5d ago

Anon loves The Lord of the Rings

290 comments

Puzzle Pirates, frankly. Made by people who knew what they were doing, were extremely talented, independent, although eventually tried to hook onto Sega as publisher, almost killed the game and then re-purchased the game from Sega to continue as "re-indie" devs. Still going to this day with a stable player base of a few hundred. The game itself is very clearly hand-crafted and every one of the (few) developers left their mark on it. Feels completed and polished.

A videogame that was made with complete love and devotion to the medium, made with talent and sincerity, and is a pinnacle of everything it stands, something that will stand the test of time...
And nobody mentioned Stardew Valley? I spent too long looking for it and didn't find a single mention of it. Absolute mastery of its genre, an incredible amount of dedication spent by the developer listening to the fans, and I can't imagine it not still holding up 10 years from now, or even 20 years from now.
Baldur's Gate 3 is great, I love it, but there were so many performance issues with the game even with top tier hardware, and the game was borderline unplayable for others due to these issues. I have a little bias since my save didn't sync across devices with the steam cloud and I have to start all over. Love the game, but I just can't believe Stardew Valley isn't even mentioned.
- Terraria I feel would be closer as stardew valley is a one man job. Terraria grew as a vision that hasn't really strayed beyond, but every update instead chisels the stone more. It is a game that took castlevania/mario inspirations and honed it into a perfect conception of 2d sidescrollers but with a liberty. (Akin to stardew being the first real open farming sim)
  Redigit did amazing on the original SMBX fangame. Basically took the concept, and removed constraints. You can see the differences in development ethos as new people came on and really created a diverse game. It is so groundbreaking in their conformity that most can only compare to Minecraft, something essentially extradimensional to terraria.
  Imagine being so baller you get compared to a game that puts you in control of shaping the world around you. When terraria is a game that predominantly shapes you around the world. Eventually even adding lore to these shapes it forms out of you.
  Are you the summoner? The fisher? The knight? The archer? The farmer?
  You will be all at some point in your journey of improvement. You will don every hat and for it you will be able to reflect back on your next life and proceed with new knowledge. The Belmont's curse is never over, and this is our only solace.
- I kinda feel like Stardew is incomplete, I want to know more about the world, the lore. I also wish that I could have more time in a day to complete what I set out to do.
  
  Not every game needs an endless depth of lore that only those without jobs or have other things that fill up their days can dive into. Stardew Valley is a farming simulator, it doesn't need hundreds or thousands of years of history for you to study up on, and thank the dieties it doesn't. It meets the prompt provided in the original post.
  Not bagging on people who enjoy deep lore in games, you do you, but I only get about 1-3 hours a week to play so that shit is not for me anymore. I need a game I can very easily pick up, get some shit done, and be okay putting it back down again before not too much time is up.
  
  You might be interested to know that concernedape's new game haunted chocolatier will be set in the same world.

Cold Waters if you're hankering for some hot sub on sub action.

The first Halo trilogy takes the cake for me
- YESS

Mass Effect. I know some will disagree, the third game has a lot of glaring issues, and EA really fucked up the ending, but as far as a fully fleshed out story and universe with a multitude of unique and independently structured species, characters, and cultures I think it’s one of the best. The writing and possible story outcomes and decisions that vastly and permanently affect the story from the first to the third game are insane.
- We don't talk about Andromeda anymore... (And such a fucking lost chance at continuing the franchise) I agree. At the time of release, it sucked all your choices where concentrated to three at most. Actually it still sucks. Buy the whole experience from 1 to 3.... It takes space in my mind you know. Its the peak of escapism for me. 3 should have been a lesson to learn from going forward with the franchise... But EA mauled all of it... The worst part is, with such strong connection to the world, lore and characters you can't just make a "spiritual successor". The same formula wouldn't work without preexisting lore.
  
  I agree, it’s all or nothing with Mass Effect, you have to play all three games, especially with the third one because that game is trash if you haven’t imported a save from the previous games, it simply does not stand on it’s own like 2 does. Andromeda had a lot of amazing gameplay mechanics that I felt were a big upgrade from the Shepard saga, but every other aspect of that game was just so awful that I can’t even think of it as canon to the original series. They could have done some cool shit with it, but instead we just got a castrated rip off version of the original trilogy story, but with less species and absolutely no consequences for your decisions, and crew interactions were utter bullshit, everything lead to the exact same thing. Fuck EA. The online co-op stuff was pretty dope, though.

Neither of these are popular enough to be on the scale of LoTR, but in terms of atmosphere and detail:
Hollow Knight - my absolute favorite thing about it is each NPC has its own voiced language recorded, babbling in the background as you read the dialogue.
Subnautica (the first one) - shitting myself with each new experience is something I'll always cherish. Highly recommend just playing without looking into the gameplay or plot. Has elements of exploring, resource gathering, base building, psychological horror (not graphic, just tense scenarios), sneaking.

Outer Wilds is this game.

Enderal 🥰
- Good one! My favorite single player RPG for sure

Surprised no-one pitched Elite:Dangerous. Certainly a labour of love to begin with, incredibly talented sound design, first space sim to VR, truly devoted to the original material... Still going pretty strong (had a few weak years) with updates (only 2 DLC-ish major updates of which were paid) a decade later...

Lost Odyssey. I haven't played Clair Obscur yet, so I one know how it compares, but for me Lost Odyssey is the pinnacle of turn based RPGs.

Baldur's Gate 3
- A lot of folks are listing their favorite games but this is the one that truly fits.
  Unusually long development time by a studio known for DnD-simmiliar RPG games getting the next installation for the series that defined the genre.
  Cast voice actors for several years, ones that are still playing their characters on a variety of platforms.
  Just chock filled references to DnD lore, cute in-jokes, and faithful updates on old characters.
  Everyone involved clearly loved it!
  
  It got people not previously interested in DND to actually enjoy DND.
  
  Also, as a literal interpretation, it occurs over 3 arcs.
  
  Unusually long development time
  No joke, I installed the open-beta/pre-release years ago, played for a bit, and uninstalled it. When the actual release dropped, I had the most intense déjà vu about it all because I forgot that had even happened. I had to go back to my Steam library to puzzle it all back together.
  
  Part of the reason development took so long was due to them using early release for the right reasons. They listened to the player base and changed the game based on feedback from the fans
  
  The real question is what is Larian’s equivalent to Peter Jackson’s “Meet the Feebles”?

As far as labors of love go, Stardew Valley is probably the most current example. People paid for this thing years ago, but Concerned Ape keeps adding new features anyway. The retro graphics give this thing a timeless quality out of the box, so it already looks "dated" - this hasn't stopped the robust player community around it. We'll probably see this game stay relevant for a long time.
- And that's before you start talking about modding the game.
  The amount of mods for this game is insane. From simple QoL stuff through to full expansions.
  No replay of the game ever has to be the same.
  
  Do people ever do total conversion modifications anymore? Are there any Stardew Valley mods that turn it into something totally different?

Baldurs Gate 3.

Dwarf Fortress.
- Objectively correct answer.
- Strike the earth!

World of Warcraft, at least for the first 3 expansions. I think the people that made it back then were utterly devoted to the story and gameplay, as were the players. I'll remember playing that until I die, so many memories.
Downvote away.
- 3.3.5a for life

Ocarina of Time. I'm biased because of nostalgia, but I genuinely think it's the best game ever created. It took everything that was great about the SNES classic A Link To the Past, brought it into 3D as an early N64 game, and improved literally everything. The atmosphere, the gameplay, the story, the time mechanic, the music... It's not perfect, in fact these days it's trivial to break many things in it with glitches, but I think it's absolutely the best.

Clair obscur

Half life and half life 2

Terraria! That game is great and aged like fine wine
- Came to say Terraria.
  Played it in 2017.
  Then tried to play it in 2022 and was blown away with what was added.

Minecraft
- Minecraft before the Microsoft acquisition.
  
  I don't really know Minecraft before the acquisition. Is it really that much different?
  
  Microsoft has continued improving the Java Minecraft. I can't see a reason to complain.

Planescape: Torment does it for me.
More lines of dialogue than all of Shakespear's works? Sign me up for that kinda RPG, lol.
Though these days some good voice actors can do a lot, looking at BG3 here, at least the voice casting.

FALLOUT NEW VEGAS! (Side note) Oh boy, a new list of games to play as I scroll through these comments.
- Came here to say this, that game is a masterpiece. By far one of my favorite games.

Undertale and Deltarune.
Dwarf Fortress.
Ultima 1-7 and 8 partially.

The Stick of Truth, obviously.
Semi-jokes aside, I am a bit sad that not a single person mentioned the first four Silent Hill games. The sheer influence that series had on video games as a whole, especially in the horror genre cannot be overstated. But I guess it is tricky with games because everyone has different tastes and interests. It is rare that games unite people the way lord of the rings did. Gaming is at once so broad and so niche.

Hades
- Every Supergiant game TBH
  
  I need to replay Bastion. One of my all-time favorites, for sure.

☼Dwarf Fortress☼
- !!FUN!!
- Had to scroll too far for this. It's the best equivalent of this for me.
- Deep Rock Galactic
  ROCK AND STONE! oT
  
  WE'RE RICH!
  
  FOR KARL!

Prumbably the Morrowind game
- omg yes i love skyrim games
  
  Me too they are like mindcraft so exciting

Half-life.
- Yeah this is it for me. Half Life was such a technical marvel and a step change in story telling through gaming.

Completely different genre but the Stabley Parable checks all of these.
100 years in the future and it will be just as perfect.

Without a doubt the Witcher games, and Baldur's Gate 3. Probably Dragon Age too, but I haven't played those.
- Just a side note I wouldn't necessarily put Witcher 1 on the same pedestal as witcher 2 and 3. You could enjoy it, thematically and story wise it's spot on Witcher, but it's pretty klunky mechanically speaking and really shows its age. 2 and 3 are Fantastic in every way though. I hear they're potentially remaking 1 and I'm all for it if it's in a style similar to 2 or 3.
  
  I am very much looking forward to that remake.
  
  Nah, Witcher 2's combat was an improvement, but still bad enough I know multiple people who gave up due to seemingly impossible fights.

Factorio

There are too many to mention.
MechWarrior 2
Dragon Age: Origins
Daggerfall
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Baldur’s Gate 3
The Longest Journey
Dark Souls
Civilization 2 & 4
Alpha Centauri
The Outer Wilds
Fallout 1 & 2
Alien: Isolation
Super Mario Bros. 3
Death Stranding
Doom (1993)
Phasmophobia
Psychonauts
X-Com: UFO Defense
The Witcher 1 & 3
Disco Elysium
- I like your taste. These are some bangers lol.
  If you haven't, you should play Armored Core 6. It's a FROM game, and it feels like one, in all the best ways.
  But it's also a mech game, and it feels like one, in all the best ways! Every button assaults your enemy, every motion feels fluid, fast, effortless - or huge, heavy, clunky - your mech is your mech, and many thoughtful builds can become OP. The customization is bananas. And yet - some fights will remain challenging.
  With all sincerity, easy 10/10 game for me, I proceeded from NG -> NG+ -> NG++ directly, which is a first for me and I'm an oldish dude. AND I felt thoroughly rewarded by the end of NG++. It's a literal perfect game, just unreasonably fun and well-crafted.
  
  I’m going to have to try that game. I played a bunch of the original but I think nothing in between.
- The first xcom game is still the best one. More units equals more fun
- Death stranding is awesome
- Half Life?
- Thanks for mentioning Alien: Isolation! It’s my favorite game. After many years, I’m finally attempting a silent Nightmare low% run! I’m almost done with M16. Cheers!
- Not Witcher 2?
  
  Definitely not 2. Not for lacking of passion, though. They just didn’t pull it off.

I would have to go with the Panzer Dragoon trilogy on the Sega Saturn.
While the first title was, at its basics, a fairly simple on rails shooter it was more than the sum of its parts.
It had incredible art direction, a sweeping musical score, innovative world building and rock solid gameplay.
The second title built up on the first installment in every way to solidify it as one of the best titles of that generation.
Then came Panzer Dragoon Saga which evolved the series into a full blown JRPG that is still so unique and unlike anything else out there.
Team Andromeda's passion, dedication and innovation ensured each game was a new benchmark for Segas black box.
What I wouldn't do for a new installment by the original team.

Terraria, amazing game that is still supported to this day, best 5€ I've spend on a game.

Age of Empires 2, despite being Microsoft owned, is easily one of the best strategy games of all time and has very clearly stood the test of time. It's over 25 years old and people kept playing it a lot even before the HD remakes. I remember reading that the folks that made the 1st game often had to choose between "actual history or hollywood history" for some details, often going for hollywood because it made for a more fun experience.
I suspect Factorio might stand the test of time as well, and it's clearly something made by someone who really understands the medium. I haven't begun my factory yet.
- Factorio is crack, the space age expansion also is great.
- The factory must grow.

It's weird that Deus Ex isn't in this thread yet. Such a well made game with quite a few prophetic moments.
- The original, not human revolution...
  
  Yeah ofc

The Yakuza series I guess? Granted I've only played zero, kiwami and kiwami 2, but it all seems to be completely sincere in its craziness. It doesn't appear to pretend to be anything more than it is.

Super Metroid
- I'll see that and raise a Metroid Prime

Java modded Minecraft.
- Thaumcraft, my love 😍

I'd argue there isn't one. Not on the scale of LotR. It cannot be overstated how unlikely it was that it happened the way it did.
- World of Warcraft was a LOTR moment for me, thousands of hours of different content in a fantastic world. The extensions killed it ofc.
- The Witcher universe is nearly an identical type of Norse style fantasy, with elves, dwarves, and giants, and 3 is a long epic quest across 3 huge regions. One of my first thoughts when I first played was that it feels like LOTR meets Game of Thrones.

It's not a trilogy, but I gotta preach the good word of Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights. If you enjoy 2D metroidvania style games it's top notch.
The game just drips in atmosphere. The environments are beautifully drawn and designed, characters and enemies are animated well and the music just wraps everything up in a nice bow. It's a melancholy game and it literally made me cry at points and I'm not the type to tear up often when playing games.
The game can be challenging at times, but I wouldn't say significantly so. I would say Hollow Knight is more challenging than this game especially with some of the end game content that that game has.
The game is worth full price, but it goes on sale pretty regularly and probably is right now with the summer sale on Steam.
There's also a sequel out now called Ender Magnolia. I haven't played it yet but I will eventually.

Terraria

Morrowind

Outer Wilds
Inscryption
Expedition 33
- Expedition 33
  Woah. Would you really put Expedition 33 in the same class as the other two? This is the highest indirect praise I've seen of the game.
  
  Yes. The story is gut-wrenching, the world is rich and engaging, the gameplay is interesting. If I had one complaint it’s that the rare platforming segments don’t quite work… but being a masterpiece isn’t about perfection, it’s about impact, and Clair Obscur hits like a hydrogen bomb.
  
  Really? I've seen Clair Obscura praised as a masterpiece.
  
  absolutely!
  it's of course a very different game from the other two but brilliant nonetheless
  i dislike turn based combat, i dislike jrpg, but Expedition 33? i adore. the world building, the story, the voice acting- are absolutely incredible. It's one of those lightnings in a bottle that suddenly appear out of seemingly nowhere
  
  I would too. It’s just really well crafted world building , story, and side content. There’s so much to do and all of it feels fun.
- man i tried so many times and couldn't get into outer wilds. it's so fucking boring to get started that when things start getting even remotely interesting I'm already checked out. the game's all "here's a bunch of threads, which one do you want to pull" and I'm like "I don't care"
  
  Outer Wilds is best started on rainy evenings around late summer, it took me a couple of tries to get into it as well, i bounced off at least 2 times. but the 3rd time it grabbed me and now it's my all time favourite game.
  basically, don't stress it :) it's a brilliant game and honestly after you finish it one day you'll long for the time when it was still ahead of you as you can only play it once for the first time

Morrowind ?

The best PC game OAT: Disco Elysium
- Which you should totally pirate, according to the devs themselves.
  
  I'm not sure but I think I heardthat they reconciled somehow?
- It's currently 90% off on steam btw
  
  as others said: pirate it or buy like the cheapest key off of https://gg.deals/
  The studio had an internal hostile takeover, kicked out most of the people who actually made the game and basically all of the lead ones and just kept the IP
  So the money goes to them

One Shot
Outer Wilds
Portal
- outer wilds my beloved <3 <3 >.<

A genuinely heart warming story that deals with strong themes of love and friendship in a way that made a genuine impact?
Undertale.
- Agree such a great game made me cry
- Positively nuclear take, but 100% valid

Chrono trigger
- The announcer at gay bingo knows someone that named their kid Chrono. :(
  
  I need to know what gay bingo is.
  
  That's sad. The characters name is Crono.

Half-Life/Half-Life 2
The original Fallout
The original Doom
Brutal Doom (the campaign)
Star Control 2 (The Ur'Quan Masters fan-made modernized version)
The Neverhood
Subnautica (not Below Zer0)
Duke Nukem 3D
Total Annihilation
Megaman (the first one)
Megaman X (the first one)
Team Fortress 2
Portal 2
This is by no means an all inclusive list. These are just games that I personally played that fit the criteria.
- You could have said the orange box and saved yourself a couple bullets.
- If only I could play subnautica for the first time again. Such an incredible atmosphere. Another one of my favorites is Hollow Knight.

Doom. The game that solidified a gaming genre and has become a benchmark for computers. 'Can you play doom on it?'
- A benchmark for computers? When it's been played on calculators and printers?
  
  Yes, those calculators and printers have now been benchmarked.

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