What to Play: LudoNarraCon '24

Warning: You only have a weekend to play these bangers

LudoNarraCon, a yearly celebration of narrative games hosted by publisher Fellow Traveller, is in full swing and ends on Monday. I had the privilege of being approved as media for the event, so I had about a week early access to some of the games and demos involved.

I’ll be linking my work for down at the bottom, but there are a few other games I wanted to call out that I didn’t get to writing previews for.

Baladins is bright, colorful, fabulous, and definitely scratches a Paper Mario-type itch I didn’t know I had. You can play by yourself or with three others, but what really sold this one for me was the fact that I could choose my way in the game, and it felt like nothing was either good or evil. My dice rolls and decisions led to some interesting moments though! Baladins is out soon – May 15.

Moses & Plato: Last Trail to Clawville is WILD, and it’s all thanks to the titular duo. I loved their personalities, the animation, it was just all there for me. Even if I wasn’t already a fan of the mystery/detective genre, I would have been hooked after the first ten minutes. After playing this one, I will need a feature-length film, in addition to the full game, where they save the world.

Like I said, I’m a big fan of the mystery/detective genre. In The Posthumous Investigation, your day starts off pretty strangely, as you learn you’ve been hired by a dead guy. (A wealthy and important dead guy, that is.) You talk to people, look for clues, seek connections, make theories, and die. Yes, you read that correctly. You find yourself in limbo (it made me think of the Velvet Room in Persona), with the dead wealthy guy, and it turns out, he’s going to help you solve his murder. SOLD.

I played this one before LudoNarraCon, but Last Time I Saw You is stunning. The art is beautiful, and by the end, my ‘spidey sense’ told me that this is going to be special. It’s a 2D exploration game that’s set in the 1980’s, one part coming-of-age and one part save-your-cursed-town. Even just typing this, I want to go back and fire up the demo and play again.

I love Tavern Talk, and have for a while, and there’s no better time than RIGHT NOW to play this D&D-inspired take on games like Coffee Talk. The art is gorgeous, with warm colors and an inviting glow to it. The small details stand out, whether it’s the bird that hangs out in your establishment, to the shine in the characters’ eyes when you say something they like, or delight them with one of your drinks.