For me it’s first person puzzle games. I can think of maybe a dozen off the top of my head that came out in the last decade. I especially enjoy when they’re open world. The ability to just quit a puzzle that’s stumped you and go try something else for a little bit is incredibly refreshing.
Open world RPG? They are probably the most common single player AAA experience released these days. Bethesda does work in a bit of “immersive sim” qualities to their games though, which is often what makes them feel so sand-boxy.
Action sports games like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, 1080, Wave Race, Steep, and more. I mentioned Steep because it’s the latest mainstream attempt but I feel like it never really found it’s footing.
For me are mystery and clue games such as Myst and 7th Guest.
The scenery and thought of adventure that these titles used to bring as very rare and although Goragoa was quite recent, it was far too short.
Yeah I loved Blacklist, even the multiplayer was an interesting evolution of the asymmetrical style the splinter cell series is known for.
Since then? 👻
mateusz has some on his website that you can buy for $25 in the form of the “complete collection.” He is also currently working on “submachine legacy” which combines all games into one and will be released on steam and I’m assuming will be paid.
Basically Telltale games. I include first Life is Strange in that because they managed to out-Telltale the Telltale. I love my games basically as an interactive story.
Edit: Also Heroes of Might & Magic. I want more good ones, 6 & 7 sucked tremendously.
I contend that there are more games out there now that are made for the sake of making them than ever before. It’s just that fewer and fewer of these games are AAA titles. The indy scene is really what are making these games nowadays.
the indie scene may be greater for that but is also filled with the same money making trite and on top of that constantly copying each other and barely doing anything new.
That or modding. Modded Minecraft is done purely because someone wanted to have the functionality of magic wands or engineering or resource processing in their lego game. It’s completely unmonetized and gets extremely involved very fast. I fondly remember my nuclear reactor exploding and having to work around the irradiated zone. Good times.
Youtubers are inheritor by the virtue of their existence just are a little to biased like the gaming magazines, I also find text much easier digestable than 2,5 minutes of invideo ads, sponsors selfplugs, like button smashing.or whatever else they want to subject me to
I spend far more effort trying to find gold than one really should have, there shouldnt be a need to spend so much time
Take a genuine hard look at this industry, an industry full with exploitation, lootboxes, micro and macrotransactions, the same 5 ideas ad naseum, where for every cuphead you have 10 slendermans, (thats just the tip of the iceberg)
you mean to tell me in THAT industry its ne with the problem?
Cause thats a fair assassment and ill support whatever conclusion you may or may not draw
I think it’s more that, in absence of a gaming social circle, games discovery in the indie scene is hard. So, the easiest way for a lot of us is to find a gaming content creator who played games we like and play whatever they’re playing.
There’s a YouTube streamer I’ve been following for over a decade and every single game he plays is a 5/5 for me. At least ½ of my gaming is just games from his channel. It’s super easy; I don’t even watch him on Twitch much, but I can scan his recent broadcasts for gaming suggestions, and watch him play for like 30 minutes to figure out if it’s for me.
I have hundreds of games in my steam library with no in game purchases or lootboxes which I have enjoyed for between 50 and 2000 hours each. If you really have that much trouble finding games you can enjoy playing, then you need to change your habits.
The First Person Stealth Sim genre (Thief, Dishonored, etc) has been getting very little love in the last few years. Sadly the Arkane games don’t embrace it anymore; while great Prey was borderline as you really couldn’t control the stealth in many sections, and Deathloop and Red Rain are primarily short action games.
Have you played the two most recent deus ex games? HR is my personal favorite but I liked MD more for its atmosphere and level design. Both are primarily 1st person but switch to 3rd person when using cover.
I have, though even MD is getting on for 7 years old now. I don’t think that the series lived up to it’s roots in either title. I found myself feeling very constrained by them; I don’t necessarily mind if I have to play a character (Corvo is great as a Tabula Rasa) but Adam Jensen and his backstory are so fundamentally unlikeable.
Although they’re somewhat different the modern Hitman trilogy scratches this same itch for me (especially turning some of the guidance in the UI off and exploring the levels yourself, they’re actually designed well for that). Gloomwood is in early access but is shaping up really well and is inspired by classic Thief.
Party-based RPGs like Baldur’s Gate or Pillars of Eternity. I absolutely love this style of game, but it feels like there are precious few titles to choose from. Anyone know of any hidden gems?
There a youtube channel and a steam curator called Mortismal Gaming who loves CRPGs. Their shtick is also completing games at 100% before popping a review, and they are churning out new material at an amazing pace. Check it out for some decent coverage on the genre.
As for a maybe hidden gem, Age of Decadence looks pretty good. I have not played it yet, but the genre seems to match, and the premise is solid.
Expedition Rome is well appreciated too, even if it leans more toward tactical battles.
It’s not hidden, but I thoroughly enjoyed divinity original sin II. If you don’t want turn based combat it might be worth checking out the Pathfinder games.
Have you checked out Caves of Lore? It’s a great party based rpg with deep lore and created by a single developer. It reminds me of Jeff Vogel’s work a bit.
Solasta is a pretty faithful recreation of dungeons and dragons 5e, although the story/writing is not the best (may have improved in the later dlc, I’ve not gotten around to playing it yet). The combat is fun, though.
MUDs. Text based (generally RPG) games with incredibly immersive story telling, near infinite levels of character customization, and many even feature ways for players to build on the world itself.
I’m surprised it’s not more popular amongst D&D enthusiasts.
In its hey day, people spent thousands of dollars just to boost their characters on massive for-profit MUDs like those created by Iron Realms. But smaller MUDs like Ancient Anguish were just as quality.
Sadly they’re going extinct. Only a few MUDs are still actively maintained.
Whoa that’s a nice piece of trivia. Did some googling and it definitely has roots in MUDs, but Andrew obviously had higher ambitions visually. That’s cool.
I started reading Mort (Terry Pratchett) and it reminded me of the Discworld MUD I played with my friends in the 90s, on dial-up, all crowded around a single 13" CRT. I looked it up, and it’s still running!
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I love this thread, so many people are recommending games to each other. Nice to see.
My answer is games like Skyrim where it’s a sandbox but you can pick up different quests. I know there’s a proper name for them but it escapes me.
I know there’s GTA which is a similar type but I want a more twee fantasy vibe
Open world RPG? They are probably the most common single player AAA experience released these days. Bethesda does work in a bit of “immersive sim” qualities to their games though, which is often what makes them feel so sand-boxy.
Action sports games like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, 1080, Wave Race, Steep, and more. I mentioned Steep because it’s the latest mainstream attempt but I feel like it never really found it’s footing.
have you played rider’s republic?
I haven’t played a second strand type game
For me are mystery and clue games such as Myst and 7th Guest. The scenery and thought of adventure that these titles used to bring as very rare and although Goragoa was quite recent, it was far too short.
Oh man, I remember 7th Guest that game was so cool - a video game with live action cut scenes! That was the same genre as Rama (1996)
Games like whatever tf Jet Set Radio Future is
Also collect-a-thon platformers like back in the day, I still really enjoy those.
Oo do I have a surprise for you. Get a load of Bomb Rush Cyberfunk.
Oh shit. I’ve known about this game for a long time now and have had it on my wishlist, but didn’t realize it comes out in like 2 weeks!
I wish there were more stealth games being released, especially AAA.
Have you played Mike Bithell’s Volume?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volume_(video_game)
Yeah I loved Blacklist, even the multiplayer was an interesting evolution of the asymmetrical style the splinter cell series is known for. Since then? 👻
Shitty mobile gatcha games produce a lot of brain drain the gaming industry that’s for sure.
I liked the point and click games when they were 2d hand drawn and not (3d) rendered. It seems to be a thing that has now been lost to time.
Wadjet Eye still makes them, no? There’s still a few, they’re not totally gone. I always keep an eye out for them on Steam.
Wadjet Eye games are soooo good.
submachine?
Interesting! Not exactly what I would think of but this seems right up my alley. Thank you!
Are those still playable? Loved those, great vibe!
mateusz has some on his website that you can buy for $25 in the form of the “complete collection.” He is also currently working on “submachine legacy” which combines all games into one and will be released on steam and I’m assuming will be paid.
https://www.mateuszskutnik.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3&products_id=63
Basically Telltale games. I include first Life is Strange in that because they managed to out-Telltale the Telltale. I love my games basically as an interactive story.
Edit: Also Heroes of Might & Magic. I want more good ones, 6 & 7 sucked tremendously.
If you haven’t played Talos Principle, it might be up your alley as a first-person puzzle game. And a sequel is planned for later this year!
Games that are made for the sake of making the game insread of being made to squeeze as much retention and money out of you as possible
Now thats a style that is becoming increasingly rare
I contend that there are more games out there now that are made for the sake of making them than ever before. It’s just that fewer and fewer of these games are AAA titles. The indy scene is really what are making these games nowadays.
the indie scene may be greater for that but is also filled with the same money making trite and on top of that constantly copying each other and barely doing anything new.
Half-assed unoptimized horror game #367992: Find the 8 pages before the tooth fairy jumpscares you!
That or modding. Modded Minecraft is done purely because someone wanted to have the functionality of magic wands or engineering or resource processing in their lego game. It’s completely unmonetized and gets extremely involved very fast. I fondly remember my nuclear reactor exploding and having to work around the irradiated zone. Good times.
Just follow a YouTuber with similar tastes and play the indie games they play. AAA is creatively dead
Thank you but I trust youtubers opinions as much as a gaming “journalist” which is to say, not at all
The problem might not be with the industry.
Youtubers are inheritor by the virtue of their existence just are a little to biased like the gaming magazines, I also find text much easier digestable than 2,5 minutes of invideo ads, sponsors selfplugs, like button smashing.or whatever else they want to subject me to
I spend far more effort trying to find gold than one really should have, there shouldnt be a need to spend so much time
Take a genuine hard look at this industry, an industry full with exploitation, lootboxes, micro and macrotransactions, the same 5 ideas ad naseum, where for every cuphead you have 10 slendermans, (thats just the tip of the iceberg)
you mean to tell me in THAT industry its ne with the problem? Cause thats a fair assassment and ill support whatever conclusion you may or may not draw
I think it’s more that, in absence of a gaming social circle, games discovery in the indie scene is hard. So, the easiest way for a lot of us is to find a gaming content creator who played games we like and play whatever they’re playing.
There’s a YouTube streamer I’ve been following for over a decade and every single game he plays is a 5/5 for me. At least ½ of my gaming is just games from his channel. It’s super easy; I don’t even watch him on Twitch much, but I can scan his recent broadcasts for gaming suggestions, and watch him play for like 30 minutes to figure out if it’s for me.
I have hundreds of games in my steam library with no in game purchases or lootboxes which I have enjoyed for between 50 and 2000 hours each. If you really have that much trouble finding games you can enjoy playing, then you need to change your habits.
The First Person Stealth Sim genre (Thief, Dishonored, etc) has been getting very little love in the last few years. Sadly the Arkane games don’t embrace it anymore; while great Prey was borderline as you really couldn’t control the stealth in many sections, and Deathloop and Red Rain are primarily short action games.
Have you played the two most recent deus ex games? HR is my personal favorite but I liked MD more for its atmosphere and level design. Both are primarily 1st person but switch to 3rd person when using cover.
I have, though even MD is getting on for 7 years old now. I don’t think that the series lived up to it’s roots in either title. I found myself feeling very constrained by them; I don’t necessarily mind if I have to play a character (Corvo is great as a Tabula Rasa) but Adam Jensen and his backstory are so fundamentally unlikeable.
Although they’re somewhat different the modern Hitman trilogy scratches this same itch for me (especially turning some of the guidance in the UI off and exploring the levels yourself, they’re actually designed well for that). Gloomwood is in early access but is shaping up really well and is inspired by classic Thief.
Party-based RPGs like Baldur’s Gate or Pillars of Eternity. I absolutely love this style of game, but it feels like there are precious few titles to choose from. Anyone know of any hidden gems?
Tyranny, Kingmaker, Wrath of the Righteous, Tower of Time. Also anything by Spiderweb Software – my favorite is Geneforge
There a youtube channel and a steam curator called Mortismal Gaming who loves CRPGs. Their shtick is also completing games at 100% before popping a review, and they are churning out new material at an amazing pace. Check it out for some decent coverage on the genre.
As for a maybe hidden gem, Age of Decadence looks pretty good. I have not played it yet, but the genre seems to match, and the premise is solid.
Expedition Rome is well appreciated too, even if it leans more toward tactical battles.
It’s not hidden, but I thoroughly enjoyed divinity original sin II. If you don’t want turn based combat it might be worth checking out the Pathfinder games.
Have you checked out Caves of Lore? It’s a great party based rpg with deep lore and created by a single developer. It reminds me of Jeff Vogel’s work a bit.
No, I’ve never heard of it. Thanks for the suggestion!
Have you checked out Pathfinder Kingmaker and Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous? Those are relatively new.
Well, you’re in luck; they’re releasing Baldur’s Gate 3 in a few days ;P
Solasta is a pretty faithful recreation of dungeons and dragons 5e, although the story/writing is not the best (may have improved in the later dlc, I’ve not gotten around to playing it yet). The combat is fun, though.
I have just one gripe with Solasta – it’s incredibly slow movement. You have to mod it.
Music games that are based around a story, like Parappa the Rapper/Um Jammer Lammy, Gitaroo Man 🎵💖
Gitaroo Man is fantastic. We need more games where you can defeat enemies using the power of your rock.
Brutal Legend also, although not the same genre by a long shot.
MUDs. Text based (generally RPG) games with incredibly immersive story telling, near infinite levels of character customization, and many even feature ways for players to build on the world itself.
I’m surprised it’s not more popular amongst D&D enthusiasts.
In its hey day, people spent thousands of dollars just to boost their characters on massive for-profit MUDs like those created by Iron Realms. But smaller MUDs like Ancient Anguish were just as quality.
Sadly they’re going extinct. Only a few MUDs are still actively maintained.
Huh, that must be where the original name for Runescape (DeviousMUD) came from. Didn’t know it was a whole genre of games
Whoa that’s a nice piece of trivia. Did some googling and it definitely has roots in MUDs, but Andrew obviously had higher ambitions visually. That’s cool.
Granted it’s not text based, so I could definitely be wrong.
I started reading Mort (Terry Pratchett) and it reminded me of the Discworld MUD I played with my friends in the 90s, on dial-up, all crowded around a single 13" CRT. I looked it up, and it’s still running!
That’s awesome! I’ve noticed it on lists of top voted MUDs for a long time, but never quite got into that particularly flavor.