Quake III but no I or II? I see you’ve got DOOM on your list, I’m curious, did you not like the first two quake games or just didn’t play them? Otherwise you’ve got my list down pat (plus a few extras).
I’d say this is the result of someone asking ChatGPT for “rage bait post for a video game forum” but it has too much insufferable personality to be AI generated
Story-heavy: Uncharted series (between 10 and 16 hours per game), Hellblade (around 8 hours) and - if you can spare another 10 hours or so and Action RPGs are your thing - Nier Automata is really worth it (around 30 hours).
Gris was impactful enough for me that I’ll mention it here, since it was super short (4 hours at most).
Aquaria is one probably not too many people played to make it a cult classic, but it has a dedicated following of people that love it. Was pretty popular as a 2d indie adventure. I never thought I would like it, but was glad I gave it a try. 😊
One of the first computer games I’ve ever played is StarCraft. For context, the game is about human battle with aliens similar to Starship Troopers. The game story has three acts, each from different point of views. It is supposed to start from human pov, and then alien pov, and lastly another alien species. However due to English being my second language, I somehow started with the alien pov first. So my first impression of the game is that I play as a disgusting xenomorph alien species battling mankind. It’s not until later that I realized I missed an entire human chapter of the game.
Oh wow, I missed it early on! The Eternal Cylinder is good, but some occasionally clunky gameplay alongside the very unique alien designs might turn some people away. It crashed twice on me and once you figure out all the systems of play it can feel simple (although there’s a lot of complexity under the hood), so I could see some people giving up on it due to frustration or boredom - especially if the aliens or story don’t hook them.
I loved the environments and alien concept (plus the fun stress of the cylinders approaching) which kept me hooked. Plus it’s much more mechanically involved than Spore was. Spent about 13 hours with the game and left satisfied. If I had to numerically rate it, it’s maybe around 8/10?
It’s a first person shooter from a venerable studio in the genre, Raven Software.
Put out during their “golden age”, before Wolfenstein and Singularity flopped and uncle Bobby sent them to work in the Call of Duty mines.
Really cool selection of sci-fi guns, some of them pretty unique.
Campaign is essentially a prototype for Quake 4. It was built by the same internal team at Raven.
It has a more interesting story than Quake 4.
It’s an early example of a game that lets you choose your sex. NPC dialog changes to reflect this.
The whole cast of Star Trek: Voyager lends their voice talent to the game, including Jeri Ryan.
It also has a sequel, made by another studio. Elite Force II isn’t quite as good, but it is still worth playing if you like the original. It loses the female protagonist option, likely because it was 2003 and the story had a love triangle. It’s a visual powerhouse though, really pushing the limits of the Quake III engine far beyond what many people likely thought possible.
Ooh I forgot about this. Elite force is one of the few games that I’ve actually finished. I thought the graphics were gorgeous for the time with lots of believable alien worlds. The characters are engaging and the missions never felt repetitive.
I definitely have a lot that really get me feeling nostalgic. Couldn’t even count the hours I spent playing games as a kid lol but here’s a random list of a few:
Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete (My favorite of all time)
Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age
Dragon Warrior VII
Final Fantasy: Tactics
Chrono Cross
Phantasy Star I and III
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and Minish Cap
Putting DQ7 on here is almost a bit spicy, but I think it’s one of the best representations of the series in terms of scope, pacing, gameplay, and storytelling. It’s absolutely slow, but that was sort of the point.
I definitely have a few controversial choices. But DQ7 is legitimately my favorite DQ game and I always thought it didn’t get the attention it deserved. It was a long one to get through though.
I’d argue that having Chrono Cross and not Chrono Trigger is even spicier lol. But I think it’s really just nostalgia since that’s what I sunk a lot of hours into back then. I remember hunting everywhere for Final Fantasy Chronicles because it included a copy of Chrono Trigger, but I could never get my hands on it.
I can get behind the CC vs CT take. I finished CT first circa 1998 but found it pretty boring (I have a better appreciation for it now). CC was a lot more enjoyable to me–combat had a lot going on, and the music is an unmitigated masterpiece.
Ori and Ori: Will of the Wisps. These games are beautiful and atmospheric. The story is basic, but it’s a world to get lost in.
All of the supergiant games (except for maybe Hades). So Bastion, Transistor and Pyre. Dripping with style, Bastion and Transistor have a pretty straightforward story, but it’s well told. Pyre’s story is a bit more complex, with a heavy focus on characters and your choices with them.
Played far too much of Prey before realizing you can boost in zero G. I was wondering why people praised those sections so much when they were agonizingly slow.
APICO maybe? It’s got some crafting, but is mostly pretty chill, concentrating on breeding bees.
Dorfromantik is relatively mindless. You place tiles and create landscapes. There’s nice music too. There’s a sort of strategy to it, but it’s pretty light. Unlocking new tiles is the main grind. If you wanted a bit more thought involved, just about any turn-based strategy like Civilization 6 should do.
If you want to keep to JRPGs but at a calmer pace than FF7R, False Skies might be up your alley. ARPGs like Chronicon are also low on the intense/concentration scale (although like most ARPGs, you shouldn’t expect much of a story).
But more than any of those, I think Dave the Diver is your best bet. Ocean theme, doesn’t require great concentration (besides the odd minigame), and has a bunch to be taken in at your own pace.
bin.pol.social
Aktywne