Let’s Game It Out always has good vids. Basically all of his videos are bangers, even if it’s about a game I wouldn’t otherwise enjoy/watch something about.
I have been really searching for an immersive FPS space sim centered on survival and building. Yes, I know space engineers exists and I've pumped many hours into it, but it just doesn't satisfy this specific itch I have. One of the main mechanics I would like is you have to salvage derelicts for parts to cobble together a working ship where you can eventually work your way up to manufacturing new parts to build ships. Think of it almost like Rust + Space engineers + ship breaker in a way. I've wanted this for so long I started learning have development to try and make it come true!
So definitely not an fps, and it’s currently in EA, but Ostranauts is a top down immersive space sim where you salvage derelicts for parts and can build your own ship. Made by the devs of Neo scavenger. Absolutely love it, and it definitely ticks a lot of those boxes.
Empyrion: Galactic Survival is not exactly what you wish for, but it’s an alternative to Space Engineers. Not as detailed on the building part though, but a bit more Rust-like (imo).
Interstellar Pilot 2. It’s admittedly a mobile game, but genuinely the best one I’ve ever played.
TLDR: It’s a sandbox spaceship pilot simulator where the “goals” are to dominate laissez-faire capitalism
Essentially, in the game, you start with one small starship, and travel the universe completing missions, buying and selling goods, and fighting off bandits.
Other games have this premise, but they’re mostly point-and-click games that take place universally in menus. Not so for Interstellar Pilot.
In Interstellar Pilot, the UI really matches the thing that you’re doing. When you’re at a station trading, it’s an ordinary menu, but when you’re in your ship, the UI is much more reminiscent of an actual ship’s dashboard, and you can pilot your ship anywhere you like in the 2.5d space, rather than just clicking buttons. Even in stations, where the UI is more menu-ey, the buttons you can select are on the peripheries of your screen, while the center is occupied by a view of the station and the area around it, as it updates in real-time.
Anyway, once you get enough money you can build up your empire sandbox style, buying ships and having them run automated scripts in the background—and eventually building stations that can let you manufacture goods and military ships to further your plans.
And what are those plans? They can be anything! IP is a sandbox game, so you can make as much money as possible, set up a self-sufficient economy, hunt bandits, or attempt to conquer the galaxy to your heart’s content.
And that’s not even getting into how good and layered the combat is. From light but reliable lasers, to stronger but less accurate plasma pulses, to slugthrower-style guns and guided missile, to ECM’s, which interfere with missile guidance, to mines that deter chasing another ship, to the hexagonal shield system, in which you can only take so many hits from each direction before they start to damage your hull, to the fact that your weapons themselves sometimes take damage randomly, to the space dust and cloaking devices that ships can use to hide and the echolocation mines that can be used to find such ships.
That said, for all the complexity the combat has, it never feels overwhelming. At any point, the player can pause the game at any time, freezing the entire universe, but still allowing the player to manage their stuff in it—activating weapons on ships (that will fire right when the player resumes time), buying and selling goods and ships, giving their ships new orders, etc.
Honestly, the game’s combat is both intuitive and spectacular and rarely gets talked about just because of how simple it feels. It’s also integrated perfectly with the trade and cargo systems. If your ship gets hit without it being blocked by a shield, some cargo might fall out of it, and you’ll have to pull it back in with your tractor beam before your opponent grabs it with theirs. Artillery shells, missiles, mines, and ECM’s have to be stored in your cargo bay, so you have to keep track of how many you have and balance that with how much cargo you’d like to carry.
And the ships are crazy customizable. There’s over a dozen different ship models, each with its own stats for things like maximum speed, turning rate, hull strengh, and weapon turret placement. As for weapon variation, each ship model has a couple of different variations with different turret placements, but that’s just the beginning. At military outpost stations, any weapon can be swapped out into any turret (as long as it’s compatible with the ship model), and ships be upgraded with a variety of other components too (better generators and shields, cloaking devices, passenger modules, etc.)
And for what it’s worth, the art and animation kicks ass. (Admittedly the old IP1 models more than IP2, but the creator (yes, singular) is planning to add custom paint jobs in the future, allowing for even more ship customizability). The space scenery looks stunning and seamless, and the ships all feel unique control-wise.
Anyway, Interstellar Pilot is a phenomenal game, and a (rare) credit to the entire mobile gaming industry. If you’re going to get it, I recommend getting Interstellar Pilot 2, which is the one currently in development (by the way, this entire game was made by one person in their spare time). (I think it’s also on Steam now for PC but it did originally start as a mobile game so I’m still counting it as one)
How the heck is this game free? It doesn’t even capture any data (on iOS) except identifies and they aren’t used to track players. Gonna give it a try.
Rogue Legacy was going to be my suggestion. Such an easy (as in no stories/puzzles to keep track of) game to pick up and play. It’s something that was lost a bit on the second game. But it looks like you’ve played it.
Dungeon Encounters is a pure turn-based RPG with almost no story.
Theatrhythm is a fun music game.
Sound Shapes is a platformer.
Immortal Redneck is a FPS rogue-like.
That’s just what’s in my games list that might be what you’re looking for.
Ratchet & Clank games are solid and approachable if you’re into casual platformers. The main focus is the huge array of different weapons which often get hilariously over the top in the late game, and story is just there for a backdrop.
Welonz is fantastic in general. Always thoughtful and thorough and seems to approach whatever game she’s playing with great respect. She even did a watchable LP of Return of the Obra Dinn, which is extremely rare.
I haven’t checked her channel in a few months because for a while she was doing mono-Dragon Age, but at a cursory glance it looks like she has a moved to a more varied upload schedule these days, which is good.
They are completely disconnected, with the exception of the occasional spinoff or direct sequel, but those are easy to identify. The last game is probably the easier one of the series to pick up and play (this statement has been true for the whole existence of the series)
Where to start? Depends. Everyone of them is a huge game and a big time investment.
Taking into account you have no nostalgia for the series, I’d say your options, in order of what I think would stick are:
Option 1: the last one. If you just want to play a modern action/rpg game with AAA sensibilities but weird enough, is not a bad option. You have no need for any previous knowledge, the gameplay is completely different to the one in previous entries, etc. Haven’t played so I do t know if it’s any good.
Option 2: the 7 remake. One of the biggest milestones in the series retold for modern audiences, with updated graphics and narrative.
Option 3: 16bit retro experience: FFVI, SNES or GBA version. The pinnacle of the formula for the 8 and 16 bit consoles. Upcoming titles in the series are way different. Great in every way a game can be good.
Option 4: the 7 vanilla. The first international massive mainstream success for the series and one of the more influential video games in history. After this one, if you loved it:
Option 4a: the PSX trilogy. Go for FFVIII and FFIX for the full pre-render backgrounds and 3d models god killing trio.
Option 4b: the complication. If you are really into the setting and characters you have a few games complicating this one under the “Final Fantasy VII Compilation”. Some aren’t even RPGs.
If you go completely Final Fantasy insane after any of those, start with FF, the first one from the NES and make your way through them all. Prepare a couple thousand hours.
I don’t mind 30-40 hours as long as it has a definite end to it. I might play side quests if it’s a really good game and I don’t want the finale of reaching the end yet.
I was thinking about getting one but then I saw Retroid’s line of products. They run Android instead of using FPGAs so you can play regular Android games (including modern re-releases as well as Steam’s Remote Play) but they dual-boot a stripped-down version of Android for running emulators with better performance.
Was hella fun playing MediEvil on the flight from the US to India and that was with the Retroid Pocket 2, they have a much larger model out now.
I really enjoy the “Was it good?” series by Josh Strife! I guess technically they aren’t long plays, he plays through older, fondly remembered games, trims the recordings, and adds great commentary. The videos are still quite long though. I especially enjoyed his commentary of Tomb Raider (the original).
…I guess I’ll also mention, I also do some let’s plays with my friend 👀 but I don’t think they’re really anything special. We just enjoy retro video games and chatting!
I think Dan Carlin made a VR experience that was just an experience of ww1 trench warfare. He had it set up in a museum and around the VR was a set that was supposed to emulate the feel and smell of a ww1 trench. I think you can the the VR experience at home though, you just wont get the touch.
It’s called War Remains, and it’s basically just a 15 minute VR experience without any real interactive elements. Works really well as a complementary piece to Hardcore History though.
Not necessarily a realistic game, but you could check out the horror game 1916. It takes place in german trenches and there are other things in the trenches, namely dinosaurs. A little silly, but it doesnt feel silly when you have a dino chasing you and all you have is a flare.
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