Thanks for all the interesting replies! Given the response, I decided to make a whole community around this, hope you’ll consider joining!
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I’m really into sci-fi. Constantly craving new content. Internet searches filled with if you like this sci-fi show, here are others you might like.
Farscape kept getting recommended. Muppets in space, how could I take that seriously?
Finally gave it a shot. Thank you, internet, for suggesting it repeatedly, awesome show.
Which shows have you liked?
I like time-loop movies, groundhog Day being there most notable. My favorite is probably Triangle. I’ve seen Timecrimes, Happy Death Day (& 2U), Edge of tomorrow,
Run Lola Run and Palm Springs.
Also Boss Level. Dumb but fun. And Source Code. I also love time loop movies.
Memento is a time loop of sorts, good movie for sure.
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The Netflix show Russian Doll might be up your alley
I’ll check it out!
Give it a couple of episodes to see if you like it. The first episode spends a lot of time setting things up, but the main character doesn’t come across as very likeable at first IMO. Once you get into the next couple of episodes, and she starts actually using her brain to try and understand what’s happening to her, she becomes a lot more likeable as a character.
Give the Netflix show “Dark” a try. Incredibly well written, everything fits together at the end, and it touches on this topic in an interesting and unique way!
Seconded (and thirded and fourthed). Dark is superb. Watch in German with English subs though, not dubbed.
I watched HDD and then 2U on a glowing recommendation I knew it was positioned as a horror but damn I didn’t know what I was getting into and they’re two of the funnest movies I’ve seen in years. My only regret is not seeing them in the theatre as they come across as movies people would be yelling at the screen which is the best kind of movie IMHO
They are both movies that exceed expectations! I really liked them too!
It’s a DUST short, but check out Iteration One on YouTube.
This is slightly different than a time loop, but check out Coherence.
Watched it. Liked it.
Did you try time-loop games yet? Outer Wilds is fantastic. Majora’s Mask, The Forgotten City and The Sexy Brutale are also pretty cool.
No but def something I’ve thought about
Triangle is such a great movie.
That is correct
It’s a rough one but maybe check out Primer.
Also give Paper Girls a try. It’s a graphic novel but Amazon started making it into a show but canceled after one season.
Predestination. If you haven’t seen it, you might like it.
One of the best adaptations of a sf short story, period.
Love Edge of Tomorrow. Wish they would make that sequel.
If they’d called it All You Need Is Kill, they’d be at least up to part three by now.
Like BelieveRevolt mentioned, it’s based on a Japanese comic called All You Need Is Kill
Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes is quite fun - some friends discover that a webcam upstairs from them shows the very near future.
Try Coherence, and Time Lapse. Two pretty cool, underrated, low budget movies that I rewatched many times.
I’ve heard good things about Palm Springs from 2020.
I saw it it’s a fun time. Especially if you like timeloops
Obvious choice: Primer
There’s also a decent tng episode that has this exact premise.
It seems this is an entire genre though, so Wikipedia does have a list of time loop movies. Maybe check if any of those short descriptions seem to fit your tastes?
Bloody great TNG episode, unsurprising that it was written by the director of the new Cosmos series
Source Code was okay but not great or anything. Of course, there’s also Looper.
1) Hybrid visual novels (ie visual novels with some gameplay element, be it some basic adventure/exploration/mystery mechanics like the Ace Attorney series, RPG or Tactical RPG elements, management, deckbuilding or whatever) that have very good writing (think something like Roadwarden or Citizen Sleeper) and/or a loveable cast of characters (like Ace Attorney).
2) Sci-fi and/or fantasy books that have good writing (by which I mean not that hollow, mass-produced, repetitive, overly simple YA-style prose —don’t want to offend YA lovers, I’m just tired of it). Bonus points if they have some elements of social criticism, and even more bonus points if they have very compelling worldbuilding and characters. I’m thinking of stuff like Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Dispossessed, The Left Hand of Darkness and Rocannon’s World, Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Ted Chiang’s short story “Story of Your Life”, most of Jorge Luis Borges’ short stories, Angélica Gorodischer’s Kalpa Imperial, Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Justice, Dino Buzzati’s short story “The Seven Messengers”, Ursula Vernon’s webcomic Digger, Winston Rowntree’s webcomic Watching, Italo Calvino’s If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler, etc.
3) Logical puzzle games that have the same quality of atmosphere and setting as Return of the Obra Dinn.
4) Turn-based videogames (they can be RPGs, roguelites, management games, visual novels, text adventures or whatever else as long as it’s not action-focused, based on reflexes or time-sensitive without pause) that have very strong setting, atmosphere and writing (if they don’t have a traditional story, at least good writing in the occasional dialogue lines). Some preferred settings are:
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Decadent worlds (like Darkest Dungeon, Dredge, Fallen London, Sunless Sea, Cultist Simulator, Book of Hours, The Shrouded Isle)
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18th to 20th century history/alternate history (like The Great Ace Attorney, The Lion’s Song, The Last Door, Amnesia: Rebirth, Return of the Obra Dinn)
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Sci-fi in general —can be cyberpunk but not necessary— (like Citizen Sleeper, Tacoma, Soma, The Talos Principle, The Red Strings Club, Chrono Trigger, 2064: Read Only Memories, Subnautica, Stellaris)
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Very current (as in 2020s or close) focused settings (like Unpacking, Orwell: Keeping an Eye on You, one night hot springs, missed messages., What Remains of Edith Finch)
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Traditional and/or generic fantasy but well written (like Roadwarden, Wildermyth, Final Fantasy Tactics, Legend of Mana, The Banner Saga, Suikoden II, Terranigma, Grandia, Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete, Alundra… many of these I played young so their writing might not be as good as I remember)
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Other historical/alternate history settings previous to 18th century as long as they’re well written (like King of Dragon Pass, Landnama)
But I’m also open to anything I’m not used to in videogames as long as it has those elements (strong writing, setting, atmosphere), like urban fantasy/new weird/fantastic realism type of stuff like Disco Elysium, whimsical settings a la Undertale/Deltarune or ambiguous mindscapes like in Celeste and Gris.
5) Mechanically speaking, something that reaches the same heights as Slay the Spire. I don’t know what it is, I’ve played many other deckbuilding roguelites and/or roguelites with a tree-style map chasing that same high. And some were better than others (I guess shout-out to Monster Train, FTL, Pirates Outlaws, Griftlands, Roguebook, Iris and the Giant, Dicey Dungeons, Star Renegades). But none have absorbed me like it did despite it having uninteresting (to me) writing and visuals. Maybe it was just because it was my first with those ideas.
6) I was exposed to a lot of anime/manga when I was a teen and even if I never feel like I want to watch/read most of them these years, I still have some lingering weakness for some of its tropes and aesthetics when applied to videogames. I’m talking about trainwreck-style games that are awful and strangely compelling at the same time, like Danganronpa and Zero Escape. Or, to speak of one that feels much higher quality while still having some puzzling choices, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. It’s hard to describe this vibe (maybe “anime aesthetics, very ambitious in some ways but messy and still beholden to certain clichés, occasionally managing to be deep but usually just coasting on pseudo-philosophical anime bullshit”) and I really never feel like actually playing these games but once a year or so when there comes a day I just don’t feel like doing anything I don’t mind laying in my bed watching full no-commentary gameplays of these kinds of games. So if you know of something similar to those I’d like to bookmark that for the future.
Ursula Vernon’s webcomic Digger
Don’t buy the paperback version. Frickin’ spine started coming apart after one reading…
On 5, have you heard of Crying Suns? Crying Suns is more in the vein of FTL, so not a deckbuilder, but if memory serves I think it has the branching map to it.
It’s received some praise for its setting from what I gather, but I haven’t gotten around to seriously playing it, so can’t speak much to that.
For 5 as well, there’s a game i added to my wishlist called Brutal Orchestra. I saw someone review it and say its amazing and is kiiiinda similar.
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If I love “unreliable shifting cities” narratives, like Dark City, Fallen London and the City of Saints and Madmen books, what similar kinds of settings might I like?
Maybe Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente? Her Orphan’s Tales have some interesting cities too, but that’s a bit of a stretch.
Again, not just one city, but take a look at Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino - it was a direct inspiration for Fallen London.
China Miéville might be worth checking out - go for either the City and the City or for Perdido Street Station.
I’m not familiar with those, so this might be a bad suggestion, but the short description makes me think this may still fit, have you read The City & the City by China Miéville?
It’s set in two overlapping cities, whose inhabitants diligently disregard the other city’s until they formally cross the borders, and it’s a crime to do otherwise. It’s a pretty compelling read imo!
I haven’t but it sounds like I should. Thanks for the rec!
Kraken, also by Mièville, is also somewhat of a match; as well as Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman.
There was an okay-ish TV adaptation, it’s on Britbox or freevee with ads.
I stumbled across this the other week while trying to find the name of the book invisible cities and gave it a watch because the trailer reminded me of Disco Elysium.
Without knowing the original novel, I thought it was really compelling and entertaining, with my only major critique being the pacing of the final episode, but equally 4 episodes is such an easy commitment that I’d absolutely recommend the show if you aren’t in the mood to pick up a book.
Neverwhere, the book I think you would like.
If an unreliable shifting house would work, House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski. The writing is very much love it or hate it for a lot of people, but the idea fits.
Edit: Oh! And House of Windows by John Langan. No relation despite the similar titles.
I did love House of Leaves!
Have you tried Neverwhere [tv series, novel, comic] by Neil Gaiman?
Just the novel, but yes, it is great! Is the TV series good?
I saw the tv series first (the book came later) and really enjoyed it. I think some of the special effects are dated and … I’m not sure but, like, when I read the book, the tv characters had already been established in my brain as canonical, so I saw and heard those characters as I read the book. In cases where I’ve read the book first, sometimes I have my own version of canonical characters in my brain and it can be hard for me to accept those characters if I really loved the book and the on-screen depiction is very different. And the opportunity for a disconnect (and disappointment) between versions just increases when you’re dealing with a world that varies (yet is so dependent) on our own.
tl;dr: you might find it disappointing because it doesn’t ‘match’ the world you read, or because of some of the effects. But I absolutely loved the series, both at the time and still now - I watched it again just over the summer.
Anyone know any good books in the same vein as Robinson Crusoe, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Count of Monte Cristo, and Don Quixote?
I tend to really enjoy the old classic adventure novels.
Have you read la morte d’arthur? It’s probably most similar to don Quixote but not as humorous.
Came back to add a few
Journey to the center of the earth
3 musketeers
The lost world-also all of the Sherlock Holmes are great
If you’re up for some very droll British humor adventures I’d recommend PG wodehouse
I liked East of Eden by Steinback. And Siddhartha by Herman Hesse.
HP Lovecraft’s way of conveying old and decrepit settings, threaded with veins of natural beauty that encompass the horrors lurking within them. He had a particular knack for inspiring imagery that is both vividly moving and unsettling. For a specific example, scope out the first few paragraphs of A Color Out of Space
The first couple of paragraphs of The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath serves as a testiment to the sense of majesty he could impart to the reader, but it was also (in my opinion) the last of his older, flowery, and overly-poetic style of writing before he hit a home run and found a new rhythm with A Colour Out of Space and everything thereafter. I personally was not a huge fan of The Dream Quest, but he certainly knew how to describe a triumphant city.
NOTE: I recently watched the new Color Out of Space film immediately after finishing the short story, and in my opinion the short story is infinitely better. It’s more subtle, much creepier, far more detailed, and takes place 150 years earlier (1880s). It has an entirely different vibe that I found to be far more isolating and less obnoxious than the film.
Have you seen Glorious (2022)? Its a movie that you might enjoy that has very lovecraftian vibes.
Where can I watch this? Saw the trailer. Can’t find it anywhere
Yo ho me matey.
A genre of movie that I like I term “Cube”-like movies. " Platform" and “Circle” are included, along with all the “Cube” movies.
Any suggestions?
There’s Exam but it’s not as good as the movies you mentioned. https://m.imdb.com/title/tt1258197/
Also, slightly unrelated but for some reason ticks the same boxes in my mind, The Game https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0119174/
I’ve watched Exam, I forgot to include it but you’re right, same genre. I’ve watched The Game but I’m going to rewatch it with my adult son who hasn’t seen it to feel out there similarities you’re getting.
Hard for me to define the similarities. Maybe the feeling that you don’t really know any of the characters’ motivations. The overall vibe maybe
I love rock bands with women on the vocals. I like Dead Sara, The Pretty Reckless, Halestorm, The Beaches, The Warning, In This Moment, Metric, The Interrupters, Larkin Poe. Lots more but that’s a good sample.
What other bands/artists might I like?
Edit: thank you everyone for the recommendations! I have so much new stuff to listen to!
Amyl & the sniffers is my fav
Hell yeah, good recommendation! I fucking love them.
You might enjoy Devilskin and Gin Wigmore.
Really surprised no one mentioned The Distillers Some more:
- Ida Maria
- Petrol Girls
- NOBRO
- Sincere Engineer
- Not On Tour
- Paramore
- Vulvarine
Anything Kristine Hersh has touched, especially 50 FOOT WAVE
I really like more melodic stuff, and my favorites are Ad Infinitum, Dark side of the Moon, Enemy Inside, Beyond the Black, Scarlet Dorn
I would like to ask a similar question:
I very much like the “the beauty and the beast” - styled metal. That’s at least what I read online sometime what it’s called.
The mix of a male voice growling and a female voice singing melodic kinda does it for me, but so far I had very little luck finding stuff that fits, actually just a few songs.
Any recommendations?
There are a few songs around with Max Cavalera (Sepultura, Soulfly) and Maria Brink (In This Moment). Not at home at the moment, can’t check my collection, but if you can find them, they’re probably the sort of thing you like.
A lot of symphonic metal bands are like that. On the top of my head, you could check out Nightwish, Within Temptation, Epica and Unleash the Archers.
Tristania - World of Glass, and if you like that check out the two albums before it as well.
Their first two albums are my favorites, just amazing music.
Theatre of Tragedy fits that style. They are older, but worth checking out.
Just their early stuff - self-titled debut, Velvet Darkness They Fear, A Rose for the Dead, Aegis. The stuff afterwards isn’t bad, but it’s not the same genre.
Bad cop bad cop
I’m on a Tulip binge right now.
Her voice is amazing. Give a few songs a listen and you’ll be hooked!
Midnight in the Desert remastered, Bird set free and Dimensional Rift unplugged are great
surprised no one recommended Guano Apes yet
You might like some of the output of Elysian Fields (Jennifer Charles, Oren Bloedow). Maybe in particular their earlier stuff, like their Bleed Your Cedar (1996) album:
https://piped.video/watch?v=-x6w5DQ5sLM
They’ve made many a fantastic albums though, worth checking out.
I saw them several times live in the early-mid aughts. They’re great!
Never managed to catch them playing live, so I’m well jealous!
Halocene, she does a bunch of covers of old rock songs from around the early 2000s. It’s like fresh nostalgia straight into my ears. Her original stuff is also pretty good :)
Oooh, this is great!
I love Hilda. The Netflix series. It has this feeling of adventure, an ubiquitous optimism and (and this is where it really gets difficult) combines this with a mixture of fast and slow pacing and (almost) traditional 2d animation. I haven’t found anything similar. Friends recommended gravity falls and adventure time, but I didn’t really like the faster pacing and American slapstick humour. The only thing that really ever came close was the ghibli adaptation of Ronja, which had this off-putting uncanny 3d cell shaded look of the characters but which I still enjoyed due to the writing (but which has disappeared from streaming services in Europe since).
Hilda is kind of like star trek tng, with episodes being not too connected and the protagonists mastering their challenges without antagonising their adversaries or resorting to violence as the solution (the final movie being the exception here, which was really weird imho).
And ideas?
Hilda was great fun, I forgot about that one.
It’s very much aimed at kids, but you might enjoy Sarah and Duck, it has some similarities IMO. It’s upbeat and fun, and just a little bit weird, with some strange world logic. And it’s brilliantly narrated by Roger Allam.
Eastward? I actually learned about this game on lemmy a year or two ago.
I thought the pixel graphics were incredible, gave the game such a beautifully creepy atmosphere when it needed it. Even though I was really disappointed that the game just ended without tying any of the story together, I did think the story was great before I finished it. At times the game was unsettling and eerie and at other times it was heartwarming, and the dialogue throughout seemed very well-written.
I recently played Battle Chasers: Nightwar and was reminded how much I enjoy turn based combat where you can see and manipulate the turn order, like in FFX and an Atelier game I played on PS2. Any modern games, preferably available on Switch, like that?
On a similar subject I’m currently playing Tactics Ogre: Reborn, and there aren’t any Final Fantasy Tactics, FFT:A, or FFT:A2 remakes currently out, so I’m looking for anything that uses the same combat system as them, again on Switch.
I’m not familiar with the games you’ve mentioned but I believe Fire Emblem: Three Houses might be relevant (on Switch). My sister in law was playing it one time we were staying at theirs. I was encouraged to give it a whirl. Had several very late nights honing my team.
A big part of the battle system in the Trails series is seeing and manipulating the turn order, but only some of those games are on the Switch, in the West at least.
On a similar subject I’m currently playing Tactics Ogre: Reborn, and there aren’t any Final Fantasy Tactics, FFT:A, or FFT:A2 remakes currently out, so I’m looking for anything that uses the same combat system as them, again on Switch.
Seconded the Fire Emblem and Fell Seal recommendations, and adding in Front Mission, which has remakes on Switch.
Fell Seal: Arbiter’s Mark is an entertaining love letter to the FFT games. It’s a little rough around the edges but I think it’s worth checking out.
I couldn’t get through it and I can’t remember all the reasons but I recall the main character being totally insufferable.
I started listening to Look Mum No Computer after watching some of his tech videos on YT, he does a lot of synth stuff and it opened up a whole new world of music that I’ve been loving. If anyone has some similar stuff let me know!
I loved to play uncharted (for pc, I don’t have a ps) and I am searching for similar games. I still have not played the second part of the “master of thieves collection” on steam.
Any recommendations? Lara croft is fun, but not as mysterious and does not have such a fun story imo.
And also I loved all of the broken sword games. I can highly recommend them! Any alternatives I could try?
The last of us is made by the same developers as uncharted and the first game is available for PC. The story is a lot more dark than uncharted though.
Please note The Last of Us for PC is barely functional. Fantastic game. God awful port.
Damn, I had hopes 😭
No recommendations for broken sword 🧐
The discworkd series
William Gibson’s books
Neal Stephenson’s books (except Anathem, too looong)
Bartimaeus series by Jonathan Stroud
Dan Simmons books
The Atrocity archives by Charles Stross (just discovered this one, a must read!)
The master and Margarita
Kunderna (the old ones)
Umberto Eco (especially Baudolino)
So basically sci-fi or fantasy in a plausible heavy setting I guess :-D
Edit: forgot the hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy OFC!
My mind got jogged so I’ll add Catch 22 by Joseph Heller to the list too. IMO definitely a good read if you liked the HHGTTG.
Try some Vonnegut if you haven’t. hgttg really feels like a derivative of Sirens of Titan in particular. Slaughterhouse 5 is one of my favorites too
I’ll check him out, read some pages of Sirens of Titans and weeelll it feels a tad old if you get what I mean, like even if it was a really good book then, the tropes have worn out now. Will check out though!
Anything by Ian McDonald.
This is How You Lose the Time War
Black Science, Paper Girls (graphic novels)
The Crow (the movie)
- Bobiverse series by Dennis E Taylor
- Starsight series by Brandon Sanderson
- Starship’s Mage series by Glynn Stewart
- Starship for sale series by M. R. Forbes
All of these are very light reading. I think the target demographic for this sort of stuff is teenagers.
Thanks but I’m into more heavy duty stuff :-)