spinOFFs thread

Let's kick things off with the big one, A NEW HOME, or simply HOME if you're feeling fancy. People ain't kidding when they say this might be better than the actual OFF. You play as the Judge after that bittersweet special ending and the whole setup is that the world's been reset, the Batter's back on his purification grind and you're basically trying to knock some sense into the guardians before everything goes down the drain again. What's wild is how perfectly it nails OFF's off-kilter vibe: the writing feels like it crawled straight out of Mortis Ghost's brain, all cryptic and melancholic but with these little bursts of dark humor and the combat's way more strategic too, not just spamming attacks but actually using elements and status effects. Also we got new party members, Alain the cannibal cat who's somehow both hilarious and terrifying, Valérie is back from the original and he's still all anxious and guilt ridden, and Jozlyn the sugar high who calls battles «dances», they're all so distinct and messed up in their own charming ways. The music's another huge W, like, it captures that original OFF soundtrack's eerie lo-fi soul while adding its own emotional punches. It can be brutally hard at points and some of the puzzles get a little too cryptic for their own good but that just adds to the experience. The creator sadly passed away back in 2017, which makes HOME feel even more like this labor of love that the whole fandom agree is the gold standard for spinOFFs. If you're only gonna play one, make it this one.

SINCERE DECEIT

formerly FIND ME

Next up is SINCERE DECEIT. You're back as the Batter, but the world's getting torn apart by two new forces, one wanting to corrupt everything and the other wanting to «save it» by taking control and you can side with either or just say screw it and flip the switch OFF again. What's cool is how many endings there are, plus a whole extra area called the Outside, so you're gonna be replaying this a lot. The horror elements are way more «in your face» than OFF ever was, think body horror, jumpscares, cult indoctrination, even the game sometimes closing itself on purpose to mess with you. It's super ambitious, maybe too ambitious, 'cuz the comments are full of softlocks and glitches, especially on the Blue Route in the Tower, so save often. But when it works, it feels like its own full horror RPG that just happens to borrow OFF's bones. The pixel art's creepy, the music by Choco and Lemon is haunting, and the whole «make choices or ignore everyone» vibe gives it this SMT and Fire Emblem Fates' energy that I really like. It's not as polished as HOME but if you want something that'll eat up your weekend and leave you thinking about it, this is the one.

Now let's talk about CONTINUE/STOP/RISE. You've got the Batter waking up after the original game, missing his add-ons and then he meets two alternate versions of himself: the Ghost Batter and the Bad Batter, the three of them end up climbing a Rainbow Stairway to Heaven and yeah, things get surreal fast. What people love is how unique the whole setup feels, instead of rehashing the zones, you're exploring this bizarre heaven with eight guardians, a photography guy who references the one in EarthBound and even a cameo from the protagonist of the Yume Nikki fangame Kataribesou ~Ensouki~. The battle system's clever: the Batter does strong single target heals and elemental hits, Ghost buffs the party and has AoE attacks and Bad drains HP with his «stealing bases» moves. The pixel art is fine, especially the detailed backgrounds, tho it's a little jarring that the Betters stay black and white while everything else pops with color. Now, the downsides, it's pretty short and the gameplay feels clunky sometimes, some bosses are brutally hard while the final fight's kinda underwhelming. The writing's also an acquired taste; it's goofy, meta and has a ton of inside jokes, so if you want something as somber as OFF, this ain't it, but if you're down for a faster paced, almost comedic take that still has heart? this is a solid A-tier spinOFF.

Then there's ALIVE. The hook is right there in the name: after the Batter's ending, the world didn't fully die, it's still alive, and you're sent back with your puppet to figure out what the hell's going on. What's cool here is that you actually get to make meaningful choices as the Puppeteer, deciding the Batter's words and actions, which leads to different paths. The demo only goes up to Zone 2, but it's got a really nice, eerie atmosphere and some fresh faces, like The Mechanic, a baby cybercat companion who's actually super smart and builds stuff from scrap. The writing tries to expand OFF's lore in a more explanatory way, which might rub some purists the wrong way but they're attempting something deeper. Zacharie's back breaking the fourth wall, the add-ons return and the whole vibe feels like a respectful continuation rather than a wild reimagining. It's rough around the edges since it's still in development but the new pixel art and music capture that OFF melancholy really well. If you want something that's still cooking but already tasty, give ALIVE a shot.

CONFINIUM shakes things up by being a prequel instead of another sequel, and that's such a breath of fresh air. You play as the Pilot, exploring zones themed around the solar system with this brighter, spacey aesthetic that still feels totally loyal to OFF's weird charm. The whole thing's structured around a playing card leitmotif, your party members get referred to as cards, but what really stands out is the level design: it's kinda open ended and sandboxish, which feels nothing like the original's linear corridors, but it works because you're uncovering lore about the King, Hugo and the guardians at your own pace. The art is spot on, like Xintetsu really studied Mortis Ghost's style down to the scratchy textures and unsettling smiles. Music's a banger too, with Alias Conrad Coldwood tracks alongside new stuff from HamoneLamone and Graff. The downside? The combat's janky and unbalanced, some fights feel way too harsh outta nowhere but hey, OFF's combat wasn't exactly a masterpiece either, so it's not a dealbreaker. If you're tired of playing as the Batter and wanna see the world before everything went to hell, CONFINIUM is a fresh creative take that deserves way more hype.

Moving on to ENCORE, which tries to reboot OFF's story with a new puppet called the Melodist, basically an entity brought in to restore harmony instead of purifying everything. You're still making choices at the end of each zone that'll lead to multiple endings which is dope. This demo takes you from Zone 0 through Zone 1, so it's like the half of the game, tho the reception's been mixed, someone pointed that the art doesn't quite match OFF's grungy style, it veers into paper anime territory with some recycled assets but that sounds like purism. Combat's also pretty easy and doesn't use the active mode or status effects as much as it could, so it lacks that strategic edge, and since it never got completed there are still bugs. It's a first time narrative project so there's some jank, but the core idea of playing a musician character in a rewritten world is charming. If you're cool with a rough around the edges demo that might evolve into something special if the dev ever returns, give it a shot.

In TINY TERROR you play as Finch, a weird tiny dude whose only goal is to gorge himself on sugar, and honestly? Mood. You're just there to help him get his fix, no matter what happens to everyone else, which sets up his selfish personality. The art is the standout here, like, holy crap. The cutscenes illustrations are gorgeous! They feel grungy yet vibrant, really nailing OFF's sketchy vibe while adding its own flair. That said, it has pacing issues, the narrative jumps around expecting you to already care about these new characters and the good ending feels unearned due to Finch's severe self-seeking. There are bugs as well, but honestly, for a first game, it's super promising and the music fits the mood perfectly. Trigger warning tho, this has blood, cannibalism, mass killing and all that dark stuff.

This ONE is sweet and surprisingly emotional for a fangame, and it's got this charming artstyle that stays faithful to OFF while still feeling fresh. You play as Doux, a kid made out of the grand elements by Zacharie after the Batter's official ending left the world empty and lonely. Zacharie creates Doux to have someone but then he gets kidnapped and little Doux goes on a rescue mission with a temporary brother figure named Blight, who's like a messed up clone of Zacharie. The old guardians like Dedan, Japhet and Enoch show up as spectres who've mellowed out and need your help to reclaim their zones from new monstrous rulers. The combat's trickier than OFF, so you'll be scanning enemies constantly, the music's fits the mood since it was composed by the codeveloper Felix Mullins, may he rest in peace. The game has multiple endings based on your choices, plus fourteen orbs based on sins and virtues instead of zodiacs. It's a demo but feels pretty meaty, just be warned puzzles are constantly a headache and there's no updated guide yet.

DUALITY

formerly BORDERLINE

Finally, we got DUALITY. The setup's wild: seven years after the Batter flipped the switch, the world's been rebuilt from ashes by new guardians and a Queen, but history's repeating with corruption creeping back. You play as Max, a blind cook from Zone 3, who gets the gift of sight from the Puppeteer and just wants to deliver food to the guardians but obviously things go sideways fast. The art's gorgeous, zones feel alive with NPCs having their own little lives and the music's banging and it's got a fully customizable settings menu with window colors and anxiety time options, plus animated battle portraits which are a huge W. Puzzles come with a guide so you don't get stuck and the whole vibe is less about cosmic horror and more about rebuilding and redemption. If you want a fangame with heart and zero limitations, this delivers.