Have you played a game that stayed in your head long after you played it?

For me, Outer Wilds would be that game. I feel like I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I beat it a couple years ago.

  • Curvature@lemmy.one
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    1 year ago

    Portal 1.

    Something about the ambiance mixed with the puzzles really stuck with me. I replay it almost once a year just to relive it.

  • Amby@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    1 year ago

    Definitely Outer Wilds as well.

    Hell, looking into the soundtrack changed my daily playlist to something heavily Midwest Emo.

  • shapesandstuff@feddit.de
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    1 year ago

    I keep reading about Outer Wilds. I think its about time this summer.

    To answer the question: Risk of Rain 1&2

    And maybe the leviathans of my childhood. Ocarina of Time, Majoras Mask…

    • Julian@lemm.eeOP
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      1 year ago

      By chance I ended up playing journey with only one other person. We got separated at one point and I thought someone else connected, but at the end it only showed one name.

  • The_Terrible_Humbaba@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    For me, that game would definitely be Disco Elysium. I’ve never connected with a game as much as with that one. I’m actually reticent of playing it again for fear of it not living up to the first experience; I felt like my first playthrough was perfect, even if technically speaking it wasn’t.

    Other than that, I also still think about Mass Effect a fair bit.

    On a side note: if you liked the investigating and “detective-ing” of Outer Wilds, then you will probably also enjoy Return of the Obra Dinn, The Forgotten City, and The Case of the Golden Idol. I’d also add Disco Elysium to that list, but be aware it’s a lot more text heavy.

    • yuun@lemmy.one
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      1 year ago

      Oh Disco Elysium all the way, it’s possibly my favorite game. I have a notebook filled with lines in the game that stuck with me.

      I want more of it, but it looks like that lightning won’t strike twice.

      fwiw I did play it through twice, and maybe enjoyed it even more the second time - caught more of the little details

      • yuun@lemmy.one
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        1 year ago

        Subdue the regret. Dust yourself off, proceed. You’ll get it in the next life, where you don’t make mistakes. Do what you can with this one, while you’re alive.

    • Monkeytennis@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      Great recommendations there, each got under my skin. I feel the same about David Lynch films, they connect with something inside me, and lodge permanently in my brain.

      I’d put What Remains of Edith Finch, Dear Esther, Talos Principle, Stanley Parable, Metroid Prime and maybe Portal 1+2 in there too - they share an authentically mysterious vibe.

      Obra Dinn and Outer Wilds hit me hard, they nailed the atmosphere perfectly. Haven’t actually played DE, was a bit put off by the sheer amount of dialogue, but I need to try it.

    • JediMimeTricks@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      When I saw the OP’s question, my immediate thougt was Outer Wilds and Disco Elysium. Nice to see both represented at the top!

  • CaptainDogwater@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    Easily RimWorld for me. The stories that play out over time, and how to make productivity more efficient live in my head rent free.

  • Grizzzlay@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    Undertale. The messages that game give you. Goddamn. That game also came to me at a point in my life where I needed it. The soundtrack saved me from contemplating a terrible decision. It saved my life. Wonderful game and an incredible experience.

    • DarkLead@feddit.de
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      1 year ago

      Oh man I feel the same way about it, I still listen to the soundtrack all the time, and sometimes it’s the only thing that can calm me down in bad situations.

  • styx@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago
    • half life 1, finished around 25 times.
    • kotor 1, finished around 20 times with different classes, genders, alignment.
    • kotor 2, finished around 25 times with different classes, genders, alignments, party members.
    • might and magic 7, finished around 25 times with different party classes, alignments.
    • might and magic 8, finished around 25 times with different party classes, alignments.
    • mass effect 1&2, finished around 3-4 times.
    • morrowind, played few hundred hours with different genders and classes.
    • skyrim, played around thousand hour.

    Who has obsession, me? No you have 🙃

  • StrahdVonZarovich@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    Vampires, The Masquerade: Bloodlines. The whole vibe of the setting, the story, the locations, and then when I finally understood what the plot was really about. Masterpiece of a game, couldnt stop thinking about it.

  • carnha@lemmy.one
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    1 year ago

    The Talos Principle - for me, the puzzles hit the sweet spot of being hard enough to be on my mind all day, but never feeling like the solution was out of reach. But even more than the puzzles, the philosophical elements made me reflect on life, civilization, and personhood in a way nothing else has. It was a peaceful, tranquil experience of just me, a serene soundtrack, and thought provoking text and puzzles.

  • SirMrR4M@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    The STALKER series really stuck with me for some reason.It’s probably the familiarity of the landscape/atmosphere. Post apoc eastern Europe isn’t that much different from normal eastern Europe lol

    Barotrauma also stuck with me because of the atmosphere. Amazing game to play solo and feel the weight of the setting, although the bots you play with are a bit iffy and the multiplayer doesn’t carry the same feeling of dread and isolation

    • dandelion@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      Yes to both! But especially Barotrauma! Really unique atmosphere to that game and such a rich selection of gameplay mechanics I’m always fighting off the desire to start another game!

      I even get lost just building convoluted, overcomplicated and, as a result, buggy submarines in the editor.

      Man, I love that game. It might be the greatest unsung game to come out in the last few years. My only problem is being a misanthrope, and scared of the general multiplaying public, I’m always intimidated by public games, but I’d love to convince enough buddies to play a campaign through. As you say, you lose some of the existential dread, but I’d love to explore some of the roleplaying aspects and more complicated gameplay loops, and the bots are a liability (although so much better than they were!).

      • HER0@beehaw.org
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        1 year ago

        My only problem is being a misanthrope, and scared of the general multiplaying public, I’m always intimidated by public games, but I’d love to convince enough buddies to play a campaign through.

        I have 183 hours in Barotrauma, split between multiplayer and the sub editor (and a little bit of testing my sub alone). I have never played a public game or single player, it has basically all been the campaign with friends.

        Most recently, I’ve been hosting occasional Barotrauma events with my inclusive gaming community, each one continuing the campaign we started early this year. The last event was just over the weekend. I don’t know when the next Barotrauma event will be, yet, but anyone who can follow our Code of Conduct is welcome to join!

  • polygon@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    The Witcher 3 is probably the greatest video game I’ve ever played.

    The Last of Us 1 & 2 is probably the greatest video story I’ve ever experienced.

    These 3 games are something I think about in some capacity very often and are, in my mind, the benchmarks that every other game is held to.

    Mass Effect and Dragon Age are my notable mentions.

    • flubba86@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I’ve tried to like Hades a few times over the years since it came out. I know I’m in the minority, it’s generally a well liked game, but I just don’t see the appeal. The gameplay loop is repetitive, difficult, and unrewarding, the main character is deliberately unlikable, the dialogue with the NPCs in the hub is repetitive and trying too hard to be funny. I didn’t enjoy a single second playing that game, and its one I actually paid real money for, I bought it genuinely wanted to like it. I suppose I’m not the target audience.

      • Konn@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Man, that’s actually so sad. But I guess most gamers will find that one game they want to like (because it’s critically acclaimed, their friends are super into it, etc.), but it just won’t work.

        I had that experience with Valheim. On paper it looks like a fun viking-esque Minecraft with a bit more RPG elements. In practice I just found out cumbersome and the gameplay loop felt just plain boring/unsatisfying.

  • acowley@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    I never did finish Outer Wilds and still think about it a lot! I need to go start it again because it is genuinely spectacular, but I struggle with my constraint of only being able to put short-ish play sessions into it.

    Playing Ocarina of Time with my son was an epic journey I treasure. It completely captured his imagination, and I was along for that ride.

    Grim Fandango was, and continues to be, a dream for me.

    While I’m there, Full Throttle also executed its style so well that some of its moments still serve as cultural/stylistic landmarks in my mind.

    Mass Effect 2 had several moments where the atmosphere and universe totally hit the mark (Going into the Afterlife Club… come on!).

    Red Dead Redemption connected me to that setting in ways movies can’t reach.

    • IronTwo@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      Man, Firewatch. I don’t know how they managed to make the player connect on an emotional level with a character that you don’t even get to meet, but they did a fantastic job.

  • Steinsprut@szmer.info
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    1 year ago

    Mass Effect trilogy gave me the harshest gaming hangover in my life back when I finished all of them back to back like 10 years ago

    There’s also Ichiban Kasuga living rent free in my head, yesterday’s trailer made it worse