Freeware
I have very very fond memories of finding weird free games online. I would like to help more people have that experience. I have an Itch collection to get started with but using my own site gives me extra freedom. I've included additional resources in the sidebar, let me know if you find anything you want to shout out.
Cave Story
Cave Story is one of the greats, a one-man project that overflows with care for the craft. In gameplay, it's an action-adventure platformer where you progressively unlock and explore more and more of the world. There's not really a shortage of those these days, but Cave Story gets it right. In the years since its original release it's become an indie classic whose influence is inescapable, especially for 2D platformers and pixel art games.
The original Cave Story can be downloaded from the Cave Story Tribute Site, although many remakes have been released since on a variety of storefronts.
Keywords: 2D platformer, action, exploration
ClanGen
ClanGen is a Warriors Cats fan game that lets you create and manage a clan of feral cats. It's not particularly demanding sim gameplay, but it is the best cat soap opera generator i've seen yet. There's a high number of random evens, so there's always something happening. You never know who's suddenly going to murder, marry, etc. It's compelling in a way that sneaks up on you.
Clangen can be downloaded from its home page or from Itch. Sometimes the game file is mistakenly identified as a virus, but if you add the folder as an exception for you antivirus it should run smoothly and safely. To find the current development build, go here.
Keywords: Cats, fan game, settlement sim
Demon King Chronicle
Demon King Chronicle is an RPG Maker game known for its difficulty and demanding resource management, in the same tradition as Nepheshel (detailed below). Commissioned to "give this story an ending," you need to find a way to survive lethal obstacles like fighting multiple rats at once. Bit by bit you'll make potion bottles and equip gear (weapons, armor, rat meat, etc.) to give yourself every advantage you can. All the while, you're being drawn into the stories of your neighbors, and their fascination with a torn-up unfinished book: the Demon King Chronicle.
Demon King Chronicle can be downloaded from the official Katatema site. It's also available at archive.org; this option includes a bonus media folder from the Playsim release and a fan patch. A Let's Play walkthrough is available here, and further resources in Japanese are collected at the Katatema Works Wiki.
Keywords: Exploration, metafiction, RPG
Mushroom Musume
Mushroom Musume lets you raise a mushroom into a young woman and send her out into the world. Maybe she'll learn magic! Maybe she'll find love! The game is built for a large number of relatively short runs, so you can explore the various events and endings with your many many mushroom daughters. This game more or less single-handedly got me into raising sims as a genre, I recommend it highly.
The free demo can be downloaded from Itch. An expanded paid version will be released at a later date, but the free version is already excellent on its own.
Keywords: Fairy tale, mushroom, raising sim
Nepheshel
Nepheshel is a cult classic RPG Maker game with an emphasis on preparation and experimentation. For a long, long time I really preferred games that communicated themselves clearly, where there weren't as much secrets to find as puzzles to solves. The short time I had with Nepheshel gave me a different perspective, this game could not exist without the "I have no idea what I'm doing, but have to try anyway and see what happens" stage, discovering the rules through your own actions. I still don't know if that's my favorite dimension of play, but it was an extremely informative experience. I also hear it has very clever technical solutions to classic RPG design problems, but I don't have the personal knowledge base for a full explanation.
The fan translation of Nepheshel can be downloaded here.
Keywords: Exploration, fantasy, RPG
Ruina: Fairy Tale of the Forgotten Ruin
Ruina: Fairy Tale of the Forgotten Ruin tells the story of a mysterious dungeon and its buried secrets. I like dungeons in fantasy games, I love how Ruina handles its dungeon. It's a place of magic, and horror, and hidden pasts, and I'd compare it to Delicious in Dungeon in terms of exploring the ramifications of the dungeon for the surrounding world. Navigating the dungeon is reminiscent of gamebooks or choose-your-own-adventure interactive fiction, with gorgeous artwork to provide atmosphere.
The fan translation of Ruina can be downloaded here, and additional resources have been collected here. A remake has been announced, with plans to release in English.
Keywords: Dungeon, fantasy, RPG
Slice & Dice
Slice & Dice is a dice-based roguelite. You roll the dice, the results tell you what actions you can use this turn. Sounds easy enough, but the options available to both players and enemies, especially those that manipulate the die faces, turn this into an in-depth tactical challenge. It takes relatively simple core mechanics and makes the most of them.
Free demo can be downloaded from Itch for PC and mobile. A paid version is also available, but this isn't the page for that.
Keywords: Deckbuilder, dice, roguelite