Have you played a game that stayed in your head long after you played it?
For me, Outer Wilds would be that game. I feel like I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I beat it a couple years ago.
For me, that game would definitely be Disco Elysium. I’ve never connected with a game as much as with that one. I’m actually reticent of playing it again for fear of it not living up to the first experience; I felt like my first playthrough was perfect, even if technically speaking it wasn’t.
Other than that, I also still think about Mass Effect a fair bit.
On a side note: if you liked the investigating and “detective-ing” of Outer Wilds, then you will probably also enjoy Return of the Obra Dinn, The Forgotten City, and The Case of the Golden Idol. I’d also add Disco Elysium to that list, but be aware it’s a lot more text heavy.
Oh Disco Elysium all the way, it’s possibly my favorite game. I have a notebook filled with lines in the game that stuck with me.
I want more of it, but it looks like that lightning won’t strike twice.
fwiw I did play it through twice, and maybe enjoyed it even more the second time - caught more of the little details
Subdue the regret. Dust yourself off, proceed. You’ll get it in the next life, where you don’t make mistakes. Do what you can with this one, while you’re alive.
The only way to load the dice is to keep on fighting.
Great recommendations there, each got under my skin. I feel the same about David Lynch films, they connect with something inside me, and lodge permanently in my brain.
I’d put What Remains of Edith Finch, Dear Esther, Talos Principle, Stanley Parable, Metroid Prime and maybe Portal 1+2 in there too - they share an authentically mysterious vibe.
Obra Dinn and Outer Wilds hit me hard, they nailed the atmosphere perfectly. Haven’t actually played DE, was a bit put off by the sheer amount of dialogue, but I need to try it.
When I saw the OP’s question, my immediate thougt was Outer Wilds and Disco Elysium. Nice to see both represented at the top!
Hades is so good. Waiting for Hades 2. Aaaaany day now.
I’ve tried to like Hades a few times over the years since it came out. I know I’m in the minority, it’s generally a well liked game, but I just don’t see the appeal. The gameplay loop is repetitive, difficult, and unrewarding, the main character is deliberately unlikable, the dialogue with the NPCs in the hub is repetitive and trying too hard to be funny. I didn’t enjoy a single second playing that game, and its one I actually paid real money for, I bought it and genuinely wanted to like it. I suppose I’m not the target audience.
Man, that’s actually so sad. But I guess most gamers will find that one game they want to like (because it’s critically acclaimed, their friends are super into it, etc.), but it just won’t work.
I had that experience with Valheim. On paper it looks like a fun viking-esque Minecraft with a bit more RPG elements. In practice I just found out cumbersome and the gameplay loop felt just plain boring/unsatisfying.
Undertale. The messages that game give you. Goddamn. That game also came to me at a point in my life where I needed it. The soundtrack saved me from contemplating a terrible decision. It saved my life. Wonderful game and an incredible experience.
Sounds like it filled you with determination.
Oh man I feel the same way about it, I still listen to the soundtrack all the time, and sometimes it’s the only thing that can calm me down in bad situations.
Vampires, The Masquerade: Bloodlines. The whole vibe of the setting, the story, the locations, and then when I finally understood what the plot was really about. Masterpiece of a game, couldnt stop thinking about it.
Seconding Bloodlines, this game has stuck with me since I first played it as a child. I’ve been eagerly awaiting the sequel, but also dreading that it ends up being awful and ruins any chance of more games.
I think it’s been in development hell for years, and the only screenshots ive seen make it look like a visual novel. Not hyped for it.
Last of Us part1 and part 2. Probably Ghost of Tsushima and also Shadow Tactics
I never did finish Outer Wilds and still think about it a lot! I need to go start it again because it is genuinely spectacular, but I struggle with my constraint of only being able to put short-ish play sessions into it.
Playing Ocarina of Time with my son was an epic journey I treasure. It completely captured his imagination, and I was along for that ride.
Grim Fandango was, and continues to be, a dream for me.
While I’m there, Full Throttle also executed its style so well that some of its moments still serve as cultural/stylistic landmarks in my mind.
Mass Effect 2 had several moments where the atmosphere and universe totally hit the mark (Going into the Afterlife Club… come on!).
Red Dead Redemption connected me to that setting in ways movies can’t reach.
Man, Firewatch. I don’t know how they managed to make the player connect on an emotional level with a character that you don’t even get to meet, but they did a fantastic job.
No game has ever occupied so much of my mind as NieR: Automata. I beat the game, thought “huh, that was pretty good”, and then thought about it again the next day. and again. and again. again. again. again. again. again. I just could not stop thinking about what the game was trying to say or how it made me feel, and it’s just become more and more important to me as time has gone on. Really incredible game
I echo those exact feelings. Amazing game, great story, but the touch of it still lingers. The story and the mechanics and how they echo eachother is just wow
Fucking Yoko Taro and his antics triggering existential crises in gamers everywhere. You though it would just be hot android babes… SIKE, I hid entire sequel behind a second playthrough that will make you question reality, and all you hold dear!
So many people mentioning Outer Wilds, think I will have to revisit that. There are a lot of honorable mentions like HL2, SOMA and Ocarina of Time. But for me, the outstanding mention would have to be the original Elite on the Sinclair Spectrum. For such an early, technically simple game it had so much depth and gameplay, and challenge (took me weeks to master that damn docking procedure without crashing!).
So many people mentioning Outer Wilds, think I will have to revisit that.
Do it do it do it! Trust Lemmy 😄
Disco Elysium. There are so many good quotes, particularly out of the thought cabinet, that I remind myself of on like a weekly basis.
I was in a bad place the first time I played through it. The Precarious World and One More Door stick in the back of my mind constantly, and I cried like a baby the first time I read “In the dark times, should the stars also go out?” Never before has a game so emotionally resonated with me, this hope in the face of crushing despair, despite everything.
I never managed to finish Disco Elysium, but not out of lack of love. It’s absolutely fantastic.
I really want to go back to it, but I’m almost afraid to. There’s so much depth to all those characters, I’m worried by not having played it for so long I’d have forgotten all the useful context, but starting from scratch feels, IDK dishonest somehow? The playthrough I was on felt like the “authentic” one, and restarting, at least without completing that imperfect first playthrough, would be somehow missing the point.
My other fear is that, also finding myself in a bad place increasingly over the last few years, I’m afraid it might end in a way that’s too bleak to bear. Your comments on finding hope in the ending, despite despair, might be the motivation I need though!
No, absolutely start from scratch, the game is meant to be replayed. It’s one of the few games that implements ‘fail forward’ very successfully, and sometimes failure leads to better outcomes than success. It’s also a good way of organically making the player explore different avenues, both to get experience to improve attributes to try white checks again, and for finding thoughts and items that can reopen them.
The game’s incredibly warm, except perhaps to fascist routes, and despite the bleakness of Martinaise, there is something very comforting and wholesome about it all.
The STALKER series really stuck with me for some reason.It’s probably the familiarity of the landscape/atmosphere. Post apoc eastern Europe isn’t that much different from normal eastern Europe lol
Barotrauma also stuck with me because of the atmosphere. Amazing game to play solo and feel the weight of the setting, although the bots you play with are a bit iffy and the multiplayer doesn’t carry the same feeling of dread and isolation
Yes to both! But especially Barotrauma! Really unique atmosphere to that game and such a rich selection of gameplay mechanics I’m always fighting off the desire to start another game!
I even get lost just building convoluted, overcomplicated and, as a result, buggy submarines in the editor.
Man, I love that game. It might be the greatest unsung game to come out in the last few years. My only problem is being a misanthrope, and scared of the general multiplaying public, I’m always intimidated by public games, but I’d love to convince enough buddies to play a campaign through. As you say, you lose some of the existential dread, but I’d love to explore some of the roleplaying aspects and more complicated gameplay loops, and the bots are a liability (although so much better than they were!).
My only problem is being a misanthrope, and scared of the general multiplaying public, I’m always intimidated by public games, but I’d love to convince enough buddies to play a campaign through.
I have 183 hours in Barotrauma, split between multiplayer and the sub editor (and a little bit of testing my sub alone). I have never played a public game or single player, it has basically all been the campaign with friends.
Most recently, I’ve been hosting occasional Barotrauma events with my inclusive gaming community, each one continuing the campaign we started early this year. The last event was just over the weekend. I don’t know when the next Barotrauma event will be, yet, but anyone who can follow our Code of Conduct is welcome to join!
Portal 1.
Something about the ambiance mixed with the puzzles really stuck with me. I replay it almost once a year just to relive it.
Portal 2 is also up there with me. Just two spectacular atmospheric puzzle games. 10/10
If you like Portal 1 and 2 and want more, I’d recommend playing Portal Stories: Mel and Portal Reloaded, both are free on Steam if you own P2. The puzzles are pretty tricky though!
Reloaded made me want to smash my keyboard several times. 10/10 can’t wait for the multiplayer update
The one that came out 5 days ago?
- half life 1, finished around 25 times.
- kotor 1, finished around 20 times with different classes, genders, alignment.
- kotor 2, finished around 25 times with different classes, genders, alignments, party members.
- might and magic 7, finished around 25 times with different party classes, alignments.
- might and magic 8, finished around 25 times with different party classes, alignments.
- mass effect 1&2, finished around 3-4 times.
- morrowind, played few hundred hours with different genders and classes.
- skyrim, played around thousand hour.
Who has obsession, me? No you have 🙃
Horizon Zero Dawn. Need to play the second game at some point.
It’s a little different but definitely fun. I’m not sure I like where the story goes, but I immensely enjoyed the ride.
I loved the story in that game. Will probably buy the next one at some point after it gets available for PC, assuming that will happen.
Thief. The first three, at least. (*)
Splinter Cell as well.
Basically, Splinter Cell got me into what became my favorite genre: stealth.
Then I went and played Thief because stealth, and just everything about those games furthered my love for not only stealth, but it was my gateway to immersive sims as well.
Also, the level “Robbing the Cradle” in Deadly Shadows will always stick with me. As someone who hates survival horror, that level was both fucking incredible and also a nightmare that I had to use a walkthrough to get through quickly.
KOTOR got me into RPGs, and New Vegas came around and has stuck with me ever since.
And Skyrim I guess, since I’ve played it way too many times.
Should probably add Prey (2017) as well. Incredible game. For that matter, Dishonored. Both have a permanent place in my mind. And when I say Dishonored, I mean the first two, although I also enjoyed Death of the Outsider.
(*) I actually enjoyed Thief 2014 for what it was. Not nearly on the level as the originals, but it was still okay, if a sadly forgettable entry which kind of put the nail in the coffin for future releases.
A few that come to mind:
- Gris - such a beautiful game. I was going through something when I played it and I just felt such a connection.
- Undertale - just an all around incredible game. I’m a big fan of Earthbound and this scratched a similar itch.
- Beneath a Steel Sky - I love point and click adventures and this one will love forever rent free in my head. (bonus: it’s free on GoG)
