General Gaming What game(s) do you feel are the best examples of ‘game feel’?

[gamer.tv]

“Game Feel is the intangible, tactile sensation experienced when interacting with video games”.

 

“...Game feel is usually attributed to spatial games whose mechanics involve controlling the movement of objects or characters. Since the majority of games are spatial, studies involving game feel mainly focus on the movement and physical interactions between objects in games. The goal of good game feel is to immerse the player in an engaging and rewarding experience”.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_feel
 

Games that feel good to play being the abbreviated definition.

 

This thread was inspired by playing F Zero GX for the first time in over half a decade and it feels sublime to play. The weight, the speed and the control all interplay to make an incredibly satisfying experience. For me, the combat of Gears of War had that same feel to it, where the actual feel of the game was the driving force for playing it, over the story or the set pieces within it.

 

What games would you suggest?

 

 

[TwinIon]

I think the lines just after you cut off are pretty important to the definition:

 

Quote

A way to test game feel is to see if interacting with a game's most basic mechanics feels satisfying. At minimum, the game should feel engaging to play even after the plot, points, level design, music, and graphics are removed; if it is not, then the game may suffer from poor game feel

 

Maybe it's cheating, but Lone Echo for Oculus is the first thing that I thought of. Zero G is such a natural fit in VR I'm surprised we don't see more of it. Just moving around and interacting with that game is a real pleasure.

 

I think Halo CE is also good example. It has a very specific physicality, with its signature slightly floaty physics. The weapons are simple but effective, and the balance between guns, melee, and grenades makes the very simple gameplay loop very satisfying. Destiny 1/2 both inherited much of that DNA, and hold up similarly well.

 

 

I'd argue in favor of the Assassin's Creed games having excellent game feel, just because the movement system is so capable and satisfying. The places they fail, like repetitive quests or questionable progression systems, are things slightly outside of what I'm understanding game feel to be.

 

The Portal games are another that I think holds up. Their ultimate success is how well they handle everything, but there's a certain beauty in the simplicity of the portal mechanics. Even though they're completely impossible, the conservation of momentum feels natural and right, and nearly anything you do with them is fun.

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

I really do think that Gears of War nails the "feeling" of a third-person cover shooter better than any other entry in that sub-genre.

 

Everything about the interaction in that game really lends "weight" to the notion that you're controlling an overly-muscled slab of death-dealing ultra-bro: the way you "slam" into cover, the punchy, impactful gunplay, a gun with a freakin' chainsaw bayonet...I could go on, but you get the picture!

[crispy4000]

I’ll have to think on this one a bit more, but Retro’s Donkey Kong games immediately come to my mind.

[ShreddieMercury]

Generally I think Nintendo towers above all others in this respect, particularly with Mario games.  Mario Odyssey is maybe the most tactile and responsive game I've ever played, and the incredible sound design adds so much to each movement.  I remember marveling at how good it felt to move Mario when I booted it up for the first time.  Galaxy is far and away my favorite Mario game, but Odyssey is among the best feeling games I've ever played if not the best.

 

I know this isn't the question, but an opposite example would be Rockstar games.

[XxEvil AshxX]

Hmm... I think it's easier to describe how it feels when a game DOESN'T have good "game feel."

 

I'm playing Greedfall right now trying to wrap it up, and that game just doesn't have good game feel at all. Very unresponsive, and it does one of the things I absolutely hate in video games, it "queues up" actions. For example, if I'm mashing the attack button and I have to interrupt mid-stab for a dodge, the game will literally re-stab after the dodge action has played out, regardless of what I press next. That's irritating as hell and makes the combat feel super clunky. At first I thought it was my imagination but I've put at least forty hours or so into this game now and it definitely is not.

 

There have been a number of games that just feel good. Everything responds the way you would expect it to. The Forza Horizon series, for example, has really good game feel. I can spend a year or two away from that game, pick it up, and be drifting around corners in no time. 

 

I agree, Gears of War is a good example. They're "heavy" but never feel like you're not in control of what you're doing. 

 

Call of Duty, for all its flaws, is probably the best feeling FPS out there. If they've mastered one thing, it's the feel of CoD. When you're playing one, you know you're playing one.

 

I agree with some of the Assassin's Creed games. That series has definitely been hit or miss. I felt like Ezio trilogy and Syndicate nailed it, and Odyssey felt pretty good too. But AssCreed 1, 3, and Unity never quite got there.

 

I agree with the replayability factor. When a game just feels good it can be hard to stop playing because it's just fun. That said, I'm trying to remember the last time I felt that way about a game lol.

 

Ohh... and Geometry Wars 2. I've played a lot of twin stick shooters in my day, but I still go back to that one. Everything about that game was perfect.

[crispy4000]

Zelda A Link Between Worlds convinced me that 2D Zelda should be on an analog stick(/nub).  I’m really hoping Tunic delivers on that as well.

 

Also, THPS3.

[SimpleG]

Souls Borne games, moves have weight and enemies recoil when hit. Once you get going you know the instant you swing or dodge if you are going to be successful or not.

 

BF series. Love it or hate it the games can be so immersive. BF1 is kind of the red head step child of the series but god the gameplay is good.

[Paperclyp]

The Tony Hawk series. 

 

Burnout 3. 

 

Certain Wipeout games.

 

DOOM

 

 

[Moa]

It's a weird one because the game is essentially a walking simulator, but I though Night in the Woods had a pretty surprising tactility to it. The environments all responded to you jumping on them in a satisfying way, and despite having very little platforming, Mae had a three jump combo similar to Mario games that made traversing the town entertaining.

[number305]

I'm not sure if it fits, but I immediately thought of guitar hero /rock band. If you played those long enough you would get into an almost transe where they felt perfect. 

[crispy4000]

For shooters, I think Titanfall 2 and the Splatoon games would be at the top for me.  Both in different ways.

[skillzdadirecta]

Damn everyone missed an obvious one that is pretty recent. Ghost of Tsushima. Controlling Jin is sublime and he "feels" like a master swordsman. I also felt like Last of us 2 ABSOLUTELY nails the brutality of the combat in the controls. I'd also add Doom and Doom Eternal and Spiderman off the top of my head.  Oh and say what you want about the game but Anthem absolutely nailed the feeling of flying around in an over powered suit of armor.

[Remarkableriots]

Arkham series, Ratchet & Clank series, Gran Turismo and Rockstar games would be at the top of my list.

[Xbob42]

Dust: An Elysian Tail comes to mind, though I haven't played it in a while.

A Short Hike feels fantastic.

 

Celeste, obvioulsy.

 

The recent Resident Evil games just feel totally spot-on.

 

Ys 8 springs to mind as well.

[Bloodporne]

Metal Gear Solid V 

 

So far, this is one of the best feeling games I've ever played from the most basic movements to the most complex actions. It all somehow feels super intuitive and smooth as hell. I've rarely had so much fun with a video game when this one fired on all cylinders. 

[Bloodporne]

4 hours ago, Xbob42 said:

The recent Resident Evil games just feel totally spot-on.

RE2R especially strikes a fantastic balance between feeling 'realistic' and still being fun to control I think. You never feel like anything more than a somewhat-trained regular person yet it's never sluggish nor cumbersome.

[gamer.tv]

This will essentially be a double post (as I'm about to write in the What Are You Playing? thread) but headshots in RE4 feel wonderful. On writing that, I feel confident I'm emotionally well, but I'm not sure how others would feel...

[BloodyHell]

Mario (2d and 3d)

Gow PS4 

3d Zelda

there are a lot of them out there, but ilI think those are among the best. 

[5timechamp]

I always felt Arkham games (maybe not Knight as much) always displayed the intelligent design where it meets gamers intent without having to be "gamey"

 

-you dont have to manually target every batarang, if you intend to activate a switch just look at its general direction and the game meets that.

-if you fall from height or into a surface you shouldnt be on then batman cushions his fall or the game automatically pulls you from that threat without forcing a game over screen or making batman look clumsy.

 

small touches like that enhance the experience.... I also agree with the person that said Rockstar games are on the opposite end of that spectrum

Nintendo games are real good at that. F Zero GX has a great feel, too bad the Sega track design philosophy is so deeply arcade rooted

[number305]

So... No votes for Skyrim? 

[Keyser_Soze]

Rez

[Remarkableriots]

[Raggit]

On 8/18/2020 at 6:38 PM, XxEvil AshxX said:

Hmm... I think it's easier to describe how it feels when a game DOESN'T have good "game feel."

 

I'm playing Greedfall right now trying to wrap it up, and that game just doesn't have good game feel at all. Very unresponsive, and it does one of the things I absolutely hate in video games, it "queues up" actions. For example, if I'm mashing the attack button and I have to interrupt mid-stab for a dodge, the game will literally re-stab after the dodge action has played out, regardless of what I press next. That's irritating as hell and makes the combat feel super clunky. At first I thought it was my imagination but I've put at least forty hours or so into this game now and it definitely is not.

 

This instantly had me thinking of Zeno Clash. It would queue up actions when you run out of stamina. So as soon as you got back a sliver of stamina, you'd unexpectedly perform the action at an extremely inconvenient time, making you run out again. I hated the combat system soooo much.

[AbsolutSurgen]

Forza Horizon has some of the best "gaming feel" that I have ever experienced.  IMHO, a lot of this comes down to the haptic triggers -- which rumble as you start to get wheel spin on acceleration and are starting to lock the brakes.