Outer Wilds and Hollow Knight share the spotlight for greatest games of all time. Both are as close to perfect as it gets.
Bastion gets an honorable mention. Not sure if SuperGiant Games is considered indie anymore, especially now that Hades hit big, but I love their early work.
The art is phenomenal, but the writing is cringeworthy. I loved it as a teenager but I have a hard time taking it seriously now. I wish I never replayed it so I could have kept my nostalgia.
The combat mechanics are fun and feel amazing when played as intended, but they’re massively unbalanced. IIRC with two exceptions (enemies that require a parry to enter a vulnerable state) every single fight can be won flawlessly by spamming Dust Storm even on the highest difficulty.
It’s a remarkable game, all the more so since it was only one dev. I 100%'ed it, and it sits in a place of honor in my collection, but it’s not one I’ll ever return to.
Outer Wilds certainly was. It was started as a college project and the devs stayed together to finish it after they graduated.
Journey I’m not so sure. I don’t think it’s indie? If it is indie, then I’d put The Pathless up for consideration. That game finished what Journey and Abzu started, and it has some of the best feeling overworld movement of any open world exploration game I’ve ever played. Flawless.
You say that, but I never made a spreadsheet to optimize my Slay the Spire runs. Balatro is way harder and more random.
Still fun though. I’m 50 hours into Balatro and loving every minute of it. Just made a hand calc spreadsheet last night as I’m pushing into blue stakes and need to optimize every move to keep the numbers going up.
Agreed. The art looks straight out of an anime, and Dust’s combat animations are really smooth and satisfying. I think the cutscenes looked really good, too, but it’s been long enough that I don’t remember.
Abzu fell kinda flat for me after Journey, but The Pathless more than makes up for it. It seems to be set in the same world as both prior games and has several references to each, so playing the first two does make it more rewarding to play.
I definitely recommend it since you liked Journey. The movement and combat feels great. It’s refreshingly short and focused for an open world exploration game, so it respects your time, and it also has some excellent storytelling with plenty of nice emotional highs and lows. It’s a worthy successor.
You should be able to play Flushes, Straights, or Full Houses and win in the first Ante without any buffs. Does the -1 hand size from Gold Stake really hurt that much?
Tunic is a solid 10-15 hour adventure game, and I highly recommend playing without spoilers as several experiences are information-locked like Outer Wilds. It’s an isometric adventure game heavily inspired by Zelda with some Souls influence bleeding into the lore, mechanics, and boss fights. Replayability is limited to speedrunning and challenge runs.
Bastion is a wonderful adventure game with a heavy focus on combat. It’s a precursor to Hades from the same developer, and shares the same mechanical DNA minus the rogue-lite elements that Hades introduced. The followup game, Transistor, is also worth checking out, though it didn’t quite hit the same highs for me as Bastion. Both are 10-20 hour adventures with limited replayability if you want to achievement hunt.
Bastion’s story doesn’t necessitate multiple plays. Sure, it’s fun to play through again and try different builds. I’ve also 100%'ed the game.
The important thing, I think, for OP’s question is that it can be finished in one play. It has a satisfying ending from which the player can set down the game and move on.
I find Subnautica has less replayability than other survival games since the map and questline is static. Once you know where everything is and you’ve seen all the plot beats there’s not much reason to play the game again unless you want to challenge yourself with a speedrun or, as you said, one of the harder difficulties.
I wouldn’t consider creative mode or sandbox mode to be a core part of the game. They’re great for fucking around or as an extended tutorial, but I see them more as external tools than as part of the game experience proper.
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Been alternating between replaying Elden Ring on my PC and the original Ratchet and Clank on my new (to me) PS2. Making good progress in both.
Currently working through the last level in R&C and I forgot how brutally unforgiving that game is with the limited health and scarce checkpoints.
I’m almost through the academy in ER. Fixing to fight whatshername with the giant baby and the kamehameha attack. Already beat that god-damn OP knight guarding the entrance to her boss room.
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Uchigatana is available, but it’s easy to miss if you’re playing without spoilers. Great sword. I use it almost exclusively for a hybrid DEX/STR bleed build.
Mild SpoilerIt’s tucked away in an early dungeon behind a hard to see passage. It’s not a boss reward so even if you’re finding all the dungeons it won’t be obvious that you missed it. Good luck!
Playing a friend’s copy of Pokémon Red. Many a late night was spent getting as far as I could without being allowed to save.
First games I remember owning:
Sega Genesis 6-PAK with Sonic the Hedgehog, Golden Axe, Streets of Rage, Revenge of Shinobi, Columns, and Super Hang-on. Mostly played Sonic. Mom forbade us from playing the “violent” games, so we’d get in trouble if we were caught playing GA, SoR, or RoS.
First game I have fond memories of:
Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage. This was one of the first games we got when we upgraded from the Genesis to a PS2, and I played it many times over from the start before we invested in a memory card. The first game I actually beat start to finish without saving. I fondly remember 100%ing it over a weekend, leaving the PS2 on overnight while I slept.
Have you been spending hours trying to pass a level? Or maybe you are completely addicted to a newly bought game. Do you have a question about a game or would like to share something else? In the Weekly Discussion Thread, you can do it all!...
Have you been spending hours trying to pass a level? Or maybe you are completely addicted to a newly bought game. Do you have a question about a game or would like to share something else? In the Weekly Discussion Thread, you can do it all!...
The last couple times I’ve tried it I struggled picking up momentum and progressing in the game, as the initial tutorial seems to be missing a few key steps so I end up spinning my wheels not knowing what to do next.
This time I had Christmas break time to fuck around and find out. Pushed through the initial hurdles and actually made decent progress, including soloing the first boss. It’s a solid game so far, but it could communicate its expectations a bit more clearly.
I picked up Monster Hunter World again last night after playing some Dark Souls Remastered and itching for more of that style combat. I forgot how much better it was than Rise, and I never got around to playing Iceborne. Having a lot of fun with the new stuff, and I think it’ll be my default game this week.
Hades would be my choice if you’re looking to be challenged. Give it a few tries on normal difficulty, and if you’re getting your ass kicked it has a great casual friendly accessibility option to turn on a slowly scaling damage reduction that will eventually tune the game to your skill level. You can turn it off at any time, and there are no penalties for using it.
Psychonauts 2 is also a solid choice. Overall it was an excellent sequel and definitely worth playing, but if you’re looking for a challenge look elsewhere. It’s a casual platformer through and through. It’s still a great game in it’s own right, though IMO it doesn’t take as many risks as the original Psychonauts and didn’t quite hit the same emotional highs.
Vampire Survivors - They keep releasing new content, and I keep devouring it. This game is even more addicting than Cracktorio.
The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog - Best April Fools joke this year, and a solid light visual novel in its own right. This was a pleasant surprise.
Remnant II - My choice for Game of the Year this year. TotK let me down, and while BG3 is solidly in the #2 spot I don’t really vibe with it. Remnant II is an excellent sequel that builds on the strengths while fixing the weaknesses of its predecessor. It’s a hell of a game that still manages to stand out in a year stacked with great titles.
Note: I didn’t play AC6 or the new Street Fighter, so I’ve got no opinion on how they match up.
Worst:
Keywe - A puzzle game where you play as Kiwi birds managing a post office in Australia. Not my thing, but my sister likes it and wanted to play the multiplayer with me. We played online and holy hell this game’s netcode is broken. We kept desyncing mid-puzzle and then whoever was hosting would have to finish the puzzle while the other stood and watched because they couldn’t see the actual gamestate. It’s probably a fine game as a solo or local play experience, but it left a sour impression.
I didn’t have an issue with that in Remnant 1, but I think it was improved on that front. There’s more enemy variety, with several fodder mobs and elites with unique gimmicks, and some of the bosses are straight up weird. The maps are still procedurally generated, but there are more types of maps in the pool. They do still feel samey when you get two maps that use the same chunks, but there is less overlap from map to map.
They also made the area progression part of the world proc-gen, so you can encounter the areas in a different order on different play-throughs. That does help keep the replayability fresh, but it doesn’t fix the issue. It just sort of sweeps it under the rug so that it takes more playthroughs to notice.
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Reus is great! I spent a summer several years back sinking my teeth into it good. It really scratches the itch for playing Civilization when I don’t have time to play Civilization.
I never did get all the achievements. Some of them are crazy hard to pull off within the time limit. Good luck to you if you end up sticking with it.
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In a bit of a gaming rut right now. Spinning my wheels on a bunch of different games. Haven’t had one hook its claws back into me yet.
I’ve been mostly grinding out Cookie Clicker and Slay the Spire this week.
Nice games to play side by side while I binge blind Let’s Plays of Hollow Knight, Outer Wilds, and Return of the Obra Dinn so I can vicariously chase the fleeting joy and wonder I got from playing those games the first time around.
Finished most of the tasks to do in The Longing and now just waiting for the clock to tick down.
Sat down one evening with my old save file and pushed through to finish the Tears of the Kingdom main quest. For all its faults, it had a really strong ending. I cried. Very conflicted on the game, but I don’t have anything to say that hasn’t already been said ad nauseum.
Played a bit of Dark Souls, a bit of Sekiro, a bit of Kingdoms of Amalur, a bit of Subnautica: Below Zero, and a bit of Siralim. Not sure what I’ll settle on yet for next week, but I’m feeling strongest on Siralim right now.
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Picked up The Longing, and I’ve been working my way through it little by little.
Excellent game. Way more depth and much better paced than I anticipated. It’s an idle game that commits to the bit. Fire it up, wait 400 days, and you’re done. There’s other stuff to do within the game, but it all takes time, and it’s all optional but pleasantly engaging.
I give my little shade a task, then let it run in the background while I do other things, and now I’m suddenly 8000 words in to writing some fan fiction I’ve been bouncing around in my head. It’s been a very productive week.
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I wanted more Vampire Survivors content when I’ve already finished Vampire Survivors. I just discovered that Survivors is a genre now, and there’s a ton of copycat games of varying quality. I’m poking around looking for good ones.
Picked up Spellbook: Demon Slayers because it was a $5 game on sale for a dollar off. It’s still in early access, and that shows. It’s clearly unfinished but it’s got good bones.
Pros: Solid mechanics. Solid variety of spells and builds. Nice variety of endgame and meta progression systems with a reasonable amount of grinding.
Cons: Only three indistinguishable maps, limited enemy variety, and I’m not a fan of the endgame being effectively gated by farming endless mode. I like Vampire Survivors having games effectively limited to 15-30min sessions with all content doable within those constraints, endless mode optional, making time commitments much more predictable and reliable. Spellbook: Demon Slayers is much less respectful of your time.
Still, promising game overall. Solid 6/10 as-is, with a tentative 8-9/10 if the devs can follow through to a finished product. Looking forward to future development. Would love recommendations for other games in the genre that scratch that itch.
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Just finished 100%ing all achievements in Factorio. Got the speedrun achievements over the weekend, and let my original factory run overnight for a few days to grind out the 20m green circuits.
Still got the itch to play more factory sim. Debating whether to dip my toes into Dyson Sphere Program or try my hand at the Space Exploration mod for Factorio.
I’m a bit leery of Satisfactory due to the first person perspective. Watched a few gameplay videos and I don’t think it works for the genre, at least not to my taste.
I’ll probably break down and pick it up eventually, but I don’t plan on it anytime soon.
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That’s how it goes. The blue science wall is real.
My last run was the first time I pushed past blue. I just barely managed to get yellow and purple going but I overextended my base, everything was falling apart from resource bottlenecks, and the biters had spread so much that pushing out to new resource patches was like pulling teeth. I gave up while trying to get a fresh oil supply up and running.
Current run I just got red and green science going, and trains and my car are ready to go. Iron is starting to run out. Fixing to leave my starter base to go liberate some more iron and coal from the natives.
What are the best indie games you've ever played? angielski
Fantastic titles made by people in their bedrooms.
What are y'all buying on the steam sale? angielski
Let’s share some good deals!...
What are some good games with *zero* replayability? angielski
I want to try and play some more games. That feels more fulfilling if you play games that you can finish and be done with....
The Weekly 'What are you playing?' Discussion (lemmy.world) angielski
Have you been spending hours trying to pass a level? Or maybe you are completely addicted to a newly bought game. Do you have a question about a game or would like to share something else? In the Weekly Discussion Thread, you can do it all!...
The Weekly 'What are you playing?' Discussion (lemmy.world) angielski
Have you been spending hours trying to pass a level? Or maybe you are completely addicted to a newly bought game. Do you have a question about a game or would like to share something else? In the Weekly Discussion Thread, you can do it all!...
First game you played angielski
Title says it all, what was the first game you remember playing and had fond memories of?...
The Weekly 'What are you playing?' Discussion (lemmy.world) angielski
Have you been spending hours trying to pass a level? Or maybe you are completely addicted to a newly bought game. Do you have a question about a game or would like to share something else? In the Weekly Discussion Thread, you can do it all!...
Palworld is now available in Early Access on Steam (and Gamepass, I believe) (store.steampowered.com) angielski
The Weekly 'What are you playing?' Discussion (lemmy.world) angielski
Have you been spending hours trying to pass a level? Or maybe you are completely addicted to a newly bought game. Do you have a question about a game or would like to share something else? In the Weekly Discussion Thread, you can do it all!...
What were the best and worst games you played in 2023? angielski
The title of this post made me think about the best and worst I’ve played this year....
The Weekly 'What are you playing?' Discussion (lemmy.world) angielski
Have you been spending hours trying to pass a level? Or maybe you are completely addicted to a newly bought game. Do you have a question about a game or would like to share something else? In the Weekly Discussion Thread, you can do it all!...
The Weekly 'What are you playing?' Discussion (lemmy.world) angielski
Have you been spending hours trying to pass a level? Or maybe you are completely addicted to a newly bought game. Do you have a question about a game or would like to share something else? In the Weekly Discussion Thread, you can do it all!...
The Weekly 'What are you playing?' Discussion (lemmy.world) angielski
Have you been spending hours trying to pass a level? Or maybe you are completely addicted to a newly bought game. Do you have a question about a game or would like to share something else? In the Weekly Discussion Thread, you can do it all!...
The Weekly 'What are you playing?' Discussion (lemmy.world) angielski
Have you been spending hours trying to pass a level? Or maybe you are completely addicted to a newly bought game. Do you have a question about a game or would like to share something else? In the Weekly Discussion Thread, you can do it all!...
The Weekly 'What are you playing?' Discussion (lemmy.world) angielski
Have you been spending hours trying to pass a level? Or maybe you are completely addicted to a newly bought game. Do you have a question about a game or would like to share something else? In the Weekly Discussion Thread, you can do it all!...
The Weekly 'What are you playing?' Discussion (lemmy.world) angielski
Have you been spending hours trying to pass a level? Or maybe you are completely addicted to a newly bought game. Do you have a question about a game or would like to share something else? In the Weekly Discussion Thread, you can do it all!...
ENDLESS™ Dungeon has released on Steam (store.steampowered.com) angielski
You teleport into the last game world you played. What happens next? angielski
(Idea taken from a similar post I saw in Reddit a longer time ago)...