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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    2 years 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.

      • windows71@lemm.ee
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        2 years ago

        If you like Portal 1 and 2 and want more, I’d recommend playing Portal Stories: Mel and Portal Reloaded, both are free on Steam if you own P2. The puzzles are pretty tricky though!

  • Amby@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    2 years 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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    2 years 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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      2 years 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.

  • I_Am_Jacks_____@beehaw.org
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    2 years ago

    Mass Effect – particularly Mass Effect 2 – left an impression, but The Last of Us is and will always be the game that has stuck with me the most/longest.

  • The_Terrible_Humbaba@beehaw.org
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    2 years 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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      2 years 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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        2 years 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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      2 years 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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      2 years 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!

  • acowley@beehaw.org
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    2 years 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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      2 years 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.

  • StrahdVonZarovich@beehaw.org
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    2 years 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.

    • hodgepodgehomonculus@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      2 years ago

      Seconding Bloodlines, this game has stuck with me since I first played it as a child. I’ve been eagerly awaiting the sequel, but also dreading that it ends up being awful and ruins any chance of more games.

  • Grizzzlay@beehaw.org
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    2 years 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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      2 years 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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    2 years 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 🙃

  • carnha@lemmy.one
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    2 years 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.

  • polygon@beehaw.org
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    2 years 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 game 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.

    • batmaniam@lemmy.world
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      2 years ago

      I thought the mechanics in Witcher 3 were clunky, the fighting was a bit repetitive, and I don’t really like fantasy… and that game is still one of my all time favorites.

    • flubba86@lemmy.world
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      2 years 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 and genuinely wanted to like it. I suppose I’m not the target audience.

      • Konn@lemmy.world
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        2 years 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.

    • OtterPops@beehaw.org
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      2 years ago

      Yes! Hades is definitely in my top 5 ganes. And Supergiant is one of the few devs, maybe the only one, that I don’t have any reservations about playing their games in early access. I can’t wait to hear more about the sequel.

  • tuxedosushi@beehaw.org
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    2 years ago

    For me, it’s bioshock infinite. The reveal at the end of the game changes how you perceive everything that you just went through. No spoilers, but it’s absolutely wild and is one of the best stories I have ever seen in a game.

    • Nailbar@sopuli.xyz
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      2 years ago

      I loved that ending!

      Another game that got me was Horizon: Zero Dawn. It left me with a lingering sadness and a feeling I will never find a game with a story like that again.