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I haven't seen it mentioned here, so I'll rep for Noita. It's an amazing rogue-like with great atmosphere and a really compelling world to explore. The wand mechanics are incredibly deep. I best the game completely blind first. Many people describe your first win as you beating the tutorial, and there's some truth to that.
It can be gruellingly difficult at times, but it's just so damn good. I have around 600 hours in in that game which is twice as much as any other game I've played.
Recommending the obvious GOAT titles is getting kinda old now so I'll go with my personal favourite genre right now: roguelikes.
In that genre, my favourite of all time are the Darkest Dungeon franchise, Slay the Spire, Loop Hero, Vampire Survivors and Dead Cells.
Best roguelike ever, in my oppinion, is ADOM. Especially using the original ASCII graphics. It has more depth and content than any other game Ive encountered. And the original version is still completely free (paid version adds pixel graphics and some advanced options)
Velocity 2x - extremely fun fast paced 2d space shooter & platformer. Is extremely rewarding when you start to get to good at it and learn the levels.
Muramasa Demon Blade/Rebirth - also really fun and satisfying skill-based combat game but with some light RPG elements. What I really love about it though is the sheer vibes. Set in feudal Japan with gorgeous artwork and sound/music. Great fun and a piece of art.
Not everyone likes every genre of game - so here’s my grouped list:
The “I’m a nerd and like to build things and I like to watch lava lamps flow” Factorio
The “I enjoy tough but fair games that I can totally become OP in once I figure it out” Elden Ring
The “I just want to chill” game Stardew Valley
The “I like to build things” game minecraft Honorable mention-Terraria
The “Metroidvania” game Hollow Knight
The “Arpg” game Diablo 2 Honorable mention - PoE
The “I like action and smashing things in an open world” game Neir Automata Honorable mention - God of war (play one of the originals so you can 1st hate the remake, and then get to THAT point, and then happily eat crow and let Kratos be your baby daddy.
I keep getting stuck at the beginning in Nier Automata. Is there really no option to save until after like 30+ mins of gameplay?
Unfortunately yes. Perfect dodging the first boss regularly gets you killed. So... Play worse. But I promise it's the only part of the game like that.
Dishonored!!
This one has been sitting in my steam backlog since the dinosaurs roamed the earth. I should get on that…
Same...
Vintage Story.
It's indie Minecraft-alike that expand survival element 100 times. With various unique lore and semi-realism gameplay.
Crosscode, Disco Elysium, Outer Wilds, Celeste, Fallout: New Vegas
S-tier list
Mount and Blade Warband for me. Native is fun but the community has made so many total conversion mods for it that can be swapped in and out at the launcher. It can be Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, most points of history between now and ancient Rome, and it can even be Star Wars
I love M&B, it was the first game where I could have a chill sword fight in super slow motion, defeating hordes of enemies with convincing swipes.
What good mods are there for it at the moment?
For me personally, any game in the Super Smash Bros series.
They've always been a go-to when hanging out with friends, in their time.
Melee still has a following. Nobody likes brawl because of tripping (among other things i'm sure), but I learned how to mod brawl and added so many custom stages and character skins. Sm4sh was ok, and Ultimate is so complete.
Yeah it's Nintendo and "it's always moral to pirate Nintendo games" and there's plenty to complain about their online services but I've played smash so much that every time a new game comes out immediately a must-buy.
Binding of Isaac for me. Endless replay value.
Pikmin (any instalments of the main series) - though I must admit I'm incredibly biased since this is coming from someone who cried her eyes out when she saw the Pikmin 4 trailer 😭 yes I cried over a game trailer that's about weird bugs. It is my fave franchise ever it's like my baby.
Legend of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild - this is a game that makes me wish memory wiping technology existed. I would love to play this for the very first time again!
Final Fantasy X - the first Final Fantasy game I played and it is still my fave!
Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Sunshine - the most fun I've ever had with 3D platformers by far, Super Mario Galaxy's visuals are still so impressive.
The first game I EVER played gets a honorary mention - Super Mario All Stars for the Super Nintendo! The very first game I played on it was Super Mario Bros 3! 😃
I only gotta mention one that everyone should play at least once in their lifetime: Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Great game! (Also happy cake day)
Thanks friend. Hoping to get my footing in a non-consumer antagonistic forum aggregator lol
A couple of oldies, that deserve to still be played. Disclaimer: I played both games when they were already ~8 years old, and completely outdated in terms of technology.
Planescape: Torment
One of the best RPG ever created, and that is entirely for the world building and writing, and how much of the gameplay ends up being based on these rather than the combat mechanics (which are just ok)
Deus Ex
Again it was way ahead of its time in terms of world building and depth, and it was still an unashamed PC game, that dared to challenge its users a little and didn't need to have a GUI that could be used with a gamepad, unlike the sequels.
Strongly agree. Deus Ex is still even now my favorite game ever. NPCs sound like real people and actually have meaningful things to say.
My heart tells me that this is the correct answer
Xiii shooter (original on PS2, not the remake)
Metal Gear Solid 1, 3, and 4. 2 is okay but it's the black sheep. 5 is a good game but doesn't fit the series great imo. We don't talk about Survive. Revengence is okay.
Maneater. Basically a remake of the old Jaws game from PS2 era gameplay-wise
FF7 original. If you're bored with it, try the New Threat mod by SegaChief. Absolutely worth a look.
If you're into pokemon rom hacks, Emerald SeaGlass and Crystal Legacy.
Crash Bandicoot 1-4. Ignore any titles from PS2 era.
Spyro 1-3. Also ignore any PS2 era titles.
Castle Crashers
If you have a non-gamer around that does like movies, give Beyond: 2 Souls and Until Dawn a look.
Spec Ops: The Line
Doki Doki Literature Club
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 1 + 2
I'm sure I'll add more.
I don’t feel Spec Ops: The Line aged well at all. I had it on my to-play list for years and finally got around to playing it. I was rather disappointed in what I experienced. The gunplay and cover system is middling at best, and the story wasn’t anything like the hype led me to believe. Graphics are also way behind its contemporaries. It may have been groundbreaking when it came out in a very pro-war, pro-military time, but it wasn’t anything special by the time I played it 2023. I finished the game wondering what people felt was so special about it. The lack of decision making removed impact from what my character was doing, namely the infamous white phosphorus part. You can’t advance the game without performing the worst possible action, which is the only thing to do at that point in the level. Lame.
Music was good but overall I felt it was a 6/10 game. I think watching YouTube commentaries on the game is much more enjoyable than actually playing it.
Instead of firing into the crowd, you can fire in the air.
Sounds like the game worked :p
You can’t avoid using WP mortars on the civilians.
There was an outstanding RTS game from 1997 called Total Annihilation. The soundtrack was 11/10, it was made by Jeremy Soule, the guy who did the Skyrim soundtrack. Some might say that Supreme Commander 2 is their most recent successor to TA, but they are wrong. Check out Beyond All Reason (BAR). It's in Alpha and it's free but it's already sooooo good.
As i sadly have not found them here:
-Gothic (all three). One of the first non-us-centric and it showef
And a ton more I'm too lazy to list.
I remember having a demo for giants: citizen Kabuto, it was a weird and fun third person shooter. The thing I remember most is the initial quest giver guy and the way he would say "huuungry" something about it stuck in my brain
Which kind of games. From an Rpg perspective,
Alice is missing a silent Rpg, which is played using instant messenging. That one is absolutely crazy, with a lot of potential for bleed
Blade in the dark, which is basically the latest revolution in Rpg. And led to the FITD games, it kept the yes but partial success from previous generations of PBTA games, use long term actions (aka clock) for everything (same mechanics for opening a lock, seducing the princess or fighting a guard), and has this downtime phase which is more than just spending XP. It also has flashback mechanic letting you jump to the action and plan latter
Mork Borg, the system is fine but banal. However, the weird aesthetic makes it a must have in a rpg lover collection
Forged in the Dark games are great; I haven't gotten to play Blades, but I've run some Scum & Villainy (which is a space opera setting: think Star Wars meets Firefly), and it's probably my new favorite system
MorkBorg is fun for the aesthetic, but the combat always seems to just drag on, with round after round of damage getting blocked by armor. On the up side, the rounds go really quick.
I’ll do you one better: completely free.
Check out Ashes: 2063. It started life as a mod for Doom, but is now completely standalone and has more in common with the Metro games than anything else at this point. PC only, but both games and their expansions are 100% free and worth every minute of your time.