(Saw this question asked on another popular link aggregation website and it got me thinking)
If you could play one game for the first time all over again, what would you choose? This might be because you want to do it all again, or because you don’t think you got enough out of it the first time. It could be experiencing the game exactly as you were back then, or experiencing a game with what you know now.
For me, it’s Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past, experienced exactly as I was back in 1991.
Nothing comes close to how jaw-droppingly amazed I was by that opening sequence. The epic orchestral score, the cinematic rainstorm, creeping around in the dark… it was a generational leap above anything I’d played on 8-bit computers and consoles, and even the Megadrive. I’d love to play it again without thirty plus years of Nintendo/Zelda knowledge, or without knowing about the dark world.
OUTER WILDS.
It’s a fantastic exploration game if you go in blind and I wish I could forget it all and explore it all again.
I’m shocked that this isn’t everyone’s answer tbh lol
Those are the people that haven’t played it yet.
I got it in my library and only played for 10 minutes somehow. After reading als those comments maybe now it’s time to play it
What’s sad is that I know I will forget the lore and the journey on how I figured out how I got to the end. But I don’t think I’ll forget the specifics for the ending.
Yeah, it really was amazing to play blind. We especially enjoyed the DLC… when we first realised what it was all about, it nearly blew our minds!
Yeah, I’ve never wtf’d so hard in a game as when I entered the thing and left the other thing in the DLC.
That game was so well done and thought through.
Outer Wilds. You can’t even really replay it, not like you can other games. But boy, I will never forget the unbridled joy of unraveling its mysteries - and ironically, would love to so I can do it all over again.
You can’t even share much about this game without ruining it for someone else. I love this game so much but it’s really difficult to get someone else to play it as well.
Well. In a sense you’re replaying it all the time ;)
I wish I got another fresh chance with it. Perhaps with less hype and fewer expectations of greatness. I somehow managed to ruin the game for myself. I got to the tunnels of the hourglass twins and lost interest there, and watched a playthrough some time later. Which is obviously not the same as experiencing it all.
Outer Wilds. It’s the best game I have played, and it can’t really be played a second time.
I played Outer Wilds immediately after I played Disco Elysium. Both would be incredible to experience fresh again.
Oh yes, Disco Elysium is up there as well.
World of Warcraft.
What a great game to be a noob in.
That would be way up on my list, too. Man was I amazed when I first saw some random guy playing the beta at my university.
Top spot has to be Max Payne 1 for me, though. That the comfort game of my youth and I think I still know nearly all dialogue by heart.
Ocarina of Time, or Final Fantasy VII. Both of them had just incredible impacts on me as a teenager, and I’d love to be 16 and experiencing them for the first time again.
Final Fantasy 6, Chrono Trigger, or Super Mario RPG. I couldn’t get enough of Squaresoft in the SNES days.
Final Fantasy 6, Chrono Trigger or Earthbound. So many feels my little brain didn’t have words for.
Subnautica.
The first game to make me truly sad that I had finished it. Wow, what an experience!
I loved exploring and piecing together the story. I loved discovering new creatures and ecosystems. I loved finding strange things and figuring out what to do with them.
I’ve never played a game quite like it before or since. My god, it was really amazing. I beat it without needing a guide or walkthrough. It’s great enough to the point where, if you are curious enough, you won’t need one!
It’s certainly a slower-paced game, as it’s not all non-stop action, so it’s not for everyone. But if you’re a patient and curious person, this may be for you.
Planet Crafter gives me Subnautica vibes, though it’s still in early access. But it has the “build a base and survive in a hostile world with cool things to explore” already and potential to become really great.
That said, Subnautica was the first thing I thought of when I first saw this thread but not planet Crafter.
Maybe give outer wilds a try. Exploration and really unique level design.
Same for me yeah, such a great game. I remember doing so many things like setting free all animals i caught in their own habitat before leaving, because i wanted to play the last little bit out of it. Also filling the rocket food for the trip back home. I cried, when i started the flight.
I dint think ive ever played a game that made me so anxious. The first time i went into the deep and the giant ghostly leviathan came at me i almost had a panic attack.
Deus Ex
Might I suggest the Deus Ex Randomizer mod?
Metal Gear Solid on PS1
Disco Elysium
The sheer joy of realising it’s not “just another” RPG, slowly pulling the curtain on how intricate the worldbuilding is, discovering the main character and in turn reflecting on yourself. It’s become a small addiction to watch first time streamers and let’s players for me, to vicariously relive that process.
Another candidate might be Ultima 7, the interactivity and how “real” it felt in the 90s was mindblowing for kid me.
Portal. I thought it was just a puzzle game. I love twists in movies and this one really caught me off guard.
I wish I could experience Portal for the first time again.
Monkey Island 2: lechuck’s revenge.
100% this. I have fond memories of playing this on my 486 age 14, in a shed at the bottom of the garden at night, getting spooked whilst roaming Woodtick. Beautiful, beautiful game.
It might be relatively new, but I’d say Subnautica.
It was such a breath of fresh air when it came out, and instilled both such a sense of wonder at all the vibrant lifeforms of 4546B and also instilling such dread upon encountering reapers or diving deeper than ever before. I still remember the mixed sense of wonder and unease upon discovering the Jellyshroom caves for the first time
Jellyfish caves were nothing, discovering the edge of the map nearly made me start a new game because I couldn’t bring myself to continue knowing what my current situation was
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
Inside
BioShock
All great stories with some very powerful moments.
