I’ve always been more into competitive games, like FPS and MOBA. But now, I’m starting to like more story-focused games that will add something to my life, or just awesome games that everyone should play at some time.
Do you guys have any to recommend?
Edit: I play exclusively on PC.
So far I’ve played both Portal games, truly awesome, Hollow Knight and Celeste.
I highly recommend Hades! It’s a top-notch game with excellently balanced combat (and I say this as someone who doesn’t really like combat in video games), an awesome story, and outstanding art direction and voice acting. Because of its structure as a roguelite, you’re restarting every time you die but getting a little further every time, so it basically trains you up. It really made other combat games much more accessible to me. Plus you can use God Mode to lower the learning curve a bit while still keeping it moderately challenging.
I never buy AAA games any more.
so:
The Ascent
Grim Dawn - currently hammering this one. Will buy the expansion this week.
Rogue legacy 2. No story, just a time sink. Still a lot of fun though.
Sniper Elite 4 and 5.
I’m a diehard firewatch fan if you’d like a slightly spooky, heart full, storytelling masterpiece about the Wyoming forest. Everyone should play this game at some point.
I am going to recommend, perhaps, my favorite game of all time, Outer Wilds from the studio Mobius Games.
But please please promise to go in completely blind. Your awareness and knowledge of the world is the key mechanic, so almost any info not only spoils the mystery, but also robs you of literal measurable minutes in gameplay.
All I can say - it is a very touching first-person immersive stimulation game in space about, essentially, alien archeology. Expect wonder, discovery, some frights, have your mind completely blown every 10-20 minutes. It will probably make you cry a couple times as well.
It is one of those games when, after finishing it, you immediately get sad because you will never experience it again in the same way. So you start annoying everyone into playing it, just to enjoy discussing it and seeing someone else play.
But, to be clear without giving spoilers, by “simulation game in space” it means getting in a ship and flying from planet to planet, while dealing with things like gravity and momentum. In my opinion just the right amount of challenge that it starts hard but doable, but is possible to get good at in the late game. So that was lots of fun.
Also, while I will not reveal plot here, I feel given feedback from some of my friends that didn’t like it the way I did, that maybe setting some tone expectations may help. The gameplay experience is mostly about exploring the planets, learning stuff, observing things, and making connections in you, the player. There’s archeological evidence out there in space, and it’s your job to figure out the history. It’s not boring, though! It feels more like a giant puzzle. But you should go in with an exploration mindset and if a particular path doesn’t work out, maybe it’s not time yet. Just try exploring something else!
One of my friends was too “goal oriented” and just kept hammering a given path over and over and it made them frustrated, which is a shame.
Also, while the DLC is also good, I waited until after the main game to play it, and I’m glad I did. I don’t know how it works to have the DLC running at the same time as the main game, but they’re two pretty independent stories / investigations and I wouldn’t want to get accidentally caught up in one while trying to piece together the other. I feel like that would be pretty confusing.
The Mario RPG franchise is very good actually, Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga and Super Mario RPG being my favorites. I’ve heard good things about Paper Mario too.
Oh and the Earthbound series is very good too, but the Mario franchise is more beginner friendly.
If they’re on PC, you can always emulate these. If you have steamdeck or something I would happily recommend Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story as the pinnacle of the M&L series IMO.
Skyrim! You’re already used to FPS games, so the first person part of Skyrim should be a breeze (you can toggle to 3rd person too). It’s one of those adventure games that will really stick with you. My wife and I will both come back to it often.
Based on your description and games played I’d say “Furi” and “Transistor”. Second is made by Supergiant Games and all thier stuff is fantastic. I loved thier stories and the gameplay was unique in each.
Hades, which is also made by Supergiant, is also fantastic. It’s a great intro to the roguelite genre. I’ve also heard that their first game, Bastion, is great too, but I haven’t played it
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An FPS with a grand story, play Mass Effect if you haven’t already.
I highly recommend Hades! It’s a top-notch game with excellently balanced combat (and I say this as someone who doesn’t really like combat in video games), an awesome story, and outstanding art direction and voice acting. Because of its structure as a roguelite, you’re restarting every time you die but getting a little further every time, so it basically trains you up. It really made other combat games much more accessible to me. Plus you can use God Mode to lower the learning curve a bit while still keeping it moderately challenging.
I don’t like roguelikes, I got it for the character interactions and what do you know, the gameplay is fun too!
Still not going to change my mind on roguelikes though. Just this one is nice.
I never buy AAA games any more. so: The Ascent Grim Dawn - currently hammering this one. Will buy the expansion this week. Rogue legacy 2. No story, just a time sink. Still a lot of fun though. Sniper Elite 4 and 5.
I’m a diehard firewatch fan if you’d like a slightly spooky, heart full, storytelling masterpiece about the Wyoming forest. Everyone should play this game at some point.
I am going to recommend, perhaps, my favorite game of all time, Outer Wilds from the studio Mobius Games.
But please please promise to go in completely blind. Your awareness and knowledge of the world is the key mechanic, so almost any info not only spoils the mystery, but also robs you of literal measurable minutes in gameplay.
All I can say - it is a very touching first-person immersive stimulation game in space about, essentially, alien archeology. Expect wonder, discovery, some frights, have your mind completely blown every 10-20 minutes. It will probably make you cry a couple times as well.
It is one of those games when, after finishing it, you immediately get sad because you will never experience it again in the same way. So you start annoying everyone into playing it, just to enjoy discussing it and seeing someone else play.
And the DLC is equally awesome.
Agreed.
But, to be clear without giving spoilers, by “simulation game in space” it means getting in a ship and flying from planet to planet, while dealing with things like gravity and momentum. In my opinion just the right amount of challenge that it starts hard but doable, but is possible to get good at in the late game. So that was lots of fun.
Also, while I will not reveal plot here, I feel given feedback from some of my friends that didn’t like it the way I did, that maybe setting some tone expectations may help. The gameplay experience is mostly about exploring the planets, learning stuff, observing things, and making connections in you, the player. There’s archeological evidence out there in space, and it’s your job to figure out the history. It’s not boring, though! It feels more like a giant puzzle. But you should go in with an exploration mindset and if a particular path doesn’t work out, maybe it’s not time yet. Just try exploring something else!
One of my friends was too “goal oriented” and just kept hammering a given path over and over and it made them frustrated, which is a shame.
Also, while the DLC is also good, I waited until after the main game to play it, and I’m glad I did. I don’t know how it works to have the DLC running at the same time as the main game, but they’re two pretty independent stories / investigations and I wouldn’t want to get accidentally caught up in one while trying to piece together the other. I feel like that would be pretty confusing.
To any followup posters, remember no spoilers!
Journey, Spiritfarer, Shadow of the Colossus, The Last of Us.
Upvoted for Shadow of the Colossus, I am a gamer who plays the oldies.
The Mario RPG franchise is very good actually, Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga and Super Mario RPG being my favorites. I’ve heard good things about Paper Mario too.
Oh and the Earthbound series is very good too, but the Mario franchise is more beginner friendly.
If they’re on PC, you can always emulate these. If you have steamdeck or something I would happily recommend Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story as the pinnacle of the M&L series IMO.
More games that are more about gameplay then story:
I’m always glad when I see someone recommend Night in the Woods. It took me to a place no other game has.
Skyrim! You’re already used to FPS games, so the first person part of Skyrim should be a breeze (you can toggle to 3rd person too). It’s one of those adventure games that will really stick with you. My wife and I will both come back to it often.
@s0phia world of tanks and age of empires 2 DE
Jesus Christ I cried my eyes out at Spiritfarer. (Also I was on the final beta test, so I’m in the credits for that one!)
Based on your description and games played I’d say “Furi” and “Transistor”. Second is made by Supergiant Games and all thier stuff is fantastic. I loved thier stories and the gameplay was unique in each.
Hades, which is also made by Supergiant, is also fantastic. It’s a great intro to the roguelite genre. I’ve also heard that their first game, Bastion, is great too, but I haven’t played it
Can confirm, Bastion is a fun little hack and slash that does a couple of very clever things narratively.