[DoctorEldritch]

Hello Legion Gamers,

Some games are impressive in their ability to capture real places. Often games like that also try to capture the real places (or semi-fictional versions thatof) accurately. Games like Watch Dogs 2, Spider-Man and Yakuza come to mind (right @ZaidH 😉). Those are big games for big publishers, and they usually come out polished quite a bit to reflect IRL locations.

But recently, I have been happy to see the emerging trend where smaller indie developers try to capture not the actual places so much as the feel and vibe of the place and put it in the game even without any recognizable locations. Until Then, for example, has a pixilated and not realistic art style, but it is very recognisably an ode to the Philippines.

And now I was glad to see that more games like this are coming, the ones that attempt to capture the soul and spark of the place, smaller-scale personal projects that help us dive into foreign cultures and customs. The one that caught my attention, and a treat for all you Bollywood fans out there (btw, do we have any?), here is Detective Dotson:

Made by Masala Games, the game is a love message to India. And not just any India, but a Bollywood version of it: the main character of the game never wanted to be a detective, but rather a Bollywood actor, and through his investigation he will see many exotic festivals and dances in the best traditions of Bollywood. The demo is free on Steam ( @GoLLuM13 you sometimes do demos, if it looks worth your time 😊) and the game itself will come out at the beginning of April.

The developers have an interesting marketing strategy: they are also making an animated movie (Detective Dotson — The Movie) that will serve as a prequel to the game, but its release date hasn't been revealed yet so not sure if it will come out the same time as the game or later.

All in all, I was just glad that a nice game about India is coming out, and wanted to share that with you. I think it is good when games about more exotic and underrepresented (in games) places come out, and I hope to see more of them in the future. Do you know any other games like that?

[ZaidH]

Man, how do you always discover such amazing niche indie games!? This one looks incredible! I’ll definitely try the demo sometime. It’s so exciting to see Indian indie devs really stepping up their game. There’s also another game called "Venba" where the narrative unfolds as you cook delicious recipes.

Warning: Do not watch the trailer on an empty stomach 😅

[DoctorEldritch]

@ZaidH Aww, it is kind of you to say 😊 I set up my notifier to news about them 😉 But you can also check out the Indie Awards.

The Indie scene has really grown over the last few years, I liked them but not was very into them until Dave the Diver, I'd say. After that game I thought I needed to broaden my horizons and explore more of them, and when I find something interesting I try to share it, particularly if it also portrays some interesting IRL location or culture (though Nivalis is interesting even if not based on a real place. yet 😅). This one promises to be a little gem, I am hoping.

Oh, no need to warn me about Venba. It's thanks to that game that I even looked into buying an idli steamer stand for my multicooker 😉

[ZaidH]

@DoctorEldritch Doing god’s work out here 🙏 Will definitely check it out!

Oh god, I had a code for Dredge that I could’ve shared with you 😭 I ended up giving it away in my giveaway thread. Whenever Dave the Diver is mentioned, Dredge usually comes up in the same breath—and vice versa.

Man that’s amazing! Idli truly is the bomb! South Indian cuisine in general, is god-tier if you like spicy food 😁

[DoctorEldritch]

Originally Posted by ZaidH

@DoctorEldritch Doing god’s work out here 🙏

Don't feel bad, I played Dredge already, but it is kind of you to think of me. I played it before they had that Iron Rig update though...

And that makes sense, Dave the Diver had a collab with Dredge:

Actually, I am not that much into spicy food. Sadly, it is locked to me, it's not that I do not like it, but if I eat something too spicy then I get hiccups, it's like an allergy. So I can and do eat spicy food up to a certain level. That makes some Asian, Indian and Mexican (among others) cuisine partially closed to me, unfortunately, but on the other hand, it is easy for me to understand if something is too spicy for me: if I hiccup, then it is, but if I do not, then it's fine 😅 But idlis is as spicy as the sauce you eat it with, so there I can be more flexible.

[DoctorEldritch]

Originally Posted by ZaidH

Oh god, I had a code for Dredge that I could’ve shared with you 😭 I ended up giving it away in my giveaway thread.

Well, now, this is uncanny. One might even say, either a Christmas miracle or Eldritch powers are at work 😉