itch.io is known for all kinds of things: unique games, diverse tools, and in-depth stock advice. Ok maybe not that last one, but one of our best kept secrets is the treasure trove of content that has nothing to do with video games. Of course we’ve featured non-gaming content before on the itch.io blog but it’s been a while and there have been a bunch of great releases since then. Sure I’ve snuck in a few in our regular rotation but let’s celebrate some of the best non-video game content available now.

Left

The Hundred Rabbits crew have been busy lately. Despite living their lives on a boat crossing the pacific they’ve managed to develop several games and tools, Left among them. Left is a minimalist text editor which does just that: edit text. You’re not going to find all of the bells and whistles from Word or Google Docs, but what you will find is a no-frills hyper-focused workspace.

As someone who gets paid to write I can’t count the number of times I’ve gotten distracted while working. It seems like everything including the text editor gets in the way of my productivity (this is my excuse) but Left strips it all out and leaves nothing but a space to type in. While I understand that minimal open-source text editors aren’t the most exciting things to read about, folks in the market for a new one will find a lot to love.

Leschek’s Flight

If I didn’t work in gaming, I’d probably work in comics. There are huge worlds with 80+ years of lore to immerse yourself in and piles and piles of indie comics creating new worlds for you to get invested in for dollars. On top of that alternative comics and personal stories have been flourishing with the rise of the internet and direct-to-customer sales. Leschek’s flight feels like a comic that wouldn’t see the light of day 30 years ago and is so much better for it.

To talk about comics is to talk about both art and dialogue. Leschek’s flight leans heavily on the first and pulls back on the latter. Set in a wild sci-fi world Leschek’s Flight has a wild new design for each character and each alien race. You run into a muscle-bound folk balladeer as quickly as a portly robot.

There’s also a ton of content inside of Leschek’s flight that could easily have sold for 2-3 times the current meager asking price. If you want a clever adventure that takes up 45 minutes you could do a lot worse than Leschek’s Flight.

Ohhhhh My God

Continuing with our comic recommendations we have Ohhhhh My God. I’ve always been split about the value of confessional diary comics. At their worst they’re voyeuristic looks that deify individual and problematic actions, but at best they can be smart and funny exercises in empathy. Ohhhhh My God is one of the latter.

Technically Ohhhhh My God is the fourth volume in Sara Goetter’s diary comic collection but I didn’t have any background with the artist or her life prior to reading this volume. I feel weird describing an autobiography in terms of plot, but this work picks up shortly after the author’s mother’s passing. What follows is a look into the aftermath of the life-changing event surrounded by likable characters and fun art.

Do you have any non-gaming content that you love? Let us know in the comments below.