Hello, I’m Mob from the SKOOTAGAMES Negolove team.
Recently, we’ve been fortunate to see a variety of indie game festivals emerging, creating a delightful busyness for developers like us and gamers alike. It’s true that we tend to get captivated by larger events like BitSummit or new up-and-coming concepts. It’s been a while since SKOOTA reported on the Tokyo Game Dungeon, affectionately known as Game Dungeon.
In fact, I had secretly been harboring the thought that with each passing event, Game Dungeon was becoming a sort of “familiar sight.” There’s a comforting atmosphere created by developers who love indie games gathering together. It feels like a warm and mature environment, akin to a “regular izakaya” where familiar veterans gather. While this is very cozy, I also felt that the freshness was slightly fading.
However, after participating in this 13th edition, that fixed notion of mine was beautifully overturned.
The raw yet intense energy brought by first-time exhibitors. Their works lined up next to those of familiar veterans, transforming the entire venue into a new town. In a community that can easily become closed off, the fact that such an “open atmosphere” welcoming new creators is maintained is remarkable. It felt as if a village of adventurers who had suddenly started making games had appeared at the entrance of a dungeon where regular hunters gather.
Game Dungeon, which constantly undergoes renewal and updates. This time, I would like to introduce three titles that particularly caught my attention in this newly revitalized atmosphere. Let’s dive in!
“Kafka at the Station” — An Immersive Experience Born from Inconvenience
The first title is “Kafka at the Station.” It’s a command-input adventure game.
For those unfamiliar with command-input systems, this game employs a unique system where actions are initiated by entering predetermined text commands rather than clicking the mouse or using controller buttons. A well-known example would be “STEINS;GATE: The Octet of the Shifting Space,” but this is actually my first time playing a game of this format myself with “Kafka at the Station.”
Perhaps because it was my first encounter, my honest impression was, of course, “freshness.” Unlike recent games where players can intuitively control characters as their avatars, this game only accepts “limited commands set by the developer.” This “inconvenience” seems to function as a refreshing stimulus for modern gamers.
What I found particularly intriguing was the strange sensation gained through the dialogue between the protagonist and the girl. The protagonist, whose identity is completely unknown except for a mysterious impression resembling Ebi Taro, and the enigmatic girl who seems to have some connection to him. The process of unraveling their disjointed conversation through command input felt like peering into a diary or confidential data that someone had deliberately hidden, as if I were typing in a password to forcefully take a look… it was accompanied by an indescribable sense of guilt.
I can't tell if this is an intentional design choice or a miraculous alignment of the system and story. However, I believe I was able to immerse myself deeply because the world itself is not just attractive, but it feels as if the player is "forcefully prying open the gaps." While typing away at the keyboard, I found myself engrossed, wondering, "What words will show me what's beyond this closed door?" It even gave me a dark thrill, as if I were doing something wrong.
To clarify, Kafka at the Station is a very serene and calm adventure game that anyone can play comfortably. The confined space of the "station," the mysterious protagonist and the girl who knows him, and the many intentionally concealed pieces of information and twisted spatial design. The very act of "hiding" becomes the greatest charm of this truly excellent work.
Currently, a demo of Chapter 1 is available on Steam, so if you're interested, be sure to experience this strange sense of immersion.
TITAN CLIMB — A Remarkably Gentle Adventure Faced at Eye Level
The second title is TITAN CLIMB. It’s a unique "adventure + simulation game" where you climb the body of a fallen giant to save it. Just the combination of the words giant and simulator makes my heart race. In this demo, I was able to play as I slowly climbed the giant's body, carrying an item to strike lightning to heal its injured leg.
From the description above, many may immediately think of a game like Shadow of the Colossus. Clinging to an overwhelmingly powerful presence like an ant and striking at its weak points to bring it down gives an incredible sense of achievement, akin to breaking through an impregnable fortress, and evokes an irresistible exhilaration as if we have become the heroes from the myths and legends we heard in our childhood.
However, the world presented in TITAN CLIMB clearly sets itself apart from those. The player climbs not to "defeat" the giant, but to "heal and help" it. The towering figure is depicted not as an object of fear or awe, but as an "equal being" sharing the same world as the player. The experience of being in a position to "help" such an enormous other is undoubtedly a gentle and special experience for the player, and it hardly needs further elaboration.
This demo conveyed the charm of both the "atmosphere" and "game system" that I had imagined. Of course, there are still rough edges as it is still in development, but the two elements I was most looking forward to, ① the visceral feeling of "climbing the body of a living giant" and ② the solid sense of "helping the giant," were already firmly established as the core of the experience.
Additionally, I cannot overlook the most important action that constitutes this work, which is the act of "climbing." This game has a systematic design that requires more parameters (such as moisture and stamina) than I expected, along with strict resource management. Overall, while it feels inspired by 'The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild,' it has been beautifully elevated into a unique resource system that allows for a tangible sense of simulation, not just "climbing" for the sake of it.
To summarize this work, I would say it is "a gentle adventure that everyone has dreamed of at least once." For developers who have experienced masterpieces like 'Shadow of the Colossus' and certain scenes from 'God of War,' this romantic subject matter may have been envisioned but never realized due to its daunting challenges. And above all, the simple fact that you can stand at the same height as the "giant," which you could only look up to before, provides players with a strange sense of comfort and satisfaction.
For some reason, I feel an overwhelming urge to support its completion. It is a work with such warm charm. I hope many players will get to experience this gentle dialogue with the giant.
'Lili Lili Respawn' — Planning for "Death" and Surpassing the Rawness of Live Action
The final title is 'Lili Lili Respawn'. It is a puzzle platformer game based on the premise of "repeating death," featuring a real-life comedian as a model.
The core system of "solving problems by dying" may not be entirely new to us gamers, as it falls under the category of "die-and-retry games," which have no previous examples in the past. A character, who might be the only human left, progresses through a 3D space filled with unreasonable traps (like lasers, circular saws, and impossibly large hammers) while getting bloodied. The catharsis of solving complex puzzles using only the knowledge and experience gained from the player's own failures, rather than levels or stats, is widely appreciated as a well-established genre, with many able to name several similar titles.
However, the clear point of differentiation that this game offers is its intuitive and straightforward implementation of the unique gimmick of "death itself becoming an advantage," which is characteristic of die-and-retry games. In other words, it introduces a unique rule where "your corpse remains at the place you previously died, and you can use that corpse as a platform to step on or climb." This encourages players not just to avoid death, but to actively ponder "how should I die?" and naturally plan for the "next life."
Up to this point, the description might leave the impression of "a platformer game that deeply pursues the fun of its game system." However, what I found to have a deeper significance in this work is the previously mentioned point of "using real-life comedians as models."
A common characteristic of many past die-and-retry games is the tendency to not give much significance to the characters controlled by the players. They often represent someone completely unrelated, a stranger who is hard to connect with, or a so-called "ordinary guy" whose death wouldn't significantly impact the world. Using such highly anonymous models can be seen as a pattern in this genre. For someone like me, who isn't well-versed in comedians, the models in this game might initially appear to be similar symbols, but the fact that many people show interest in them at event venues and the sight of the same face lined up in key visuals creates a strange sense of "vitality," undeniably stemming from the fact that they are based on real individuals.
This goes beyond just the catchy element of "featuring celebrities," as it seems to intentionally inject a rawness that can be seen as an anomaly into a system that is acutely aware of death and, in a sense, promotes it. The symbol of "character death," which one would usually unconsciously brush off, is deliberately made to function as a "noise (a point of friction)" in the player's mind. This meticulous design raises doubts (or even admiration) about its execution. In any case, it is undoubtedly a very excellent idea.
In this demo version, I enjoyed relatively easy puzzles using basic rules, but upon viewing the Steam store page, it seems there are even more crazy gimmicks, such as launching past corpses to hit targets. Among the innovative ideas in this game jam, it stands out as a work that leaves a particularly deep impression and a strong impact.
Conclusion — Unchanging Passion and Ever-Evolving Ideas
That concludes our introduction of three titles we encountered at Tokyo Game Dungeon 13.
The game 'Kafka at the Station' creates a sense of immersive guilt by imposing "inconvenience" on players. The gentle adventure 'TITAN CLIMB' allows players to face the overwhelming giants on equal footing. And 'RiriRiri Respawn' cleverly takes advantage of the rawness of live-action models to orchestrate death.
What these works have in common is not just their eccentricity, but a sharp perspective and philosophy unique to indie games that slightly shifts the "norms" of the medium. Even after 13 iterations, every time we step into this venue, we feel a vivid sense of "newness," which is undoubtedly due to the unending passion and ideas of developers who continuously gather here.
As mentioned at the beginning, players who witness these developers up close may take a new step, thinking, "Maybe I should try making something myself," and one day find themselves naturally standing at the development booth. This quiet and certain cycle is what makes the Tokyo Game Dungeon a more special and warm place, and it was a day that reaffirmed this realization.
We at SKOOTAGAMES are also committed to refining our projects, including the currently in-development 'NegoLove', drawing inspiration from this vibrant atmosphere. We look forward to the day when we can once again discuss games together in a corner of that venue, and with that, we conclude this report.
Thank you for staying with us until the end!