Have you played a game that stayed in your head long after you played it?
For me, Outer Wilds would be that game. I feel like I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I beat it a couple years ago.
For me, that game would definitely be Disco Elysium. I’ve never connected with a game as much as with that one. I’m actually reticent of playing it again for fear of it not living up to the first experience; I felt like my first playthrough was perfect, even if technically speaking it wasn’t.
Other than that, I also still think about Mass Effect a fair bit.
On a side note: if you liked the investigating and “detective-ing” of Outer Wilds, then you will probably also enjoy Return of the Obra Dinn, The Forgotten City, and The Case of the Golden Idol. I’d also add Disco Elysium to that list, but be aware it’s a lot more text heavy.
Oh Disco Elysium all the way, it’s possibly my favorite game. I have a notebook filled with lines in the game that stuck with me.
I want more of it, but it looks like that lightning won’t strike twice.
fwiw I did play it through twice, and maybe enjoyed it even more the second time - caught more of the little details
Subdue the regret. Dust yourself off, proceed. You’ll get it in the next life, where you don’t make mistakes. Do what you can with this one, while you’re alive.
The only way to load the dice is to keep on fighting.
Great recommendations there, each got under my skin. I feel the same about David Lynch films, they connect with something inside me, and lodge permanently in my brain.
I’d put What Remains of Edith Finch, Dear Esther, Talos Principle, Stanley Parable, Metroid Prime and maybe Portal 1+2 in there too - they share an authentically mysterious vibe.
Obra Dinn and Outer Wilds hit me hard, they nailed the atmosphere perfectly. Haven’t actually played DE, was a bit put off by the sheer amount of dialogue, but I need to try it.
When I saw the OP’s question, my immediate thougt was Outer Wilds and Disco Elysium. Nice to see both represented at the top!
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.
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.
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.
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?
Last of Us part1 and part 2. Probably Ghost of Tsushima and also Shadow Tactics
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.
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!
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.
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.
Undertale. The messages that game give you. Goddamn. That game also came to me at a point in my life where I needed it. The soundtrack saved me from contemplating a terrible decision. It saved my life. Wonderful game and an incredible experience.
Oh man I feel the same way about it, I still listen to the soundtrack all the time, and sometimes it’s the only thing that can calm me down in bad situations.Sounds like it filled you with determination.
- half life 1, finished around 25 times.
- kotor 1, finished around 20 times with different classes, genders, alignment.
- kotor 2, finished around 25 times with different classes, genders, alignments, party members.
- might and magic 7, finished around 25 times with different party classes, alignments.
- might and magic 8, finished around 25 times with different party classes, alignments.
- mass effect 1&2, finished around 3-4 times.
- morrowind, played few hundred hours with different genders and classes.
- skyrim, played around thousand hour.
Who has obsession, me? No you have 🙃
Cyberpunk 2077. Say what you will about the state of the game, especially when it released. But there’s something about the endings that keeps me thinking about the game and has me really excited about coming back after enough updates have passed.
Yeah, the story and side quest are really well made, and the soundtrack is so good, I can’t wait for the expansion, apparently it will overhaul so many things that it will probably feels like a different game.
No game has ever occupied so much of my mind as NieR: Automata. I beat the game, thought “huh, that was pretty good”, and then thought about it again the next day. and again. and again. again. again. again. again. again. I just could not stop thinking about what the game was trying to say or how it made me feel, and it’s just become more and more important to me as time has gone on. Really incredible game
I echo those exact feelings. Amazing game, great story, but the touch of it still lingers. The story and the mechanics and how they echo eachother is just wow
Firewatch, Hellblade, the Mass Effect trilogy, Cyberpunk 2077 to name a few. ME and CP77 are probably the ones that lodged themselves hardest in my mind by far.
You have good taste in games.
Have you played the “new” Deus Ex games, HR and MD? I’d slot them right in for my version of your list. Also Zero Dawn and Forbidden West.
Been thinking about trying the Deus Ex games but never got around to them. Might have to give them a shot some time!
The horizon games I’d really want to play but I’ve only got a Series X and a rather weak PC at the moment. :/
You should give Human Revolution a go, then. It’s pretty old by now and the graphics can be turned down quite far.iIt should run on most things.
Yeah, the deus ex games are available on xbox so I shouldn’t have a hard time playing those. Do they still hold up?
Human Revolution is fantastic, still. Mankind Divided is pretty much just upgraded more of it. The only downside is that Mankind Divided leaves the story unfinished, as it was the second entry in what was intended to become a trilogy. It failed financially due some BS mismanagement by Squenix.
But there’s hope! Eidos Montreal was acquired by Embracer Group last year, who have done much better with the management of their studios. There have been whisperings of Adam Jensen’s story being resumed at the studio.
Ah, I’ll keep them on the backlog then!
About Embracer though… you didn’t see this? Not sure exactly how it’ll pan out but it doesn’t sound good: https://www.polygon.com/23759179/embracer-tomb-raider-lotr-restructure-studio-closures-lay-offs
Oh darn… Having looked at their portfolio though, it was not all golden geese. Hopefully they’ll know what is worth the effort to keep.
