For me it’s first person puzzle games. I can think of maybe a dozen off the top of my head that came out in the last decade. I especially enjoy when they’re open world. The ability to just quit a puzzle that’s stumped you and go try something else for a little bit is incredibly refreshing.
Games that are made for the sake of making the game insread of being made to squeeze as much retention and money out of you as possible
Now thats a style that is becoming increasingly rare
I contend that there are more games out there now that are made for the sake of making them than ever before. It’s just that fewer and fewer of these games are AAA titles. The indy scene is really what are making these games nowadays.
That or modding. Modded Minecraft is done purely because someone wanted to have the functionality of magic wands or engineering or resource processing in their lego game. It’s completely unmonetized and gets extremely involved very fast. I fondly remember my nuclear reactor exploding and having to work around the irradiated zone. Good times.
the indie scene may be greater for that but is also filled with the same money making trite and on top of that constantly copying each other and barely doing anything new.
Just follow a YouTuber with similar tastes and play the indie games they play. AAA is creatively dead
Thank you but I trust youtubers opinions as much as a gaming “journalist” which is to say, not at all
- Willing to paint an entire swath of people with a broad, negative brush
- Unwilling to spend any effort finding media you might actually enjoy.
The problem might not be with the industry.
Youtubers are inheritor by the virtue of their existence just are a little to biased like the gaming magazines, I also find text much easier digestable than 2,5 minutes of invideo ads, sponsors selfplugs, like button smashing.or whatever else they want to subject me to
I spend far more effort trying to find gold than one really should have, there shouldnt be a need to spend so much time
Take a genuine hard look at this industry, an industry full with exploitation, lootboxes, micro and macrotransactions, the same 5 ideas ad naseum, where for every cuphead you have 10 slendermans, (thats just the tip of the iceberg)
you mean to tell me in THAT industry its ne with the problem? Cause thats a fair assassment and ill support whatever conclusion you may or may not draw
I have hundreds of games in my steam library with no in game purchases or lootboxes which I have enjoyed for between 50 and 2000 hours each. If you really have that much trouble finding games you can enjoy playing, then you need to change your habits.
I think it’s more that, in absence of a gaming social circle, games discovery in the indie scene is hard. So, the easiest way for a lot of us is to find a gaming content creator who played games we like and play whatever they’re playing.
There’s a YouTube streamer I’ve been following for over a decade and every single game he plays is a 5/5 for me. At least ½ of my gaming is just games from his channel. It’s super easy; I don’t even watch him on Twitch much, but I can scan his recent broadcasts for gaming suggestions, and watch him play for like 30 minutes to figure out if it’s for me.
Rhythm Games like Guitar Hero, Band Hero and DJ Hero. Those were fun.
You might be surprised to hear that Konami, famed for focusing casino machines, was actually mistranslated on also focusing on arcade machines. There’s still a whole rhythmgame scene, but unfortunately it’s mostly centered around Japan. That’s where DDR, beatmania, Gitadora (the series Guitar Hero/Rockband ripped off) are, including newer series like DanceRush and Maimai and whatnot. If you ever visit the higherscale independent arcades, you might find some unsanctioned imports with some even emulating the online functionality (with gacha, ofc…). Otherwise, your only hope in the states is Round1, which host official imports, and D&B which only has DDR.
To add on to the other commenter, check out Osu!, ADOFAI, Rhythm Doctor, Hifi Rush, and a whole bunch of apps if you don’t want arcades.
There are still plenty of them: DJMAX, Muse Dash, Spin Rhythm, Hatsune Miku Project Diva, Beatmania. Also there are tons of them on mobile.
Check out Clone Hero! I’m away from my computer, but there are archives that let you import all of the Rock Band and Guitar Hero songs. You can use/mod old controllers or even 3D print your own.
Simulation games, like the ones Maxis used to make (other than SimCity). SimEarth, SimAnt, SimTower, etc. Those were educational and fun.
I also once played a simulation game that realistically simulated running a shipping business where you shipped things by boat, sailing your fleet from port to port, dropping off your cargo and loading new cargo, giving the occasional bribe, etc. while avoiding bankruptcy. I think it was called “Port of Call.” It was made a long time ago, and I haven’t played anything quite like it since then.
Yes, I totally agree with this. I would play these games so much growing up. Especially SimLife.
I like sim games where you feel like you’re experimenting with a scenario, not just trying to get the highest score or some win condition.
SimAnt was awesome
3D Platformers. We get maybe one or two every few years, and most of them are usually pretty short. last big one was probably A Hat in Time. if y’all know more beyond that let me know. just grabbed Koa and the 5 Pirates of Mara.
so desperate for one i’m considering learning how to make 3D games so i can make my own lol
There definitely is a lack of actually good ones in the modern era. Poi and Grow Home are some good ones you may not have heard of.
I assume you’ve played or heard of Yooka-Laylee. There’s also Clive n Wrench. Neither of those are great though.
I haven’t heard of Koa before, but it looks interesting. I’ll have to check it out.
But I really want a new Banjo game, however I doubt that ever happens at this point. I recently started working on my own Banjo clone in the Godot game engine because I don’t see anyone making the kind of game I’m looking for.
Stealth games. The last one for me was MGS5, I loved it even with its shaky story line. Hitman is really nice but it feels more like a puzzle game if that makes sense.
I concur. Hitman can be a somewhat true stealth game but the design steers you away from “free form” stealth with its mission stories. I like the idea but the puzzles are too small, few short steps to the goal.
I hope for Metal Gear Delta to succeed, not only because I have a soft spot for MGS3 but also to revive the genre.
Have you played Mike Bithell’s Volume?
No I did not, thanks I’ll look into it!
Like Myst? I love those. Have you tried The Witness?
Yes the witness and the Talos principle are two of my favorites
If you haven’t heard, Croteam have announced The Talos Principle 2.
oh i’ve heard
Quern - Undying Thoughts tickled that genre for me. As did Haven Moon and The Eyes of Ara.
As an RTS player who only ever plays for the story and does not care about multiplayer at all, new RTS games with a decent story and gameplay are kind of thin on the ground these days.
I can’t even play C&C RA2 anymore because I can’t get it to run on my PC. Tried several guides, but it refuses to run properly.
I liked the point and click games when they were 2d hand drawn and not (3d) rendered. It seems to be a thing that has now been lost to time.
submachine?
Are those still playable? Loved those, great vibe!
mateusz has some on his website that you can buy for $25 in the form of the “complete collection.” He is also currently working on “submachine legacy” which combines all games into one and will be released on steam and I’m assuming will be paid.
https://www.mateuszskutnik.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3&products_id=63
Interesting! Not exactly what I would think of but this seems right up my alley. Thank you!
Sandbox MMORPGs, like Eve Online or Ultima Online. The vast majority of MMORPGs since at least WoW (potentially even before that with games like Dark Ages of Camelot, etc) have been Theme Park MMOs. Which are fun; I’ve played plenty and still do play them. But I think the sandbox is more fun. Certainly has more possibilites.
Oh yeah? I haven’t played UO since 2003/2004, and I’ve largely stayed away from the free shards. Just had boring experiences in the past. But I might give this a try. Idk why, but I’ve been itching to check it out again. thanks!
Yeah I basically did the same thing. Got the itch about 7 months ago. Managed to get my original UO account back (you can open a support ticket and they’ll ask for info regarding the original, it was pretty painless) and messed around on Atlantic, the only really populated server. It’s just meh. They added so many stats to weapons it’s overwhelming and most are garbage. It’s so obnoxious having to look over each item to see if it’s worth anything. Also the classic and enhanced clients suck pretty bad.
Outlands is definitely the most polished and unique free shard. Check out their wiki, it goes over skill changes and lists some templates for starting out. Their custom ClassicUO client is excellent and has Razor built in. The one thing that may turn you off is it’s mostly open PVP once you leave Shelter Island. There is a sanctuary dungeon that rotates each week that doesn’t allow murderers in but it has reduced XP and gold.
Party-based RPGs like Baldur’s Gate or Pillars of Eternity. I absolutely love this style of game, but it feels like there are precious few titles to choose from. Anyone know of any hidden gems?
Have you checked out Pathfinder Kingmaker and Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous? Those are relatively new.
Well, you’re in luck; they’re releasing Baldur’s Gate 3 in a few days ;P
It’s not hidden, but I thoroughly enjoyed divinity original sin II. If you don’t want turn based combat it might be worth checking out the Pathfinder games.
Tyranny, Kingmaker, Wrath of the Righteous, Tower of Time. Also anything by Spiderweb Software – my favorite is Geneforge
For me are mystery and clue games such as Myst and 7th Guest. The scenery and thought of adventure that these titles used to bring as very rare and although Goragoa was quite recent, it was far too short.
Oh man, I remember 7th Guest that game was so cool - a video game with live action cut scenes! That was the same genre as Rama (1996)
I wish there were more stealth games being released, especially AAA.
If you haven’t played Talos Principle, it might be up your alley as a first-person puzzle game. And a sequel is planned for later this year!
I love this thread, so many people are recommending games to each other. Nice to see.
My answer is games like Skyrim where it’s a sandbox but you can pick up different quests. I know there’s a proper name for them but it escapes me.
I know there’s GTA which is a similar type but I want a more twee fantasy vibe
Open world RPG? They are probably the most common single player AAA experience released these days. Bethesda does work in a bit of “immersive sim” qualities to their games though, which is often what makes them feel so sand-boxy.
I haven’t played a second strand type game
