Which games blow your mind, but only if you know nothing about them in advance?

Best examples I can think of are:

  • Outer Wilds
  • Doki Doki Literature Club
  • The Stanley Parable

What are yours?

(please no spoilers)

  • missingno@fedia.io
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    50
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    14 days ago

    Undertale, but at this point you’d have to have lived in a cave for the last decade to not know most of the spoilers by now.

    • superkret@feddit.orgOP
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      30
      ·
      14 days ago

      Well, apparently I have!
      The only thing I’ve heard about Undertale so far is that it is supposed to be good.

      • ZeroTwo@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        13
        ·
        14 days ago

        That’s all Ive heard too. I tried playing it but the combat was weird. Kinda boring to me so I never advanced further.

        • WarlordSdocy@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          14 days ago

          It gets good by the end but yeah if you don’t mesh with it early on it can be hard to get into and want to finish it.

          • Hugin@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            3
            ·
            14 days ago

            Yeah that happened to me. Never finished it and wonder why it’s so loved.

            • WarlordSdocy@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              14 days ago

              Yeah I almost had that happen with me but I think I ended up watching someone play it. Still kind of regret it but at the same time probably wouldn’t have finished it on my own otherwise and I atleast have Deltarune to look forward to now.

        • ABCDE@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          14 days ago

          Yeah I didn’t really get it. I did play Everhood though and that was much better.

      • HexesofVexes@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        13 days ago

        It’s good in a way that isn’t really expected - the only thing I can say without spoiling is it did something really different with things that had been there a long time.

    • Glide@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      18
      ·
      14 days ago

      Undertale is such a bolt of lightning. It both depends on its player having experience with traditional JRPG and having no fucking clue what it is. But when the conditions line up, as it did for many people at release, it was such a master fully crafted experience. But even the slightest amount of “it’s good because…” really siphons part of the experience away.

    • Black616Angel@discuss.tchncs.de
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      6
      ·
      14 days ago

      Tbh, I played it for a few hours, didn’t like it and don’t understand all the fuss about it. Does it get good later?

      I was at a point, where I was going through a cave with a castle in the background (it was a few years ago), it was probably some kind of riddle, but I couldn’t be bothered.
      Is it worth going forward or did I see enough to just say “it’s not my kind of game”?

      • PugJesus@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        13 days ago

        I’m gonna be the heretic here, it’s actually really terrible. If you don’t like Homestuck and that brand of humor, you won’t like Undertale.

    • Hadriscus@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      14 days ago

      I have heard the name but don’t know what it’s about, I’ll look into it. Thanks !

      • Kelly@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        14 days ago

        I’ll look into it.

        No, don’t!

        Or at least don’t do anymore than choose your preferred platform and then buy it. Its available on Windows, Linux, Mac, PS, Xbox and Switch but not on Android or iOS.

        Its a couple of bucks on steam at the moment, included in PSN if you do that, or full price everywhere else.

        • Hadriscus@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          14 days ago

          hop just got it. Thanks for the recommendation. Let’s see what this is all about 😁

    • SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.org
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      14 days ago

      Guess I live in a cave then. I have even had the game on steam for ages now. The graphics are just too much of a turn off for me to ever play it.

  • starman2112@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    36
    ·
    edit-2
    14 days ago

    You should go into Nier: Automata thinking it’s a game about a hot chick fighting a bunch of robots. The only spoiler you should know is that the end isn’t the end, and you need to play it again.

    You should go into Spec Ops: the Line thinking it’s a game about a cool special forces team fighting a bunch of terrorists or something. The only spoiler you should know is that it’s supposed to feel like a generic third person shooter.

    • SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.org
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      8
      arrow-down
      3
      ·
      edit-2
      14 days ago

      Haha I stopped playing Nier Automata after finishing it once. Yeah, yeah I heard it’s not the end, but the gameplay really isn’t good enough to go through it again. Right now I’d give it a 7/10, but if you force me to do it all again I am going down to 3/10. I think it feels incredibly cheap to do this gimmick.

      • iheartneopets@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        14 days ago

        For you, a little extra spoiler: the next ending also isn’t the end, there’s a lot more. I will admit that playing the second run is a big grindy at first, but it quickly differentiates itself from your first run by the time you get to the first boss. Also, in the second run, the side quests are crucial.

        An extra-extra spoiler: there’s a lot to dig your teeth into, philosophically, that makes the whole rigmarole worth it.

        • starman2112@sh.itjust.works
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          3
          ·
          13 days ago

          An extra-extra spoiler: there’s a lot to dig your teeth into, philosophically, that makes the whole rigmarole worth it.

          That’s a strong point for me, and the main reason I liked it as much as I did. Same reason I loved The Talos Principle, despite having to look up guides for the majority of the puzzles.

          • iheartneopets@lemm.ee
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            3
            ·
            13 days ago

            Ooh, yeah, Talos Principle! Perfect rec for someone who loved Nier and Portal. I haven’t played the sequel yet, but really really enjoyed the first game. I agree about some of the puzzles, though.

    • 2ugly2live@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      14 days ago

      I love Nier! I’m thought the second play through would be a slog, but they kept it really interesting imo. And starting it up for a third time was wild. Even starting that game is part of the game mechanic, it’s so neat!

      • PM_Your_Nudes_Please@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        13 days ago

        I would have to disagree about the second playthrough; I found it to be a very large slog. The third and subsequent playthroughs were amazing though.

    • msage@programming.dev
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      14 days ago

      I bought it expecting like a Devil May Cry or maybe Souls… then the game started and I noped the hell out. It’s weird and I did not like it at all.

      • starman2112@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        13 days ago

        If I remember right, the first couple minutes is like a top-down shoot-em-up, but it transitions into that Devil May Cry style pretty quickly

        • msage@programming.dev
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          13 days ago

          Not really, the out-of-combat movement was almost strictly 2D? And the first real fight did not teach me the controls in any way, I had no idea what was going on.

          • PM_Your_Nudes_Please@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            13 days ago

            It’s a game that relies on shifting the gameplay mechanics based on where you are and what you’re doing. There are certainly 2.5D and top-down sections, but it’s a small part of the game overall.

  • darthelmet@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    32
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    14 days ago

    Tunic.

    The one thing I think is worth “spoiling” just to save you some pain:

    Tap for spoiler

    If you find a room with a bunch of curtains and bells, it is NOT A PUZZLE!

    I also second Outer Wilds.

    • rooster_butt@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      12 days ago

      I just finished playing tunic (good ending). A friend and I were playing it at the same time. If I didn’t have that friendly competition I would have dropped it so many times. There is way too much manual work in this game that you often times aren’t playing a video game anymore.

      At the end of it all I didn’t feel a sense of accomplishment just relief that I’m done with the game. Only to find out after doing the secret puzzle is just more meta puzzles outside the game.

      Outer Wilds on the other hand is fantastic and not having to use a pencil and paper to advance in the game is A+.

  • lemmylommy@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    32
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    14 days ago

    Journey. You can get it on PlayStation, iOS, steam (on sale for $5 atm) and epic. It is 2-3 hours short and not very challenging, but it does look absolutely stunning and has a very beautiful gameplay mechanic that you better find out for yourself. IMO it is one of the best games of all time and one that really demonstrates what the medium is capable of.

    • SHOW_ME_YOUR_ASSHOLE@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      14 days ago

      I wish someone had told me what Journey was about so I could have avoided it. I went in blind and didn’t enjoy it at all. It was a cool concept but it wasn’t for me.

      • Rai@lemmy.dbzer0.com
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        12 days ago

        I fucking loved it and cried.

        Tap for spoiler

        The person I matched up with was a 10/10. I went in blind but I knew it would match me with someone. I found them right away and they stayed with me the whole game. My partner got a person who dropped out, then restarted. Got another person… speedrunner. Tried once more and got someone who dropped out after an hour. Got another person they finished with, super frustrated. They did not have my experience.

    • Juvyn00b@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      14 days ago

      Thank you for this. Just recently picked up and played through twice Gris and Neva. Even though they’re short as well I really find myself loving the visuals, gameplay and the atmosphere created by these games.

      • Buddahriffic@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        12 days ago

        A moment? I had a few during my first playthrough. PD, RL, W, T, DL. And many moments of forgetting to keep an eye on that oxygen meter lol.

    • Lenny@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      13 days ago

      Absolutely this. I am jealous each time I recommend it to someone who hasn’t played it yet.

      • SidewaysHighways@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        13 days ago

        I’m glad there was a thread about Subnautica in here.

        absolutely stunning, especially if one has any kind of decent audio system