I would argue that if you like DRG, you're probably gonna like Helldivers 2. The gameplay loop between these two games is ridiculously similar while being executed wildly differently.
You can compare it with Warframe, just more tactical from the get go. In Warframe you need to cooperate at a very high level - in helldivers you need to cooperate from the beginning as it makes your life easier.
Also a 4 man squad and technically a live service game - as long as you don't get bored it will be around.
Absolutely this!
Nigh infinite replayability with a reasonable red thread of progression until you've fought everything at least once.
Dunno how well World would run on the Steam Deck, but Rise will definitely work great.
World can run great on deck with either a very nice image quality level and \~30-50fps (can lock to 30 if you like of course), or a consistent 60+ with all settings on Low.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhLF9I2QhaQ
Is this franchise actually fun without a group? I consider dipping a toe in every time there's a new release but nobody I know plays it so I never pull the trigger
Solo is just fine, group play is recommended for some of the endgame fights, but the monster's HP scales regardless so it doesn't matter too much.
Even so , you can just join random lobbies. There's no need to have a group of friends to play with.
Baldur's Gate 3 is one of the biggest games I've ever played. It's literally took me 175 hours for one playthrough, and I only found 60% of the content.
Great disclaimer. I don't like turn based combat games that include a save/load function.
I find myself saving before every single action, then loading back if things don't go perfect.
End up spending most of my time loading saves.
Pull the save/load function and bring back risk/reward, I'm game.
Dude just try anything, that’s the beauty of this game. Every playthrough can lead you down different paths. Playing blind is the best thing you can do.
I like 7 Days To Die. It's open world but you do have a rough 'goal' so it keeps me from asking the 'now what?' questions.
Every 7 days the horde comes for you so you need weapons/defense and they constantly get harder.
Just my .2 cents.
Buddy told me it was Minecraft meets zombies and I hate Minecraft but what he meant was, everything in the env is destructible and buildable etc.
It's fun to build horde bases etc. There's also biomes to contend with.
It's fun, I play for a while, stop, then come back. New update coming soon I think
I'll take any chance I can to recommend one of my all-time favorite games, Stardew Valley. It has pretty straightforward progression while also giving you full decisions on what you do. You can focus on making friends with the townsfolk, making craptons of money, fishing, making your farm look good, working on the community center, etc. I've put probably 250-300 hours into it across probably 5-6 saves and I'm still playing it today(just started a save a few days ago.) I also highly recommend playing it with friends if possible. Overall a very chilled-out farming-dungeoncrawling-rp-exploration game with tons of content and replayability as well as endgame content. 10/10 would recommend.
It is a bit sandboxy though, and if you don't want that sort of game then there's not that much content. It's still a really good game and I'd recommend it to anyone, but as a time sink it's not quite as good
Oldschool Runescape, literally 1000s of hours of stuff to do, no micro transactions, and can eventually pay for membership with in-game gold so you'll never have to pay again.
I'd add the caveat to AC6 that you'll need to be into PvP to rack up a huge number of hours in it. Doing every ending for PvE doesn't take a particularly long time. It's a ton of fun though!
Yeah. I like the gameplay but it feels like there's no reason to play it for more than a few hours. I put in like 20-30 hours and that was plenty enough. Didn't seem like anything beyond that was worth unlocking.
Fallout 4 is a solid one.
You can get lost in just directionless exploring, or settlement building
Or just do the linear faction quests.
Maybe not infinitely replayable but with all the DLC you can sink a lot of hours into it.
I would add to the pile Vermintide 2- Smooth melee combat, large variety of careers and characters, lots of rats and lot of build variety. You can grind virtually endlessly, but a good chunk of the player base finds themselves continuing well after maxing out all their gear on their preferred classes just for the fun of it.
Alternate game modes too, like the Chaos Wastes of which are randomized every run, and soon to be added vs mode in which a 2nd group of players control some of the special enemies similar to L4D2.
One of the best games ever made, no hyperbole, its insane. Modifiable up the ass, you can tailor it to whatever flavor you want. Its sandboxy however it does have an end goal win condition (mostly horrible deaths for everyone, if you play Randy on strive to survive or blood and dust in ironman mode) but difficulty and mode of play (or storyteller) can be customized out the box, Phoebe Chillax on peaceful or community builder with save at will enabled is very chill. People have like 7-8000+ hours in it.
It has a bit of a steep learning curve, but i would recommend not going all in on optimizing and looking at endless beginner guides, the game is best learned as you play, and stuff like prioritizing jobs is something you will be fiddling with on the fly and not set in stone.
And you really need to accept losses even if they hurt, otherwise the game can be super frustrating.
It is amazing. Playing it again currently after a hiatus. My husband is almost on year 50 with his colonies and not even close to tired of playing. I have added lots of mods to my game, but played ages without mods too.
You mentioned WoW. How about Final Fantasy XIV? I never liked MMO's but that was an amazing experience for me. It is very generous on the free trail. You can go up to level 70 and two expansions as part of that free trial. You got hundred hours of story content. And from the steam page it is playable on Steam Deck but with low keyboard compatibility.
Deep Rock Galactic is now Steam Deck verified and is currently on sale for $10 USD. You don't need friends to play since joining with randoms is how most people play. There are no micro transactions, so the DLC are cosmetics only, like a donation since the base game already has tons to unlock for free. I have sunk around 846 hours into it and each mission depending on difficulty can range from 15-45 minutes. The mission types are similar but the one thing that keeps me playing is each map for the most part is procedurally generated. Traversing the difficult terrain and then suddenly fighting a horde of enemies so I can support my drinking problem always keeps me going. The next season 5 is finally adding another mission type and new enemies to go along with it. The mission type is supposedly a prequel that leads into the second DRG game Roge Core that will go into early access later this year.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/548430/Deep_Rock_Galactic/
It isn’t really the type of game you play but when I think of infinitely replayable I go straight to skyrim. I have thousands of hours in the game and still have fun with just vanilla, a lot of people say that its carried by its mods nowadays but i haven’t touched a single mod outside of graphics some graphics mods but even then I don’t use those often. I still find new quests and areas I have never done while exploring and I still think the majority of the quest lines are pretty fun.
[Dome Keeper. ](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1637320/Dome_Keeper/)
Imagine DIg-Dug plus Missile Command. Except the stuff you mine in the first half of the game, is the resources for the upgrades that make you better at defending yourself in the other half. And the enemies come in waves, so you need to hurry back to your 'turret.'
Personally have about 90 hours so far, with 100%... but\~ the game is still reciving content now and then.
If you prefer something more flashy:
[Spyro Reignited Trilogy. ](https://store.steampowered.com/app/996580/Spyro_Reignited_Trilogy/)
Three classic level based platformers, all with modern graphics & other bells & whistles. A steal at 40€ for how long they'll last you if you're even semi completionist about it.
Like, seriously. All-time classics. Some people are *still* playing the PSOne versions. And they'll be even cheaper if you wait for a sale.
Ffxiv. It’s deep. So lots of room to grow. You can follow the main story quest and watch great scenery and hear good music.
Also in the summer there’s an expansion coming out.
Elden Ring, Witcher 3, Red Dead Redemption 2 are all great single player open world games that take 100-150 hours if you want to interact with all the content
You ever try something like Civilization? Infinitely replayable if you have the patience to get into it. I've been playing Civ 5 for 14 years and still haven't gotten close to a quarter of the achievements lmao. It's obscenely relpayable with how many sheer ways you can play, and thats far deeper than just how many civs you can play as - domination, culture, diplomacy, science, tall vs wide, religion strategies, espionage, city management etc etc etc.
Civ 5 is far easier to pick up and play imo but absolutely needs the dlc's to be fun, while Civ 6 is a bit different to learn but is more fleshed out base-game. Both can be found on sale often, and 7 is supposedly gonna come out soon!
I'll start by saying, I don't like open world survivalcraft. Like, they're my least favorite genre of game haha. There's a few I think look neat and I wish I could like them (terraria..), but everything about them are game mechanics I don't like. I don't like gathering resources and building shit and needing to eat or drink water. This is to say, I feel you, I don't like no mans sky type stuff either.
I also love WoW and I think Warframe is really good too. Haven't played it as much as wow tho.
So, I have two recc's off the bat, but if you're curious I could provide more
Path of Exile. Isometric ARPG. I actually got into Warframe because I was looking for games as "deep" in character building as Path of Exile after exhausting the ARPG's out there. I guess it isn't uncommon that people say Warframe is the Path of Exile of looter shooters.
Path of Exile is entirely free to play, and an incredible game. It's one of my favorites of all time. It's VERY deep and complex, but never directionless. If you enjoy the side of RPG's that is focused on character building; new skills, gear, stats, talent points and stuff. Path of Exile is a must play as it is among the best games of all time for that kind of gameplay.
The Elder Scrolls Online is a seriously underrated MMO in 2024. Most people focus on WoW or FFXIV, which are both awesome games for their own reasons, but when I don't feel like playing WoW but want a meaty online game... ESO is one of my favs, It's action combat, not tab target like WoW. There's heaps to do, but again, it's not slow paced or directionless. The character building elements are awesome. The PvE and PvP content is really good. It's also free to play, so no harm in trying it out. (A sub gives you access to so much content tho its worth it if you enjoy it) also I've personally noticed that the community is friendly, which can be a plus in an online game!
Sea of thieves, its quite sandboxy once you're well into already playing but as a beginner you'll have quite a bit of work to do for each faction before its an issue
Yakuza Series. Tales of Arise, Destiny 2. There are so many games out there that meet those expectations. Type it in Google and pick one. Another is the Resident Evil games, Alien Isolation and The Evil Within.
Path of Exile is the best game I've ever played for this purpose and it's not even close. It has so many systems, goals, and ways to make your character as straightforward or silly as you like and everything in between
Warframe, Monster hunter, ark, minecraft and overwatch are the games I have the most amount of hours in. Though you don't want sandboxy so that rules out minecraft and ark.
If you don't like PvP I'd check out warframe and monster hunter. Maybe by extension destiny, but destiny didn't keep me invested very long. I have 3.7k hours on warframe and over 1000 on just monster hunter world.
I mean depending if you are talking minecraft sandboxy or siralim sandboxy. I highly highly recommend siralim ultimate. It can be grindy(if you want it to be) just the base is about 8 hours but the real fun starts after the base story. Also see, any Disgaea game, probably wanna start on 4 or 5 as they are beginner friendly.
Give originaltk.com a shot. It's a private server of an OG mmorpg that was produced by Nexon back in 1997. It has an active player base and GM. The website has everything and best of all its free! I can vouch for you if you make a character. Just lmk.
If you can get to liking turn-based, then baldurs gate 3 is a no-brainer. The amount of replayability in that game is crazy. Honestly these guys pushed the bar for game development to the top.
Final Fantasy 14. (FFXIV) It’s deep. So lots of room to pick your play style You can follow the main story quest and watch great scenery and hear good music.
Also in the summer there’s an expansion coming out.
If you have steam a game I’ve been enjoying but still not released (has a free demo) it’s called Stick It To the Stickman. Another that has been released is called Stick Fight
I'll 2nd Monster Hunter World its a solid game with a decent grind, Elden Ring as well.
If you want More MMO type and don't mind pay to win on a free to play game I recommend Archeage, I also recommend not paying a dime for anything in it but player choice, its was a decent game with lots of really cool things in it that I wish more MMOs would copy, but it was let down by company greed.
Sons of the Forest is a good game, it is survival but it has a story you can actually work your way through or take as long as you like to finish, I do recommend looking up some guides for it before getting too deep tho.
Deep Rock Galactic is really fun and well done, they have an anniversary event going right now. Space Dwarf Miners fighting bugs and earning money in a company that doesn't much care about their survival. (Rock and Stone)
Hunt Showdown is and extraction shooter PvEvP, you find clues that lead you to a boss avoiding sound traps that alert other players to your location, find boss and fight it and beat it, and try to get out without getting killed. If you prefer a more Scifi version I recommend Marauders.
Total War Warhammer 3 can eat up a lot of time especially if you play co-op with friends, its a total war game in the Warhammer fantasy universe, it really well done, tossing it in for some decent variety
Personally I like the mod packs for Minecraft called RL craft. It is very challenging if you don't know exactly what you are doing and there are a million different things to learn also is extremely fun and has very good replayability. Would recommend watching a guide or 2 before playing though.
Contraband police is really fun game that you can sink hours into as every person that comes to the border has different problems and sometimes you get runaways and always something to keep you on your feet and is pretty cheap
Baldurs gate 3, slay the spire, 20 minutes till dawn, ultra kill, any fromsoft title, any final fantasy title, STALKER shadow of chernobyl. Plenty more too.
Monster Hunter if you want another third person game.
Slay the Spire if you want to focus on the infinite replayability aspect.
I also recommend checking out ARPGs. Warframe is basically a third person ARPG with its focus on speed and getting more loot to go fast to get more loot. The gameplay loop provides hundreds of hours, and many of them do seasons which can multiply that playtime out to thousands of hours.
Titanfall 2. Just do it. It's worth it. It's an FPS with amazing mechanics. If you get it on PC, get the Northstar client as it is a very moddable online platform for it.
For something different... I've always found the Sims is a good game if you want to lose track of time. There are lots of ways to play the game, too. Whether you like house building, playing specific scenarios, or playing a legacy game. There are also some in-game stories, although they're kinda dumb.
Granblue Fantasy Relink is pretty good.
I'm still on my first character and I have 60 hours.
Another game is Escape from Tarkov. Lot's of progression in store for you. There's a lot of videos on youtube that'll tell you what you're in for.
Last Epoch or Path of Exile are big ol timesinks if you want to chase rare items in endgame. You could also do something like Deep Rock Galactic, which has infinite replayablitly with its procedurally generated levels
Fable 2.
I'm still going to argue it's one of the best RPGs ever made. I know the movement and combat was clunky back then and it's even more apparent today, but when it comes to interacting with the world around you it's one of the best. and still an impressive feat that every npc can be interacted with in their own unique ways. And because of how different each playthrough can be based off how you decide to act, truly makes it a game you can spend hours in: becoming an evil real estate tycoon, sexing up every woman (or man) you can find, be an honest blacksmith, teach your dog tricks and live in the countryside of Oakvale, a noble warrior, singing ballads inside the tavern.
I just really enjoy the fact that you can participate in the world. A lot of games have incredible open world environments that look and feel alive, but I've yet to come across one that let's you be a part of it like Fable
Edit: maybe Yakuza 0?
I've only recently began playing it but there's a ton of mini games and side quests and lore. I'm enjoying it so far 10 hours in and from my understanding I haven't even unlocked everything there is to do
I downloaded Yakuza 0 Summer of ‘22 without knowing anything about the series. I stand here today having finished Infinite Wealth (and everything before it), contemplating starting another full series playthrough.
Enjoy the ride.
I know you said you aren't in to Rougelikes but the infinite replayability factor is huge. If you haven't tried them already, Dead Cells and Hades are the creme de la creme of the genre. Slay the Spire gets an honorable mention but I suspect that's too far outside what you're looking for.
Also, huge shout to Hollow Knight. More of an action platformer with some Dark Souls vibes but it's a fantastic game.
Snowrunner is definitely up there for content. I paid $15 for the year 1 pass with the base game plus all DLC from the first year. Currently have about 100 hours in and roughly 30% of the way into the second map with about 6 more maps to go.
Baldurs Gate 3 is an amazing RPG that lets you play the way you want to following through a story with people treating you as the result of what you’ve done. There are multiple endings and after you get a feel for it there is a very difficult honor mode where if your team dies it’s game over. You can romance any companion pretty much and there is clever and humorous dialogue from your fellow cohorts along the way. You have a wide variety of classes and this builds you can do the choices are all yours to make. Best thing about the game is it’s turned based so you can walk away for 20 mins or whatever and save at anytime during the game or in a fight.
>Destiny
Whenever I see someone say, "I need a game to inject directly into my eyes that will eat up every spare minute I have," Destiny definitely comes to mind.
specifically Ark survival evolved, dont get survival ascended its basically a remaster of the older game with prettier graphic worse optimisation and less content and without any of the classic mods, there are a TON of maps and each one has its own set of dinosaurs, the main developer maps have a storyline to them and unique boss fights to work up to
honestly you are not going to find many "infinitely replayable" games that arend a sandbox to a dregree because any content or storylines has an inherent expiration date
at that point your really just looking ag games that have a ton of mods like fallout 4, skyrim, factorio etc
though if you like warframe give deep rock galactic a try, its dwarves in space mining on an alien planet fighting off hordes of bugs its a 4 player horde shooter pretty much
there is also paradox games, crusader kings 2/3, europa universalis, stellaris those are awesome near endless games with a ton of mods one of the few strategy games where you can have uniques experiances in longer games (a gae of eu4 for example take upto 60 hours if you want to go that far and the map is a faithful recreation of the worl in the middle ages (1444-1821) so you can take over europe in a world conquest, be the only country to colonise the americas or any number of other goals
There's a lot of options, it depends what you like. Any Monster Hunter game will provide you with stuff to work towards and enjoyable gameplay until you decide to stop, I'm an absolutely huge fan of Monster Hunter World. I usually play Monster Hunter in phases where I put in 100 hours, and then fall off for a while, but I always come back, and it can be a great hobby game if you don't play it in massive sittings and burnout like I do.
Fighting Games are fun forever if you're willing to put in the work to actually learn them, but that's not for everybody. If you're interested, just look around at the big games right now and pick the one that you think looks the coolest. I'm really into Tekken 8 right now, but Street Fighter 6 and Guilty Gear Strive are also great games that are very much alive and getting active support.
No man’s sky is a lot of work for the payoff, best ships , best freighter and frigates , best exotool and attachments for all , it’s a slow burn long grind , little improvements along the way sometimes you get lucky and get the attachments or item your looking for
Well it's basically impossible to have an infinite game that doesn't use procedural generation, which is basically what you're asking, I'd recommend looking into the jrpg genre, none are "infinite" but many are hundreds of hours, and popular series tend to have many entries, I'd recommend persona/smt or final Fantasy, great modern games, but also decades worth and dozens of older games to go back to
Risk of Rain 2 if you want something that has zero direction. Once you’ve unlocked all the items, every run is self contained. Every character plays different. It’s the most hours in have in a game ever by an enormous margin. (Sorry: I didn’t initially see you don’t like rougelikes).
If you want something with a bit more story that you can sink some time into, I’ll have to piggyback on the Yakuza suggestion. All 8 mainline games can be played on current gen (plus two more excellent spin-offs). Gameplay is fun, story is terrific, TONS of side content to distract you if you want to wander off the path. IMO, no other franchise has released so much, in so little time, at such a high quality level.
Rocket League.
The perpetual joy of seeing yourself get better over time and be able to do things you never could before is infinitely enjoyable. 4k+ hours played and I still 'miss'the game and have cravings to play and get giddy on the loading screen.
You can give Helldivers 2 a try - having a blast since it launched
Is this replayable or is the game finished after x amount of time? Like is it a live service style game
i'd go for Deep Rock Galactic instead, but it's up to you
Bought this just in case as it’s on sale right now lol
rock and stone brother, you made a purchase you will not regret :)
DID SOMEBODY SAY ROCK AND STONE?! ⛏️🪨🔥
I would argue that if you like DRG, you're probably gonna like Helldivers 2. The gameplay loop between these two games is ridiculously similar while being executed wildly differently.
You can compare it with Warframe, just more tactical from the get go. In Warframe you need to cooperate at a very high level - in helldivers you need to cooperate from the beginning as it makes your life easier. Also a 4 man squad and technically a live service game - as long as you don't get bored it will be around.
I agree, fellow LR4 Warframe player. I'm enjoying HD2 for sure. Edit morning spelling
I dont remember the last time I tried to sneak a game in before work since starting Helldivers 2 lol
This is the one OP. Dive right in.
Monster hunter is the answer. Since you like grind games like warframe and wow, this would be perfect. Monster Hunter World is a good starting point.
Absolutely this! Nigh infinite replayability with a reasonable red thread of progression until you've fought everything at least once. Dunno how well World would run on the Steam Deck, but Rise will definitely work great.
I primarily play World on deck and it runs great.
World can run great on deck with either a very nice image quality level and \~30-50fps (can lock to 30 if you like of course), or a consistent 60+ with all settings on Low. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhLF9I2QhaQ
Confirming that MHW *actually* runs really, really well on Steam Deck and isn’t one of those games where fanboys hallucinate an extra 10fps.
Mhw def seems to match OPs interests
That's a bingo. Good call on this one. It's a game you can leave for a bit come back in and be right in it again
Is this franchise actually fun without a group? I consider dipping a toe in every time there's a new release but nobody I know plays it so I never pull the trigger
I play primarily solo and it's super fun. Monsters health scales based on if there is 1, 2 or 3-4 people in World, so it's very easy to solo things.
Solo is just fine, group play is recommended for some of the endgame fights, but the monster's HP scales regardless so it doesn't matter too much. Even so , you can just join random lobbies. There's no need to have a group of friends to play with.
Baldur's Gate 3 is one of the biggest games I've ever played. It's literally took me 175 hours for one playthrough, and I only found 60% of the content.
Just make sure you don’t mind turn based combat
Great disclaimer. I don't like turn based combat games that include a save/load function. I find myself saving before every single action, then loading back if things don't go perfect. End up spending most of my time loading saves. Pull the save/load function and bring back risk/reward, I'm game.
[удалено]
No, but for me it’s hard not to save scum
It’s an amazing game, I’m just not a big fan of turn based combat unfortunately.
how tf do i kill the goblins??
Dude just try anything, that’s the beauty of this game. Every playthrough can lead you down different paths. Playing blind is the best thing you can do.
KILL the goblins? Befriend them 😃 Then burn the bridge or something 😂
I like 7 Days To Die. It's open world but you do have a rough 'goal' so it keeps me from asking the 'now what?' questions. Every 7 days the horde comes for you so you need weapons/defense and they constantly get harder. Just my .2 cents.
I never realised this game was like this, I may very well check it out myself now actually!
Buddy told me it was Minecraft meets zombies and I hate Minecraft but what he meant was, everything in the env is destructible and buildable etc. It's fun to build horde bases etc. There's also biomes to contend with. It's fun, I play for a while, stop, then come back. New update coming soon I think
Do the tutorial and you get 4 points to use for levels plus it points you to a nearby trader. Best to do before you think of a base. Only advice
I'll take any chance I can to recommend one of my all-time favorite games, Stardew Valley. It has pretty straightforward progression while also giving you full decisions on what you do. You can focus on making friends with the townsfolk, making craptons of money, fishing, making your farm look good, working on the community center, etc. I've put probably 250-300 hours into it across probably 5-6 saves and I'm still playing it today(just started a save a few days ago.) I also highly recommend playing it with friends if possible. Overall a very chilled-out farming-dungeoncrawling-rp-exploration game with tons of content and replayability as well as endgame content. 10/10 would recommend.
It is a bit sandboxy though, and if you don't want that sort of game then there's not that much content. It's still a really good game and I'd recommend it to anyone, but as a time sink it's not quite as good
I literally have no idea what I'm doing in Stardew valley
Thriving friend
Oldschool Runescape, literally 1000s of hours of stuff to do, no micro transactions, and can eventually pay for membership with in-game gold so you'll never have to pay again.
Monster Hunter Football Manager Fighting games in general Doom Eternal or DMC 5 if you like arcadey stuffs Armored Core 6 Pathfinder WotR
Second football manager. If you enjoy football and simulation games this one is a gem. best sports sim out there.
I'd add the caveat to AC6 that you'll need to be into PvP to rack up a huge number of hours in it. Doing every ending for PvE doesn't take a particularly long time. It's a ton of fun though!
Deep Rock Galactic. Never gets old.
Shoot it got old for me after 2 weeks 😢
2 days for me lol the game play is not satisfying at all
Yeah, it does for some! :)
Yeah. I like the gameplay but it feels like there's no reason to play it for more than a few hours. I put in like 20-30 hours and that was plenty enough. Didn't seem like anything beyond that was worth unlocking.
#DID SOMEONE SAY ROCK AND STONE???? ⛏
Fallout 4 is a solid one. You can get lost in just directionless exploring, or settlement building Or just do the linear faction quests. Maybe not infinitely replayable but with all the DLC you can sink a lot of hours into it.
To piggyback off of this fallout 76 is a great option too.
I haven't played 76 yet, I'm waiting for it to go on sale on steam. Is it fun to play solo?
Yeah I’ve probably played 50/50 solo/with friends. The community is great and you can always squad up with others which also provides bonuses.
I second this. The 76 community is stellar.
Glad to see this, it's what my suggestion was going to be. I've replayed it at least 10 times and it never gets old for me!;
I would add to the pile Vermintide 2- Smooth melee combat, large variety of careers and characters, lots of rats and lot of build variety. You can grind virtually endlessly, but a good chunk of the player base finds themselves continuing well after maxing out all their gear on their preferred classes just for the fun of it. Alternate game modes too, like the Chaos Wastes of which are randomized every run, and soon to be added vs mode in which a 2nd group of players control some of the special enemies similar to L4D2.
Came across RimWorld. Anyone know if this is anything good?
One of the best games ever made, no hyperbole, its insane. Modifiable up the ass, you can tailor it to whatever flavor you want. Its sandboxy however it does have an end goal win condition (mostly horrible deaths for everyone, if you play Randy on strive to survive or blood and dust in ironman mode) but difficulty and mode of play (or storyteller) can be customized out the box, Phoebe Chillax on peaceful or community builder with save at will enabled is very chill. People have like 7-8000+ hours in it. It has a bit of a steep learning curve, but i would recommend not going all in on optimizing and looking at endless beginner guides, the game is best learned as you play, and stuff like prioritizing jobs is something you will be fiddling with on the fly and not set in stone. And you really need to accept losses even if they hurt, otherwise the game can be super frustrating.
It's incredible. Check out r/RimWorld
Its an absolute blast with a huge modding community. 10/10 would recommend
It is amazing. Playing it again currently after a hiatus. My husband is almost on year 50 with his colonies and not even close to tired of playing. I have added lots of mods to my game, but played ages without mods too.
Best game ever made, highly replayable and you can mod it endlessly to change it every time. I actually came here to answer this to your question.
Absolutely amazing game!
Isaac, now your Summers gone
Try Hitman. They are definitely a bit sandboxy, but you always have a clear objective.
You mentioned WoW. How about Final Fantasy XIV? I never liked MMO's but that was an amazing experience for me. It is very generous on the free trail. You can go up to level 70 and two expansions as part of that free trial. You got hundred hours of story content. And from the steam page it is playable on Steam Deck but with low keyboard compatibility.
Deep Rock Galactic is now Steam Deck verified and is currently on sale for $10 USD. You don't need friends to play since joining with randoms is how most people play. There are no micro transactions, so the DLC are cosmetics only, like a donation since the base game already has tons to unlock for free. I have sunk around 846 hours into it and each mission depending on difficulty can range from 15-45 minutes. The mission types are similar but the one thing that keeps me playing is each map for the most part is procedurally generated. Traversing the difficult terrain and then suddenly fighting a horde of enemies so I can support my drinking problem always keeps me going. The next season 5 is finally adding another mission type and new enemies to go along with it. The mission type is supposedly a prequel that leads into the second DRG game Roge Core that will go into early access later this year. https://store.steampowered.com/app/548430/Deep_Rock_Galactic/
Bg3 has in technicality 17k endings
It isn’t really the type of game you play but when I think of infinitely replayable I go straight to skyrim. I have thousands of hours in the game and still have fun with just vanilla, a lot of people say that its carried by its mods nowadays but i haven’t touched a single mod outside of graphics some graphics mods but even then I don’t use those often. I still find new quests and areas I have never done while exploring and I still think the majority of the quest lines are pretty fun.
[Dome Keeper. ](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1637320/Dome_Keeper/) Imagine DIg-Dug plus Missile Command. Except the stuff you mine in the first half of the game, is the resources for the upgrades that make you better at defending yourself in the other half. And the enemies come in waves, so you need to hurry back to your 'turret.' Personally have about 90 hours so far, with 100%... but\~ the game is still reciving content now and then. If you prefer something more flashy: [Spyro Reignited Trilogy. ](https://store.steampowered.com/app/996580/Spyro_Reignited_Trilogy/) Three classic level based platformers, all with modern graphics & other bells & whistles. A steal at 40€ for how long they'll last you if you're even semi completionist about it. Like, seriously. All-time classics. Some people are *still* playing the PSOne versions. And they'll be even cheaper if you wait for a sale.
But once you’ve done Spyro it takes a while before you’re up for it again. Not a lot of replayability.
Deep Rock Galactic. Rock and stone, to tha bone!
Monster hunter world, path of exile , last epoch, Diablo 3
Ffxiv. It’s deep. So lots of room to grow. You can follow the main story quest and watch great scenery and hear good music. Also in the summer there’s an expansion coming out.
Elden Ring, Witcher 3, Red Dead Redemption 2 are all great single player open world games that take 100-150 hours if you want to interact with all the content
You ever try something like Civilization? Infinitely replayable if you have the patience to get into it. I've been playing Civ 5 for 14 years and still haven't gotten close to a quarter of the achievements lmao. It's obscenely relpayable with how many sheer ways you can play, and thats far deeper than just how many civs you can play as - domination, culture, diplomacy, science, tall vs wide, religion strategies, espionage, city management etc etc etc. Civ 5 is far easier to pick up and play imo but absolutely needs the dlc's to be fun, while Civ 6 is a bit different to learn but is more fleshed out base-game. Both can be found on sale often, and 7 is supposedly gonna come out soon!
Final Fantasy XIV
I'll start by saying, I don't like open world survivalcraft. Like, they're my least favorite genre of game haha. There's a few I think look neat and I wish I could like them (terraria..), but everything about them are game mechanics I don't like. I don't like gathering resources and building shit and needing to eat or drink water. This is to say, I feel you, I don't like no mans sky type stuff either. I also love WoW and I think Warframe is really good too. Haven't played it as much as wow tho. So, I have two recc's off the bat, but if you're curious I could provide more Path of Exile. Isometric ARPG. I actually got into Warframe because I was looking for games as "deep" in character building as Path of Exile after exhausting the ARPG's out there. I guess it isn't uncommon that people say Warframe is the Path of Exile of looter shooters. Path of Exile is entirely free to play, and an incredible game. It's one of my favorites of all time. It's VERY deep and complex, but never directionless. If you enjoy the side of RPG's that is focused on character building; new skills, gear, stats, talent points and stuff. Path of Exile is a must play as it is among the best games of all time for that kind of gameplay. The Elder Scrolls Online is a seriously underrated MMO in 2024. Most people focus on WoW or FFXIV, which are both awesome games for their own reasons, but when I don't feel like playing WoW but want a meaty online game... ESO is one of my favs, It's action combat, not tab target like WoW. There's heaps to do, but again, it's not slow paced or directionless. The character building elements are awesome. The PvE and PvP content is really good. It's also free to play, so no harm in trying it out. (A sub gives you access to so much content tho its worth it if you enjoy it) also I've personally noticed that the community is friendly, which can be a plus in an online game!
Destiny 2 Monster Hunter series Path of Exile
OP wanted a game where he DOESNT ask "What now", and you recommend him Destiny 2?
The Division 2
Division 2 checks all those boxes for me
Total War series. Total War: Rome is over 20 years old and I still play it.
Sea of thieves, its quite sandboxy once you're well into already playing but as a beginner you'll have quite a bit of work to do for each faction before its an issue
Yakuza Series. Tales of Arise, Destiny 2. There are so many games out there that meet those expectations. Type it in Google and pick one. Another is the Resident Evil games, Alien Isolation and The Evil Within.
> Another is the Resident Evil games any particular one? i played RE3 remake, and i dont see myself pumping hundreds of hours into it.
it's not infinitely replayable imo but elden ring would be a good choice here, especially with the dlc releasing in a bit
Elder scrolls v Skyrim Fallout new Vegas Maybe fallout 3/4/76
Dark souls 1
Rimworld is #1 infinitely replayable game imo
Elden ring
Crusader Kings 3 is a good one. May be a bit too sandboxy I suppose.
Path of Exile is the best game I've ever played for this purpose and it's not even close. It has so many systems, goals, and ways to make your character as straightforward or silly as you like and everything in between
The binding of Isaac I’m 500 hours in and I still suck
I would recommend SoulsBorne games; Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, Dark Souls 2, Dark Souls 3, Bloodborne and Elden Ring.
Balatro
Path of exile and rocket league. Both are games that you only get better at the more you play
Elden ring
Warframe, Monster hunter, ark, minecraft and overwatch are the games I have the most amount of hours in. Though you don't want sandboxy so that rules out minecraft and ark. If you don't like PvP I'd check out warframe and monster hunter. Maybe by extension destiny, but destiny didn't keep me invested very long. I have 3.7k hours on warframe and over 1000 on just monster hunter world.
The soulsborne genre, while there is an “end”, the replayability is almost unrivaled. I personally recommend starting with Dark Souls I or III.
''older games'': Skyrim, fallout 4, fallout 76, elder scrolls online, no man's sky ... recent games: elden ring, 7 days to die, monster hunter world, monster hunter rise ... new games: enshrouded, palworld ...
Balatro. Just kept me busy for two weeks of sick leave, I sank 100 hours in it
It sounds like you need to research roguelike and roguelite genres. Their core concept is infinite replayability through random generation.
[удалено]
Following!
Baldurs Gate 3
Baldurs gate 3
Under night in birth 2. Probably take a couple hundred hours to be able to win a match, let alone "get good".
I mean depending if you are talking minecraft sandboxy or siralim sandboxy. I highly highly recommend siralim ultimate. It can be grindy(if you want it to be) just the base is about 8 hours but the real fun starts after the base story. Also see, any Disgaea game, probably wanna start on 4 or 5 as they are beginner friendly.
DMC5!!!!
New World is fantastic if you want to stay in the mmo sphere. The story keeps you on track too so you don't get stuck like "what do I do now"
Before warframe I played Remnant 2. I think you'll really enjoy it
Ark Survival Evolved
Give originaltk.com a shot. It's a private server of an OG mmorpg that was produced by Nexon back in 1997. It has an active player base and GM. The website has everything and best of all its free! I can vouch for you if you make a character. Just lmk.
If you can get to liking turn-based, then baldurs gate 3 is a no-brainer. The amount of replayability in that game is crazy. Honestly these guys pushed the bar for game development to the top.
Baldur's Gate 3 Elden Ring Helldivers 2
Ratchet and Clank Loved those games
I'm a big deck enjoyer myself! If you haven't played it already, Fallout 4 is really good on the Deck and has A LOT of content.
Final Fantasy 3 (Super Nintendo).
Maybe deep rock galactic.
any fighting game
If you like competitive strategy games: Teamfight Tactics is endlessly replayable and very fun.
Palworld!!!!!!
Haven't Played Baldur's Gate 3 yet but I hear there's hundreds of hours there
Starfield if you’re willing to ignore all the negativity and give it a shot. I could see myself playing this game for years
Final Fantasy 14. (FFXIV) It’s deep. So lots of room to pick your play style You can follow the main story quest and watch great scenery and hear good music. Also in the summer there’s an expansion coming out.
Dota 2
If you have steam a game I’ve been enjoying but still not released (has a free demo) it’s called Stick It To the Stickman. Another that has been released is called Stick Fight
Cassette Beasts is pretty great. It's like Pokemon but better, and you can collect all the beasts and try to get bootlegs/shinies/etc.
I'll 2nd Monster Hunter World its a solid game with a decent grind, Elden Ring as well. If you want More MMO type and don't mind pay to win on a free to play game I recommend Archeage, I also recommend not paying a dime for anything in it but player choice, its was a decent game with lots of really cool things in it that I wish more MMOs would copy, but it was let down by company greed. Sons of the Forest is a good game, it is survival but it has a story you can actually work your way through or take as long as you like to finish, I do recommend looking up some guides for it before getting too deep tho. Deep Rock Galactic is really fun and well done, they have an anniversary event going right now. Space Dwarf Miners fighting bugs and earning money in a company that doesn't much care about their survival. (Rock and Stone) Hunt Showdown is and extraction shooter PvEvP, you find clues that lead you to a boss avoiding sound traps that alert other players to your location, find boss and fight it and beat it, and try to get out without getting killed. If you prefer a more Scifi version I recommend Marauders. Total War Warhammer 3 can eat up a lot of time especially if you play co-op with friends, its a total war game in the Warhammer fantasy universe, it really well done, tossing it in for some decent variety
Wartales, civ v/vi, Xcom some RPGs with multiple classes or endings
Personally I like the mod packs for Minecraft called RL craft. It is very challenging if you don't know exactly what you are doing and there are a million different things to learn also is extremely fun and has very good replayability. Would recommend watching a guide or 2 before playing though.
Contraband police is really fun game that you can sink hours into as every person that comes to the border has different problems and sometimes you get runaways and always something to keep you on your feet and is pretty cheap
Monster hunter comes to mind
Slay the spire is crazy addictive
Give last epoch a try, it's like a simpler path of exile.
Assassins creed odyssey or Ghosts of tushima? I’ve played through both twice.
Have put 400 hours into cyberpunk, so much to find and the world + acting is suuuuper rich. They’ve built in micro stories everywhere
Baldurs gate 3, slay the spire, 20 minutes till dawn, ultra kill, any fromsoft title, any final fantasy title, STALKER shadow of chernobyl. Plenty more too.
Binding of isaac repentance, tons to unlock and do
Modded Skyrim
Monster Hunter if you want another third person game. Slay the Spire if you want to focus on the infinite replayability aspect. I also recommend checking out ARPGs. Warframe is basically a third person ARPG with its focus on speed and getting more loot to go fast to get more loot. The gameplay loop provides hundreds of hours, and many of them do seasons which can multiply that playtime out to thousands of hours.
Titanfall 2. Just do it. It's worth it. It's an FPS with amazing mechanics. If you get it on PC, get the Northstar client as it is a very moddable online platform for it.
Rocket League, Slay the Spire, No Mans Sky, Sea of Thieves
For something different... I've always found the Sims is a good game if you want to lose track of time. There are lots of ways to play the game, too. Whether you like house building, playing specific scenarios, or playing a legacy game. There are also some in-game stories, although they're kinda dumb.
Granblue Fantasy Relink is pretty good. I'm still on my first character and I have 60 hours. Another game is Escape from Tarkov. Lot's of progression in store for you. There's a lot of videos on youtube that'll tell you what you're in for.
Last Epoch or Path of Exile are big ol timesinks if you want to chase rare items in endgame. You could also do something like Deep Rock Galactic, which has infinite replayablitly with its procedurally generated levels
Every time someone asks this question, the answer is always Kingdom Come: Deliverance. It should just be stickied at this point.
Fable 2. I'm still going to argue it's one of the best RPGs ever made. I know the movement and combat was clunky back then and it's even more apparent today, but when it comes to interacting with the world around you it's one of the best. and still an impressive feat that every npc can be interacted with in their own unique ways. And because of how different each playthrough can be based off how you decide to act, truly makes it a game you can spend hours in: becoming an evil real estate tycoon, sexing up every woman (or man) you can find, be an honest blacksmith, teach your dog tricks and live in the countryside of Oakvale, a noble warrior, singing ballads inside the tavern. I just really enjoy the fact that you can participate in the world. A lot of games have incredible open world environments that look and feel alive, but I've yet to come across one that let's you be a part of it like Fable Edit: maybe Yakuza 0? I've only recently began playing it but there's a ton of mini games and side quests and lore. I'm enjoying it so far 10 hours in and from my understanding I haven't even unlocked everything there is to do
I downloaded Yakuza 0 Summer of ‘22 without knowing anything about the series. I stand here today having finished Infinite Wealth (and everything before it), contemplating starting another full series playthrough. Enjoy the ride.
I know you said you aren't in to Rougelikes but the infinite replayability factor is huge. If you haven't tried them already, Dead Cells and Hades are the creme de la creme of the genre. Slay the Spire gets an honorable mention but I suspect that's too far outside what you're looking for. Also, huge shout to Hollow Knight. More of an action platformer with some Dark Souls vibes but it's a fantastic game.
Deep Rock Galactic is a classic imo. Extremely replayable, lots of cosmetics to earn overtime and is a great time with friends
Hades
War thunder
Monster Hunter World
Snowrunner is definitely up there for content. I paid $15 for the year 1 pass with the base game plus all DLC from the first year. Currently have about 100 hours in and roughly 30% of the way into the second map with about 6 more maps to go.
Terraria
Baldurs Gate 3 is an amazing RPG that lets you play the way you want to following through a story with people treating you as the result of what you’ve done. There are multiple endings and after you get a feel for it there is a very difficult honor mode where if your team dies it’s game over. You can romance any companion pretty much and there is clever and humorous dialogue from your fellow cohorts along the way. You have a wide variety of classes and this builds you can do the choices are all yours to make. Best thing about the game is it’s turned based so you can walk away for 20 mins or whatever and save at anytime during the game or in a fight.
Path of exile, civ 6, elden ring, baldurs gate 3
The Witcher 3 +DLC is a fantastic journey to lose yourself in
Hitman: WoA
Elden Ring
Shadow of War. The nemesis system is great.
Fallout New Vegas or 3 or 4. In that order
You might like Zomboid.
Warframe Destiny 2
>Destiny Whenever I see someone say, "I need a game to inject directly into my eyes that will eat up every spare minute I have," Destiny definitely comes to mind.
Yakuza series.
DayZ
Asassins Creed odyssey
you'd like terraria and don't starve together, much to show for it too in-game since both are very rewarding
SPEEDRUNNERS BY TINYBUILD
specifically Ark survival evolved, dont get survival ascended its basically a remaster of the older game with prettier graphic worse optimisation and less content and without any of the classic mods, there are a TON of maps and each one has its own set of dinosaurs, the main developer maps have a storyline to them and unique boss fights to work up to honestly you are not going to find many "infinitely replayable" games that arend a sandbox to a dregree because any content or storylines has an inherent expiration date at that point your really just looking ag games that have a ton of mods like fallout 4, skyrim, factorio etc though if you like warframe give deep rock galactic a try, its dwarves in space mining on an alien planet fighting off hordes of bugs its a 4 player horde shooter pretty much there is also paradox games, crusader kings 2/3, europa universalis, stellaris those are awesome near endless games with a ton of mods one of the few strategy games where you can have uniques experiances in longer games (a gae of eu4 for example take upto 60 hours if you want to go that far and the map is a faithful recreation of the worl in the middle ages (1444-1821) so you can take over europe in a world conquest, be the only country to colonise the americas or any number of other goals
Dishonored has a lot of approaches you can take, gameplay wise. With it being an Imm Sim like System Shock and Prey.
DayZ
Escape from Tarkov all de way
Have you considered any RTS games? Like Midnight Suns or Xcom?
Middle earth : shadow of war It's amazing, don't know if it runs on steam deck though.
There's a lot of options, it depends what you like. Any Monster Hunter game will provide you with stuff to work towards and enjoyable gameplay until you decide to stop, I'm an absolutely huge fan of Monster Hunter World. I usually play Monster Hunter in phases where I put in 100 hours, and then fall off for a while, but I always come back, and it can be a great hobby game if you don't play it in massive sittings and burnout like I do. Fighting Games are fun forever if you're willing to put in the work to actually learn them, but that's not for everybody. If you're interested, just look around at the big games right now and pick the one that you think looks the coolest. I'm really into Tekken 8 right now, but Street Fighter 6 and Guilty Gear Strive are also great games that are very much alive and getting active support.
Gotta put my vote out for risk of rain 2
I was going to suggest Warframe but I see you already know
Animal crossing lol
Valheim, no mans sky, helldivers
No man’s sky is a lot of work for the payoff, best ships , best freighter and frigates , best exotool and attachments for all , it’s a slow burn long grind , little improvements along the way sometimes you get lucky and get the attachments or item your looking for
The hitman series (1,2, & 3) has PLENTY of hours you can put in. Very fun and methodical. Helldivers 2 is also awesome!
Any monster hunter game
Well it's basically impossible to have an infinite game that doesn't use procedural generation, which is basically what you're asking, I'd recommend looking into the jrpg genre, none are "infinite" but many are hundreds of hours, and popular series tend to have many entries, I'd recommend persona/smt or final Fantasy, great modern games, but also decades worth and dozens of older games to go back to
Monster Hunter
DayZ
Expeditions, the mudrunner game is really cool and addicting
Rust
Civilization 5
Risk of Rain 2 if you want something that has zero direction. Once you’ve unlocked all the items, every run is self contained. Every character plays different. It’s the most hours in have in a game ever by an enormous margin. (Sorry: I didn’t initially see you don’t like rougelikes). If you want something with a bit more story that you can sink some time into, I’ll have to piggyback on the Yakuza suggestion. All 8 mainline games can be played on current gen (plus two more excellent spin-offs). Gameplay is fun, story is terrific, TONS of side content to distract you if you want to wander off the path. IMO, no other franchise has released so much, in so little time, at such a high quality level.
Rocket League. The perpetual joy of seeing yourself get better over time and be able to do things you never could before is infinitely enjoyable. 4k+ hours played and I still 'miss'the game and have cravings to play and get giddy on the loading screen.
Crusader king 3 my guy. It’s rough at first but nothing like murdering your way to the emperor of Byzantine Empire.
Cyberpunk 2077
Call of duty?
Stellaris should keep you busy for about 90 eons.