Have you played a game that stayed in your head long after you played it?
For me, Outer Wilds would be that game. I feel like I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I beat it a couple years ago.
Hades is so good. Waiting for Hades 2. Aaaaany day now.
I’ve tried to like Hades a few times over the years since it came out. I know I’m in the minority, it’s generally a well liked game, but I just don’t see the appeal. The gameplay loop is repetitive, difficult, and unrewarding, the main character is deliberately unlikable, the dialogue with the NPCs in the hub is repetitive and trying too hard to be funny. I didn’t enjoy a single second playing that game, and its one I actually paid real money for, I bought it and genuinely wanted to like it. I suppose I’m not the target audience.
Man, that’s actually so sad. But I guess most gamers will find that one game they want to like (because it’s critically acclaimed, their friends are super into it, etc.), but it just won’t work.
I had that experience with Valheim. On paper it looks like a fun viking-esque Minecraft with a bit more RPG elements. In practice I just found out cumbersome and the gameplay loop felt just plain boring/unsatisfying.
Yes! Hades is definitely in my top 5 ganes. And Supergiant is one of the few devs, maybe the only one, that I don’t have any reservations about playing their games in early access. I can’t wait to hear more about the sequel.
For me, that game would definitely be Disco Elysium. I’ve never connected with a game as much as with that one. I’m actually reticent of playing it again for fear of it not living up to the first experience; I felt like my first playthrough was perfect, even if technically speaking it wasn’t.
Other than that, I also still think about Mass Effect a fair bit.
On a side note: if you liked the investigating and “detective-ing” of Outer Wilds, then you will probably also enjoy Return of the Obra Dinn, The Forgotten City, and The Case of the Golden Idol. I’d also add Disco Elysium to that list, but be aware it’s a lot more text heavy.
Oh Disco Elysium all the way, it’s possibly my favorite game. I have a notebook filled with lines in the game that stuck with me.
I want more of it, but it looks like that lightning won’t strike twice.
fwiw I did play it through twice, and maybe enjoyed it even more the second time - caught more of the little details
Subdue the regret. Dust yourself off, proceed. You’ll get it in the next life, where you don’t make mistakes. Do what you can with this one, while you’re alive.
The only way to load the dice is to keep on fighting.
Great recommendations there, each got under my skin. I feel the same about David Lynch films, they connect with something inside me, and lodge permanently in my brain.
I’d put What Remains of Edith Finch, Dear Esther, Talos Principle, Stanley Parable, Metroid Prime and maybe Portal 1+2 in there too - they share an authentically mysterious vibe.
Obra Dinn and Outer Wilds hit me hard, they nailed the atmosphere perfectly. Haven’t actually played DE, was a bit put off by the sheer amount of dialogue, but I need to try it.
When I saw the OP’s question, my immediate thougt was Outer Wilds and Disco Elysium. Nice to see both represented at the top!
Vampires, The Masquerade: Bloodlines. The whole vibe of the setting, the story, the locations, and then when I finally understood what the plot was really about. Masterpiece of a game, couldnt stop thinking about it.
Seconding Bloodlines, this game has stuck with me since I first played it as a child. I’ve been eagerly awaiting the sequel, but also dreading that it ends up being awful and ruins any chance of more games.
I think it’s been in development hell for years, and the only screenshots ive seen make it look like a visual novel. Not hyped for it.
Portal 1.
Something about the ambiance mixed with the puzzles really stuck with me. I replay it almost once a year just to relive it.
Portal 2 is also up there with me. Just two spectacular atmospheric puzzle games. 10/10
If you like Portal 1 and 2 and want more, I’d recommend playing Portal Stories: Mel and Portal Reloaded, both are free on Steam if you own P2. The puzzles are pretty tricky though!
Reloaded made me want to smash my keyboard several times. 10/10 can’t wait for the multiplayer update
The one that came out 5 days ago?
Horizon Zero Dawn. Need to play the second game at some point.
It’s a little different but definitely fun. I’m not sure I like where the story goes, but I immensely enjoyed the ride.
I loved the story in that game. Will probably buy the next one at some point after it gets available for PC, assuming that will happen.
Half Life 2. Specifically, the crossbow that shot rebar. That thing was AWESOME.
I love how the main half life games have never had a sniper rifle. There’s not really a reason for them not to, there are even sniper enemies, it’s just kind of a staple of the series at this point.
Yes half life 2 and all the mods that spun from it dominated my childhood
The STALKER series really stuck with me for some reason.It’s probably the familiarity of the landscape/atmosphere. Post apoc eastern Europe isn’t that much different from normal eastern Europe lol
Barotrauma also stuck with me because of the atmosphere. Amazing game to play solo and feel the weight of the setting, although the bots you play with are a bit iffy and the multiplayer doesn’t carry the same feeling of dread and isolation
Yes to both! But especially Barotrauma! Really unique atmosphere to that game and such a rich selection of gameplay mechanics I’m always fighting off the desire to start another game!
I even get lost just building convoluted, overcomplicated and, as a result, buggy submarines in the editor.
Man, I love that game. It might be the greatest unsung game to come out in the last few years. My only problem is being a misanthrope, and scared of the general multiplaying public, I’m always intimidated by public games, but I’d love to convince enough buddies to play a campaign through. As you say, you lose some of the existential dread, but I’d love to explore some of the roleplaying aspects and more complicated gameplay loops, and the bots are a liability (although so much better than they were!).
My only problem is being a misanthrope, and scared of the general multiplaying public, I’m always intimidated by public games, but I’d love to convince enough buddies to play a campaign through.
I have 183 hours in Barotrauma, split between multiplayer and the sub editor (and a little bit of testing my sub alone). I have never played a public game or single player, it has basically all been the campaign with friends.
Most recently, I’ve been hosting occasional Barotrauma events with my inclusive gaming community, each one continuing the campaign we started early this year. The last event was just over the weekend. I don’t know when the next Barotrauma event will be, yet, but anyone who can follow our Code of Conduct is welcome to join!
Life is Strange Might have just been I played it at a point in my life that I could really relate to it but characters have stuck with me since playing it. Looking back, it could have been so much more then it was in terms of choices and such. But I still think overall it was great
For me, it’s bioshock infinite. The reveal at the end of the game changes how you perceive everything that you just went through. No spoilers, but it’s absolutely wild and is one of the best stories I have ever seen in a game.
I loved that ending!
Another game that got me was Horizon: Zero Dawn. It left me with a lingering sadness and a feeling I will never find a game with a story like that again.
Disco Elysium. There are so many good quotes, particularly out of the thought cabinet, that I remind myself of on like a weekly basis.
I was in a bad place the first time I played through it. The Precarious World and One More Door stick in the back of my mind constantly, and I cried like a baby the first time I read “In the dark times, should the stars also go out?” Never before has a game so emotionally resonated with me, this hope in the face of crushing despair, despite everything.
I never managed to finish Disco Elysium, but not out of lack of love. It’s absolutely fantastic.
I really want to go back to it, but I’m almost afraid to. There’s so much depth to all those characters, I’m worried by not having played it for so long I’d have forgotten all the useful context, but starting from scratch feels, IDK dishonest somehow? The playthrough I was on felt like the “authentic” one, and restarting, at least without completing that imperfect first playthrough, would be somehow missing the point.
My other fear is that, also finding myself in a bad place increasingly over the last few years, I’m afraid it might end in a way that’s too bleak to bear. Your comments on finding hope in the ending, despite despair, might be the motivation I need though!
No, absolutely start from scratch, the game is meant to be replayed. It’s one of the few games that implements ‘fail forward’ very successfully, and sometimes failure leads to better outcomes than success. It’s also a good way of organically making the player explore different avenues, both to get experience to improve attributes to try white checks again, and for finding thoughts and items that can reopen them.
The game’s incredibly warm, except perhaps to fascist routes, and despite the bleakness of Martinaise, there is something very comforting and wholesome about it all.
Black & White 1 and 2
yeah holy shit i loved black and white. i actually tried recently to get it to run on my pc again and was actually able to play although there were some issues.
Check out Deus Novum
I’ve seen it, waiting on Fata Deum too
I keep reading about Outer Wilds. I think its about time this summer.
To answer the question: Risk of Rain 1&2
And maybe the leviathans of my childhood. Ocarina of Time, Majoras Mask…
I haven’t played Majora’s mask but I feel like if you like it, you’ll love outer wilds. Just be sure to go in blind.
N64 Zelda will always be stuck in my head.
A few that come to mind:
- Gris - such a beautiful game. I was going through something when I played it and I just felt such a connection.
- Undertale - just an all around incredible game. I’m a big fan of Earthbound and this scratched a similar itch.
- Beneath a Steel Sky - I love point and click adventures and this one will love forever rent free in my head. (bonus: it’s free on GoG)
I never did finish Outer Wilds and still think about it a lot! I need to go start it again because it is genuinely spectacular, but I struggle with my constraint of only being able to put short-ish play sessions into it.
Playing Ocarina of Time with my son was an epic journey I treasure. It completely captured his imagination, and I was along for that ride.
Grim Fandango was, and continues to be, a dream for me.
While I’m there, Full Throttle also executed its style so well that some of its moments still serve as cultural/stylistic landmarks in my mind.
Mass Effect 2 had several moments where the atmosphere and universe totally hit the mark (Going into the Afterlife Club… come on!).
Red Dead Redemption connected me to that setting in ways movies can’t reach.
Edit: I forgot to mention Firewatch! That game established a mood unlike any other game I can think of.
Man, Firewatch. I don’t know how they managed to make the player connect on an emotional level with a character that you don’t even get to meet, but they did a fantastic job.
Why do you think the play-session duration is a constraint with Outer Wilds? The game basically restarts every 20 minutes.
Shadow of the Colossus. The entire vibe of the world just got to me.
