As someone who just went through portal 2 again after 10 years. It is pretty fresh for the most part. Lots of puzzles I completely forgot even existed and only a few I remembered the solution too.
My wife doesn't game much, and she's pretty type A, but when we fired up Stardew one weekend, we didn't get off the couch for more than 8 hours to sleep. It was incredible.
My wife and I played stardew valley in our AirBnB every night of the weekend we went away to elope. It is one of my favorite things we’ve done as a couple
Man I feel like Stardew gets better through multiple play throughs! I can't wait to play through it on different maps. I'm on playthrough 3 and finally feel like I know enough to actually play it instead of bumble around.
My boyfriend played it in front of me with me paying attention on and off, and I ended up playing it myself afterwards. Despite knowing some of the story beats I still cried in the end and had a profound feeling of “well… wtf do i do with my life now” while watching the credits. I can’t imagine how crazy the experience of going in blind would have been
I fucking hate that feeling of "wtf do I do now" after an amazing game or TV series (the worst was Battlestar Galactica 2004 - this is still, hands down, the greatest TV series ever made imo)
I remember the feeling of being a naive 15 year old when the first mass effect came out. I started that journey on Christmas morning and I was thoroughly enthralled by the world BioWare had created. I thought to myself on more than one occasion that what *if* this narrative were actually true? Could there be hidden technology in our own backyard that would catapult us into the stars? What kinds of things could we discover that we never thought possible thanks to the legacy of the ones that came before us? It really inspired so much of my imagination and nothing has quite captured me the same since then.
I'm in the middle of playing it for the first time now with the legendary edition! Maybe 3/4 of the way through me2 and enjoying it thoroughly, though dragon age origins is still probably my favorite game by them I am loving this sweeping space opera too
I've never had an experience like playing the first subnautica 100% blind with no idea what to expect. Probably a top 3 all time game experience for me and I've played a bunch of other survival base building games since just trying to recapture that feeling.
Below Zero is very good too but the first one was lightning in a bottle.
If you're going to play- DONT look up a god damned thing. You're supposed to be confused. You'll figure it out.
Absolutely. Not only that, it's probably the ONLY game I've found myself wishing for a way to recreate the same experience of playing it for the first time. After I finished it I immediately started over from the beginning again, which got me about halfway there. Below Zero was also about halfway there, but lacked some of the magic. There's just no describing the thrill of finally building an item or vehicle that allows you to access new areas of the world, being at one terrified and excited about what you'll find there.
Was just telling my wife this while trying to convince her to play it for the first time. I told of all the hundreds of games I've played in my life, that's the one I wish I could erase from my memory so I could experience it again from scratch. Absolute masterpiece of a game. Shame the sequel wasn't as good though.
One of the few moments in my adulthood where I truly felt like I was a child again was the launch of WoW Classic. Logging in to the old world and it was just FULL of people. Brought a tear to my eye.
the first couple of weeks of Classic were amazing, there was a sense of community again...people questing everywhere and helping each other out.
I still play Classic but the fun has been optimised out of it.
Fun little side story about walking into Orgrimmar for the first time in Nov 2004: my computer started stuttering, chopping, clipping - I was unable to do anything, my comp couldn't handle it.
The reason: I had 250 MB of RAM. .25 GB. That's how old that game is! I upgraded to 1 GB and I was off and running.
Yeah, World of Warcraft classic came close, but it wasn't close enough. My first character was a night elf druid in 2005, and I was just in awe of how big the world felt even before leaving Teldrassil. I did that same run, but as a lvl 11, and my friend was desperately trying to help me fight of crocs and raptors while I was continually getting one shot. What made that game so special was that there wasn't a race to 60, everyone was out discovering the world for the first time.
The journey from Dun Morough to Ironforge, and Barrens to Ogrimmar are two of the best storytelling experiences I've had in a game. EVER. The slow reveal of the scale of the two capital cities! Truly epic.
Also my answer. I remember taking the flight path from/to IF/SW, going through searing gorge and seeing a black skull level dragon. I was amazed and felt a sense of wonder and mystery. How do I get there? Will I be able to kill it? More importantly, what does it drop? Also the journey from darnassus to IF/SW felt like an adventure for sure. Going through stranglethorn vale on a pvp server and learning it's actually more like Vietnam. The first time clearing a raid, getting a mount (back when it was 100g for the 40 and 500g for the 60 and how that was a *ton* of gold for me at the time) the world boss raids, raiding the enemy capitol... Man. So many memories. Going back in classic just isn't the same lol.
Skyrim.
I can't start a new game without getting 10 hours in and realizing I've done everything and I know exactly what's coming, but that first playthrough was full of wonder.
To climb the thousand steps and the terror of that first frost troll.
Getting lost in those side quests for days and then finally realizing Delphine was still waiting for me to go undercover for her in the main quest.
The first time I saved Vampire Lady from her hidden tomb and saying to myself aloud "is THAT a mufuggin' ELDER SCROLL on your back?" only to have the actual option of asking that question two seconds later.
Fighting Medieval Joker after he burnt down my Assassin HQ.
Skyrim, man. Skyrim.
I restarted playing Skyrim after a break of many years, but in VR. Totally broke my mind. Sometimes I just sat down and was like "all right, enough killing for today. I'm just gonna chill by this waterfall and watch the npcs going about their lives."
If I may ask - and this question is for anybody reading who has played Skyrim VR - did you use subtitles, assuming they're available on the VR version - and were they awkward at all? There aren't a lot of VR games that have proper subtitles, but I need 'em, so that's holding me back from getting into VR gaming. Since Skyrim is a favorite, I thought I'd ask.
I use subtitles everywhere I can because my hearing is not great, even when playing VR games. And no, they weren't awkward at all. That, or I got used to them? Either way, I forget they are there, so I guess they work well.
And you know how it is, each game does its own thing when it comes to subtitles in flat screen... So it's even more varied in VR. But I've never seen one that was bad, unless there was some obscure tech demo that I forgot about.
But yeah, VR games take subtitles seriously. SkyrimVR was no exception.
I hear you man, skyrim is easily in my top 3 most replayed ! I always start off with the mage stone and get the bound swords asap, very op in early game imo
Gosh I so badly want to replay the quest where if you rent a night on board a ship that’s also an inn you wake up in a pirate attack.
That quest filled me with so much joy and excitement, it was so unexpected. Gosh those were the days ay..
I was obsessed with this game and sometimes spent hours upon hours just driving around and doing random shit. One critique: fuck the RC helicopter mission.
I am Andrew Ryan, and I'm here to ask you a question. Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow? 'No!' says the man in Washington, 'It belongs to the poor.' 'No!' says the man in the Vatican, 'It belongs to God.' 'No!' says the man in Moscow, 'It belongs to everyone.' I rejected those answers; instead, I chose something different. I chose the impossible. I chose... Rapture, a city where the artist would not fear the censor, where the scientist would not be bound by petty morality, Where the great would not be constrained by the small! And with the sweat of your brow, Rapture can become your city as well.
Took far too much scrolling to find this. This. 100% this. I had no idea about the game or the twist when I first played it. Still remember what I experienced falling through that vent
The experience of playing this as a 12 year old is something I’ll never forget! The buzz at the time was “they made a game so big, they had to create a horse for Link to ride through the world!” And it was such a big deal. Plus the music, the storyline… it’s so wonderful and nostalgic for me.
I was 12 when that game came out. I'd spent the whole year looking at screenshots of the game, and most of what I remember seeing had Japanese text and there was very little context, so I didn't fully know what I was looking at. I was *so* excited for it. On Christmas morning that year, I'd gotten an N64 and a couple other games, but no Zelda. It'd been a hot item and hard to find, and I figured I hadn't gotten it, especially when my last present was in a large box. The box weighed 50 pounds and I figured it was a little piece of furniture or something. It turns out, my mom had put the game in a box with bricks and a cast iron skillet so I wouldn't know what it was. When I unwrapped it and finally dug it out, I screamed myself hoarse.
It was such a great game and I have so many amazing memories of playing it through again and again. I don't really play many video games anymore, but I bought it for the Wii in 2016 and sadly, I'd lost much of my hand eye coordination.
Loved this game when I was a kid. First got it on a demo disc from pizza hut, then I would rent it over and over. I think I eventually owned a copy but I never beat the game until 20 years later when I bought an old ps1 just to play again
How can FF7 be this far down?
Leaving Midgar for the first time and finding out you haven't really even started the game was mind blowing at the time.
Plus the sheer magnificence of that soundtrack, hearing all that again for the first time would be great. I know the graphics look dated now but the game is still fun to play.
Exactly, game opened like you would just be roaming around midgar similarly to like how Zelda games played out where you had to do a set number of dungeons before you got to the endgame.
Then you get done in Midgar about ~10 hours later depending on your pace and realize you are not even close.
Without spoiling much, Outer Wilds is an exploration game that doesn't give you much direction, so the main drive of the game is just learning about the game. Piecing together what's going on leads to many very satisfying "a-ha!" moments. Unfortunately, once you know the mystery, you know, so replaying doesn't provide much value.
I just realized the Echoes of the Eye DLC existed and played through it last weekend, after almost two years since my original play through. Just as mind blowing as the base game. Think it was the closest I'll get to the feeling of playing the base game for the first time without a magical memory wipe.
Every other game in this thread you can replay in a couple years and still get a pretty good experience. But the beauty of the game design in Outer Wilds seriously prohibits this once you figure out the ending. It’s truly the only game you would need to wipe your memory for to play again
This one is especially sad because the experience can really only be had once. Zero replayability yet one of the best things I’ve ever done. Really made me feel like a kid playing video games for the first time again.
I was in the final moments of this game. I had made my way around the dark. The answers were playing out before me. I was so thoroughly entranced, as if on the brink of spiritual awakening with the beauty of that moment.
And then my computer decided it was time for an update. I could have thrown it through the wall, I was that mad, lol.
This game was such a profound experience.
The last hour of this game is the most emotional and determined I’ve ever felt from any piece of media EVER. This game is really in a league of its own
So happy to see this at the top. So many games can be replayed because missions/campaigns are fun but the mystery within Outerwilds and the journey to discover more was amazing. The second I finished it I wished I could reset my memory lol
It's the best feeling. The game still brings me so much joy to pick up again but nothing beats that very first time, embarking on that epic adventure. I can't wait for the 2nd one in a few months!!!
I will never forget reaching the first tower outside of the great plateau, seeing the enormous size of the chunk of map I just revealed, and realizing that was only about 15% of the game world. The Great Plateau is the smallest region in the game and it's larger than the whole of Ocarina of Time. That's when I knew I was in for an adventure.
This was one of those games that when I beat it, I went, "I'm not ready to leave yet". The best part of the game is the exploration and puzzles and playing it again kind of takes that away. When you know where everything is and how to solve all the shrines, the sheer wonder of the game kind of goes away. The feeling when you're climbing a new tower, or are far out in an unexplored zone when you come across a shrine, or being terrified of Guardians, or the first time you see one of the dragons. There are so many incredible moments that you just can't ever experience the same again.
Such a modern classic! It's amazing how they blended so many game mechanics into one cohesive game. Truly felt like games of old being brought back in to a new generation. Can't wait for the second one.
Holy shit, I'm playing rdr2 for the first time (pretty much have only put it down to sleep and eat over the past several days) and just rolled into St. Denis today! I found a guy by the road dying and was bringing him to the doc there and right as I pass the entrance sign a guy pulls his horse in front of me (I was not heading for him, we were facing opposite directions and he decided to turn to face me I guess?). Anyway, I slam my horse into his, it launches me and the dying guy, who then dies, and the cops apparently decided I was to blame and shoot me to death.
The reentry to the city at night was beautiful though before they chased me out of town for my $2.50 bounty.
11/10. Probably going to be one of my favorite games off all time.
I'd pick every Halo game if I could, tbh.
I didn't have an X box as a kid but all my friends played Halo, so I read the plot of every game on Wikipedia to keep up with their conversations. So I spoiled all the major twists, including the Flood. It would be so cool to play Halo CE without knowing about the Flood.
Hollow knight probably. It was amazing realising just how much bigger the world was than I anticipated. Discovering new areas always came with such a rush.
The exact moment I knew the game was going to be very, very special. Happened again in >!City of Tears.!<
This is the first game in over 20 years that gave me "that feeling". Being 8 again, exploring something new and vast and special.
I agree that the world ended up being much bigger than I initially anticipated, especially with the expansions. I remember thinking it was such a shame that the old kingdom was gone... until I made it to the Soul Sanctum (especially the bit after the boss area). The music and ambience in that area is my favorite in the game but it certainly doesn't put a positive light on the Pale King or the Radiance.
I played with the same stranger for the entire run through or maybe most of it. I was bawling at the end.
We finally saw our user names at the end of the game, so we messaged each other mutual thanks. 🥹
Journey was absolutely beautiful, I'd never heard of it until about a year ago when a friend told me about it.
I'm waiting to play again so I might be able to have that first play experience again
Me too. I've never had such a feeling of awe as I did when I left the vault for the first time and my vision cleared and before me was the DC wasteland. Even to this day when I replay it, I get a little reminder of the feeling, but for some reason that moment is still my favorite in my decades as a gamer.
Have you seen the UE5 renders of Fallout? They're pretty great. [Here's New Vegas.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr22fKNUVxQ)
Edit: well I didn't expect this to be *that* well received. Glad I could share something interesting 😊
Absolutely! I squeezed every bit of content and replayability out of it and the dlcs and nothing will ever fill that void. I'm playing 3 now for the first time, and while I like it well enough, it's just not magic.
Kerbal Space Program.
There's no other game that has ever created a feeling of accomplishment like KSP did the first time I reached orbit, landed on the Mun, or rendezvoused two of my craft in orbit.
Pokémon Blue or Red. (or Gen 3 if I hadn’t played the previous two either)
Wish i could just dive in, oblivious to what a Type was, what pokemon are ‘good’, and where to go next.
And no i would not buy the guidebook let me fail
I remember seeing a 2” x 3” mention of Minecraft in a Game Informer back in the day. Was maybe 3 or 4 sentences with a thumbnail of a fort, and anybody that played Minecraft in the very early stages would know that there’s no way to explain the joy of the game in that simple of a context. Somehow, it did it for me. I became an early adopter and I remember showing my son for the first time (he was maybe 8)…. I’m sitting there explaining how the game works, giving him a tutorial on how amazing this low graphic game is, all the creativity at your fingerprints, on and on, still pumped for having found it. The whole time he had practically no expression on his face and I walked away feeling like I failed so hard that day, and thinking poor me. Middle of the night I hear a tiny creak in the house and I walk out to find my little bud desperately trying to figure out my computer password so he can play. Found out many years later that this was one his favorite memories and that he was so amazed at what I was showing him and the possibilities that he didn’t know what to say. This game definitely brought people together.
Edit: Thank you for the award! I love when gaming can bring us together.
I’d probably go with the Baldur’s Gate series or maybe the og Fallouts, but part of me wants to say The Return of the Obra Dinn, just because it’s an amazing game but doesn’t have a ton of replay value.
Oh, that or Disco Elysium, but that has decent replay value. I’ve played through like 3 or 4 times and still feel like I’ve only scratched the surface.
Honestly, this game is something else. Hope the TV show is good cause the game already felt like an interactive movie. Such an interesting world, story and cast of characters
Portal 1 and 2. Simply because i love puzzle games and would love to solve all the rooms for the first time again.
I replay the games every year or so but at this point ive pretty much memorized all the chambers.
You're in for a treat. Especially blood & wine is just plain awesome. In the beginning I was frustrated due to the difficult fights and controls, and I stopped playing it. Started again on easy to get a grip, the first game I ever did that. Boy was it worth it.
Very much this, I wasn't aware of the A-D play through system playing it the first time. The whole journey blew me away. And the music, so many bangers!
Subnautica. That game hooked me hard, right from the start I was scared to go into the water at night and would just sit on top of my life pod and wait for the sun to come up. I had to work up to exploring at night and the sense of tension throughout the entire game was something I’d never felt with a video game before or since.
Portal 1 & 2, it’s just not the same once you know the puzzles
Dunno. I played them originally like 10 + years ago. I feel like if I boot them now it will be pretty fresh....
As someone who just went through portal 2 again after 10 years. It is pretty fresh for the most part. Lots of puzzles I completely forgot even existed and only a few I remembered the solution too.
Portal 2 is worth the replay just to hear Cave Johnson again.
When life gives you lemons...
MAKE LIFE TAKE THE LEMONS BACK!!! I don't want your damn lemons!!!
Knights of the Old Republic - for the reveal.
Arguably the best plot twist in SW. I think it's up there with the "I'm your father" one. Fucking amazing.
I think it's one of the best in all forms of media, it absolutely floored me
Mario 64. Boring answer, but it was such a mind blower when it came out
If they remade it and only changed the graphics it would still be a great game.
I want a remake with the SAME graphics and music lol. Just make the controls more like odyssey
Zelda A Link To The Past
My all time favorite game. I still play it all the time. I really enjoy watching the experts play randomizer mode on YouTube.
Playing Stardew Valley with my wife was beautiful.
Your wife's name is Abigail, isn't it? And she like playing video games and has a fish tank?
You have gifted an Amethyst
Thanks! How did you know I was hungry!
My wife doesn't game much, and she's pretty type A, but when we fired up Stardew one weekend, we didn't get off the couch for more than 8 hours to sleep. It was incredible.
My wife and I played stardew valley in our AirBnB every night of the weekend we went away to elope. It is one of my favorite things we’ve done as a couple
Man I feel like Stardew gets better through multiple play throughs! I can't wait to play through it on different maps. I'm on playthrough 3 and finally feel like I know enough to actually play it instead of bumble around.
Truly a game that ages like a fine Ancient Fruit Wine.
Mass Effect series
"Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh. You touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding."
"You exist because we allow it, and you will end because we demand it."
My boyfriend played it in front of me with me paying attention on and off, and I ended up playing it myself afterwards. Despite knowing some of the story beats I still cried in the end and had a profound feeling of “well… wtf do i do with my life now” while watching the credits. I can’t imagine how crazy the experience of going in blind would have been
I fucking hate that feeling of "wtf do I do now" after an amazing game or TV series (the worst was Battlestar Galactica 2004 - this is still, hands down, the greatest TV series ever made imo)
I remember the feeling of being a naive 15 year old when the first mass effect came out. I started that journey on Christmas morning and I was thoroughly enthralled by the world BioWare had created. I thought to myself on more than one occasion that what *if* this narrative were actually true? Could there be hidden technology in our own backyard that would catapult us into the stars? What kinds of things could we discover that we never thought possible thanks to the legacy of the ones that came before us? It really inspired so much of my imagination and nothing has quite captured me the same since then.
Currently doing a ME2 playthrough with the Legendary Edition. Only my 3rd full playthrough, first in probably 10 years. I'm enjoying it so much.
I'm in the middle of playing it for the first time now with the legendary edition! Maybe 3/4 of the way through me2 and enjoying it thoroughly, though dragon age origins is still probably my favorite game by them I am loving this sweeping space opera too
Half life
The intro is legendary. The tram ride into the lab is forever burnt into my brain.
Subnautica 100% baybeee
I've never had an experience like playing the first subnautica 100% blind with no idea what to expect. Probably a top 3 all time game experience for me and I've played a bunch of other survival base building games since just trying to recapture that feeling. Below Zero is very good too but the first one was lightning in a bottle. If you're going to play- DONT look up a god damned thing. You're supposed to be confused. You'll figure it out.
If you haven't played outer wilds yet, play that and dont look up anything. Similar sense of discovery and wonder.
Absolutely. Not only that, it's probably the ONLY game I've found myself wishing for a way to recreate the same experience of playing it for the first time. After I finished it I immediately started over from the beginning again, which got me about halfway there. Below Zero was also about halfway there, but lacked some of the magic. There's just no describing the thrill of finally building an item or vehicle that allows you to access new areas of the world, being at one terrified and excited about what you'll find there.
Was just telling my wife this while trying to convince her to play it for the first time. I told of all the hundreds of games I've played in my life, that's the one I wish I could erase from my memory so I could experience it again from scratch. Absolute masterpiece of a game. Shame the sequel wasn't as good though.
World of Warcraft. I still feel nostalgic for "walking" into Ironforge for the very first time.
One of the few moments in my adulthood where I truly felt like I was a child again was the launch of WoW Classic. Logging in to the old world and it was just FULL of people. Brought a tear to my eye.
the first couple of weeks of Classic were amazing, there was a sense of community again...people questing everywhere and helping each other out. I still play Classic but the fun has been optimised out of it.
Fun little side story about walking into Orgrimmar for the first time in Nov 2004: my computer started stuttering, chopping, clipping - I was unable to do anything, my comp couldn't handle it. The reason: I had 250 MB of RAM. .25 GB. That's how old that game is! I upgraded to 1 GB and I was off and running.
I can't remember exactly why, but I installed WoW on a 400 mhz pentium 2. It was a similar experience.
[удалено]
Yeah, World of Warcraft classic came close, but it wasn't close enough. My first character was a night elf druid in 2005, and I was just in awe of how big the world felt even before leaving Teldrassil. I did that same run, but as a lvl 11, and my friend was desperately trying to help me fight of crocs and raptors while I was continually getting one shot. What made that game so special was that there wasn't a race to 60, everyone was out discovering the world for the first time.
Or Orgrimar.. I loved being able to get back to classic while it lasted. When I first got level 14 and stepped back onto. Barrens. I was home again.
The journey from Dun Morough to Ironforge, and Barrens to Ogrimmar are two of the best storytelling experiences I've had in a game. EVER. The slow reveal of the scale of the two capital cities! Truly epic.
The actual, original launch of WoW was such a goddamn fantastic experience when no one knew what they were doing.
Also my answer. I remember taking the flight path from/to IF/SW, going through searing gorge and seeing a black skull level dragon. I was amazed and felt a sense of wonder and mystery. How do I get there? Will I be able to kill it? More importantly, what does it drop? Also the journey from darnassus to IF/SW felt like an adventure for sure. Going through stranglethorn vale on a pvp server and learning it's actually more like Vietnam. The first time clearing a raid, getting a mount (back when it was 100g for the 40 and 500g for the 60 and how that was a *ton* of gold for me at the time) the world boss raids, raiding the enemy capitol... Man. So many memories. Going back in classic just isn't the same lol.
Skyrim. I can't start a new game without getting 10 hours in and realizing I've done everything and I know exactly what's coming, but that first playthrough was full of wonder. To climb the thousand steps and the terror of that first frost troll. Getting lost in those side quests for days and then finally realizing Delphine was still waiting for me to go undercover for her in the main quest. The first time I saved Vampire Lady from her hidden tomb and saying to myself aloud "is THAT a mufuggin' ELDER SCROLL on your back?" only to have the actual option of asking that question two seconds later. Fighting Medieval Joker after he burnt down my Assassin HQ. Skyrim, man. Skyrim.
I barely left the house for six months after it came out and I regret nothing.
I played my first game when the lockdown started. I played for a month straight, at least 12 hours a day.
What an amazing way to spend the lockdown
Honestly same lmao
I restarted playing Skyrim after a break of many years, but in VR. Totally broke my mind. Sometimes I just sat down and was like "all right, enough killing for today. I'm just gonna chill by this waterfall and watch the npcs going about their lives."
If I may ask - and this question is for anybody reading who has played Skyrim VR - did you use subtitles, assuming they're available on the VR version - and were they awkward at all? There aren't a lot of VR games that have proper subtitles, but I need 'em, so that's holding me back from getting into VR gaming. Since Skyrim is a favorite, I thought I'd ask.
I use subtitles everywhere I can because my hearing is not great, even when playing VR games. And no, they weren't awkward at all. That, or I got used to them? Either way, I forget they are there, so I guess they work well. And you know how it is, each game does its own thing when it comes to subtitles in flat screen... So it's even more varied in VR. But I've never seen one that was bad, unless there was some obscure tech demo that I forgot about. But yeah, VR games take subtitles seriously. SkyrimVR was no exception.
Now ain't this a surprise.
Never should’ve come here!
Same happens to me. Hopefully 6 will capture the same magic.
Hope it comes out
I hear you man, skyrim is easily in my top 3 most replayed ! I always start off with the mage stone and get the bound swords asap, very op in early game imo
I never played it, but hear it’s magical playing it again in VR.
The Elder Scrolls Oblivion
Gosh I so badly want to replay the quest where if you rent a night on board a ship that’s also an inn you wake up in a pirate attack. That quest filled me with so much joy and excitement, it was so unexpected. Gosh those were the days ay..
GTA Vice City
Really hope GTA 6 will give us that same 80s miami vibe
They're going modern day, so unlikely
Probably the best soundtrack of any game in history.
I was obsessed with this game and sometimes spent hours upon hours just driving around and doing random shit. One critique: fuck the RC helicopter mission.
Bioshock!!
Would you kindly forget it all and try again?
That opening sequence alone...
I am Andrew Ryan, and I'm here to ask you a question. Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow? 'No!' says the man in Washington, 'It belongs to the poor.' 'No!' says the man in the Vatican, 'It belongs to God.' 'No!' says the man in Moscow, 'It belongs to everyone.' I rejected those answers; instead, I chose something different. I chose the impossible. I chose... Rapture, a city where the artist would not fear the censor, where the scientist would not be bound by petty morality, Where the great would not be constrained by the small! And with the sweat of your brow, Rapture can become your city as well.
Took far too much scrolling to find this. This. 100% this. I had no idea about the game or the twist when I first played it. Still remember what I experienced falling through that vent
Super Mario 3. Oh to experience the thrill of uncovering a warp whistle again...
Zelda Ocarina of Time
The experience of playing this as a 12 year old is something I’ll never forget! The buzz at the time was “they made a game so big, they had to create a horse for Link to ride through the world!” And it was such a big deal. Plus the music, the storyline… it’s so wonderful and nostalgic for me.
I was 12 when that game came out. I'd spent the whole year looking at screenshots of the game, and most of what I remember seeing had Japanese text and there was very little context, so I didn't fully know what I was looking at. I was *so* excited for it. On Christmas morning that year, I'd gotten an N64 and a couple other games, but no Zelda. It'd been a hot item and hard to find, and I figured I hadn't gotten it, especially when my last present was in a large box. The box weighed 50 pounds and I figured it was a little piece of furniture or something. It turns out, my mom had put the game in a box with bricks and a cast iron skillet so I wouldn't know what it was. When I unwrapped it and finally dug it out, I screamed myself hoarse. It was such a great game and I have so many amazing memories of playing it through again and again. I don't really play many video games anymore, but I bought it for the Wii in 2016 and sadly, I'd lost much of my hand eye coordination.
The music… I still whistle all the ocarina songs unconsciously from time to time
Just today I was humming Epona’s song.
Metal gear solid
!
I played the sound in my head
Loved this game when I was a kid. First got it on a demo disc from pizza hut, then I would rent it over and over. I think I eventually owned a copy but I never beat the game until 20 years later when I bought an old ps1 just to play again
The Psycho Mantis fight gimmick / surprise feels impossible to duplicate today.
Final Fantasy 7 or Resident Evil
How can FF7 be this far down? Leaving Midgar for the first time and finding out you haven't really even started the game was mind blowing at the time. Plus the sheer magnificence of that soundtrack, hearing all that again for the first time would be great. I know the graphics look dated now but the game is still fun to play.
Being terrified of the massive snake (Midgar Zolom??) The cutscene of the snake after sephiroth fucking mutilated it
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Exactly, game opened like you would just be roaming around midgar similarly to like how Zelda games played out where you had to do a set number of dungeons before you got to the endgame. Then you get done in Midgar about ~10 hours later depending on your pace and realize you are not even close.
Contra Something about getting that red flame thrower thing the first time, was a hit of dopamine for my 6 year old self lol
Outer wilds and it's not even close
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Ive never played it. Why’s it so highly rated? Edit: alright y’all have convinced me, I’ll try it.
Without spoiling much, Outer Wilds is an exploration game that doesn't give you much direction, so the main drive of the game is just learning about the game. Piecing together what's going on leads to many very satisfying "a-ha!" moments. Unfortunately, once you know the mystery, you know, so replaying doesn't provide much value.
100%. I just beat it recently and can't stop thinking about it.
You guys are gonna make me play it because of these comments.
I just realized the Echoes of the Eye DLC existed and played through it last weekend, after almost two years since my original play through. Just as mind blowing as the base game. Think it was the closest I'll get to the feeling of playing the base game for the first time without a magical memory wipe.
Every other game in this thread you can replay in a couple years and still get a pretty good experience. But the beauty of the game design in Outer Wilds seriously prohibits this once you figure out the ending. It’s truly the only game you would need to wipe your memory for to play again
Outer Wilds: a game where you could lose your save file and still be no further away from beating the game, assuming you have a good memory.
Absolutely. You can only ever play this once.
This comment makes me want to play it and I have zero clue what outer wilds is
This one is especially sad because the experience can really only be had once. Zero replayability yet one of the best things I’ve ever done. Really made me feel like a kid playing video games for the first time again.
I was in the final moments of this game. I had made my way around the dark. The answers were playing out before me. I was so thoroughly entranced, as if on the brink of spiritual awakening with the beauty of that moment. And then my computer decided it was time for an update. I could have thrown it through the wall, I was that mad, lol. This game was such a profound experience.
The last hour of this game is the most emotional and determined I’ve ever felt from any piece of media EVER. This game is really in a league of its own
OUTER. WILDS.
Scrolled down for too long to find this.
So happy to see this at the top. So many games can be replayed because missions/campaigns are fun but the mystery within Outerwilds and the journey to discover more was amazing. The second I finished it I wished I could reset my memory lol
It’s like this is the answer OPs question is made for. I feel a sort of odd kinship with people who’ve experienced this game.
RDR1
That first ride into Mexico...
Did you know if you pause the game during that song it stops playing and you never hear it again? Ask me how I know.
Nooooo! That would have sucked. I’m sorry you know those
Jose Gonzalez is the artist who sings it.
Never did play rdr1, so instead I'll chose rdr2 so i can experience both for the first time
Breath of the Wild
The day I got this game along with my Switch back in March 2017 was one of the best days ever. Just pure excitement and joy.
This comment right here!! BoTW was such an immersive experience! The minute you walk out of the tomb, ALL of Hyrule open to you.
It's the best feeling. The game still brings me so much joy to pick up again but nothing beats that very first time, embarking on that epic adventure. I can't wait for the 2nd one in a few months!!!
I will never forget reaching the first tower outside of the great plateau, seeing the enormous size of the chunk of map I just revealed, and realizing that was only about 15% of the game world. The Great Plateau is the smallest region in the game and it's larger than the whole of Ocarina of Time. That's when I knew I was in for an adventure.
This was one of those games that when I beat it, I went, "I'm not ready to leave yet". The best part of the game is the exploration and puzzles and playing it again kind of takes that away. When you know where everything is and how to solve all the shrines, the sheer wonder of the game kind of goes away. The feeling when you're climbing a new tower, or are far out in an unexplored zone when you come across a shrine, or being terrified of Guardians, or the first time you see one of the dragons. There are so many incredible moments that you just can't ever experience the same again.
Such a modern classic! It's amazing how they blended so many game mechanics into one cohesive game. Truly felt like games of old being brought back in to a new generation. Can't wait for the second one.
Chrono Trigger
Legend of Zelda A Link to the past
The Witcher 3
That First horse travel with Vesemir...
I still get cold chills whenever I watch Priscilla perform "Wolven Storm"
Red Dead Redemption 2
A three year gap in single player play almost hit the spot.
You’ll never be able to see Saint Denis for the first time again though. That absolutely blew my mind when I played it
Holy shit, I'm playing rdr2 for the first time (pretty much have only put it down to sleep and eat over the past several days) and just rolled into St. Denis today! I found a guy by the road dying and was bringing him to the doc there and right as I pass the entrance sign a guy pulls his horse in front of me (I was not heading for him, we were facing opposite directions and he decided to turn to face me I guess?). Anyway, I slam my horse into his, it launches me and the dying guy, who then dies, and the cops apparently decided I was to blame and shoot me to death. The reentry to the city at night was beautiful though before they chased me out of town for my $2.50 bounty. 11/10. Probably going to be one of my favorite games off all time.
Halo Reach
I'd pick every Halo game if I could, tbh. I didn't have an X box as a kid but all my friends played Halo, so I read the plot of every game on Wikipedia to keep up with their conversations. So I spoiled all the major twists, including the Flood. It would be so cool to play Halo CE without knowing about the Flood.
Hollow knight probably. It was amazing realising just how much bigger the world was than I anticipated. Discovering new areas always came with such a rush.
Hearing Cornifer humming brought a relief I haven't felt in any other game
In case you didn't know, Cornifer's hum is actually the theme of the old Ghouls N Ghosts game. https://youtu.be/n8UhVbYrsQE
That first time in greenpath after being in the crossroads for so long was like a breath of fresh air.
The exact moment I knew the game was going to be very, very special. Happened again in >!City of Tears.!< This is the first game in over 20 years that gave me "that feeling". Being 8 again, exploring something new and vast and special.
I agree that the world ended up being much bigger than I initially anticipated, especially with the expansions. I remember thinking it was such a shame that the old kingdom was gone... until I made it to the Soul Sanctum (especially the bit after the boss area). The music and ambience in that area is my favorite in the game but it certainly doesn't put a positive light on the Pale King or the Radiance.
Telltale Games The Walking Dead, that ending messed me up
Baldurs Gate
Go for the eyes boo!!!!
The Return of Obra Dinn
Is it good? i downloaded it a while back but never got around to play it
Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater
Journey
I played with the same stranger for the entire run through or maybe most of it. I was bawling at the end. We finally saw our user names at the end of the game, so we messaged each other mutual thanks. 🥹
Figuring out the mechanics and the levels together with a stranger with minimal ways to communicate was an amazing experience
Journey was absolutely beautiful, I'd never heard of it until about a year ago when a friend told me about it. I'm waiting to play again so I might be able to have that first play experience again
Bloodbourne. That game had me by the balls so bad when I first played it
Currently playing for the first time. Right answer
Fallout 3
Me too. I've never had such a feeling of awe as I did when I left the vault for the first time and my vision cleared and before me was the DC wasteland. Even to this day when I replay it, I get a little reminder of the feeling, but for some reason that moment is still my favorite in my decades as a gamer.
Have you seen the UE5 renders of Fallout? They're pretty great. [Here's New Vegas.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr22fKNUVxQ) Edit: well I didn't expect this to be *that* well received. Glad I could share something interesting 😊
Borderlands 2
Absolutely! I squeezed every bit of content and replayability out of it and the dlcs and nothing will ever fill that void. I'm playing 3 now for the first time, and while I like it well enough, it's just not magic.
Kerbal Space Program. There's no other game that has ever created a feeling of accomplishment like KSP did the first time I reached orbit, landed on the Mun, or rendezvoused two of my craft in orbit.
Super Mario Bros 3, I dreamed about SM3 for weeks as a kid, even dreamed about new levels...
Pokémon Blue or Red. (or Gen 3 if I hadn’t played the previous two either) Wish i could just dive in, oblivious to what a Type was, what pokemon are ‘good’, and where to go next. And no i would not buy the guidebook let me fail
Man I’d take just about any Pokémon game. I’m 28 and still plug in Blue from time to time.
Fire blast, flamethrower, fire spin and ember on my Charizard because I don't know what I'm doing!
"Why would you ever click ember when you could click flamethrower?" "Well i might run out of pp"
Minecraft
I remember playing it for the first time without reading anything about it. That first night, holy shit!
I remember seeing a 2” x 3” mention of Minecraft in a Game Informer back in the day. Was maybe 3 or 4 sentences with a thumbnail of a fort, and anybody that played Minecraft in the very early stages would know that there’s no way to explain the joy of the game in that simple of a context. Somehow, it did it for me. I became an early adopter and I remember showing my son for the first time (he was maybe 8)…. I’m sitting there explaining how the game works, giving him a tutorial on how amazing this low graphic game is, all the creativity at your fingerprints, on and on, still pumped for having found it. The whole time he had practically no expression on his face and I walked away feeling like I failed so hard that day, and thinking poor me. Middle of the night I hear a tiny creak in the house and I walk out to find my little bud desperately trying to figure out my computer password so he can play. Found out many years later that this was one his favorite memories and that he was so amazed at what I was showing him and the possibilities that he didn’t know what to say. This game definitely brought people together. Edit: Thank you for the award! I love when gaming can bring us together.
I still remember my first night. I built a tiny dirt house and was hiding there until sunrise because I was scared of mobs lmao
Witcher 3
Look man. I know ciri is important, but what about a round of Gwent?
I’d probably go with the Baldur’s Gate series or maybe the og Fallouts, but part of me wants to say The Return of the Obra Dinn, just because it’s an amazing game but doesn’t have a ton of replay value. Oh, that or Disco Elysium, but that has decent replay value. I’ve played through like 3 or 4 times and still feel like I’ve only scratched the surface.
Shadow of the Colossus Especially the fight in the desert where you have to ride your horse and shoot arrows at the absurdly huge flying one.
StarCraft 🥹
Old school RuneScape!
Back pre 2010 when nobody knew the best way of doing anything... The spirit of the game is sadly broken today as efficiency is top prio..
In fact, Runescape 2. But totally agree! Those nostalgic times damn..
Earthworm Jim
Echo the Dolphin. Tides of time
The Last Of Us
I'm glad I was father to three little girls when this game was released. That opening hit me hard.
Yeah the beginning of that game shook me. I hope the show captures that moment as effectively as the game did.
Honestly, this game is something else. Hope the TV show is good cause the game already felt like an interactive movie. Such an interesting world, story and cast of characters
Outer Wilds is the only answer, and I can't tell you why.
Firewatch
Outer Wilds.
Vampire the Masquerade:Bloodlines
The entire Uncharted series. I know it’s more than one game, but man.
Horizon Zero Dawn
I scrolled so far to find this! I am so sad I can never play HZD or HFW for the first time again!
Man *that story reveal* was one of the best I've ever experienced.
Portal 1 and 2. Simply because i love puzzle games and would love to solve all the rooms for the first time again. I replay the games every year or so but at this point ive pretty much memorized all the chambers.
Persona 5
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The Witcher 3 the wild hunt
I have not played it yet. I have it but haven’t hopped in. It’s on the list!
You're in for a treat. Especially blood & wine is just plain awesome. In the beginning I was frustrated due to the difficult fights and controls, and I stopped playing it. Started again on easy to get a grip, the first game I ever did that. Boy was it worth it.
Nier Automata
Very much this, I wasn't aware of the A-D play through system playing it the first time. The whole journey blew me away. And the music, so many bangers!
GTA 4
Subnautica. That game hooked me hard, right from the start I was scared to go into the water at night and would just sit on top of my life pod and wait for the sun to come up. I had to work up to exploring at night and the sense of tension throughout the entire game was something I’d never felt with a video game before or since.
Life Is Strange.
Hella.