An Interview with Kinda Funny’s Blessing Adeoye Jr.

Blessing Adeoye Jr. is an incredible personality in the gaming media industry who has won such titles as The Game Awards Future Class of Video Games and Forbes 30 Under 30. He has worked with Kinda Funny as a host and producer since 2020 and has a lot of insight into the industry. Blessing is often championing indie games on Kinda Funny’s content and recently I was lucky enough to chat with him about his thoughts on the indie world.

1. Our September issue features Tukoni, a wonderful point-and-click puzzle game with a beautiful art style. With your title at Kinda Funny being the infamous Puzzle Poppy, which 3 indie puzzle games would you recommend and why?

There are so many games I can list! The most recent recommendation I’ll give is Blue Prince. It came out this year and has already cemented itself as something special both because of how unique it is and how well it’s executed. It’s part first person walking sim, part roguelite, and part escape room puzzle. The goal is to get to a special room in a shifting manor and it’s one of the deepest puzzle games I’ve ever played.

My second recommendation is Patrick’s Parabox. I’m a sucker for tile-based block puzzles, and Patrick’s Parabox takes that idea to that next level by turning the blocks into maps that you can enter. It’s a very clever, simple game that is easy to lose hours to.

My final recommendation is Immortality. It’s a bit different because it’s an FMV game (so I understand an argument against it being a puzzle game), but the gameplay itself is a grand puzzle that you need to solve by sifting through a catalog of lost film footage to get to the bottom of a freaky mystery. The story and characters are fascinating, with a wonderful performance from Manon Gage. The process of finding new clips by clicking objects within frame is so engaging.

2.  One of the reasons I love gaming is that it introduces me to experiences and cultures that I previously didn’t know much about. Indie games are great because they allow people to create and tell stories in their own voices. Are there any indie games that have allowed you to experience a culture or group of people in an impactful way?

Yes! Venba is the first game that comes to mind, being a story about the protagonist Venba and her husband moving to Canada from India and starting a family. The story is based around food which is powerful to use as the focal point to the narrative, because SO much culture exists in food. It was cool learning about Indian food, but also it was relatable, being a first generation American myself.

3. There are so many indie games that feature animal protagonists, if you could have an indie creature as a pet, who would you choose, and what adventures would you get up to?

I think it’d be fun to be friends with Claire from A Short Hike. She’s a bit too anthropomorphic to be a pet, but I think she’d be a fun hiking buddy!

4. You get a team of indie developers and a healthy budget to make a Kinda Funny game. What would that game look like? (e.g a horror game similar to Alien Isolation that involves Tim being stalked by a procedurally generated Greg who can pop out any second and present the Stars in the Bank suitcase).

Sloclap to make a Kinda Funny basketball game based around our infamous basketball game we took forever to produce. Make it arcadey, give us all different abilities, and make the art-style as exaggerated as possible with the fun and flair of Rematch.

5. With the theme of this issue being a more relaxed vibe, are there any indie game soundtracks that you like to kick back and chill to?

So many. Some of the easiest answers would be the Celeste and Deltarune soundtracks. Sayonara Wild Hearts gets played on repeat at times as well. Nocturne from Katana Zero though is one that I LOVE. Really that entire soundtrack is great, but if I’m looking for a chill vibe, Nocturne is great for that.

6.  Finally, what upcoming indie title has caught your eye?

Nowadays, my Steam Wishlist is looking pretty heavy. Please, Watch The Artwork is one that I’m for sure keeping an eye out for. It’s a game where you need to keep an eye on Edward Hopper artwork to spot inconsistencies. The vibe is weird. I love it. That said I could list so many from Moonlighter 2 and Death Howl, to Absolum.

Thank you so much to Blessing on taking the time to join us. If you haven't already checked out Kinda Funny, then head over to Kindafunny.com.