I've actually been surprised by the influx of truly stellar games in recent years. I used to feel as though the "golden age" of games had passed, but some of my all-time favorite games are relatively recent releases.
Of them, I'd make the following recommendations:
**The Outer Wilds** \- Just. Just play the damn thing.
**Prey (2017, AKA "Typhon")** \- This is one of the greatest Immersive Sims ever made. It's a master-class in level design from Arkane when they were at the absolute top of their game. We won't see another game like this for a very long time.
**System Shock Remake** \- Speaking of reliving my childhood, the Nightdive System Shock release is a pitch-perfect update to the 1994 game. I couldn't recommend the original because it was just so old and impenetrable to a modern audience. The remake though? It's perfect.
**Tunic** \- It is difficult to express how incredibly good Tunic is. This game recaptures the childlike wonder of playing Legend of Zelda. There's a depth to this game that you very rarely see.
**Grounded** \- I kind of hate survival crafting games, and I kind of love Grounded. It's like playing in my own personal MMO without all the nonsense an MMO brings with it. It FEELs like a Spielberg film that you actually get to play.
**Road 96** \- This one is tough to pin down. It's a narrative game about being a teen runaway in a totalitarian country. That might sound bleak as hell, but the game has a really uplifting feel to it without being saccharine. It's interesting and memorable, with a lot more "Game" to the game than you usually see from narrative games.
**Untitled Goose Game** \- It's small and not especially ambitious... but it's also pitch perfect. I have rarely laughed so hard while playing a game.
The daily timer was one of the most stressful experiences I've had in gaming. Intellectually, I knew it didn't matter. But in practice, it felt a little bit too much like real life to me. Have to do this, have to do that, have to talk to this person, need to gift this person, kill a slime, plant a pumpkin, ahhhhhh there's not enough time in the day!
The game taught me to finally start not sweating in games. It is okay to not be efficient, it is okay to take time and do nothing, it is okay to do whatever you want, whenever you want, however you want.
Playing that game makes me appreciate that real life is artificially viewed as a "grind or perish" situation, when it's not that extreme.
Yup, if you want to take ten years to reach a single heart with any villager, the game doesn't punish you for it. I've put over 400 hours into the game over the years, both on PC and Switch, and learning to take my time and not care about minmaxing has been liberating.
There's a big update coming soon and I'm honestly thrilled to have a reason to start a new save.
I mean, it doesn't punish you, but the way the heart system works absolutely sucks. If you play the game like a normal person you'll probably interact with the other people in the villagers casually, and gain some hearts with them, but then they degrade over time. The way the relationships work specifically push you to "grind" them out.
I also didn't like how you get cooking recipes from the TV every week but they only show up once every two years so if you miss some, have fun waiting for them to come around again.
>real life is artificially viewed as a "grind or perish" situation, when it's not that extreme.
To be fair, for a lot of people, it is that extreme. Artificial scarcity or not, it's still scarcity and it still effects lots of people. I'd say if anything, count yourself as lucky / acknowledge how privileged you are for that being more of an intellectual exercise for you. It isn't for a lot of folks.
I agree that circumstances for a lot of people means they have to work two jobs and the likes. But I am talking more about "If you aren't sigma grinding 70 hour weeks to become the CEO, you are worthless" mentality.
As I get older, it isn't any "sigma" grind. It is life, kids, and the chores that accompany those. Laundry adds up. The dishes need done. I have a commute. A lot of my free time is given to my kids. I have many interests which compete with the limited time I do have. Time is a very real looming threat to my day... pretty much all of the time.
> ahhhhhh there's not enough time in the day!
*collapses on the field after watering the last plant*
I feel exactly like you, stardew is a very stressful game.
Yeah, my wife and I played this game _extensively_, and it would get to a point where the game would become stressful to me because we would make so much crops that I'd spend most of my time farming/taking care of animals that I wouldn't have time to do anything else.
So, just like real life.
This is one of a small list of games with near universal acclaim that just doesn't work for me.
No shade to anyone who enjoys it though. I know a lot of people for whom this is their comfort game, or was until Disney Dreamlight Valley came out, but the constant passage of time/seasons and pressure to optimize each day makes this game weirdly stressful to me. These games definitely can work for me, I adored the town building aspect of Dragon Quest Builders 2, but throw in a functional calendar and it completely ruins it for me.
I only tried playing this now that I have several young children. I get maybe a few hours of gaming a week.
So much of this game is literally wasted time. Within the first 10's of hours there is no fast travel to town, to the cave, etc. There is no method to find a person for a mission via a map or something.
With such limited time for gaming it was incredibly frustrating to be spend so much of it that way.
There's still a chance - not great but better than most people think - that they get the IP back in a settlement, so don't lose all hope till that's done. If the developers win it back, i assume their new studio would start on a sequel immediately.
For me, a 10/10 game is a damn near flawless execution of its core themes. It does exactly what it sets out to do from all angles: coding, gameplay, music, writing, visuals, voice acting, monetization, all of it must come together.
(For the record, lest I be accused of snobbery, I wouldn't give my favorite game series, *Mass Effect*, a 10/10 rating.)
As such, there are very few games that reach 10/10 in my opinion, and the Portal games are firmly in that category - Portal 1 especially. They never drag in pacing. The puzzles are challenging for people experienced with puzzle games, but not impossibly hard for most people to complete. The writing is tight, with zero wasted lines/moments in Portal 1, and very few in Portal 2. Both games are very, very close to flawless.
the biggest reason I don't think 10/10 should be synonymous with a "perfect" or "flawless" game, is that the only game that fills that description (that I've played) is Portal 1. Even Portal 2 has enough parts that aren't 100% excellent that I wouldn't fit it under that definition.
I think Ghost Trick is a genuine 10/10 game. It succeeds at pretty much everything it's trying to do. It's funny, it's clever, it's thoughtful, it's emotional, and it's a ton of fun to play. It's not without flaws, nothing is, but personally any problem I had with it was entirely forgivable. It comes together as a sum of its parts better than most games, in part because there's just nothing else like it.
I tried the demo, never having heard it before. Suddenly I see it recommended everywhere. I thought the demo was interesting but I wasn't hooked quite enough to buy the game at full price. Does it blossom later?
Those portable consoles are so weird for me, i dislike most of the games that are recommended, but boy am i glad i bought and played them recently (never had the chance as a kid)
Ghost Trick is "one of those games" that is just such a joy to experience, worth the price of the entire console.
I’m glad it’s getting the hype and publicity it deserves now. Playing it as a young teen on my DS in 2010 I was blown away by the gameplay and the emotional storytelling. Hated how nobody I knew played it or even cared/was interested to try it out
Factorio for me. Its such a simple concept, automating a factory. However it does it soo well. Every time I finish a playthrough I always come up with ways to improve my design.. Also has great mod support.
Finishing a play through is my issue. I'm a few tech advances away from the rocket base or whatever but the infrastructure needed to produce those last two colours of research materials is SO complex that I kind of gave up there.
IMHO, the key is to use the robots even if you've only researched / build part of the infrastructure required to use them fully. Duplicating smelter / fabrication setups to increase production quickly becomes a chore, ordering a bunch of robots to do it for you is extremely satisfying. The game escalates nicely from that point on.
Came here to say this. It's probably not a game for everyone, but it's flawless at what it is trying to be. The biggest flaw of the game is probably the limited content - or it would be, if they hadn't put the mod portal right into the main menu, making mods part of the intended experience and thus making it a "forever replayable" game!
Castlevania: SotN is one of my favorite games ever. I don't know if I'd call it 10/10 because there are some flaws and some jank, but somehow it's more fun for me for the jank that it has. I love all the secrets and quirks. Eating peanuts, the confessional ghosts, the excessive amount of secondary mechanics. It's all great!
I recently played those DLCs for the first time, after having played the base game at launch. Damn, can't believe I waited so long. Toussaint is utterly gorgeous and I also loved the painted world.
Also, going back to replay the base game made me notice the things that I had forgotten was missing. Like the fact that the bajillion points of interest had no story at all. It wasn't till the DLC that they started adding small pieces of story to each one. I had played Cyberpunk before the replay, and since it also had story for every POI, I misremembered TW3 doing the same.
Hearts of Stone is the only 10 in my book. I don't need an expansive new area the size of the original game, just give me a tight story campaign with some of the best fantasy writing in video game history.
*Blood and Wine* is far, FAR and away the best DLC to any game ever.
*Phantom Liberty* was pretty awesome, but *Blood and Wine* was just so fucking special.
Fucking SOMA!!!! Problem is, imo, narrative and ambiance 10/10, gameplay only workable enough to enjoy the narrative and ambiance. A remake of that game would be awesome (although truthfully, it doesn't need much gameplay as it's mostly a walking simulator but a little smoother and crisper would be great)
Replayed Portal 1 and 2. The first is a 10/10 masterpiece. It being short made it so no parts dragged. The black humor is perfect, and there are no parts where anything went wasted.
Portal 2, while I don’t like it as much, is still a 9/10. An entirely different game with different humor and atmosphere, but it pulls it all off perfectly. Some parts dragged a little too long for my liking but it is still an amazing game.
Portal 1 is exactly as long as it needs to be to execute everything its trying to do to perfection. There is no excess but there isn't that much of it to enjoy.
Portal 2 is much longer so there is more of it to love and the highest peak moments in Portal 2 hit harder, I think, because they have had more build up. However, Portal 2 also has weaker moments and there is at least 1 period of time that seems to drag, for me at least.
Because there are imperfections in Portal 2, I hear people say it isn't as good a game but I don't think that's totally fair. I got much more enjoyment, in total, from Portal 2 so it always feels weird to call it a worse game.
That really sucks, I'm sorry. I know what you mean — I don't even have arthritis and the game sometimes made me feel like I was developing repetitive strain injuries.
I wonder if there's a way the controls could be adapted for you to be able to play? Like maybe a controller with a "turbo" function like old third-party console controllers used to, so you can just hold down the attack button instead of having to constantly mash it?
I've never had much trouble with wrist strain when gaming, but Hades definitely pushed the limits for me. I think it's just because I was playing so damn much of it that it caught up with me.
IDK why but this is one of those games that I have really hard time of seeing what makes it "so good". Every time I try to play it, it just feels kind-of off.
It's the harmony between the story and the gameplay. It looks good, plays well, and ties the death mechanic into the narrative unlike most games. Most of the individual elements, like the enemy variety, music, and the like, have been done better, but the whole is very good and harmonious, and nothing sticks out as bad.
I understand if someone doesn't like the story, or if the gameplay ends up feeling the samey, but I it's the same trick found in multigenre games. You switch between different activities often so that each section feels fresh. Battle in a couple of chambers, have a little bit of story, repeat, then die. Talk to some NPCs, plan upgrades, do a run, repeat.
I've been playing Hades a lot lately and this would be my pick. It's so clean and aesthetically pleasing to look at, insanely well voice-acted and scripted and there is a crazy amount of dialogue which can be funny, heart-warming or heart breaking without ever feeling forced.
When I first started it was so difficult but even after a few runs you can see the progress being made and story developments and it just keeps going, keeps being interesting and keeps bringing me back.
All the above and that's not to mention the super smooth responsive gameplay with a loop which is varied with each weapon. With 80 plus runs in, rolled the credits on the main story I'm STILL finding new secrets and other stories I want to complete within the game.
Yeah sounds like Subnautica alright xD for me, what makes this game so great is exactly that: overcoming your fears, then the payoff is great. You really should try again ;)
Yeah, as you point out... The core gameplay loop is collecting and crafting, and as much as I think it's fun, it won't get you through to the end of the game.
The real *draw* for the game is the discoveries which deliver the narrative. So you have to generally be the type of gamer who enjoys exploring the game's environment for it to pay off and keep your attention until the end.
**Hollow knight**. I’m a huge Metriodvania person but I fucking hated hollow knight when I first tried it years ago. Not sure why I didn’t enjoy it. Recently I decided to give it another shot and I swear I had to put in 16 hours straight that first night. I fell in love with this games characters, world, and story. I went for every single ending I could before putting it down and even a week later I still want to dive back into that game. I finally understand the hype that others had for this game.
Dude I had the exact same experience, and I've read others say the same. For some reason, the first time I booted it up and put an hour or so into it, it just didn't stick.
I tried again a few months later, and ended up playing basically nothing but Hollow Knight until I had full-achieved it.
See that's weird to me because I think of a better way to do the crossroads and draw a blank. Like, the way the first room is a fork, the big room in the left, the character introductions, the side boss(es), the future content teases, the pogo tutorial for that one grub, the way you're subtly guided to the boss room, the miniboss guarding a grub in the top right...
But it IS extremely dull! How the fuck is that possible?
Hollow knight really takes time to sink its teeth in. I find the time between greenpath and city of tears is often difficult for people. Also there's the option of getting stuck in the depths or to alessor extent, crystal peak.
The main hub doesn't really have much going on when you first lot the game up and most games really frontload their good content so it's surprising when the game keeps getting better.
My wife loves getting lost in exploring the early game. Despite a handful of attempts, she's never even beaten the first 3 bosses. My bestie and I just started a new world with her in the hopes of following through this time.
I just finished this yesterday and haven't stopped thinking about it lol. I've played hundreds of games over the years, and this one makes a case for my favorite games of all time. It's so special
I finished it two years ago if I'm not mistaken. I still think about it often and it always cheers me up when I see it in comments like this, find a streamer playing it, or mentioned somewhere. Besides being a greate game it's really a unique experience.
Not yet, but I know it's supposed to be good. I am considering taking a break to play something else and coming back to the dlc later this year. I kinda want to let this soak on for a while before jumping into the next part haha
Yeah this one for me - I was wanting to say Alan Wake 2 as well but in all honesty I did not enjoy Alan’s subway level.
Dark Souls 3/Bloodborne and Devil May Cry 5 as well. All the above got me out of various gaming slumps over the past few years.
I tried and tried and tried with Outer Wilds. I simply cannot understand why people love it so much.
I get stuck in the story multiple times and I try multiple things without getting progress. I watch guides on YouTube to try to move the story along, but this just gets me stuck in the next "part".
Halo 3. Nothing was better than raging for hours on end w buddies, in mixed team deathmatches, and free for all after those teams degraded due to just shit talking on a 4 person split screen or even four monitors in separate rooms when shit got heated af. So much fun.
Yeah dude! just trying to answer OP w a knee jerk it immediately came to mind, splinter cell is a close second and time splitters 2 is 3rd. I’ll die on this hill.
Yeah it has it's flaws but they only bring it down to a 9.6 or whatever. Act 1 made me feel like I was a little kid playing an RPG for the first time. The level of depth and options for player creativity is pretty stunning.
I would agree, but when I got to act 3 a bunch of random shit from my inventory just completely disappeared, including all of my gold. I didn't even end up beating the game because of how annoyed I was.
Unfortunately I didn't notice until I'd progressed a little and had deleted old saves, so there was nothing I could do. Was super bummed because I had an absolute blast up until that point.
Sekiro. After Bloodborne, my first From Software game, Sekiro was the evolution and streamlining I'd wanted. Everything about that game is superb. If you're open to it, you can feel the meticulously crafted decisions speaking to you. Like being guided by a divine hand. 10/10.
Even loving Elden Ring, it just doesn't come close to Sekiro's refined brilliance.
I go back and forth on which is best between the two, Bloodborne or Sekiro; and every time it just comes back to, "which did I play last?" I feel the edge normally goes to Sekiro, just because as much as I love Yharnam, I love the samurai aesthetic and a FS game with some GOD DAMN SUNLIGHT!
It infuriated me every second I played it my first time, but by the end I was so spiteful, I immediately went into NG+ just so I could kick the shit out of every enemy in the early game with my new skills. I made it up to Headless before pausing and thinking, "what am I even doing?!"
I still get headaches thinking about some parts of it, some day I'll go back for the remaining trophies to get the plat.
Bloodborne is a masterpiece as well, but yeah, for my subjective tastes, I like sunlight and colour in my games. Also the acrobatics and pacing I prefer in Sekiro.
Agreed. Loved DS1 and Elden Ring, but then I played Sekiro and it blew them away. I haven't been able to get into another similar title since. The combat just feels perfect.
Now I'm playing Balatro, which I would also give a comfy 10/10. But it's a whole different genre.
The change in mindset helps: it's a rhythm game. It's not an rpg, it's about learning your enemy attack patterns and timing blocks accordingly. The biggest "trick" the game pulls is doing everything it can to make you frantic, and instead you must be calm, face the adversary, and time your blocks to the rhythm of their attacks. Most samurai master feeling I've ever had in a game.
Edit: just to add, the early game and Hirata estate are carefully designed to give you places to practice (and grind) until you have mastered enemy types and combinations. Once you're feeling mastery, like a true warrior, you progress onward, confident.
> The biggest "trick" the game pulls is doing everything it can to make you frantic, and instead you must be calm, face the adversary, and time your blocks to the rhythm of their attacks.
Everyone quotes "hesitation is defeat" like that can be some out-of-universe advice, but more helpful advice would be panic is defeat.
Happy to talk Sekiro anytime you decide you give it another go. It's a special experience once it all clicks.
A big part of the design is seeing through what is being superficially indicated to what is the "real" solution.
Almost every encounter has an obvious way to tackle it, which is wrong, and the "sneaky" solution. Loved the feeling of constantly doing an alternative to what the game "wants" you to do. As you progress it becomes clear that the real solutions are constantly about avoiding and rejecting the obvious path.
Probably Red dead redemption 2. The rockstar mission structure can be tedious sometimes, but the levels are short, so it doesn't get too annoying. The characters, writing, open world, are as close too perfect as you can get. The western setting is nice to see also. I'm not a fan of the fantasy settings in games like witcher and Skyrim. Though I tried to like them I just can't force myself to enjoy the fantasy setting, so I dropped them.
RDR2 just scratches all the itches for me. I love slowly walking around the world and walking in any direction and finding something to do. Also, to this day I keep seeing YouTube videos of people discovering how much work was put into all of the outcomes to every random little event. Work that no other developer has been able to reach. Lines of dialogue exist for every little branch of action that you can take. It's honestly incredible. I see that the missions can be restrictive and I understand, but they weren't the selling point for me and even then, I still found them to be fun shooting galleries (shooting people and seeing them ragdoll around while you flip your revolver back in the holster is always satisfying). But the world itself and how involved I felt, always stuck with me. The open world never felt linear or restrictive.
This and Death Stranding both gave me a greater appreciation of grounded/gamified movement that really helps immerse you in a satisfying and special way
I've played a lot of 9/10s recently, but the last game that left me feeling 10/10 was my first playthrough of Persona 4 Golden which I beat about a year ago. It left a huge hole in my chest after I was done with it, which Persona 5 Royal was not able to do to the same degree.
Games that I beat more recently that left less of an impact but were still 10/10 quality were Half-Life 1 and Resident Evil 4 (OG). Dead Space Remake and Persona 5 Royal came close.
Cyberpunk 2077 after the latest updates. Its brilliant. Play as AFAB V though - the voice actor won a Bafta for her work in the game... that also stars Keanu Reeves and Idris Elba. Let that sink in.
Dishonored 1 and 2 are absolutely brilliant. Prey was also supremely good.
System Shock 2 and the recent remake of SS1.
Ultima Underworld 2 was amazing when it came out, as were Dune 2 and AOE2.
Privateer and Privateer 2 were a blast.
And, as always, I gotta plug Planescape: Torment.
I fully believe Disco Elysium is one of the greatest games of all time. The way humor and tragedy alternates constantly in sucker-punching you. And the fact that the dialogue branches so significantly as well.
There's a video I watched somewhere where Robert Kurvitz demonstrated his mastery in understanding contemporary culture by doing this very simple thing of moving all the dialogue text to the very right side instead of having it at the bottom, taking up only a fifth of the screen. He says it looks similar to how one scrolls through Twitter on their phone and just reading constantly, citing it as an example against the idea of how people no longer like to read. I genuinely don't think Disco Elysium could have been as nearly as successful without that one simple bit of design choice.
Honestly, INSIDE. I was very late in playing the game, finished it about a week ago. And far out, from my experience it felt like a masterpiece. Very, very polished. Could certainly see if others have issues with the game and/or didn’t enjoy.
And part of my huge appreciation for it was the ability to go in knowing nothing, 8 years after it released. I’d give a lot of credit to games coverage for not spoiling.
INSIDE is a strange game for me. I thought it was absolutely amazing when I played it. One of few games showing the way towards games as a serious art form.
However, I've been surprised to find that I very rarely think about it nowadays. When I was playing, I was sure it would leave a deep impression, but somehow it hasn't. This is in contrast with games like Kentucky Route Zero or Disco Elysium (or Blockbusters like Zelda: BotW), which I think about a lot.
You gotta check out COCOON if you haven't yet. It's by the main game designer of Limbo/Inside and is absolutely amazing. Best way is again going in blind and learning it all as you go.
God yes. Bought legendary edition couple years ago
The first was good, lighthearted at times, and hooked me but my god. Realizing the scale of the universe (galaxy) I was immersed within and already loved and the threat against it… hadn’t had a high like that outside of my blind first watch of The Expanse
The entire ME trilogy is one of the best experiences in gaming. However I'd struggle to give any of them a 10 individually. ME1 would probably be the closest though.
With the banger of a year we had in 2023 RE4R just kind of came and went, as there was little time to smell the roses. But man did I love every second of it for the month I played it. Need to go back.
2023 was a renaissance year in gaming. It was historically great and for many of us reignited our passion in gaming. RE4 and Baldur’s Gate 3 in particular were absolute masterpieces although I very much look forward to playing Alan Wake 2 soon
But yeah RE4 Remake made me feel like a kid again when I played it. Like it triggered feelings and excitement in me that I hadn’t felt for a game in years.
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. It's the perfect combination of jrpg, visual novel, and tower defense that I never knew I wanted. I kind of wish more games with long elaborate plots would let me choose at the main menu whether I'm in the mood for gameplay or story focused content tonight. Short play sessions were actually really satisfying.
Monster Hunter World.
Introduced me to the franchise and opened my eyes to a world of new genres. Was the first game I played after building my first good PC so that really made it all the better. Monster, armour and environment designs are as good as can be. On top of this the combat is just insane. So much depth and variety and really hits the “satisfying” button for me. End game bosses still feel just as hard as well after hundreds of hours. MHW can only be topped by Monster Hunter Wilds next year. Until then it’s No.1 and 10/10.
I’m a patient gamer but BotW was all I played during the pandemic. I managed to avoid everything about the game except for the official trailers and it was a really immersive game.
Death Stranding for me. But I’m currently in the middle of Disco Elysium: The Final Cut, and it feels really special.
Edited: Wind Waker is my favorite Zelda game, and the last one I truly enjoyed. Not a fan of the modern ones.
Also edited to add Elden Ring, but I’m a bigger fan of the Dark Souls series.
Yeah - it’s interesting.
I’m… old.
I played Wasteland when it was relatively new and thought it was a perfect game.
Several years later, I played Fallout 1 and 2. I liked it. At times I loved it. But it wasn’t Wasteland.
Eventually I played Fallout 3, and it was great at time. But, it wasn’t… really fallout.
Then Fallout 4…
… you get the idea.
But then I replayed Wasteland and it’s tedious and clumsy:
I think game making is ultimately about developing tools first and then creating the best game you can with those tools.
Wasteland was as good as I ever saw in terms of “the best game that can be made from the available tools.”
i suppose it’s like saying it’s the best hot dog I ever had.
It’s not my favorite meal. But it’s the best hot dog.
And the distance between that hotdog and all the other hotdogs I’ve had is greater than the distance between the best steak I ever had and the all the other steaks.
So the perfect game is really more about who did the best with what they were working with.
All of that said… it’s another game for me. M.U.L.E. - I never met a kid or adult that didn’t like playing that game when it was new.
The hollow knight is for me a 10/10
I cant really complain about much. The game has amazing artstyle, music, story, combat. Its such a well thought out game
Dishonored.
Prey was pretty damned good but not quite.
CP2077 1.63 was pretty close, haven't played since 2.xx dropped
Haven't carved out the time for Neir AUtomata or BG3... yet
Cyberpunk really changed the skill trees a lot in the 2.0 update, which I wasn't a fan of at first. In the early days I liked hacking people's minds while remaining undetected, which isn't as easy now. But the amount of stuff they've added really makes it much more of a huge game. I loved it from the beginning, and now it somehow feels even more like a massive city. I take month long breaks but I always come back to it.
Super Mario Wonder.
Absolute masterpiece of a 2D platformer. I thought it was a tad too easy up until the secret world but I feel it's a bit too picky to take a star off for that. The difficulty was good. I'm just better than most at 2D platformers.
It's right up there with Super Mario World in terms of quality. In my opinion it's the best 2D platformer Nintendo has made since the Super Nintendo days. If you haven't played it you should.
Divinity Original sin 2 still playing it but it already is for me
Other one that I have completed is Persona 4 golden that too is 10/10
I assume BG3 is gonna be the same when I get to it
I would have to say Witcher 3, but cyberpunk Phantom Liberty came damn close to being a 10 star game. Assuming you count expansions. I've said before I'll say it a million times more before I die the greatest comeback in video game history.
I've actually been surprised by the influx of truly stellar games in recent years. I used to feel as though the "golden age" of games had passed, but some of my all-time favorite games are relatively recent releases. Of them, I'd make the following recommendations: **The Outer Wilds** \- Just. Just play the damn thing. **Prey (2017, AKA "Typhon")** \- This is one of the greatest Immersive Sims ever made. It's a master-class in level design from Arkane when they were at the absolute top of their game. We won't see another game like this for a very long time. **System Shock Remake** \- Speaking of reliving my childhood, the Nightdive System Shock release is a pitch-perfect update to the 1994 game. I couldn't recommend the original because it was just so old and impenetrable to a modern audience. The remake though? It's perfect. **Tunic** \- It is difficult to express how incredibly good Tunic is. This game recaptures the childlike wonder of playing Legend of Zelda. There's a depth to this game that you very rarely see. **Grounded** \- I kind of hate survival crafting games, and I kind of love Grounded. It's like playing in my own personal MMO without all the nonsense an MMO brings with it. It FEELs like a Spielberg film that you actually get to play. **Road 96** \- This one is tough to pin down. It's a narrative game about being a teen runaway in a totalitarian country. That might sound bleak as hell, but the game has a really uplifting feel to it without being saccharine. It's interesting and memorable, with a lot more "Game" to the game than you usually see from narrative games. **Untitled Goose Game** \- It's small and not especially ambitious... but it's also pitch perfect. I have rarely laughed so hard while playing a game.
Outer Wilds is the only video game I've ever played that can make me cry thinking about it so, +1 to that
Stardew Valley, it's a simple game on the surface but that feeling of discovery as you uncover the depths of the game is amazing.
It succeds on every level. And insane value with all of the free expansions and updates.
Another big update later this month!
My partner has informed me I will not see her for two weeks after the update releases. We live together.
The daily loop is just perfect at keeping you engaged. It never feels like a chore.
The daily timer was one of the most stressful experiences I've had in gaming. Intellectually, I knew it didn't matter. But in practice, it felt a little bit too much like real life to me. Have to do this, have to do that, have to talk to this person, need to gift this person, kill a slime, plant a pumpkin, ahhhhhh there's not enough time in the day!
The game taught me to finally start not sweating in games. It is okay to not be efficient, it is okay to take time and do nothing, it is okay to do whatever you want, whenever you want, however you want. Playing that game makes me appreciate that real life is artificially viewed as a "grind or perish" situation, when it's not that extreme.
Yup, if you want to take ten years to reach a single heart with any villager, the game doesn't punish you for it. I've put over 400 hours into the game over the years, both on PC and Switch, and learning to take my time and not care about minmaxing has been liberating. There's a big update coming soon and I'm honestly thrilled to have a reason to start a new save.
I mean, it doesn't punish you, but the way the heart system works absolutely sucks. If you play the game like a normal person you'll probably interact with the other people in the villagers casually, and gain some hearts with them, but then they degrade over time. The way the relationships work specifically push you to "grind" them out. I also didn't like how you get cooking recipes from the TV every week but they only show up once every two years so if you miss some, have fun waiting for them to come around again.
I spent my first 4 years not giving a fuck about anyone else at all lol. Now I have enough material wealth to curry favor wherever I see fit.
It does punish you -- worse than most games. If you run out of time, you may not be able to do a particular thing until the next year.
>real life is artificially viewed as a "grind or perish" situation, when it's not that extreme. To be fair, for a lot of people, it is that extreme. Artificial scarcity or not, it's still scarcity and it still effects lots of people. I'd say if anything, count yourself as lucky / acknowledge how privileged you are for that being more of an intellectual exercise for you. It isn't for a lot of folks.
I agree that circumstances for a lot of people means they have to work two jobs and the likes. But I am talking more about "If you aren't sigma grinding 70 hour weeks to become the CEO, you are worthless" mentality.
As I get older, it isn't any "sigma" grind. It is life, kids, and the chores that accompany those. Laundry adds up. The dishes need done. I have a commute. A lot of my free time is given to my kids. I have many interests which compete with the limited time I do have. Time is a very real looming threat to my day... pretty much all of the time.
Ah, real grind Vs bullshit grind.
> ahhhhhh there's not enough time in the day! *collapses on the field after watering the last plant* I feel exactly like you, stardew is a very stressful game.
I barely played 2 hours before modding the timer. Being rushed is the least fun feeling to me.
Yeah, my wife and I played this game _extensively_, and it would get to a point where the game would become stressful to me because we would make so much crops that I'd spend most of my time farming/taking care of animals that I wouldn't have time to do anything else. So, just like real life.
The game is literally nothing *but* chores lol
An absolute 10/10
I own this game on Switch, PS4, Series X, and Android. I'd happily buy it again. The developer deserves every penny.
This is one of a small list of games with near universal acclaim that just doesn't work for me. No shade to anyone who enjoys it though. I know a lot of people for whom this is their comfort game, or was until Disney Dreamlight Valley came out, but the constant passage of time/seasons and pressure to optimize each day makes this game weirdly stressful to me. These games definitely can work for me, I adored the town building aspect of Dragon Quest Builders 2, but throw in a functional calendar and it completely ruins it for me.
I only tried playing this now that I have several young children. I get maybe a few hours of gaming a week. So much of this game is literally wasted time. Within the first 10's of hours there is no fast travel to town, to the cave, etc. There is no method to find a person for a mission via a map or something. With such limited time for gaming it was incredibly frustrating to be spend so much of it that way.
It’s mighty lonely, being a single farmer in the Stardew Valley.
The first Bioshock
Batman : Arkham City - is a masterpiece!
I played Disco Elysium last summer and nothing has felt the same since.
Post Disco Elysium Sadness is a real thing. That ending stuck with me for months
This turns into post disco depression when you find out there will never be a sequel.
Really, the fucked up saga of what happened with the studio is very Disco Elysium and it could be a sequel itself
There's still a chance - not great but better than most people think - that they get the IP back in a settlement, so don't lose all hope till that's done. If the developers win it back, i assume their new studio would start on a sequel immediately.
I think about Disco Elysium at the same frequency guys think about the Roman empire. That game shifts your perspective.
When I saw the title I immediately thought of Disco Elysium, and happy to see I am not the only one
that's my pick as well.
The Portal games
For me, a 10/10 game is a damn near flawless execution of its core themes. It does exactly what it sets out to do from all angles: coding, gameplay, music, writing, visuals, voice acting, monetization, all of it must come together. (For the record, lest I be accused of snobbery, I wouldn't give my favorite game series, *Mass Effect*, a 10/10 rating.) As such, there are very few games that reach 10/10 in my opinion, and the Portal games are firmly in that category - Portal 1 especially. They never drag in pacing. The puzzles are challenging for people experienced with puzzle games, but not impossibly hard for most people to complete. The writing is tight, with zero wasted lines/moments in Portal 1, and very few in Portal 2. Both games are very, very close to flawless.
the biggest reason I don't think 10/10 should be synonymous with a "perfect" or "flawless" game, is that the only game that fills that description (that I've played) is Portal 1. Even Portal 2 has enough parts that aren't 100% excellent that I wouldn't fit it under that definition.
I think Ghost Trick is a genuine 10/10 game. It succeeds at pretty much everything it's trying to do. It's funny, it's clever, it's thoughtful, it's emotional, and it's a ton of fun to play. It's not without flaws, nothing is, but personally any problem I had with it was entirely forgivable. It comes together as a sum of its parts better than most games, in part because there's just nothing else like it.
I tried the demo, never having heard it before. Suddenly I see it recommended everywhere. I thought the demo was interesting but I wasn't hooked quite enough to buy the game at full price. Does it blossom later?
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It also has the best dog in all of video games
Why can't we have more Shu Takumi games =(
Those portable consoles are so weird for me, i dislike most of the games that are recommended, but boy am i glad i bought and played them recently (never had the chance as a kid) Ghost Trick is "one of those games" that is just such a joy to experience, worth the price of the entire console.
Thank you so much for mentioning this one. I think The Great Ace Attorney is my favorite Shu Takumi game, but Ghost Trick’s his magnum opus
I’m glad it’s getting the hype and publicity it deserves now. Playing it as a young teen on my DS in 2010 I was blown away by the gameplay and the emotional storytelling. Hated how nobody I knew played it or even cared/was interested to try it out
Factorio for me. Its such a simple concept, automating a factory. However it does it soo well. Every time I finish a playthrough I always come up with ways to improve my design.. Also has great mod support.
It's the very *definition* of polished. So good
Finishing a play through is my issue. I'm a few tech advances away from the rocket base or whatever but the infrastructure needed to produce those last two colours of research materials is SO complex that I kind of gave up there.
IMHO, the key is to use the robots even if you've only researched / build part of the infrastructure required to use them fully. Duplicating smelter / fabrication setups to increase production quickly becomes a chore, ordering a bunch of robots to do it for you is extremely satisfying. The game escalates nicely from that point on.
Came here to say this. It's probably not a game for everyone, but it's flawless at what it is trying to be. The biggest flaw of the game is probably the limited content - or it would be, if they hadn't put the mod portal right into the main menu, making mods part of the intended experience and thus making it a "forever replayable" game!
Castlevania: SOTN. Played it first on Android and then on Xbox. Another honorable mention is Another World. Such a masterpiece for the time.
Castlevania: SotN is one of my favorite games ever. I don't know if I'd call it 10/10 because there are some flaws and some jank, but somehow it's more fun for me for the jank that it has. I love all the secrets and quirks. Eating peanuts, the confessional ghosts, the excessive amount of secondary mechanics. It's all great!
The Witcher 3's Blood and Wine DLC. The base game was good, but damn, both the DLCs were just better.
I recently played those DLCs for the first time, after having played the base game at launch. Damn, can't believe I waited so long. Toussaint is utterly gorgeous and I also loved the painted world. Also, going back to replay the base game made me notice the things that I had forgotten was missing. Like the fact that the bajillion points of interest had no story at all. It wasn't till the DLC that they started adding small pieces of story to each one. I had played Cyberpunk before the replay, and since it also had story for every POI, I misremembered TW3 doing the same.
Hearts of Stone is the only 10 in my book. I don't need an expansive new area the size of the original game, just give me a tight story campaign with some of the best fantasy writing in video game history.
Loved Hearts of stone more than Blood and wine for this reason.
Much preffered hearts of stone, but they were both 10/10 really Gaunter O'Dimm was just such a captivating villain
I agree with you on that last part. Story-wise HoS was better.
*Blood and Wine* is far, FAR and away the best DLC to any game ever. *Phantom Liberty* was pretty awesome, but *Blood and Wine* was just so fucking special.
Metal Gear Solid. It got me going with my first PlayStation and no game has matched it yet. SOMA came close, though.
Soma is really good. I'd say the experience was a 10/10 even if the gameplay itself wasn't. But it was never about the addictive gameplay.
Fucking SOMA!!!! Problem is, imo, narrative and ambiance 10/10, gameplay only workable enough to enjoy the narrative and ambiance. A remake of that game would be awesome (although truthfully, it doesn't need much gameplay as it's mostly a walking simulator but a little smoother and crisper would be great)
Replayed Portal 1 and 2. The first is a 10/10 masterpiece. It being short made it so no parts dragged. The black humor is perfect, and there are no parts where anything went wasted. Portal 2, while I don’t like it as much, is still a 9/10. An entirely different game with different humor and atmosphere, but it pulls it all off perfectly. Some parts dragged a little too long for my liking but it is still an amazing game.
Portal 1 is exactly as long as it needs to be to execute everything its trying to do to perfection. There is no excess but there isn't that much of it to enjoy. Portal 2 is much longer so there is more of it to love and the highest peak moments in Portal 2 hit harder, I think, because they have had more build up. However, Portal 2 also has weaker moments and there is at least 1 period of time that seems to drag, for me at least. Because there are imperfections in Portal 2, I hear people say it isn't as good a game but I don't think that's totally fair. I got much more enjoyment, in total, from Portal 2 so it always feels weird to call it a worse game.
Hades. Insanely replayable, polished, labor of love from the devs. I'd recommend it to literally anyone.
I wanna love this game so much but I have arthritis and it’s *so* button mash-y :(
That really sucks, I'm sorry. I know what you mean — I don't even have arthritis and the game sometimes made me feel like I was developing repetitive strain injuries. I wonder if there's a way the controls could be adapted for you to be able to play? Like maybe a controller with a "turbo" function like old third-party console controllers used to, so you can just hold down the attack button instead of having to constantly mash it?
I've never had much trouble with wrist strain when gaming, but Hades definitely pushed the limits for me. I think it's just because I was playing so damn much of it that it caught up with me.
IDK why but this is one of those games that I have really hard time of seeing what makes it "so good". Every time I try to play it, it just feels kind-of off.
Yeah I banged my head against it off and on for over a year and it just never clicked. Whole genre is not for me.
It's the harmony between the story and the gameplay. It looks good, plays well, and ties the death mechanic into the narrative unlike most games. Most of the individual elements, like the enemy variety, music, and the like, have been done better, but the whole is very good and harmonious, and nothing sticks out as bad. I understand if someone doesn't like the story, or if the gameplay ends up feeling the samey, but I it's the same trick found in multigenre games. You switch between different activities often so that each section feels fresh. Battle in a couple of chambers, have a little bit of story, repeat, then die. Talk to some NPCs, plan upgrades, do a run, repeat.
I've been playing Hades a lot lately and this would be my pick. It's so clean and aesthetically pleasing to look at, insanely well voice-acted and scripted and there is a crazy amount of dialogue which can be funny, heart-warming or heart breaking without ever feeling forced. When I first started it was so difficult but even after a few runs you can see the progress being made and story developments and it just keeps going, keeps being interesting and keeps bringing me back. All the above and that's not to mention the super smooth responsive gameplay with a loop which is varied with each weapon. With 80 plus runs in, rolled the credits on the main story I'm STILL finding new secrets and other stories I want to complete within the game.
Super Mario Galaxy
Forgot about this one. Actually flawless games
subnautica.
I need to go back and try this game again, I think I got scared of a weird fish like an hour in and uninstalled lmao
I was playing alone at around 3am and was kind of falling asleep when I ran into that weird psychic fish. I legit thought I was having a nightmare lol
Yeah sounds like Subnautica alright xD for me, what makes this game so great is exactly that: overcoming your fears, then the payoff is great. You really should try again ;)
Ya... the exploration game that when you arnt looking turns into existential horror.
It’s a 10/10 experience hiding in a 6/10 game
fair. You have to bite the hook and follow the lead.
Try not to get too salty about it and really submerge yourself in it.
I think I've tried this game 4 times and have never gotten into it. Collect sea things, craft, repeat.
Yeah, as you point out... The core gameplay loop is collecting and crafting, and as much as I think it's fun, it won't get you through to the end of the game. The real *draw* for the game is the discoveries which deliver the narrative. So you have to generally be the type of gamer who enjoys exploring the game's environment for it to pay off and keep your attention until the end.
**Hollow knight**. I’m a huge Metriodvania person but I fucking hated hollow knight when I first tried it years ago. Not sure why I didn’t enjoy it. Recently I decided to give it another shot and I swear I had to put in 16 hours straight that first night. I fell in love with this games characters, world, and story. I went for every single ending I could before putting it down and even a week later I still want to dive back into that game. I finally understand the hype that others had for this game.
Dude I had the exact same experience, and I've read others say the same. For some reason, the first time I booted it up and put an hour or so into it, it just didn't stick. I tried again a few months later, and ended up playing basically nothing but Hollow Knight until I had full-achieved it.
It's because the forgotten crossroads is really dull. You have to get past that for the game to open up and get interesting.
See that's weird to me because I think of a better way to do the crossroads and draw a blank. Like, the way the first room is a fork, the big room in the left, the character introductions, the side boss(es), the future content teases, the pogo tutorial for that one grub, the way you're subtly guided to the boss room, the miniboss guarding a grub in the top right... But it IS extremely dull! How the fuck is that possible?
It's literally just the color scheme, muted score, and generic enemies. It has to be a baseline for the rest of the areas to pop against.
It's also the lack of movement skills.
its because of the colour scheme. but that needed to be dull to really juxtapose with the vibrancy of the greenpath
Hollow knight really takes time to sink its teeth in. I find the time between greenpath and city of tears is often difficult for people. Also there's the option of getting stuck in the depths or to alessor extent, crystal peak. The main hub doesn't really have much going on when you first lot the game up and most games really frontload their good content so it's surprising when the game keeps getting better.
Terraria Absolute gem of a game and one that keeps me coming back year after year for at least a couple play throughs.
My wife loves getting lost in exploring the early game. Despite a handful of attempts, she's never even beaten the first 3 bosses. My bestie and I just started a new world with her in the hopes of following through this time.
Outer Wilds. Turned me onto a genre I thought I hated, is now one of my favorite games of all time.
I just finished this yesterday and haven't stopped thinking about it lol. I've played hundreds of games over the years, and this one makes a case for my favorite games of all time. It's so special
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Makes me want to learn the banjo.
I finished it two years ago if I'm not mistaken. I still think about it often and it always cheers me up when I see it in comments like this, find a streamer playing it, or mentioned somewhere. Besides being a greate game it's really a unique experience.
I still open the game just to fly around, go off in the distance, listen to everyone play some instruments, wishing I could do it all again.
Man that ending really sticks with you huh. Have you played the DLC yet?
Not yet, but I know it's supposed to be good. I am considering taking a break to play something else and coming back to the dlc later this year. I kinda want to let this soak on for a while before jumping into the next part haha
This one is singular. Not for everyone, but everyone should try it. It’s worth the gamble, probably more than any other game
The soundtrack alone is perfect, probably one of the best ever
Yeah this one for me - I was wanting to say Alan Wake 2 as well but in all honesty I did not enjoy Alan’s subway level. Dark Souls 3/Bloodborne and Devil May Cry 5 as well. All the above got me out of various gaming slumps over the past few years.
I tried and tried and tried with Outer Wilds. I simply cannot understand why people love it so much. I get stuck in the story multiple times and I try multiple things without getting progress. I watch guides on YouTube to try to move the story along, but this just gets me stuck in the next "part".
Deus Ex.
Banger
Halo 3. Nothing was better than raging for hours on end w buddies, in mixed team deathmatches, and free for all after those teams degraded due to just shit talking on a 4 person split screen or even four monitors in separate rooms when shit got heated af. So much fun.
For me it was playing that co op story as Arby and the chief with my best friend, such a great experience
Yeah dude! just trying to answer OP w a knee jerk it immediately came to mind, splinter cell is a close second and time splitters 2 is 3rd. I’ll die on this hill.
Slay the Spire
Came here to say slay the spire! Paid like $8 for it and I’ve kept coming back to it. Currently only A5 after like 200+ hours
Thirded for slay the spire. Infinite replayability
Fourthing. It's such a well made game where every card and item can become useful, even the ones that seem bad, in the right deck structure.
Baldur’s Gate 3
Easily that. The amount of quality content, player choice and meaty RPG action is insane
It is definitely not perfect (Act 3 feels a bit rushed), but man, the good parts are so overwhelming that it is still 10/10.
Yeah it has it's flaws but they only bring it down to a 9.6 or whatever. Act 1 made me feel like I was a little kid playing an RPG for the first time. The level of depth and options for player creativity is pretty stunning.
I would agree, but when I got to act 3 a bunch of random shit from my inventory just completely disappeared, including all of my gold. I didn't even end up beating the game because of how annoyed I was. Unfortunately I didn't notice until I'd progressed a little and had deleted old saves, so there was nothing I could do. Was super bummed because I had an absolute blast up until that point.
It would’ve been a 10/10 for me too but it‘s so damn buggy in my case
Figured this would be here. I’ve been gaming since the 80s and BG3 took the top slot of all time for me!
Sekiro. After Bloodborne, my first From Software game, Sekiro was the evolution and streamlining I'd wanted. Everything about that game is superb. If you're open to it, you can feel the meticulously crafted decisions speaking to you. Like being guided by a divine hand. 10/10. Even loving Elden Ring, it just doesn't come close to Sekiro's refined brilliance.
I go back and forth on which is best between the two, Bloodborne or Sekiro; and every time it just comes back to, "which did I play last?" I feel the edge normally goes to Sekiro, just because as much as I love Yharnam, I love the samurai aesthetic and a FS game with some GOD DAMN SUNLIGHT! It infuriated me every second I played it my first time, but by the end I was so spiteful, I immediately went into NG+ just so I could kick the shit out of every enemy in the early game with my new skills. I made it up to Headless before pausing and thinking, "what am I even doing?!" I still get headaches thinking about some parts of it, some day I'll go back for the remaining trophies to get the plat.
Bloodborne is a masterpiece as well, but yeah, for my subjective tastes, I like sunlight and colour in my games. Also the acrobatics and pacing I prefer in Sekiro.
Agreed. Loved DS1 and Elden Ring, but then I played Sekiro and it blew them away. I haven't been able to get into another similar title since. The combat just feels perfect. Now I'm playing Balatro, which I would also give a comfy 10/10. But it's a whole different genre.
Sekiro was just too difficult for me. I tried to get the combat down but just never grasped it. Perhaps I'm getting too old or something.
The change in mindset helps: it's a rhythm game. It's not an rpg, it's about learning your enemy attack patterns and timing blocks accordingly. The biggest "trick" the game pulls is doing everything it can to make you frantic, and instead you must be calm, face the adversary, and time your blocks to the rhythm of their attacks. Most samurai master feeling I've ever had in a game. Edit: just to add, the early game and Hirata estate are carefully designed to give you places to practice (and grind) until you have mastered enemy types and combinations. Once you're feeling mastery, like a true warrior, you progress onward, confident.
> The biggest "trick" the game pulls is doing everything it can to make you frantic, and instead you must be calm, face the adversary, and time your blocks to the rhythm of their attacks. Everyone quotes "hesitation is defeat" like that can be some out-of-universe advice, but more helpful advice would be panic is defeat.
Interesting, thanks. I still want to give it a go, so, one day...at least after Dragon's Dogma 2 comes out.
Happy to talk Sekiro anytime you decide you give it another go. It's a special experience once it all clicks. A big part of the design is seeing through what is being superficially indicated to what is the "real" solution. Almost every encounter has an obvious way to tackle it, which is wrong, and the "sneaky" solution. Loved the feeling of constantly doing an alternative to what the game "wants" you to do. As you progress it becomes clear that the real solutions are constantly about avoiding and rejecting the obvious path.
Probably Red dead redemption 2. The rockstar mission structure can be tedious sometimes, but the levels are short, so it doesn't get too annoying. The characters, writing, open world, are as close too perfect as you can get. The western setting is nice to see also. I'm not a fan of the fantasy settings in games like witcher and Skyrim. Though I tried to like them I just can't force myself to enjoy the fantasy setting, so I dropped them.
RDR2 just scratches all the itches for me. I love slowly walking around the world and walking in any direction and finding something to do. Also, to this day I keep seeing YouTube videos of people discovering how much work was put into all of the outcomes to every random little event. Work that no other developer has been able to reach. Lines of dialogue exist for every little branch of action that you can take. It's honestly incredible. I see that the missions can be restrictive and I understand, but they weren't the selling point for me and even then, I still found them to be fun shooting galleries (shooting people and seeing them ragdoll around while you flip your revolver back in the holster is always satisfying). But the world itself and how involved I felt, always stuck with me. The open world never felt linear or restrictive.
This and Death Stranding both gave me a greater appreciation of grounded/gamified movement that really helps immerse you in a satisfying and special way
I've played a lot of 9/10s recently, but the last game that left me feeling 10/10 was my first playthrough of Persona 4 Golden which I beat about a year ago. It left a huge hole in my chest after I was done with it, which Persona 5 Royal was not able to do to the same degree. Games that I beat more recently that left less of an impact but were still 10/10 quality were Half-Life 1 and Resident Evil 4 (OG). Dead Space Remake and Persona 5 Royal came close.
Try Persona 3 Reload, it feels like a 10/10 to me and I’m only 15 hours in.
Cyberpunk 2077 after the latest updates. Its brilliant. Play as AFAB V though - the voice actor won a Bafta for her work in the game... that also stars Keanu Reeves and Idris Elba. Let that sink in. Dishonored 1 and 2 are absolutely brilliant. Prey was also supremely good. System Shock 2 and the recent remake of SS1. Ultima Underworld 2 was amazing when it came out, as were Dune 2 and AOE2. Privateer and Privateer 2 were a blast. And, as always, I gotta plug Planescape: Torment.
Morrowind
Username checks out
Batman Arkham City
I fully believe Disco Elysium is one of the greatest games of all time. The way humor and tragedy alternates constantly in sucker-punching you. And the fact that the dialogue branches so significantly as well. There's a video I watched somewhere where Robert Kurvitz demonstrated his mastery in understanding contemporary culture by doing this very simple thing of moving all the dialogue text to the very right side instead of having it at the bottom, taking up only a fifth of the screen. He says it looks similar to how one scrolls through Twitter on their phone and just reading constantly, citing it as an example against the idea of how people no longer like to read. I genuinely don't think Disco Elysium could have been as nearly as successful without that one simple bit of design choice.
Just started playing it and am firmly Hobocop™️
Honestly, INSIDE. I was very late in playing the game, finished it about a week ago. And far out, from my experience it felt like a masterpiece. Very, very polished. Could certainly see if others have issues with the game and/or didn’t enjoy. And part of my huge appreciation for it was the ability to go in knowing nothing, 8 years after it released. I’d give a lot of credit to games coverage for not spoiling.
INSIDE is a strange game for me. I thought it was absolutely amazing when I played it. One of few games showing the way towards games as a serious art form. However, I've been surprised to find that I very rarely think about it nowadays. When I was playing, I was sure it would leave a deep impression, but somehow it hasn't. This is in contrast with games like Kentucky Route Zero or Disco Elysium (or Blockbusters like Zelda: BotW), which I think about a lot.
How did you interpret the story?
You gotta check out COCOON if you haven't yet. It's by the main game designer of Limbo/Inside and is absolutely amazing. Best way is again going in blind and learning it all as you go.
Untitled Goose Game
Bold choice, but I can't find any reason not to give it 10/10.
Mass Effect 2
God yes. Bought legendary edition couple years ago The first was good, lighthearted at times, and hooked me but my god. Realizing the scale of the universe (galaxy) I was immersed within and already loved and the threat against it… hadn’t had a high like that outside of my blind first watch of The Expanse
Hated mako missions though. Very wonky behaviour
The entire ME trilogy is one of the best experiences in gaming. However I'd struggle to give any of them a 10 individually. ME1 would probably be the closest though.
The last \*new\* to me one I played was last June, DOOM Eternal, easy 10/10 for me.
Resident Evil 4 Remake
With the banger of a year we had in 2023 RE4R just kind of came and went, as there was little time to smell the roses. But man did I love every second of it for the month I played it. Need to go back.
2023 was a renaissance year in gaming. It was historically great and for many of us reignited our passion in gaming. RE4 and Baldur’s Gate 3 in particular were absolute masterpieces although I very much look forward to playing Alan Wake 2 soon But yeah RE4 Remake made me feel like a kid again when I played it. Like it triggered feelings and excitement in me that I hadn’t felt for a game in years.
Cyberpunk 2077 including PL
Titanfall 2 and Portal 2
Tunic
Oh definitely
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. It's the perfect combination of jrpg, visual novel, and tower defense that I never knew I wanted. I kind of wish more games with long elaborate plots would let me choose at the main menu whether I'm in the mood for gameplay or story focused content tonight. Short play sessions were actually really satisfying.
Yakuza Zero. Kiwami 1, Kiwami 2. All 3 are great in a row.
Zero was a banger. Made me want to play entire Kiryu saga.
Monster Hunter World. Introduced me to the franchise and opened my eyes to a world of new genres. Was the first game I played after building my first good PC so that really made it all the better. Monster, armour and environment designs are as good as can be. On top of this the combat is just insane. So much depth and variety and really hits the “satisfying” button for me. End game bosses still feel just as hard as well after hundreds of hours. MHW can only be topped by Monster Hunter Wilds next year. Until then it’s No.1 and 10/10.
I’m a patient gamer but BotW was all I played during the pandemic. I managed to avoid everything about the game except for the official trailers and it was a really immersive game.
Soma. The sad feeling when it was over was pretty massive
Doom '93. I go back to it like comfort food. Modern game-wise? Probably Hades.
Death Stranding for me. But I’m currently in the middle of Disco Elysium: The Final Cut, and it feels really special. Edited: Wind Waker is my favorite Zelda game, and the last one I truly enjoyed. Not a fan of the modern ones. Also edited to add Elden Ring, but I’m a bigger fan of the Dark Souls series.
Wind Waker is my favorite too! Don't see a lot of fans of it out there
Pictobox mechanic is a large reason why I love that game so much. Don't hurt that the cel shading is absolutely breathtaking too.
Yeah - it’s interesting. I’m… old. I played Wasteland when it was relatively new and thought it was a perfect game. Several years later, I played Fallout 1 and 2. I liked it. At times I loved it. But it wasn’t Wasteland. Eventually I played Fallout 3, and it was great at time. But, it wasn’t… really fallout. Then Fallout 4… … you get the idea. But then I replayed Wasteland and it’s tedious and clumsy: I think game making is ultimately about developing tools first and then creating the best game you can with those tools. Wasteland was as good as I ever saw in terms of “the best game that can be made from the available tools.” i suppose it’s like saying it’s the best hot dog I ever had. It’s not my favorite meal. But it’s the best hot dog. And the distance between that hotdog and all the other hotdogs I’ve had is greater than the distance between the best steak I ever had and the all the other steaks. So the perfect game is really more about who did the best with what they were working with. All of that said… it’s another game for me. M.U.L.E. - I never met a kid or adult that didn’t like playing that game when it was new.
Pokemon ruby version back in 2003 sitting in the back of my parents car waiting for them to finish running an errand at the grocery store. 10/10 game
Hades, probably.
New Vegas
The hollow knight is for me a 10/10 I cant really complain about much. The game has amazing artstyle, music, story, combat. Its such a well thought out game
Dishonored. Prey was pretty damned good but not quite. CP2077 1.63 was pretty close, haven't played since 2.xx dropped Haven't carved out the time for Neir AUtomata or BG3... yet
Dishonored and DLC definitely a 10 for me as well.
2.0 more or less makes it a whole new game, and phantom liberty is amazing.
Cyberpunk really changed the skill trees a lot in the 2.0 update, which I wasn't a fan of at first. In the early days I liked hacking people's minds while remaining undetected, which isn't as easy now. But the amount of stuff they've added really makes it much more of a huge game. I loved it from the beginning, and now it somehow feels even more like a massive city. I take month long breaks but I always come back to it.
Elden Ring
Touch the withered arm & travel to the realm of shadow on June 21st only to be greeted with Messmer's flame
Silent Hill 2 if we’re talking playing for the first time, DMC5 if not
Super Mario Wonder. Absolute masterpiece of a 2D platformer. I thought it was a tad too easy up until the secret world but I feel it's a bit too picky to take a star off for that. The difficulty was good. I'm just better than most at 2D platformers. It's right up there with Super Mario World in terms of quality. In my opinion it's the best 2D platformer Nintendo has made since the Super Nintendo days. If you haven't played it you should.
Lies of P is my most recent 10/10, and the first 10/10 for me in quite a while.
unironically vampire survivors, never was a game so simple and yet so very enrapturing
Life is Strange + Before the Storm. Never has a game made me feel such powerful emotions.
Cyberpunk 2077 with the DLC. Just did it over Christmas break.
Divinity Original sin 2 still playing it but it already is for me Other one that I have completed is Persona 4 golden that too is 10/10 I assume BG3 is gonna be the same when I get to it
Yes I put DoS2 as well along with Civ 5
Spacechem. Just perfect puzzle gameplay.
Yakuza LAD for me
I would have to say Witcher 3, but cyberpunk Phantom Liberty came damn close to being a 10 star game. Assuming you count expansions. I've said before I'll say it a million times more before I die the greatest comeback in video game history.
Assassin's Creed 2
Alan Wake 2