Have you played a game that stayed in your head long after you played it?

For me, Outer Wilds would be that game. I feel like I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I beat it a couple years ago.

  • Curvature@lemmy.one
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    1 year ago

    Portal 1.

    Something about the ambiance mixed with the puzzles really stuck with me. I replay it almost once a year just to relive it.

      • windows71@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        If you like Portal 1 and 2 and want more, I’d recommend playing Portal Stories: Mel and Portal Reloaded, both are free on Steam if you own P2. The puzzles are pretty tricky though!

  • shapesandstuff@feddit.de
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    1 year ago

    I keep reading about Outer Wilds. I think its about time this summer.

    To answer the question: Risk of Rain 1&2

    And maybe the leviathans of my childhood. Ocarina of Time, Majoras Mask…

  • Amby@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    1 year ago

    Definitely Outer Wilds as well.

    Hell, looking into the soundtrack changed my daily playlist to something heavily Midwest Emo.

  • The_Terrible_Humbaba@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    For me, that game would definitely be Disco Elysium. I’ve never connected with a game as much as with that one. I’m actually reticent of playing it again for fear of it not living up to the first experience; I felt like my first playthrough was perfect, even if technically speaking it wasn’t.

    Other than that, I also still think about Mass Effect a fair bit.

    On a side note: if you liked the investigating and “detective-ing” of Outer Wilds, then you will probably also enjoy Return of the Obra Dinn, The Forgotten City, and The Case of the Golden Idol. I’d also add Disco Elysium to that list, but be aware it’s a lot more text heavy.

    • yuun@lemmy.one
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      1 year ago

      Oh Disco Elysium all the way, it’s possibly my favorite game. I have a notebook filled with lines in the game that stuck with me.

      I want more of it, but it looks like that lightning won’t strike twice.

      fwiw I did play it through twice, and maybe enjoyed it even more the second time - caught more of the little details

      • yuun@lemmy.one
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        1 year ago

        Subdue the regret. Dust yourself off, proceed. You’ll get it in the next life, where you don’t make mistakes. Do what you can with this one, while you’re alive.

    • Monkeytennis@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      Great recommendations there, each got under my skin. I feel the same about David Lynch films, they connect with something inside me, and lodge permanently in my brain.

      I’d put What Remains of Edith Finch, Dear Esther, Talos Principle, Stanley Parable, Metroid Prime and maybe Portal 1+2 in there too - they share an authentically mysterious vibe.

      Obra Dinn and Outer Wilds hit me hard, they nailed the atmosphere perfectly. Haven’t actually played DE, was a bit put off by the sheer amount of dialogue, but I need to try it.

    • JediMimeTricks@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      When I saw the OP’s question, my immediate thougt was Outer Wilds and Disco Elysium. Nice to see both represented at the top!

  • styx@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago
    • half life 1, finished around 25 times.
    • kotor 1, finished around 20 times with different classes, genders, alignment.
    • kotor 2, finished around 25 times with different classes, genders, alignments, party members.
    • might and magic 7, finished around 25 times with different party classes, alignments.
    • might and magic 8, finished around 25 times with different party classes, alignments.
    • mass effect 1&2, finished around 3-4 times.

    Who has obsession, me? No you have 🙃

    • Julian@lemm.eeOP
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      1 year ago

      By chance I ended up playing journey with only one other person. We got separated at one point and I thought someone else connected, but at the end it only showed one name.

  • acowley@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    I never did finish Outer Wilds and still think about it a lot! I need to go start it again because it is genuinely spectacular, but I struggle with my constraint of only being able to put short-ish play sessions into it.

    Playing Ocarina of Time with my son was an epic journey I treasure. It completely captured his imagination, and I was along for that ride.

    Grim Fandango was, and continues to be, a dream for me.

    While I’m there, Full Throttle also executed its style so well that some of its moments still serve as cultural/stylistic landmarks in my mind.

    Mass Effect 2 had several moments where the atmosphere and universe totally hit the mark (Going into the Afterlife Club… come on!).

    Red Dead Redemption connected me to that setting in ways movies can’t reach.

    Edit: I forgot to mention Firewatch! That game established a mood unlike any other game I can think of.

    • IronTwo@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      Man, Firewatch. I don’t know how they managed to make the player connect on an emotional level with a character that you don’t even get to meet, but they did a fantastic job.

  • StrahdVonZarovich@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    Vampires, The Masquerade: Bloodlines. The whole vibe of the setting, the story, the locations, and then when I finally understood what the plot was really about. Masterpiece of a game, couldnt stop thinking about it.

    • Seconding Bloodlines, this game has stuck with me since I first played it as a child. I’ve been eagerly awaiting the sequel, but also dreading that it ends up being awful and ruins any chance of more games.

      • StrahdVonZarovich@beehaw.org
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        1 year ago

        I think it’s been in development hell for years, and the only screenshots ive seen make it look like a visual novel. Not hyped for it.

  • Callie@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    1 year ago

    To The Moon. Barely a game, the dialogue can be really cheesy in places. But dang, I’ve thought about the ending to that game probably monthly for over a decade. The sequels are an incredible continuation of the story as well.

        • PenguinTD@lemmy.ca
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          1 year ago

          Thanks, I will arrange time to get through that, I like to the moon as well. Never thought the plot would be so moving.

    • spleenfiesta@feddit.de
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      1 year ago

      Man it’s been a while since I heard that title. This game definitely has a special place in my heart, the soundtrack too, such intense nostalgia for me

  • CaptainDogwater@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    Easily RimWorld for me. The stories that play out over time, and how to make productivity more efficient live in my head rent free.

  • Drew Got No Clue@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I’ve mentioned this game already in a few comments recently, but I think it really deserves more attention.

    Prey (2017): I’ve loved it since the first moment, and I still think about the story and lore very often. It’s almost impossible to find a similar game (Bioshock 1 and System Shock 2 have quite some things in common with Prey, but the latter has its own unique vibe).

    • Julian@lemm.eeOP
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      1 year ago

      Oh yeah, I loved prey. One of the biggest mindfucks of an opening. Mooncrash was also really interesting, kind of a prototype for deathloop.

    • Wraith@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      I love Prey! It was actually the game that got me into gaming. I used to play a little as a kid and it was also one of the few things that made me happy, but I was raised in a really strict home so I was only allowed a few pre-approved games with very limited screen time. I gave it up and sort of grew into this toxic mindset of “gaming is for loser nerds”. My husband started playing Prey and I used to sit and watch and just fell in love with the whole thing, the story, the music, the setting. He gave it up and never finished and I was so desperate to find out how it ends that I started playing. Now I have my own custom built gaming PC and spend 40+ hours a week gaming, so I’m a loser nerd lol

    • Pixel of Life@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Yes! Prey is great. I think I’ve completed it like 3 or 4 times over the years. Still don’t have all the abilities unlocked so maybe it’s time for yet another NG+ run.

  • Pixel@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    No game has ever occupied so much of my mind as NieR: Automata. I beat the game, thought “huh, that was pretty good”, and then thought about it again the next day. and again. and again. again. again. again. again. again. I just could not stop thinking about what the game was trying to say or how it made me feel, and it’s just become more and more important to me as time has gone on. Really incredible game

    • madkarlsson@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      I echo those exact feelings. Amazing game, great story, but the touch of it still lingers. The story and the mechanics and how they echo eachother is just wow

  • I_Am_Jacks_____@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    Mass Effect – particularly Mass Effect 2 – left an impression, but The Last of Us is and will always be the game that has stuck with me the most/longest.

  • Grizzzlay@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    Undertale. The messages that game give you. Goddamn. That game also came to me at a point in my life where I needed it. The soundtrack saved me from contemplating a terrible decision. It saved my life. Wonderful game and an incredible experience.

    • DarkLead@feddit.de
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      1 year ago

      Oh man I feel the same way about it, I still listen to the soundtrack all the time, and sometimes it’s the only thing that can calm me down in bad situations.