Gaming

SOMA. The ending still freaks me out until this day.

Starcraft, when the first one released and then the expansion, I always wondered what happen to Kerrigan/Jimmy and the Protoss templars. We don't have any official answers all the way until Starcraft 2 released. That "it's about time" trailer was about as hype as I can be for a very long time. And then it faded behind DOTA 2 and LoL.( I didn't even know when the 2nd one or 3rd campaign released. too busy with indie game/kickstarter boom and then Rocket Leauge. ^^; )

For me it’s Return of the Obra Dinn. I was blown away by how well this game is done. I blew through it in like 2 days. The way the story plays out is so cool. Afterward I hassled my wife to play it because she loves that murder mystery stuff but she bought it and still hasn’t played it lol.

Anyway highly recommend if you’re into puzzle games.

Metal Gear Solid 2. The reveal at the end has stuck with me because 9/11 happened a couple months before and it was so poignant and apropos that my heart rate jumped for the entirety.

Deus Ex. For the same reason as above but in the opposite direction time-wise.

Outer Wilds. Like most have said. Amazing game.

Black & White. Playing god had never been so much fun.

Thief. Stealth in a way that had never been done before.

Morrowind. First RPG I wanted to do every little thing in.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. I grew up in LA during the 90s. This game was the closest thing to using a time machine. The amazing story was just a cherry on top.

For me, it's Mirror's Edge, particularly Mirror's Edge Catalyst. I even go running IRL to the soundtrack.

Red Dead Redemption. Probably stuck with me more than any other game Ive played. The story, the characters, the world, all of it.

Really hope it gets a rerelease

To The Moon. Barely a game, the dialogue can be really cheesy in places. But dang, I've thought about the ending to that game probably monthly for over a decade. The sequels are an incredible continuation of the story as well.

Persona 3 FES. It was a pivotal game for me. Beating that game was my gateway to more challenging RPGs and made me start paying attention to voice actors due to the amazing performances in that game.

Metal Gear Solid. All of them, but especially MGS 4 left me speechless and sad-tisfied. I played it pretty much every year until my PS3 didn't want to exist anymore. I still have times where I recall scenes from the whole saga.

Black & White 1 and 2

Well I would answer Outer Wilds (in particular, with the DLC), but since you already said it, ummm....

Probably Hollow Knight. I remember just loving the exploration in that game, and the difficulty made everything feel well earned. I haven't played Elden Ring yet, but it sounds like people had a similar reaction to that, but in 3D.

Death Stranding. Beautiful landscapes with awesome moments like treking through a snowstorm to reach a distant prepper outpost. Waiting for rain to stop while playing the harmonica for bb. Definitly could have had one more zone to round it all off, or maybe expanded the final boss area zone to full size.

Started thinking about it and turns out I have a few:

• Thomas Was Alone for the overall vibe, music and writing
• Celeste for the the story and gameplay
• Hollow Knight for the world, music and mechanics
• Metroid Prime for being generally incredible
• Overwatch for being my intro to online games and the friends I made playing it
• Halo 3 because a mate of mine and I played it so damn much

Celeste, even made me cry a bit towards the end, first from it being sad but then happy at the very end.

Final fantasy VII and Kingdom Hearts games also are always stuck in my head even to this day

Oblivion has lived in my head since the moment I first played it back in 09. Finally started teaching myself how to make mods for it last year and now it takes up even more of my brain!

Last of Us Part 1 and Part 2. My favorite game series of all time. Honorable mention to Red Dead 2 and God of War Ragnarok. I’m a slut for cinematic games.

I received Eternal Darkness for Christmas in 2002. I will NEVER forget the feelings that game inspired in me thanks to the unique "sanity" system and creepy lovecraftian atmosphere.

I remember my brothers and I huddled around the basement TV into the wee hours of the morning over our Christmas holiday totally creeped out but so driven to complete the story that we pressed onward.

What a fantastic game that was and I'm so grateful for those memories with my brothers. I don't think I've ever had such a deep connection with a game since.

Kenshi. Kenshi is the single most unique game I have ever played I think. There is no campaign, you are just sent into one of the largest maps ive heard of in a video game with the goal of "survive". So many ways to play, I've had so many different adventures in that game, with stories that I crafted that have stuck with me for years. I am still heartbroken I lost my saves from 2019 :(

Second choice is prototype. I dunno why but I just adore the shapeshifting combat, and edgy early 2000s aesthetic. Alex Mercer is one of my all time favorite supervillian/hero characters, he's just cool, man.

Back in the days Guild Wars, not the sequel but the OG; present time I have spent way to many hours getting stuck in Snowrunner.

Star Wars Galaxies - the open world, the city building, the player housing, the ground and space vehicles, the player market, the world pvp. It was so much goodness. Broke all future games for me.

The big ones for me are the one where I made friends and very personal experiences:

Tibia, Eve Online & Warhammer Online

Which reminds me, I haven't messaged certain former guild leader in a while!

Alpha Protocol, cause and effect and replayability just made it one of the best of all time in my opinion.

The entire Witcher trilogy, but especially the Witcher 3. Replaying after reading the books adds so much depth the world and the political decisions you are forced to make. The world is beautiful, the ambient sounds and soundtrack are so good ("winds howling") and the story is gripping.

Medievil

The ending of Unreal 2 (the single player game) when your team have all died and left messages for you to listen to as you fly away alone on a spaceship

When I finished Life is Strange 1, it just felt I lost a friend and it lingered for weeks. Whenever I was hearing the soundtrack, I felt really sad because of stuff that happened in the game.

Mother 3 still affects me in ways no other game has, even to this day. It's truly a beautiful game.

Loom

It's been, what, 30 years? I still think about that game pretty frequently.

Sometime in 2021 I was at kind of a low point and happened to play OMORI. It deals with many of the things I'd been struggling with at that time and taught me a lot about them. Naturally, I was obsessed with it for a year or so, and still think about it a lot.

Also, I've seen Outer Wilds mentioned in these kinds of threads multiple times now. I should probably just give it a try already...