Playing Solo Games Locally With a Crowd Can Be a Delight

One of the ways I've encouraged myself to play more games recently is as more of a group experience.

I don't mean streaming my latest purchase on Twitch or having my friends watch me attempt my 500th Hades run, though I wouldn't personally complain about the latter. Previous years would see us playing multiplayer games more frequently, like Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros, maybe Towerfall or Gang Beasts if the mood struck. We never lack options, yet our focus has shifted in recent times.

These days, we'll get stuck into a new adventure and take turns with the controller. Our more common choices tend to be a specific subset of modern indie games; single-player, beatable in an evening, and often downright hilarious. Donut County was an early favourite. How could it not be when you play as an asshole raccoon who trapped the whole town in a Katamari-esque situation? Subsequent “dancing” to this song after clearing each level would quickly follow.

What really kickstarted this was a game I picked up on a whim because it sounded fun: Duck Detective: The Secret Salami. Playing as the titular down-on-his-luck detective, Happy Broccoli Games delivered a hit that had us working together to solve these puzzles, followed by the occasional bursts of laughter. The incredible twists and turns just keep coming, all the way to the end.

Games will always be a subjective experience, so your mileage will naturally vary depending on the title, yet I'd argue we had more fun playing like this than we would've done alone. The commentary across our little group just keeps coming as we uncover increasingly ridiculous things. Soon enough, we moved on to another similarly absurd series.

Much has been said before about Frog Detective, one of the more frankly hilarious series I've ever played. Between the regular oversharing from these characters, floor pie, and the continuous assertion that crime isn't real, Grace Bruxner and Thomas Bowker's trilogy was a quick hit with our group.

We played each one hour entry across different evenings, and our playthrough will stick with me for a long time. In the absence of any official voice acting, our group took it upon ourselves to give each character some over the top voices that made for some memorable times. Even months after finishing it, the words “fuck Lobster Cop” will sometimes slip out.

Working together with friends on solo games is hardly a new idea. My fiancée and I have gone through the entire Yakuza/Like a Dragon series these last six years, which is why I'll never turn those games into work with a review. Similarly, but with larger intervals, a friend and I have slowly made our way through various RPGs across the years, too. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE paved the way, while follow-ups include Ys 8: Lacrimosa of Dana and Tales of Arise.

Next on our list is Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping, and we've been patiently awaiting today's launch. While I'll be reviewing in the near future, I'd be betraying the others if I started writing that before our group's next session. What I've really enjoyed is how these games have become an event to look forward to with my local friends, rather than just a fun thing to do after we've had dinner. No chance am I letting a review interfere with our newfound routine.