This week is a double feature of game recommendations. One is a polished take on a familiar formula and the other looks at the real life financial trouble plaguing the people of Chile. Yeah it’s an odd pairing, but they’re two games we’re happy to feature nonetheless. Check out the full recommendations below.

Nanopesos

I’m not going to pretend to fully understand the situation in Chile right now. It’s a complicated issue that I’m not an expert on, but Camila Gormaz is. You may recognize her name as one of the developers on Long Gone Days, but she recently spent time developing a game to highlight the wealth inequality that has spawned the protests in her home country. 

Nanopesos is what I’m calling a budget survival game. When you first boot the game you’re given the choice to start with either Chile’s real life average income or Chile’s real life minimum wage with the goal of making it through the end of the month. I’m sure it’s possible to make it to the end of the month with some cash left over, but trying to simulate any semblance of a balanced life in Nanopesos dried up my funds near the middle of the month. It’s a difficult game, which gives it its weight as soon as you map the mechanics onto real life and consider the people currently struggling in this situation. 

Chasm

Folks love a Metroidvania. It feels like every day I see a new one come down the pipe, and some of the biggest successes of the past few years have been stars of the genre. What I’m getting at is that it’s really hard to impress me with a metroidvania. Chasm has impressed me. 

When I say something like “procedurally generated metroidvania with lush pixel art” you can probably summon up images of any one of dozens of equally great games. Chasm’s core selling point isn’t unique, but what makes the game such an easy recommendation is that it does everything so well. While the maps are randomly generated, the rooms themselves are all handmade which prevents you from hitting the weird edge cases in room generation that lead to nonsensical layouts. This is also complemented by the game’s insistence on tight combat. Each of the weapons I’ve encountered so far has a unique heft but still feels responsive enough to avoid becoming frustrating to use. It makes the minute to minute gameplay of Chasm enough of a joy to cover over any frustration you may feel from dying and losing progress. 

If you haven’t hopped in on the metroidvania trend or if you’re a fan of the genre, Chasm is for you.