Whether you started with a 2600 and a joystick in your hand, an N64 with a blistered palm or building your first PC in your teens, what is that one video game you’ve played at some point that to this day sits at the top of your list.
Tetris. Tetris is the King.
Gameboy or NES? NES was my jam
I liked NES better because it had color, but I had a Gameboy too.
But the game is racist.
It is a product of its time.
I will never in a million years connect “racist” with “tetris”. What was that about?
There was an article about Kotaku using AI writers, and someone in the comments had ChaptGPT write an article about how Tetris is racist.
The Outer Wilds. IMO, non-violence-based gameplay design is an underexplored space, especially in 3-D games. The Outer Wilds manages to feel like a fully-fledged game, rather than a traditional walking simulator, using exploration as it’s core gameplay loop.
Further, it’s main progression system is you, the out-of-game player, learning about the world. There’s no abilities you gain or keys you have to find. You unlock new areas, not as a programmed game mechanic, but as a function of reasoning about what you’ve discovered and gaining insight into how the game world works. Any playthrough could be beaten in about 15 minutes – there’s nothing physically blocking you from triggering the end of the game – but it takes you 15 hours or so of flying around the solar system to accrue the necessary insight to get there.
It’s really a special game.
And an amazing soundtrack to match the thrills and sadness of the journey. Dlc was awesome too.
The music towards the end aaa
Mass Effect. The one game I wish I could entirely erase my memory of and do it all again. <3
“You exist because we allow it, and you will end because we demand it”
It’s been years since I’ve played ME, but this scene will never not give me chills…
I’m okay with giving it a once every two years run, that’s enough to forget it enough to enjoy it all over. Leviathan is easily the best dlc made for any game, imo. Witcher e’s blood and wine being a close second.
Walking around the Citadel in Mass Effect 1 is one of my favorite gaming memories. It felt like I really was free to explore a giant space city. It felt so massive and open.
Definitely the original portal.
I’m generally not an FPS guy, but the puzzle game in the FPS format was really cool to see.
And when you finally do beat the game you can’t help but think…
“This is a triumph”
I made a note - huge success.
But yeah, my original playthrough - great puzzle game, then suddenly there was plot, and a huge plot twist, then the ending was crazy, then that song… So freaking good.
Satisfactory.
I love making efficient systems and the freedom to do things the way I want to, such as by using the game’s alternate recipe system.
The exploration and movement systems in the game are also to notch. It’s not quite Titanfall, but I struggle to think of any other game where simply moving around is so fun. That’s on top of how pretty the actual environment is to explore.
Ocarina of Time.
Ocarina fans know that this is the only correct answer. Lol
People that vote for Ocarina just couldn’t handle Majoras Mask.
Super Mario World
Sid Meier’s Pirates! (originally on the C64)
My favorite version is the original DOS one for some reason.
I would love to find a pirate game that captures the magic of this game. So simple, but so much fun!
Super Mario RPG
Stardew valley
Outer Wilds and 2nd place isn’t even close
Titanfall 2 is the most fun I’ve had with a video game. The movement is so amazingly fluid, it’s like Quake or Unreal Tournament but with more verticality, and then there’s the Titans themselves, which feel like awesome weapons of war, yet not insurmountable to a skilled pilot on foot. Everything from the gameplay balance to the mechanics to the visuals and sound design is incredible, and the single-player story was very touching and exactly long enough to satisfy you without overstaying its welcome. I’m gutted that we’re probably never getting a Titanfall 3.
That game is like the gold standard of fps for me. There isn’t a better game yet. That level, you know the one, the first time you play it is something kind of magic.
Skyrim because it’s not just vanilla skyrim.
Vanilla skyrim is good, but skyrim is also modded skyrim.
Some of those mods are basically games in their own right. And not average games either. Enderal and The forgotten city have won awards and are genuinely great.
You can easily spend a thousand hours playing Skyrim and that’s saying something for a game that doesn’t rely on grinding or have an online mode.
Morrowind and Oblivion don’t get enough credit. Skyrim stood on the shoulders of giants.
Morrowind and Oblivion don’t get enough credit.
This couldn’t be more untrue. It’s all but impossible to mention Skyrim in any gaming of gaming-adjacent space without someone bringing up how Morrowind or Oblivion were better.
Elder Scrolls III Morrowind. Everything in that game feels so different than anything else, including the other Elder Scrolls.
Morrowind: Nix hounds, kwama, guar… Cities made from the husks of ancient crustaceans… Fast travel networks with time consequences based on the speed of the insect you’re riding inside of. Insane lore that feels like a real religion… Are you the chosen one? Is there such a thing? Have you been “chosen” or are you choosing to make it happen? Ash ghouls.
Everything else: Deer, wolf, bear… Renaissance-era European architecture… Instantaneous fast travel with no basis in lore. Dragons.
I’ll forgive the cliff racers.
Great choice, Morrowind is incredibly well done. The mix of lore and mechanics made the world feel very real in-game. Being out in the sticks actually felt like being in the sticks.
DDR probably. Helped me lose a bunch of weight and actually get reasonably healthy.
I have massive respect for anyone who plays DDR even somewhat regularly. Nice work!
Age Of Empires. I still play to this day!
You mean AoE 2 right?
Burnout 3: Takedown
