Gnomecore Games

[Moreno909]

What are some games with a dark fantasy fairy tale book theme? I noticed that there are some games like this, and they have an aesthetic similarity despite being made by different developers. And in all of them, you play with little gremlins/gnomes/leprechauns. I'm referring to games like

Three Wonders

Willow

Little Nemo (all by Capcom)

Nightmare Busters (SNES)

Flink (Megadrive, one of the most beautiful games in my opinion)

Lomax (PS1)

Hugo

At least I see a certain aesthetic similarity, if I'm not crazy. Are there any modern games like this?

 

[SpcDaicon]

I think I get the aesthetic you are going after.

Maybe Lemmings Paintball and older Rayman fit in this aesthetic?

There was also Divertilândia. There was a time here in Brazil some company published children's magazines that came with games. They where really low-budget and simple games for children 7 to 10. One of those games was Divertilândia, a game I can describe as a Mario Party clone but instead of playing as Mario characters, the playable roster was composed of some kind of gremelin or critter creature. I still have the CD. Couldn't find any ingame images but the CD cover shows the playable characters

I think this kind of aesthetic was only prevalent in the 90's

 

[thumbsdown]

Pocket Kingdom (2016) and in some extent Sparklite (2019) fall in this category.

Edit: I would even include Little Nightmares (2017), in some extent. But that's overall a 90s thing, as said before.

Post automatically merged: Sunday at 6:26 PM

There was a time here in Brazil some company published children's magazines that came with games. They where really low-budget and simple games for children 7 to 10. One of those games was Divertilândia, a game I can describe as a Mario Party clone but instead of playing as Mario characters, the playable roster was composed of some kind of gremelin or critter creature. I still have the CD. Couldn't find any ingame images but the CD cover shows the playable characters

View attachment 124517

I think this kind of aesthetic was only prtevalent in the 90's

Xuxacore games :p

 

[Soupmancer]

I had creatures on the ps1 as a kid. You raise little goblin creatures and I remember being encaptured by it.

I searched the repo and am shocked to see there was a GBA port???

Creatures (Europe) GBA ROM - RGT Repository

Creatures (Europe) GBA ROM Languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish. For the GameBoy Advance.

retrogametalk.com

 

[JPchicre]

Technically a Orc but he is a very small orc, also the aesthetic is more LoTR Than Willow (the movie, i never played the game willow)

Post automatically merged: Sunday at 7:21 PM

Also Horticular is a 2024 game where you build a gnome garden

 

[thumbsdown]

Minish Cap is the most gnomecore of the Zeldis, hands down

 

[Bakuma1997]

Medievil

Faxanadu follows the Grimm Brothers easthetic

Faria folows the Tinkerbell faerietale era

I think there is a Discworld PSX Adventure game

 

[Anoobis]

Tomba!

 

[CaptainToad]

Fairy Bloom Freesia sorta' has that aesthetic. Love bein' a little guy in a lush forest.

 

[thumbsdown]

Fairy Bloom Freesia sorta' has that aesthetic. Love bein' a little guy in a lush forest.
View attachment 124648

this looks interesting af

 

[Cyberfriend]

Save 30% on Gnomes on Steam

Gnomes is a turn-based tower defense with deep roguelike progression, set in ever-expanding, procedurally generated biomes. Build, farm and defend your village as you push deeper into goblin-infested territory. Unlock powerful upgrades and craft your environment to survive the endless goblin horde

store.steampowered.com

 

[Tonberry]

HELL YEAH NOW YOU’RE SPEAKING MY LANGUAGE

The actual gnomeage in these games might vary, but they are all (at least in part) games where you play as a tiny guy in a big world, or as a somewhat ordinary guy in a whimsical world, or something along those lines. Some are more overtly fairy-tale than others.

• Zelda - Minish Cap
• Knytt
• Knytt Underground
• Cave Story
• Equinox on SNES
• Legend of Mana
• Atlyss
• Little Nightmares
• Unravel
• Final Fantasy 3
• Dragon Quest 5
• Super Mario RPG
• Torneko - The Last Hope
• Dragon Quest Builders 1 & 2
• World of Final Fantasy
• Tomba
• Popolocrois
• Tak on PS2
• The Hobbit (the 2003 game)
• Dust - An Elysian Tale
• the Ori games
• 40 Winks

As you can see some might be way off, but I love that particular gnome-adjacent vibe too so I figured might as well pump in as many as I could think of.
Probably forgot some even then.

 

[trickybus]

Haven't seen anyone mention Diggles: The Myth of Fenris. It's an early-2000 colony sim for the PC where you control the development of a group of underground dwarves

It's available on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1478650/Diggles_The_Myth_of_Fenris/