Game recommendations, specifically (round 2)
Looks like there was renewed interest in this idea as the old topic has seen some recent posts. It’s been my experience that older topics don’t tend to get a lot of attention when they resurface, so I figure we were due for a refresh.
As such, here’s round 2!
This is a thread for game recommendations, but not just any standard game recommendations.
This is a thread for game recommendations where you have a very specific thing that you're looking for.
Maybe you're looking for a certain type of experience that can't easily be summarized with genres and tags. Maybe you're looking for a game that will evoke a particular feeling that's hard to put into words.
Whatever you're looking for, share your desired specificity below, and let people try to recommend games that fit it.
I would love a recommendation for my partner. She loves board games, but has only ever been able to get into one video game: Civ 5. Currently she has over 400 hours in it. The only other game she has ever liked is Spy Party, which she has about 12 hours in. She has tried a few others with no success. After some trial and error we have figured out some of her (very) specific preferences.
Likes:
Her dislikes mainly are just the opposite of her likes:
She is fine with complexity and length. The board game Twilight Struggle is one of her all time favorites which is notoriously complex.
Games she has tried but did not like:
Now, I know this isn't a board game thread, but I'll include a few of her favorite board games incase it helps:
Video Games I plan to have her try:
She is very picky, but Civ 5 has been a massively positive hobby for her and has become one of her main relaxation outlets since she discovered it. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Reading through, I was definitely going to say CK3 but you mentioned it there at the end. Other paradox games would also be good, like EU4 or VIC3, but I think CK3's focus on individual characters might be more endearing to someone who's not super into video games.
You could also try a few "civ clones" like Humankind or Old World, or the soon-to-be-released Millennia. Or heck, even Civ 6 itself if she hasn't tried that yet for some reason. But maybe she has tried it an just preferred 5, which I totally get.
There's also Ozymandias which is a bit like civ but more board-game-like and brief.
Good luck!
I recommend Suzerain Suzerain on Steam - it's a take as much time as you like political game where you're the elected leader of a small country surrounded by powerful neighbors in a Cold War esque geopolitical environment. You can get a few good playthroughs out of it depending on your choices. Each "turn" is a period of time where you make a big policy decision or two, and you get a chance to read little news blurbs from your own country and around the world. I greatly enjoyed it as a politics and history kind of nerd myself.
Have you thought about Disco Elysium? It's very political with some intrigue. There are slight fantastical elements, but it's largely grounded in realism (in a fictional country), there's no real combat to speak of. It's mostly walking around, talking to people, and uncovering more and more of the mystery your character (a police officer) is investigating.
You're downplaying the fantasy somewhat but it is a phenomenal game.
Probably -- but mostly it's about people, and very little about what I'd typically associate with fantasy
Like u/fefellama says, CK3 and EU4 seem perfect recommendations, but I also want to talk about the rest of the suite.
If she's into ancient history, she might enjoy Imperator: Rome. The gameplay is a bit of a fusion between CK and EU, but the time period if the and of the Hellenistic Era and the rise of the Roman Republic.
I still personally prefer CK2 to CK3. I think CK3 falls too much on the RPG side and less on the realm and history side for my liking, but YMMV.
Hearts if Iron 4 focuses on WW2 and Victoria 3 on the 19th Century, but those never clicked with me, so I can't speak for them very much.
Have you looked at the Total War games? The historical ones have campaigns from history. In the battles I believe you can pause/slow time or auto resolve.
It's gonna be hard to find logic/puzzle games that fit her stylistic tastes. Cocoon and Baba Is You are two of the best puzzle/logic puzzle games.
Another game just occured to me -- Pentiment.
You play an apprentice painter at a monastery in north Germany in the early 16th century, who winds up trying to uncover the truth of a murder and a conspiracy. It's played out basically entirely through dialogue, and the art style is like what you'd find in a medieval manuscript.
Check out Against The Storm. Its a settlement control game which has a distict Settlers of Catan vibe but much more depth. Totally pausable and designed for a slower pace. I am just 30 hours in and it looks like it goes much deeper.
The recently released Solium Infernum Remake might be in her wheel house - though I'm not sure if the setting might be too fantasy. It's a deep political strategy game with lots of opportunities for backstabbing, manipulation, and deceit.
Worth noting, though, that it's very much a multiplayer-focused game. It's designed for async play (my group normally does 2/3 days per turn), but if they prefer single player the AI isn't great (though they have said they're working on improving it.
(if you, your partner, or anyone else is interested in playing my group is always looking for more players!)
I'll also mention Terra Invicta, which, while it is a sci-fi game about an incoming alien invasion, is a rich, complex political simulator where you take charge not of a country, but of an ideology towards alien visitors. One might be in favor of extermination, or surrender, or building a relationship, or getting the hell off the planet. It's a lot of sending out spies, blackmailing, bribing, ect.
It's real time with pause, but like with Paradox games the pacing is very slow. There's no need to rush or micro anything.
For historical games I would recommend A Legionary's Life.
It is set during the second Punic war. You play as a new recruit into Scipio the Younger's army in his first forays into Hispania.
It's mostly a text based thing. With turn based combat on a 2d screen. It's a roguelike so your first characters will die. But as you play again you have more points to allocate to your characters rng stats.
I think they did a real good job trying to put you in the perspective of a random conscript in that time period.
I think she'd like Sniper Elite 5. It is a real time FPS game but you can take it at your own pace and slow down time. It's a historical fiction set in WWII, it's got espionage and political intrigue up the wazoo and you can chill on a rooftop popping Nazi heads.
How about videogames that are also boardgames?
Wingspan is great both as a boardgame and as a videogame. So is Axis & Allies, and a bunch of others.
Have her check out Old World - it's sort of a hybrid between civ and CK3. It's really good.
I've got two categories I can think of that I search for and have trouble finding just the right thing:
interface horror? eg Eternal Darkness, Doki Doki Literature Club, Pony Island, KinitoPet, etc. The latter two games I really DON'T enjoy, I feel like they're a bit contrived and don't have good lead-up to the payoff. (Though, I think Daniel Mullins figured it out...) I really enjoyed that DDLC sat inside its game for a good while before the turn, and I'm looking for things with more... Meat, or care, or love? Something extra or special. I have a long running phobia of programs acting on their own, so I absolutely love when games mess around with this and scare the shit out of me, but KinitoPet came across like poorly written creepypasta and now I'm left wanting.
Games that driving (or navigating) over a large landscape just to collect things, without actually requiring a ton of competitive racing? I really love driving IRL, and I would love sims that just revel in doing some relaxed driving in cool cars... But games are either racing games with some of that as an aside to sprinkle in - like the barn finds in Forza Horizon, or uh, Lego Racers 2? - or I basically set up a sandbox map in sim racing like Shutoko Revival that just doesn't have any programmatic goal aside from laptimes. This is mixed with a desire to have a game that's just the memories part of Breath of the Wild, honestly - I loved the backwards navigation and immediately stopped after getting all twelve of those.
I wonder if the Euro Truck Simulator games might suit you?
This is quite an old game now that would require an emulator, but I absolutely loved the "free ride" mode in SSX 3. I played that all the time, and even now I occasionally play it from time to time and still discover new things.
Ooh, or that offroad mudding game. Lemme see. Mudrunner. Or Snowrunner, the later one. Much slower pace kind of driving.
Have you heard of Natalie Lawhead, aka alienmelon? I've not played any of their games but I think they qualify as a form of interface horror and they are well received.
You might enjoy beam NG, a car/vehicle simulator where you could drive around aimlessly or do objectives.
I personally have yet to read it but if you enjoyed DDLC you might want to try YOU and ME and HER: A Love Story.
Oh shit, I totally forgot it - yes, absolutely read it if the premise interests you. ToToNo doesn't have a ton of the stuff I was specifically looking for in it, but the metafictional elements are integrated extremely well into the narrative and I absolutely love it.
Have you tried Slay the Princess? No spoilers but it's kinda what you're looking for in your first point I think
Slay the Princess is excellent! The great comedy writing was a bonus.
Metafiction with heart really hits me right, I think. Slay the Princess and ToToNo had serious empathy through the narratives, and even though DDLC lacked a bit in straightforward story the characters carried it anyway. I feel the same way about Undertale as well, even ignoring that one boss fight was EXACTLY what I was looking for in my post; when people make it apparent that their characters are characters, it feels like a serious double-down to reflect on what you feel about them. In a video game narrative that you're acting with or on them via your actions I find it especially spotlights whether they're designed well or not, and it can really make or break whether the experience is strong or not.
Driving & Horror/Mystery reminded me of the recently released Pacific Drive. Might be worth a look?
For driving games, maybe try Snowrunner or Expeditions: A MudRunner Game? They're more focused on trucks than cars, but it's purely about exploring and transporting things without any timers or competition.
For an even more out there suggestion: I really liked just driving around in Grand Theft Auto V, even though I liked the rest of the game a lot less. It's got a huge map that looks great, feels great to drive around in, and a lot of different vehicles. If you can put up with... everything else, it might fit.
In the old submission, some people asked for different takes on puzzle solving or investigative games. I have more games on my plate than I can tackle but it would be useful for me to know about more problem solving games of the type that have less to no combat or real time single player mechanics and more of the type of puzzles or problems without tight time constraints that are suitable for solving cooperatively, whether that's with people sitting beside you, or elsewhere on the internet, or through a built in multiplayer mechanic. If the game has built in support for multiplayer, there's more leeway on time sensitive puzzles of course, but even in that situation I'm still looking for games that are mainly about investigation and problem solving and don't have combat mechanics getting in the way.
You can suggest anything but keep in mind I may already know all the obvious answers. There is some overlap with those other requests, and you don't have to tell me about Outer Wilds, The Witness or Myst again.
This might be a dumb suggestion, but have you tried some more traditional-style puzzle games like crosswords, sudokus, pictocross, wordle, etc.? They seem to fit a lot of your boxes, might scratch the same itch.
I feel like these are too abstract for the people I want to play with. I'll have to stick to watching Cracking the Cryptic!
I haven't played the full game, but from the demo Chants of Sennaar fits.
You are this person making their way up the tower of Babel (?) and the other people speak to you in glyphs, and the objective is to translate what they say from their actions. Their are lite Zelda-style puzzles: pushing switches to open and close gates to raise and lower water levels, sneaking past guards, searching areas for items, that type of thing. The NPCs will say or do something, and from context you can guess what the glyph they use means. At certain points you have a journal with pictures of actions, and if you associate all of an area's glyphs to their correct action then their true translation is revealed (probably matching your guess, just cleaned up or more precise, since your guess is freeform text). Your guess replaces the glyphs in the NPC's text, so when you get close to a translation it clues you in to what other things mean from other contexts. There seems to be some sort of bigger mystery too, but of course just when it was getting more meaty the demo ended, heh.
I think you may like Baba is You, though that seems like it might also be an obvious answer, especially since you mentioned Cracking the Cryptic and they have played it in a video. It's a puzzle game, I frequently play it with my daughter and we try to solve together. There is no real manual dexterity needed; while there are some things that require "timing" the way time ticks in the game is that nothing happens unless you move, so you don't have to be worried about hitting something at the right second. Overall, it's a cute and fun little puzzle game.
You mentioned to avoid the obvious so am hesitating to mention Obra din, however it fits your requirements so well I don't want to chance you not knowing about it.
I've played some co-op escape room games, and these I found by far the best: https://store.steampowered.com/franchise/0deersoft
They are not easy /at all/, have very nice puzzles, and there's no time limit. Recommended to play in co-op.
Maybe obvious, maybe not: the Hexcells games and Tametsi.
I really like the We Were Here series of games for a couple reasons. They are great two player experiences and able to be played remotely. I don't recall there being any time-sensitive puzzles either. They also go on BIG discounts a few times a year and for about 5 bucks you have two copies of the game and a couple of hours of fun with a friend.
(Also, Outer Wilds. It's my favorite game ever played and you aren't my boss so you can't tell me what to say :P, even if your requirements don't actually fit the game at all.)
You do NOT remember the We Were Here series of games very well then ;)
Thanks for the suggestions, I have played these! To be clear, I have also played Outer Wilds (was a backer), The Witness and Myst.
Huh. How quickly those memories fade! The problem with puzzle games is that I don't feel much pull to replay them.
Tick Tock A Tale for Two falls into a similar vein if you haven't played it.
I'm sure you have played The Talos Principle (and potentially even the recently released sequel.)
It Takes Two is pretty decent and a bit puzzly. There are a bit more time-based puzzles in it though.
Something like Her Story could be up your alley if that kind of puzzle appeals to you. It's more of an "interactive experience" than a game but it is puzzly.
Gorogoa was pretty nice. Good visual puzzling and beautiful artwork. Publish by Anapurna Interactive, which is a great publisher to explore for puzzly games.
The Almost Gone felt like a really well designed mobile-style puzzle game. Had The Room vibes to it.
Figured I should give my Steam library a scroll and hopefully make at least one good suggestion.
I'm playing the recently released sequel next, already bought and downloaded it! Good suggestion anyway.
I played Her Story and Gorogoa and am aware of It Takes Two but The Almost Gone does not ring any bells, so that's a fresh new suggestion, I'll definitely check it out!
It can be hard for me to tell what’s “obvious “ since I love the genre but I can recommend Stephen’s Sausage Roll.
If it helps, the only suggestion new to me is still, at time of writing, The Almost Gone from Requirement!
I hate to be a smartass, but did you play Riven: The Sequel to Myst? (, the sequel to Myst?) Riven is both a way, way cooler puzzle game and a way, way more cohesive narrative by moving Myst's direction to a more anthropological bend.
I have played Riven. And Myst Masterpiece, realMyst, realMyst Masterpiece, Exile, Revelation, Uru (ABM, Prime, PotS, D'mala, Closed beta, Gametap, MOULA), End of Ages, Obduction, Firmament, every Cyan kickstarter! All with other people!
But thanks for the suggestion :D I'll definitely be replaying Riven after they release the remake.
From the previous thread:
Requesting Short Games, something I could get through in a weekend tops. Bonus if it is on Game Pass, or is already in my games library. Trying to feel productive in my hobby.
A Short Hike. It's like the good parts of Breath of the Wild condensed into about 3-4 hours tops, except that's not accurate at all. But you'll have to play it to prove me wrong, eh? Ehh?
You're a bird and you take a short hike. It is good.
Seconding A Short Hike. One of best short, cozy games I've ever played.
You haven't mentioned what you already played or what's in your library, so these will be from the ones I've personally beaten. The hours are from HowLongToBeat.
To The Moon (4 hrs) is essentially one of those games you play once because it will never hit the same way again once you know the story.
House of the Dying Sun (3 hrs) is criminally short being highly cut down from the original concept when it was called Enemy Starfighter. Laser focused on the action with each mission beatable in less than 10 mins, the game will be over by the time you're wanting more.
Portal (3 hrs) and Portal 2 (8.5 hrs) need no introduction. They ease you in with the puzzles and don't overstay their welcome while packing a story underneath all the puzzles.
Titanfall 2 (6 hrs) campaign is essentially a glorified tutorial for multiplayer, but it stands out on its own with a story about you and Titan. There's some levels that remind me of Half-Life 2's level design.
Rayman Origins (11 hrs), Child of Light (11 hrs) and Valiant Hearts: The Great War (6.5 hrs) were from a time when Ubisoft tried with making "indie" games with a AAA polish. They're all made on the UbiArt engine which showcases the gorgeous art style that look more like a living cartoon than a game engine, and contain mechanics that people don't normally associate with the big budget Ubisoft games.
Medal of Honor (2010 - 5 hrs) campaign is based on the real life Battle of Takur Ghar. The entire campaign takes place in a span of a few days with how the missions flow to each other. It has a very grounded, understated sombre feel that I feel is missing from other AAA military singleplayer campaigns that generally lean towards bombastic Hollywood action. The character dialogue is straight to the point, they rarely shout or scream, they fire in single-shot and I find the campaign as a whole portrays the "cool under pressure" special forces operator type better than other games I've played.
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (7 hours) campaign has clunky wallrunning to Titanfall 2, but as a whole it's still a fun romp for a few hours. The space military aesthetic and fighter launch sequence reminds me of the reimagined Battlestar Galactica, and being sci-fi and in space allowed the devs to go all-out with the set pieces. Like with Medal of Honor 2010, there's still a grounded feel underneath all the sci-fi, like how characters talk like there's an actual hierarchy of command aboard the ship.
I recently played through Jusant (GamePass) and South of the Circle (recent GoG giveaway, Apple Arcade?) in a few sittings each. I mentioned in another thread that while Jusant is more linear than I was hoping, the environment itself is well worth exploring. South of the Circle's story gripped me, and I enjoyed the way they explored the story. Lovely art style too!
We've talked about Jusant before and I really second it and echo your sentiment that it was more linear than I expected. It is a great shorter, story-driven game though. It was nice to just climb and read lore. The ending is suitably touching and the game nails the stylistic choices it was going for.
As mentioned elsewhere Dave the Diver was pretty enjoyable and an approachable length.
Assemble with Care was a cozy little game. I think it took about 1.5 hours or so. It's not incredibly complex but if you are just looking to have moving colors in front of you, it is nice.
Florence, likewise, was a cozy short game. The story is moving and engaging enough and the gameplay, while maybe not influential to the story at all, is enjoyable.
A Short Hike was, well, a short hike. Only a couple hours of gameplay behind it but they are enjoyable.
Unpacking is both short and narrative. I have mixed feelings on this one myself (I don't like that the "puzzles" are only able to be solved one way) but people really liked it and the story element is still good.
What Remains of Edith Finch is an interactive narrative experience. I don't know how much "game" there is but it is enjoyable and not too long.
Alba A Wildlife Adventure was a nice little play. Walk around and take pictures of birds. About 5 or so hours to 100% it.
I thoroughly enjoyed jusant. It's a journey style game where you go on an adventure. You are climbing a BIG rock. The interesting bit is you control the arms while climbing.
The game is beautiful and I love the sound design. The story is interesting but didn't grab me. After big climbing sections, there are little ledges where the player just looks out. I use the moments to do some deep breathing and really feel my progress. It makes me feel more connected to the world, character, and myself.
Overall the game is shorter (less than 10 hours). I hope you enjoy it and it helps bring you peace like it did me.
GRIS
Beautifully stylized and emotional platformer. Sad girl vibes.
What Remains of Edith Finch
First-person narrative game that tells the tragic family history of the Finch family through flashback sequences.
The Looker
Fun little (1st person puzzle game) parody of The Witness, which you do not need to have played to enjoy.
VVVVVV
Puzzle platform game where instead of a jump button you have a "reverse gravity" button. Also has a banger chiptune soundtrack (called PPPPPP).
Pony Island
A simple little endless runner game where you play as a unicorn jumping over obstacles. Well, there's also an overworld that you have to progress through. Well, there's also meta narrative that you're playing on an arcade cabinet and need to beat the game to escape...did I mention that the game is possessed by the devil and you need to hack it by completing pseudo-code puzzle sections to unlock your pony powers?
The Hex
6 video game characters are in a bar and find out that one of them plans to murder someone. They need to figure out who the killer is. You play flashback sequences for each character which spans many game genres. Same dev as Pony Island, it gets meta and crazy.
I thought Returnal was a great weekend game! Beat it in 16hrs. Though you can also do more runs (rougelike) I felt pleasantly complete with it after that.
Dave The Diver is another; super cute and fun and also around the 16hr mark.
I am going to recommend several truly niche games so they are probably in neither category.
Golem Creation Kit(maybe 3-6 hours) - a visual novel combined with creating golems from the surroundings of your tower to scare incoming mobs. Golems are varied and sometimes stupid(towel golem) the visual novel part is good but as a warning contains a truly intense jump scare in one of the paths
The Next World(maybe 5-10 hours) - from the same developer. Again a visual novel with building up a colony from a crash landing.
CAT Interstellar(maybe 1 - 3 hours) - "a walking simulator" basically. Contains good atmosphere and a good controllable models of a robot and a cat. The story presentation may be confusing.
Lumini(maybe 2 - 4 hours) - controlling a swarm of lumini in a relaxing experience. Best with a controller.
Solstice(depends on reading speed, maybe 10 -16 hours) - a mystery visual novel and people from different places set in a magnificent city in a frozen wasteland.
Lil Gator Game is a very cute and short game where you play as a lil gator on an island and your goal is to build a big party so your sister can take time off work and have some fun with you! The gameplay loop consists of finding different animal friends on the island and completing short tasks for them to "recruit" them to the party. It's adorable and I think I 100%'ed it in about 4 hours?
I recommend Merchant of the Skies. It's short and simple but I found it interesting, you have a flying ship, then explore among islands in the skies. As the name implies, there's a focus on commerce, acquiring products or buying cheap and then selling high to stores.
You know what, fuck it, I'll give it a try. I've asked on reddit and a few other places before but it seems too specific of a request for them.
Is there anything in this universe that feels something like Kingdom Hearts 2's (specifically and not the other games in the series) combat? Kingdom Hearts 2 shares a lot with other 3D beat 'em ups but the usual DMC, Bayo, etc, are not quite like it ; It's kinetic and swift, there's a uniquely floaty yet fast quality to air combat (Sora goes up on hits and down on finishers), a focus on single target fights (through hard lock-on and combos) that makes bosses feel awesome...
I've played plenty of other great beat 'em ups but never one that felt anything like KH2. I've wanted one forever. The closest experience I've had was the jet boots Bouncer class in Phantasy Star Online 2, and even then, it was only a slight similarity in how it had fun air combat. Is there anything remotely similar? Maybe among the many obscure PS2 games that tried to copy DMC's homework back then?
Maybe Hi-Fi Rush? There is a lot of shared DNA with what I remember from Kingdom Hearts with air chains, zip grapples, and big dudes to focus on at boss time. There is the big difference that Hi-Fi is a rhythm game, and attacking on beat is a big part of the mechanics, but I’ve been doing alright with button mashing and trying my best to.
Have played that through! Loved it, and you're right, it does share a bit more with KH2 than most do, like the importance of air chains. But it's still not it; it's still heavier and less momentum-driven than what I'm looking for. Still, thank you.
Perhaps Ys 8: Lacrimosa of DANA? Within the JRPG community it's among the most frequently recommended action JRPGs, but it's criminally underrated among the wider gaming community. As a bonus, it also (IMO) has one of the best video game soundtracks of all time.
For something a bit more niche, I would also recommend Astlibra: Revision. If you can overlook the game's awful writing, Astlibra has some crunchy combat that you might find appealing, with most of your time spent jumping up and down and swinging your sword like a mad man. But it's not totally mindless -- you can seemlessly interweave these haphazard attacks with spells, which cause a subtle-but-satisfying slowdown when your spells connect.
I knew of Ys 8 and it does seem to have fun combat (after looking up high level gameplay, it seems like it has more room for expression than I previously thought) but it's not the feel I'm looking for. Doesn't seem to be as mobile and seems overall more heavy than KH2. It reminds me more of PSO2, actually, which isn't a bad thing!
Astlibra, I'd also heard of. I wanted to try the demo because it looked fun. Definitely nothing like KH2, though; the wondrous mirage of a game I'm looking for would need to be 3D. "Crunchy" isn't exactly the specific quality I'm looking for either, even if it's a positive one. It's all about how the character moves, I'd say.
Ah, I see what you mean now. Maybe you'd be interested in the insect glaive from Monster Hunter World/Rise?
This looks fun, but this is also far from it. It may be fast for MoHu, but it's slow and committal in comparison to anything else. We're talking about a game that plays like this. Also, a note: it doesn't have to be an ARPG at all! It can just be a beat 'em up!
I'm sorry, I'm aware I'm being a bit difficult, I can't express the thing I'm looking for better than this :(
No worries! I think the point of this thread is to be picky. Unfortunately I can't think of any games that play like that (other than maybe DMC, as you mentioned). Yet, like a word on the tip of my tongue, I feel as though I have seen similar games.
I'll keep watching your replies -- hopefully someone else has an idea!
What about Penny's Big Breakaway? It's more of a platformer but definitely has some kinetic beat-em-up influence (and boss fights).
I've actually been holding out for another one of these topics! But when I started to write up the specifics of what I'm looking for, I found it difficult to express. That might be because its an attempt to recapture a feeling that's intrinsically tied to a place and time in my life. Nonetheless I do think there is something in the game design and presentation of what I'm drawn to, and I'll attempt to explain here.
The horribly reductive version:
I want to play 3D Fallout games modded to be very difficult. But I don't want to die so often or save scum. And I want to play on the couch with a controller.
The version with (probably too much) detail:
Around 2015 I played Fallout 3 for the second time, and fell headfirst into the modding scene. Most importantly, I discovered the Fallout Wanderer's Edition mod, which among many other changes boosts all damage making the world lethal for you and your adversaries both, while removing conveniences like fast travel to make the game's world as bleak and dangerous as it appears. And this captured me like few games have. Especially in the beginning, when all resources are scarce. I would leave town to make a run to a nearby ruin, only to be met with raiders. Ammunition and healing supplies are limited, making fights not only dangerous, but desperate. Inventory space is also reduced, so I can only bring back a small amount of loot to town to sell. And there's always a risk of another attack on the way home.
But surviving one of these missions, managing to get some high value items to sell, making it back to the safety of town barely hanging with a shred of a health bar, and being able to reinvest to make the next outing just slightly less fraught - all that made it worth it. All these factors worked together: the danger outside; the safety inside; the material scarcity; and, lets be honest, the amount free time and patience I had back then to keep going when it so frequent went wrong. All that was paired with what I already loved about the Fallout - exploring, environmental storytelling; nice songs paired with retro-futurism.
I have played New Vegas and Fallout 4 with very similar setups, and also thoroughly enjoyed them, although with diminishing return over time. Fast forward to today, and the super-difficult Fallout doesn't work for me at all. I think the reason why has to do with how difficulty, and therefore how the game's sense of danger, is manifested.
As an FPS, the challenge is in quickly and accurately shooting, along with tactically using your surroundings all in the spur of the moment. Though preparation is certainly a factor, the high-damage high-difficulty mods are all about the moment-to-moment struggle. In the real world, that translates to dexterity with the mouse.
Some of my friends are into the game Escape from Tarkov, which on some level replicates a lot of what I loved about the cycle of modded Fallout. I've spent a bit of time with it, and reached the same conclusion - its a difficult game made difficult in part via the skill of using the mouse correctly.
Maybe its because I'm now in the later half of my 30s and my reflexes aren't what they once were, or maybe its that after enough years of working all day at a desk, I can't quite handle playing a game at a desk in the evening. I want to play games on the couch with a controller. I don't want success to be determined by twitchy shooting skills. And I don't have the patience any more to die quite so constantly.
But I still want to spend time in a world that feels dangerous.
I'm sure anyone who has read this far already has a recommendation of the Dark Souls family ready to go. To which I'll say that yes - that fits my criteria. I have played a lot of Elden Ring, and I think its a spectacular game. The world is incredible and fun to explore. There is real challenge, but can be accomplished with a controller.
All I feel its missing is the level of (apologies for this particular word, but I have no other options) immersion. I attribute this mostly to the third-person perspective. I feel less like a person making my own story in that world, and more like watching another person (who I happen to control). The difference is slight, and honestly I should probably accept Elden Ring as everything I could hope for. I likely will. But this is game recommendations specifically, so I'm going to hold out for those specifics!
So please, if you can think of any games that might fit the profile of a dangerous world, safe home, immersive (so sorry to say it again!), and fun to explore but difficult, yet playable by controller, I'm dying to learn!
Edit: Platform is probably the least constraining element for me, but I have a computer, a PS5, and a Switch to work with.
STALKER series, maybe?
As a general tip, most games with a modding scene have mods that make the game harder, but also ones that make it easier. Mods are for personalizing your experience and there'd be no shame in modding out parts of the challenge that you don't want to engage with.
I love hard games and I still modded Stardew Valley to have more time each day, because I didn't wanna deal with stress from time constraints.
I would like to request a game set in a fantastical remote place and heavy on exploration. There should be strong story and narrative.
Also featuring partial isolation and muted survival aspects. Possibly featuring RPG elements but with either absent or light(time-wise) combat. Secondarily base building and management aspects of some kind would also be nice.
Some games that fulfill the request up to a point would be Titan Outpost and Subnautica.
There's a great game that hits on most of the points that you mentioned except for the story and narrative part. While there is a story, it's not the strong point of the game. More often than not you're ignoring that and doing your own thing. The game is Horizon's Gate, it's an RPG with exploration, survival, combat (Can be tweaked to your liking but I found the defaults a good challenge), you have your own fleet of ships and crew to manage but there's no base building, while you can do some building in specific spaces these are not quite your base.
I was completely surprised because I wasn't expecting much, but it's one of the best games I've played in a few years (Probably since Subnautica). Another bonus is that there are heaps of mods ready to install through Steam Workshop that add interesting bits to the game, there's even some that seem to add big quests that could satisfy your narrative/story needs.
I haven't played it yet, so can't completely vouch for it, but I'm planning to pick up "The Invincible" soon now that I read about it in this thread
Oh man, I just finished The Invincible! It was incredible, I loved every second of it. It feels more like a book come to life than a game, as most walking simulators do, but it enraptured me. Gorgeous, complex themes, genuinely intellectually engaging narrative, and just an atmosphere I can't really describe. I hope you have fun with it.
Light "RTS" games in the style of Pikmin 4.
Grabbed the demo a while ago, loved it more than I expected and bought the actual game.
Are Pikmin 1-3 as good and available for the Switch?
Tooth and Tail sells itself as a 'distilled' RTS made for newer players to the genre. It's similar to Pikmin in the sense that you control a commander that leads units directly instead of a top-down interface. It's also made for controllers!
I've played neither Pikmin nor the game I'm about to recommend, but I believe Tinykin is basically an indie Pikmin?
+1 for Tinykin, such a delightful game I was surprised to love as much as I did. I'd say it's lighter on the RTS/time management piece than Pikmin, but it uses similar ideas in service of a super tight platformer collectathon design that I thought worked really well.
The Wild of Heart is a similar game to Pikmin. It seemed to be pretty well received.
Additionally, the full Pikmin library is available on Switch. Pikmin 1+2 have a bundle, and Pikmin 3 has a demo.
I've been searching for games that illicit some of the same feelings as the Mass Effect games or Baldur's Gate 3. I'm really into RPGs, especially ones with good companions and that have lots of conversation involved in the game instead of your protagonist just going through the story (I want the role play in RPG, dammit). I could just replay through the Mass Effect games like usual, but I'm wondering if there are other, similar games that aren't as old as KOTOR, for example.
I tried Dragon Age Origins and bounced off a few times (it is so, so dated, but maybe I could just skip ahead to Inquisition), and I also bounced off Divinity Original Sin 2 (starting that after BG3 just makes it seem lackluster, but I could give it another shot) and Pathfinder WOTR (same issue with DOS2). Basically, I'm finding I'd prefer something like an action RPG (like Mass Effect, not like diablo, genre names are confusing, lol) instead of something that's a tactical slog.
Really, if there are other games out there that straight up have the same structure as Mass Effect, that's what I'm looking for. I think my only "requirement" is for it to be somewhat modern and I'll say that I'm also not really a fan of JRPGs, I tend to prefer western RPGs. I did play through KOTOR in 2020 and it was amazing, but it took me 6 tries of starting it to actually get through the game, it's just difficult to put up with in this day and age. I could say the same as KOTOR 2 (though I may go back to play that one someday) and Dragon Age Origins, but I'd vastly prefer if there's a game like what I'm wanting, but made in the last 10 years, ha.
So this is a bit of a wild card.
Its not an action adventure RPG like Mass Effect or a CRPG like Baldurs Gate. It's a JRPG, made mostly by one guy in RPG Maker 2000, back in the early to mid 00's.
Hopefully I've not lost you but it's called "The Way", and it's a 6-episode series of RPG Maker games where you can transfer your save game across the entire adventure and become an incredibly powerful main character.
The story involves Rhue who is searching for his long lost childhood friend in a strange, mysterious fantasy world where everyone is a wandering nomad.
Rhue's travels take him to many settlements where he meets a wide variety of fun and interesting characters (all with their own stories and motivations), and takes part in stopping sieges, gang warfare, raiding dungeons, and even legal battles and a spot of acting.
Meanwhile, a dark dangerous killer wreaks havoc, leaving a trail of brutal and bloody murder behind him as he closely tracks Rhue who eventually begins to discover more about himself and the dark, violent world he inhabits than he ever wanted to.
Its a ton of fun, it was absolutely THE game that everyone who was into RPG Maker followed back in the day and I remember getting hyped for the final episode releasing by joining in on theory discussions on the games forum. There's a lot of dialogue, character development, awesome cutscenes along with some really cool game systems in use throughout the series. The first episode is quite different to the rest and it's quite short, still good don't get me wrong, but I'd say the peak of the series is episodes 3 to 5, absolutely incredible.
Its one game I wish could be remade for JRPG audiences with a good budget behind it.
Huh, that's a super interesting project, I had never heard of it. JRPGs aren't my usual cup of tea, but I may have to check that out at some point.
I can see you mentioned in another comment that you aren't a huge fan of JRPG combat because of the grind.
Just to let you know, The Way is a fairly linear game and enemies are presented on screen and once they're gone they're gone so grinding isn't really possible. If however you try it and you're still not a fan, you can turn Combat Off at save points so when you bump into an enemy you automatically win.
I know you said you would prefer an actiony-RPG like Mass Effect, but I recently finished Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, and it's the first tactical cRPG in a very long time that truly drew me into it. The story is genuinely amazing, the characters are incredible, and the decisions you get to make over the course of the game feel like they really do have profound consequences, and not just for you, but for everyone living in the region of space the game takes place in, as well as your personal demesne, which includes hundreds of millions of people on several habitable planets.
BTW, Rogue Trader was made by Owlcat, who also made Pathfinder WOTR, which I know you said you disliked... but IMO Rogue Trader is far far far far far superior to WOTR. I found WOTR to be extremely dated, insanely over-complicated mechanically, pretty awful as far as the story goes (cliche "you're the chosen one!"), and super generic in terms of its fantasy setting. But Rogue Trader was a truly brilliant scifi RPG! And I think having such an amazingly deep lore to draw on (Warhammer 40k) really helped Owlcat out. (p.s. You don't need to know any 40k lore to enjoy it, since it does a very good job introducing you to the universe)
But if you're dead set on something a bit more actiony-RPG in the vein of Mass Effect, then I can also wholeheartedly recommend Horizon Zero Dawn, which I only finished playing a few days ago! Unfortunately you just missed the sale though. It was only $12.50 last week. :(
I actually had Rogue Trader on my wishlist and completely forgot about it since launch, thanks for the reminder! And Horizon Zero Dawn and Forbidden West are my favorite games, so I beat you to it :)
Hah, nice! Seems like we have very similar taste in RPGs then. So hopefully you enjoy Rogue Trader too. :)
If you do decide to get Rogue Trader, one word of advice though; Get the Toy Box mod for it. At least when I played it at launch a few months ago there were still a few major bugs, and Toy Box allows you to fix/circumvent them. Owlcat is usually pretty good at fixing bugs reasonably quickly though, so that might not be such an issue anymore.
But Toy Box also has a great feature called "remote companion dialogue" which allows companions not currently in your active party to respond to dialogue prompts as if they were present. It removes a lot of the headache of having to decide which companions to take with you on each mission, so you can always just take the ones you feel like playing the most, which I always struggle with in party-based RPGs since I hate missing story/dialogue. :P
It also allows you to respec your character and the companions back to level 0 too, which is kinda needed since some of them have terrible builds you cannot normally respect back far enough to fix, and respeccing the proper way in the game also costs Profit Factor (which is a very very limited and valuable resource). And it even allows you to pick a totally different starting Archetype for every character too, if you so choose, which is nice for if you want to experiment with builds, or have too many of one type already in your preferred active party.
p.s. Officer's are OP. Bring It Down! and Finest Hour! are easily the best skills in the game. So make sure to have at least one Officer in your party at all times... or even just choose that class for your main character, since having multiple Officers is even better than having only one, especially on the higher difficulties. IMO it's also a super fun class to play though, and suits the Rogue Trader's role of commanding others to do your bidding. ;)
p.p.s. My first playthrough was as an "Iconoclast" (Good-ish, for 40k anyways), but this is one of the few games where I actually fully intend to eventually go back to play the "Heretical" (Truly Evil, Chaos Gods worshiper) and "Dogmatic" (Eliminate Chaos at all costs, even if countless innocents die in the process) roles... since there were so many interesting choices that were presented throughout the game, but I always chose the least-worst option to try to be a "Good" person (which in 40k is very difficult to do without being branded a Heretic!). And the game ending, and each companion's endings totally changes based on what decisions you made throughout the game, which I want to see all the different outcomes for.
I know you said that you aren't a fan of JRPGs, but in my opinion JRPGs do a much better job with character development/interactions than Western JRPGs. I assume that you don't care for the anime tropes? If that's the case, perhaps you should consider a more "serious" JRPG such as Yakuza: Like a Dragon. It's still very silly, but unlike most JRPGs, Yakuza features an adult cast and feels more mature for having it.
I actually love anime, it's that sometimes eastern game design choices bug me, so it's more based around game mechanics than anything (I've found that some JRPGs I've tried are grindy, have complicated menus, I'm not the biggest fan of turn based combat unless it's as simple as pokemon, etc.). I actually have the first two Yakuza games in my library, but haven't gotten very far into the first one. I may try again, because I've been meaning to play them, regardless.
Gotcha, I get your concern here -- sometimes I feel super overwhelmed in the first dozen hours of a new JRPG when I'm trying to figure out how all the systems work. I think Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was probably the worse example of this in recent memory. (That said, part of the fun in JRPGs for me is figuring out the different convoluted systems.)
You probably already know this, but Yakuza: Like a Dragon (aka Yakuza 7) represents a reboot in the series, so you could just jump ahead to that one. Yakuza 7 also makes the switch from brawler-based to turn-based combat -- an unusual transition in an industry where turn-based games are seemingly going extinct. Personally, I didn't care much for the brawler combat in Yakuza 0 (and dropped it after a few hours), so I found the new combat system introduced in Yakuza 7 a welcomed change.
Yeah, I've considered going right into LAD, as it would otherwise be so, so difficult to play through the first SEVEN games when they're probably 20-40 hours each. Even with some of the originals having remasters, they're still pretty dated. I generally like brawlers, but even though Kiwami is only a few years old, it is of course a remaster of a game that is 20 years old, and it definitely feels like it at points.
This is exactly how I feel about the Legend of Heroes series. T.T Incidentally, Trails FC & SC would be good recommendations for a character-driven series, but I've stalled on the third game for pretty much the reason you outlined (the magic system is a hassle to optimize).
Unfortunately of the dragon age games, DAO feels much closer to mass effect and baldurs gate than Inquisition does. The gameplay in inquisition is good, but if you're looking for something that feels like mass effect, I'm not sure inquisition is it. Sadly I completely agree that DAO feels very dated, though I don't think it feels any more dated than mass effect 1 does if you've played that recently.
Maybe try the Shadowrun games that Harebrained made? They're turn based and feel just a little dated, but they have the same sort of deep worldbuilding vibe. They're also not all that long, so you don't end up in the slog.
On the other end of the spectrum is the Witcher 3. It is a lot closer to just playing through the story, but that story is so good that I find most RPG fans still love it.
I do intend to go back to Shadowrun Hong Kong at some point. I'm a massive fan of the tabletop game and loved the first two hairbrained games, but never beat HK. I don't think you're wrong about DA, where DAO is going to be the closest vibe to what I'm looking for, but it's just so, so, dated despite releasing after Mass Effect. It always blows my mind at how it looks and plays compared to a game that came out before it from the same company. Mass Effect 2 came out just 2 months after DAO, as well, ha.
With the Witcher 3, that's another I "intend" to go back to eventually. The funny thing is that at release I actually got 95% of the way through the game, but then something happened where I lost my save file (I think I had purchased it from gog before they had cloud saves and I must have reinstalled my OS or something and lost the saves, I remember even making an effort to copy my saves for all my games to a flash drive to save, but Witcher 3 for some reason was lost). So I'd like to beat it eventually, it's just so much game.
I do appreciate all the suggestions! For now, I started another Mass Effect trilogy playthrough, lol, but everything you listed is definitely something I want to play through eventually.
Sounds like we have very similar tastes!
Looking for turn based strategy games or deck builders, but where you plan you turn simultaneously with the opponent. Both players turns get resolved after you both did the planning.
Long ago I had Risk II which had the game mode "same time risk" where you planned all your attacks at once, at the same time as the opponents. Then you submitted the plan and all the combats of the round got resolved. This added a whole different layer of strategy and anticipation and I enjoyed it a lot.
A game like into the breach is a good game, but not exactly what I mean as the opponents move is already shown beforehand, and they have a different moveset as the player.
If you're looking for more board games, Lords of Xidit would probably be to your liking. You can play it on Board Game Arena. Unfortunately I can't think of specifically videogames with the mechanic off the top of my head.
Oh apparently there are more boardgames like this. I didn't think this would be a thing on tabletop so it's nice to know
The first things that come to mind are Frozen Synapse and Frozen Cortex.
I remember Batalj was doing some neat things with this but the devs made pretty obviously bad project choices and the game has been entirely shut down. A shame.
There's also Decoherence. This one isn't simultaneous turn-based, but a mix of simultaneous setup and action. You set up your bot strategy at the beginning of the round and then watch it play out real-time, but you also can take control of a bot and play in the round yourself. It's been made free recently, so figured it was worth mentioning even if it isn't quite right.
Nice suggestions I will take a look
Something that feels like Fire Emblem Path of Radiance. It's my favourite Fire Emblem game and I have played other ones and other strategy series don't hit the same. Like advanced wars was interesting but not what I want.
Path of radiance really grabbed me and became a favorite of mine. I later tried the follow up on the wii but it didn't hook me the same. I also didn't much like the gba and ds game styles too much. Three houses however did really get me good and is just as memorable as path of radiance. Fire emblem engage I put it down after like 3 battles and didn't feel like coming back to it.
For another game maybe see if you can dig up ogre battle 64 on an emulator (n64). I tried fresh on am emulator and really liked it. I hadn't played it back in its day but had played the snes version. It held up really well and I found myself caught up in the story. It's not 100 fire emblem but it sort of feels similar in many ways. Maybe this one is a stretch but worh a look.
There is also symphony of war, a recent indie that is a combination of fire emblem and ogre battle. The story didn't do much for me but gameplay and unit designs kept me busy with it. Overall solid game that scratched the elusive fire emblem itch.
Another reach but maybe triangle strategy might be good too. It's more a tactics game, however it gave me good fire emblem vibes in terms of story and how the characters are all unique class's unto themselves. It was a surprise hit for me even though the story seems to turn a lot of people off it based on reviews.
Anyway hope one of those stick. Three houses is the only game that really came close to path of radiance, it is not a really well saturated genre by a long shot.
I'm now reminded of final fantasy tactics and felt I couldn't get into it as much but it did hold my interest so maybe that might be something for you? I'll give ogre a try at some point
Unicorn Overlord is coming out today, and the trailers gave me some Fire Emblem-vibes. But I haven't played Path of Radiance, so not sure how it compares. But it might be worth checking the reviews if you have any of the consoles (looks like there will not be a PC port).
There's also Wargroove, but I think it's closer to Advance Wars than Fire Emblem, so might not be a good fit for you.
Which FE games did you play? I used to think I was a Fire Emblem fan, but I think I realized I just really like 7 and 9...
9 is absolutely the tightest the series got, but 7 is almost there without the feature-completeness of skills. 12 has no notable story content but the gameplay feels way better than 11 if that one turned you off. I haven't finished playing 14-Conquest myself, but the strategy feels a lot more chunky than the other entries around it. Just either blind yourself during the cutscenes or find a patch with a full rewrite... And I hear 4 is still beloved for a great grand-fantasy story if you want the aesthetic side out of it, it's just clunky at times.
You may want to look at some of the SNES/GBA ROMhacks and see if they appeal more. Project Ember attempts to redo 6, though uhhh like 6 it feels jackass difficult.
Other than that... I've got the same request, lol
One thing I've seen but haven't tried yet is Fire Emblem Illusory Dungeon. Rogue-like, a few random maps and random units to beat a boss at the end. You might be into it too.
I've always loved games that dramatically and seamlessly change a sense of scale. For me this was many of the battlefield games and the Halo games when you went from footsoldier to vehicle. I'm interested in more games that change scale, but they don't have to be in the FPS or multiplayer shooter genre. I'm interested in any games that dramatically change scale based on different circumstances or player interactions with the world.
Have you played Fez? It does some very fun things as you progress (don't want to spoil anything). Part of the game is cracking a language which I remember being pretty hard. I'm sure it's easier with the internet as it is now.
I've been wondering as of late if there are many games I've missed that tend to focus on explosive spectacle. Think Just Cause 3 or Split Second; games whose whole selling point is that a lot of things explode in cool ways a lot of the time. I don't see this kind of game all too often, and I can't help but feel it's because I just haven't spotted them rather than them not existing.
For what it's worth, linear games that have a lot of action set-pieces could also qualify!
I'm looking for a PVE or single-player game in the vein of Tribes. I'm particularly interested in Tribe's movement mechanics: there should be a focus on building momentum while traversing large, open spaces, especially via "skiing".
I think the best recommendation I could give is Exo One (there's a free "prologue" if you want to try it out). The entire game is based around using its unique momentum-based movement system. It's not particularly long, but probably takes a few hours depending how much time you spend just cruising around for fun. I loved it though, and should really play through it again.
And definitely going more into "games with great movement" than "games about movement", but I think all of these have especially great flow while moving through their worlds, so might be worth a shot:
(@cfabbro)
Oh wow, Exo One looks amazing. That is definitely very very reminiscent of Tribes movement. The Spider-Man games, Sunset Overdrive, and Just Cause 3 all have amazing movement too, so are also great recommendations.
p.s. I really should play Sunset Overdrive one of these days. I bought it way back when it first came out for PC, but never actually got around to playing it. :P
Exo One nails it! And it's pretty obscure, so I don't think I would have encountered that naturally. Thanks for the rec!
The others I'm familiar with, though I've only played each to varying degrees. I've finished Spider-Man, dropped Sunset Overdrive, and somehow never played Just Cause. Of the three, Sunset Overdrive was the game that intrigued me the most, but I found the movement a bit too restrictive in the beginning (a literal rail shooter, if you will). I probably ought to give it another shot, though.
Tribes 3: Rivals is releasing in Early Access next week, but it's PvP:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2687970/TRIBES_3_Rivals/
The only PvE game I've played that I feel has come close to Tribes, in terms of fluidity of movement, is Warframe. But it's not quite the same kind of movement, since Warframe is mostly all ground based (running, jumping, sliding) and there is no momentum building to it.
But if you're not dead set on PvE combat and movement exactly like Tribes, you could also try some Time Attack games. A lot of them have momentum building mechanics, and extremely fluid movement that can be as satisfying as Tribes movement is. E.g. Dustforce, Action Henk, Remnants of Naezith, The King's Bird, Trials Evolution, Lonely Mountains: Downhill, Descenders, etc.
I've heard that Tribes is returning! That's actually what inspired me to ask. But I've basically grown out of PVP games -- I just don't enjoy the competitive aspect.
I did try Warframe for a bit, but it didn't really stick with me. It looks like I somehow have Dustforce in my Steam library, so I'll give that one a shot. Thanks!
Yeah, I have slowly lost interest in competitive PvP over the years too. So I totally understand where you're coming from.
When did you last play Warframe though? The game has evolved so much over the years, and also gradually gotten better with every major update (IMO), that it's actually kinda crazy. It's almost a totally different game than it was even a few years ago. I have a friend that is still absolutely obsessed with it (2000+ hours played), so I've also played it with them a bunch of times over the years too.
And NP. I hope you manage to find something you enjoy. And if you do ever find anything PvE that has the Tribes vibe, let me know... since I loved the movement in Tribes too, but haven't yet found anything truly comparable to it. :)
I think it's been at least half a decade since I tried Warframe, so you're bringing up a good point. Maybe I'd enjoy it more now, either for evolution of the game or of what I'm looking for in a game. But it'll have to wait since right now I'm trying to get into FFXIV. I try to abide by a one-game-at-a-time rule (mostly unsuccessfully), but one-MMO-at-a-time is where I draw a hard line!
As for my recommendations: in the previous thread, I suggested Defunct. I think it's the closest game I've found to Tribes movement-wise. My only complaint is that it's pretty short, so it ends up feeling more like a demo than a fully-fledged game.
Hmmm... The speed and movement in Defunct actually reminds me of a few Racing+Rhythm+Time Attack games I've seen @Deimos playing over the years. E.g. AudioSurf, Aaero and Thumper. So he might actually be a good person to ask for more recommendations in a similar vein, since those kinda games seem to be his jam.
Ha, AudioSurf is a blast from the past! Yup, I remember jamming to my songs while zipping around. Thanks for the memory.
I don't think this is what you're expecting, but... there's something called Momentum Mod which is a (Strata) Source Engine game that essentially compiles community movement-based game modes from all Source games. Surf racing is one such mode, which is possibly the closest thing to Tribes skiing I can think of.
There was also a 'spiritual sucessor' to Tribes somewhere but I don't know its name
Ah, sweet -- it looks like they plan to have a campaign in momentum mod. I'll definitely have to check that out when it launches.
You're probably thinking of Midair?
Midair is exactly it. A sequel appears to be in the works.
I'll try this here. Tried asking this way back in the day on Reddit threads but never got a good answer.
I want a game like the Godfather games. For those who don't know, the first game is basically a GTA clone with RPG elements and the aesthetic/era of the film.
However the main draw of this is that the entire map/city is covered in businesses of various sizes, ranging from a tiny flower shop or bakery, to massive sprawling warehouses, all controlled by the other families. A major part of the game is going around and taking down these businesses and taking them over for yourself until eventually you own the whole freaking city. It was so much fun, even if repetitive.
I have never experienced another game that succeeds at this anywhere near as well.
Some games have at similar mechanics but they always seem like an after thought and/or something that doesn't really matter or have any depth at all to it. San Andreas turf system is the main one that comes to mind.
Far Cry games are a little similar with taking down outposts, but that always felt more of destroying something than building something. Which is still fun, I love the Just Cause games as well, but they don't have the right feeling as this. In Godfather, every business you take over becomes yours. You expand your influence, you make more money off of them. You get a real sense of accomplishment building your empire.
The second Godfather game added some interesting mechanics but also lacked some of what made the first one good.
There's a whole family hierarchy system where you recruit and promote NPCs as your top lieutenants and they can go in with you to take down the businesses. The NPCs have various skills that help when taking down the businesses such as demolitions or safe cracking that give you extra bonuses or shortcuts.
The problem is they severely reduced the businesses and made them all big things, so you lose a lot of that slowly taking over the city vibe. Also the gameplay/gunplay isn't as good.
Anyway I have tried to find something that even comes close to this feeling of taking over the entire map and building your empire but nothing does.
People have recommended Mount and Blade, but I tried it and could not get into it. The medieval combat wasn't as interesting to me and frustrating and I just couldn't get to a point where I could see if I got that same feeling.
Google has recommended Mafia but this isn't necessarily just about mafias/crime organization. That isn't the draw of the game for me, even if it does fit the mechanics very well. Also Mafia has none of what I talked about, it's just a GTA clone about the Mafia. Saints Row has some similarities with all the rival factions and stuff but it's missing the takeover aspect.
To summarize, not necessarily a crime or Mafia related game, just a game where you can take over the map, with rival factions you can take down, you get bonuses/money/influence for it so there's a sense of building an empire to it, and bonus points if you can build a crew to fight with you.
So anyone got any suggestions I haven't heard before?
I have absolutely zero idea how it holds up, but I'm pretty sure the Scarface game from like 2007 has the mechanics you're looking for! I know you said you just want that gameplay and not necessarily the mafia aspect, but why not both? From wikipedia:
There are four main geographical regions that Tony must control to complete the game; Little Havana, Downtown, South Beach and North Beach.[13] At the start of the game, the entire map is available to explore, but Tony cannot carry out missions, attack rival gangs, or purchase property anywhere except Little Havana. Each turf must be controlled 100% before the next one becomes available for missions.[9][11] Acquiring 100% requires the player to perform certain actions within each region: purchase a certain number of fronts, eliminate rival gangsters, and carry out smaller missions involving purchasing and selling cocaine. To purchase fronts, Tony must perform a mission for the owner before they will sell the business to him - these missions, coupled with storyline missions, form the core of the main game.[9] Once purchased, fronts can come under attack from rival gangs. To combat this, Tony can install security cameras to alert him to an imminent attack and recruit guards to fend off attackers until he arrives on the scene.[14] Once Tony has purchased the requisite number of fronts in a region, he must then take control of that region's storehouse, which will be in the possession of a rival gang.Hmm, I'll see if I can find some gameplay on YouTube and see how it looks.
Thanks for the suggestion!
I think I'm looking for something too specific, but here we go.
I really want a game like an idle game but without spinning off into silly numbers and preferably without prestiging.
The game would hopefully reward actually playing it, I guess I don't mind if it "plays itself" offline or not, I really want it as something I can open, play for a few minutes and close again on my desktop or phone, don't mind if it's the right game.
I've played a few incremental/idle games and they always rub me the wrong way. I enjoy the start then get annoyed when it both goes into the realms of insanity and has you artificially making as many different numbers as possible "get big".
I just wana do something like farm or run a shop or something and it be kinda chill.
Something like Merchant on mobile ALMOST did it, but when I was on like my 4th set of griding the same sets of gear for my guys through reskinned enemies I had had my fun.
Recettear is also close-ish but a little too intense and much too short.
This kind of takes it from "too specific" to "too general". There are entire genres that are playable for a few minutes at a time.
Farming simulators are one such genre. Have you played Stardew Valley?
Stardew Valley only allows you to save when the day ends, which can take around 20 minutes (?). Not ideal for short sessions during breaks.
You can apparently mod Stardew Valley to save anywhere. No idea how well that one works, but that's the one everyone was recommending in the comments of the older, now broken NexusMods version.
Ah, I'd forgotten about that.
I want a strategy or tactics game that feels unique. Something that gas gameplay that is more than “move unit A close to enemy unit B and choose an attack”. Bonus points for something relatively easy or stress-free.
This is a really wide net to cast but I figure it might not be easy to understand what I mean, so maybe some examples might help. I want something like Shoot Range with its unusual take on fog of war and HP, or something with unique AI units like Lord Monarch, or maybe something with an interesting perspective like Herzog Zwei. Maybe even something with more puzzle-like gameplay design like Into the Breach.
A game that feels like Disciples 2. Loved that game. Love turn based games in general. Played way too much of it back in the day and still occasionally play it now. Newer versions of the game just didn't do it for me. Give me your suggestions!
Re-uping my request for cozy, narrative driven games. Last time I was suggested Wytchwood and A Night in the Woods and was a big fan of both, though I think I preferred Wytchwood. I also recently enjoyed A Short Hike, Haven Park, and Mail Time. All had a really nice, cozy/warm vibe.
If anyone has any additional recommendations I'd love to hear them!!!
Spiritfarer may fit your criteria. It can get a little emotional at certain points, but def a cozy experience.
Oh man I am so excited to hear you say that! I picked it up during a Christmas sale and have yet to play it!
I also love Wytchwood and A Night in the Woods. And I saw you picked up Spiritfarer and it's one of my favorites too!
I recommend:
Lil Gator Game- Fun, explorative and the humor is top notch.
The Wild at Heart - Gorgeous picturebook-esque game with Pikmin-style gameplay.
A Hat in Time - Super fun 3d platformer that is also super humorous and has so many fun levels.
I didn't recommend The Wild At Heart and A Hat In Time because I thought they might be more gameplay intensive than rosco was looking for, but I definitely support these as great games.
This might be a controversial one as it's not quite the same aesthetic, but Va11 Hall-A is my rec. It has its subtle ways of immersing you into the routine of its main character, which impressed me, and while it has its dark and unwholesome side (a very interesting one), it's still quite cozy as an overall experience.
I'll say, it is a bit more enjoyable if you come in knowing about certain anime tropes and ready to take what the game tells you at face value. There are people who are offput by sex being a common theme in the game and casually talked about by most characters ; I argue it's not so jarring when you remember it takes place in a bar in a cyberpunk dystopia, where it's not surprising people have no filter.
I could throw out a recommendation for Lake. The gameplay is basically driving around delivering mail. It's short, cozy, a bit shallow, but I enjoyed it.
Another recommendation would be Moonglow Bay, which is probably longer than it needs to be (I think I finished it in about 16 hours) but still enjoyable.
I really love Firewatch, though it does have stressful parts, I classify most of the game as cozy. I go back and replay it from time to time, it's a great experience.
Kentucky Route Zero is my favorite narrative experience of all time - regardless of medium!
It's a story about a delivery driver making his last run, in which he has to travel to a highway that runs under Kentucky, and things are a little strange...
Without diving too much into plot, I'll say the atmosphere was the main draw for me- if you enjoy the juxtaposition of rural Americana, 80's retrofuturism, and magical realism, this game nails it, from the aesthetic to the music to the way people talk. That said, the plot itself I found very engrossing. The stakes are never high, but you really get to know the people you find along the way, and the plot is always moving in neat new directions.
One thing I like is how it approaches dialogue choices - the first part of the game was released in the era of the Telltale "x Will Remember That", of choices that were binary, black and white. In KRZ, your choices don't impact the plot as they do the characters themselves. Who they are and what they want is defined by the player, and these choices come back around in subtle, quiet ways.
The game is five episodes and five interludes (short side stories that expand on side characters in unique ways, and can be played to the end in 8-10 hours.
Narrative-driven? That wasn't quite how you put it last time. You might enjoy one or more of these games, which I'd both consider cozy and narrative driven (not always open world though):
The Artful Escape (sidescroller)
Broken Age (point & click)
Rakuen (rpg)
Smile For Me (steam says point & click)
Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion (rpg?)
Wandersong (sidescroller)
Note: All games may contain sad moments.
@moocow1452 @shrike
I recommend you two post your requests in this new topic, as I think they’re a lot more likely to get seen and responded to than they would in the old one.
Also please mark this comment as noise. Since topic-level pings don’t work I had to do it in the comment here.