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What is the most recent game to really impress you?
Liking a game is easy enough: they’re usually meant to be fun, engaging, or interesting.
But being impressed by a game is harder.
It could be a particularly impressive set piece in a level, or a clever, novel game mechanic. It could be quality animations or a plot twist you didn’t see coming.
Whatever it was that impressed you, share it here. What was it? How did it make you feel? What made it stand out so much from its peer games?
Note: please mark all spoilers
You can hide spoiler text inside a details block like this:
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<summary>Spoilers here!</summary>
Our princess is in another castle!
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Which looks like this:
Spoilers here!
Our princess is in another castle!
Tears of the Kingdom is amazing. Super solid physics engine, a million different things to do. I’ve been playing it non-stop since release and feel like I’m just scratching the surface.
It's Garry's Mod meets Breath of the Wild and, somehow, isn't a buggy mess. It's as polished as any other Zelda game is. It's hard for me to be more impressed with a game.
This game really impressed me as well - and I really didn't enjoy BOTW that much. I kept trying BOTW to try and experience the magic that everyone was talking about but while I could see why people liked it - I just found it really empty and boring.
TotK on the other hand... a masterpiece.
I'm a good 65 hours into the game now, and I've also barely scratched the surface. I'd say the only criticism I have is the framerate. Although most of the time it's minor hiccups and they're nowhere near frequent enough to detract from the quality of the game.
I was hoping to perhaps have it finished before Final Fantasy XVI releases this month, but with only two of the major dungeons completed so far that's looking unlikely.
Tears of the Kingdom. I got the first power, and thought I understood how powerful it was, and I was wrong. And then I got the second power, and thought I understood how fun it was going to be, and I was wrong. And then I got out into the world and thought I understood how big it was, and I was wrong. It just kept on exceeding my understanding of how big and how fun and how powerful it could be.
Yep, I need to put in another vote for TotK… it’s just utterly brilliant.
I really enjoyed BotW and I’d probably go as far as to say it is one of the best games I’ve played, but I’ll be damned if TotK isn’t a perfect example of iterating on an already amazing experience. The thing about BotW that was so enthralling 6(?) years ago was how organic the open world felt. There was a ton of stuff to see and do, but it never felt as forced or repetitive as other games in the genre. The emphasis was purely on discovery and the game left it completely to you to decide what you want to do and in what order. It’s easy to understate how revolutionary that felt at the time and I’d suggest very few games have managed to emulate that feeling since.
And then TotK comes along, and it’s literally everything BotW was - and so much more. The world is even more jam packed with things to see and do, but the master stroke is giving the player seemingly unlimited freedom to achieve them. And despite the addition of so many new mechanics, it all just works flawlessly. I’m excited just thinking about it, and as a 30-something dad of two who has very little time to invest in gaming these days, this is pretty much the highest accolade I can give.
So in summary, I thoroughly agree, it is a masterpiece.
BOTW was kind of bleak and had things that punished you for playing: so much climbing, horrible robots and Yiga clan members everywhere, weapon breakage. TOTK fixes all of that and makes the game fun. It has a Majora's Mask feel to it at times, with people going about their normal lives and doing stuff. Maybe BOTW had that too, but it seemed more lifeless.
I wonder if going back to BOTW after TOTK would make me appreciate it more now? Because I really didn't like BOTW, but like you I think TOTK is the greatest game ever. During the opening island of TOTK I got kind of "oh no not this crap again" vibes when I heard the re-used sound effects, it really put me off playing, but I kept at it and the game changed my mind very quickly. It was when going from one shrine to the next, the new abilities remove the need to climb so much, or you can make silly devices to cross the lake, it's all just more engaging.
I love the little side quests too. The rewards are usually some terrible tunic or a new recipe, but how you get there is just so old-skool RPG-like that it feels so right. For example (and I'll try to keep this spoiler-free, it's just the idea): talk to an NPC, they give you a vague hint like "I have this clue that says (East Spoiler) region there is a cave that has something... use the clue there to do this other thing in (Other place). What could it mean?" and so you go to the region, track down the cave, find the clue and take a photo to not forget it, go to the other place, and it all clicks together. There are no big "go here" arrows on the map, you are constantly wondering if you're doing the right thing or if you are in the right place, but it seems like it fits, so you carry on. And the feeling of accomplishment is amazing, it feels like a proper adventure rather than just following waypoints on a map.
That’s a perfect example of why it’s such an engaging game; everything is just so organic. You never feel forced into pretty much anything and you’re free to approach any particular scenario how you see fit, which ironically is what most open world games market themselves on but routinely fail to realise.
The only power i can't learn to appreciate us Fusion. I know it has potential and i get some cool fused items but i had a shield with a spring attached to it for a long time (it was my best shield for about 20 shrines worth of gameplay) and it just looked so dang goofy and i couldn't figure out a practical use for it.
That said, you're completely right about how powerful and fun the powers actually are long after you discover them.
I just found auto build last night and my mind is blown. All those cool machines i been building and i been hoarding zonai materials for finally makes sense!!!!
Fusion requires more orthogonal thinking than the other powers IMO. Apart from improving your melee weapons (durability and power), and functionality of ranged weapons (improved range, homing, etc..), there are some quite fun things to do with the shield. You've noted the spring, which can serve 2 different functions as far as I've discovered (try shield surfing using a springed shield).
Great use of orthogonal :-) one of my favorite words!
So far i just use dropped fused weapons or shields. I'll have to think more creatively. I actually fuse ammo for my bows a lot.
"Orthogonal" works in STEM environments, I'd like to respectfully suggest using something more humanities-and-arts friendly in mixed environments :P
For the case above, maybe "lateral thinking" would be applicable?
A spring shield actually has a couple of great uses. If you parry an attack with it, the spring will trigger, and throw the enemy back. Also, if you try to shield surf with it, it'll pop you up into the air. Sadly, that uses up the spring, so you can't use it like an overpowered pogo stick.
Does it have to be a perfect block/party to trigger the spring? I'll give it another go, i never noticed it activating the spring effect.
Thanks for the advice :-)
I'm not entirely sure what triggers it. I mostly moved on to using ice breath on my shields when I realized I could freeze and then smash enemies without needing to throw anything or swap weapons.
I just wanted to pitch in with some of my favorite shield fusions: octorock balloons and zonai rockets both let you fly vertically for a bit, and if you find a mining cart and fuse it and then shield surf with it, it basically functions like a skateboard.
Yes I really need to get myself a Switch to play it on. I already have it running on an emulator, but that was mostly just to see if I could. I am not a fan of emulating games like that.
I know I'm a little behind the times here, but I've just recently been playing Marvel's Spider-Man and it's been a breath of fresh air for me in the increasingly stagnant 3rd person action genre. Traversal is actually fun as opposed to just feeling like padding, and the combat is so different from the standard dodge-and-roll, hack-and-slash format which has dominated the genre for the last several years.
Absolutely loved the swinging mechanics in that game! I found myself just swinging around the city with no destination tons of times, super fun
I played it a couple years ago and need to get back into it. I was amazed by the swinging mechanics, and I remember thinking it had so many useful settings for accessibility that I'd never seen before. The gameplay always feels super smooth, down to the difficulty levels. The game is just so well-polished and complete, it feels like a true example of what AAA games should be.
Yes! I played the Mile Morales sequel not that long ago and really enjoyed it. It was a little strange at first because I was just coming off of the 2018 God of War, so the combat was a huge adjustment, but once everything clicked for me it really clicked. Fantastic game. Can't wait for the sequel this fall.
Yeah, I've just finished the main story and am starting the DLC, but I'll 100% be playing the Miles Morales game next. As a PC-only gamer I'll probably have to wait a couple years until the next game gets a PC port, but I'll certainly be looking forward to it.
Outer Wilds is a game that has really stuck with me, but it's very hard to talk about without giving away the whole game. If you've never played it (you really should!) do not look up anything (except maybe the store page) about it.
Base Game Spoilers! (seriously please play this game and come back it is so worth it)
This game has stuck with me in a way that no other game has since. I really liked how they set it up as "oh, the sun is exploding!" as if it was going to do the typical video game thing of letting you stop it from exploding. Reaching the Sun Station for the first time, getting ready to shut down the Supernova, and then realizing that no, there isn't a way to shut it down, this is it. Additionally the ending sequence where you gather your fellow astronauts (and maybe some other friends you made along the way) was beautiful, especially as you're telling them all one by one to start playing their instruments so you all can watch the creation of a new universe.It's probably the best game I have ever played, which really sucks because you can't replay it.
DLC Spoilers
I don't have as much to say about the DLC unfortunately. It was still absolutely stellar but nothing can really compare to the experience of the main game. I do *really* enjoy how it played around with Fear, even going so far to give you the "Reduced Frights" option in the settings. I know it's probably there for accessibility, but seeing that warning come up after I installed it really got me set up for the experience of the DLC. It's not just that you're afraid, but the Owlks are afraid of *you* too.Outer Wilds is without a doubt my #1 game whenever I need to make a games as art argument. It covers the whole range of human emotions and does so in a way that only a video game can. It's truly beautiful, it's one of the greatest pieces of media that has ever been made. Anyone who thumbs their nose at video games as being shitty cash grabs or advertisements for children's toys (which, tbf, there are many of those but it's not everything) needs to play Outer Wilds.
It's such an amazing game expertly designed. It should be studied by anyone who wants to understand how to guide your players while still making them feel smart. I don't think I've ever been more immersed in a world then outer wilds.
It's a very different experience, but The Obra Dinn I put in a similar category, if you haven't played it yet. It's also a masterpiece.
Outer Wilds is a story that can only be told through this medium as well, it wouldn't work as a book or a movie like a lot of other games would.
Yeah! that's why I recommend it so highly. It's an incredible game on all levels that would only work as a game.
I have seen this game recommended here so much I want to give it a try now. I just watched a little bit of gameplay and looks interesting. I won't watch any more and try the game.
I've never wanted to completely forget a game more that Outer Wilds so that I could experience it again for the first time. I only played it through the once a few years ago and promised myself I wouldn't touch it again for another 20 years in the hopes I would have forgotten enough of it to recapture that feeling of wonder and amazement.
I have been craving more from Morbius Digital and only realized there was DLC earlier this year which was a treat. I really loved the DLC almost as much as the base game, my only "qualm" is
DLC spoilers
the under utilization of walking away from the lantern after you figure out you're in a simulated reality. Realizing that on my own was mind blowing, and on par with many of the "aha" moments in the base game. I feel like there could have been some really cool puzzles using that mechanic, but from what I recall the DLC is well into its 3rd act by that point.It's a bit long but No Clips "Making Of" Documentary on the Outer Wilds gave me a whole new appreciation for the game.
I played it recently with a fanmade VR mod (Nomai VR) and I was blown away by how natural and immersive the experience felt. I'm currently going through the DLC the same way and it's been continuously mindblowing to experience the world first person. I'd enthusiastically recommend the experience to anyone with access to a VR headset.
Ignoring the 1,200 ton stone elephant in the room...
Casette Beasts
On the surface it looks like a Pokemon clone. It sort of is a Pokemon clone, with a vibe a lot like the DS era games: 3d environments, streaming music, sprite characters, etc. It has two major differences from Pokemon:
I don't remember all the types, but they have an excellent interaction system. All Beasts are one type, unless they fuse, then they're double-typed which keeps things simple, while adding difficulty in other areas. Types have unique interactions that are more than buffs/nerfs against other types types, but I'll cordon an example off so somebody can be equally impressed should you decide to play
Type interaction example
An example is if you attack an Earth type with a Fire attack it becomes Glass. If you attack a Glass monster with a melee attack you induce a condition called "Glass Shards," that does damage to any creatures doing melee attacks for the turn count.It works as an open world, with static levelled zones, and the Ranger Captains, like Pokemon Gym Leaders, seem to level to you requiring you to use strategy/resources to beat them, not over-level. I think this is an interesting decision, and definitely keeps things interesting.
There's also a lot of methods of movement you unlock by capturing specific monsters. You inherit their abilities instead of using HMs to train a monster, so your party doesn't matter.
I would also like to call out the previous game they made, Lenna's Inception, which I got in the Ukraine support bundle and bought on Steam. It starts as a randomly-generated Legend of Zelda clone with a lot more depth built around solid Zelda-style gameplay.
I have Casette Beasts on my wishlist, so it's great to see some praise for it in the wild! Your description of the type interactions sounds fascinating and I'll definitely be looking forward to trying it out!
I'll also have to try Lenna's Inception since I got the Ukraine support bundle, so I should have it. There's so many games in that bundle it can be hard to find the good ones. Thanks!
Oh wow I hadn’t heard of it before, but I just wishlisted it, it looks great!
Finally, some love for Cassette Beasts! I have about 30 hours in and really enjoyed it. Everything from the art style, music, battle mechanics, monster designs... It all just "clicked" for me. I really hope they continue to update or add on to the game somehow as I had an amazing time with it.
Probably Halflife Alyx. It's one of the only VR things I've played that felt like it was good just as a game, not just because it was in VR. Now it also had a ton of really cool stuff that only worked because it's VR, but with a few tweaks you'd still have a solid FPS game.
Half Life, in general, still holds up 100% for me. Recently, I got gifted with a copy of Black Mesa and it's like I'm reliving HL1 (because I kinda technically am) all over again in GLORIOUS HIGH DEFINITION.
I picked up Black Mesa this year after having not played the original game since release. Boy was that train ride a time warp.
i tried that and oh boy, that game was incredible. but if you look at the teamsize that it took to develop it and how few people actually have VR its gonna take a few years to get more of these games on the market because its not economically sound to do so atm.
felt more of a proof of concept to me than a trend sadly :(
Really hoping that Apple’s new augmented reality platform will eventually get Alyx. Apple is probably gonna dominate that market like they do in so many others, and it’d be a shame if the majority of users miss out on Alyx.
How are you gonna play half life Alyx on VisionPro without VR controllers?
3rd party controller support hopefully. They’re supporting Unity according to the announcement, so they’ve gotta support some type of input… Unity games like Beat Saber would be pretty dumb without something to hold.
I just don't see how Apple is going to convince the general population to pay that much for something. Unless they release a "Vision Air" or something.
I saw the post over on the 'ddit where someone compared the price to a top of the line gaming machine and 1000 McDonalds nuggets.
New advanced tech is always expensive to begin with though.
Yeah, the “vision air” coming in a couple years is the one they’ll push for the gen pop. The vision pro is for devs and enthusiasts, and is priced accordingly
I know I’m not the only one who spent way too long in that grav gloves tutorial yard, flicking things over to me. I wish every VR game was as polished as Alyx.
This is by no means the most recent game - but I find myself thinking about Firewatch still on occasion.
As a adult with not a ton of gaming time these days, I really appreciated its "bite size" approach (you can finish the game in an afternoon) while also being a pretty interesting, mature, story. I won't spoil anything, but I'll just say I found the game really thought provoking in a way not many other games have managed.
I patiently waited to play that game, loved the time I spent with it, and like you still think about it. I guess that's the mark of a great game.
Such a great game. I had it spoiled, but I just love the slow burn, and the unnerving tension in parts (seeing a figure on the ridge etc). It doesn't have the same replayability in the same sense that other games do, but like your favourite movie or book, it's a standalone experience you can just come back to when you're in the mood.
Gone Home, What Remains of Edith Finch, Virginia, and Kona, are other games I recommend that are in a similar vein. First two I'm sure most people know, they're awesome.
Campo Santo was making In The Valley of God's, but that's been pushed back until 2029, if at all.
Firewatch is probably one of the best "story" games
Spoilers!
Plus I thought it was kinda amazing how they handled the whole "conspiracy" and Delilah. Sometimes things are not that deep and we are wise to remember that. The game sets you up for "crazy government conspiracy" but no, it's just a dad who lost his son and can't deal with the grief.One other thing I noticed which I'm not sure is intentional, you never see another person up close. The closest you get is the guy on the ridge with the flashlight on Day 2. It really makes the game have a bit more of that "isolation" feel, which I really liked!
Originally I remembered being unhappy with the ending, but as I look back on it more and more, the more it really "makes sense" for the kind of story they were trying to tell. Was a bit peeved you never got to see Delilah but I can respect the narrative choice.
Spoilers here!
I had very similar thoughts to you. I was initially disappointed with the ending - but then I came to realize that the disappointment I was feeling was exactly what the game intended. The overall theme was about losing yourself in other people[Delilah]/stories[murder conspiracy] as a means by which to escape the grim reality that has befallen the main character (slowly losing his wife).
As the weeks and months passed since I finished the game - I found myself continuing to come back and think about Firewatch not just as a game, but also its themes and how they relate to real life.
Can't wait to get it on PC. I played "#1" and now I'm working on Left Behind. Absolutely fantastic.
You're in for a treat! Such thoughtful yet simple additions to traversal and combat that add up to a much more dynamic experience than the first. I love the original, but the sequel has the best 3rd person shooter gameplay of all time.
The Return of the Obra Dinn
It has been ages since I have last played a puzzle game that was so memorable (the last was Ghost Trick - which holy shit, I had no idea was getting a PC release until just now).
The way you interact with the world, go in and out of memories, and have to use your environment, audio, and visual cues to piece everything together was so immensely satisfying. My only regret is that I will never be able to go in blind and play it from scratch ever again.
Also for those that played,
Spoilers here!
The captain did it.
In a completely different genre, I recently got into BallisticNG. If you like old school WipeOut you will absolutely love this game. It's also incredibly mod-able and you can find packs for all the old WipeOut games and vehicles.
I really wanted to like it and the graphics options took me back to the golden days, but it was ultimately the graphics I couldn't vibe with. Almost made me sick. Had to stop playing after an hour. There just wasn't enough "definition" or something and I was getting dizzy/sick.
Return of the Obra Dinn is right up there with Shadow of the Colossus, The Talos Principle, and SOMA on my list of 'video games are a valid artistic storytelling medium' arguments.
I generally enjoy replaying games that I've particularly liked, but some of the best games are the ones you can really only play once.
I’m only a fraction of the way through it, but Pentiment is amazing so far. Its art direction in particular stands out: the graphics and UI resemble illuminated manuscripts, and typography is used creatively for different characters depending on their roles in society. And since it’s not an indie game — it’s made by Obsidian, a decently sized studio which is now owned by Microsoft — I’m impressed by how cohesive of a vision it has.
Loved, loved, loved Pentiment and couldn't put it down once I started playing it. I felt the third act was a little bit slow, but still finished it regardless (which isn't something I often do) because the writing is just so engaging.
It was a passion project by Josh Sawyer, one of the main game designers of Obsidian, and he's a history nerd and really into the themes of the game.
The 'Friends per second'-podcast did a really interesting interview with him.
Hi-Fi Rush impressed me so much when I first saw the trailer that I instantly bought it. I'm kinda terrible at it, but it's a really cool concept.
Playing Little Nightmares 1 and 2 with my niece was a horrifically wonderful time. We started Omori and, though I haven't gotten very far, I already love how unique and creepy its style of storytelling is.
Not recent games, but a couple that I really like for their uniqueness are The Beginner's Guide and The Stanley Parable.
Hi-Fi Rush has some great accessibility features! There are no penalties for adjusting the difficulty settings either.
In my opinion, it's worth playing just for the story and music as the game develops some really fun characters. It's a unique gem.
Yay, Little Nightmares! I don't know how old your niece is, but I kept thinking how those two would be a perfect first horror game. I dismissed the series for so long, and was so glad to have found something to scratch my Limbo/Inside itch.
She's 14 and she's into weird stuff. There were a couple parts that made her jump but she loved it. My wife, on the other hand, just said "f this game!"
I loved Limbo and Inside!
My brother and my mother both loved to play Silent Hill (PS1) back in the day: he was 13, she was likely in her 30s (I can't do math now).
And that's definitely something weird to like, but then, there's a lot of people who are into horror movies, so why not horror videogames? Those make more horror per frame per second.
I, for the other hand, only liked to watch them play, but refused to take the controller. I was like 10. Fun times.
I'm sure everyone is sick of hearing about TotK, with how much it's praised, but it really, really deserves it. I just can't fully fathom how massive the game is and how vastly improved it is from BotW (which I personally thought was good, but not incredible). It struck me how special TotK was when I actually enjoyed building things, and I normally don't like building games (I hate base building in almost every game that has it, for example). The game also just allows you to be stupid as fuck. It doesn't hold your hand, but it also doesn't laugh at you. You just laugh at your own stupidity for actually trying the thing you just tried in the jankiest way possible. The game just feels so "right". Everything just works without a complaint. It's one of the most fun sandboxes I've played in.
Next, I'd say the final boss fight in the Burning Shores expansion for Horizon: Forbidden West was a technical masterpiece.
Burning Shores Spoilers
The horus being a massive, long, multi-stage, and somewhat non-linear fight was so amazing. It felt amazing to fight that thing, just a superbly designed encounter that really showed off what that game can do. GG just keeps ramping up the Horizon series and I'm here for it.If we want to look a little further back or look at non AAA games, I'd say the next game where I really said "wow, this is incredible" was Ghostrunner. It's not a very long game, but the movement is so fluid and makes you feel like a complete badass. You really have to learn your own routing through the levels and it just feels incredible when you beat some of the harder ones (same sort of feeling you get in a Souls game when you fight a boss 50 times and finally beat it). I'm really looking forward to the 2nd one!
I’ve been watching my boyfriend play TotK and I’m captivated by the merging mechanic. It allows for so much invention and creativity in playing the game. I’m so excited to start on it myself
I recently finished playing through Horizon Zero Dawn and The Frozen Wilds on PC and absolutely loved it. The whole concept, all the little details they included, how they told the story. I loved all of it and was sad when I finished the last side quests/errands after Frozen Wilds. I really hope they bring Forbidden West and Burning Shores to PC. They look incredible to play.
I'd hope they port FW to PC eventually. It's really an amazing game and I want all my PC homies to experience it, too! Glad to hear you loved ZD, this series is so dear to me and I love it when others love it too.
Zero Dawn spoilers
The reveal that humans didn't actually survive the apocalypse and that everything in the current world was created by a massive terraforming project and the world was repopulated from frozen embryos is still one of my favorite takes on a post apocalyptic setting, it's a lot more original than "some people survived" and it really drives home the despair from the old ones as they had to accept there is no surviving, but they had to carry on anyways for a future they'd never see. It really hits home when a lot of the themes of the game (the dangers of capitalism, climate change, and how it's bad to leave powerful people unchecked) are happening in our world right now. The game has some of my favorite writing from any media. I really hope it isn't another 5 years until the third game, though I'd rather GG take their time than rush it.Rain World! The game is hard, but it's only hard if you're approaching it in a certain way, in the usual competitive gamer mindset. Once it clicks that you need to let go and embrace the supposed unfairness, you'll be free to notice all the other aspects of the game that are there to help you overcome it.
This might be a slight spoiler but
Buddhism is a major theme in the game.It's not everyday that a game can change the way you think, especially through its gameplay. I wish there're more games like it but sadly haven't found any. If anyone have any recommendations let me know.
Based Rain World enjoyer. I was so happy that the devs were able to get the rights to the game back and continue working on it. Such a standout game that left an impression on me. You really feel like a lone slugcat, adventuring the world.
I've had this on my wishlist for a while, but your spoiler has convinced me to pick this one up.
I wonder if someone can help me out a little. I want to love Rain World, but it's starting to irritate me.
Small spoilers about the general experience
I'm loving the cat and mouse chases, and the platforming is pretty good. I'm fine with hard games, and I'm fine with dying.
But dying is starting to grate on me when I have to travel half the map to hunt down food to bring my level up again. And then sleep, and then repeat, and hope to move forward (before I inevitably die when something swoops down from the stratosphere).
I feel like there's a version of this game that I'd really enjoy, but I'm starting to leave it in frustration after yet another sudden death, another grind on the horizon. This is coupled with the fact that I don't really have much direction or motivation given to me, a clear challenge to overcome, except to follow pips and "explore more".
I'm not looking for a complete, spoilery breakdown...but maybe a little nudge in the right direction might help me reframe things so that I can find the fun again.
Can I ask which area are you currently stuck at,
because in case you haven't gone far enough,
there's lore!Spoilers
I'm heading towards the 3rd machine gate thing. And it's good to hear there's story to uncover, but I'm mostly concerned about the death/eating grind I've been feeling. I know I'll improve and that it'll reduce, but it just hasn't been a ton of fun going back and forth.
The approach that helped me was
just be willing to die a lot and keep exploring regardless of your karma levels, start grinding only after you locate all the major points of interest in the area (foods, shelter, gates, enemy camps... they're not 100% random). The total karma levels are really not that high if you think about it, and there's no punishment for dying once you reach the bottom so at that point your lives are effectively infinite! Exploring isn't as stressful once you stop worrying about dying.Ah, this is what I was looking for. Okay, that makes sense, I'll give that approach a try. I really appreciate it!
Against the Storm.
Rogue-like city builder.
-Every play though is a different challenge.
-Progressive difficulty levels means you can make the game harder and harder every time you beat a difficulty level.
-Lovely visual / effects / sound design
Really unique game. First in a while I have had trouble putting down.
I also came here to say this. What a great game that has kept me coming back. I've played other resource management games and love the style, but Against The Storm just hits all the right notes. Edit: forgot to mention the update cycle is crazy too. The devs have new stuff coming out multiple times a month.
It's so good. When I hit Prestige 10 I was feeling like there was no way I could handle any additional challenge, but bit by bit it feels doable. The learning curve feels good, and the fact you get partial credit even when you fail means that even a settlement that goes sideways isn't a total loss. I'm really looking forward to the main map overhaul. It'll be nice to have goals beyond trying to complete a settlement at Prestige 20.
I couldn't get to 20. Only managed 15, and then I went from winning all the time to failing. Never managed to crack that problem.
As someone who's struggling with 12, it feels like it becomes much more based on luck in getting the right cornerstones. If you can get the one that causes losing colonists to not raise impatience, you're half the way there. If you then get a couple of the ones that give rewards on colonist loss, then even losing colonists is good. At that point you're not so much running a town as a settlement scam, but it's very effective.
Yeah, those colonist loss ones seemed like a great idea, then I noticed that losing colonists was driving up impatience and losing me the game. There was a sweat spot where they were useful but later on they aren't worth it.
The "collect 25 of a thing and get +1" ones are the real gems I find. Get one or two of those and you will be swimming in that resource, which means you can make it into packs and sell for more corner stones.
Likewise, anything that drives hostility down is great.
I think the -hostility things are sort of dependent on the situation. -40 for empathy is great, but -10 for loyalty doesn't feel like there's enough total opportunities on the map to really make a difference. If sending a supply cache to the queen was a loyalty event it would change my mind, but as it is I really prefer to take the 3 training weapons a minute embarkation bonus and just crack them all for more resources & cornerstones.
Ghost of Tsushima. I really like the fighting stances. The game reminds me a lot of rdr2. The addition of fighting stances and the creative accessory weapons make each swarm fight very fun. You can switch between group and individual weapons very quickly and it allows you to create your own fighting style organically. The art is incredible and the customization of the players character allows you to really immerse yourself into whatever kind of character you want to be.
I want to play this game so damn bad. Hopefully it’s brought over to PC.
It's a beautiful game
The new System Shock Remake. Same chunkiness as the original and claustrophobic, baffling level design. I love it for that.
I Kickstarter it in.. like 2013?
It should not have come out as amazing as it did with how the dev process went.
Sadly, plenty of people don't understand the level design (well copy of), art and gameplay are deliberately retro
Inscryption.
Deck building games like Slay the Spire scratch a very particular itch, and they're hard to balance in such a way that each battle still feels unique with interesting decisions. Inscryption has an engaging card battler packaged into a game with the most interesting meta narrative in any roguelike game I've played.
While the run structure is very roguelike, more and more mechanics and characters emerge as you play the game. It helps that the game is relatively short and can be beaten in under 15 hours (the ending is worth it too).
Loved Inscryption! Would also recommend the developer's other games, Pony Island and The Hex, both of which have a similarly unnerving vibe.
I loved Inscryption. I'd never played a card -based roguelike before, so I missed some of the overpowered combos like ouroboros, but it took me on SUCH a ride. I cried at the end, and I still come back for the endless mode now and again.
Cyberpunk 2077. I bought the game on launch day, it was buggy and played like ass on my GTX970 even on the lowest settings so I put it away. Fast forward two and a half years later I have a new PC, I launch into it with ultra settings, ray tracing, the works. It looks fucking gorgeous and most of the bugs have been resolved. It's the experience I had imagined and hoped it would be when I first played it. It needed a couple QoL mods but otherwise it was darn near perfect, I'm in love with the world and had a hard time going into that final "point of no return" mission because I didn't want the story to be over.
I cannot wait for Phantom Liberty.
aside: It was kind of funny, I avoided the main storyline to run basically all the side missions so by the time I got back into the main story line all the dialogue was basically assuming that I had just pulled myself out of the garbage dump and I was an unknown street punk but based on everything else I was basically the most infamous Edge Runner in the game.
Same here, 2077 had such a terrible launch (and is still a bit buggy, but at least its funny bugs now) but I still have yet to find a game that feels the same, almost. It's just "nice" to exist in Night City for a while. I'm also super excited for the DLC.
Additionally, Keanu. I thought it was just going to be a classic "haha celebrity in video game!" but no, his character in the game is incredible and it really adds to the whole experience.
Yeah I was one of the unlucky ones who bought it twice, on both console and PC, and in both cases couldn’t get past the intro on either without it hard-crashing or being so buggy it was literally impossible to play (falling through ground, player model disappearing, etc).
I ragequit after dozens of attempts over the first few months, and didn’t even think about it until last week when I was really bored and browsing my library for something to play. Gave it a shot and it’s flawless now, and such an incredible game.
I’ll still never forgive them for that inexcusable launch, and will never buy one of their games on launch again, but I’ll at least finally get my moneys worth.
As a general rule I never pre-order or buy on launch day but for some reason my brain lost all logic when it came to this game, it hit all the buttons I wanted for a game. It was a good lesson to remind myself why I always wait for the reviews by people that didn't get it for free and rely on game devs good will for their livelihood.
I've been playing World of Warcraft Classic and decided to check out retail wow after I got bored with Ulduar.
I was very surprised to find out that the current expansion is really bloody good and a lot of the things I didn't like about retail wow have been softened considerably. The storyline and voice acting are top notch and really engaging, which I was surprised by as Blizzard's stories have been garbage this last decade.
The progression and gearing is rapid and less grindy than it was in the past, while still preserving a lot of higher tier options if you want to take the game really seriously. I'm really impressed by where they've gotten to.
I played from near end of Lich King to the opening of Nighthold. Got tired of the hampster wheel. My wife left not long after.
She resubbed for Shadowlands, hit max level, and got bored.
Dragonflight hit and she resubbed and is havng fun again. Convinced me to try it and its.not bad! Theres less of a 'job' feeling to it and im enjoying the story.
I’ve been playing Street Fighter 6 for the last week non stop and as somebody who’s been trying all year to properly get into fighting games wow is this a breath of fresh air, and so more accessible than literally every other fighting game.
Context for those not super familiar with the genre but fighting games have always really struggled with being super barebones and a massive turn off to casuals due to a lack of single player content and a way too complex onboarding process lacking good or interesting tutorials. Then even if you get past all that you’ve still got to content with a lacking online matchmaking experience that hasn’t improved anywhere near as much over the last decade as most other genres have.
In the past if you were lucky you’d get games that solved one or maybe two of these issues but never all of them as well as being an actually enjoyable game with support by the company and the community.
Street Fighter 6 looks like it might finally be that game though. It’s got a huge fun story mode for casual fans but most importantly one that teaches you all the basics and mechanics of a fighting game, tricking you into slowly learning it over time. Which compared to the traditional dedicated boring tutorials is way more effective at being engaging and means you’re actually retaining the information. Also offering a control alternative similar to other genres, removing the technically difficult inputs which lowers the barrier of entry significantly.
But most importantly the games just really fun with cool characters (who you now care more about than in previous games since they’re fleshed out and humanized in the story mode) and the online works well, easy and quick to get matches with good netcode. It truly is everything fighting game fans have been begging for forever so I couldn’t be happier.
As someone who played Street Fighter II non-stop in the arcades in the mid 90s, I really hope it's true on the teaching you the moves because that was always the biggest pain point.
As someone entrenched in the genre for the past half decade or so, I'm also super enamoured with the game. I haven't touched the single player, it's been a great time online. My only complaint is probably how annoying Drive Impact is to play around, but that's just part of the game, haha.
I’ve been impressed by Diablo IV so far. I’m working through the campaign quest line and side quests. I have put quite a bit of time into Diablo 3, so it’s a big change of pace, and I haven’t reached the end game, but things that have impressed me so far have been the consistent polish and graphical fidelity. Most new AAA games these days seem to launch with various issues. I’m playing on Xbox Series X and the actual in-game experience has been great. (Issues with the log-in servers and the fact that this is an online-only game, on the other hand are quite annoying.) There’s nothing cutting edge with the graphical rendering tech, but the sheer breadth of the world, the artistry in the assets, careful attention to lighting, animation, and physics simulations are all top-tier. The game just has a good feel to it. When my Druid shapeshifts into a bear and casts Pulverize, it just feels satisfying. This is true of basically every ability for every class, and even enemy abilities, and the overall readability of what’s going on on screen is very good, even though there can be a lot going on. Overall I’m impressed at how polished it is and the performance level given it just came out (that latter pieces should be a given, but with modern games, sadly it is not).
The whole launch has been mostly flawless for a Blizzard launch. I’m loving it so far. The classes all feel really fun to play. It’s coming across a lot more like Diablo II for me, and I like that darker tone. The pace is a lot slower than 3 as well which is so satisfying after playing like 8 years of that.
Most of mine have been mentioned, but Subnautica was a major "wow" on multiple levels. The end game falls apart a bit, but it's fine given how amazing the early/mid game experience is. The sequel lost a lot of what made the first one special, but it's still an ok game.
I am replaying Sekiro right now, and to this day I still believe that this is a game that has perfected video game combat. I continue to be amazed and impressed by every little nuance in the combat system that just makes it feel so satisfying!
Personally I've been really liking Phoenix Point. It's essentially an XCOM clone by some Indy studio, but it's just got so many neat ideas and is basically just better than XCOM in every way.
Some of the researches and meta strategy in general is a bit unintuitive but once you figure it out it's really good. Shout-out to the most popular defense economics YouTuber Perun for getting me into this game.
Also I recently played Higurashi and that was really good. I generally dislike horror so idk if I'm going to play any of the sequels, though. The sound and story in general is great, plus the first one is free, so I do recommend it.
As an XCOM fanatic, I've been meaning to pick this up when it's cheap enough and I'm finally feeling the itch; I do believe it's made by the original creator of X-Com, so there's some proper lineage there.
I find it hard to find games though that live up to XCOM, as so many games are billed as such, but miss essential properties of it and thus just aren't the same.
I enjoyed Phoenix Point, but overall found it a game a bit too ambitious for its budget. There aren't quite enough enemy types or mission variety going into the late game to keep things fresh, there are many little subsystems in the game that often end up pretty shallow or not really going anywhere. I guess I might describe it as a game with a lot of that old school jank, where a ton of options are thrown at you, and it's on you to figure out which ones are actually relevant or good.
There are definitely some real solid elements there too though. I'm really hoping that mods will eventually give it the polish and devotion needed to truly shine.
For me, it's got to be Zeepkist. It's a game made from one developer and I love his commitment to the community of his followers of this game. It's an early access Soapbox racing game, and perhaps unlike most "racing" games, you learn to use the brakes, not an accelerator. Small but vibrant, it has thousands of tracks made by players and downloadable from the Steam Workshop. Maybe just as surprising is the number of third party mods that have been made to extend the capabilities of the game.
It's a game made by one, but it is the community's game.
Crab Champions definitely impressed me. I came into this game thinking it was going to be a dumb idea with mediocre twin-stick shooter controls and simple roguelike elements. I was wrong. The movement in this game is by far one of the best feeling controls I have felt in a game in a long time. It is visually appealing, bright and colorful art style. The music is upbeat and definitely sets the mood for the game. The roguelike elements are branching paths, but each choice feels impactful. Upgrades feel meaningful, each decision can be difficult but rewarding, and above all, it is the type of game that doesn't take itself seriously. I mean, its named Crab Champions after all.
Crab Champions is way better than it has any right to be lol. I've been playing it a bunch. If you haven't already, hop into the beta version and check out the modifiers. Also, the music fucking SLAPPS
It is also an incredible value, a lot of replay-ability, decent co-op (the lag is a bit annoying though). Small price.
The Steam version of Dwarf Fortress. The UI had always put me off playing DF in the past, but now it has a relatively modern UI I have fallen in love with it. It has so much depth of gameplay, it very engrossing to play. It has a reputation as being really hard to learn, but with the new version I was able to learn the basics in a couple of hours. There is a ton to learn after that, but you can do so at your own pace, looking up stuff online as needed (if you don't want to work it out for yourself).
Satisfactory -- it's essentially a 1st person Factorio (another game I love).
The core game loop is a lot of fun both in solo and in co-op. Like Factorio, it's a game you can sink a few hundred hours into and still be having fun. It's the sort of game where you wake up the next day with an idea and get excited about trying it out.
Something unusual I've been impressed with: The studio behind it, Coffee Stain, has been remarkably good (especially by game studio standards) at listening to feedback, incorporating it into updates, and communicating back. Those updates have all been free, by the way. So the ROI for a game I purchased in 2019 has been off the charts.
Another I've found notable has been the creativity and positivity of the community. The Satisfactory sub has been one of the more fun places to poke around on Reddit lately.
I played it a couple of years ago, but Control still stands out in my memory as one of the games that most impressed me. I really loved the lore (very SCP/Warehouse 13 vibe) and the overall atmosphere. It managed to be very creepy and almost scary without relying on jump-scares and other common tropes, and just a great attention to little details throughout the game. Really looking forward to the sequel.
More recently, I was actually really impressed with Marvel's Midnight Suns, mostly because they made a game with card/deck-building mechanics really interesting (as someone who really isn't a fan of deck-building games) and with no microtransactions or pay-to-win mechanics. Unfortunately, it hasn't been much of a commercial success: the Avengers game flop soured a lot of general Marvel fans and a lot of people tune out immediately when they hear the words "cards" and "deck building," I don't think it really got a fair despite pretty solid critic reviews.
Control is incredible. Start to finish, it was such an amazing experience! Very much looking forward to the sequel(s).
Graphically speaking, UNRECORD is probably the best in terms of graphical realism that I've seen thus far. You can drop that sucker down to 144p and, if it was released any earlier, I absolutely would not be able to determine if all that was real...besides the obvious GUI overlays and all.
Trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otu_iFTivQw
This game isn't even out yet though, so it's hard to just go off of that as the trailer could be vastly different from what the actual game is. There's a lot of gameplay trailers that I've been impressed by, but until I can get the game in my hands I'm not sure that I would say that it's impressive.
If it ends up looking exactly like what it's claiming to be, then I agree it will be very impressive.
Making Unreal Engine look photorealistic during a controlled demo isn’t difficult. Most of your favourite recent big budget TV series were done with Unreal and people can’t even tell which parts are CG.
Putting a game out that’ll look that good during actual gameplay, on hardware other than a $6-10k PC, is a whole different story. 99% of people are going to be VERY disappointed when this game comes out.
Demon Turf is a level-based 3D platformer with a complex moveset. I've found the gameplay to be very engaging, and I played it a whole of a lot. It takes me back to the days of Super Mario Sunshine (and even has an optional side level based on it and other great hits from the genre).
Now to be fair, the graphical style caused problems for me due to my colour blindness, and the included colour blind modes helped a bit but it was still a game that was a bit hard on my eyes.
honestly? Horizon: Call of the Mountain on PSVR2. the little details, like picking up a panflute and holding it against your face to play it. just super cool.
I think the most recent one... Was the Outer Wilds DLC, Echoes of the Eye. The base game is amazing, but the DLC impressed me in how it was able to actually add to and complement the base game, which I honestly didn't think was possible.
Outer Wilds has some very specific themes and mechanics, and it felt very self-contained. However, the DLC managed to introduce new mechanics, new places, and a twist on the theme that all exist in the game world as if they've always been there. I won't go into spoiler territory, but even the addition of more traditional horror game elements made sense with the theme. It's masterfully done~
Truthfully? World of Warcraft.
Everything was incremental after that.
Hopefully VR will change my mind when I'm able to get my hands on it.
While I've personally had games more recent than WoW that impressed me, I certainly don't blame you for saying that.
Currently, it exists in the back of many of our minds as a popular and good MMO. But it's absurd just how influential this game was for the first 8'ish years of its life. Everybody knew what the World of Warcraft was, maybe even grandma knew. It was such a social and pop culture phenomenon, even outside of gaming spaces, and very few games have the ability to do that. It's been a long time since WoW has been culturally relevant, but it's certainly one of the most important and impressive games ever made.
For many of us, it was our first foray into an MMO or any gaming space with that level of social interaction. Until WoW, I had really only played multiplayer games with friends in person. It never occurred to me that you could play in a persistent and populated world with other players. So in addition to the culture, the game itself was like nothing else. I actually wouldn't hesitate to say it was life changing for me, in a way. Until WoW, I always claimed I hated fantasy stuff. I was very deep into star trek and basically refused to watch sword and sorcery stuff (I mean, I was 12, I was a bit silly). My sister got WoW and I just needed to have that experience after watching her play, and suddenly I fell in love with fantasy, which still remains my favorite genre of media.
WoW was the first time I was in an online, permanent place with a bunch of other people. And what a world! It was magical. I have seen good games since, but nothing that blew my mind. Before that I only played offline games. I hated the very idea of going online.
Also, I played WoW in 2012, not on release.
Interesting things happened since then, but to me they felt incremental. Not world changing.
I've been thinking about this question for a while now, because I wasn't happy to give an answer about which games I was impressed with not because of the music or art or anything else that could have been improved by a big enough budget; I wondered what game actually impressed me as a game.
The answer is Rain World..
Rain World is a painfully difficult survival simulation metroidvania. I don't blame you if that combination of words doesn't quite make sense. You interact with the game mechanically like a platformer, but unlike your average game filled with mobs you can easily kill to get past them, the world is filled with simulated lifeforms, and you have minimal combat ability; you can throw a spear but most predators will only be minorly inconvenienced by being hit by them. Even your character is simulated to a degree; there are no hit points; you can be attacked, bitten and grabbed, but you either survive it or you don't. Pretty much every living thing in the game acts like a persistent living things. Animals travel around the same way you do, and they act according to their instincts, and can change their behaviors depending on the interactions you have with them.
The game is also very heavy on "show don't tell"; there is very little text in the game, and even in the beginning the handholding is pretty minimal. The game doesn't even tell you the full extent of the moves your character can accomplish; you have to discover the advanced moves by yourself! Between the animals and the machinery you'll encounter, you'll have to read context and environmental cues to figure out how to proceed. Read them wrong, and chances are that you'll be attacked or killed.
The developers relatively recently released an expansion but I am not good/patient enough to purchase it.
Not super recent, but I love the way the random events in Wildermyth which permanently change your characters really make it feel like the story you're playing is your story… and it is yours because, if you play for much time at all, the likelihood of anyone else hitting the same random events and getting the same outcomes is very slim.
Recently Shadows of Doubt really impressed me with it's randomly generated murder cases, I was very surprised how good it felt in making me actually investigate crimes. It scratched the same itch as Return of the Obra Dinn which is one of my favorite games of all time.
I'm definitely going back to it in a patch or two. At the moment it's just the tiniest bit underpolished for my tastes, but the genius of the experience is clear.
Yeah that is true, I played it for 15 hours before shelving it to wait for more updates/features.
Scarlet Nexus. It was free on PS+ and I installed it with a bunch of other games, just to try it out. I have forgotten all about what other games I installed that day, but I'm still playing this one.
It's a JRPG, a story-driven anime style game, and while I like those, usually the gameplay doesn't fit my tastes. This time was different, because it click with me right at the 5 minute mark, and I was hooked to the gameplay as well as the story.
In this game, you have a sword and the ability to throw objects to the enemy with your mind, but the interesting thing is that other party members have other kind of powers like fire, teleportation, electricity, speed. And they can share their powers to you, which gives the gameplay a lot of things to try out.
The story is interesting, with a focus to the people you know and how you interact with them, and you have two protagonist: a male and female one, each with a different perspective on the story, so the story isn't complete without playing both (I'm still playing on the guys' route).
I'll recommend it to anyone who likes JRPGs, or who watches anime, because the plot looks like one of those.
Halls Of Torment. I've been playing some of the other popular games mentioned (looking at you TOTK) and enjoying them. I just picked up HoT the other week and have been loving it! It's like a mix of Vampire Survivors with a Diablo 1 theme. The itemization and character skills make builds/runs feel like they have more depth than VS. Definitely worth a buy at $5!
I've only played an hour or two on my steam deck, but Boltgun has been really fun so far. I went from seeing nothing about it, to hearing of it, seeing a video, and buying it within like a week or two and it's bee pretty great for the price point.
A lot of recent releases have really impressed me.
-Tears of the Kingdom
-RE4 Remake
-Dead Space remake
-Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (performance notwithstanding)
But there are two games I really want to highlight. Which are Octopath Traveler II and Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line. Octopath is a massive improvement on the first game in terms of creating a story that is intertwined with each of the characters. And Theatrhythm being able to take a gameplay loop that historically required touchscreen controls. And being able to turn that into something with a fun gameplay loop that is a great celebration of Square's music. It really does the music justice and honors the legacy of a bunch of games I grew up playing.
I'm just waiting for the patch that makes Jedi: Survivor playable to continue playing... Besides all the graphical and performance issues, I've had a blast!
If it wasn't for the fact that I was so determined to play through the story. I probably would have waited too. I haven't gone back to Pokemon Violet because of the performance. The performance in that game gave me a headache.
Still, just really adore the game. Just don't recommend the Battle Scars book that's a prequel to the game. It was pointless.
Octopath Traveler 2
The visuals made me whoa audibly a few times and the soundtrack is so good again.
I loved the first one and in my opinion, what little gripes I had have all been fixed.
diablo 4. mostly because i was incredibly addicted to diablo 3 (probably over 3k hours, played every single season).
the main reason: it feels AMAZING. the nailed the combat feel yet again. it also looks so much better than d3.
some stuff could be better (i don't like the d2-like itemization), but even the endgame is quite fun. i can't wait for seasons :)
Anno 1800. I'd ignored it for a while as I have some prior experience with the Anno series (1404, 2070) and expected more of the same, plus it was Epic exclusive for so long.
But that means when I finally got it I got the fully loaded with all DLC edition and there's just so much content that fits well with the game. The different regions with their differing challenges (e.g. limited space in the artic, water in enbesa in a way that feels better than 1404's replacable structures), and the logisitical challenge of co-ordinating them all, especially when the cross-region "lifestyle needs" come into play makes it feel like the fullest experience of any of the Anno games I've played, without quite feeling bloated. That and the late game mechanics like fuel for tractors on farms, tractors, the research systems also makes it feel like it has more longevity than either I've played before. Plus the population actually working at buildings feels a lot nicer than the arbitrary population tier caps in 1404.
The graphics are pretty for a city builder of its age too.
Persona 5. After playing P4G like four times, I promised myself I wouldn't spend months of my life on a game like that again. Bought P5R, beat it, uninstalled it, went to sleep. Woke up the next morning, set it to download again, went to work.
It's just such a stylish game. And the music is great, every single track. Even the menus are beautiful. It's one of the last real turn based jrpgs left, and I'm so thankful that there's a few remaining.
Vertigo 2 for Steam VR devices! I posted about this in another thread, but it doesn't hold back like some VR games do. It allows people like me who don't get motion sickness in VR to really experience the kinds of things it can do without being held back.
Some examples:
it puts a decent amount of enemies in front of you to where you have to prioritize targets instead of only putting 1 or 2 slow moving enemies.
there are levels where you use jump pads to move around sections of the map, flying through the air in first person perspective the whole time
you're put in the back of a moving helicopter and given a mounted gun to shoot at enemies while being flown around
Just a lot of stuff that really felt like it's showing off more of what VR is capable of.
Mine's a weird one.
"Cursed Halo Again"
It's really interesting what the developer was able to do with a 22 year old game engine. I was genuinely taken aback a couple of different times by just how unexpected some of the things were. A lot of the new weapons ended up being really funny. Some of them would seem to be really useless, only for it to have a really niche use case. Like the blunderbuss shotgun. It has a huge almost unusable amount of spread and it recoils so badly that it damages the player and sends them physically flying back. But it also sends whatever you hit with it flying as well. I used it more as an escape method than as an actual weapon by just looking down, jumping, and then firing. The D20 grenades with random effects are also really fun.
To avoid spoiling it I'll avoid naming characters but the dev seemed to either hire some of the original voice talent or use a really really good AI voice model to make new lines for some characters.
I had a lot of fun playing it and I can only imagine it's a lot more fun with friends.
For me, definitely God of War Ragnarok. Both that game and God of War 4 are in my personal top 5 greatest games of all time.
For me there are two ways to answer this type of survey/question.
Games that stand the test of time (diablo 2, darkest dungeon 1, slay the spire, risk of rain 2, dead cells, terraria). In effect they have systems that are deep and likely not to be fully explored in one playthrough. They are almost all games of full information without surprise mechanics beyond what is explicitely expected of the player. This feeling I have towards them can be lost when designs follow math formulas (aka diablo 4).
The other category are games that exceed my expectations in a surprising way. One example is "live service events", such as in Honkai Star Rail. Unfortunately it is a gacha game but it is also a game designed ontop of what was learned by the game studio with their other titles. Specifically the schedule of events and generally quality and diversity of events is top notch. Sure it is the game gambling built but like Fortnite it has a solid pace of events. Some are hits, some misses, but the sheer volume of attempts made is what I find facinating. For contrast, New World (a newish game), reuses events yearly almost unchanged... And for two companies in theory boht in the persuit of $ ... this difference is huge to me. Re-invest in your game if you call it a live service game.
I haven't finished TotK yet, but that is shaping up to be one of the best.
Other than that, my favorite game of all time has to be Outer Wilds. Nothing else since has stuck with me as much as that game has.
If you're interested, look nothing up. Progression is based on your knowledge of the universe and the story, so spoilers are much more damaging to the experience than they are in most games.
"What Remains of Edith Finch" really affected me in a way that I didn't think was possible for a video game. Such beautifully depressing story-telling with the perfect amount of "video game" in what was otherwise a pure walking simulator. I'm just glad I played it before I became a father, or I don't think I would have been able to finish it emotionally.
I am currently playing Afterimage and LOVING it. It feels like the perfect mix of Hollow Knight and Ori. Plus the map so far is HUGE!! If you love metroid type games I'd for sure reccommend this one. PLUS it allows you to use 2x different weapon types at once which I really love/haven't really experienced (or maybe just tried?) before!
Of course Tears of the Kingdom has been most recent, but other folks have that one covered. There are a few others I think have been overlooked in the last few years though.
From the CRPG standpoint the last couple of years have been amazing. Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous, and the Shadowrun Returns series with user modules really scratched the itch that the Mass Effect and Dragon Age series couldn't quite get for me. If you enjoyed Planescape Torment or Baldur's Gate I'd recommend at least giving Pathfinder a shot.
Stray.
Beautiful story, beautiful, beautiful scenery.
More of an interactive movie, tho.
I'm gonna be an outlier here to the comments, even though I've been loving ToTK, my absolute addiction this year so far has been the Resident Evil 4 Remake! As someone who really loved the original, the remake blew me away for how fresh it felt compared to the original, without being a complete rehash of it.
Of course my favorite game ever is Slay the Spire and I just "finished" it with A20H on all characters, but I've been playing that for years :)
My fiancée and I really dig Slay the Spire as well. Have you ever given Monster Train a shot? It's a similar sort of deck builder but it feels like you get some more variation on the types of decks you can produce.
I do like monster train a lot too, but it's not my biggest time sink! I have about 50 hours in Monster Train vs 500 hours in Slay the Spire!
I never played the og 1994 version but the remake of System Shock is very fun. It has a good feeling of old style play with modern graphics/qol updates. I like it enough I'm thinking about going back and playing the OG version even though it's supposed to be an absolute pain with the control scheme
Obvious TotK is a masterpiece and has taken basically all my time for the past month, but since that's getting plenty of representation here, I'm gonna call out The Finals. It had it's first closed beta maybe 3 months ago and another shorter closed beta coming up this weekend. It's by a bunch of old BF:BC2 devs and it shows. The majority of every map can be dynamically destroyed and the gameshow aesthetic just oozes charm in a way we really haven't seen since SMNC.
It's older now, but I recently played Death Stranding. It is a beautiful game. Well thought out, engaging, visually striking, immersive, adaptable, and full of little touches that make it just sing.
I highly recommend it.
It's probably just recency bias but I just played the demo for Final Fantasy xvi and enjoyed it!
Shadow of the colossus is not only a beautiful game with amazing graphics in the PS2 era, but also
Spoilers here!
Makes you wonder about your intentions, are were the baddies??
Elden Ring
I'm surprised it hasn't been mentioned yet. Even as a longtime Souls fan, this game impressed me immensely. I've never experienced such a dense, rich game world that you can actually dig into and explore. There's no shortage of open-world games out there but one of the biggest complaints most of them have is "large but empty" in various flavours, from feeling sparse and empty, or the world being large but without much to explore or find, or the world just feeling like an excuse to lay out simple gameplay and quests in a non-linear way.
But Elden Ring's world was something else. Not only is it huge but it's dense. There's so much to find and explore. It's all hand-crafted like Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom so markers and points of interest are specifically placed and reward observation. Everything in this world is alien, it's not based on any real world locations or generic fictional settings, there are things to discover that are completely unknowable until you explore the world more and then realize later what it is or signified.
But the killer part of this open world is it's an evolution of the Souls' philosophy of precise and purposeful item placements. Everywhere you look there is something unique to find, and there's usually a narrative reason for those items to be there.
The result is a world where a hundred people going in blind can have a hundred different experiences for dozens of hours each. Depending on what they notice, find, explore, experiment with, and what order it all happens in, they can all end up with completely different builds and experiences with the game. I find most open worlds streamline players by design so the experience is not as varied as one might expect. But I think Elden Ring's open-world design is a new benchmark for world design and item placement at the very least, and something more studios should pay attention to.
As an added bonus specific to the Souls games, the open-world also alleviated one of the biggest pain points of the series by making the game far more accessible than any other Souls game to date, and by a wide margin. The result is an impressive and accessible game for nearly everyone.
A bit of a different genre than most here, but ULTRAKILL has been such an amazing experience to play through. It certainly requires a lot less handholding than most games, but the skill ceiling is practically unlimited. Really takes the best elements of retro arena shooters and expands upon everything. There's tons of YouTube videos explaining the headrush of discovery that ultrakill provides but highly recommend to any fps lovers.
Titan Fall 2. It blew my mind. The story was awesome and the graphics beautiful. 10/10 awesome game.
I went through all the comments and didnt see it so Vampire Survivors. Its an indie bullet hell type game that got nomnated for game of the year and rightfully so.
Its a cheap game (free on mobile), has tons of characters/weapons/stages/hidden stuff, and most of the updates are free.
Its horribly addictive but super fun!
OK mines going to be a boring answer.
It's ToTK. I'm a 40 year old gamer, I've been gaming since the days of playing Red Baron and Links 386 on my dads i386 and everything else in between.
ToTK is the game I've always wanted to play, it feels like a culmination of everything I love about gaming in my life. I don't see how anything can exceed it right now.
Other games that impressed me recently:
Age of Wonders 4
Nier Automata
X4 Foundations
Against the Storm
Chivalry 2
I just played through the entire bioshock series and just WOW! Bioshock Infinite was freaking amazing. I had such a great time start to finish. I highly recommend a playthrough.
Shadow of the colossus is not only a beautiful game with amazing graphics in the PS2 era, but also
Spoilers here!
Makes you wonder about your intentions, are were the baddies??
I didn't play Mass Effect until a couple of years ago. That really impressed me and I've still only played the first one...
Have you tried the original Planescape: Torment? If you can stomach the dated interface, you might enjoy it.
This game (the final cut) I bought on a whim, knowing nothing about it, and never reading/watching anyone's opinion. It was all consuming, I just got so sucked into the story, all the characters (including the skills as characters, too) and the little checks for random things. One of those games that felt like I had to just take time and assess the whole thing after I finished, like a good book it was felt cathartic to finish.
This would be my answer, as well. One of the few games I’ve played with good writing.