Additionally, many newer games use Denuvo which is known for making your games run slower. Sometimes the pirated copies not only take up less space, but also perform better.
I reckon it’s gotta be Disco Elysium ; that game changed my life. I just came to it at a particular point in time where some of the messages of the game hit especially hard.
A friend was recently telling me that it seems like it’s exactly their kind of game in many respects, but that their impression is that they would find it too depressing to play. Whilst it is true that the setting is pretty grim, I also found it to be one of the most hopeful games I’ve ever played.
If anyone isn’t familiar with Disco Elysium (DE), it’s a RPG where you play as an amnesia cop trying to solve a murder. It’s very introspective and quite heavy on the text, which I personally loved. It’s a very grey world where there isn’t a clear right answer in anything and it’s so well executed that it made things feel real.
As an example, one of the things DE is known for is its creators thanking Marx and Engels when receiving an award for the game, leading many to view DE as “that communist game”. However, although you can play as a communist, the game pulls no punches for any of the ideaologies, especially communism. It was made by an Estonian game studio, and it never feels overly idealistic - this particular kind of sad wistfulness towards history is something that only a post-Soviet country could pull off, I reckon.
The Blaster Master Zero series is a trip down memory lane and a fun romp. Excellent nostalgia feels if you ever played the original.
The horizon games have been good for both storytelling and gameplay.
Firewatch, while much too short, tells a moving story about the isolation that loss brings.
The Stanley Parable is one giant Easter egg with I finite replayability.
I’m a huge fan of “sky children of light” when I’m stressed out.
The free just cause games on PlayStation are kinda meditative in their own way, allowing you to fly across the countryside in a wingsuit.
I’ve also played BOTW, but am fairly disappointed in the lack of challenge. TOTK however, I am looking forward to.
Finally, Control. It has sweet gameplay, a cool story, a creepy as hell atmosphere, and links all the Remedy games together, all of which is love for the same reasons as I love Control. Of all the games I am looking forward to, Remedy is giving me the most antici…
Deep Rock Galactic (DRG) will always have a special place in my heart for the role it played for me over the pandemic. My late best friend made a discord server for a bunch of his sad and lonely friends over lockdown, and DRG is probably the game we’ve played the most of.
I tend to play the hell out of a game and then get sick of it for a while, and that would’ve happened a couple hundred hours ago at least, but it’s more than a game, it’s a means to connect with my friends. We try to find time each week to do the Elite Deep Dive and having that checkpoint has saved my sanity.
It’s such a well designed game that I don’t just like it, I respect it. I’ve played a lot of co-op games like it, but I love the synergy of the classes and how each class has a wide variety in their potential loadout and how they fit into the team, but also a very clear identity
Hades really is a banger. I cannot wait for Hades 2, my goodness.
Another perfect game for me is Outer Wilds. It’s hard to really get across the emotional impact it has on you.
Unfortunately due to the nature of the game, you can only really ever play it once. You are able to complete the game immediately, but the whole point is you discover clues as you explore that eventually build up to a point where it all clicks together, and suddenly you know what you must do.
Go in completely blind. Play on your own with your headphones on and get truly immersed. Try not to look up any guides. If you can get there on your own it’s truly satisfying.
When people say videogames are stupid I think of this game and feel sorry for what these people miss out on!
Edit: Oh mechabellum too - great shout. It’s criminal how small the player base is for such an addictive and fun game.
I’ve already told my wife that if I suffer a brain injury and lose all memories, to not bother showing me pictures of our wedding day or any of that guff. I want to play The Outer Wilds again.
Although having said that she might take the opportunity to pretend she never met me.
Outer Wilds is top of my list for most profound video game experiences. I have never went from joy to thinking "Oh. Oh..." so fast in one game. Plus, the music and graphics are so well done and support the narrative themes and mood. Just a masterpiece game.
I need to play Outer Wilds. I think I actually own it already, but I’ve not got round to it. You’re like the fourth person I’ve seen in this thread mention it
I enjoyed Cassette Beasts. I was talking to a friend about how remarkable it is that the game simultaneously feels like just a reskin of Pokémon, yet still has its own distinct personality. It’s a difficult balance for any game that’s taking inspiration from such an iconic game series, but it did great
Definitely a tie between Broke the Investigator (for the ending I got) and Beyond The Edge of Owlsgard (because I like the story and characters for the most part from how far I have gotten).
Also for a single moment in BTEOG where the English voice actor for the main character goes on what was an unscripted rant about something that leads to a death in game.
I got a ton of games on CD from years past; but I got no disc drive on my computer anymore, so I just pirate them instead of buying them again on Steam or GOG unless they have something new to make it worth buying (like an engine port or new features or whatever).
I think the only game I have tried that with that worked has been Oblivion and Shivering Isles. Some of them are so old, they don’t have any keys. Like Quake and Doom. But those were put in bundles and with updated engine ports and such a couple years ago on Steam and I got those. Like the entire pre-2016 Doom collection, plus some other games on the original engine for $5 total. Not a bad deal. Some of those games I didn’t actually already own, too, like Strife and Hexen 2. Always wanted Strife, but only had the shareware as a kid. Couldn’t beat that as a kid back then anyway; I only ever got through the entire thing pirating it in my 20’s at a time when it wasn’t able to be purchased anywhere.
Now that you mention the older games you own. It might be worth it to make some backups in the form of iso’s or copies. In case they get disk rot at some point. I think some of them must be close to 30 years old now.
Funny you mention Strife. I never really knew about Strife until much later when I found out about it. I have played the shareware version of Heretic quite a lot. But what really fascinated me back then where the early Grand Theft Auto and Carmageddon games. I guess my interest for cars translated into my games as well. Since those are technically open world driving games beside other things.
Street Fighter 6 taught me to enjoy fighting games again.
Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s about Time showed me (again) that rebooting a franchise is worth it. There is so much to do and I haven’t been challenged like this since Hollow Knight. The levels are gorgeous and creative. Plus, the game is teaching my son that it is OK to lose and that persistence pays off.
Oh yeah To the Moon is an absolute masterpiece. I’ve had the sequel in my steam backlog for ages. Should really replay TTM and then finally get around to playing the sequel…
Scorn was worth a shot if you’ve already played Soma and RE. The mechanics are… Fine. The art is jaw-dropping. It’s like Amnesia if H. R. Giger had been the art director.
I can't hype The Outer Wilds enough. It's such a fun exploration game that evolves into a big mystery.
I also just finished Ixion for the second time. It's a city builder but with stress. I enjoyed it a lot because it scratched my particular brain itch, but I can see it not being for everyone though. IXION soundtrack is a banger though.
I was a big fan of Frostpunk but Ixion is damn hard, I think I failed around the 3rd or 4th level 3 times before giving up? It's really easy to get into a cascade failures in that game and the space you have to build in is much smaller than it looks at first. That was before they added the easy mode though so maybe I'll try it again at some point.
I failed a handful of times before I made it through. It's really about keeping am eye on your numbers in the top bar. If any of them aren't looking right pause the game and find out why.
Just a heads up there are some bugs still and you'll need to hit some things with a hammer.
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