Ghost of Tsushima. PS5 only for now, but it’s coming to Steam (finally!) in May. It’s an amazing game. Great story, extremely good combat, and it looks beautiful. Plus it has a separate coop multiplayer mode that is better than some dedicated multiplayer games. Don’t skip it.
Would you count NG+ as replayability? I know for Nier Automata and Armored Core 6, it’s basically part of the story and you haven’t finished until you’ve unlocked all of the main paths. There is enough new stuff each playthrough for it to be unique though.
I too love emotional games. Here are my personal favourites. Some of these have been recommended by others but idc:
What Remains of Edith Finch - as Edith Finch, you go back to the house you grew up in and explore your family’s history. The Finch family have had much misfortune, and many did not grow old. As you explore the house room by room, you see that person’s last moments. I cannot recommend this game enough. It’s only 2 hours long and best enjoyed in a single sitting.
Life is Strange - you (Max) have recently returned to the town you grew up in for a prestigious art programme at the Blackwell Academy. One day, you discover you have suddenly gained the ability to rewind time. In this game, you explore your powers and reunite with your old childhood friend, Chloe. Don’t worry too much about the superpower thing, it’s without any Marvel BS.
Detroit: Become Human - in this game, you explore a world where robots are servants to humans from the POV of three robots. There are three stories that you follow that do meet each-other at some points. Not all stories are equally exciting, but two of the three are pretty great imo. It really makes you think about what it means to be human.
Kentucky Route Zero - this is an odd duck that you may enjoy as well. You start as Conway, an old man driving for an antiques shop doing his last delivery, as the shop will close down soon. As you try to find your way, a gas station attendant gives you cryptic directions to Highway Zero. As Conway and several other characters, you explore the surrealist world beneath Kentucky. It’s a game filled with mystery, grief, loss, and being lost. This game is more like a strange dream rather than a videogame, and is therefore best played in the later hours of the day.
I hope there are some interesting picks here for you. Enjoy!
I acquired my 3DS before the first price drop and unfortunately I never really appreciated it while I had it. It was the first place I played Ocarina of Time, which was a really fantastic experience that I was probably too young to really appreciate at the time. I never got around to playing A Link Between Worlds unfortunately. Beyond that my other favourite was Mario Kart 7. There are a lot of games that I now wish I had picked up but didn’t get a chance to.
The 3DS is also really interesting as it’s currently the last Nintendo handheld that can fit in a pocket. That era of portable consoles has largely passed out of favour (this is why I’ve started collecting PSP Go consoles). A lot of the best 3DS games have been somewhat overshadowed by the Switch now. I feel like its game library may be remembered similarly to the Game Boy Advance, more iterating on older franchises rather than having its own hugely impressive identity.
Playing the walking dead games made me finally realize what the zombie genre is really all about. Zombie apocalypses are really a metaphor for the experience of life, In the end death takes everyone, in a zombie apocalypse it’s just accelerated. But death is a reality we all face, there’s no escaping it, there’s no running from it, there’s no outsmarting it; eventually you slip up or maybe you’re careful and responsible the whole way through, it actually doesn’t matter, you’ll still die in the end. What does matter are the choices you make along the way, the people’s lives that you touch, the world you can either leave better than you found it, or worse.
Several games I’d have recommended have already been said, so I’ll chuck in a nod for Thomas Was Alone, incredibly moving despite the only ‘characters’ being a range of shapes.
I feel like the yakuza series is fucking fantastic, but not that replayable. Usually it’s because I seek out all the substories and stuff on my first run, so it takes fucking ages to finish, but I’ve never got the urge to play it again after I’ve completed the stories.
If you’re new to it, maybe check out Katawa Shoujo: Re-Engineered. Same story but ported to be more modern under-the-hood. Apparently there’s even a web version thanks to Wasm!
I liked Metroid Dread a lot. I feel like it’s a good starting point for Metroidvanias too because the game does a good job nudging you in the right direction e.g. by closing off certain areas but still letting you explore and figure out where to go. I especially enjoyed the movement, it feels very fluid and satisfying.
The only major issue I had with the game was that performance is really bad in a few encounters. Most of the time it runs fine though. It’s also not super long. I prefer a game that doesn’t overstay its welcome, but if you’re looking for something that is good value for money in terms of playtime there might be better options.
The Talos Principle, despite being a puzzle game, has a gorgeous story if you take your time to listen to the audiologs and read the files you find in the world.
Iconoclast is an action platformer with great story and characters. It takes a bit to become interesting imo, but it grew on me the more I played it and I remember it fondly.
Signalis is a survival horror game that combines a presentation similar to that of old school Resident Evil games with lovecraftian cosmic horror. The story is very cryptic and requires a bit of effort on the player’s part, but I really enjoyed it both for its themes and the characters (more than the actual gameplay).
A Plague Tale Innocence/Requiem are two action adventure games with an enthralling story, well written characters and a gut punching ending. The disease aspect of the story is not prominent in the first game, and the ending is satisfying imo, so you could stop there if diseases are a no-go for you.
I really liked Life is Strange 2 and its themes really resonated with me, but it is very divisive among fans.
I also enjoyed Haven’s sci-fi love story, and found it one of the best depictions of an actual relationship in gaming: where most games tend to end when two characters declare their love/share a kiss/whatever, Haven’s beginning is well after they got together and the entire game is them being together, talking and joking and stuff. If you’re a bit sentimental, you may like it.
These are just games from the current/last gen, but you can find other great stories if you are willing to play with an emulator or have old consoles lying around. Xenogears is a JRPG from the old PS1 days, and it’s still the best one of its genre. Oddworld Abe’s Oddysee is a puzzle platformer with very modern themes despite its age, and its mix of fairy tale-like storytelling and horror/splatter presentation is very unique and engaging. I still think of Rue’s story in Threads of Fate as one of the most emotional stories I’ve played as a kid.
I could go on, but I already listed waaay to much titles lol
If it’s emotional you want, you can’t beat To the Moon and its sequel, Finding Paradise. They’re walking sims, but they’ve got great stories that’ll make you ugly cry
Came here to say the exact same thing: To the Moon is definitely a game for ugly crying. I even replayed it a couple of years ago, and even when I already KNEW what was going to happen, I still found myself crying for hours and being overemotional for a week. Great games with beautiful storytelling. I can feel myself tearing up just by thinking about it. Maybe it’s time for another replay haha
Dont forget there is a 3rd in the series now called Imposter Factory which was good too!
To the moon had the best story and made me very emotional, the other two don’t his quite so hard but still left an impact. I’d highly recommend the series if you like that kind of story.
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