Naheulbeuk's Dungeon Master: 163125 appears to be a duplicate of 129971.

Edit: GC Tuba beat me to it.

One month in and I'm doing better than I had expected. So far I'm just slotting in games that I play into categories they fit into. Once the categories are narrowed down more, I'll probably pick some games to fit specific ones.

Total: 8 (+0)
✅ 1. A new game (released within the past year) - Creature Packets
⬛ 2. An old game (released 10+ years ago)
⬛ 3. A really old game (released 20+ years ago
⬛ 4. An ancient game (released 30+ years ago)
⬛ 5. A time sink (50+ hours)
✅ 6. A quickie (less than an hour) - Tempres
⬛ 7. A remake or remaster of a game
⬛ 8. A game with 6+ endings
⬛ 9. A collection of games
⬛ 10-1. A game that’s title starts with a number
✅ 10-2. A game named after the main character - Delia: The Traveling Witch
⬛ 10-3. A game that starts with the letter Q or Z
⬛ 11. A game from a genre you don’t normally play
⬛ 12-1. A game adapted from another medium
⬛ 12-2. A game adapted into another medium
✅ 13-1. A game with a short title (4 letters or less) - |
⬜ 13-2. A game with a long title (8+ words or a word with 13+ letters)
⬜ 14-1. A game with over 1k completions
✅ 14-2. A game with under 100 completions - LODGE
⬜ 14-3. A game with no recorded completion times
⬛ 15-1. A game you previously retired or shelved
⬛ 15-2. A replay
⬛ 16. A game that’s been a Game of the Month
⬛ 17. A game chosen by the HLTB randomizer
⬛ 18. A game with a real or fictional religion
⬛ 19-1. A “threequel” (third part of the series)
⬛ 19-2. A spin-off
⬛ 20. A cornerstone of gaming culture
⬛ 21. A game where you play as an anti-hero or villain
⬛ 22. A game heavily featuring zombies
⬛ 23. A game that hasn't aged well
✅ 24. An indie game - Off-Peak
⬛ 25-1. A game that takes place after a timeskip (5+ years)
⬛ 25-2. A game that takes place at the same time as another game in the series
⬛ 26. A sequel that's more famous than the original
⬛ 27. A game that has no business being in its series
⬛ 28. A game from a franchise that rarely gets new games
⬛ 29. A game with an interesting hook
⬛ 30-1. A game with a great plot twist
⬛ 30-2. A game with a bad plot twist
⬛ 31-1. The definitive edition of a game (or GOTY edition, Ultimate Edition, Deluxe edition, etc.)
⬛ 31-2. The base game version of a game with several DLCs or Editions
✅ 32-1. A platform exclusive - Splatoon 3: Side Order
⬜ 32-2. A game available on 7+ platforms
⬛ 33. A game you beat to 100% completion
⬛ 34. A game that started a long-running franchise (7+ games)
⬛ 35. A recent (within the last 5 years) game in a long-running franchise (7+ games)
⬛ 36. A game that's smaller than 100MB
⬛ 37. A game that won any category in the SPIKE Video Game awards or the Game Awards hosted by Geoff Keighley
⬛ 38. A game that made it out of Development Hell (5+ years)
⬛ 39. A game where the characters speak a language you don't understand (can be real or fictional)
⬛ 40. A game with a memorable soundtrack
⬛ 41. A game on someone else's Game Challenge 2025 list
⬛ 42. A game with a female protagonist
⬛ 43. A game inspired by Mythology or Folklore
⬛ 44. A game inspired/based on real world historical events
⬛ 45. A game developed by a single person
⬛ 46. A fan-made/bootleg/rom hack game
⬛ 47. A game that won or was a finalist for a Steam Award
✅ 48. A game with a silent protagonist - The world had been sad since Tuesday
⬛ 49-1. A game that features time travel
⬛ 49-2. A game that features space travel
⬛ 50. A game that prominently features food/cooking

⬛ B1. A replay on a harder difficulty than your first playthrough
⬛ B2. A replay where you get a different ending from your first playthrough
⬛ B3. A replay that you finish quicker than your first playthrough
⬛ B4. A replay in new game+

For the game of the month, I nominate Wolfenstein 3D.
For the 10 year anniversary, I nominate Aviary Attorney.

This is my first year participating. I'm only going for bronze, because I don't want it to become a chore. Being late for itchmas gave me a strong start.

Total: 5 (+0)
✅ 1. A new game (released within the past year) - Creature Packets
⬛ 2. An old game (released 10+ years ago)
⬛ 3. A really old game (released 20+ years ago
⬛ 4. An ancient game (released 30+ years ago)
⬛ 5. A time sink (50+ hours)
✅ 6. A quickie (less than an hour) - Tempres
⬛ 7. A remake or remaster of a game
⬛ 8. A game with 6+ endings
⬛ 9. A collection of games
⬛ 10-1. A game that’s title starts with a number
⬛ 10-2. A game named after the main character
⬛ 10-3. A game that starts with the letter Q or Z
⬛ 11. A game from a genre you don’t normally play
⬛ 12-1. A game adapted from another medium
⬛ 12-2. A game adapted into another medium
✅ 13-1. A game with a short title (4 letters or less) - |
⬜ 13-2. A game with a long title (8+ words or a word with 13+ letters)
⬛ 14-1. A game with over 1k completions
⬛ 14-2. A game with under 100 completions
⬛ 14-3. A game with no recorded completion times
⬛ 15-1. A game you previously retired or shelved
⬛ 15-2. A replay
⬛ 16. A game that’s been a Game of the Month
⬛ 17. A game chosen by the HLTB randomizer
⬛ 18. A game with a real or fictional religion
⬛ 19-1. A “threequel” (third part of the series)
⬛ 19-2. A spin-off
⬛ 20. A cornerstone of gaming culture
⬛ 21. A game where you play as an anti-hero or villain
⬛ 22. A game heavily featuring zombies
⬛ 23. A game that hasn't aged well
✅ 24. An indie game - Off-Peak
⬛ 25-1. A game that takes place after a timeskip (5+ years)
⬛ 25-2. A game that takes place at the same time as another game in the series
⬛ 26. A sequel that's more famous than the original
⬛ 27. A game that has no business being in its series
⬛ 28. A game from a franchise that rarely gets new games
⬛ 29. A game with an interesting hook
⬛ 30-1. A game with a great plot twist
⬛ 30-2. A game with a bad plot twist
⬛ 31-1. The definitive edition of a game (or GOTY edition, Ultimate Edition, Deluxe edition, etc.)
⬛ 31-2. The base game version of a game with several DLCs or Editions
⬛ 32-1. A platform exclusive
⬛ 32-2. A game available on 7+ platforms
⬛ 33. A game you beat to 100% completion
⬛ 34. A game that started a long-running franchise (7+ games)
⬛ 35. A recent (within the last 5 years) game in a long-running franchise (7+ games)
⬛ 36. A game that's smaller than 100MB
⬛ 37. A game that won any category in the SPIKE Video Game awards or the Game Awards hosted by Geoff Keighley
⬛ 38. A game that made it out of Development Hell (5+ years)
⬛ 39. A game where the characters speak a language you don't understand (can be real or fictional)
⬛ 40. A game with a memorable soundtrack
⬛ 41. A game on someone else's Game Challenge 2025 list
⬛ 42. A game with a female protagonist
⬛ 43. A game inspired by Mythology or Folklore
⬛ 44. A game inspired/based on real world historical events
⬛ 45. A game developed by a single person
⬛ 46. A fanmade/bootleg/rom hack game
⬛ 47. A game that won or was a finalist for a Steam Award
✅ 48. A game with a silent protagonist - The world had been sad since Tuesday
⬛ 49-1. A game that features time travel
⬛ 49-2. A game that features space travel
⬛ 50. A game that prominently features food/cooking

⬛ B1. A replay on a harder difficulty than your first playthrough
⬛ B2. A replay where you get a different ending from your first playthrough
⬛ B3. A replay that you finish quicker than your first playthrough
⬛ B4. A replay in new game+

I'm gonna compromise here and change the challenge to "A game that starts with Q or Z". It keeps the spirit of the challenge while expanding it.

Here's my suggestion for a similar challenge for next year's list:
* A game that starts with V and doesn't feature vampires or a game that starts with Z and doesn't feature zombies

I'm too late for this year, but here are some more suggestions for next year:
* A game controlled by motion controls, eye-tracking, or a specialized peripheral (such as a guitar, racing wheel and pedals, balance board, microphone, Kinect, etc)
* A game based on a real-world analog (board game, card game, instructional simulator, etc, as long as it had a real-world version first)
* A game where you control multiple characters, simultaneously or alternating
* A game with hand-drawn graphics, stop-motion, or FMVs
* A game with a narrator
* A co-op game or game where you played a co-op mode
* A game on a platform, website, or subscription service that you've never used before

Bug report:
Trying to go directly to a specific page of a collection always redirects to the first page of that collection.
(I'm currently using Google Chrome in Windows 11.)
Example: https://howlongtobeat.com/user/R2D21999/lists/131/Itchmas-Winners/2

Chicken Assassin: Reloaded is the updated version of Chicken Assassin: Master of Humiliation.

Seeing all these two and three digit numbers is making me stressed about my own backlog. It's currently somewhere around 9k.

On the other hand, I no longer have one of the top 5 backlogs on this site.

Asphalt Legends Unite is the new name for Asphalt 9: Legends.

I started playing on Friday. I was pretty busy the first week of this month, but I made sure to start on the 7th, since that was Travis's birthday.

I played through the first two days and am enjoying it so far. I think the decision to make the main character so unlikable, at least so far, is a bold one. I'm enjoying that the plot already hasn't been entirely straightforward, so I have hope for it. I wasn't expecting the betrayal at the end of day 2, although it's also sort of awkward that the player character keeps making decisions that I disagree with.
I wasn't expecting the soundtrack to be entirely rap (at least so far), although it is fitting. It's a little annoying to have lyrics playing when the game is so dialog-heavy, though.

For anyone who wants to play TWEWY, but isn't sure how, there are 3 versions:
* Nintendo DS (original)
* iOS (Solo Remix)
* Nintendo Switch (Final Remix)
You could also try the DS version on an emulator, but Reddit posts mention an anti-piracy measure on English versions that you would have to work around. (This is not an endorsement of pirating games.)

Some notes:
* NEO: The World Ends With You is the sequel, not another version of the same game.
* I've heard that the DS version and the Switch version in handheld mode offer the best experiences.
* The iOS version of the game may have compatibility issues with newer versions of iOS.

Thank you, everyone who voted for TWEWY. ❤️
I'm sure Travis would be excited to know that it won GotM. And probably a little abashed to know that it's in honor of him.

Some of you may remember a HLTB forum member by the name of orngcav067. He participated in some of the Game of the Month discussions in 2016. He also posted an AMA where he talked about his cancer diagnosis and his favorite game, among other things. Unfortunately, both of those tie into the reason I'm telling you this.

His real name was Travis, and he was my best friend. After we met at work in 2011, we bonded over video games, music, software development, fencing, the fact that we were both app developers with "dumb phones", and so much more. He introduced me to Humble Bundle, and I convinced him to buy a 3DS. We traveled across the country to attend the Ouya launch party together, I was a groomsman in his wedding, and he would have been a groomsman in mine. As you've probably figured out from reading this far, after battling brain cancer for almost 5 years, Travis passed away in 2018.

June 7th of this year would have been his 35th birthday, which is why I hope to honor him by nominating his favorite game: The World Ends With You

By the way, the first game was GotM three years ago. For anyone interested in checking out its thread, here you go: https://howlongtobeat.com/forum/thread/2363/1

Out of curiosity, I decided to take a quick look on Ori reviews on YouTube. From the thumbnails alone I got this:





Then a quick scroll on the comment section of IGN's review:









Wow, people really like this thing.

That's some high praise. I hope it lives up to the hype.

It's almost April again (already?!), and you know what that means: Fool's Choice nominations! Here's how it works:

In addition to the usual game of the month, you can nominate a "Fool's Choice" game. The nominees can be funny, ridiculous, "so bad it's good", or any game that would be funny to experience as a group. It's a chance to share oddball games that might not fit the usual GotM mold. As the voters, you ultimately decide the criteria.

The only additional rule is that a game can't be nominated to both categories.

The original instance of Hell's Little Story that I created apparently never merged with one that was created shortly after.
https://howlongtobeat.com/game/45503
https://howlongtobeat.com/game/45824

I'll nominate Cube Escape Collection.

It's a compilation of 9 short puzzle games. I wouldn't say it's scary, but it's macabre. And it has 98% positive reviews on Steam.

Sometimes a franchise is big and vast which such potential that GotM has had to have multiple dips into these franchises but which franchises have been the most popular. We have had 14 different franchises with repeat entries for a total of 46 games and 31 separate threads.
Note: If a franchise is Underlined then it means these games where part of a collection/series nomination before we excluded multi game nominations:

Franchises



4th - Bayonetta / Bioshock / Castlevania / Fallout / Final Fantasy / Metroid / Resident Evil / Super Mario / Yakuza - 2 Games


3rd - Borderlands / Doom - 4 Games


2nd - Mega Man - 6 Games


1st - Bit. Trip / The Legend of Zelda - 7 Games

Didn't the Borderlands series only have 3 games when it won?

This game is a duplicate of this game, which has been renamed to "Alien Attack".

EA has replaced Origin with the "EA App". Could you please replace the "Origin" storefront with "EA" or "EA App"?

Hey there! Just came across this for the first time and super interested. Is there a discord group for discussions and an easy way to see nominations/what won? Or should I favorite the thread and come back to it often?

The Discord link is at the bottom of the page. Once you're in, check out the game-of-the-month channel. Each month's games get discussion threads in that channel, so click the # icon at the top when you're in that channel and find the game or games you want to discuss and join those threads.

I'm excited to play this one for the first time. I'll mostly post my takes and progress to the Discord thread, but I may post some here, too.

Double nom there as also nom breath of the wild 😜

Oh, I didn't see your nom before posting. I'll stick with it.

April - Regular GotM + April's Fool

Are we doing an additional April's Fool again? If so, what exactly was that again? A silly game?

From my original announcement post last year:

In addition to the usual game of the month, you can nominate a "Fool's Choice" game. The nominees can be funny, ridiculous, "so bad it's good", or any game that would be funny to experience as a group. It's a chance to share oddball games that might not fit the usual GotM mold. As the voters, you ultimately decide the criteria.

The only additional rule is that a game can't be nominated to both categories.