Big companies avoid risk too much, they want to make revenue, not games. I haven’t been interested in any AAA game in some 10 years. They’re all just the same open-world, microtransaction-DLC, soon-to-be advertisement platform with uninspired gameplay features.
Independent developers on the other hand are innovating and making cool and fun games.
I am interested in the game series, but it looks like there are many points to start from. Myst 2021, realMyst Masterpiece Edition, Myst Masterpiece Edition, Riven, Riven 2024.
Seems like the starting point is a relatively controversial topic amongst fans. I thought of starting with Myst 2021, then playing the original Riven.
That reminds me of my Linux server teacher in university. We were to buy a domain name from Namecheap or Gandi during class with some free credits, and the teacher was recommending lastname[dot]com if that was available.
I happened to say aloud “yep, mylastname[dot]com is available” and he quickly sushed me as if I had named Voldemort aloud in Hogwarts, telling me that saying it is a really bad move… lol
pcpartpicker.com is a good resource. You can see the community builds for inspiration at least. It also tells you about most incompabilities for your build, but it’s best to check with someone so you won’t get parts that do not work with each other.
You like cool space stuff? Science fiction? Exploration? Games that don’t hold your hand? Wonderfully crafted experiences? Mysteries to solve? Existential crisis? “A-ha!” moments?
Outer Wilds is the game. If you answered “yes” to at least three questions, give it a try - you will probably love it.
Thing is, you can’t really explain much about Outer Wilds without getting into spoilers, as the whole point of the game is to explore the game’s solar system, figure out environmental puzzles and read ancient texts of a long-gone civilization to solve a mystery that you find yourself tangled in.
It is simply the most fascinating game I have ever played - it’s amazingly well-thought as an experience, every little thing neatly fits together. And there is no right or wrong way to play - after the ‘tutorial’, the game never tells you what to do or where to go next. It is all up to your curiosity and interests. Stuck on exploring one planet? Go investigate something else. You’ll probably find answers to help your exploration on the original planet! Any way you go about exploration, you will find revelations and eventually reach the game’s amazing finale.
Furthermore, if you know what to do, you can complete the game in around 10 minutes. Outer Wilds is a 15-30 hour game. There are no powerups or tools to unlock - knowledge is what gates you from answers and is what allows you to progress.
Beautiful.
It Takes Two - one of the rare two-player splitscreen co-op games on the market. And an amazing game as well - play it with your best friend or SO, get laughs, maybe even feels, and a super fun experience! Can also be played online, and only one player needs to buy it.
For online gaming, the We Were Here series is a finely crafted quartet of 2 player co-op puzzle games. The first installment is actually free to play on PC, so you can give a try if you enjoy the concept. Later games have much higher quality though, and so far every subsequent game has more or less doubled in length, and each one can be played twice as you can change the roles for each puzzle!
I’m done fiddling with software and want stuff that works without much hassle. Unraid is super easy, I am in the process of building a home server with it, similar setup to OP.
I plan on moving my media files to the server through my LAN via FreeFileSync.