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What are your "must-play" video games?


Shikomizue

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What are some games you've played that were so good, you'd recommend them to almost anyone? This is sort of a recommendation thread where you explain why these games are such a masterpiece and why they are "must-plays".

I don't personally have any games that I'd call must-plays or masterpieces, but I do have a few I enjoy that I'd urge others to play. Namely the Ace Attorney games (mostly to those that have never heard of it, since pretty much everyone I know knows about them), because of it's well thought out and intricate mysteries, along with it's comedy sections and a healthy helping of drama. Catherine, for it's moral choices, more-than-meets-the-eye story and challenging puzzles. And the Hitman series, for it's excellent stealth mechanics and (mostly) non-linear level design.

Basically, what are some games that you've enjoyed thoroughly, and why did you enjoy them so?

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It's not my favourite game, but I'd really recommend people play The Talos Principle due to its interesting take on the puzzle genre. The main puzzles themselves are difficult, but then you've got puzzles between puzzles, and puzzles to get to more puzzles... all wrapped up in a pseudo-philosophical storyline based around a robot fella that may or may not have a god. And it's really, really nice to look at.

I'd recommend Football Manager as I've played it pathologically for years, but... I've played it pathologically for years. Don't do FM, kids.

 

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Absolutely every single Zelda console adventure ever made. As an old bastard, despite playing thousands of games when I was younger, I pretty much don't play games any more (unless you count VNs as games) yet whenever a new Zelda console game is finally released, I take 2 weeks off work to play it to my heart's content. They really are that good in my eyes.

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As far as roguelikes go, Binding of Isaac.

It's the pinnacle of the action-part of the genre with crisp controls, a hefty amount of RNG but not the deciding factor in success over your own skill, replayability, and above all else, it's simply fun.

I have over 1,800 hours on it, and still going strong

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I must really be a noob, since I've been playing football managers (in the broad sense) since 1996, and I can resist Football Manager (proper)'s allure. I play some matches and then I have enough and turn off the game. The prospect of being the top powerful manager of all time, and bringing your squad from rags to riches is an enticing one, though. Currently training Cameroon national team in 2021 and winning most games by at least 3 goal margin. We'll see if I can win something, I finished 2nd on Africa Cup.

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To me, some of the best games that are must-plays are platformers, like Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Galaxy (masterpieces among Mario games), Sonic Adventure 2 (regarded really faithfully despite its flaws), the Donkey Kong Country series (old or new, they're both fun and creative), Kirby's Return to Dreamland (the best Kirby entry to date), Banjo-Kazooie (the classics), RosenkreuzStilette (a faithful shout-out to both Mega Man and Castlevania), and Cave Story (the granddaddy of indie games).

And also SpongeBob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom because it's a good underrated gem of a platformer, but I'm embarrassed to suggest this because it's SpongeBob. :yumiko:

For RPGs, the Tales series is worth trying too, especially Symphonia, Abyss, and Vesperia, which are considered the best in the series. Xenoblade Chronicles is a masterpiece that should never be left out because of how awesome it is. And while this may be controversial to some, I still recommend giving the Neptunia series a try because of its characters and plenty of shout outs to gaming and pop culture.

And while this may turn some people off because of the sheer difficulty, the Touhou games are worth trying out too.

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The vast majority of my favorite games are niche stuff, but if I were to wholeheartedly recommend something for EVERYONE to play, my picks would be:

1. Persona 4 Golden

Seriously. Good story, deep gameplay, wonderful characters. A perfect RPG if you ask me (bar the dungeon design).

2. Tearaway

Beautiful aesthetics, incredible soundtrack, just one of those experiences that you can never really replicate.

3. Super Mario Bros 3

I mean, it's the perfect linear platformer. Preferably the SNES/GBA port. It's just 5-hour long "fun", and that's it, and sometimes that's exactly what you need.

 

 

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51 minutes ago, Khazit said:

There's no such thing as "must play" video games.

Everybody has different taste.

Though, if I nominate one, it would be Bastion.

I realize that everyone has different taste, I meant to create a thread where everyone can share their opinion on what "must-play" games are. I also realize that there is no such thing as a "must-play" video game, hence why I have quotation marks. By "must-play", I mean games that a particular person enjoyed and would strongly recommend to others. Not that the person must play them, but simply that another loved it and would like for them to play it.

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Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind are my favourite games, while Ace Attorney is my favourite series as a whole. No game appeals to everyone, as has already been said, but these are the ones that I love to share with friends.

Though outsiders to the PM games might not expect this from such a seemingly kiddy franchise as Mario Bros., The Thousand-Year Door is a strong JRPG that makes combat fun, rather than grindy and tedious, and the sheer amount of worldbuilding in the game is astounding. As a diehard fan of the original Paper Mario, I remember being totally hyped for its release to a degree of excitement that the cynical adult me would never have allowed (I was in elementary school)...but I made a gamble with my expectations, and they were EXCEEDED by the reality. :miyako: Even though the game is virtually linear for the main plot (save for exploration and sidequests), I've found myself replaying it almost ten times, since the expansive and witty script always proves that there's SOMETHING I overlooked. As just one example, one of your partner characters can give her insights/commentary on literally every enemy, every individual cell, every NPC in the whole game -- just like in the previous PM, the writers went all-out and their efforts are much appreciated. The jokes are clever but tasteful without relying on referential humour or pop culture, the cast is colourful and pleasant, and it even has a couple of heartfelt or tearjerking (though never heavy-handed) moments. And like I mentioned, the combat is great -- enemies are varied both aesthetically and in terms of strategy, and there are numerous ways to win -- all on the freaking awesome, interactive "theatre stage" that you battle on, which upgrades throughout the game. I wouldn't say it's a particularly hard game, but for a first playthrough it's nothing to underestimate.

Morrowind is the quintessential old-school western RPG, for me. Like TTYD, there's an incredible amount of text, but even more replayability due to the absolutely massive open world. Outside of the very minor nudge you get in the direction of the main quest right in the beginning of the game, almost nothing tells you what to do without you stumbling upon it -- you're a stranger in a strange, new place, and the game drives that into your head. The world is open, alien and varied...but what stands out, to me, is that everything was created by the devs based on congruence with the game world rather than usefulness to the player. Some dungeons, usually Daedric ruins or hideouts for powerful outlaws, have great rewards, while others simply have some low-level bandits and modest loot to pilfer from them. If you ask around and receive quests, sure, you might get pointed to the right ones, but that's the beauty of the adventure. You don't magically know, but you explore and find out, which makes every small success feel that much sweeter. Unlike many games that hold your hand and guide you along your path to becoming a big goddamn hero, Morrowind drops you in an unfriendly wasteland and watches you slowly learn the lay of the land. That's not a very popular or profitable style these days, but it's something I appreciate vastly. If you decide to murder your questgiver because you want to rob him but can't do so without provoking his attention, sure, you can -- but he's dead now; you screwed up the quest for good and that's on you. Oh, and if you ever get tired of the game itself, don't worry -- there's almost fifteen years worth of mods made by its obsessive fanbase, many of which are actually worth playing!

Ace Attorney is simply a fantastic series the whole way through. I couldn't isolate a single instalment that completely surpasses the others, but what it's offered is a consistently entertaining experience from my middle school days until the present (and hopefully beyond). The characters are memorable and terrifically written (with a big props to the localisation team), the emotional scenes usually hit their mark, and most importantly the mysteries are gripping and always creative. There is the occasional revelation that I've identified from a mile away, and others that become more obvious as the case goes on, but the game manages to be interesting in spite of that since solving the case is indeed a huge part of the fun. The soundtrack is also fantastic, doing a great job setting the mood, particularly when you're closing in on the real murderer of a given case. The newest one, Spirit of Justice, was a great read that seriously took me off guard a few times. Highly recommended! What's more, despite having its fair share of spinoff games, they manage to be worth playing for many of the same reasons as the core series.

Other honourable mentions go to the Pokémon series, Pikmin 2Civilization IVDarkest Hour: A Hearts of Iron Game, Undertale and The Sims 3.

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Paper Mario the thousand year door: It's my favorite game of all time and I doubt that will ever change. I can't count how many times I found myself replaying it and it never felt boring oe repetitive.

 

Dark Souls: The perfect example of well executed world design, extremely deep lore and fantastic difficulty throughout the whole game, never being unfair, just you being bad.

 

The Neptunia games (the 4 main games): They sucked out almost over 600 hours of my life. I seriously enjoyed the games (and not just for the cute girls)

 

EDIT: Forgot to mention the touhou series. Came for the girls. Stayed for the music, lore and gameplay.

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*dark souls: read shurui comment xD

*shenmue: to this day there isnt nothing out there like this game

*resident evil 2 and 3: classic survival horror games

*silent hill 1, 2 and 3: another classic horror games 

*planescape torment: such an awesome game, the plot my god 

*shadow of rome: this fucking game is so vicious and fun, a must play

*deus ex: I dont need to explain this one

*all the legacy of kain: I don't like vampires but the lore on these ones is just perfect

I'm just going to name them from now on xD

*mass effect

*Neverwinter Nights

*blood

*parasite eve 2

*persona saga

*system shock 1 and 2

*half life

*Baldur's Gate 1 and 2

*Deadly Premonition

*fatal frame saga

*hitman saga

*max payne

 

well I can go on and on but i will stop here :P 

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The original Majesty: One of the first computer games I got my hands on and still one of my all-time favorites. Basically it is a fantasy city building sim, in which you are the king and must order buildings constructed, hire heros, and manage taxes. There are a variety of missions with different objectives, most of which you can't directly achieve. You usually have to place bounties or set exploration rewards to motivate your hero to complete the task. Best of all, your advisory is Sean Connery (well it's not really, but it sounds just like him). 

Some others that are more well known (aka I don't want to type a paragraph about why I like each game cuz I'm a lazy ass).

- Binding of Isaac Rebirth

- Mass Effect 2

- Persona 4 Golden

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Here are a sneak peek at what i consider must-play.

 

Fallout 2 : one of the best Post-apocalyptic RPG ever.

STALKER : the whole series + Metro 2033/Last light.

Half minute hero : 1 and 2, excellent games with an original gameplay.

Command & conquer tiberian sun : one of the best storyline for an RTS ever, and one of the coolest bad guy ever.

Spec ops : the line : Basically, you won't escape spec ops unharmed.

And there are many, many, many games ito recommend, but start with these ones, they are amazing. 

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I have a lot of different games I really like although I never considered any game being a masterpiece (played hundreds of games), every game has it flaws one way or another in my opinion. Now back to topic, I will list some of my favorite ones.

Team buddies for the playstation 1: A great top-down shooter with lot of content. The game is about completing different objectives, from killing all enemy teams to find garbage or escort (horrible AI) pinguins. Every team get it own base and must gather blocks to build new friendly units, tanks or guns while the enemy do the opposite trying to kill you. This game has lots of secrets too.

Persona 3 portable for psp: I love games filled with choices, this game is an rpg similar to the smt series (from same company) in which you create demons to use in battle, which you can swap them in the middle of the battle. The story is interesting and I like the cast, although I didn't like the forced romance. Also when you aren't battling enemies this basically plays like a dating sim game.

Patapon series for the psp: What is more glorious than agressive eyeballs equipped with weapons and armor fighting to reach the center of the earth!? Jokes aside, this game is a rhythm rpg hybrid game where you give commands in real time to armed eyeballs to reach the end of the stage. I recommend starting with either the first or second game but take note that the first game is harder than the second entry, third game is fun but instead of giving orders to your army you only command four eyeballs, it was meant to be a multiplayer focused game but it didn't go to well.

Loco roco for the psp: A game about tilting fruit who sings to one direction or the another and make them jump so they can avoid danger and reach the end of the stage with the most loco roco you manage to gather in your way. (Same developers as patapon, do you see the connection?) While it might not sound fun, it is. This game is really fun to go and start playing it.

Yoshi story for the nintendo 64: Embrace the cuteness overload that this game is. It is a fun platform that have a different twist than other platform games, instead of having to reach the end of the stage, this game rewards players for exploration. To finish the level you need to eat 30 fruits of anyking but depending of which fruit you eat, you will get a better or worse score. There is many secrets to be found and many levels to be played, this is not a challenging game by any means but the more further you explore it gets harder. One thing that surprise me in this game that almost no level is the same and most have different soundtrack for each one of them.

Battletankx global assault for the nintendo 64 (This game is the better one): Basically a tank game where you control tanks and try to go through the level achieving different objectives. The good part is that this game lets you choose from every single kind of tank (when you reach a certain point in the game) who share different abilities depending of which one you choose. This game plays like an arcade game so it was meant to be replayed multiple times to find all the secrets, also it has some elements from twisted metal too.

Jade cocoon playstation 1: A fun turn-based rpg game which you capture monsters and use them in battle. Jade cocoon use an unique monster fusion system which you fuse two monsters but not only the abilities, stats and atribute changes but also their apperance aswell. Want a fly like creature with a reptile head? Fuse them! Not mentioning adding more creature to the mix will change even further your frankenstein like creature appearance. I think the art was done by studio ghibli too and it looks gorgeous!

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Civ 5 is the game I've played the most and would recommend it to anyone who even remotely enjoys strategy.

It's amazing single player but when you play with friends it becomes one my "must plays" especially when everyone is equal skill level.

I also second paper Mario the thousand-year-old door and Portal 2 both of those games have little to no flaws.

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Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is quickly becoming one of these "must-play" games. The strategy is fun and challenging, when you understand the game's mechanics, it becomes even more fun. Knowing that your mistakes could cost your characters their lives makes you think hard about what to do next. And recruiting people is the best part, growing a crew, an army, of allies will never stop being enjoyable.

Oh, and this song in it's entirety is greatness itself:

Spoiler

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. Shame that these are exclusive games. My ps2 days are gone so can't replay em :(

Dungeon Keeper, Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee, Fallout 2, Grim Fandango, Stronghold > Age of Empire series, Diablo II are some of the classics that shaped my childhood.

Some recent games I've played around the last decade and would include on my 'must-play' list would be the ARMA series, Resident Evil 1 and 4(remakes), Dead Space 1, Demon's Souls and Dark Souls (not the sequels my god), Portal series, The Witcher series, Total War: Shogun 2, Wolfenstein: The New Order, Papers Please, The Stanley Parable, Undertale are just the few I can remember right now.

On 08/11/2016 at 9:16 PM, Shurui said:

Dark Souls: The perfect example of well executed world design, extremely deep lore and fantastic difficulty throughout the whole game, never being unfair, just you being bad.

Triggered

Excuse me? I seem to remember those horrifying post launch era. Bad lock on, horrendous hitboxes, OP rolls, unbalanced and inequitable pvp that almost made me cry (almost), ridiculous enemy tracking, unwinnable ornstein and smough bug, those invisible arses on Darkroot Garden who couldn't be locked on to, over the top bleed, Tranquil Walk of Peace(earned a special in my heart for being a complete head ache I've never experienced before), melee builds tripping off the roof of Anor Londo, Match making with with an op giant or pyro when you're only level 25 overweight knight or so and getting invaded by bleeds and spammers ALWAYS.

Nah I'm just kidding, patches became a godsend those times and the things that still seem questionable are actually working as intended and you just didn't git gud enough.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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