Add these 3 games about community to your wishlist
We may be tiptoeing out of "Spooky Season" still–I'm only now picking up Silent Hill f and Kriophobia–but with American Thanksgiving around the corner, I've been thinking more about community. It's very low-touch, but I've recently enjoyed going on a walk with the family to our local Little Free Library; you can learn a lot about a person by the books they surround themselves with, doubly so for a community.
So, for today's issue, I'm digging into three games that talk about community in some very different ways. And, as usual, I'm including a game that just came out, one that was announced earlier this year you may have forgotten about, and another that was just announced!
Tanuki: Pon's Summer
Developed by Denkiworks and published by CRITICAL REFLEX.
The chill embrace of winter may be consuming the Northeast right now, but I can almost feel the summer sun on my face when I boot up Tanuki: Pon's Summer. You play as a cute Tanuki doing side jobs, deliveries, and BMX tricks to raise money and restore a shrine for the Tanuki Festival at the end of the summer. Packed with charming characters and as many good vibes as you can muster, Tanuki: Pon's Summer is a great way to build and improve a quaint community.
Coming soon. Demo now available.
Duskpunk
Developed and published by Clockwork Bird.
I'm finishing up my first playthrough of Duskpunk now and I'm here to say: don't let the grimy-steampunk-just-returned-from-the-war vibes of this game dissuade you. At its heart, Duskpunk is a game about helping the people that are so often broken down by the systems. Befriend a collective of unhoused people, join a worker's union, learn about revolutionary politics, and support your fellow veteran comrades...and then build collective power to make lives better. If you want a Steampunk Citizen Sleeper, this one is for you.
I'll have so much more to say about Duskpunk in the future, but for now I'll just say this: when it feels impossible to build a community in today's politics, Duskpunk can give a little hope.
Available now. Demo available.
Young Suns
Developed and published by KO_OP.
This one is coming on hot. Young Suns just crossed my feed yesterday and it's already one of my most anticipated games. In Young Suns, a 1- to 4-player narrative coop game from the makers of GNOG and Goodbye Volcano High, you'll explore space, gather materials, and build a community of Jovians just looking to get by. I haven't played it yet, but Young Suns looks to be the perfect mash-up of Animal Crossing, No Man's Sky, and Astroneer that I've been craving. Furnish your ship, chat with folks on space stations, and fly among the stars. I mean, what's not to love?
Available in Game Preview and Xbox Game Pass. Coming to Steam later.
