Bold and Bizarre Games Bulletin | May
It's Bulletin time! As such, we have five offbeat games for you for May, as well as this month's update to Puzzletrunk, which features a return to a more pure form of puzzling: ten questions, ten answers. Answer them all, and a second copy of this month's Partner game - Dunk Dunk - is yours.
A reminder! All of the games featured in this month's Bulletin can be found in our Steam Curator page. Give it a follow!
#1 Without a Dawn
Coming Soon, Steam | Jacob Jazz
I've been following Jesse's work since it first cropped up on my TikTok feed a few months back, immediately enamoured by the combo of ASCII-esque visuals and sombre horror vibes. Without a Dawn maintains a strong sense of self, with a dark, introspective vibe that "blurs the lines of reality and fiction".
#2 Biophobia
Out Now, Free, Steam, Itch.io | Charlotte Madelon
Biophobia is both bold and bizarre by Pantaloon definitions, but at the same time a serious piece of experimental art that that explores themes of trauma, death and agency. The game's short description will do a better job of positioning the game's weighty subject matter than I'll be able to, so I'll leave it to Charlotte here:
"A woman is violated by a man. In a final act of rebellion to preserve her humanity, she takes control and opens her stomach. Unable to finish what she started she waits for you, and asks you not to look away."
#3 amFM!
#3 | Coming Soon, Steam | Calvin "Prox" Klein
A game surfaced from the #recommend channel of our Discord, amFM chucks a bunch of vastly different ingredients into a big ol' pot, cranks up the heat, and then serves the resulting concoction with lots of bizarre garnish. In the game, a biological supercomputer, exiled to a lead planet known as the "enigma core," awakens with the intent to unravel reality into a chaotic state. You assume the role of a minimum-wage school cleaner tasked with addressing the ensuing disorder...
#4 The Photo Of God
Out Now, Itch.io| Serious Daniel
The Photo Of God is a short, atmospheric horror game developed by the prolific SeriousDaniel. A thought-provoking narrative-experience, you play as an old photographer who's given themselves the rather trivial task of trying to capture an image of God. Guided by birds, you explore an abandoned building, collecting objects for your photo collection.
#5 The Boba Teashop
Out Now, Steam, Itch.io | Mike Ten
A lo-fi café sim that gradually descends into psychological horror (is cosy horror a thing!?). You play as a former office worker who opens a boba teashop, serving increasingly strange customers while reality quietly comes apart at the seams. The visuals are grainy and VHS-filtered, the tone shifts from cosy to uncanny, and the milk tea may or may not be cursed.
Reminder! Pantaloon's partnered games for May is Dunk Dunk
This month we've partnered with Playtonic to bring you Dunk Dunk - a multiplayer basket-ball 'em up from Badgerhammer Games.
If you haven't already told us you'd like a key for the game (which enters you into the Draw), hit the button in your inbox (or if you’re not subscribed to the newsletter, do so!)
Ok. That’s it for May
See you next month x
pantaloon.