Doesn't matter if you think the game is mediocre or just good now. What games, when you first played them, made you feel the most awestuck or absorbed or just plain blown away when you played them?
That feeling/feel is why we play games. Almost chasing that high again. Will we ever experience anything like it in the future? Maybe. I hope so.
For me, Ocarina of Time on the N64 was the game that made me think 'I cannot believe what I am experiencing right now'. I was 14 when it came out (yeah, 31 now was just 13 when that game came out) and played it at release. The game is still great on subsequent playthroughs, but the first time? Damn. It was magical. My first game, and I have played many, was TMNT on the NES, so I wasn't starved of games growing up. In fact, I fucking loved Super Mario world on the gameboy, which I got aged 5, but I didn't have the mental faculties at the time to be blown away like with OOT.
The reason I have hope I could experience this again is that the only other game that captured the sense of 'I am legitimately in a magically world right now' was Demon's Souls. While I now view it as inferior to Dark souls, the sheer overwhelming feeling of immersion I got when playing that game. I was 24 when I first played that game.
Admittedly when I was 24 I still had not had my soul crushed into dust by the corporate machine, but I am hopeful that I will taste greatness again.
What games are coming out that you think might revisit that sense of Christmas day wonder? What games do you feel represent the ones that made you most ecstatic?
the only game I'm excited for is La-Mulana 2. Everything else can go hang.
Adrian Hill
Pathologic Classic HD. Its perhaps the most artistic game i have played. It had plot twists that just stunned me. It also birthed some philosophies that have changed my perspective on the world. Its also very challenging, which really dragged me into this zen-focus.
I also liked the KOTORs. I have distinct memories of playing them with siblings/cousins. It wasnt exactly this revolutionary euphoric feeling, but it was still memorable.
Bump, ive been looking for a thread of this caliber
Thomas Rivera
ITT: Halo. Man that's a deep game. So deep. I played it when I was 9. I was like whoa.
Connor Gutierrez
Played the original Deus Ex a few years ago for the first time, expected a pretty enjoyable game but dated as fuck
I was so into it that I got scared, midway i realized no modern games I`ve played ever came closed to it
Also MGS3, the world kojima makes is so weird and alluring, plus the looks and gameplay were leagues above what I was used to
Grayson Clark
Majora's Mask. It was like OoT but with better graffix and sound design. The world was immersive with a cool artstyle and theme to it, the time mechanics were neat, and overall it just really surprised me at what could be done. Watching the world and the citizens evolve and go on their way over the course of three days was magical, and yet changing things with newfound powers made it feel like you were really changing something, not just completing a quest for a reward. The gameplay was fast and fluid thanks to that little RAM expansion I had to buy THANKS NINTENDO. OoT was cool but it was ultimately just a 2D Zelda made 3D. MM was artsy and different, it had a unique atmosphere I rarely see matched.
My second mind blowing game was probably Deus Ex. Not the most technologically impressive title but there was a lot of effort put into content you wouldn't necessarily see most of. People still play it and find all sorts of secret rooms and hidden crap they missed last playthrough, a lot of effort was put into rewarding exploration and thinking outside the box.
My third and probably last mind blowing game was Drakengard. It was just a thrill. A terrible game no doubt, but in its terribleness there was a certain special joy to be found, even after I had reached that jaded point where I thought I couldn't enjoy games anymore. It's a beautiful game, it feels like every little element came together in just the right way to toy with the player.
Hunter Miller
Played Thief 1 maybe 5 years back and some levels scared me shitless. It really showed me how fucking poor most modern horror games are and it isn't even supposed to be a horror game.
Jeremiah Campbell
Half life 1 was probably the first fps I've played, at least on my own PC at home in 2003/04. I didn't speak English yet, so I only understood that I was a scientist and some experiment went wrong that opened a portal between earth and xen. Amazing game.
Blake Parker
Play The Void if you want to lose your fear of death and the unknown
