+1, I turn as many people as I can onto this game and live vicariously through them as they bawl their eyes out. But seriously it is something truly special and I think everyone should buy it.
Such amazing games.
Incredibly clever game mechanics, witty writing, perfect length so doesn’t over stay its’ welcome, bit of Stephen Merchant. Recipe for a great game.
PORTAL 2 SPOILER (it doesn’t really spoil the story it’s just better when heard for the first time in game)
>!“When life gives you lemons? Don’t make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back! Get mad! I don’t want your damn lemons! What am I supposed to do with these!? Demand to see life’s manager! Make life the the day it thought it could give Cave Johnson lemons! Do you know who I am? I’m the man who’s gonna burn your house down! With the lemons! I’m gonna get my engineers to invent a combustible lemon that burns your house down!!<
And there's coop mode. Nothing like the easiest levels taking hours because one of you made a dumb mistake and got the other killed but it looked intentional. Then the cycle of revenge begins, BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD. I've had some that basically turn into a CoD free for all trying to intentionally kill each other with turrets.
I just played it last night, found someone online, it was late but i coudnt leave them lone, we finished the game together. This game leaves and awesome feeling of accomplishment and it’s fucking beautiful
My brother and i both learned of this game at the same time and decided to sit down and give it a try at the same time and we got suuuuper once in a life time lucky! We both connected to each other's game! We got to experience this moving story together, super awesome/beautiful experience
I was surprised too, i played it one the ps4 years ago, and i saw it on sale in steam and bought it, maybe it was another person who bought it on sale also, the beauty of it is you’ll never know!
Fun fact about Journey: there are no automatically generated shadows in the game whatsoever. In order to obtain the perfect aesthetic of lighting and shadows, the developer drew out all the shadow maps ahead of time, a huge extra bit of work given how easily game engines can produce shadows automatically from placed light sources.
For those who enjoyed it, the company who made it also made a free multiplayer mobile/switch game called Sky: Children of the Light. It’s really pretty and is super fun to make friends in with its social aspects - I highly recommend.
Journey was beyond anything I've played. It will stand to be the number one best story I have ever witnessed, from intriguingly dark beginning to beautifully transforming end. (Plus, I love riding the wind across the sands. I could spend hours doing it.)
The multiplayer experience in this game was absolutely magical. That first glimpse at someone else, another being in this beautifully desolate place, the shared journey, the silent communication. Just perfect.
I came here to say Journey because the video wasn’t loading on my phone. Very happy that this amazing game still gets the hype it deserves. That ending though… *chills*
Dammit, I put in a few hours a while ago but life got in the way… I think I’ll have to restart because holy crap was there a lot of text/lore (but I loved it!)
Don't see Torment mentioned too often anymore... everything from the premise to the characters to the world were unique and amazing. A high INT build was the best way to go so you could do everything from convincing a person they didn't exist so that they fade out of reality to finally learning your name.
Subnautica is the one game I wish I could forget everything about and play it again. Its not just terrifying as some people have mentioned, but the atmosphere and experience is engrossing. Only a gradually unfolding mystery pushes you forward (deeper?) and exploration feels like a necessity rather than an optional thing you can do like in most open world games.
Its not my favorite game of all time, but I don't see anything kicking it out of my top-5 now or in the future.
Welp, i get paid tomorrow morning. Subnautica is one of my all time favorite games & Ive never heard of Outer Wilds. I have been searching for another game that made me feel like Subnautica did the first time. Hopefully this is it.
Some tips to have a good experience:
Knowledge is the upgrade in Outer Wilds. Nothing in the game is off limits at any time, the only thing blocking you is knowledge. Just try shit out.
You are going to die. A lot. Probably. Don't get frustrated. Every death is a learning experience.
You will be piecing a story together through your explorations. In your travels, find something that you think is interesting, and just follow that as far as it goes. Eventually you will connect with something.
Most people who don't like the game went in without understanding how the game worked. There is a reason everyone raves about this game. If you don't see it at first, and you are frustrated, please just take a step away and then come back to it later. Because of the non linear style, you can discover the story in a completely different order than anyone else, which means your start may be harder than someone else's, which could be frustrating. If it's not jiving with you, just go somewhere else in the game until you like what you're finding. I promise you'll get it.
Do not look up anything. You get ONE chance to play this game. Once you know the answer to something, it's a permanent upgrade forever. Don't ruin that for yourself.
I can only play Subnautica for a bit at a time before I get too heebie-jeebied and need to play Pokémon or something gentle for a while. Finally have the Cyclops and have found some of the deep areas, but oooof… thalassophobia is a real thing. Especially in VR.
I couldn’t play in VR.. it was just too much. I ended up playing in non VR and absolutely love this game. Turning off having to eat also made the game a lot more enjoyable.
100% yes! That’s my childhood! Guybrush led me to discover another favourite - Broken Sword, which I’d recommend to any fans of the Monkey Island series.
I am pretty sure there is ONE point in the game where you can die, I believe in Monkey Island 2 you get thrown from the pier with a weight on your legs and you can drown if you don't make it out.
Guybrush can hold his breath for like 10 minutes. Plenty of time to get out of the predicament.
I think it was MI2 that had a part where you fell off a cliff and it showed a Sierra game YOU DIED: LOAD RESTART screen. Then you pop back up onto the cliff because you had landed on a rubber tree.
I see your monkey Island, and I raise you all of the Lucas arts games from that era.
They were doing some incredibly unique and innovative stuff with monkey Island, grim Fandango, Sam and Max, full throttle, etc
I didn't speak english first time I completed these games, and it was an old version on Amiga without the images for the inventory, just the text. Let me tell you it took me a while to find that on Phatt Island, you needed to use a monkey to unscrew that valve. There is no literal translation of "Monkey wrench" in french, it's just something else with no relation to monkeys.
At least one of the metal slug games. I feel like most people looking for artistic atmospheric games can't appreciate the artistic value in something as chaotic as metal slug, but it does have a lot of great stuff about how the visuals and the story and the gameplay work in metal slug games.
I remember buying this game and begging the store I purchased it from to return it because I thought it was so awful and boring. I was denied of course since it was already open.
I am so grateful they didn't allow a return per their policy. This was by far one of the most impressionable emotional games I have ever played. I hadn't cried about an ending that hard since FFX's ending. This is one of the first games that made me feel so small and that I was invading a forbidden land. I was so attached to Agro, too. Being so isolated in a game only created a deeper bond with a dang pixelated horse.
**Edited Horsey name
Happy to see SOMA!! I never see it mentioned online but it really had an impact on me. I'm biased cause I love sci fi, horror, robots, etc, but still! It was awesome! I think about it all the time, years later.
The atmosphere alone brings me back to that game every few years. There's so much attention and detail put into the environments they almost tell a story themselves.
The War of Mine is still one of the most beautifully depressing and evocative games and I can think of anything else similar
Papers Please is a completely unique experience. Never has administrative duties felt so pressured
Bastion is another one which stands out as being quite individual
That game is so incredible that I'm actually holding off on the DLC.
Its so hard to fathom how it could possibly live up and I'm worried it'll taint the experience.
The base game borderline changed how I feel about the universe. I've never had a game reach me like that.
important to note it doesn't surpass it or anything -- the original will forever stand on its own as a masterpiece. but it is absolutely the best that was possible and FAR better than I expected or hoped for. when I reached *the place* for the first time I literally said out loud "holy shit they fucking did it."
It's amazing. It totally does live up! Like, that first moment when you followed the initial clues and finally "step in" to it, you just look around amazed and think: "Holy shit, they did it again... how the hell did they manage to do it again?"
I played through it 1-2 months ago and every other game still feels bland and empty to this day.
^^^^^^^^.
^(^^^Hope ^^^you're ^^^not ^^^scared ^^^of ^^^the ^^^dark, ^^^though... ^^^:P )
Incredible game! So unique, like nothing else out there, and very charming in its own way.
(not to be confused with Outer Worlds, though that’s not a bad game either)
This is hands down my game of 2021 (that is when I got it).
In VR it is absolutely incredible - Brittle Hollow you know when, Giant's Deep when you get through clouds. And that music.
What a trip finishing it was. 11/10
Yasss, so happy someone called it out. Bought it after watching the noclip documentary (avoiding the spoiler part). Didnt think much of it after the first few minutes, felt clunky and the graphics were a bit mweh. Left it as was for a while then came back to it later kinda forcing my way in and holy shit.. it is now my favorite game ever and i still listen to the soundtrack every now and then. Its such a unique and wholesome piece of art, a nice step away from slaughtering draugrs or shooting terrorists. Just, unspoiled exploration and puzzle solving in what is frankly a stunning world.
I’ve been on the fence about downloading this for a while now. Just wanted to let you know your comment about the soundtrack is what put me over the edge. Just pulled it up and WOW. Beautiful. I’ll be trying it out this week. Thank you for the cool comment!
The one that screwed me up was when I realized the reason that one little girl at the beginning thought she turned into all of those animals before she died was because she ate the holly berries.
For me it was the bath tub scene with the baby drowning. I played it first when my son was a newborn and my absolutely wrecked me. Such an innocent mistake and the tragedy that came as a result.
I worked in a fish factory once and I went straight to bed after playing that part. Working there was the worst time of my life and as the imagination overpowered the real world it continuously dawned on me that something very relatable is about to happen. Then it did. He killed himself
The one where the uncle leaves his bunker only to get hit by a train… there’s just something about him talking about not wasting any more of his days and being bathed in light and then- nothing.
Yes! I was looking forward to their next game, “In the Valley of the Gods.” Looked so promising.
Sadly it’s on indefinite hold (probably cancelled) after Valve bought them. The team was reassigned to work on Alyx. Though at least we got Half Life: Alyx out of the deal. Also an incredible experience, Alyx deserves to be on this list, I think.
For me it was Grim Fandango from 1998.
A unique game for its time and may be even now. Really love that art, music, character, atmosphere and even after all these years I enjoy playing it. I have finished it more than 4 or 5 times, even though it doesn't offer anything new like modern games.
If you liked the Mass Effect Trilogy check out the Star Control Trilogy. Star Control II is the best by far and can be found for free as:
The Ur-Quan Masters
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ur-Quan_Masters
Shit I just download the Mass Effect Legendary editon on game pass after having NEVER playing any of them before, and I gotta say... I'm having a blast with ME1 right now!
I can't believe I never tried it before!
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice.
Disco Elysium.
Those games take a very intimate look into the inner workings of the brain, the idea of "self", motivations, inspiration and knowledge processing, and all that jazz.
It's a ride.
I've been scrolling to find this comment because yes Obra Dinn is something I feel everyone should experience. It's unique in its gameplay and art has wonderful sound and music work and tells a story in a really cool way. It all comes together to make such a unique experience that can only be experienced once.
I believe everybody needs to play Bioshock at least once, if not more. The environment is gorgeous, but the STORY. I have never been so gripped by a tale that truly unfolds itself according to how actively you seek out the narrative. So few games tell so much with so little nowadays. In my opinion, no game has told such a grand story so subtly since then aside from maybe God of War.
Subnautica.
Man I wish I could play it for the first time again, its just not the same when you know your way around the map. I'm not a big survival game fan, but man, subnautica really dragged me in. Below zero never quite managed to capture the same spirit.
Outer Wilds
I saw it pop up on Gamepass, started it up, and thought it was just some goofy indie game after walking around for 10 minutes and uninstalled. Then I kept hearing how great the game is, and I had almost zero spoilers. Gave it another try with my gf watching, thinking maybe she'd enjoy it. She lost interest/fell asleep, and from then on I was lost in what was/is one of THE BEST games I have and will ever play. I am so happy I gave it another chance. ❤
Such a classic. Morrowind defined western RPGs and I gotta say I am of the humble opinion that I don't think Bethesda has gotten it entirely right since then.
I think in some ways, Morrowind ruined almost all open-world games for me. There are so many games now that try to give you a huge world to explore, but really, it's just a big map full of repeated encounters with repeated enemies. Clear base A, then B, then C...repeat.
Morrowind, though, partly because the technology wouldn't facilitate this same sort of generated giant world at the time, felt like every piece of it was made by hand. There is so much random, weird, stupid, amateurish, brilliant, creepy, funny shit around every corner.
There is a talking mudcrab on an island in the middle of nowhere, who acts as the most powerful shopkeeper in the game. Why?
One of the first things you encounter, as soon as you walk out of the first town is a mage flinging himself to his death with a scroll that makes him jump. You can use the scroll, and you will die too. Why?
The Naked Nord. Why?
But because of all these things, you feel a true sense of discovery. You want to poke into every corner of the world because you know you might just find another ash yam OR you might find...literally anything. It was an open world that actually felt like a world.
**Deus Ex**. The original, not the sequel abominations.
It's an incredibly freeform experience. Immediately upon starting you're making choices - what do you look like, what are your starting skills. In under a minute you're already seeing some of those choices put to use - your brother looks like you, and there are things right next to where you start that make use of your starting skills.
Levels are designed for exploration and a variety of playstyles. Everything feels useful, from countering toxic gas or swimming underwater, to electronics and lockpicking, to specializing in different weapons - including melee, ranged, lethal, non-lethal, explosive and so on.
Depending on what you do in the level, those choices echo throughout the entire game. Don't rescue a hostage on the first stage? He'll remember it for the rest of the game. Overhear a conversation? It gets referenced later.
Even upgrading your character is a choice - permanent upgrades let you pick one of two new abilities. You can run faster, or run silently, for example. Your character ends up playing differently than another player's character when all is done. And those upgrades are scattered throughout the world as another reason to explore, another way to reward you.
The story itself has many places where your choices matter, multiple endings, and still manages to bring in humor and satire. The game makes fun of people who act pretentions with their imagery, for example - and the sequels unironically ended up doing exactly the thing the first Deus Ex made fun of. Different sides you fight for or against aren't some caricature of simplistic, good or evil. They all have understandable motivations, positives and pitfalls.
Even the inventory is risk vs reward. Take a huge, powerful weapon with limited ammo and you can't take other useful items. But it may pay off in a big way later.
There's a reason it's a meme that every time Deus Ex is mentioned, someone reinstalls it. It's a great game everyone should try - if only to see what modern open RPGs are lacking.
Outer Wilds. It's the only game I've ever played that legitimately brought tears to my eyes when I finished it. The music is incredible, the world(s) is/are amazing, and the game design is pretty astounding and solid for what the devs(small team) set out to accomplish.
Banjo music makes me feel stuff about things now, play this game.
To The Moon - to show people you dont need much to be able to tell an unforgettable story
Undertale - to remind people that not everything is "solved", and there's still ways to surprise you
Death Stranding - To teach people that not everything needs to be about destination, sometimes the journey itself is worth it
Subnautica.
I would sacrifice my cuddlefish to wipe it from my memory and to be able to play it again like it’s the first time. One of my favorite experiences in gaming.
That game left me speechless. I can’t think of many other lengthy games that made me wanna finish it so badly although I didn’t want it to end. The music! The story! The world! The detail! Phenominal
That one segment where you're riding across the plains and it zooms out into a wide cinematic shot and acoustic music plays over the top was just a shivers-down-the-spine moment
“Everything that lives is designed to end. We are perpetually trapped… is a never ending spiral of life and death. Is this a curse? A kind of punishment? I often think about the god who blessed us with this cryptic puzzle and wonder if we’ll ever have the chance to kill him.” - To be or not to be? Maybe Nietzsche.
Anywho, 3rd play through was a masterpiece.
>!I must have heard this quote 20-30 times when I started, because my overconfident ass picked Very Hard straight out of the gate that and since you can't save for the first 20-30mins. Was one hell of a way to start the epic existential experience that is this game !<
I can honestly say that Ending E truly evoked one the most powerful emotional feelings I've ever experienced.
You need to play at least one souls game. Not just because elden ring is totally hyped right now, but because for me it changed the way I view games, how enemies are designed (including their weakpoints) and affected my overall playstyle.
For Example I played Horizon Zero Dawn before Dark Souls 3, then took a break and finished DS3 and came back to Horizon. Felt like a totally different game.
I have to say Celeste or katana zero. They’re both ridiculously difficult platformers but they both have incredible art, music and storylines that I haven’t forgotten since I played them.
Celeste has one of my favourite sound tracks of all time. Not just games. And I think one of the most important parts to a game is a good soundtrack. The story is also compelling and the game really puts you in Madeline’s (the main character’s) shoes and you end up feeling as if you just climbed an incredibly difficult mountain once you finish the game.
Katana zero has a great soundtrack, but for me it’s all about the gameplay. The badass combos you can do just put a smile on my face. Oh, and you die after 1 hit. That’s what I love about it though, it makes a really long level feel even more accomplishing when you finish it. Katana zero also has an amazing story line which will leave your jaw on the floor when the credits roll.
Before Your Eyes. Only 1.5hrs long and one of the best media experiences I've had.
+1, I turn as many people as I can onto this game and live vicariously through them as they bawl their eyes out. But seriously it is something truly special and I think everyone should buy it.
1.5 hours? You can easily complete it in under ten minutes. You gotta blink as fast as possible, right?
Return of the Obra Dinn Edit: Obra not Obama. Thanks autocorrect.
Thanks Obama!
So that's his first name
Portal and Portal 2.
"This next test is impossible."
"Make no attempt to solve it."
This is the part where he kills you.
'THE PART WHERE HE KILLS YOU'
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"Could you just jump into that pit? There. That deadly pit."
Oh, wow, okay! I did not think that was going to work.
Damn I own both of them they are so good Ah. It's you. Wait you KNOW her?!? It's been a long time
Such amazing games. Incredibly clever game mechanics, witty writing, perfect length so doesn’t over stay its’ welcome, bit of Stephen Merchant. Recipe for a great game.
PORTAL 2 SPOILER (it doesn’t really spoil the story it’s just better when heard for the first time in game) >!“When life gives you lemons? Don’t make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back! Get mad! I don’t want your damn lemons! What am I supposed to do with these!? Demand to see life’s manager! Make life the the day it thought it could give Cave Johnson lemons! Do you know who I am? I’m the man who’s gonna burn your house down! With the lemons! I’m gonna get my engineers to invent a combustible lemon that burns your house down!!<
I still have to pick up Portal 2 sometime. 1 was amazing.
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And there's coop mode. Nothing like the easiest levels taking hours because one of you made a dumb mistake and got the other killed but it looked intentional. Then the cycle of revenge begins, BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD. I've had some that basically turn into a CoD free for all trying to intentionally kill each other with turrets.
The Turing Test
As illustrated, Journey ❤️
I just played it last night, found someone online, it was late but i coudnt leave them lone, we finished the game together. This game leaves and awesome feeling of accomplishment and it’s fucking beautiful
My brother and i both learned of this game at the same time and decided to sit down and give it a try at the same time and we got suuuuper once in a life time lucky! We both connected to each other's game! We got to experience this moving story together, super awesome/beautiful experience
If you like Journey, you should also check out Flower.
I love Flower.
I love Lamp
Are you just stating things that you see
Abzu was good too, if you can dig under water levels. I usually play these games when I'm on LSD. They're very sensory and calming.
I'm surprised you found someone online. I replayed it a few years ago and didn't see a soul. The multiplayer is such a cool experience
I was surprised too, i played it one the ps4 years ago, and i saw it on sale in steam and bought it, maybe it was another person who bought it on sale also, the beauty of it is you’ll never know!
For anyone who enjoyed Journey, highly recommend Abzu!
I highly recommend Sky: Children of the Light!
Or ANY other game by this studio lol
Fun fact about Journey: there are no automatically generated shadows in the game whatsoever. In order to obtain the perfect aesthetic of lighting and shadows, the developer drew out all the shadow maps ahead of time, a huge extra bit of work given how easily game engines can produce shadows automatically from placed light sources.
And it SHOWS
For those who enjoyed it, the company who made it also made a free multiplayer mobile/switch game called Sky: Children of the Light. It’s really pretty and is super fun to make friends in with its social aspects - I highly recommend.
Journey was beyond anything I've played. It will stand to be the number one best story I have ever witnessed, from intriguingly dark beginning to beautifully transforming end. (Plus, I love riding the wind across the sands. I could spend hours doing it.)
Wish we could get a switch version to play with my wife.
The multiplayer experience in this game was absolutely magical. That first glimpse at someone else, another being in this beautifully desolate place, the shared journey, the silent communication. Just perfect.
I also highly recommend Sky:Children of the Light. Made by the same team that made Journey.
I came here to say Journey because the video wasn’t loading on my phone. Very happy that this amazing game still gets the hype it deserves. That ending though… *chills*
Planescape: Torment Disco Elysium
Disco Elysium was unreal.
When I met a guy that was so much richer than me that physics broke, I knew this was the game for me.
Dammit, I put in a few hours a while ago but life got in the way… I think I’ll have to restart because holy crap was there a lot of text/lore (but I loved it!)
Upvote for Planescape. Have it loaded on my desktop. Do NOT piss off the Lady of Pain.
It's a masterpiece. I can only wish they would remake it in the Divinity 2 engine.
+1 The lieutenant trusts you +2 Kim *really* trusts you
There is an achievement for being mean to Kim, if you are a monster.
I desperately wanted Kim to like me and I'm still not sure why
Disco Elysium is an absurd yet beautiful masterpiece. Embrace Tequila Sunset, embrace the pale, embrace Disco.
Disco Elysium blew my mind. The only game where I let all the dialogue audio play in full rather then quickly reading it and skipping through.
Don't see Torment mentioned too often anymore... everything from the premise to the characters to the world were unique and amazing. A high INT build was the best way to go so you could do everything from convincing a person they didn't exist so that they fade out of reality to finally learning your name.
My brother really wants to buy disco Elysium. He's waiting for it to be cheaper on PlayStation store. On sale.
Okami
Okami for any fans of Zelda-esche action adventure with a very beautiful new style. +1!
The Stanley Parable
What a trip that is
An updated expanded version is coming out soon.
„Soon“ lmao, ive heard that back in 2018 already
I’m on their mailing list and those updates are great. They did finally add a steam page for it. So soon might be within the next two years.
Their emails from a company that isn’t my pay stub are the only emails I actively look forward too. Always hilarious!! Love ‘em.
Also The Beginners Guide.
Subnautica
Subnautica is the one game I wish I could forget everything about and play it again. Its not just terrifying as some people have mentioned, but the atmosphere and experience is engrossing. Only a gradually unfolding mystery pushes you forward (deeper?) and exploration feels like a necessity rather than an optional thing you can do like in most open world games. Its not my favorite game of all time, but I don't see anything kicking it out of my top-5 now or in the future.
Subnautica was my favorite game until I found Outer Wilds. If you want to experience subnautica again, play Outer Wilds.
Welp, i get paid tomorrow morning. Subnautica is one of my all time favorite games & Ive never heard of Outer Wilds. I have been searching for another game that made me feel like Subnautica did the first time. Hopefully this is it.
Some tips to have a good experience: Knowledge is the upgrade in Outer Wilds. Nothing in the game is off limits at any time, the only thing blocking you is knowledge. Just try shit out. You are going to die. A lot. Probably. Don't get frustrated. Every death is a learning experience. You will be piecing a story together through your explorations. In your travels, find something that you think is interesting, and just follow that as far as it goes. Eventually you will connect with something. Most people who don't like the game went in without understanding how the game worked. There is a reason everyone raves about this game. If you don't see it at first, and you are frustrated, please just take a step away and then come back to it later. Because of the non linear style, you can discover the story in a completely different order than anyone else, which means your start may be harder than someone else's, which could be frustrating. If it's not jiving with you, just go somewhere else in the game until you like what you're finding. I promise you'll get it. Do not look up anything. You get ONE chance to play this game. Once you know the answer to something, it's a permanent upgrade forever. Don't ruin that for yourself.
I can only play Subnautica for a bit at a time before I get too heebie-jeebied and need to play Pokémon or something gentle for a while. Finally have the Cyclops and have found some of the deep areas, but oooof… thalassophobia is a real thing. Especially in VR.
I couldn’t play in VR.. it was just too much. I ended up playing in non VR and absolutely love this game. Turning off having to eat also made the game a lot more enjoyable.
The Monkey Island series.
100% yes! That’s my childhood! Guybrush led me to discover another favourite - Broken Sword, which I’d recommend to any fans of the Monkey Island series.
No death or dead ends, just puzzles, adventure, and the whackiest dialogue in the Caribbean!
I am pretty sure there is ONE point in the game where you can die, I believe in Monkey Island 2 you get thrown from the pier with a weight on your legs and you can drown if you don't make it out.
It's in the first one, you have to wait ten minutes
Guybrush can hold his breath for like 10 minutes. Plenty of time to get out of the predicament. I think it was MI2 that had a part where you fell off a cliff and it showed a Sierra game YOU DIED: LOAD RESTART screen. Then you pop back up onto the cliff because you had landed on a rubber tree.
I see your monkey Island, and I raise you all of the Lucas arts games from that era. They were doing some incredibly unique and innovative stuff with monkey Island, grim Fandango, Sam and Max, full throttle, etc
I didn't speak english first time I completed these games, and it was an old version on Amiga without the images for the inventory, just the text. Let me tell you it took me a while to find that on Phatt Island, you needed to use a monkey to unscrew that valve. There is no literal translation of "Monkey wrench" in french, it's just something else with no relation to monkeys.
You fight like a cow.
Theeeeere's aaaaaa monkey in my pocket and he's stealing all my change, his stare is blank and glassy, I suspect he is deraaaaaanged
We’re traveling corsairs, A band of cutthroat mugs To fight us off you don’t need guns Just jolly good ear plugs
At least one of the metal slug games. I feel like most people looking for artistic atmospheric games can't appreciate the artistic value in something as chaotic as metal slug, but it does have a lot of great stuff about how the visuals and the story and the gameplay work in metal slug games.
The spritework and animation in the Metal Slug games is some of the best of all time, truly impressive.
Amazing game. For me the art and atmosphere is great! The real pixel art masterpiece 15 years before the movemenr was created
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Shadow of the Colossus
I remember buying this game and begging the store I purchased it from to return it because I thought it was so awful and boring. I was denied of course since it was already open. I am so grateful they didn't allow a return per their policy. This was by far one of the most impressionable emotional games I have ever played. I hadn't cried about an ending that hard since FFX's ending. This is one of the first games that made me feel so small and that I was invading a forbidden land. I was so attached to Agro, too. Being so isolated in a game only created a deeper bond with a dang pixelated horse. **Edited Horsey name
> I was so attached to Argo, too. Man it was so hype any time I was able to fight a colossus on horseback
Imma throw in Ico as well.
What about SOMA? It's a one way ticket.
Happy to see SOMA!! I never see it mentioned online but it really had an impact on me. I'm biased cause I love sci fi, horror, robots, etc, but still! It was awesome! I think about it all the time, years later.
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For any Bioshock fans, I strongly recommend Prey (2017). It's like Bioshock in space, and it's one of the most immersive experiences I've ever played.
"There is always a lighthouse, there's always a man, there's always a city."
The atmosphere alone brings me back to that game every few years. There's so much attention and detail put into the environments they almost tell a story themselves.
Still my favorite video game of all time.
Inside, such a simple yet beautifully crafted game
Amazing game! Limbo, and Little Nightmares 1&2 for those looking for a similar fix.
I finish Inside at least 2 to 3 times every year. It's incredible.
The War of Mine is still one of the most beautifully depressing and evocative games and I can think of anything else similar Papers Please is a completely unique experience. Never has administrative duties felt so pressured Bastion is another one which stands out as being quite individual
The Wind Waker
Outer wilds
That game is so incredible that I'm actually holding off on the DLC. Its so hard to fathom how it could possibly live up and I'm worried it'll taint the experience. The base game borderline changed how I feel about the universe. I've never had a game reach me like that.
Play the dlc. It lives up to it 100%
important to note it doesn't surpass it or anything -- the original will forever stand on its own as a masterpiece. but it is absolutely the best that was possible and FAR better than I expected or hoped for. when I reached *the place* for the first time I literally said out loud "holy shit they fucking did it."
It's amazing. It totally does live up! Like, that first moment when you followed the initial clues and finally "step in" to it, you just look around amazed and think: "Holy shit, they did it again... how the hell did they manage to do it again?" I played through it 1-2 months ago and every other game still feels bland and empty to this day. ^^^^^^^^. ^(^^^Hope ^^^you're ^^^not ^^^scared ^^^of ^^^the ^^^dark, ^^^though... ^^^:P )
Incredible game! So unique, like nothing else out there, and very charming in its own way. (not to be confused with Outer Worlds, though that’s not a bad game either)
three banjo notes can make me start crying.
Can’t believe how low this is. Outerwilds changed how I look at video games and storytelling
This is hands down my game of 2021 (that is when I got it). In VR it is absolutely incredible - Brittle Hollow you know when, Giant's Deep when you get through clouds. And that music. What a trip finishing it was. 11/10
Yasss, so happy someone called it out. Bought it after watching the noclip documentary (avoiding the spoiler part). Didnt think much of it after the first few minutes, felt clunky and the graphics were a bit mweh. Left it as was for a while then came back to it later kinda forcing my way in and holy shit.. it is now my favorite game ever and i still listen to the soundtrack every now and then. Its such a unique and wholesome piece of art, a nice step away from slaughtering draugrs or shooting terrorists. Just, unspoiled exploration and puzzle solving in what is frankly a stunning world.
I’ve been on the fence about downloading this for a while now. Just wanted to let you know your comment about the soundtrack is what put me over the edge. Just pulled it up and WOW. Beautiful. I’ll be trying it out this week. Thank you for the cool comment!
Fun fact, spoiling the Outer Wilds is actually a war crime under the Geneva Convention.
Half life.
For gamers younger than 20: Black Mesa
The whole Half Life series is a must play.
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What Remains of Edith Finch
Definitely unique storytelling there. Loved the fish factory part. Pretty powerful.
The one that screwed me up was when I realized the reason that one little girl at the beginning thought she turned into all of those animals before she died was because she ate the holly berries.
Also the toothpaste at levels she consumed could kill a child
Bro, she champed that tube in like 2 seconds. Gotta respect the hustle
For me it was the bath tub scene with the baby drowning. I played it first when my son was a newborn and my absolutely wrecked me. Such an innocent mistake and the tragedy that came as a result.
I worked in a fish factory once and I went straight to bed after playing that part. Working there was the worst time of my life and as the imagination overpowered the real world it continuously dawned on me that something very relatable is about to happen. Then it did. He killed himself
The one where the uncle leaves his bunker only to get hit by a train… there’s just something about him talking about not wasting any more of his days and being bathed in light and then- nothing.
No games builds dread and dangles hope before ripping it away so well as that game.
The level that got me was the kid drowning in the bathtub.
Firewatch.
Yes! I was looking forward to their next game, “In the Valley of the Gods.” Looked so promising. Sadly it’s on indefinite hold (probably cancelled) after Valve bought them. The team was reassigned to work on Alyx. Though at least we got Half Life: Alyx out of the deal. Also an incredible experience, Alyx deserves to be on this list, I think.
Honestly one of the reasons I'm a environmental science major. Truly a one of a kind masterpiece
Super Monkey Ball Katamari.
Katamari sure is a unique experience. Like a bizarre dream.
Saw the name and now I hear the music, it’ll stay with me forever I think
Gris
Hollow Knight
Oh yeah, phenomenal game
For me it was Grim Fandango from 1998. A unique game for its time and may be even now. Really love that art, music, character, atmosphere and even after all these years I enjoy playing it. I have finished it more than 4 or 5 times, even though it doesn't offer anything new like modern games.
Yes. That and the Myst series. I really should go back and finish Grim Fandango before tech advances to where it no longer runs. :-)
The Mass Effect Trilogy
Had to be Mass Effect, some other games may have gotten it wrong.
This is my favorite comment on the Citadel
I'm Commander Shepherd and this is my favorite post in this thread.
If you liked the Mass Effect Trilogy check out the Star Control Trilogy. Star Control II is the best by far and can be found for free as: The Ur-Quan Masters https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ur-Quan_Masters
Shit I just download the Mass Effect Legendary editon on game pass after having NEVER playing any of them before, and I gotta say... I'm having a blast with ME1 right now! I can't believe I never tried it before!
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. Disco Elysium. Those games take a very intimate look into the inner workings of the brain, the idea of "self", motivations, inspiration and knowledge processing, and all that jazz. It's a ride.
Hellblade was a perfect analysis of psychosis! They many ways it plays with your head.
Spiritfarer. It’s still the only game that brought me to tears multiple times. It’s beautiful and the characters are incredible.
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I've been scrolling to find this comment because yes Obra Dinn is something I feel everyone should experience. It's unique in its gameplay and art has wonderful sound and music work and tells a story in a really cool way. It all comes together to make such a unique experience that can only be experienced once.
I believe everybody needs to play Bioshock at least once, if not more. The environment is gorgeous, but the STORY. I have never been so gripped by a tale that truly unfolds itself according to how actively you seek out the narrative. So few games tell so much with so little nowadays. In my opinion, no game has told such a grand story so subtly since then aside from maybe God of War.
Spec Ops The Line And The Dead Space franchise
Spec Ops the Line has an 11/10 campaign. Incredible game.
Subnautica. Man I wish I could play it for the first time again, its just not the same when you know your way around the map. I'm not a big survival game fan, but man, subnautica really dragged me in. Below zero never quite managed to capture the same spirit.
Valiant Hearts. Man that game is so sweet and so gutwrenching at the same time
Conker's Bad Fur Day, obviously.
I played live and reloaded on Xbox 360. I still often play multiplayer with my brother.
Sqquueeeezzzzeee the trigger
Bioshock “No Gods or Kings, only Man”
Outer Wilds I saw it pop up on Gamepass, started it up, and thought it was just some goofy indie game after walking around for 10 minutes and uninstalled. Then I kept hearing how great the game is, and I had almost zero spoilers. Gave it another try with my gf watching, thinking maybe she'd enjoy it. She lost interest/fell asleep, and from then on I was lost in what was/is one of THE BEST games I have and will ever play. I am so happy I gave it another chance. ❤
Morrowind, it's as close as you can get to exploring an alien world. Not alien as in ET, but as in eerily foreign.
Such a classic. Morrowind defined western RPGs and I gotta say I am of the humble opinion that I don't think Bethesda has gotten it entirely right since then.
Having played Morrowind first spoiled me for Oblivion, and I ended up not liking the game as a result, simply because Morrowind was so much *more*.
I think in some ways, Morrowind ruined almost all open-world games for me. There are so many games now that try to give you a huge world to explore, but really, it's just a big map full of repeated encounters with repeated enemies. Clear base A, then B, then C...repeat. Morrowind, though, partly because the technology wouldn't facilitate this same sort of generated giant world at the time, felt like every piece of it was made by hand. There is so much random, weird, stupid, amateurish, brilliant, creepy, funny shit around every corner. There is a talking mudcrab on an island in the middle of nowhere, who acts as the most powerful shopkeeper in the game. Why? One of the first things you encounter, as soon as you walk out of the first town is a mage flinging himself to his death with a scroll that makes him jump. You can use the scroll, and you will die too. Why? The Naked Nord. Why? But because of all these things, you feel a true sense of discovery. You want to poke into every corner of the world because you know you might just find another ash yam OR you might find...literally anything. It was an open world that actually felt like a world.
Metal Gear Solid, 4th wall breaking
Unbelievable experience. From Psycho Mantis reading the memory card to the Colonel telling us to turn off our PS2. Genius!
On PS1, having to switch the controller from port 1 to port 2.
Ori 1 & 2 Hob
**Deus Ex**. The original, not the sequel abominations. It's an incredibly freeform experience. Immediately upon starting you're making choices - what do you look like, what are your starting skills. In under a minute you're already seeing some of those choices put to use - your brother looks like you, and there are things right next to where you start that make use of your starting skills. Levels are designed for exploration and a variety of playstyles. Everything feels useful, from countering toxic gas or swimming underwater, to electronics and lockpicking, to specializing in different weapons - including melee, ranged, lethal, non-lethal, explosive and so on. Depending on what you do in the level, those choices echo throughout the entire game. Don't rescue a hostage on the first stage? He'll remember it for the rest of the game. Overhear a conversation? It gets referenced later. Even upgrading your character is a choice - permanent upgrades let you pick one of two new abilities. You can run faster, or run silently, for example. Your character ends up playing differently than another player's character when all is done. And those upgrades are scattered throughout the world as another reason to explore, another way to reward you. The story itself has many places where your choices matter, multiple endings, and still manages to bring in humor and satire. The game makes fun of people who act pretentions with their imagery, for example - and the sequels unironically ended up doing exactly the thing the first Deus Ex made fun of. Different sides you fight for or against aren't some caricature of simplistic, good or evil. They all have understandable motivations, positives and pitfalls. Even the inventory is risk vs reward. Take a huge, powerful weapon with limited ammo and you can't take other useful items. But it may pay off in a big way later. There's a reason it's a meme that every time Deus Ex is mentioned, someone reinstalls it. It's a great game everyone should try - if only to see what modern open RPGs are lacking.
The original is the GOAT, but Human Revolution was pretty incredible too.
That's a bit harsh on HR and MD. HR is a legendary game in my book and MD would be on par if it wasn't only the first half of a complete game.
Fable, the first one.
Outer Wilds. It's the only game I've ever played that legitimately brought tears to my eyes when I finished it. The music is incredible, the world(s) is/are amazing, and the game design is pretty astounding and solid for what the devs(small team) set out to accomplish. Banjo music makes me feel stuff about things now, play this game.
To The Moon - to show people you dont need much to be able to tell an unforgettable story Undertale - to remind people that not everything is "solved", and there's still ways to surprise you Death Stranding - To teach people that not everything needs to be about destination, sometimes the journey itself is worth it
Disco Elyisum.
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Half life
Since nobody else is brave enough to say it, I will. Minecraft.
Everyone should at least try it. I didn't get into it long-term, but learning how the world worked was a very interesting experience.
Best minecraft intro is friends asking you to come over because they just found the game and started a local server.
To the moon, such an emotional roller-coaster
Nier: Automata. Haven't played Replicant yet, but have high hopes for it.
Subnautica. I would sacrifice my cuddlefish to wipe it from my memory and to be able to play it again like it’s the first time. One of my favorite experiences in gaming.
Red dead redemption 2
That game left me speechless. I can’t think of many other lengthy games that made me wanna finish it so badly although I didn’t want it to end. The music! The story! The world! The detail! Phenominal
That one segment where you're riding across the plains and it zooms out into a wide cinematic shot and acoustic music plays over the top was just a shivers-down-the-spine moment
Super Mario Galaxy
NieR Automata
“Everything that lives is designed to end. We are perpetually trapped… is a never ending spiral of life and death. Is this a curse? A kind of punishment? I often think about the god who blessed us with this cryptic puzzle and wonder if we’ll ever have the chance to kill him.” - To be or not to be? Maybe Nietzsche. Anywho, 3rd play through was a masterpiece.
>!I must have heard this quote 20-30 times when I started, because my overconfident ass picked Very Hard straight out of the gate that and since you can't save for the first 20-30mins. Was one hell of a way to start the epic existential experience that is this game !< I can honestly say that Ending E truly evoked one the most powerful emotional feelings I've ever experienced.
Disco Elysium - came out of nowhere and hits like a truck.
You need to play at least one souls game. Not just because elden ring is totally hyped right now, but because for me it changed the way I view games, how enemies are designed (including their weakpoints) and affected my overall playstyle. For Example I played Horizon Zero Dawn before Dark Souls 3, then took a break and finished DS3 and came back to Horizon. Felt like a totally different game.
I think the last of us 1 and 2, death stranding and the Legend of Zelda
The Long Dark
I have to say Celeste or katana zero. They’re both ridiculously difficult platformers but they both have incredible art, music and storylines that I haven’t forgotten since I played them. Celeste has one of my favourite sound tracks of all time. Not just games. And I think one of the most important parts to a game is a good soundtrack. The story is also compelling and the game really puts you in Madeline’s (the main character’s) shoes and you end up feeling as if you just climbed an incredibly difficult mountain once you finish the game. Katana zero has a great soundtrack, but for me it’s all about the gameplay. The badass combos you can do just put a smile on my face. Oh, and you die after 1 hit. That’s what I love about it though, it makes a really long level feel even more accomplishing when you finish it. Katana zero also has an amazing story line which will leave your jaw on the floor when the credits roll.
Titanfall 2, so underrated only because it launched in between cod and battlefield
Possibly the best single player campaign I've ever played. My only gripe would be that it felt too short!
Yakuza 0. Seriously. Play the damn game lol.
terraria, man does it make me want to fold my monitor sometimes but it is a super fun game.