know... Batman saves everyone in the end when you win because he's the goddam Batman! Pretty much the upbeat version of Grimdark.

Not sure what the going rate on PC is at the moment, but "Loren Amazon Princess" was like $17 for my Kindle (yes, very expensive for an app) it has some ERP stuff in it, but it's pretty upbeat.

If you just want to kill some time, try Marvel Heroes, it's free to play, and they just expanded the roster of selectable starter heroes, and introduced a system where you can unlock any of the characters without paying by grinding out eternity splinters. Not the best game in the world, but it's a pretty solid Diablo-esque loot treadmill, and I login for binges once in a while to lay waste to the forces of evil. There is a sort of zen-like calm watching Iron Man mow down armies of thugs with pulse blasts. I've been there since late beta (and did a pre-order pack when the bundles were more generous), and while it didn't turn out like I hoped, it's fairly solid for the kind of game it is, and is one you can get some decent enjoyment out of without having to put in money given a lot of the recent changes.

 

[Double A]

Recettear is great but I would wait for a sale. Maybe Monkey Island if you haven't played it yet. Costume Quest and Stacking are also recommendable. Orcs Must Die is really cheery about killing hordes of evil things.

I really recommend that you just watch Steven Universe, though.

-snip-

That reminds me, how about Fable? As in, Peter Molyneux's Fable? You could probably pick it up for like $10, and it really is a fun game as long as you don't go in expecting an epic adventure. Lighthearted, funny, doesn't require you to think too hard... it's a good game to play to get over the seriousness of something like TWD.

I just beat Fable TLC yesterday, and I honestly would not recommend it or any other Fable games for PC without a controller. I played Fable II on my 360 and combat was much smoother. I've also tried playing Fable III on my PC and I just can't.

 

[Therumancer]

Persona 4. It's the happiest game about murder you'll ever play!

Well if he's reeling from the ending of "Walking Dead" I'm not sure if any of the SMT endings would exactly make him happier. That's sort of like saying "hey you should play 999 and Virtue's last reward, those will get you out of your funk!". Now all we need is someone to recommend Drakengard...

A game about a dying wish? Hmm...

Don't trust him. At all. >.>

You can trust me! I have an honest face!

You could try Saints Row IV. It looks stupidly entertaining.

It is, but I'm not sure how "upbeat" it would be under these circumstances, on some levels it's more of a conceptual downer than "Walking Dead". I wasn't able to finish it due to my tendonitis flaring up, but I plan to go back to it at some point.

To be honest, thinking about this has made me realize that there really aren't that many upbeat video games that aren't abstract, kiddified, or whatever. It seems like just about every serious game out there really is trying to be grim, dark, and depressing on at least one level. A lot have happy endings, but I can't think of many games that don't spend a good part of their narrative wallowing in angst.

 

[NinjaSniperAssassin]

Recettear is great but I would wait for a sale. Maybe Monkey Island if you haven't played it yet. Costume Quest and Stacking are also recommendable. Orcs Must Die is really cheery about killing hordes of evil things.

I really recommend that you just watch Steven Universe, though.

-snip-

That reminds me, how about Fable? As in, Peter Molyneux's Fable? You could probably pick it up for like $10, and it really is a fun game as long as you don't go in expecting an epic adventure. Lighthearted, funny, doesn't require you to think too hard... it's a good game to play to get over the seriousness of something like TWD.

I just beat Fable TLC yesterday, and I honestly would not recommend it or any other Fable games for PC without a controller. I played Fable II on my 360 and combat was much smoother. I've also tried playing Fable III on my PC and I just can't.

Really? I never had any troubles with it. I can't compare it to the console version because I've never owned a Microsoft console but I've played the game through 3 times and never struggled with the controls. Granted, the last time I played it was over a year ago so I could be looking at things through rose-coloured glasses. The only thing I remember that frustrated me about Fable was that FUCKING Bow of Skarn or whatever. Even following a walkthrough it was almost impossible to get the timing of the sacrifice right without trial-and-erroring it for an hour.

Persona 4. It's the happiest game about murder you'll ever play!

Well if he's reeling from the ending of "Walking Dead" I'm not sure if any of the SMT endings would exactly make him happier. That's sort of like saying "hey you should play 999 and Virtue's last reward, those will get you out of your funk!". Now all we need is someone to recommend Drakengard...

Have you played Persona 4? The true ending to that game is, like, Disney-esque in its upbeatedness. I wouldn't recommend any other MegaTen game for a post-TWD happy-fun-times-fest, but Persona 4 honestly has the single most uplifting story of any game I've ever played.

 

[bossfight1]

Well the Stanley Parable never fails to put a grin on my face. Basically a sort of "sight-seeing" tour, where you can make a series of choices that directly affect the narrative, and the narrator's attitude towards you.

 

[Adultism]

Persona 3, Stanley Parable, The Wolf Among Us, Hotline Miami, I'm just naming random games I thought were cool though.

 

[Zakarath]

Magicka's a pretty silly and fun experience, though it only really shines if you have someone to play it "co-op" with you.

 

[AdagioBoognish]

Botanicula [http://amanita-design.net/games/botanicula.html]! Just listen to the soundtrack on Amazon [http://www.amazon.com/Botanicula-Soundtrack-DVA/dp/B0080111T0/ref=sr_1_1?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&sr=1-1&keywords=botanicula] and see for yourself. Also, it's just ten bucks.

I'd like to second this. Though the game feels light on puzzles, I dare you to play it without a big goofy grin plastered on your face the whole time.

Yeah. It has a lot of moments that made me laugh. It's one of those games that just has a ton of charm.

 

[Mikejames]

You could always start the Wolf Among Us, another one by Telltale.
It's more fantasy based so it is a tad lighter toned. A tad.

There's always Psychonauts, one of the few games I can think of with a strong basis in humor.

And someone mentioned Bastion. It could have some heavy moments, but it's very charming piece overall.

 

[Double A]

Recettear is great but I would wait for a sale. Maybe Monkey Island if you haven't played it yet. Costume Quest and Stacking are also recommendable. Orcs Must Die is really cheery about killing hordes of evil things.

I really recommend that you just watch Steven Universe, though.

-snip-

That reminds me, how about Fable? As in, Peter Molyneux's Fable? You could probably pick it up for like $10, and it really is a fun game as long as you don't go in expecting an epic adventure. Lighthearted, funny, doesn't require you to think too hard... it's a good game to play to get over the seriousness of something like TWD.

I just beat Fable TLC yesterday, and I honestly would not recommend it or any other Fable games for PC without a controller. I played Fable II on my 360 and combat was much smoother. I've also tried playing Fable III on my PC and I just can't.

Really? I never had any troubles with it. I can't compare it to the console version because I've never owned a Microsoft console but I've played the game through 3 times and never struggled with the controls. Granted, the last time I played it was over a year ago so I could be looking at things through rose-coloured glasses. The only thing I remember that frustrated me about Fable was that FUCKING Bow of Skarn or whatever. Even following a walkthrough it was almost impossible to get the timing of the sacrifice right without trial-and-erroring it for an hour.

It's really just a smoothness issue with regards to transitioning between melee, ranged, and magic. Fable 2 does it really well on ecksbawks, with X, Y, and B each being one of the three. Of course, then you have less spellsets to work with, so that's probably a factor.

 

[Metalix Knightmare]

There's No Time to Explain! It's up on Steam, it's only 10 dollars, you use a laser cannon as a jetpack, and you're constantly chasing around a giant monster that has your future self in it's jaws. If you need any more reason to play this, here's a video link that pretty much sums it up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQ5TGIhzrdM

 

[Ninjat_126]

Botanicula [http://amanita-design.net/games/botanicula.html]! Just listen to the soundtrack on Amazon [http://www.amazon.com/Botanicula-Soundtrack-DVA/dp/B0080111T0/ref=sr_1_1?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&sr=1-1&keywords=botanicula] and see for yourself. Also, it's just ten bucks.

I'd like to second this. Though the game feels light on puzzles, I dare you to play it without a big goofy grin plastered on your face the whole time.

Botanicula is fucking adorable.

Also, go with the usual Flash Game listings of stuff like Robot Unicorn Attack, Pixel and Blitzy Blitz, good ways to kill half an hour while waiting for Botanicula to download.

 

[II2]

Yeah, the ending was bittersweet.

Why not cheer up with I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream, Song of Saya, Papers Please, Outlast, Amnesia: Machine for Pigs and round it off with CAPSULE:



I'm taking the piss. I love all those titles, but they're not full of cheer. You probably had that figured... I think they're all around $20 or below, mind... Except Saya, since everyone loves paying import duties on CDROM software *grumble*

 

[darthmocha]

You may want to try Smugglers V from GOG.com. It's actually a new game about building a space based privateer empire.

http://www.youtube.com/v/899BUqYvvKc

Its like $10 and worth every penny. It's an older style of game that is text and turn based, but never boring and completely open world.

 

[teebeeohh]

Papers please, an uplifting little game about the privilege of having work

 

[Alorxico]

I'd say Portal but I think everyone's played that by now.

I second the Portal suggestion. Or try Portal 2, very funny.

 

[the_great_cessation]

Rayman Origins is probably the most joyus $20 you will ever spend.

 

[Billy D Williams]

To the Moon is a nice, upbeat game, and can usually be had for less than $10!

It's super happy!

A game about a dying wish? Hmm...

No its a happy game! I've played it and ya it has a few sad moments here and there but by the end of the story your feelin all sorts of good