I feel like my “all-time favorite” changes depending on my mood, but if I had to pick just one, I’d probably go with The Witcher 3. That game just hit all the right notes—amazing story, incredible world-building, and so much stuff to do without feeling like pointless filler. Plus, the expansions were just as good, if not better than the base game.

What about you? Are you more into RPGs, shooters, or something else entirely?

  • whyrat@lemmy.worldEnglish
    261·
    18 days ago

    Best single game is probably Portal. The pacing, storytelling, innovation, sound, all are top notch even 20+ years later. Graphics aren’t phenomenal, but don’t need to be. The challenges and easter eggs made it a blast to 100%.

      • CileTheSane@lemmy.caEnglish
        7·
        18 days ago

        I’m on the fence about which is better. Portal 2 is an improvement, but also has its flaws.

        Part of the reason I would argue Portal 1 was better is because it was so unexpected. I went in expecting “interesting puzzle game” which it is, but I did not expect to also get “excellent humor with strange horror vibes and incredibly good personality.”

        If someone didn’t know what a Glados was I think the first one is better. I also recognize that many people who have never played Portal are well aware of Glados.

      • Vespair@lemm.eeEnglish
        3·
        17 days ago

        I dunno. Frankly they’re both absolutely pantheon, legendary games that deliver a near-perfect gaming experience, but I feel like Portal 1 delivered a kind of tighter package where Portal 2 meanders just a little bit, and while Wheatley is still brilliant I’m not sure I he hit the same way or struck the same tone as GlaDOS. But we’re talking about like nanometers of difference in quality here either way as both games are goddamn stellar.

      • nogooduser@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        18 days ago

        I felt that Portal 2’s difficulty curve was a little off but was perfect other than that. It was too easy for most of the game and then ramped up to what I consider to be a good difficulty level later on.

        The two player portion was fantastic though.

        • duchess@feddit.orgEnglish
          2·
          17 days ago

          Difficulty balance is especially hard for puzzle games, I guess. You can get a good estimate with lots of testing (ha!) with many participants, but even then you or me personally can be outliers.

  • slazer2au@lemmy.worldEnglish
    23·
    18 days ago

    Morrowind. One of the few games you can fail the main quest by going on a rampage or by selling the wrong item.

  • cattywampas@lemm.eeEnglish
    202·
    18 days ago

    Not just my mood, but I have different flavors of favorite.

    In terms of nostalgia and all-time enjoyment, hard to beat Ocarina of Time.

    In terms of pure “this game is so good”, may have to go with Red Dead Redemption 2. Truly a masterpiece.

    In terms of most hours played, Civilization 6 at over 2000 hours.

    • cod@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      18 days ago

      I like this way of doing it. For me:

      Nostalgia and all-time enjoyment, probably Pokémon Gen 2 / Remakes (Silver / Gold / Crystal / SoulSilver / HeartGold). I consider them all one game of different “flavours”. If I had to choose one I’d probably go with SoulSilver. The remakes added some much needed modern conveniences, and having your Pokémon follow you around in the overworld was awesome.

      Pure “this game is so good”, probably Elden Ring. Before the DLC I’d probably go with Dark Souls III because of Gael and Friede, but Shadow of the Erdtree blew me away.

      Most hours played, Skyrim at over 5,000. HITMAN is in second place at a bit over 1,300.

  • joshthewaster@lemmy.worldEnglish
    15·
    18 days ago

    Super Mario World - just a fun game. Lots of little secrets and fun to speed run.

    Titanfall - I played an absurd amount of this one and really wished there was a 3rd one. 1-2 remind me of the pattern seen in trilogys where 1 sets the stage, 2 deviaties pretty far and polarizes fans and then 3 uses the best of both while trying to feel more like 1. (Mario 1-3, Halo 1-3). My favorites in this pattern tend to be 3 so I’m disappointed I never got Titanfall 3.

    Pubg - when it was new. Lost me years ago now but that first 6 months to a year was awesome. So many crazy games and absurd fun.

    • Rai@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      3·
      18 days ago

      PUBG died the instant they introduced bots. I uninstalled immediately.

      But got damn, while everyone else complained about physics and clothing on the floor, my partner and I had the BEST TIME EVER playing. One of the best games I’ve ever played for sure when it was newer.

      I remember one time I was driving them on the motorbike thing with the sidecar with eight others remaining, and we hit an invisible pebble and were ROCKETED into the sky. We did a ton of flips and were laughing together about how we’re absolutely dead. We fell for ages and finally landed… no bounce. Just perfectly on our wheels. The bike was on fire. We were fine. We got out and ran away, only to die when three people were left. But we laughed sooooo hard when we landed totally fine. Insanity.

      I miss it so much.

      Quick edit: the first time I won in a 1v99, my heart rate hit 185 by the time my watch could calculate, so probably higher. I was vibrating. I had to lie down in bed. It was the most unique feeling a game has ever made me feel.

      • joshthewaster@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        17 days ago

        Yeah, no game has done to my heartrate what pubg did. Absolutely the most intense game I’ve ever played. Wish I could play that again for the first time.

    • nogooduser@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      18 days ago

      I loved Titanfall 1 so much. Titanfall 2’s campaign was absolutely fantastic but I didn’t get on with the multiplayer so much.

      I actually think that was a “me problem” rather than a problem with the game. I think that I had just had enough of multiplayer shooters as I’ve not played one since.

  • eezeebee@lemmy.caEnglish
    15·
    18 days ago

    It’s easily The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.

    It has everything I could ask for in a game: Sword fighting. Magic. Secrets. Dungeon crawling. An alternate dimension. Side quests. Different tools and items. There’s enough content that it feels fulfilling to complete it. Peak art. Peak music. NPCs don’t talk too much, and there are just enough of them to make the world feel alive. Bosses.

  • krzschlss@lemmy.worldEnglish
    15·
    18 days ago

    Sekiro.

    Only hard until you start to understand the dance moves. Then it becomes pure nirvana.

    After NG+7 I had to stop playing it and give some other games a chance.

    • moody@lemmings.worldEnglish
      5·
      18 days ago

      I’m still surprised how well received it was, not because I disagree, but just because of the numbers. It’s currently sitting at 95% positive ratings on Steam, and that’s with 229k reviews, for a game that plays so different from what gamers expected out of FromSoft.

    • nogooduser@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      18 days ago

      I got stuck on it and then stopped playing for so long that I feel that I need to start again. I do intend to start it again if I ever get the time to put into it.

    • 50_centavos@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      16 days ago

      Playing that now, just beat fake monk, next is the gorilla. Once the combat clicked for me everything made sense.

  • MorningThunder@lemm.eeEnglish
    10·
    18 days ago

    Shadow of the Colossus was barely even a game, it was art. I don’t think I even played it for more than 20 hours total but just a simple masterpiece.

  • KITA@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
    8·
    18 days ago

    Dark Souls.

    It fundamentally changed me as a person. All of the other fromsoft games are great but none of them really encapsulates the experience that is the first Dark Souls game.

      • KITA@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
        7·
        18 days ago

        So I first played Dark Souls when I was 17. As a kid that was going into my senior year of high school, completely obsessed with games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Uncharted 2 - Dark Souls was such a drastic change in how you interacted with a game. No constant ADHD flick shots in a cod game, no mindless story based progression with a complete lack of difficulty.

        Dark Souls taught me three things: Slow down, think critically, and never give up.

        Looking back on it, it’s some real basic knowledge to impart on someone. But I feel like they apply to everything in life and nobody around me seems to think the same.

        It kinda blows my mind when you look at YouTube and see the absurd amount of videos there are of people describing how dark souls made them a better person mentally. The game is clearly special in a way no other game is to a lot of people and not to mention it popularized a whole new genre.

        If anyone reading this hasn’t tried Dark Souls or has tried it once and bounced off of it quickly. I really recommended giving it a(nother) shot.

  • Flamekebab@piefed.socialEnglish
    8·
    18 days ago

    Fallout 2 is probably one of my favourite games of all time. Absolutely amazing game, if a bit sprawly. I’ve played through it many times and expect I will do again.

    Red Alert 2 - the pinnacle of the isometric RTS genre. Bordering on too silly but without tipping into absolute farce. Mechanically very strong, the art is lovely, and even has nostalgia for me.

    The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth. Massive game but a run can be completed relatively quickly. I always disable the music because I don’t like games that try to scare and intimidate me. I’m pretty good at the game so it tends to be pretty relaxing for me, if a bit fugue-state-y.

    Battlefield: Bad Company 2: the apex of the Battlefield multiplayer games for me. The others have plenty going for them, but BFBC2 was the best compromise between destructibility, player counts, etc. for my tastes. Sniping took significant skill and one couldn’t go prone - it meant that open areas didn’t feel like a death sentence (looking at you, later BF games!).

    Assassin’s Creed: Origins/Odyssey two open world games with beautiful maps and locations to explore. I think I preferred the setting of Origins but the story of Odyssey. A bit of escapist fantasy, I suppose. I loved the Ezio trilogy too, mind you.

    • BrightCandle@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      17 days ago

      The mod packs just keep coming and there has been a number of interesting packs since 1.20 was released.

      Its got a billion accounts its the most played game in the world ever so its surprising to find it so far down this list.

  • tatann@lemm.eeEnglish
    7·
    18 days ago

    The Witcher 3, followed by the Mass Effect trilogy (I consider it as a whole)

    And honestly, Cyberpunk 2077 could complete the top 3

    But if I have to consider multiplayer games, with 3000+ hours on Warframe (considering I haven’t touched it for years), I guess it could also be considered my favorite (I think I also spent 1000h on ME3 multi)

  • Malix@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    6·
    18 days ago

    same deal, favorites change according to mood, but there are overall few mainstays:

    Indiana Jones & The Fate of Atlantis.

    It’s a childhood favorite I return to every now and then. It’s a point&click adventure, and to me it’s essentially the 4th (and last) Indiana Jones movie. :D

    Apart from one or two bad bits the game pulls, it’s otherwise pretty logical from start to finish. 3 different paths from mid to late game, and mostly good voice acting (for the time). I know the game by heart at this point, but still it feels fun to play, every time. Nostalgia-goggles probably play a big part.

    kinda spoilery descriptions of said bad bits
    • there’s a “puzzle” where you need to go back and forth trading items between 2 characters, until eventually some hint from the recipient drops. Not hard, just… tedious.
    • the hot air balloon controls are bad. Not impossible to use, but just imprecise for no real gameplay reason.
    • if you didn’t LOOK at one specific Atlantean cupboard’s door, you have no clue how to solve a later puzzle. Though, you can return to the cupboard, but nothing hints there being instructions for the later puzzle on it.

    Cyberpunk 2077

    I know it’s a divisive game, don’t care, works for me. The bleak vibes of the game just speak to me. Have played it through several times since launch, occasionally still find new things here and there. Not the deepest rpg around, but a good action-rpg with neonlights.

    Unnamed Space Idle

    I’ve been on this idle/timewaster for way over a year, slow progress raising the numbers all the time. Sure it’s a bit low on gameplay, but absolutely neat little game to occasionally click few times when watching some longform content or so.

  • Dr. Moose@lemmy.worldEnglish
    6·
    17 days ago

    World of Warcraft!

    I know people like to look down on it here but it’s trully an amazing theme park metaverse experience.

    I don’t have much time for it these days but just playing couple of hours every week is such a joyful experience. There’s just so much to do in the game, great writing, legendary characters, great people playing it. True metaverse experience everyone has been chasing lately.