iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

115. Lost in Random The embodiment of creativity. A deck builder action game, Tim Burton-esque art style in a completely unique setting. It's almost a perfect experience but the ending's a bit abrupt, lacking resolution. The rest hits. I love this one lone NPC playin' 'Kiss em before you toss em'

010

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

114. Later Alligator A game that aims for charming and nailed it. You play a detective trying to find out who, if anyone, put a hit on Pat. Pat's paranoid you see. He's a little guy. SAVE HIM! by talking to everyone, see what they know, and solve the case before it's too late

160

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

113. Yakuza: Like A Dragon I been avoiding this game for awhile. As a die-hard fan, I cannot purchase another Like A Dragon. Gameplay, story, and especially the business side has all gone downhill Y: LAD was the last great over all package (minus the DLC classes). Fun, heartwarming, and creative.

140

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

112. Rule of Rose Teen Piph loved to walk around Gamestop and, on occasion, blind buy something that looked neat. RoR really makes you feel like you're fighting the horrors with the fork. I didn't get far. I finally beating this one chapter and the next one had the Scissorgoat and got stuck again

250

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

111. Webfishing I love fishing games. c:

150

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

110. Mega Man X I traded my friend Zelda OoT for 4 SNES games, one of them being this gem. There's tons of videos showing in detail everything right this game did. After completing the game 3 times, they were right. Very approachable with a light dusting of difficult. I should try more 2D Mega Mans

230

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

109. Resident Evil Village RE4 hit, RE5 stumbled, RE6 crushed and burned, RE7 course corrected and tried something new. RE8 (this one) merged 7's first-person horror elements and 4's penchant for distinct, out of place, and entertaining characters. Shout out to Heisenberg. Love you babygirl

150

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

108. Rayman Legends One of the best 2D platformers but first I have a tale to tell. There once was 'Truly awesome!', an odd achievement. Though a single player game, T.a. was a daily leaderboard challenge that would take ~4 to ~13 weeks. I loved it. It gave a rare and treasured feeling of mastery

The daily ritual of playing like an hour of Rayman was something I looked forward to. The stages for the daily leaderboard challenge had slightly randomized layouts of horizontal and vertical levels that increased in difficulty the further you go. The achievement asked for some memorization but mainly clear button inputs and the reaction time to use the right combination. It reminded me of a time where I was practicing on Donkey Kong Country when I was a kid, I missed a barrel so badly, I tried to redirect back to it but went too far and landing in a different, level skipping, invisible barrel. It was so exciting to find something new! I had to do that again! Restarting the level, gentle nudge myself get into position. When I felt ready, I hold down the A and B button. Timing it near the apex of the jump, held forward long enough to clear the first barrel, then quickly shifting my thumb across the Dpad to reverse, my other thumb held tight on the jump button so to not plummet into the pit and the run button for air mobility. I had the plan but I didn't have great motor skills. I failed over and over again. Until I did it once on purpose, then did a few more with more consistently, then it became at will. That genuine growth to mastery is not something most achievements could not pull out of me, but I'm glad this one did.

150

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

107. Mario Kart: Double Dash!! The slipperiest vehicles in the land. The way I like it. Each character has their own weight, kart and power-up, BUT you get TWO drivers!! Team-up Mario characters for a tactical combination or to match up your favs. And they nailed the most important part, the maps.

150

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Very positive and powerful

140

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

106. Dicey Dungeons An absolutely killer sound track, fantastic visual style, and a simple story with fun characters. Each character has their own dice basic mechanic. My favorite is The Inventor's main gimmick: after each battle, recycle one of your equips into gadget, a temporary diceless action

160

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

105. The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog The fan game that could. A whodunit train murder mystery visual novel. But was it Eggman? Shadow? CREAM?! I'm still taken aback by the beautiful rendering of the Sonic cast and shockingly faithful characterization. It's a good read and a fun voice-act-along

1130

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

104. Resident Evil 4 A master class of refining the basics. Action, limited resources/item management, map layout, mechanically deep but approachable, creature designs, secrets, and characters are all polished to a mirror sheen "I sent my right hand to dispose of you" "Your right hand comes off?"

170

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

103. Guitar Hero III Legends of Rock At this point in my plastic guitarist career, I was doing well enough on expert. Until one particular song. No, not Through the Fire and the Flames. Raining Blood, a death metal song. The moment I beat it was when I was first showing my friends how hard it was

160

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

102. Pokemon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire A pinball game with progression and boss fights anD IT TRICKED ME! Baby Piph: "I'd love to play more pinball games!" :) Universe: ODAMA, GAMECUBE'S PINBALL 𝙑𝙊𝙄𝘾𝙀 𝘾𝙊𝙉𝙏𝙍𝙊𝙇𝙇𝙀𝘿 ＲＴＳ I have not found another like Pokemon Pinball R&S but maybe one day. One day...

2110

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

101. Uno What a simple game I never get tired of. With the addition of chaos rules and decks, this is a perfect Mario Party-esque alliances and big swings in a small pack

140

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

100. Divinity: Original Sin 2 If each character was praise or a story about this game, my thoughts would exceed the character limit. If I had to pick one highlight, it'd be the time Glass and I fought a super witch. After much trail and error, we threw her off a cliff and turn her into a chicken

140

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

99. Nancy Drew: The Haunted Carousel My top Nancy game: mystery, burning down a hotel, and MILES THE MAGNIFICENT MEMORY MACHINE. It's very special to share a game with someone you love. It's even better when you're experiencing their loved game and better yet, sharing a whole* beloved series

Even though I got and played over 30 Nancy Drew games, I'm missing a few at this time of posting. PS check out the Nancy Drew DS covers. They go crazy

Mainline Games - #1 Secrets Can Kill (Original), #2 Stay Tuned for Danger

Mobile - Nancy Drew Mobile Mystery: Shadow Ranch, Nancy Drew: Codes & Clues

Nintendo DS - The Deadly Secret of Olde World Park, The Mystery of the Clue Bender Society, The Hidden Staircase, The Hardy Boys: Treasure on the Tracks, The Model Mysteries

Didj - Mystery in the Hollywood Hills

160

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

98. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night This game clicked for me when most others in the genre haven't. It starts with fun stepping stones, then a stream of unexpected, crazy builds and player expression. I think forgoing balance for these two make this game truly entertaining ...and the VA's

260

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

97. Donkey Kong Jungle Beat A game I put my blood and sweat into. Piph's completion era made this a crazy experience. Basically full-comboing entire levels, never touching the ground, with the legendary DK Bongos Controller™ "J MAN! HELP ME J MAN! YOU'RE NOT HELPING ME J MAN!" - Piph bongoing

250

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

96. Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy A "rage game" I loved the whole time Tough and punishing experience that creates tension and mastery This also has my favorite kind of story, a character piece A snapshot of Bennett Foddy (or persona of) connecting, reflecting, and expressing his point of view

130

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

95. Binding of Isaac: Rebirth A rogue-like that kickstarted the popularity of said genre. So mechanically dense, it's possible to beat the game without upgrades. Though I'm unsure if that's the case anymore since the last time I played was 2014. Can I really say I love a game that changed so much?

130

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

94. Spyro Reignite Trilogy When I was just a tiny lad, Spyro was a "game at friends house" game since I didn't have a PlayStation 1. We'd trade finding new secrets til we filled out the whole collection list together. Spyro is STILL one of the top 5 collectathon games Best level: Speedboost ramps

150

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

93. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Yeah the story. Yeah the Quiet. BUT what other game do you get to capture blorbos by shooting them into space. "Kept you waiting like a damn fiddle, huh?"

230

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

92. Hand of Doom Charming artistic mixer of FMV and old school 3D dungeon crawlers. You are a magelet fighting and questing their way to be a master caster. Hand of Doom is a fun, short, janky romp into a cruel and mystical realm of wizards and more. ETH ORT TAL IST "Then I told him ORT"

110

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

91. PEAK A top tier Co-Op game, solid solo climbing rogue-like, and my introduction to some cool friends. As a completionist, I don't like "forever games," BUT coming back to play something I love, like PEAK, is never a negative. Plus, they mentioned there'll be no more major updates so... yay c:

141

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

DLC and free updates. Welcome to completion hell. P.S. Please read the alt text.

This is 'Dungeons of Dredmor' a game released in 2011 that had DLC achievements, broken achievements, an update removed a skill tree for an achievement, a "buy the dev a beer in real life" achievement (really), and now added ONE(1) achievement in 2024 that was for an update they still haven't released.

091

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

First time playing and unlocked without issue.

010

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

FRIENDS!! I JOIN YOU IN MERRIMENT! Made a few... adjustments

0192

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

90. Cat Goes Fishing Recently I've played tons of fishing games. Cat Goes Fishing is the most dynamic, engaging fishing game(so far)! Cast then maneuver around to the right fish. Reeling becomes it's only game: don't break the line (Hard mode only), avoid bigger fish and unique fish actions/traps

150

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 07/03/2026

89. .hack//G.U. Last Recode In all media, I loved stories about video games. So a video game about video games blow my little mind. An MMO world to a deconstructed, WiP game, game-games(?) are ideal theme/setting for a Piph, and .hack was the first of the game-games(?) genre to hook me

260

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

Today, Items. Tomorrow, The Game.

170

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

I predict this will be finished in a week.

040

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

This was the year of UFO 50 and Disgaea 5! This was a good year c:

051

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 03/09/2025

I lost my game OST list. Piph requests game OSTs you like. Preference: The game's name (examples: LoZ: OoT, Hardspace Shipbreaker, Spider-man 2 The Game) [A singular tack will also be accepted]

24161

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 04/08/2025

88. Wunderling DX It's simple game. You play as a goomba, you walk in one direction til a wall, then go in the other. Very straightforward until you unlock more abilities like jump and charge. Then the story gets deep? for like no reason, it's amazing. If you're a fan of 2D platformers, play this.

140

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 03/08/2025

87. Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse I've always wanted to play the spooky camera game, but not enough to find a PS2 copy and streamable setup. Fatal 5 came out on steam and it was.. fine. BUT 4's RE-RELEASE (sound balance aside) WAS AMAZING!! I finally fell in love Fatal Frame. Hoping for 1-3

110

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 03/08/2025

86. Going Under Action Rogue-lites are a staple for Piph's Picks, so Going Under is a shoo-in. Amazing art and OST. Gameplay is solid and tough, but notably, the challenge mode was too much for me, so the accessibility options were a welcomed boon. The topics in Gong Under are worth the struggle

130

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

85. Wandersong A game about being kind and being yourself (chaos goblin) while saving the world but challenges that premise in an emotionally mature way. You are some bard trying your best. It might not be enough but you might be what the world needs. If you like chill and positive games PLAY. THIS.

130

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

84. Devil May Cry 4 My favorite of the DMC's. You play as Dante and Dante if his arm Sonic Unleashed and had a girlfriend. The characters go hard, balancing goofy and seriousness that complement one another. Gameplay rocks plus enemies encourage diverse approaches and strats. Also, love that bug guy

110

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 01/07/2025

Hey Bluesky! What's a good horse game that isn't a gacha? Question Context: I played Secret of the Magic Crystals and didn't know how to feel about it since I've never played other horse games. Very grindy game with light leveling, minigame, and waiting mechanics.

060

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 21/06/2025

83. Ragnarok Online I played too much of this game with TOO MANY STORIES. I mainly recall playing the Clown class. A creature that yell jokes to do a SCREEN. WIDE. FREEZE. The shenanigans were on point. My crowning achievement was exhausting the supply of healing potions for an entire opposing guide

160

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 21/06/2025

82. Code Vein Not an amazing game by any standards BUT this one is my favorite "junk food" game. Just fun action with not much else to get in the way. The character creator allowed me to make an OC, Chester, who was a vampire fan and "the longest con". In Code Vein, he was Lv1 for 98% of the game

130

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 20/06/2025

81. Baba Is You Baba is good. An seemingly open ended puzzler that has a surprising amount of depth. I've played a ton of puzzle games over the years and this one has my top pick for specifically PUZZLES in the genre.

130

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

79. Lorelei and the Laser Eyes A puzzle game with da best coat of paint n' stylized to hell. Unraveling brain teasers and the story in equal measure, you explore a... hotel with unhinged dialog is around ever corner. It's surreal. It's moving. It's beautiful.

120

Piph @piph.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

78. Kirby Air Ride My TOP Kirby game. Air Ride and Top Ride are both solid but, City Trial is da best. Hands down. Finding the super rides, gather stats for your friends and they help in turn. And the mini games! Love the giant King Dedede fight that would destroy lesser Kirbys in one hit.

130