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.

  • 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!

  • 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.

    • 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.

    • OtterPops@beehaw.org
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      1 year 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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    1 year 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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      1 year 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.

  • mateoinc@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    1 year ago

    Cyberpunk 2077. Say what you will about the state of the game, especially when it released. But there’s something about the endings that keeps me thinking about the game and has me really excited about coming back after enough updates have passed.

    • XLRV@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      Yeah, the story and side quest are really well made, and the soundtrack is so good, I can’t wait for the expansion, apparently it will overhaul so many things that it will probably feels like a different game.

  • 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.

    • Julian@lemm.eeOP
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      1 year ago

      I love how the main half life games have never had a sniper rifle. There’s not really a reason for them not to, there are even sniper enemies, it’s just kind of a staple of the series at this point.

  • LoamImprovement@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    Disco Elysium. There are so many good quotes, particularly out of the thought cabinet, that I remind myself of on like a weekly basis.

    I was in a bad place the first time I played through it. The Precarious World and One More Door stick in the back of my mind constantly, and I cried like a baby the first time I read “In the dark times, should the stars also go out?” Never before has a game so emotionally resonated with me, this hope in the face of crushing despair, despite everything.

    • dandelion@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      I never managed to finish Disco Elysium, but not out of lack of love. It’s absolutely fantastic.

      I really want to go back to it, but I’m almost afraid to. There’s so much depth to all those characters, I’m worried by not having played it for so long I’d have forgotten all the useful context, but starting from scratch feels, IDK dishonest somehow? The playthrough I was on felt like the “authentic” one, and restarting, at least without completing that imperfect first playthrough, would be somehow missing the point.

      My other fear is that, also finding myself in a bad place increasingly over the last few years, I’m afraid it might end in a way that’s too bleak to bear. Your comments on finding hope in the ending, despite despair, might be the motivation I need though!

      • LoamImprovement@beehaw.org
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        1 year ago

        No, absolutely start from scratch, the game is meant to be replayed. It’s one of the few games that implements ‘fail forward’ very successfully, and sometimes failure leads to better outcomes than success. It’s also a good way of organically making the player explore different avenues, both to get experience to improve attributes to try white checks again, and for finding thoughts and items that can reopen them.

        The game’s incredibly warm, except perhaps to fascist routes, and despite the bleakness of Martinaise, there is something very comforting and wholesome about it all.

    • canthidium@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      It’s a little different but definitely fun. I’m not sure I like where the story goes, but I immensely enjoyed the ride.

      • Nailbar@sopuli.xyz
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        1 year ago

        I loved the story in that game. Will probably buy the next one at some point after it gets available for PC, assuming that will happen.

  • 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.

  • what@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    When I finished Life is Strange 1, it just felt I lost a friend and it lingered for weeks. Whenever I was hearing the soundtrack, I felt really sad because of stuff that happened in the game.

  • Hungryhippo13@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    Red alert 2 and counterstrike will be with me forever. I played those games so much growing up that I always find myself going back to them.