I’ve been tinkering with my Steam Deck almost since I got it a month ago. I mostly use it hooked up to the TV with a PS5 controller. I have a problem with sticking to one game and tend to jump around a lot between them, but here are ones I can remember playing in the last week or so for a decent amount of time:
Fantasy Life i: Not usually a fan of cozy games - I like more direction - so this one looked right up my ally with an actual plot to follow along. I got about 10 hours in until the game started blocking my progress by requiring I find buddies to advance the story. I’m not interested in having to look up where they can be found, so I dropped it. It was a fun 10 hours, though!
Broforce: Bought it for the 3rd time on Steam so I could access player-made levels, something not available on other platforms. I love this game! Wish they’d make a sequel or even an official expansion.
Banjo-Kazooie and Tooie: I recently decided to test out 360 emulation on the Deck via Xenia and remembered these 2 were on it with better framerates and camera control than the originals. Pretty funny to use a 360 emulator to play N64 games, but until the fanmade PC ports are available it’s the best way to play them.
My next tinker project is seeing if I can get the DS models and texture mod for Mario 64 EX working. I have a thing where I prefer to play official upgrades to graphics when possible, which is why I’m use the 3DS textures for Ocarina of Time on the PC port.
100% perfect for both BK and BT, from what I’ve played. I also played through Beautiful Katamari and it seemed perfect as well aside from the katamari not showing up in the King’s hand in the results screen. Oddly, this exact same issue happens in Katamari Forever via the RPCS3 emulator as well.
Originally a paid DOS game and the developer is a cool dude who changed it to freeware. You can download it on myabandonware or archive org. Then grab a free copy of DOSBox.
In my view, it is the best shape packing game ever made, and it never really got its due, possibly in part to somewhat extra complexity, and partly from the time it came out.
You learn the ropes in the early modes, but you really need to play on EXTREME Mode. There are many different special pieces, and you decide how to move them in the playfield and rotate them.
There are mud traps and acid pits and missiles and bombs and traps. And you have to not only play the shape packing aspect, but you have to continually think about how to deploy these hazards, to your best advantage, or least disadvantage!
Over the years, I continually come back to this game, and I have probably sunk over a thousand hours since I was young.
The game itself, for me. I played it through a few times when it first came out, and then very recently I got it on Steam and played again for the first time since. Still as poignant.
The DS had plenty of fantastic games, but when it comes to a game I feel had the most beautiful example of using the controls in a creative way, I’d say The World Ends With You takes the cake.
I’ve literally never played a game that needed such a high degree of multitasking, not just for mental multitasking, but also hand-eye coordination. Playing that game on Hard mode felt crazy, and I literally never unlocked Master mode. Balancing between the top and bottom screen characters was such a challenge, especially if you’re actually trying to make use of the green puck for more damage. The fact that each partner has their own battle method is fantastic too, as you never get too comfortable with one character until you finish the game.
Add in fantastic art design, catchy soundtrack, funny & memorable main cast, and you get absolute peak. I can’t believe Square let that game rot for more than a decade. The Neo TWEWY sequel was pretty good too, but nothing will literally ever compare to the original’s controls. It’s just so addicting man.
Sonic fan for more than two decades here! It’s always great to see more people interested in the franchise!
I would say that maybe it would be good to start with Sonic Generations (or Sonic x Shadow Generations if you can afford it, which is the same but with the Shadow The Hedgehog story as an extra), so you get familiar with the gameplay of both classic and modern games, have a sense of where it’s going and decide whether to go ahead or not.
I see that your interest is more focused on the characters and their dynamics, fantastic! the best part of the franchise in my opinion!. In that sense I would say that your best option to go deeper after Sonic Generations would be the mythical Adventure saga (Adventure 1 and Adventure 2). They are the games in which much more emphasis was put on the characters and the story.
Already after this and if you are hooked is that I recommend that you play the classics. You can play Sonic 1, Sonic CD, Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 & Knuckles in Sonic Origins (although you can also emulate the Mega Drive games), and then there is Sonic Mania. Why not start with the classics? Because they are very much of their time: pure gameplay, simple and not so deep story, but very fun to play!
You talk about games, but let me recommend you to read the IDW Comics in a complementary way. They are REALLY good! If I remember correctly, one of the artists on the comics, Evan Stanley, worked on The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog, and the story of the game plays out very similar to how the Comics read. It’s also where you’ll find the most depth in the characters (and you’ll encounter the best story arc EVER written for the franchise, EVER).
To sum up:
Sonic Generations (Or Sonic x Shadow Generations)
Sonic Adventure 1 and 2
Sonic Origins (Which are Sonic 1, CD, 2, 3 & Knuckles)
Assuming that “masterpiece” refers to the quality and impact the games had in their time (not how well they aged) some of my picks would be:
Baldur’s Gate 2 + ToB
Star Wars: KotoR
Morrowind
Read Dead Redemption 2
The Witcher 3
The Last of Us 1+2
God of War
Shadow of the Colossus
The Legend of Zelda: BOTW
Mass Effect 1+2
Disco Elysium
Half Life 2
BioShock 1
Diablo 2
Fallout 2
I don’t know how objective this list is. Some picks are definitely subjective and fit more in a “flawed masterpiece” category of games that had a large impact on how I perceived games but that may not be so widely acclaimed as some others on this list.
God of War has two big strengths that make it a great game in my opinion. The first is the story with its great characters, presentation, and voice acting. The second is the overall “feel” of the game, which can be a bit “game-y” at times but is really tight overall with only a handful of core mechanics that are exceptionally well implemented.
If you can get past its extremely questionable social issues, I’ve never played a co-op combat game as well designed and implemented as resident evil 5. It forces you to work together in a variety of challenges and unexpected ways. It keeps you both focused on mutual goals. And if you don’t work together with situational awareness and effective communication, you will not succeed. I really wish it sold better because I’ve never seen a company since put as much effort into co-op design except maybe the “it takes two” and “a way out” guy. But those aren’t shooters.
Your mileage may vary, but there’s a bug on the PC version that causes a boss to regenerate health tied to the frame rate. It happened to a friend and me, and we watched it happen to two other friends. Higher frame rates cause it to regen faster. There’s a way you can cheese the fight to get around this, but maybe the method would be a spoiler.
(Also, I thought this game was bad and not in an interesting way like its successor is, but once again, your mileage may vary.)
I can certainly understand not liking it. Besides it’s offensive social takes, it’s definitely not what a typical Resident Evil game is supposed to be. But a buddy and I spent years trying to find good coop game experiences and as far as games that actually sculpt and tend to the coop part as opposed to just throwing a coop mode in at the last moment, very few come anywhere close to the effort to put into this one. On harder difficulties it’s actually a really interesting challenge that’s not just about bullet sponges or grinding for better gear but about strategy and effective teamwork.
bin.pol.social
Aktywne