General Gaming Looking for some game suggestions while were in lockdown

[Dexterryu]

First off, thanks for reading. Second I realize that my request for recommendations is going to highlight that I've both probably played a lot of your recommendations and am pretty darn picky.

 

I'm looking for some good single player games that:

A) Have a good story / interesting characters (with voice, I hate reading walls of text - ex: Pillars of Eternity)

B) Aren't janky

C) Aren't  80s era pixel graphics (I grew up playing these, don't want to go back)

D) Aren't so complicated that they need 10 tutorial levels (I'm looking at you Age of Wonders: Planetfall)

E) Are relatively current (at least PS3/Xbox 360 era).

F) Aren't weird over the top Japanese emo-fests (Devil May Cry, Bayonetta)

 

I'm a fan of most genre's(RPG, TPS, FPS, Action, side scrollers, metroidvanias). 

 

I've played most of the top AAA games since the late 90s... so that's all of your Baldurs gates, Divinity, Mass Effects, Dragon Age, God of War, Witcher, Uncharted, TLOU, Horizon, Halo, Elder Scrolls, Assasins creed, Far Cry, etc...).

 

Some recent favorites have been FrostPunk, Kingdom Come, Ori and the *, and Plague: An  innocence tale.

 

Thanks in advance

[crispy4000]

All the AAA games you listed are from Western publishers.  Maybe there’s some Japanese games and publishers you’ve missed out on?  Not everything is a Platinum game.

 

It might better to give a list of some of the games you do own but haven’t played, so we have a reference point, and you don’t have to spend extra money right now.

 

A semi-random suggestion: Metroid Prime.  3D/FPS Metroidvanias are incredibly rare. But it holds up as one of the best, if not the epitome of the Metroidvania genre as a whole.  Still looks pretty good too visually due to the environment design, and is 60fps, so it aged better than many last gen console games. (especially if ran in an emulator)

 

If you can’t do that, Arkham Asylum would be another good choice that’s close.

[Hurricane Game]

Dark Souls 1-3, Bloodborne, and Sekiro come to mind. You can easily spend 100's of hours playing these and they are probably pretty cheap to boot.

[Dexterryu]

9 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

All the AAA games you listed are from Western publishers.  Maybe there’s some Japanese games and publishers you’ve missed out on?  Not everything is a Platinum game.

 

It might better to give a list of some of the games you do own but haven’t played, so we have a reference point, and you don’t have to spend extra money right now.

 

A semi-random suggestion: Metroid Prime.  3D/FPS Metroidvanias are incredibly rare. But it still holds up as one of the best, if not the epitome of the Metroidvania genre as a whole.  Still looks pretty good too visually, and is 60fps.

 

Don't have a system to play Metroid Prime on, otherwise I'd give it a go. As for other Japanese games... I've tried most of the AAA types and just can't get into them... Final Fantasy, MGS (though Phantom pain was decent), Tales  of *,  Devil May Cry, Kingdom Hearts, Resident Evil, Dark Souls. I've tried them all. Not sure what it is... but they just don't click for me.

 

As for saving $$ and/or games I have, but haven't played. I pretty much have played everything that I own. I've gotten much better about not over-buying games I won't get to during steam sales. I appreciate you looking out for my wallet, but I'm still working (from home, since I work for AWS) so I'm not super concerned about saving a few bucks.

 

1 minute ago, Hurricane Game said:

Dark Souls 1-3, Bloodborne, and Sekiro come to mind. You can easily spend 100's of hours playing these and they are probably pretty cheap to boot.

The only one on that list I haven't tried is Sekiro. The rest... I couldn't get into due to lack of story and my dislike for having to repeatedly go through the same levels before getting back to boss fights.

[SaysWho?]

Gravity Rush Remastered is fun, is Japanese but not an emo-fest, and isn't complicated to play. You can always go to GR2 if you like the first (gameplay is improved but half the side missions are bad, be warned). Still, just flying around in those worlds is really cool, and finding crystals doesn't sound amazing on paper, but it is with the flight in the game.

 

Are you looking for games that are a combination of all of that? Most Metroidvanias aren't big AAA games with big stories, and while Dead Cells has old-school graphics, FUCK, that was one of the most fun ones I've played, and I usually am not a fan of roguelikes. Give me a little more info and I'll help you some more, friend!

[crispy4000]

5 minutes ago, Dexterryu said:

 

Don't have a system to play Metroid Prime on, otherwise I'd give it a go. As for other Japanese games... I've tried most of the AAA types and just can't get into them... Final Fantasy, MGS (though Phantom pain was decent), Tales  of *,  Devil May Cry, Kingdom Hearts, Resident Evil, Dark Souls. I've tried them all. Not sure what it is... but they just don't click for me.

Got a Switch by chance?  Noticed no Nintendo games in that list either.

[Dexterryu]

1 minute ago, SaysWho? said:

Gravity Rush Remastered is fun, is Japanese but not an emo-fest, and isn't complicated to play. You can always go to GR2 if you like the first (gameplay is improved but half the side missions are bad, be warned). Still, just flying around in those worlds is really cool, and finding crystals doesn't sound amazing on paper, but it is with the flight in the game.

 

Are you looking for games that are a combination of all of that? Most Metroidvanias aren't big AAA games with big stories, and while Dead Cells has old-school graphics, FUCK, that was one of the most fun ones I've played, and I usually am not a fan of roguelikes. Give me a little more info and I'll help you some more, friend!

 

Combination of, no... That's just not really realistic. As for Metroidvanias, I've played most of the good ones... Dead Cells, Sundered (my favorite), Ori, Bloodstained. 

[Dexterryu]

Just now, crispy4000 said:

Got a Switch by chance?  Noticed no Nintendo games in that list either.

No switch... I had one, played Mario and Zelda, then sold it.

[crispy4000]

3 minutes ago, Dexterryu said:

 

Combination of, no... That's just not really realistic. As for Metroidvanias, I've played most of the good ones... Dead Cells, Sundered (my favorite), Ori, Bloodstained. 

I just beat Hollow Knight last month.  Fantastic game!  As is Ori 2 from what I’d imagine.  Guacamelee is another of my favs.

Plenty more good 2D stuff out there.  It’s a saturated genre right now.

[Dexterryu]

10 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

I just beat Hollow Knight last month.  Fantastic game!  As is Ori 2 from what I’d imagine.  Guacamelee is another of my favs.

Plenty more good 2D stuff out there.  It’s a saturated genre right now.

Totally forgot Guacamelee... I played through most of the first one (I can't remember if I finished it or left off). Haven't played 2 though. I'll  snag that one. That said, I could not get into Hollow Knight.

[Pikachu]

Have you played Dishonored?

[Dexterryu]

22 minutes ago, Pikachu said:

Have you played Dishonored?

Both, and loved them.

[SimpleG]

Prey

[Keyser_Soze]

Doom Eternal

[SaysWho?]

1 minute ago, Dexterryu said:

 

Combination of, no... That's just not really realistic. As for Metroidvanias, I've played most of the good ones... Dead Cells, Sundered (my favorite), Ori, Bloodstained. 

 

I'm looking for some good single player games that:

A) Have a good story / interesting characters (with voice, I hate reading walls of text - ex: Pillars of Eternity)

B) Aren't janky

C) Aren't  80s era pixel graphics (I grew up playing these, don't want to go back)

D) Aren't so complicated that they need 10 tutorial levels (I'm looking at you Age of Wonders: Planetfall)

E) Are relatively current (at least PS3/Xbox 360 era).

F) Aren't weird over the top Japanese emo-fests (Devil May Cry, Bayonetta)

 

Sweet, okay, lemme think. I'll list some with brief descriptions (ain't no help just giving you a list with no context) and I hope it helps somehow! Also let me know if you have PSVR.

• The Witness -- an open-world puzzle game that's relaxing and let's you go at your own pace. The story of what happened is one you have to slowly uncover, but it's not complicated. In fact, every puzzle usually gives you some practice ones or an easy one to begin so you can figure out the rules.
• Guacamelee! -- A funny Metroidvania with a cool dimensions-shifting mechanic. Its story is simple and it's not at all pixel-art.
• Gravity Rush Remastered - Reasons I gave earlier.
• Dreams - Plenty of single-player things that are being made by tons of people, and plenty of single-player games made by Media Molecule themselves. Many creations are bite-sized, so you can enjoy different levels/games each day.
• Middle-earth: Shadow of War - I really loved this game. It sold well, but on forums, I feel like people overlooked it since 2017 was so packed. The siege mode? Awesome. It's like Dynasty Warriors with deeper combat, a fun as hell mode where you really feel like there's a push and pull as to whom is winning and losing. I don't remember any of the characters (though I remember some of the enemies who held grudges via the Nemesis System).
• Sonic Mania - Play it if you haven't. Plus, it's 90s era graphics but even better than that. Arguably the best 2D Sonic and a thrill single-player and couch co-op if you can (have a long couch).
• Resident Evil 2 Remake/7 - Pretty sure you've played them if you've played all the other AAA games you did. But if not, awesome fucking shit, and 3's around the corner! Great item management gameplay, scary, simple to play, and CLANK CLANK CLANK CLANK CLAN

[Dexterryu]

Prey - Played/Finished it.

Shadow of War -  Played/Finished.

 

Doom Eternal - Tried it (loved Doom 2016), but all of the glory kill camera losses made me dizzy so I refunded it.

Guacamelee - Just bought and downloaded for Steam. $1 on G2A.

Gravity Rush - I'll check it out. - Edit - Gonna try it out as soon as I finish my replay of GOW

 

Resident Evil - I'll give them a look again. I kinda wrote them off due to them being weird Japanese titles.

[Keyser_Soze]

13 minutes ago, SaysWho? said:

D) Aren't so complicated that they need 10 tutorial levels (I'm looking at you Age of Wonders: Planetfall)

• The Witness -- an open-world puzzle game that's relaxing and let's you go at your own pace. The story of what happened is one you have to slowly uncover, but it's not complicated. In fact, every puzzle usually gives you some practice ones or an easy one to begin so you can figure out the rules.

 

I think he's going to have to revise the rules after this.

 

It's so complicated that he needs to get a pen and paper out to solve the puzzles.

[Keyser_Soze]

Just now, Dexterryu said:

Resident Evil - I'll give them a look again. I kinda wrote them off due to them being weird Japanese titles.

 

[Dexterryu]

1 minute ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

Hey, I'm not perfect. The graphics and story from the trailer definitely have a Japanese vibe.

[Keyser_Soze]

4 minutes ago, Dexterryu said:

Hey, I'm not perfect. The graphics and story from the trailer definitely have a Japanese vibe.

 

Are you like 15 years old. How have you gone this long and never heard of Resident Evil?

[SaysWho?]

11 minutes ago, Dexterryu said:

Prey - Played/Finished it.

Shadow of War -  Played/Finished.

 

Doom Eternal - Tried it (loved Doom 2016), but all of the glory kill camera losses made me dizzy so I refunded it.

Guacamelee - Just bought and downloaded for Steam. $1 on G2A.

Gravity Rush - I'll check it out.

 

Resident Evil - I'll give them a look again. I kinda wrote them off due to them being weird Japanese titles.

 

7 and 2 don't feel weird, trust me. I mean, no more weird than a zombie game, but that applies to games out west as well. That'll give you two games, plus plenty of 7 DLC (one of them is good AND free), and then 3 coming up shortly.

If you like the Gravity Rush 2 demo (should still be on PSN), you'll probably like GR1. It'll feel a bit smaller than 2 since it was originally a Vita title, but the sense of flight around the smaller open world is fun, and it doesn't feel like a super massive game.

 

10 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

I think he's going to have to revise the rules after this.

 

It's so complicated that he needs to get a pen and paper out to solve the puzzles.

 

You don't need a pen and paper, dude. Stop lying to the man; he's under enough stress, you fucking fucked fuckable fucked fuck.  

[Dexterryu]

Just now, Keyser_Soze said:

 

Are you like 15 years old. How have you gone this long and never heard of Resident Evil?

I played the original back on my PC back in 1996. After playing Code Veronica on Dreamcast the series just seemed to keep getting weirder.

[SaysWho?]

Just now, Dexterryu said:

I played the original back on my PC back in 1996. After playing Code Veronica on Dreamcast the series just seemed to keep getting weirder.

 

Ah!

 

Yeah, it got more action-oriented and all that, but 7 and 2 are like the originals only with modern, less rigid controls (no tank controls), item management and pretty straight-forward zombie tropes. And fun as hell.

[Dexterryu]

1 minute ago, SaysWho? said:

 

Ah!

 

Yeah, it got more action-oriented and all that, but 7 and 2 are like the originals only with modern, less rigid controls (no tank controls), item management and pretty straight-forward zombie tropes. And fun as hell.

Gonna add em to my list. Their on sale now so I may as well grab em.

[Bloodporne]

Have you played SOMA? 

 

I was gonna drop Prey but was beaten to the punch and you've played it.

 

Also this thread made me realize I predominantly like "weird Japanese" games. 

 

[Pikachu]

Have you played Hellblade?

[Dexterryu]

Just now, Pikachu said:

Have you played Hellblade?

Yes... one of my all time  favorites. Played it both regular and in VR.

[Rodimus]

I have just gone all in on WOW Classic.

[SaysWho?]

Let's do some more. Let me know again if you have PSVR, or if your VR headset is something else.

• Undertale - So this has bad graphics, admittedly. Probably even worse than most late 80s things. But it's a REALLY sweet game, single-player, a single runthrough is around 5 hours, but there are tons of endings (and not just different endings -- the game does a good job keep track of what endings you've already gotten, so it'll tell you what you missed). It's a bullet-hell game, and there's a certain way you have to play it to get the best ending. However, it's easy to figure out and doesn't require you to do some ultra complicated thing. In fact, if you play it the "easy" way, a boss at the end is going to be the death of you.
• Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition - There's a ton to do after years of content for this. There's also the Arcade Collection which has a bunch of Street Fighter games from different generations, but older gens and all and probably not what you're looking for.
• Until Dawn - This is single-player yet is a lot of fun to play with someone else. Choose-your-own-adventure horror game where you can have everyone live or die or any combination of survivals/deaths. A good 10 hour adventure and one of the best choice games I've played.
• Resogun - Bullet-hell twin-stick shooter. Addictive as hell, has several modes of play (Arcade, Survival, Protector, Commando) and couch co-op. If you like it, Alienation, Matterfall and Nex Machina are also from the same developer and all great single-player experiences (Alienation has multi but you don't need it). Alienation has an actual story, even though it's limited. You're playing strictly for the fun factor.
• Amplitude - Single-player music game where you unlock beats on each track to unlock a song. No story, just single-player music. If you liked FreQuency/Amplitude on PS2, you'll dig this one as well.
• Yakuza 0 - I spent 100 hours on this. It's Japanese but it's not something that'll turn you off. It's got two kinds of missions -- the story missions are typically a serious mob/gangster story, while the side missions are really fucking funny. Also, the Cabaret side game is just as fun as the regular game. Fucking love it and it's in Yakuza Kiwami 2 as well. 0 is a good starting point, though, since it's literally the first story as it is a prequel to Yakuza Kiwami 1.

[Pikachu]

Have you played The Messenger?

[Dexterryu]

1 hour ago, SaysWho? said:

Let's do some more. Let me know again if you have PSVR, or if your VR headset is something else.

• Undertale - So this has bad graphics, admittedly. Probably even worse than most late 80s things. But it's a REALLY sweet game, single-player, a single runthrough is around 5 hours, but there are tons of endings (and not just different endings -- the game does a good job keep track of what endings you've already gotten, so it'll tell you what you missed). It's a bullet-hell game, and there's a certain way you have to play it to get the best ending. However, it's easy to figure out and doesn't require you to do some ultra complicated thing. In fact, if you play it the "easy" way, a boss at the end is going to be the death of you.
• Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition - There's a ton to do after years of content for this. There's also the Arcade Collection which has a bunch of Street Fighter games from different generations, but older gens and all and probably not what you're looking for.
• Until Dawn - This is single-player yet is a lot of fun to play with someone else. Choose-your-own-adventure horror game where you can have everyone live or die or any combination of survivals/deaths. A good 10 hour adventure and one of the best choice games I've played.
• Resogun - Bullet-hell twin-stick shooter. Addictive as hell, has several modes of play (Arcade, Survival, Protector, Commando) and couch co-op. If you like it, Alienation, Matterfall and Nex Machina are also from the same developer and all great single-player experiences (Alienation has multi but you don't need it). Alienation has an actual story, even though it's limited. You're playing strictly for the fun factor.
• Amplitude - Single-player music game where you unlock beats on each track to unlock a song. No story, just single-player music. If you liked FreQuency/Amplitude on PS2, you'll dig this one as well.
• Yakuza 0 - I spent 100 hours on this. It's Japanese but it's not something that'll turn you off. It's got two kinds of missions -- the story missions are typically a serious mob/gangster story, while the side missions are really fucking funny. Also, the Cabaret side game is just as fun as the regular game. Fucking love it and it's in Yakuza Kiwami 2 as well. 0 is a good starting point, though, since it's literally the first story as it is a prequel to Yakuza Kiwami 1.

My VR is Valve Index.

[eggydoo]

Both recent AssCreed games are cheap right now and play very similar to an action RPG (like Witcher). Not sure if you got to play Odyssey for free during this past weekend.  Also Odyssey is crazy huge and definitely can sink in hours of time on it. 

Edit: Just saw you most likely already played both Asscreeds so....

 

I as well could never finish a Dark Souls game mainly cause the genre stresses me out.  The furthest I ever gotten was the first one.  Sekiro is definitely a different vibe, IMO.  There is less rolling around like Blanka that most of this genre has and it's not as emo death like the others.  The combat/movement in Sekiro is fantastic and it's the first souls type game I played and finished sans the optional ultra hard boss.

[ShreddieMercury]

Outer Wilds, which has my favorite story in any game I've played.  The mechanics are extremely simple, and it has only one short (10 minutes) tutorial area the start.

[Bloodporne]

15 minutes ago, ShreddieMercuryRising said:

Outer Wilds, which has my favorite story in any game I've played.  The mechanics are extremely simple, and it has only one short (10 minutes) tutorial area the start.

I keep eyeing this game and don't really get a feel of what the gameplay loop is really like. What would you approximately compare it to gameplay wise?

[Dexterryu]

35 minutes ago, ShreddieMercuryRising said:

Outer Wilds, which has my favorite story in any game I've played.  The mechanics are extremely simple, and it has only one short (10 minutes) tutorial area the start.

I have it through Xbox Game Pass PC... I got about 3/4ths through it and got bored (I had to push myself to even make it that far). I know some people loved it... some not. I was definitely in on the discussion about the game.