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Recommend me a game that _________.
This post went well in ~books, so I figured we could give it a go here.
Top level comments should fill in the blank with some sort of descriptor identifying a kind of game you would like suggestions for. Be as generic or specific as you want.
Replies can then recommend games to that individual.
Hint: Use the "collapse replies" button to view only top-level posts.
Recommend me a very mindless, preferably grindy game that will work well as a background activity for listening to audiobooks.
Euro Truck Simulator
Literally nothing better for listening to something else and just relaxing
Digging out large areas of land in Minecraft.
Forager. Forager is exactly that.
This does look like exactly that! Thanks for putting it on my radar.
Have you tried idle games? A few examples...
Universal Paperclips
Cookie Clicker
I also find games that I've beaten before to be good for this.
I got into idle games for a while, but ones that boil down to babysitting menu options no longer have a pull for me. I'm looking for something with very basic gameplay/interactivity. For example, something like Diablo 3 is a great mix of idle/clicker-type progression (which I like) but with a more gamey base.
I love this genre so much! Clickpocalypse 2 is my favorite of the online ones, but a lot of games like many in the C&C series or Civilization with the right mod can be too. There's something super enjoyable about just watching a world grow and develop all by itself! :)
If you'd like a nice sense of progression to go along with it, Old School RuneScape works very well for this purpose.
Surprised I haven't seen this but Minecraft, particularly if you want to straight up strip mine or build very large but simple structures. You'll just be resource collecting for much of it. I used to just play Minecraft with my own music as meditation. Worked well.
A lot of grindy side-quests in games can achieve this. Fishing in RDR2 is a good example or maybe Stardew Valley works if you want to just go through a farming loop and ignore all the other game content.
I personally like Mini Metro, but there's a bunch of other simple puzzle games that are good too. I'm not sure how well The Tetris Effect works without the immersive soundscape, but that might be worth a try, as would any endless runner type game.
And outside the realm of screen-time, I've found the genre of grown-up coloring books is pretty good for this. Other meditative side activities include stuff like knitting, needlepoint, or paint-by-numbers kits. Some of these might take a little practice before it's automatic enough that you can switch off, but it might be worth it to have something tangible to show for your efforts.
Warframe. Possibly the stupidest kind of fun you can have mowing down hundreds of enemies.
It's also F2P with one of the best F2P models out there.
Kittens game
Candy Box 2
Yes. I'm driving from the tipnof Scotland to mainland Europe with a cheated TruckersMP profile (money and experience), and it's really chill. ATS is pretty cool too.
I should just do vanilla single player.
MapleStory 2
You can't go wrong with a really grindy MMORPG that doesn't require you to partake in craploads of quests. Yes there's the MSQs which do get old after a while but there are other ways to level.
Recommend me a game that has a strong/great sense of progression.
According to Steam my most played game is Terraria at 650 hours. I think the thing that's kept me absorbed isn't the combat or building alone, but the overall sense of progression. Old items are more frequently recombined into something new than outright thrown away. Old areas are constantly renewed with new enemies, new ores, new items, etc. Then you throw in a mod like Calamity, and all of that gets extended even further.
There are a few games I can think of that are similar in this way.
I'm hesitant to mention it because it is so additive but.. Factorio
Oh, this is a great idea! I was trying to think of games like this, but for some reason only roguelike games popped into my head because I got distracted by the player progression section of the post.
So I used to not be into roguelike games, but have really come to appreciate the sense of my progression as a player since starting grad school and having less time to play games. Dark Souls is probably my favorite game I've ever played because of that sense of accomplishment (and of course the effortless world building, but I don't think I've ever experienced that since). If that is your cup of tea (and I totally understand if it isn't!) Enter the Gungeon is so good at this.
As you proceed to new floors that you have never reached before it dangles new enemies that seem impossible at first. Three runs later, when you see them again, you get a little bit better, and this cycle continues until you have mastered their patterns. I've had a blast playing the game! I've also really enjoyed Slay the Spire recently as well, but I think I'm focusing more on the player skill progression over the world creation progression that the games you've listed have.
I've considered getting Enter the Gungeon before, but I've been hesitant based on how bad I was at The Binding of Isaac. Twin stick shooter controls are just something I've never been able to really get used to.
I have Slay the Spire, and I do enjoy it. It's just not a game that I get sucked into or play incredibly frequently. Being honest, I think I might just be a bit too stubborn for it. There comes a point when you just have to accept the game isn't giving you a single defense card this run, and there is a part of me will not adapt to that unfortunate truth.
I totally get it. I've found with Slay the Spire that runs that I previously would have called unwinnable because I didn't get "X" cards were possible, but I hadn't learned how to adapt my deck to the cards presented to me. I'm not very good yet, but I've enjoyed seeing the breadth of decks I can take to Act 3 / the heart grow, which has been gratifying. There's people who play at ascension 20 and kill the heart ~40% of the time, so at the difficulty I'm playing at, I'm convinced that every run is winnable.
I also have BoI and just couldn't get into it, for what it's worth. I did buy it at the point of my life where I just didn't like roguelike games at all, but the theme just didn't do anything for me either. I love how campy EtG is. You can tell it's feeling itself.
If you like roguelikes, I would recommend Dragon Fin Soup. It's a competently made game with a pretty high difficulty curve. A friend of mine who I went to university with also worked on the soundtrack.
Maybe a stretch but Stardew Valley?
Recommend me a puzzle game like Catherine (I love the art and music).
I absolutely love Catherine and while I haven't found anything exactly like it, I'm currently playing Persona 5. It's by the same maker and very similar in terms of art, music and mood. Instead of Catherine's puzzle mechanism, Persona 5 has a more traditional JRPG turn based combat gameplay loop, but even as someone who is typically a bit allergic to JRPGs, I'm absolutely loving it. The battles are well designed and very much puzzles in themselves. Just like Catherine has its daytime sequences, in Persona 5 you manage your relationships, stats and story progression by hanging out with others, but instead of being largely confined to a single bar as in Catherine, Persona 5 offers you multiple locations to visit. It actually becomes something of a turn based time management game in that respect, as there's so much to do and so little time.
While I'm not even halfway through the game, I feel I can definitely recommend Persona 5 if you enjoyed Catherine.
This looks pretty fun. Thanks for the suggestion!
I'd like to play more games similar to Myst / Obduction and The Witness: point and click puzzle games with a fair difficulty and wondrous environments.
I assume that by Myst you refer to the series, but just in case: the sequels build upon the original and Riven in particular is generally considered an improvement.
The Room games are in many ways like a "Myst mini", or a puzzle box within a puzzle box.
Kairo has a very minimalistic, but I think still quite wondrous approach to its environments, as well as a great atmosphere.
The 7th Guest is an old one but a personal favourite that received a remaster recently. My dirty little secret is that while I recognise the game's many flaws, I actually prefer it over the first Myst game.
I suppose you have already played Portal and its sequel? Highly praised and I would say justifiably so.
The Talos Principle is more Portal than it's The Witness. Many seem to love it to bits, but personally I found its puzzles a little inelegant and uninteresting. But it's worth checking out.
Return of the Obra Dinn has a pretty unique puzzle mechanism, well designed progression, a great style, and an interesting story and setting to explore.
Quern has been highly praised but I haven't gotten to it yet. It's often labelled the "modern Myst" (or was, before Obduction) so I really should.
Antichamber is similarly highly praised and it's similarly still in my pile of unplayed games.
If you don't mind doing your environmental exploration within a 2D pixel world, Fez is a brilliant experience.
Gorogoa is another 2D game that innovates with its puzzle mechanism and presentation. Not all that much exploration, though.
In fact, if you don't insist on the environmental exploration and just want interesting puzzles and well-crafted progression, as with the puzzle design of The Witness, I can highly recommend Snakebird, Sokobond, A Good Snowman is Hard to Build, Cosmic Express, Stephen's Sausage Roll and Braid.
And finally, as a blatant act of self promotion: Hexed Space is a game I'm developing and while its environments are story driven rather than visual, I have worked hard to make its progression challenging, fair and interesting. It's not out yet, though. Real life keeps getting in the way of finishing it. In any case, The Witness was actually the game that originally pushed me to start the development.
Goodness I still need to finish Antichamber. It’s so hard to play because it hurts my brain.
Though it's not exactly point and click, if you like The Witness, check out AntiChamber. Out of every game I've played, this is the most similar to the witness and it's amazing.
I know I had it in my library but I hadn't ever played it (as with many games). Just spent the whole afternoon playing that, and it's really fun! It's style and "wait, what?!"-factor really reminisce the Witness very well (or probably reverse since Antichamber is older), as well as the moral signs that pop up all over the place. Going to play Quern now, the game mentioned below.
The Talos Principle is closer to The Witness than to the Myst family, but is quite good.
Have you tried out Quern: Undying Thoughts?
I loved it and consider it to be a pinnacle of the genre. It has a few sticking points and frustrating puzzles (as they all do), but overall I think it's very smartly designed and was very satisfying to play. I had 10+ pages of notes for my playthrough.
That looks fantastic and right up my alley, thanks!
I bought this game a few hours ago and I love it so far. The physical notebook is going strong as expected.
It's like playing Riven or Myst V all over again, finding symbols everywhere and putting them to use somewhere else. Thanks a ton!
I'm now in an area where there's a reference to the Isle of the Dead painting. That was pretty funny to find on it's own, but puzzles are interesting here as well.
Glad you're enjoying it! It's one of my favorite games in years. I want to replay it, but I need to let it sit longer so I can forget more of the puzzles.
I'd like to play a game that doesn't explain its universe yet has a detailed universe ie. FEZ, INSIDE
Rain World is rather obtuse and challenging, but does a fantastic job of making you feel like a small creature, low on the food chain, and lost in a complex living world that is mostly filled with things trying to eat you.
There's a fairly rich backstory, but figuring it out requires going well out of your way and would be a bit like a squirrel trying to understand the history of the 20th century.
The Witness is kiiiind of similar, though from what I know of Fez I don't think the world is anywhere as rich as Fez's.
Really liked The Witness but for different reasons. I'd say that this is a game that is mysterious about its mechanics rather than its lore.
Rusty Lake is a collection of short free games under the series title Cube Escape and three larger paid games under the Rusty Lake moniker. Available on PC and mobile devices.
As you progress through the games (here's a list), you come to learn more about the titular Rusty Lake and the events that have unfolded there. Part adventure game series, part room escape, part Twin Peaks, the series slowly draws you into its story and world without really explaining too much.
If you haven't played it, Dark Souls fills this description.
I have played it but it's too hard for my taste. I know I can look up guides and whatnot but it won't be a smooth experience like Fez IMO
Perhaps Another World might fit the bill? It's been quite a while since I've played it, but if I remember correctly the game has no dialogue or words, and it has a very rich and surprisingly beautiful world, especially when you consider that it was released almost 30 years ago.
That said, it's definitely an old-school, trial-and-error, player-punishing game, so it might not hold up as well now given how much modern sensibilities have changed. However, some of that frustration could probably be alleviated with a walkthrough if needed.
I would recommend new players to avoid walkthroughs. Yes, you will die a lot, but the gameplay is clearly designed around trial and error. Taking it out will also take out a lot of the enjoyment.
If you like the game, though, I can also recommend playing Heart of Darkness, the next game the creator made, and recommend you never ever play Heart of the Alien, a sequel that was made with no input from the creator whatsoever. Though none are quite as good, to be honest.
Recommend me a game that would be really fun to play on the Switch as couch co-op! My girlfriend and I have made it part of our weekend morning routine to play a game of Mario Party on the switch we've just bought. I know there are some great couch co-op games for the Switch, but I've been out of the console gaming world for a while now and don't have a good sense of what would be a fun game for me and someone who has not played many videogames to play through together. I also think it would be fun to have a game that we could work at together instead of competing against each other all the time.
Let's Go Pokemon, Overcooked, Lovers in a Dangerous Space-time, Cuphead if you're a jerk.
Oh my gosh, Overcooked looks perfect. I also hadn't considered Let's Go as a couch co-op, but that looks fun too. Thanks!
Impossible to beat as a co-op. You'll laugh, you'll cry, but mostly you'll scream at your friends for doing the completely wrong thing..... as they will at you. Also the music and graphics are fantastic. And I love the way you can mod your weapons
Recommend me a 4X game like Master of Orion II: lots of space to explore, mostly turn-based with as few real-time elements as possible, research is important, custom races if at all possible, win conditions other than annihilation.
Stellaris by Paradox is not turn-based, but can still be interacted with while paused (like in e.g. Rimworld) and plays very similarly to turn-based 4X games (in single player at least). Aside from that, it checks all your boxes and is one hell of a time sink.
I love Stellaris, but the feel is very different from that of MOO2, still my all-time favorite 4X game.
I haven't played Master of Orion, but from images of it maybe Neptune's Pride would be up your alley? It takes place in real world time and is based on diplomacy and grand strategy, take a look if you haven't tried it! If you like hex games there's always civ and age of wonder, and if you don't mind auto resolving battles there's the total war series. None of those other ones are in space though, they're much more confined by the map so they might not be what you're looking for.
Recommend me a game that will make me cry. Preferably something that will still make me cry after thinking about it a week later.
I've already played both Nier games and To The Moon.
Check out Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons. It's quite short (3-4 hours iirc) but tells an emotional story with a tear-jerking ending - avoid story spoilers if you plan on playing it!
Its main gameplay feature is that you control two characters (the two brothers) at the same time, which means it's best enjoyed with a twin controller. I played it with a keyboard and that worked just fine too, though, so that's not a deal breaker.
Ironically, I think I already own this game. I just haven't played it because I've got the PC version free with a bundle and don't really have the confidence my GPU is up for the job. I guess it's time to put it to the test.
It's also 80% off right now so you have no excuse not to.
X-COM 2 will make you cry after about an hour. Probably for different reasons than you want though. I'm still crying months later.
The Talos Principle made me cry and hug my cat at one point.
... is a realistic military shooter based in an open world setting.
This would be a game that combines the gameplay from Insurgency with an open world setting like Fallout. Bonus points for having a large collection of real phones.
Stalker comes close to what I'm looking for. I've already played CoP, don't know if I want to play the prequels.
Shadow of Chernobyl is good. Clear Sky is not. It's buggy and awful. Definitely try the Call of Chernobyl mod. It weaves the maps, NPCs, enemies, weapons, and all that jazz from all three games into a single experience. You can choose a faction to play and a spawn point (populated by that faction), and it's all aimless free roam. Run around, shoot monolith, collect weapons, artefacts, and become death until a loner puts a single bullet in your exoskeleton wearing head and kills you immediately because the weapon mod you installed gave him a gauss rifle. I highly recommend
Maybe try Far Cry 2/3/4 with realisms mods? Sadly I don't know of any particular ones but I'm sure there are some around.
Recommend me a strategy/simulation/management game that:
I guess something in the vein of Civilization, or Prison Architect (Except I've played those ones).
Also preferabily no early access, heavily unpolished games. I don't mind old ones.
Basically I want something to chill out and build/strategize that I can play for an hour or two a day without heavily investing my time.
I'll recommend you Rimworld as well. It's a settlement building game in the vein of dwarf fortress, but with a hard science fiction setting instead, and simplified enough that you should know the game inside and out within a few hours, without being so simple it quickly gets boring.
The Tropico franchise and Cities Skylines might also fit the bill, but they're a little oversimplified IMO and don't have that much staying power.
As someone who really loves Cities Skylines, I would agree that it is oversimplified, and I might not even call it a management game besides the traffic system. I come back to it because I enjoy the design aspect, and working on traffic problems is more of a nice bonus.
XCOM 2. Absolutely amazing game. Skip the older ones, they're a bit clunky compared to the second one. Great story, great graphics, lots of customization and it'll kick your ass on a regular basis. Get used to the idea of dying a lot.
... maybe not so chill at some (most) points, but a single mission can take about an hour, and sometimes I stick it on for 20 minutes of base management then turn it off again.
I've actually thought about trying out the new xcom games. I played the original ones and they were quite frustrating but maybe XCOM2 is more approachable, thanks!
Oh I love the second one, I bought the first one after playing the second one for a while, but I couldn't get into it. XCOM 2 is leagues ahead of the other ones IMO.
It's probably not exactly what you are looking for, but I am going to recommend a novel game called Shoot Range. It's your bog-standard hex-grid Strategy game with zero story or rpg elements.
It has some really novel ideas, though. For one thing it has a fog of war system, so if you don't place your units facing the right way they could be shot by an unknown assailant. You play as a squad of robots who each play vastly different. There is also no HP; instead you place engines on a grid and units only die if all the engines get shot out, kind of like battleship. This also plays in with the type of weaponry available, which gives you different types of attacks - some may not even give you a choice of which areas to attack.
The only problem is this is an ancient game for a japanese-only computer, the Sharp X68000, so you basically can only play it by piracy and emulation. The good news is that there isn't really much of a language barrier, so it's easy to pick up and play.
Well, now that's an obscure game (and console)!
It does look interesting however, I might give it a try.
Citystate is a pretty decent mix of city management and politics. It's not quite as complex as the likes of Cities Skylines or later SimCity games, but it is decent for a one man project. Do bear in mind that the game is early access, isn't feature complete and has quite a few bugs, especially in the 1.2.3 release.
Northgard.
Strikes a good balance between strategy and management i.e. not too much micromanagement that you are overwhelmed, but not so little that the game plays itself.
My only gripe is that it isn't very long, but the missions that are there are very fun.
Has the same mood and rich world building as Dark Souls but isn't one of these Dark Souls clone.
Probably something you've already been recommended, but Hollow Knight
Haven't played it yet but I've heard "EYE Divine Cibermancy" is similar.
Also maybe Pathologic?
Pathologic has a remake (called Pathologic 2) coming out soon, within the month IIRC.
This first release will only have one of the three storylines from the original, however, with the other two coming some time after.
Another Ice Pick Lodge game is The Void, which is a kind of gardening game with an incredible nightmarish atmosphere. Like Pathologic, the controls and mechanics are a bit... different, but I think it comes together in a really unique way.
Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight fits that description, though I will say that it's pretty short if that hurts your investment in the world.
Recommend me a graphically intensive, eye-candy-filled game with a native Linux release.
Alien Isolation, hands down. The Talos Principle is also great.
Civ VI can look really beautiful when it's maxxed out, but admittedly the Linux version is a little gimped since it only supports OpenGL, which bottlenecks it. Space Simulator ^2 is definitely filled with eye candy when it's in action, although it's not really a game so much as a simulator.
And it officially supports Ubuntu and nvidia GPUs only. So if you don't use Ubuntu or don't have an nvidia GPU you're out of luck and you eon't get any assistance from the devs
Recommend me a good strategy/base building game, but that would run well on Arch Linux.
Would 0 AD count?
If you are looking for turn-based games, I am a fan of Advanced Strategic Command.
If you are looking for something a little more modern, I believe most of the newer Tropico series support Linux natively.
I'll look into these, thanks so much. I was thinking about installing Dwarf Fortress and taking the plunge, but I'm kind of busy irl and don't want to get derailed lol. 0 AD looks really fun, somehow I had never heard of this before. Some of my favorite games are the Total War games and not much other strategy has really managed to scratch that itch.
I believe the Creeper World games have native Linux releases.
The gameplay leans more towards tower defense, but is enjoyable and kind of relaxing.
CW1 doesn't have a native Linux release, but it runs perfectly in Proton; CW2 apparently also works fine, though I haven't tried it myself.
I'm eagerly looking forward to CW4!
Rimworld should do the trick wonderfully. Imagine a hard sci-fi dwarf fortress, but with nicer visuals, and streamlined to the point where mere mortals can play, without being oversimplified.
If you don't mind browser games, LittleWarGame is the closest I've seen to a good competitive RTS that can compete with the likes of Starcraft.
Please could you recommend an arcade racer, for xbox one, that has a two player mode. Most of the driving games feel somewhat serious at the moment, and I'd like something that me and my child can hoon around in.
(We have Burnout Paradise!)
Recommend me a game that has a great story (+1 if its on mobile).
For mobile specifically, there are ports of most of the Final Fantasy games as well as several visual novels like Steins;Gate.
I've got quite a few visual novels I can recommend. I really like YU-NO, though there is not really a good way to play it legally until the remake finally gets it's English release. I also recommend anything made by Christine Love (though Ladykiller in a Bind is absolutely not for everyone).
Though if you don't want a VN, you can play Nier or Nier Automata. Just prepare to feel numb afterwords.
Isn't the Steins;Gate mobile version only in Japanese?
I'm not completely sure, to be honest. I look at the reviews and they appear to be in English.
I just checked the appstore description and :
* The game supports Japanese only.:(Recommend me a game that is a roguelike that's involving enough for me to keep playing, while also having it on mute so I can listen to podcasts/watch twitch streams/etc. ex: Slay the Spire, Isaac
Spelunky and Enter The Gungeon are both real time roguelites, both of which I have a harder time playing without giving them more attention, but you mentioned Isaac so they might be worth a try.
Turn-based roguelikes like Nethack and DCSS I find easier to manage during podcasts, but for me it's the metroidvania Hollow Knight that has been my go-to podcast game for the last few months.
On mobile, Hoplite is a really nice minimalist roguelite that fills a similar role when I don't have my PC or Switch.
I've put about 50 hours into EtG so far and it definitely requires all of my undivided attention. I've got Spelunky in my library but only have about 30 minutes in it. The music and world-building in HK is just way too good for me to play with podcasts.
Check out Tangledeep, it has a good mix of influence from roguelikes, SNES rpgs, and Diablo...the moment-to-moment feels a lot like playing a turn-based Diablo, actually. As someone who likes progression in a game with a broad number of possibilities and newgame+ more than standard permadeath roguelike stuff (Tangledeep has permadeath by default but you're not likely to die in a normal game if you play sensibly, you're more likely to teleport off after having a pet die and having to spend money to get them back or whatever), this game felt like such a gift. If you have similar tastes, it might be just the thing :)
Oh and it works the best with a gamepad (though by no means are keyboard controls bad) so if that's important to you, that's a huge plus. I played it with an 8bitdo SNES controller and it felt so right.
Interesting, added to the list. Thanks!
Rogue Legacy was a great audiobook game for me, and the progression system is a nice hook that'll keep you playing. Plus, it's just plain fun!
Added to the list, thanks!
It's not an RPG, but you might enjoy one of my earlier recommendations.
There's a small indie game I fell in love with called Into The Breach, but the battles are all on a small grid with a ruleset that almost makes each battle into a puzzle rather than a strategy, if that makes any sense.
Honestly, the 90s were the golden age for strategy RPGs, so most of my recommendations will be old. If you haven't tried any of the Shining Force games, you aught to; they are full of so much personality, and they feel a lot more "RPG" than most strategy RPGs do. You could also try Vandal Hearts, Hoshigami, or any of the Front Mission games.