GabeN: The Final Decision

GabeN: The Final Decision developed and published by Alex Zhang is an unusual indie RPG that blends internet satire, gaming culture references, and classic RPG Maker mechanics into a deliberately absurd adventure. Rather than presenting a traditional heroic story, the game builds its premise around the exaggerated online mythology surrounding Valve and its co-founder Gabe Newell. The result is a parody-driven role-playing experience that draws heavily from internet memes, community jokes, and the long-running fascination with Valve’s famously unreleased sequels. While the concept is intentionally ridiculous, it provides the foundation for a quirky adventure that explores the strange intersection between gaming culture and humor. The story unfolds in a fictional future where Gabe Newell is preparing to release several legendary titles that fans have been anticipating for years. In the world of the game, these long-awaited projects are finally complete and ready to be unveiled during an enormous Steam sale event. However, the situation quickly spirals into chaos when the projects are mysteriously sabotaged, forcing Gabe himself to step in and uncover the truth behind the disaster. T…

This is a game you bought specifically for the GABEN memes, but outside of that, this isn't a good game. Much of the game is made in RPG Maker and it even failed in many areas such as extremely easy enemies and bosses (with the exception of the final boss which is HARD), sprites which are stock images and using Valve Assets and real life photos as in-game items, and pointless weapons and power-ups that never get used once. If you want the achievements and the cards, this game can help you with that but outside of that, nope!

♥♥♥♥ this game

Couldn't even start the game. Clicking "New Game" crashes the game. I just wanted to play a game about our beloved Lord Gaben. *sigh* Thanks for the gift, Santi!

Picked this up on sale out of curiosity, and honestly it's exactly what you'd expect from a one-person RPG Maker game built around Valve memes — the humor lands occasionally, especially if you remember the 'Valve can't count to three' era, but it wears thin fast. The encounter rate is absurdly high, most battles are just mashing attack, and then the final boss swings wildly in the other direction and becomes a brutal slog. The visual inconsistency is jarring too, with stock RPG Maker assets sitting right next to poorly cut-out photos of Valve staff. I'll give it credit for being short enough that it doesn't overstay its welcome, and the main menu music is genuinely a bop. Unless you're farming trading cards or hunting achievements, I'd skip it — this one should've been free.

Unfunny, poorly designed RPGMaker game with tedious combat, generic assets and unbalanced boss fights