I’ve always been more into competitive games, like FPS and MOBA. But now, I’m starting to like more story-focused games that will add something to my life, or just awesome games that everyone should play at some time.
Do you guys have any to recommend? Edit: I play exclusively on PC.
So far I’ve played both Portal games, truly awesome, Hollow Knight and Celeste.
I am going to recommend, perhaps, my favorite game of all time, Outer Wilds from the studio Mobius Games.
But please please promise to go in completely blind. Your awareness and knowledge of the world is the key mechanic, so almost any info not only spoils the mystery, but also robs you of literal measurable minutes in gameplay.
All I can say - it is a very touching first-person immersive stimulation game in space about, essentially, alien archeology. Expect wonder, discovery, some frights, have your mind completely blown every 10-20 minutes. It will probably make you cry a couple times as well.
It is one of those games when, after finishing it, you immediately get sad because you will never experience it again in the same way. So you start annoying everyone into playing it, just to enjoy discussing it and seeing someone else play.
And the DLC is equally awesome.
Agreed.
But, to be clear without giving spoilers, by “simulation game in space” it means getting in a ship and flying from planet to planet, while dealing with things like gravity and momentum. In my opinion just the right amount of challenge that it starts hard but doable, but is possible to get good at in the late game. So that was lots of fun.
Also, while I will not reveal plot here, I feel given feedback from some of my friends that didn’t like it the way I did, that maybe setting some tone expectations may help. The gameplay experience is mostly about exploring the planets, learning stuff, observing things, and making connections in you, the player. There’s archeological evidence out there in space, and it’s your job to figure out the history. It’s not boring, though! It feels more like a giant puzzle. But you should go in with an exploration mindset and if a particular path doesn’t work out, maybe it’s not time yet. Just try exploring something else!
One of my friends was too “goal oriented” and just kept hammering a given path over and over and it made them frustrated, which is a shame.
Also, while the DLC is also good, I waited until after the main game to play it, and I’m glad I did. I don’t know how it works to have the DLC running at the same time as the main game, but they’re two pretty independent stories / investigations and I wouldn’t want to get accidentally caught up in one while trying to piece together the other. I feel like that would be pretty confusing.
To any followup posters, remember no spoilers!
Journey, Spiritfarer, Shadow of the Colossus, The Last of Us.
Upvoted for Shadow of the Colossus, I am a gamer who plays the oldies.
Spiritfarer for sure, and it’s currently just US$6 on Steam
I’m a diehard firewatch fan if you’d like a slightly spooky, heart full, storytelling masterpiece about the Wyoming forest. Everyone should play this game at some point.
Jesus Christ I cried my eyes out at Spiritfarer. (Also I was on the final beta test, so I’m in the credits for that one!)
@s0phia world of tanks and age of empires 2 DE
Right now is a great time for PC gaming as the Steam summer sale is happening! If you enjoyed Portal, you might enjoy other Valve games like Half Life. At the moment, you can pick the franchise up for a few dollars.
Half life is another one of those series like Portal that I feel like everyone is required to play at some point
Doom Eternal. So smooth for an FPS.
I much preferred DOOM 2016 to Eternal, it felt like it had more of the old DOOM essence.
Skyrim! You’re already used to FPS games, so the first person part of Skyrim should be a breeze (you can toggle to 3rd person too). It’s one of those adventure games that will really stick with you. My wife and I will both come back to it often.
Based on your description and games played I’d say “Furi” and “Transistor”. Second is made by Supergiant Games and all thier stuff is fantastic. I loved thier stories and the gameplay was unique in each.
Hades, which is also made by Supergiant, is also fantastic. It’s a great intro to the roguelite genre. I’ve also heard that their first game, Bastion, is great too, but I haven’t played it
Can confirm, Bastion is a fun little hack and slash that does a couple of very clever things narratively.
Skyrim! It’s fun, it’s immersive, and you can have as much or as little combat and quests as you like.
I tend to stick to games with interesting stories, with occasional exceptions if the gameplay is good enough.
Top pick from me before anything else would be The Last of Us Part 1 & 2.
Other than that, some I’ve enjoyed the most that come to mind are
- Bioshock. I haven’t played the remaster yet, just the original. Bioshock Infinite was also heaps of fun. I haven’t played 2 yet, it’s on my backlog - I’ve read it was made by a different team.
- Alien Isolation.
- Resident Evil 4.
- The Turing Test.
- X-Com Enemy Unknown.
- What Remains of Edith Finch.
- Horizon: Zero Dawn.
- Batman: Arkham Asylum + City + Origins + Knight.
- The Talos Principle.
The Uncharted series is also great, but only 4 and The Lost Legacy are on PC. I’m not sure I’d recommend playing it without having played at least 2 and 3, which are only on PlayStation currently. 1 is fun but dated and the story is not as strong as the later games (but I’d still recommend it if you get the chance to play 1-3).
If you liked Portal, any of the games that run on the source engine would be a good fit for you. Half Life 2 has an amazing single player story in FPS style and is on sale right now for $.99. Left for Dead 2 is another classic - probably the best zombie shooter of all time (and has a world of third party content) - also on sale right now for $.99. Straight military, go for CS:GO, or Team Fortress II if you prefer more of a Fortnite style game. All of these are older games, so run amazingly well on even the most mediocre hardware.
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I highly recommend Hades! It’s a top-notch game with excellently balanced combat (and I say this as someone who doesn’t really like combat in video games), an awesome story, and outstanding art direction and voice acting. Because of its structure as a roguelite, you’re restarting every time you die but getting a little further every time, so it basically trains you up. It really made other combat games much more accessible to me. Plus you can use God Mode to lower the learning curve a bit while still keeping it moderately challenging.
I don’t like roguelikes, I got it for the character interactions and what do you know, the gameplay is fun too!
Still not going to change my mind on roguelikes though. Just this one is nice.
FPS wise System Shock just had a remake come out and it is great, Bioshock is another one that is a spiritual successor that is a classic.
In a totally different direction, the Final Fantasy series is big on story. VII is the most famous and one I’d say everyone should play. Not everyone enjoys the Japanese RPG style though.
Planescape: Torment is a western RPG, or cRPG and it is just piles and piles of story. Don’t bother if you don’t like to read, but it is one of the best written games out there.
The suggestion for the Mass Effect series is also great, I don’t finish too many games but I’ve finished the first 3 in that series, 1 and 2 are really good.
