String Tyrant (2020)

Developer: Bottled Starlight
Platforms: Windows
Genres: Adventure, Indie
Rating: 5.0 of 5, 23 player ratings
Typical playtime: about 4.1 hours
Where to get it: Steam

The 3D catalog: game boxes on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalog in 3D

The same catalog has a room you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real games from it when you tell them what you feel like playing. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this game is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A tense, text-driven survival horror where you explore a eerie manor, hide from monster dolls, and use card-based combat to escape being turned into one of them.

survival horrortext-basedturn-basedatmospherictensecreepyunsettlingstory-driven

What players say

Players praise the unique mechanic of joining the enemy side through permanent doll transformation, with a combat system that mixes cards, tiles, and survival horror. The game is short, around 5 to 9 hours, and the last difficulty swing is brutal. Reviews split on whether the card system is superficial or engaging, and note the endings are mostly bittersweet.

Screenshots

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This page is from Underplayed Gems, a catalog of older and overlooked games. Not quite it? You can browse by platform and genre, or take this one into the 3D catalog and ask the Catbot for something closer.