Yeah releasing an unfinished game without any exciting new changes and adding more dlc each iteration has been killing new civ releases and burning many long term fans who get hyped for a new civ. Paradox, Ubisoft, MicroProse, etc pull the same predatory monetization shit and when the price tag is 70 USD their half baked, missing ingredients cake just doesn’t look appetizing to most.
That sounds like an awesome experience, I have a friend with a mame cab in their basement that I would probably spend too much time on it if I had one. I went with the cheaper option for mame and arcade legacy using a raspberry pi running batocera, but for some games it’s just not the same without the arcade controls.
If I go with unique experiences as a criteria just to mix it up a bit I have a few
Playing xwing with a f16 flight stick is really fun and one of my first gaming experiences outside of nes and arcades. Just really fun fast paced fighter combat. A close second would be everspace or Chorus on a controller.
Playing one of the big multiplayer arcade cabinets like Simpsons or X-Men was the original couch co-op with whoever was at the arcade not playing pinball or pool.
Beating your first boss in a dark souls or elden ring game feels like a big accomplishment, sometimes even more than the later ones when your character gets more powerful.
Going from small groups with friends to raids in an MMORPG feels like starting a whole new game, EverQuest and wow were big ones for me.
Older games = more than 2 years old? Then the same goes for readers, movie and TV watchers, etc media consumption most isn’t from the current or previous years
If you’d like to understand an industry usually a good place to look is independent industry journalists. People that can maintain integrity when it’s financially advantageous to be deceptive are rare so most are just going to repeat what they heard someone else say or what they were paid to say or what they think will get views, but there are a few who will get into the actual history and lore of the industry, not just the slime bags trying to ruin it.
Dead cells and rogue legacy 1/2 were a lot of fun. Check out nethack if you want something more casual for mobile or in a terminal, it’s a classic. Switch specific I’d say check out dead cells or Isaac. If you want something casual without a big story or learning a bunch of RPG systems you might want to check out donut county, goose game, or golf story.
Doom 2 was already covered so I’ll go with Roboquest, indie arena roguelike shooter with randomized weapons and perks but static arenas/mobs/bosses. Once you get a handle on the movement it’s one of the comfiest shooters I’ve played in years.
I used to be kbm exclusive but there have been some pretty good controller improvements made over the years, things like hotkey layers in Skyrim UI mods or the final fantasy MMO giving dozens of unique hotkeys on a controller, and new hardware with back buttons and shoulder buttons that keep both thumbs on the thumbsticks. Can’t beat mouse for precision, but there are tradeoffs for that.