Five Favorites from LudoNarraCon 2025
LudoNarraCon is seven!
I haven’t talked much about it here, but I’ve been in and out of the hospital and various doctors’ offices for the past few weeks. This has been especially rough because the same day I left the hospital the first time, I got the email from Fellow Traveller accepting me as press for this year’s LudoNarraCon event. And I love this event. Year after year, it’s chock-full of wonderfully creative titles to play, and thoughtful talks with creatives of all kinds.
But what is LudoNarraCon? If you’re new here:
“LudoNarraCon is a digital convention celebrating narrative video games, hosted on Steam. An initiative of indie label Fellow Traveller, it aims to create a platform to showcase and celebrate interesting and innovative narrative games, replicating as many of the aspects and benefits of the physical convention experience as possible within a digital format.”
With all my medical issues these past few weeks, I couldn’t play as many of the demos as I usually try to, but here are five of my favorites, listed only in alphabetical order.
**Note: I only featured games on this list that I hadn’t played before.**
A Week in the Life of Asocial Giraffe (Quail Button)
Especially after these last few weeks of being poked and prodded and poked again by what feels like legions of medical professionals, I feel like the asocial giraffe you play as, who wants to go about their business without being bothered by anyone, has been my spirit animal.
If you also have palpitations about being approached in public or just want to run the other way when an overly talkative person at Starbucks tries to make small talk while waiting for your coffee, this is the game for you. The game features cute hand-drawn art and a lo-fi soundtrack you’ll find yourself vibing to very quickly.
Release: 2025
Expelled! (inkle)
What a shift from A Highland Song (also recommended), that’s for sure. Expelled! is an interactive, choose-your-own-path mystery/adventure tale that takes place in 1922 at Miss Mulligatawney's School for Promising Girls, and it begins with what seems to be a murder! (Le gasp!) You’ll recognize the voice of Verity, your character, rather quickly if you’ve sunk some time into Baldur’s Gate 3; it’s none other than Amelia Tyler.
I finished a run of the story in about an hour, but immediately had to begin again, as I ended up kicked out of school, and I couldn’t have that. There are so many choices and avenues that you can take in Expelled!, making it a must-play from LudoNarraCon (and beyond).
inkle does note that the game includes “mild references to suicide, abortion, evangelism, gym class, medicinal drugs, witchcraft, blood-drinking, live burial, devil-worship, fornication, blasphemy and secondary school education.”
Release: It’s available now on Steam, Nintendo Switch, and the iOS App Store.
inKONBINI: One Store. Many Stories (Nagai Industries)
One of my favorite genres of games lately has been games like Coffee Talk, where you’re the proprietor of an establishment and get to know your clientele and feel like you genuinely get to know them and make a difference to them. (Some of my other favorites in the group include Tavern Talk and Midnight Ramen.)
inKONBINI: One Store. Many Stories takes a similar spin, with you playing as Makoto Hayakawa in her job, stocking shelves and helping customers at the local market. I loved the third-person POV the devs utilized for the game and the overall 90s aesthetic seen throughout. Honestly, the calm vibes were much appreciated as someone who has spent more than ten years working retail.
I can’t wait for the full release to meet more customers and learn more about the world Nagai Industries built.
Release: TBA
Scrabdackle (jakefriend)
With a name like Scrabdackle, I knew I had to try this one out during the limited time I had to explore LudoNarraCon games this year. You are Blue, a novice wizard, and your school has been attacked. After falling out of a window, you find yourself in Scrabdackle, a world you don’t know, full of characters that left me smiling.
Scrabdackle was extremely player-friendly. The map was full of cool secrets and weird things to find, and you could explore it however you wanted. It was the same with combat; for those who love challenging battles, it’s great right out of the box, but if you’re like me, there are many settings you can tweak. So far, it’s the kind of game I know will make a home on my Steam Deck if given the chance.
Release: TBA
The Berlin Apartment (btf)
As someone who loves games and enjoys history, The Berlin Apartment was a two-for-one punch. Taking place in Berlin, you’re a handyman who’s been charged with renovating an apartment in the city, and in the course of that you discover all sorts of items and clues from the previous tenants.
The development team is German, so having the game take place in Berlin makes sense (make what you know, one would say), but it makes even more sense considering what the city has been through throughout history. It sounds like it’ll be a tight experience as well. As btf has stated, the main story will run for about 3.5 hours, and for a full completionist run, it’ll be around 5 hours.
Finally, if you’re a history buff and a fan of games like What Remains of Edith Finch, you’ll want to add this to your wishlists pronto.
Release: TBA