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It's the final weekend of May, and we're here once more with hard-hitting game recommendations that you've probably never even heard a smidge about. No, really, we've made it a bit of a tradition by now to dedicate the final weekend of each and every month to supplying you, our dear reader, with five weird old PC games to check out.
So far, our March and April recommendations seem to have done well for themselves! Find them using the links featured below:
Having said that, our May list may well be the weirdest of the bunch yet. No spoilers - though they're coming in the next couple of sections! Now, grab your favorite beverage and scroll ahead. We're 100% positive you'll find something to "enjoy" on this list.
Weird old PC Games: May 2021
Lords of Football
- Release Date: 2013
- Publisher: Fish Eagle
- Niche: Football(er)... Sim?
Its initial goal being the inevitable merging of Football Manager and, essentially, The Sims, Lords of Football was an extremely promising prospect in the months leading to its release. According to the official pitch, Lords of Football was supposed to bridge the gap between the abstract notion of a contemporary high-tier footballer and their regular, decidedly human daily life. It was going to be awesome, and doubly so for fans of the sport.
Sadly, the eventual release proved that the whole shindig was a tad much for the developers to handle. The game itself is fine on its own merit, don't get us wrong, it's just that none of its features really deliver the kind of depth everyone and their mum expected it to have. It's a shame, too, because there's clearly something to this concept.
Lords of Football's many different gameplay features are separated into two distinct gameplay loops. There's the football itself, and then there's your players' daily life and activities. We won't lie, some things work really well in LoF. It's just that the player is mostly relegated to being a passive observer of the action, with an occasional prompt for interaction here and there. Regardless, we're sure it's only a matter of time before someone gives this niche a new lease on life.
Nux
- Release Date: 2006
- Publisher: KPL
- Niche: Platformer, Nightmare Fuel
Regrettably, Nux doesn't seem to have received many noteworthy reviews from players on Steam. From what we can tell, Nux fell victim to one of Steam's more curious features - its trading cards. As you may or may not know, many Steam titles feature unique trading cards for players to collect via playtime, and these can then, in turn, be exchanged with those of other players, sold on the Marketplace, or turned into unique game badges. Many (cheaper) titles are bought just for players to idle their way through them for the cards, which is sad.
Nux, for all intents and purposes, is a remarkably strange game. And though many criticize it for not being able to idle in it for cards, we don't think that's a fair assessment of the game itself. What you're looking at here is an off-the-kilter platformer with all its assets having been physically made from plasticine clay. A lot of effort was clearly put into it, though we're not 100% sure if the intended result was for the game to seem like a horrific waking nightmare.
Look, we're not going to pretend that Nux is a good game. It is - clearly - a weird and uncanny experience, however. Since that's precisely the sort of stuff we aim to feature in these articles, Nux felt like a perfect fit!
Deadfall Adventures
- Release Date: 2013
- Publisher: THQ Nordic
- Niche: Adventure FPS
Those who've kept up with our previous articles will know that it's not just bad games that we often highlight. Quite the opposite, in fact, and Deadfall Adventures is definitely one of the good ones. Long as you can handle its Emmentaler-tier cheesiness, you'll get to play through what is possibly the best Indiana Jones game on PC. Without it being an actual Indiana Jones game, of course.
While you do need to deal with the game's excessive head bob implementation via an .ini file edit, we're happy to report that Deadfall Adventures is, in fact, a surprisingly competent adventure shooter. You'll explore ancient Mayan tombs, fight wannabe Nazis, and use all sorts of cool guns and gadgets from the early 1930s. It's a hoot compared to, say, Rogue Warrior from our last entry!
This being a mid-range AA release, though, there are a fair few rough edges you'll need to contend with. Understandable stuff, for the most part, as Deadfall is a product of the hardware generation it was released on. What surprised us the most about this game, honestly, is the fact that there wasn't more hubbub surrounding its release. Perhaps you'll play through it now, though, and give it the time of day it rightly deserves.
Fight of Gods
- Release Date: 2019
- Publisher: Digital Crafter
- Niche: Fighting Game
Alright, alright - yes - we are cheating with Fight of Gods. It's a reasonably fresh release, for all intents and purposes! Having said that, the game is an incredible source of abject weirdness, and we were really surprised to discover that this is, in fact, a really good casual fighting game, to boot. Because, honestly, what reason is there to expect that a game about real-world deities beating each other up for virtually no reason at all would be any good, other than for shock value?
Setting aside the notion of Jesus literal Christ kicking Buddha in the gonads, Fight of Gods is heaps of fun. You'll get to pick from a nice and comprehensive list of deities from religions around the world. From Moses all the way to Odin himself. If this isn't 'weird old PC games' material, nothing really is, we reckon.
When you pick your deity, you'll just get to duke it out with your opponent. Much as you would in, say, Tekken, or Street Fighter. All jokes and surprises aside, Fight of Gods is a really fun title. If you're looking for a Smash-alike that's arguably a blasphemy simply for existing, this is the way to go.
Tembo the Badass Elephant
- Release Date: 2015
- Publisher: SEGA
- Niche: Platformer
Finally, to wrap things up, we've got a bit of a modern classic to show off. Tembo the Badass Elephant is one of those games that used to pop up in virtually every casual game bundle on the market. From time to time, it still does! But despite its quirky title and subject matter, Tembo the Badass Elephant is, for all intents, a lovely game all on its own.
The gameplay is smooth and crisp, with a whole bunch of fun options and mechanics to come to grips with. There's just enough content on offer to keep you busy without the game overstaying its welcome, and the level of polish is way beyond anything you'd expect from a game that's made its way to this list.
"But wait," you might be thinking. "What did Tembo do to deserve being on this list?" You probably don't know this, but it was Game Freak who made Tembo in the first place. No, yes, that Game Freak. The guys and gals who produce Pokémon games for Nintendo. How's that for weirdness? Anyhow, Tembo is great even if it is one of the weird old PC games, and you should give it a shot!
Wrap-Up!
Well, there you have it. That about does it for our latest weird old PC games recommendations! Naturally, we'll have another list ready to go in about a month's time, so be sure to check in this time come June, too. Those of you who've been keeping track of our Community Hub will know that we've got plenty of "serious" game recommendations, too.
Over the past month or so, for example, we've focused our efforts on showcasing Biomutant, Resident Evil: Village, and Mass Effect: Legendary Edition for the incredible games that they are. Just a couple of days ago, too, we posted about early Father's Day gift ideas, as well as coming up with a list of best PC games to play this weekend. On that note, many of those deals are still live, so you've got time to check them out if you are so inclined.
Now that that's all done - have a great day!
Get in the Game ! 
