Link: https://unity.itch.io/weird
unity has been kicking around in the RPG Maker space for the past few years, making fun and polished RPGs with challenging battles, yuri romance and non-stop techno music. Weird and Unfortunate Things are Happening brought in Sooz as a co-developer and writer, as well as several talented artists from the scene including Roden, erlyn and JosephSeraph among others. This is the kind of project you get when a community pitches in to make the best game they can. Which is to say, it's really good, but in a way that deserves some unpacking.
Weird and Unfortunate is one of many very good Earthbound-likes recently made in the system. I call these "Earthbound-likes" because, like the cult SNES RPG Earthbound, they sit right between traditional RPGs and the more popular "RPG Horror" genre. LISA: The Painful makes use of challenging battles to add a sense of desperation to its tragic story. Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass explores the hopes and fears of a little boy grappling with terminal illness, exploring his different facets via a class system. "Weird and Unfortunate" makes you empathize with its characters by situating them within a dangerous environment where resources are strictly regulated. The game has you counting every bullet and SP revival item you find, adding survival horror flavor to a very battle-heavy game.
Weird and Unfortunate also borrows heavily from the Shin Megami Tensei games, especially the Persona spin-offs. While I adore the atmosphere of old-school SMT, I have to admit that the series has suffered a crisis of identity for the past decade or so. The early games are rooted in the nihilistic power fantasies of the 80s and 90s; the Persona titles are fun on their own, but are a different sort of thing. For me, Weird and Unfortunate evokes the claustrophobia of early SMT without carrying along the baggage. I'm looking forwards to unity's next project (a more traditional RPG, with classes this time! Hooray!) but I'd love to see a proper follow-up to Weird and Unfortunate one day that builds upon what it achieved. Until then, this game exists as the crowning jewel of today's English-speaking RPG Maker scene. Not necessarily the best, but the most representative.