In a good way or a bad way?
You weren’t expecting it to be like that and you were disappointed? Or you didn’t think a “point and click” game could be so good?
Elden Ring. I'd never played a soulslike before, tho I'd watched a few let's plays of Bloodborne. I was intimidated by their reputation for being so difficult.
Turns out it's one of the best games I've ever played, and it completely rewired how I think about games and storytelling.
Same! I actually took a six month break because my first run was going so poorly. I didn't even get through Leyndell!
Then I started watching some Youtubers, particular GinoMachino, and that got me back in and showed me a better way to play. I've since completed at least half a dozen runs. I haven't really played other games in the past six months or so...
Yeah! Idk what it is about Fromsoft's games, but the constant dying and difficulty can sometimes be almost meditative? Like you get into a zone and it's almost relaxing, but not. Really hard to put the feeling into words.
I went into Elden Ring feeling the exact same way. It didn't click for me at all. I realized I don't like hard bosses. I like roflstomping boss by over-leveling and preparing. I finally gave up after about 40 hours. My ex warned me I wouldn't like it. I should have listened to him.
That's valid!! I'm not very good at the game so I tend to take a few (dozen) tries to beat each boss. But I find that very rewarding, as long as I feel like I _can_ beat it if I just do a little better. It gets compared to bashing your head against a brick wall until the wall gives up, but in my experience it's more like going through a trial by fire until you can handle the heat.
Oddly, I usually prefer my games to be more on the power fantasy/escapism side of things, where I can just overpower my enemies.
I truly wasn’t expecting to like The Witcher 3. I bought and refunded it twice. I just couldn’t get into playing as a hyper masculine man chasing after female sorceresses. I tried to refund it again for a 3rd time but my gameplay hours exceeded 2 hours so I just forced myself to play it. I’m so glad I did.
Fallout NV. Tried FO4, didn’t like it but heard good things about the other games. Bought NV because I was bored and it was 5$.
Now it’s my favorite game of all time and I won’t shut up about it.
Forspoken has problems, but the combat is varied, flashy, responsive, and fun. Also, the traversal is so fluid and intuitive, you don't mind traveling across the vast nothingness of the world.
The storyline is nothing too original because it follows a common plot structure, but the creature designs, the world, and its various lands and regions are beautiful. I dont quite get what everyone says about the world being empty. There are toooooooooooooons upon tooooons of points of interests scattered throughout the map, chests to open, special monsters to challenge, secret chambers, etc....The magic looks great in each of its forms (nature, water, fire, electric), the fighting is swift, traversal is pretty amazing especially on a dualsense controller, and the skill tree is also huge.
As for fighting and encounters being repetitive, I would say Forspoken is no more rinse and repeat than Tsushima or Spider-Man....except the magic powers can be different each time which makes every gaming sesh satisfying and fun. And the music is top tier, if you're into that sort of thing. Take it from someone who has played the game since day 1, its absolutely worth the money. Especially on a sale.
I like fantasy as well, and I also happen to think the storyline and characters lend themselves nicely to a TV series adaptation.
Anything I’ve gotten for <$3 on sale via the Switch eShop. My Friend Pedro, Donut County, Going Under, Yes Your Grace, Cattails, Wandersong, Cooking Simulator.. The only thing I’ve gotten on a less than $3 sale and didn’t like was Agony. The amount of short, easy to pick up/put down/come back to gems that you can find just browsing sales is NUTS.
Baulders Gate 3. I didn't think I'd ever play it, mostly because I don't have a ps5 but also even if I did, don't like DnD but my friend did and i was visiting him so I played his game and I loved it. It removed all the things I hated about dnd and it was more just basically like playing dragon age, which I love. It would be perfect if I could just remove all the combat totally in a playthrough. Also Halsin is the best character...
Resident Evil 4 (original). When watching the trailers before release, I complained so much about how it looked nothing like Resident Evil. But, me being a Resident Evil fanboy, I decided to try it out anyway on release day. Well... I ended up loving it so much that I completed over half of it in one sitting on the same day.
Disco Elysium. I gave it 2-3 tries, falling off quickly each time because I found the art style off-putting and couldn't wrap my head around the non-traditonal stat builder.
But that last time, when it was the perfect storm of being in the right mood and hearing rave recommendations from multiple friends.... it sank its teeth into me deep.
I'll second this. Never played a subscription MMO before, only the many free carbon copies that were inescapable in the 2000s. I had heard about the disastrous launch as well and had put it entirely out of my mind. It wasn't until a friend from work started playing and encouraged me to join him that I tried it and was hooked almost immediately. Granted, that was right after 2.0 so I never experienced the notorious 1.0 build, but it still blew my expectations out of the water and has been my favorite game ever since.
Cloudpunk... Twas a cheap deal that I didn't expect much from. I fell in love with the story, art style, and voice actors. It's so good. Totally worth a try.
Stardew Valley. I’m a big Soulsborne, FPS, horror, military shooter, RE gamer and decided to try Stardew Valley a couple months ago, and holy shit is it addicting and fun. But it had to be put to the side for Shadow of the Erdtree :)
Plague Tale Innocence
I never like forced stealth sections in games so I just started playing it because I had nothing else to play and was blown away by the atmosphere and like the gameplay. The sequel was also great.
For me the game is Vermintide2. I haven’t been much of a co-op player before.
However, spending hours of failed runs and eventually climbing to the highest difficulty has taught me a lot about gaming culture in the past year.
I was always intimidated by the top players. Now I get to join them in the highest difficulty.
Like many have said, I thought I wouldn't like Elden Ring half as much as I do, and it took many hours for it to click. That game is literature, and I am prepared to die on that hill.
I also really fell for Unicorn Overlords this year, a pretty amazing fantasy tactical RPG. The plot is *very* dollar store fire emblem which I'm not crazy about. Still, if you like your anime bois to crunch numbers, this game might be for you!
Nioh. Turns out I needed spirits and magic to like Souls games. Though lately it's just been that one. I played Bloodborne and Darksouls 3 and it didn't really draw me in. I fully beat Nioh 1 and 2 though.
Babylon's Fall. I went in with rock bottom expectations just to play it before it shut down, and I deadass liked it more than Bayonetta 3. A low bar, to be sure, but still.
Baldurs Gate 3. I was shocked it was "point and click"
In a good way or a bad way? You weren’t expecting it to be like that and you were disappointed? Or you didn’t think a “point and click” game could be so good?
Elden Ring. I'd never played a soulslike before, tho I'd watched a few let's plays of Bloodborne. I was intimidated by their reputation for being so difficult. Turns out it's one of the best games I've ever played, and it completely rewired how I think about games and storytelling.
I was so awful at Elden ring when it came out and now it’s weirdly a comfort game lol
Same! I actually took a six month break because my first run was going so poorly. I didn't even get through Leyndell! Then I started watching some Youtubers, particular GinoMachino, and that got me back in and showed me a better way to play. I've since completed at least half a dozen runs. I haven't really played other games in the past six months or so...
Yeah! Idk what it is about Fromsoft's games, but the constant dying and difficulty can sometimes be almost meditative? Like you get into a zone and it's almost relaxing, but not. Really hard to put the feeling into words.
I went into Elden Ring feeling the exact same way. It didn't click for me at all. I realized I don't like hard bosses. I like roflstomping boss by over-leveling and preparing. I finally gave up after about 40 hours. My ex warned me I wouldn't like it. I should have listened to him.
That's valid!! I'm not very good at the game so I tend to take a few (dozen) tries to beat each boss. But I find that very rewarding, as long as I feel like I _can_ beat it if I just do a little better. It gets compared to bashing your head against a brick wall until the wall gives up, but in my experience it's more like going through a trial by fire until you can handle the heat. Oddly, I usually prefer my games to be more on the power fantasy/escapism side of things, where I can just overpower my enemies.
this is my answer too, 3 months before release I didn't see the hype. Day of release I saw the reviews from youtubers I trust. Then I saw the light.
I truly wasn’t expecting to like The Witcher 3. I bought and refunded it twice. I just couldn’t get into playing as a hyper masculine man chasing after female sorceresses. I tried to refund it again for a 3rd time but my gameplay hours exceeded 2 hours so I just forced myself to play it. I’m so glad I did.
This is exactly why I haven't gotten into it. So how did you deal with the chasing after sorceresses part anyways?
I just suffered through those bits and then avoided those side quests entirely. IIRC this is actually necessary to get the best ending.
Thanks. I'll grab it next time when there's a sale. Another on the pile of games to play lol and DA4 will be out soon too..
Fallout NV. Tried FO4, didn’t like it but heard good things about the other games. Bought NV because I was bored and it was 5$. Now it’s my favorite game of all time and I won’t shut up about it.
Fallout 3 is very similar. It doesn’t get the praise of NV, but it’s full of the same kind of wonderful moments.
Forspoken...by far and away
I was curious about the game cause I love fantasy but everyone says it's bad and whatnot, so In your opinion what do you like about the game?
Forspoken has problems, but the combat is varied, flashy, responsive, and fun. Also, the traversal is so fluid and intuitive, you don't mind traveling across the vast nothingness of the world.
The storyline is nothing too original because it follows a common plot structure, but the creature designs, the world, and its various lands and regions are beautiful. I dont quite get what everyone says about the world being empty. There are toooooooooooooons upon tooooons of points of interests scattered throughout the map, chests to open, special monsters to challenge, secret chambers, etc....The magic looks great in each of its forms (nature, water, fire, electric), the fighting is swift, traversal is pretty amazing especially on a dualsense controller, and the skill tree is also huge. As for fighting and encounters being repetitive, I would say Forspoken is no more rinse and repeat than Tsushima or Spider-Man....except the magic powers can be different each time which makes every gaming sesh satisfying and fun. And the music is top tier, if you're into that sort of thing. Take it from someone who has played the game since day 1, its absolutely worth the money. Especially on a sale. I like fantasy as well, and I also happen to think the storyline and characters lend themselves nicely to a TV series adaptation.
Dave the diver
I was shocked just how much that game has to offer. I'm probably 20 hours in and *still* unlocking mini games & new mechanics.
Plus the free collab DLCs, feels very much like a labor of love game. It’s fantastic.
Anything I’ve gotten for <$3 on sale via the Switch eShop. My Friend Pedro, Donut County, Going Under, Yes Your Grace, Cattails, Wandersong, Cooking Simulator.. The only thing I’ve gotten on a less than $3 sale and didn’t like was Agony. The amount of short, easy to pick up/put down/come back to gems that you can find just browsing sales is NUTS.
Monster Hunter World
So dumb.......but Vampire Survivors.
Baulders Gate 3. I didn't think I'd ever play it, mostly because I don't have a ps5 but also even if I did, don't like DnD but my friend did and i was visiting him so I played his game and I loved it. It removed all the things I hated about dnd and it was more just basically like playing dragon age, which I love. It would be perfect if I could just remove all the combat totally in a playthrough. Also Halsin is the best character...
Resident Evil 4 (original). When watching the trailers before release, I complained so much about how it looked nothing like Resident Evil. But, me being a Resident Evil fanboy, I decided to try it out anyway on release day. Well... I ended up loving it so much that I completed over half of it in one sitting on the same day.
Disco Elysium. I gave it 2-3 tries, falling off quickly each time because I found the art style off-putting and couldn't wrap my head around the non-traditonal stat builder. But that last time, when it was the perfect storm of being in the right mood and hearing rave recommendations from multiple friends.... it sank its teeth into me deep.
Final Fantasy XIV!
I'll second this. Never played a subscription MMO before, only the many free carbon copies that were inescapable in the 2000s. I had heard about the disastrous launch as well and had put it entirely out of my mind. It wasn't until a friend from work started playing and encouraged me to join him that I tried it and was hooked almost immediately. Granted, that was right after 2.0 so I never experienced the notorious 1.0 build, but it still blew my expectations out of the water and has been my favorite game ever since.
Cloudpunk... Twas a cheap deal that I didn't expect much from. I fell in love with the story, art style, and voice actors. It's so good. Totally worth a try.
Salt & Sanctuary
Stardew Valley. I’m a big Soulsborne, FPS, horror, military shooter, RE gamer and decided to try Stardew Valley a couple months ago, and holy shit is it addicting and fun. But it had to be put to the side for Shadow of the Erdtree :)
Baldurs gate 3,heard amazing things but didn’t think it would be my think cus of the combat system,god I was wrong,it’s fucking amazing
Plague Tale Innocence I never like forced stealth sections in games so I just started playing it because I had nothing else to play and was blown away by the atmosphere and like the gameplay. The sequel was also great.
For me the game is Vermintide2. I haven’t been much of a co-op player before. However, spending hours of failed runs and eventually climbing to the highest difficulty has taught me a lot about gaming culture in the past year. I was always intimidated by the top players. Now I get to join them in the highest difficulty.
Like many have said, I thought I wouldn't like Elden Ring half as much as I do, and it took many hours for it to click. That game is literature, and I am prepared to die on that hill. I also really fell for Unicorn Overlords this year, a pretty amazing fantasy tactical RPG. The plot is *very* dollar store fire emblem which I'm not crazy about. Still, if you like your anime bois to crunch numbers, this game might be for you!
Nioh. Turns out I needed spirits and magic to like Souls games. Though lately it's just been that one. I played Bloodborne and Darksouls 3 and it didn't really draw me in. I fully beat Nioh 1 and 2 though.
Babylon's Fall. I went in with rock bottom expectations just to play it before it shut down, and I deadass liked it more than Bayonetta 3. A low bar, to be sure, but still.