I would add Outer Wilds to the list.
You can really only play it once in a lifetime but I think it’s the best video game experiences available.
Honorable mention for Tunic and Cocoon for the same reason
I’ve tried to play it twice and barely make it 30 minutes in. Been meaning to try it again though because I keep hearing it’s amazing.
Civilization III and/or V
Edit: If you have lot’s of time available.
I haven’t seen it mentioned here, so I’ll rep for Noita. It’s an amazing rogue-like with great atmosphere and a really compelling world to explore.
There’s a chemistry/alchemy system in the game that is really detailed and fun to explore. The game’s tagline is “every pixel simulated,” and it’s not an exaggeration. Noita is like those falling sand games that were popular in the early 2000s, where each particle of sand could interact with other particles. Imagine that, but you’re a badass witch flying through the world and blasting motherfuckers who try to get in your way. Your wands can set things on fire or freeze them or melt them with acid or blow them up or other crazy shit.
The wand mechanics are incredibly deep. Like, it’s not “turing complete” levels of deep, but the rules for spells interact in incredibly interesting and exploitable ways. The feeling you get when you discover a powerful combo of spells is incredible.
The devs also have a cool policy of turning bugs into gameplay mechanics. I really can’t say much about this without spoiling things, so this one is hard to talk about. Basically, if someone finds an exploit, they oftentimes won’t “fix” it. Instead, they’ll take it and tweak it to add consequences for using the exploit, or they’ll balance it a bit to make it harder/remove a bit of the benefit. It’s a really cool approach and has lead to a great relationship between the devs and the community. They don’t take our toys away, they just make them work better in the world.
I played the game completely blind until I got my first win (it took about 80 hours of playtime), and I’d highly recommend that approach for folks who are willing to tolerate failure and who like to experiment. If it’s too frustrating then that’s okay, there are a lot of guides out there to help out new players without giving up too much. Many people describe your first win as you beating the tutorial, and there’s some truth to that.
It can be gruellingly difficult at times, but it’s just so damn good, and there’s so damn much of it. I have around 600 hours in in that game which is twice as much as any other game I’ve played.
I’ll back this up, and recommend people having a hard time look into Spell Labs on the steam workshop (and elsewhere) to help get further into the game. Once the game really clicks, it’s super satisfying. Even before then, the ridiculous wonder of all the things are great. It’s just as hard as it is amazing and that can be a turn off. There are other quality of life mods available in the workshop for people wanting to just enjoy the game, but the tutorial in Spell Labs is one of the biggest helps I got in unlocking progression.
Noita Together sessions were the big thing that turned the game into an obsession for me.
Noita is my favorite game that I’m terrible at, lol. I love Metroidvanias & everything Roguelike/Roguelite, so this game ticks the right boxes for me. I die in more spectacular ways Everytime I play, but still have a good time.
Nice try! I looked at the Steam reviews with people who had 600+ hours playing this game and said something like “it’s hard and cruel and punishing on a level we as a people have not experienced before” and I knew I would never have the time or patience to play this! 😄
Playing it blind is absolutely like that. In retrospect, I’m surprised that I stuck with it. I usually struggle with hard games! The atmosphere and mechanics were enough to keep me playing tho. Totally understand though, it’s not everything for everyone.
Crosscode, Disco Elysium, Outer Wilds, Celeste, Fallout: New Vegas
S-tier list
+1 for Crosscode! I will admit the terrain puzzles can feel tedious after a while, but goodness, this game has great mechanics, story, and charm. One of my favorite games of all time.
I am so excited for the next game coming out by Radical Fish Games.
I bought crosscode some months ago on GOG and I’m slowly working through it.
I’m constantly amazed at how it feels like a grand AAA mmorpg. The complexity of the maps is astounding (sometimes at a fault) and there is a lot of stuff to do. A tales of grindea on steroids, if you will
Strongly recommended if you enjoy the genre
Outer Wilds.
If you like space games and puzzle games (in the sense that you need to piece together the situation you’re in), this is a great choice.
Highly recommend not looking anything up before you play.
Just did the dlc for outer wilds recently. It was refreshing how it added to the story without detracting from the main game but It was pretty damn scary for me, a person who doesn’t play horror games. I still think it’s worth it. Somewhat odd choice for the dlc when the main game was mainly an archaeological space puzzle but they made it work.
The coolest thing when you start the DLC is that you realize that this whole thing has just been out there the entire time you’ve been playing and you didn’t know it. Then you finally get there and you can play the entire DLC while the rest of the game keeps going without you.
I love puzzle games and was so excited to play it, especially after friends that I value the opinion about games claimed it was the best game they’ve ever played.
I’ve tried, but it didn’t grip me and I gave up after 2 days of trying to get into it.
Maybe one day when the universe thinks it’s the right time for me.
A couple of oldies, that deserve to still be played. Disclaimer: I played both games when they were already ~8 years old, and completely outdated in terms of technology.
Planescape: Torment
One of the best RPG ever created, and that is entirely for the world building and writing, and how much of the gameplay ends up being based on these rather than the combat mechanics (which are just ok)
Deus Ex
Again it was way ahead of its time in terms of world building and depth, and it was still an unashamed PC game, that dared to challenge its users a little and didn’t need to have a GUI that could be used with a gamepad, unlike the sequels.
My heart tells me that this is the correct answer
Strongly agree. Deus Ex is still even now my favorite game ever. NPCs sound like real people and actually have meaningful things to say.
It does however have possibly the worst death animations in the history of gaming…
Updated my journal
Tunic - at face value it is a gorgeous, brilliantly fun soulslike. Beneath the surface, however, it becomes apparent that the “souls like” part of it is a facade for the true game. Probably one of the single greatest gaming experiences of all time.
The Witcher 3 - it often goes on sale for like… £3 or something ridiculous, and its a standout example of an excellent open world RPG.
Celeste - possibly the single greatest (2d) platforming game ever made, with a soundtrack that is truly unforgettable by the great Lena Raine. Also if you play it you’ll find out you’re trans*
*(your mileage may vary)
I will always say TUNIC in these threads. One of the best gaming experiences of my life.
I’m a similar vein, Outer Wilds is also excellent.
There definitely different experiences. But, they are both a “go in blind and just explore” kind of game.
Yeah I adore Outer Wilds and I think the storytelling experience of it is gorgeous - one of my all time favourites. I settled on not mentioning it here because I think its a tad less accessible due to the ship movement.
Done Celeste… Well… Still playing. Done A-B-C sides. Now I’m onto the D sides which are fan made. Way harder but it’s really well made. Feel official. There’s also the Stawberry Jam mod which offer like a full game worth of content. Didn’t play that much yet.
Its in my highest ranked game. It’s up there with a very few masterpieces. Like top 5 ish ever. I don’t think it’s for everybody but goddamn this game is something.
I loved strawberry jam, what a monumental fan work.
I think Celeste can be for everybody, with assist mode you can tune the difficulty to your liking if you’re a less experienced gamer, and the game encourages you the whole way through a well balanced difficulty curve (IMO).
It’s true that the balance curve is one of the best.
I played Celeste. Later I figured out the word for the way I’ve always felt was trans. These events were unrelated, but the correlation remains.
Another “victim” of the Celeste “curse”. Glad you found yourself! :3
Doom 1993/doom 2. Decades of gaming since it came out and STILL nothing has beat the tactile sound of the super shotgun paired with the moans of demons collapsing. Absolutely amazing. though I only have 100+ hours in these 2 games combined they are a must play.
Closest I can think of is the engineers plasma gun in Deep Rock Galactic which is my #2 must play game. Its SO fun and a successful grapple + special powder x2 + grapple + skull crusher to get into a nitra vein when the engie isn’t around is so incredibly satisfying. 1700 hours shows I love it so much.
Minecraft. Need I say more? rough estimate as a lot hasn’t been tracked but 1500 on switch and 153 days on prismlauncher is around 5,000 hours in this silly block game.
EDIT: didn’t expect the variety of games in this thread, very interesting
Which kind of games. From an Rpg perspective,
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Alice is missing a silent Rpg, which is played using instant messenging. That one is absolutely crazy, with a lot of potential for bleed
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Blade in the dark, which is basically the latest revolution in Rpg. And led to the FITD games, it kept the yes but partial success from previous generations of PBTA games, use long term actions (aka clock) for everything (same mechanics for opening a lock, seducing the princess or fighting a guard), and has this downtime phase which is more than just spending XP. It also has flashback mechanic letting you jump to the action and plan latter
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Mork Borg, the system is fine but banal. However, the weird aesthetic makes it a must have in a rpg lover collection
Forged in the Dark games are great; I haven’t gotten to play Blades, but I’ve run some Scum & Villainy (which is a space opera setting: think Star Wars meets Firefly), and it’s probably my new favorite system
MorkBorg is fun for the aesthetic, but the combat always seems to just drag on, with round after round of damage getting blocked by armor. On the up side, the rounds go really quick.
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For me: Easily Portal 2.
A deeply rich story, funny dialogue, and great puzzles that will truly make your brain think. The story is very rich and spans across several different eras of Aperture history, going as far back as the 50s. The dialogue is funny and some of the lines are the most memorable in all of gaming (like the Cave Johnson lemon rant). And last but not least, the puzzles are great. They start off pretty simple, but as you progress further in the story, they get more and more complicated, especially when you get the repulsion gel and proposion gel. I feel like Portal 2 is the Gold Standard for puzzle games that every game that comes after it will be judged on.
Also, if you don’t own Portal 2 yet, now is a fantastic time to get it - it’s on sale for $1 on Steam, same with Portal 1. And if you want both games, the bundle containing both games is $1.50. Do not miss out on this offer, it’s so worth it.
I did not play Portal 1, but directly went with the second part. Easily the best game. I’ve also played the precursor to the Portal series, called the Narbacular Drop. Also a nice toy project.
Okay you do some good advertising I’m considering the purchase
Don’t consider, act, that game fucks and it fucks hard.
My favorite moment of Portal 2 is easily Cave Johnson’s lemon rant. Easily one of the best quotes in all of video game history.
“All right, I’ve been thinking. When life gives you lemons? Don’t make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back! Get mad! I don’t want your damn lemons! What am I supposed to do with these? Demand to see life’s manager! Make life rue the day! It thought it could give Cave Johnson lemons! Do you know who I am? I’m the man who’s going to burn your house down! With the lemons! I’m going to get my engineers to invent a combustible lemon that burns your house down! [COUGHING]”
Absolutely golden.
Was that the same dude that was the lawyer in the British show ‘Outlaws’?
I swear they sound the same.
It’s J. K. Simmons, he was in a lot of stuff so probably.
Woah not at all who I thought, I thought it was Stephen Merchant.
Stephan Merchant didn’t voice Cave Johnston but he did voice Wheatley, another character from Portal 2.
Also, if I had to pick, resident evil 7 and 8. The best story games period and the best horror games period.
Go in cold! And definitely play Portal first. It’s really short.
If you already have beaten Portal 2 you should check out Portal Revolution. Free mod with voice acting and a lot of new puzzles.
Oh man, Portal 1 was amazing. Amazing offer!
I just bought it two weeks ago for 10$. Excellent game though. Well worth 2 coffees!
Stardew Valley.
Its revolver has continuously released huge updates for free and has commuted to never charging for dlc.
The games mechanics are pretty great and nothing in the game requires too much grinding to get.
Even when you “finish” the game, there are still things to do and starting a new files is always fun.
The characters are all great and have unique personalities. It really makes you feel like you are part of the town.
My wife and I have over 400 hours on a single file. It’s also enjoyable starting a new file. I like to challenge myself to see how quickly I can do certain objectives in the game.
It’s also decently cheap and has a huge community behind it.
To anyone who hasn’t played this yet, if you buy it on console or mobile, the huge 1.6 patch is set to release November 4th.
From what I have seen, if you can play it on PC, do it, as you can get all kinds of mods and stuff that aren’t available on console. I played it on Switch years ago and then would see youtube videos of people playing the PC version and it looked like a different game altogether.
The game is just perfect. Many farms were made and many hours spent.
My only complaint is that there isn’t more of the game 😂
Luckily mods solve this.
I bought it some time ago but I kind not got into it, and it saddens me because I only hear good things about it.
Any advice?
Well not every game is for everybody. This just might not be for you.
Without knowing you better, I’d advise things like.
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take it slow, there is no rush to do anything.
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it’s ok to sleep early if you can think of something to do.
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you can really lose in this game.
Thank you
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factorio
the dedication of the dev is perceptible, almost unlimited replay value and the will release a major extension in 9 days that looks wonderful.
What? I thought the space DLC was months away!
It’s happening!
I came here to say this. I’ve been gaming since the early 80s. Factorio is top 5 for me.
Could you explain the appeal to someone who hasnever played anything similar? I played RCT3, but I don’t know how comparable that is. It just seems like a really finnicky and tedious game of micromanagement.
I haven’t played RCT so not sure how I compares.
But Factorio is first of, a sandbox game. You can build however you want in your own tempo. Not sure what you mean by finicky?
But I don’t think it’s tedious micromanagement at all. it feels super good when you build something new and it works. And there is so many technologies and it’s jus fun exploring how everything works together and coming up with new designs!
There is also enemies, but can be turned off if you just want to focus on building a Factory. I mostly play with them, building up defences and killboxes and making automated train supply that comes with ammo, wall, etc.
It has a demo you can try out. It’s scenarios so you try out different base mechanics in the game. But the actual game is a sandbox game.
Subnautica
Hades
I think everyone should play factorio for at least a few hours. It will be some of the most interesting 17 months of their lives.
Is it a time lapse game? Where you play for like an hour, then suddenly the sun is down?
And you’re absolutely starving, yes.
I would personally recommend Satisfactory over Factorio. I think it’s a more casual experience while still scratching that factory building itch.
Factorio is a casual game. You see a person with a massive base that makes a gazillion science packs a minute, don’t get intimidated. They have no clue what they’re doing either, and probably already forgot how a third of their factory is put together. They have just been in the game for longer.
I don’t mean less casual in that sense. I actually had 3 main points in mind that make satisfactory more casual.
First are the aliens. The evolution and pollution doesn’t stop which means in a way you are fighting against time. If you don’t keep up with it the aliens will attack and destroy your base. I know they can be turned off but the game is designed with their attacks in mind and you’re skipping entire production lines if you turn them off.
The second reason is factory building. I think the extra dimension in Satisfactory makes factory building much easier. If you run out of space horizontally, build up. In Factorio you better plan out how big your factory is going to be because if you run out of space you’re probably going to start spaghettifying your factory or you need to start tearing down parts of your factory to make more space. In my current satisfactory factory I just built a whole new level ontop of my old factory because I couldn’t be bothered to clean it up.
And the last point goes together with the previous point. You have so many things you need to produce. The entire belt production thing for example. If you want express belts you need to build the fast belts which needs the basic belts. If you want express splitters you’re going to have to build the fast splitter, which needs the basic splitter which requires basic belts. Meanwhile in Satisfactory if you want a faster belt you just need the new material for the belt. Factorio production pipelines are like a deep well while Satisfactory production lines are more like a wide puddle (that only towards the very end can go deep, like ficsonium fuel rods). Satisfactory has overall a wider variety of things to produce (if we exclude the tiered items in Factorio), but they’re much less dependent on each other. For example if your industrial beam production isn’t at peak performance that not going to stop you from getting the higher tier belts because they need aluminum which are built from a completely different raw material. Solve aluminum production and you get new belts. Compare that to Factorio where, lets say you want to start using express belts but you’ve been kinda winging your belt production. Well first you need to fix your fast belt production, which then means you need to fix your basic belt production which means you need to fix your iron production which means you have to scale up your iron mining.
The factory can grow over your head but Satisfactory still has easier production pipelines, easier factory planning and you can take however long you want to figure out how to build your factory. To me all of those things indicate that Satisfactory is a more casual experience.
