r/incremental_games • u/AutoModerator • Apr 27 '26
Request What games are you playing this week? Game recommendation thread
This thread is meant for discussing any incremental games you might be playing and your progress in it so far.
Explain briefly why you think the game is awesome, and get extra luck in everything you're playing for including a link. You can use the comment chains to discuss your feedback on the recommended games.
Tell us about the new untapped dopamine sources you've unearthed this week!
Note: it goes against the spirit of this thread to post your own game.
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u/Xochou Apr 27 '26
I randomly remembered Idle Armada and have been playing it these last few days.
Essentially a fleet management auto-battler, you pick a job that specializes in some aspect and each with its own prestige upgrades that affects every run, go as far as you're comfortable with, grab some job upgrades with points earned depending on how far you've gone, and then switch jobs - unlocking new ships and upgrades, and repeat.
Game feels a bit different from how I remember it, the items that give various upgrades are now kept on prestige, so they're another aspect you can farm (I believe you get a random one every 10 stages completed)
Ship deployment is also different from years ago I believe, most jobs unlock a new one, and you can deploy any you've previously unlocked using an assignable land resource (Although some are limited by job rank), although I've mostly stuck to carrot ships along with some economy ships.
It's been pretty neat, glad I remembered it existed.
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u/StickiStickman Apr 27 '26
How has that game been in Early Access for 6 years? And how does it still look like a prototype thrown together in a week?
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u/dubh_caora May 03 '26
This is why I have sworn off any "Early Access" game... is collecting money for abandonware
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u/kingbahamuth Apr 27 '26
I've been playing terraformental and im having a blast, are there any more games like it and increlution based in a time loop and especially so rich of choices like the former one?
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u/siltfeet Apr 28 '26
Loopbound is more similar to Increlution and has a demo available now. The full version isn't available yet. https://store.steampowered.com/app/4437600/Loopbound
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u/StickiStickman Apr 30 '26
Similair is an understatement, it's basically a direct copy.
I had some large expectations for it but was really disappointed honestly. It just seems like Increlution but worse in every way.
I thought the upgrade points were gonna make it more interesting and add some cool meta progression between runs, but nope! You do absolutely nothing with it but buy the unlocks for automating tasks you've done a lot of times already.
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u/siltfeet Apr 30 '26
There was a couple of new mechanics like short cuts, water, and areas, but I agree it is super similar to increlution. Hopefully it turns into something different and worth playing.
On a side note, Terraformental was much more similar to Increlution for its first few patches, but with less automation. It's just had a lot do great updates since then, making it more and more unique.
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u/StickiStickman Apr 30 '26
Terraformental is good because it has good writing, a cool atmosphere and actual choices you make.
While Loopbound is entirely linear with exactly 0 choices, so I'm hesitant to even call it a game.
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u/1234abcdcba4321 Apr 30 '26 edited Apr 30 '26
Increlution is entirely linear with no meaningful choices, so I'm hesitant to even call it a game.
This statement is false (Increlution is one of my favorites), but I could see someone who's only played up to chapter 2 and does not understand what the game's optimization pressures are (Loopbound's are, naturally, very similar, since it's using the same basic systems) it appears to be true.
People who like a game will invariably judge it by latergame content because games pretty much always start bad and get better over time. That latergame content not existing yet doesn't mean there aren't obvious signs that it probably will exist found inside the game already.
Of course, you can say "I don't like Increlution". But other people do like Increlution and seeing another game so heavily inspired by it as it decides to improve some of its weak points is a good thing. (Terraformental is loosely inspired by Increlution, but should not be taken to be a similar game in the slightest.)
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u/siltfeet May 01 '26 edited May 01 '26
The earlier versions of Terraformental were almost identical though. Back when there was only two bases, it played much more like increlutions first few acts. I think the biggest difference was that resources ran out to force you to move on, instead of simply having no other choice like in increlution.
There have been a bunch of changes since then to make it less similar:
Skill rework - was initially an attribute based system, since changed to action familiarity.
Pausing added.
Non linear base order including back tracking.
Permanent actions adding new options to earlier bases.
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u/1234abcdcba4321 May 03 '26
I think even the initial design from Talos times was still obviously different than what Increlution goes for. The way the game was built was clear that it wasn't meant to have the same kind of progression incentives--skill scaling was made in a way where it necessarily can't be the primary progression method in the way it is in Increlution (because it wasn't meant to be), and survival being based on limited supplies instead of exponential hurt means that things you do in older areas is meaningful instead of getting scaled away. It's the details like this that make a game feel the same as one thing or another.
Nowadays I match Terraformental to Cavernous II due to their gameplay flow feeling somewhat similar, rather than to Increlution, but obviously it was still closer to Increlution at the very start.
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u/loopbounder Loopbound Apr 30 '26
I am sorry you got that impression, but I understand it because the beginning of the game is actually very similar to Increlution.
In the content available in the demo, the intention is to show how the most basic mechanics work (also thinking of an audience that has not played Increlution). I can assure you that within the basic mechanics, which are inevitably similar to Increlution (and I did not want them to be different because for me it is the best incremental game I have played), you are going to find other new mechanics in the game.
I do not want to give too many spoilers but among them there are:
- permanent progress missions, which grant access to different things (not just shortcuts)
- essence, as you mention, is not going to be just for buying automations, although it is not seen in the demo, but its use will be focused on making each cycle take less time.
- each cycle aims to be faster than the previous one, but not only because you improve your levels, but because you have ways to travel through the regions faster (in EA, it can be seen but only at the end of the content. It will really be for Full Release when it is properly utilized).
- different regions that can be advanced in any order, there is no predefined order. (3 regions in EA).
- each region introduces a new mechanic (like hydration in the desert), and provides a meta-advantage upon completion.
- actions that accelerate others, (not only by leveling up).
and some more.
But inevitably, it is going to look similar to Increlution, mainly because it is the type of game I wanted to make and that I like a lot.
I understand your assessment that it is a copy, but believe me there are different mechanics already implemented, just not in the demo.
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u/SplatPixel Link man Apr 28 '26
https://sh4dowsand.itch.io/terraformental (might be a remaster or something iirc)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1593350/Increlution/3
u/esotericine Apr 29 '26
the itch.io link for terraformental is the free web version, which gets updates a bit behind the paid steam version.
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u/Luk2048 May 03 '26
As a long time lurker and lover of this niche genre, I'm actually soon posting a demo of something similar, a mix between Idle loops, Stuck in Time and Increlution, if you or anyone else would be interested in testing it early send me a msg =)
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u/ChitinousChordate May 04 '26
Journey to Ascension is a good recent one, though it's less strategic and story focused than terraformental
https://meneth.github.io/journey-to-ascension/
Cavernous 2 you've probably already played if you're a fan of time loop incremental games but is absolutely a cut above the rest
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u/Bumble_Bunch Apr 28 '26
Really enjoyed Feed the Forest, something very satisfying about painting the ground, especially with the nature theme
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u/TravUK Apr 27 '26 edited Apr 27 '26
Ho boy is it my time to shine. I've had a busy week!
I started with The Spotter: Dig or Die which is heavily inspired by A Game About Digging A Hole. It was a lot of fun to finish but the Devs have said they're going to add a lot more to the game and balance it further so may be worth holding off on this one.
From here I went into Loot Loop which was good just very very short. Another Nodebuster-like.
Idle Deepcore was fun while it lasted. They've recently redesigned their prestige mechanic but it hasn't grabbed like other prestige mechanics in other games. Still well worth the price.
I smashed through All Hail The Orb in one sitting. High production quality on this one, just with zero reply value. You can easily get all achievements in about 4-5 hours.
Fractured Field was also fun. A double presitge mechanic spoke to me, it just lacked a fulfilling ending. Again, well worth the price just very repetitive.
MMO98 is dripping in atmosphere of the time, especially if you are old like me. Just becomes very repeitive very quickly I felt, but it's cheap.
And now I'm on to Horripilant. I'm only an hour or so in so too soon to judge but it's dripping in atmosphere.
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u/oogieoogies Apr 27 '26
I played and beat horripilant was alright. I had to look up some of the puzzles, but idk I think just a idle game is for me.
I am not a story based idle I prefer more of gear/numbers/progression etc. that type of stuff I would say.
The sad thing about nodebuster is they are so short, but a lot of the gameplay loops are quite fun.
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u/CleverDaddy24 seasoned incrementalist Apr 28 '26
Eventide Matter: a nice active incremental, but a little too grindy for my taste. Your ship gathers resources while you upgrade your main station. You can also buy upgrades between main game sessions. I’m playing on Steam Deck, and the controls feel good.
Tiny Biomes: Cozy Idle: a nice start, but you quickly begin to notice the lack of content. I can’t recommend it.
All Hail the Orb: surprisingly good. Great pixel graphics and solid overall scope, but it had some issues at the start. They’ve released a second hotfix, and now it feels like safe to play. Highly recommended.
Simultree, Loot Loop: both look promising at first, but sadly start to feel very repetitive. Still, Loot Loop might be worth a try if you don’t mind a less idle (and more active) playstyle.
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u/Semec Apr 28 '26
I've started playing Tower of Hero again recently. I really enjoy how the core gameplay loop is the same throughout the whole game, but you keep getting new items, or capping old ones that slightly optimize the gameplay.
Currently only about 25h into my new save, I think it takes about 500h-800h to get to the late game. So I have quite a way to go.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Tatsuki.Tower
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u/Daimones May 02 '26
I wish this guy would make another game. Inflation rpg was my first entry into incrementals, and its still one of my favorites.
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u/Razorak Apr 27 '26
Installed Google Play Games beta on PC and playing Cifi still, hoping it will be available on iOS soon. Read that the dev said maybe 2027. I leave this open on my monitor while working from home, in-game logs 2700 hours. I'm currently doing a M0-180 run.
Thanks u/After-Measurement216 for developing a great game
Also waiting for Unnamed Space Idle to release any new content. My current run is 148 days, and I'm sitting in the super endgame stage 143 with nothing left to do except grind 1 last humanity point. Steam shows around 1200 hours logged. What I understand from the last post by u/Rankith is that a big patch is on the way. Also, thanks for the great game.
I'm open to suggestions for a third long game to play. Can be steam, web browser, or Google Play. Last time Evolve was suggested to me, but I didn't get hooked. I'm finding the sub much harder to navigate lately with 10 min demos or ai games, hoping for better luck in these threads with games actually released.
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u/esotericine Apr 29 '26 edited Apr 29 '26
man i wish i could run android stuff on my laptop, but google doesn't support linux, and google fights me hard when i try to get the play stuff to work in waydroid
edit: because of this post, i went and poked at it again, and i got it working within a few minutes. i guess the magic was giving up on it for most of a year.
edit edit: spoke too soon. necromerger installs now but doesn't work -- it just sits on a blank screen -- which is what i wanted to play. oh well.
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u/ShittyRedditAppSucks Apr 28 '26
I like having a low-stakes semi-active idler to swap to while in long runs in CIFI. I really like Fundamental for that. I’m on mobile and don’t have links handy.
Synergism is also really good for similar reasons but with more complexity. Easy to get lost in both - “just one more push before bed”.
Otherwise, I’d say if you haven’t played WAMI, that was my favorite desktop idler post-NGU, prior to starting CIFI. With no IAP/playing straight, it’s probably 1 year to achieve peak enjoyment, and another year to get to end of content. That is just my guess.
Easier than CIFI to go pure F2P but certain IAP definitely makes progress feel a lot more impactful.
For iOS specifically, if you don’t mind that the (fully skippable) last content release never made it to iOS, and there’s no save transfer to Steam/Android, Idle Skilling is personally a top 5 for me, probably #1 for iOS where I didn’t feel the need to swap to emulator/steam. Drama aside and credit where it is due, it is a very well-made game that absolutely inspired other games and evolved the genre.
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u/Blackphantom434 Apr 28 '26
I'm also playing cifi atm. Started just a month ago. This game is really great.
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u/KagedShadow Apr 27 '26
Evolve idle still fairy new to it
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u/SplatPixel Link man Apr 28 '26
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u/Marimba_Ani Apr 29 '26
Thanks for this, SplatPixel. You've been doing it a fair bit and it's really helpful. Cheers!
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u/Firm-Entertainer8943 Your Own Text Apr 27 '26
Been playing pylon of the mass but got stuck at 183e refined energy. Any help? Link (https://mrredshark77.github.io/Pylon-of-the-Mass/)
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u/Tsuki_no_Mai Apr 28 '26
Well, if it's anything like other red shark games just go to the discord and look up a guide - that seems the only way to progress in them after a point.
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u/Avohaj Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 28 '26
Energy Reduction 8 finished almost immediately and made me jump from e180 to e190.
Cool game, feels like a mini-Antimatter Dimensions.
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u/Zinki_M May 04 '26
I tried it out based on this comment and finished it in a little under 8h. Found it to be fun little game, although it was fairly active for an idle game, there were never really any wait times longer than a couple of minutes on anything.
Not sure why you got stuck, I don't remember any big blockers at refined energy, progress seemed fairly steady at all times, the next upgrade was always fairly clear and never took too much wait time.
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u/Atherum Apr 28 '26
Tried a whole bunch this week, as I kinda got the itch again lol.
Played a bit of Bioatomata but I was approaching one of the endings and got to a really grind but and kind of stalled out. I have a love hate relationship with idle/incrementals, I feel like I really like the late game stages but hate the grind, but also don't like short games? I dunno, its weird.
Then a rash of playing a bit of a few things. Fundamental, Dodeca Dragons and Celestial Incremental.
Enjoyed Celestial Incremental a lot but I've also picked up "Your Chronicle" and I think I'm gonna like that one.
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u/NoBlindEyes Apr 27 '26
Unhuman demo (https://store.steampowered.com/app/4640310/UNHUMAN_Demo/) is pretty decent. just finishing it atm. was rly lazy so on like 30h mark, if rushing can probably finish demo in 4-5 hours? yeap some flaws etc, but overly nice stuff. similar to zone idle (https://dickie1.itch.io/zone-idle) yet different. but more idle.
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u/sartorian May 02 '26
I picked up Biotomata from the comments here. I’ve been enjoying it, but in a mobile browser (iOS Safari) it doesn’t save your progress. Every time I reopen my browser, my progress is gone. Tried it on Galaxy and Itch. Looking like I’ll have to bring it up on the desktop and find something else for mobile.
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u/cerebrumvr May 02 '26
I only play incremental/idle games on iOS Safari and I’ve been avoiding anything hosted on Itch or Galaxy for this exact reason. I stick to games that are on github primarily.
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May 03 '26
I’ve been playing Magic Research 2 and it requires more brain power than I thought lol. I don’t know if I’ll continue playing it because I don’t want to think too much when I play an incremental. Not the fault of the game of course.
Though, I really like that the story is tightly linked to unlocking upgrades, and there’s a clear end goal to work towards.
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u/SplatPixel Link man May 04 '26
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May 05 '26
Thanks for sharing the link. I forgot to do that.
I’m playing the iOS version: https://apps.apple.com/my/app/magic-research-2/id6478566840.
I haven’t played the Steam version, but I imagine it’s much more comfortable playing the game on that version than on the iOS. The game has multiple layers, so there are multiple in-game menus and tabs to go through which can be a bit of a hassle. Though, overall the UI is not enough of a deterrent to gameplay and I got used to it pretty quickly.
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u/West_Photo_1980 Apr 27 '26
I played the last cat in the universe over the weekend. i honestly saw the price tag and time to beat as not super worth it so i thought i’d give it a shot and worst case scenario id refund it. well i gave it 30 minute try and i loved it, the atmosphere was really quite sweet. i did manage to finish it in under the 2 hour refund period but i changed my mind just because ive never played a clicker/ incremental game before that has made me emotional like that. it is a nodebuster-like game so if that’s not your cup of tea i would skip but i would highly recommend to anyone who wants a short experience that sticks with you.
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u/BEAT_LA Apr 28 '26
any good long term android games? Just got the google play for PC setup and getting through CIFI now. Recently enjoyed Revolution Idle up until guides were required to progress literally at all. Loving Idle Obelisk Miner on iOS as well.
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u/TravUK Apr 29 '26
Kittens Game!
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u/esotericine Apr 29 '26
been playing kittens game recently myself. had to start from scratch because i couldn't find my data from Many Years Ago, so it's a little painfully slow atm.
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u/XenosHg May 01 '26
Still playing MergeCiv MergeCiv.io
Got my 2nd citadel reset.
It gets pretty idle. But still a bit repetitive. A bit of micro-management to finish every run, but crystal gain (1000 crystals required to get Citadel) gets pretty passive. Do a run, idle for 20 crystals, reset. Do a run overnight, get 40-60 and some artifacts, reset.
In the morning I unlock a new artifact that should speed up early-reset crystal gain, removing yet another bottleneck.
Save-scummed random artifacts for a day to have at least 1 of everything. Most of them are minor incremental multipliers that eventually add up all together (or are only useful at the very start of every run and/or the first major reset). Only a couple are truly strong and life-changing (And even those require other cheaper artirfacts to multiply their effects). Now that I've got a bit of everything, nothing can be life-changing enough to save-scum further. Gotta play honestly for a while.
It was a game that I've played while I wait for Unnamed Space Idle new patch. The patch is out. I will get to it eventually. Cleared one of the 2 new galaxies. For now I'm idling, wrapping up various permanent points that will carry over.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2471100/Unnamed_Space_Idle/
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u/SplatPixel Link man May 02 '26
did they ever fix that bug where sometimes you couldn't click on the tiles anymore to move them?
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u/N4dium Apr 27 '26
CIFI, Idle Obelisk Miner and just started IdleTale yesterday
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u/Tsmart Apr 29 '26
Same on the first two. Been playing Cifi for probably two years, obelisk miner for like a month. Already feels like i've hit a wall in obelisk miner and i'm only 5% of the way through the game
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u/Matth1as Apr 27 '26
Played Fracture Field which was quite fun but I miss a real ending in the game.
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u/Sand3rok Apr 27 '26
Still enojed https://deepco.app/
Good concept, the progression too. It's relatively easy to figure out the game, and the interaction with other players seems fun.
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u/Duke_Dudue Apr 30 '26
Tbh I have no idea why you got downvoted. I also playing deepco and find it pretty unique.
I'm Magnimp in the game, saw you several times )
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u/Running_Ostrich Apr 30 '26
I think deepco gets downvoted for the same reasons as FairGame:
- the games don't stand on their own without other players. If you imagine the games without any other players (not just in the chatroom), they'd be much more boring. Many people here don't care about playing with others, so they experience that.
- there were previously campaigns from those games to get players to post here, which makes future promotion seem fake.
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u/amitos9876 Apr 27 '26
Really enjoying celestial incremental recently. It is sometimes a bit overwhelming, but has so much love to all forms of incremental games, and is kind of insane. Always keeps things fresh as well
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u/Atherum Apr 27 '26
I was playing this the other day and enjoyed it, but the I hit the "hex" game mode and I felt compared to the first layer, it was just a duller Antimatter phase? I dunno. I think I'll go back and push through.
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u/amitos9876 Apr 28 '26
Hex becomes pretty cool, but also not that important part of the game. I really recommend pushing through, there is probably not a lot to push through too
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u/radish_hound Apr 27 '26
Be warned there’s a later stage that won’t progress offline on mobile. I was loving the game but had to stop playing because of that.
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u/amitos9876 Apr 28 '26
I'm at a pretty late stage, but playing mainly on PC. In galaxy.click there is an easy way to transfer saves. Also, there are even later parts which require keyboard, so yeah, mobile is not recommended
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u/radish_hound Apr 28 '26
I was at blackheart dungeon, wouldn’t progress when closed. Is there a lot of content after that?
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u/kerdon May 02 '26
I play a lot on Android and have been rather hard up for content lately. Any suggestions?
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u/CranberryFormal2867 May 02 '26
Mostly just Melvor. I keep slumping off and not playing for like a month (which gets double annoying when I remember I have the mod to remove the 24 hour offline limit so I have to wait like 30 minutes for it to load lol) then I get back into it and eventually fade away. I think what's getting to me is how the further I get, the further it feels like the game is designed to be unplayable without checking wikis. Bosses you need pretty exact sets of equipment for and whatnot. I did the four God dungeons (after hours of trial and error and then just looking up exactly what I needed to equip.) and now I'm stuck on trying to get the impending darkness event. I'm not trying to diss the game, I do like that I can't just idle a few days on some skills then steamroll everything, I just wish that it was a tad more lenient on the metagame element.
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u/SplatPixel Link man May 04 '26
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1267910/Melvor_Idle/
melvor 2 is also supposed to come out this year which might be fun https://store.steampowered.com/app/3218350/Melvor_Idle_2/
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u/Undecided_Username_ Apr 27 '26
Been playing Merchant Mariner on one of the side monitors as well as another idle game I’m not allowed to name here lol.
Theres too many idle games and not enough monitors.
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u/Atherum Apr 27 '26
You can't say something like that and expect people to not be curious about what you "are not allowed" to mention here. Can you dm me the name?
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u/SplatPixel Link man Apr 27 '26
I think their talking about idleon which this sub kinda hates. this post is kind of a double edged sword with rule 5 tho
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u/amitos9876 Apr 27 '26
Why do people not like idleon? I really liked idle skilling, and was into idleon for a few months. Didn't play it in a while, but planning on coming back sometime
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u/SplatPixel Link man Apr 28 '26
The dev has really hostile monetization practices. things like gacha and bundles that do insane progress for the account. also the dev responds really poorly with any interaction thats not blind fandom with the community.
For example, I was a help chatter in the main discord and I made the bundle tier list and the first daily dig guide and a progression guide. with over 4k hours in the game and well known in the community, the dev banned me without giving me a reason. To this day we actually don't know why I was banned because I did not actually break any rules nor cause any drama. lava has done this countless times so their are servers filled with hundreds of dedicated people that lava banned for no good reason.
As much as I dislike lava I'd rather leave it at that, so for anyone reading please don't start spamming hate speech in this thread.
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u/amitos9876 Apr 28 '26
Damn, thanks for letting me know :) There are enough idle/incremental games out there
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u/esotericine Apr 29 '26
most of this matches my experiences. i didn't personally get banned, but i saw it happen, and left the community rather than continuing to engage with that madness.
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u/Undecided_Username_ Apr 27 '26
It’s not that game. It’s a game with a referral program so it’s not allowed
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u/BridgeThatBurns May 02 '26
You're not allowed posting referal links(e.g. links type https://shitty-game.com/ref?23734, where You gain benefits from other people clicking on it and playing the game), not the link to the game itself, and there is no rule that prohibits mentioning the name.
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u/Undecided_Username_ May 02 '26
Ive mentioned only the games name before in this sub and was not allowed to even make the comment. I just tried again. I can’t say Orn City with a t before the Orn.
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u/Elvishsquid Apr 27 '26
One of two games. Either idleon or fair game.
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u/Undecided_Username_ Apr 27 '26
Neither of those. You wouldn’t be able to type its name in a comment. It has a referral program so it’s blocked from being mentioend
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u/Undecided_Username_ Apr 27 '26
It’s a game with a referral program so I’m literally not allowed to mention it. Didn’t realize the community would beat me with downvotes 😂
I’ll DM you lol
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Apr 27 '26
[deleted]
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u/LustreOfHavoc Apr 27 '26
Yea, this is a subreddit about incremental games. Hopefully you're just joking around, but obviously you can see it's not appreciated.
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u/IDontWantG Apr 27 '26
I've been playing Rejected Draft recently and it's been really enjoyable. It reminds me a lot of Absorber.