RetroGaming

My nostalgic answer is Super Smash Bros Brawl (Subspace Emissary was wild to me), but my more modern answer is Elden Ring.

That game was like cocaine the first time I played through it.

I've got two candidates for that:

• Uncharted 4
• GTA 5

Ubcharted is visually stunning and I really like the story it tells.

GTA 5 STILL is a game where I find new things.

its not exact but LTTP rando gives that sense of new game feel each and every time. The races are great.

Then I double teamed it with https://samus.link/ which is SMZ3 crossover. Races are even better again.

Course all the wonderful hacks for both games. Parallel Worlds for LTTP is wickedly hard but a lot of fun.

Getting in to SM arcade mode recently too.

Both Super Metroid and Zelda are phenomenal.

Final Fantasy 7 or 9, Earthbound, Secret of Mana, Phantasy Star Online

Learning Team Fortress 2 for the first time as a teenager was such a crazy fun experience.

Nier Automata

A game I will never forget

There are many games that I loved and would enjoy playing for the first time, but I'm going to pick Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga. My reason being that I spent the vast majority of the game waiting for it to morph into a spiritual successor of Super Mario RPG back when I first played it, rather than giving it a chance to stand on its own as a unique and hilarious game. My preconceived idea of what I hoped the game would be really hurt my initial enjoyment of it.

For a runner up, I'll mention Kirby's Dream Land 3. In the days of Blockbuster rentals, I'd rented Kirby Super Star first, so it took me a while to get used to the more traditional Kirby powerup system where copied abilities only do one type of action each.

Homeworld

Might and Magic 3

F-19

Wow

Half-life

Dishonored

Wings for Amiga, flying in WW1 and a cool story between missions. Everything I know about ww1 air battles, I know from that game :)

That'd have to be Metroid: Zero Mission and The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. Two of some of the only games I actually 100%.

FF6, FF9 and Links Awakening

Morrowind but it wouldn't matter because I don't have enough time to get immersed in it anymore.

Silent Hill 2

I've replayed that game so many times but the first playthrough hits different

I have seen no mention of Planescape Torment, so there you go.

Spyro the Dragon as I was back in the day. That game has always been so magical for me.

Read dead redemption 1. A masterpiece.

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

The story has so many great twists and turns even up to the very end. There was a distinct point about 75% of the way through when I came to the realization that I had to binge the rest of game. Even if it meant I got zero sleep that night, I had to see how it ended.

It was so good I wish I could experience it again blind.

Bioshock. I am sure you can just replay it. The twist at the end... I wish I could relive the surprise again.

Hotel Dusk.

Probably Fallout New Vegas (if that even counts as retro yet). I've played it to death ever since it came out and can't even remember the first time I completed it.

Half-Life 2 and Shining in the Darkness.

If I were to experience it as I am today (and judge it versus games with modern graphics etc), I'd pick Ori and the Will of the Wisps. It quickly became one of my all-time favourite games, and I finished it three times in a year when I discovered it. Beautiful in so many ways.

Half-Life is probably the game that has had the biggest impact on me, though, so that would be my pick if I experienced it as I did around 1998.