Rules: just pick 1 and explain why.
I’ve been playing since the NES and despite being from a low income family I had the luck of being able to play and own many consoles over the 3 decades of my life, plus some pc.
If you ask me right now? Resident Evil 4 (2005).
A before and after in gaming, to this day still extremely fun to play even for casuals but 20 years ago it was THE masterpiece. And everyone took notice of it, everyone played it, even players that didn’t cared about resident evil. The gameplay was so good that it got photocopied by everyone right after in the action genre.
Arguably the last big innovator in videogames minus Minecraft and… PUBG (Fortnite did it better I know).
Try to NOT pick your favourite game, that’s a different thing.
Well, I think there are multiple potential candidates depending on how you define greatness. I think these few are certainly the most influential:
- Super Mario Bros. Possibly the system it ran on was more important, but this game was a system seller for the system that single-handedly saved not only the entire video game industry, but probably the very concept of video games at a time when it was looking like it’d just be another fad that faded away right along with bellbottoms and pet rocks, with what was left of it remaining caged in Japan. Mario 1 was most people’s first platformer, I also have to think that the first damn goomba in 1-1 probably holds the crown for the highest kill count of any entity in the universe.
- Tetris. Infinitely playable and probably infinitely played, and you can get it to run on damn near everything. Everyone knows Tetris, even people who haven’t played it or any other video game.
- Doom. Just, Doom. Yes, Quake was more advanced. Yes, Quake was technically the actual technological forefather to the polygonal 3D games we play today, and many game engines still include tiny bits of Quake’s original code. But there would be no Quake without Doom. It certainly wasn’t the first FPS, but it’s the game that cemented the FPS formula for good and firmly established the x86 PC as not only a viable gaming platform, but the king of gaming platforms from that moment until this very day. Ever since Doom, outside of specialized arcade hardware the PC has been the powerhouse platform for the biggest, most technologically demanding games. After Doom game out everyone wanted their own “Doom clone” on their platform just to show that they weren’t just another me-too, also-ran.
- Street Fighter 2. The genre defining 1 on 1 fighting game template. Enough said.
- Chrono Trigger. This game showed everyone not what a console RPG was up until that point, but what a console RPG could be if you put actual effort and creativity into it and didn’t just crank out another grindy and soulless, swords-and-sorcery-go-kill-the-dragon yawn fest just to keep your franchise going. Its contemporary Final Fantasy games almost got there (especially 6), but Chrono went the full mile. The feats Chrono Trigger pulled off on the humble SNES as well as many of the innovations it brought forward were far ahead of its time and it took literal decades for the genre to catch up to it – including quite a few entries from its own studio.
- Final Fantasy 7. This game is objectively crap even compared to many of its peers. But there is no doubt that it was the next stepping stone from Chrono Trigger that finally firmly launched the console RPG into mainstream territory, made the genre as a whole truly successful, and was an awful lot of people’s first RPG. It probably made a significant and permanent contribution to the formation of weaboo culture, as well.
- Half Life 2. No, not the first Half Life. Not Opposing Force and not Blue Shift, either. There was never before any hype and anticipation for a video game like there was for Half Life 2. In the months leading up to its launch it was all anyone talked about. Not Doom 3, not the new Warcraft. Half Life 2. And of course with Half Life 2 came Steam, and we all know how that turned out. Sure, Steam itself started life as a patch delivery and server browsing platform for Counterstrike, but up until Half Life 2 appeared in it, nobody cared. The impact Half Life 2 had on everything is absolutely undeniable, and that doesn’t just include the horde of games that came after it attempting to imitate its unbroken linear first person narrative and setpiece based game design as a cash grab, not to mention that phase in first person shooters where seemingly everything suddenly had to have physics puzzles in it…
Rules: just pick 1 and explain why.
This post right here, officer.
If we absolutely have to pick just one, I think Doom is probably the most important of the bunch.
Steam came out a while before hl2, but agree with everything else you said
Final Fantasy VII was my first RPG. It had a good (but sometimes difficult to follow) story, lots of quirky characters, Full Motion Video sequences, and a musical score that nears perfection. Hearing those songs today doesn’t just remind me of the game, it brings me back to all the emotional moments in the story where I felt like I was actually there, feeling what those characters felt and being there fighting along beside them.
A lot of how I feel about that game may be related to the fact that I was a teenager when I experienced it, but the lasting impression of that experience is why I think it is one of the greatest games of all time.
Brilliant rundown. No notes. 👏
Outer Wilds. Any explanation that I give would be massive spoilers, but it captures a genre, aesthetic, and theme that, in my experience, has been virtually unused by any other game before and still remains extremely underutilized
I came to say Outer Wilds as well. Honestly changed my perspective on what a video game can be and I can’t find any other game that gives me that same feeling. The only bad thing about Outer Wilds is you can only really experience it once
I’m four hours in and just don’t get it
That’s fine. 4 hours isn’t enough to really get into the meat of the game yet. If you feel like you’re kinda stumbling around a bit without quite knowing what the goal of the game is, that’s normal. The game is specifically designed to not give you any objectives, and a big part of making the game enjoyable is to not try to judge the game by regular game design conventions. There are no win conditions, no lose conditions, no objectives, and the game becomes much more enjoyable if you just play the game in the way that you think makes the most sense. You’ll just need to have a bit of faith that there is actually an end, you just never get told how to get to the end.
If you’re struggling with not crashing, then that’s a different issue altogether, and honestly my advice is to just use autopilot. Make sure to disable autopilot if you start to see that autopilot is going to crash you into the sun.
I get it might not be for everyone. Until the main thing happened the first time I wasn’t sold either, but personally, the game does an amazing job at making me naturally and fervently curious about what the heck was going on
You’re basically dropped into a huge set of mysteries.
You get to explore, at your leisure, anything you want.
There’s places and dialog and written records that contain clues and references to different threads of those interconnected mysteries.
As you play, read, explore you uncover more and more and what happened, is happening, and will happen start to make sense and you build a picture in your mind of what’s going on.
There’s no unlocks or progress except for these moments of discovery. And as you learn and discover more you can get access to new places to dig into the mystery because you have acquired the knowledge that lets you do it.
Don’t feel bad if you don’t click with it. I love puzzle oriented games and while this was the most unique experience ever in a game (and I suggest all people try it), it was really a mental challenge getting through this game. I actually abandoned the DLC, because I honestly reached my limit. You have to really love repetition.
What part don’t you get? If you can be more specific, people might be able to help you out with some largely spoiler-free hints.
For example, do you not get ‘what the goal is’ (this is a legitimate concern, and someone might be able to give you a direction to pursue for example)
I saw the question, came to post this only to see yours.
It truly is a unique experience. I jokingly say to my family that if I ever have some kind of temporary amnesia prompt me to play that.
I also occasionally watch let’s plays of streamers to vicariously experience some of those moments of realization as the story unfolds.
Seriously play it if you haven’t and avoid streams, videos, etc like the plague. The game progression is 100% knowledge based. So spoilers really do take away part of the experience.
Yep. By far the best game ever made. It’s not even close. It’s truly an experience. I wish I could play it again. I’ve watched so many streams of people playing it for the first time just trying to recapture some of the magic for myself.
One of those games I’ll never understand the hype, I despise Fortnite but I get it. But this, looks just meh
I got the game because of a video review that struck me with how little it gave away. Because it bent over backwards to avoid spoiling it.
I played it for 5 minutes and thought, standard tutorial level design and the models could use some work.
10 minutes after that I was on my way with a code and just headed to explore. A few minutes later something crazy happened, and I was struck thinking “what just happened”
A few hours later I was pulling on a thread of exploration when I saw some celestial event that reminded me about another thread of another mystery and made me go “ohhhh, so I need to go here and check this out at a certain point in the orbit”
One crazy weekend was over and I had felt wonder, sadness, frustration, melancholy and hope in such amazingly timed waves of intrigue and discovery that I wish I could do it again.
It may not be to everyone’s taste and I get looking at the initial style and thinking there’s cut corners but there aren’t.
I will spoil one technical detail. The entire solar system is emulated in real time. Things and events are inter connected in ways that I’m personally shocked they ever got the game to run on the Nintendo Switch. It’s a technical masterpiece even if it doesn’t look it at first glance.
Looks? So you’ve never played it? Then you can’t comment. Only way to actually get it is to play it or at least watch someone play it blindly.
Not really
Yes, really. There’s an exception to literally every single rule. And this game was an exception to many people’s rules. Could be yours too. You won’t know until you experience it. You can pretend you know what it is all you want meanwhile, but that’s all it is, pretending.
Again, not really. You don’t have to agree with me but don’t try to tell me what to feel or rate.
Again, yes really. I’m sorry you’re offended, but that’s just how some things are. When you don’t understand something, it’s not because you’re stupid, it’s because you haven’t tried to understand it. And you’ve literally admitted to not trying to understand outer wilds.
And that’s that. It’s fine, you don’t have to. But every thing you think you know or feel about it is made up, since you’ve never actually experienced it. Imagine going on Google maps and rating some place you’ve never been to. Or those people that give ratings to books and movies that aren’t out yet. That’s you in this situation. And well… now THAT is something I’ll never understand.
According to YOU. Not me
Portal
My pick was portal 2. Only game that made me cry when I beat it.
Man the last boss fight it’s just chef kiss
The Opera bit man…
I keep meaning to finish the sequel…
YOU HAVEN’T FINISHED THE SEQUEL?!?!
No but seriously Portal 2 might be the only game to beat out Portal as the best story/puzzle game ever made.
Grand Theft Auto 3.
You had to be there to see how absolutely groundbreaking that was at the time. Gaming had suddenly grown up.
It was like all the obvious limits in other games all just got pulled away at once. Explore a full city in 3D, drive around, shoot people, steal a tank.
And the sequel only improved on it, but I’ve honestly never been so awed by a game before or since. It’s like they were the first dev to finally figure out what the PS2 hardware was for. Everything before just felt like a slightly nicer version of what had come before. This was new.
I didn’t even look in this direction but I think you’re right
Zelda, the entire series/franchise. The OG RPG. Many argue it isn’t an RPG because the original you couldnt level up but when I think of RPG, I think you are a character and you go on an adventure. It also serves as a good gateway to fixed RPGs where everyone basically has the same story. And to strategy video game as a whole. Also, it was Nintendo’s first RPG, when PlayStation and Xbox still did not exist. And the Best console is Nintendo since it lasted so long. Many of the other consoles feel like less of a game and more like your are in an interactive movie.
The entire series, are you sure about that?
Freshly picked Tingles Rosy Rupeeland is a masterpiece and the most important game in the series, I will not hear otherwise
Goldeneye
License to kill : Pistols
What were your go to game settings?
No odd-job.
Obviously
This, or throwing knives.
Or double health with remote mines.
Remember how you could all run out of ammo and the deathmatch would devolve into a slappy fight?
Once we learned the shortcut to detonate remote mines, they were SO MUCH better, but also, ruined forever.
Halflife 2 + Incl Episodes
Other people have already said it, but it’s Tetris.
Its the only game ever made that I would describe as “perfect”.
It takes seconds to learn how to play, while the skill ceiling is in the stratosphere. It’s endlessly replayable, the music is iconic, and it’s available for basically any platform made in the last 40 years.
Mount and Blade Warband.
So many games you start off or become something great. In Skyrim you’re the dragonborn, you become great but you were always going to. The world is huge and immersive, but you’re always going to be important in the world.
In warband, you’re a nobody. You’ll always be a nobody unless you do something. Trade, fight, quest or scheme. The world will continue with or without you. Your favourite faction might get wiped out and you can do something about it or not. There’s no guarantee of victory, and what you decide as a win condition is up to you.
It is the ultimate sandbox, but the original is janky. The solution; mods. An incredibly dedicated modding community elevates this game into my most played game. The lord of the rings mod is both the best way to get into the game and in my opinion the best video game adaptation of a movie (just in front of kotor).
TL:DR: Warband makes it ok to suck and makes you earn your victory. You might not think that’s fun, but trust me it can be.
Dam you. Its on my wishlist and I dont need to buy more! Loved the original too
Doom.
It was the first 3(well, 2.5)D shooter. Plus, I can hear E1M1.
And using the shareware license for distribution widely helped it’s popularity and it had multiplayer.
Honorary mention to Carrier Command ( the first one with like a 5 polygon island and a 40 polygon volcano).
Fallout New Vegas.
If we are just talking about replayability, I have never put as many hours into another game as that one.
The Witcher 3.
It doesn’t hold up but while it was happening I don’t think there was a better gaming experience than Vanilla WoW. Obviously for some it wasn’t the first MMO experience, but for many it was, and it was pure magic.
The random friends made, and mortal enemies you would drop everything you were doing to try and kill. Spending 6 hours clearing a dungeon(read wailing caverns) for the first time with random people you met in chat. Getting your first mount, walking into molten core with 39 other people and killing your first raid boss. Getting your first epic. The stupidity of barrens chat/whatever the equivalent the scumbag alliance had. The first time you had guild mates come to your rescue when some no-life higher level person was camping you and it devolving into an impromptu war between everyone in the zone and their friends. That time you pulled off an epic 1 v 2. Shit talking all the other classes in your guilds class chat during raids.
The drama ohh the drama, the e-gf/bf that became peoples husbands and wives, the guild leaders wife e-humping half the guild. Relationships destroyed because someone would rather spend their time in azeroth that just about anything else.
Drooling over the gear the best players on the server had. Battling on the front lines of alterac valley all night, going to bed and rejoining the same battle, sometimes to cheers from your fellow soldiers that you had rejoined the fight.
I don’t think there will ever be anything like it again, we know too much, have access to to much info, but for that brief period in time wow was the greatest game ever.
Wow took over my life for a while there, and then again with WoTLK. The 2v2 and 3v3 arenas were so much fun. The cool thing was that it wasn’t grindy in the beginning, you could just run quests at your level and level up at a reasonable pace while exploring the game. I had played Everquest before WoW and that game required so much grinding just to get a level, sometimes it would take weeks.
FFXIV is better. I like the fights better and the lore better. It’s a great social platform, but I think it has jumped the shark. Still a great concept. For very similar reasons.
That pinball game on windows xp
Them as likes this should also check out Maxis Full Tilt Pinball and its sequel, Full Tilt Pinball 2.
These are the actual commercial games with the engine upon which Space Cadet was based.
How many levels did you get in it?
Super metroid
