For me, in no particular order:
- Firewatch
- This War of Mine
- What Remains of Edith Finch
- Gone Home
- Papers Please
- Doki Doki Literature Club
- I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream
A game that’s not mentioned here yet: Outer Wilds.
You know how your high school English teacher tries to get through your brain about what “sublime” means and why the Romantic Era writers cared about it so much? The meaning of the word never really clicked for me until I played this game. It is pure, distilled sublime. It presents nature as this simultaneously jaw-droppingly beautiful and existentially scary entity that I’ve never seen any other game come close to replicating. For anyone who hasn’t played it yet, I heavily recommend it.
Note: don’t confuse Outer Wilds with Outer Worlds. They sound similar, but they could not be farther apart
Yeah what an unbelievable game. The music really hit the feels button for some reason. I still need to play the DLC!
I highly recommend the DLC! The best thing I can say about it is that it’s more Outer Wilds, with the same level of world-building, puzzle-solving, and emotional impact.
Shadow of the Colossus
Shadow of the colossus has to be up there as one of the most memorable video game experiences I’ve had. Jaw dropping and thought provoking at the same time. I’m not sure what kind of wizardry and blood magic was involved in making this game run on playstation 2.
- Plague Tale Requiem
- The Walking Dead
- Heavy Rain
- Gerda: A Flame in Winter
- As Dusk Falls
- Disco Elysium
Oh shit I forgot about heavy rain.
That game was a trip.
The original Life is Strange was it for me back when I first played it. I have to admit, I was feeling a bit down at the time, so the soundtrack, the atmosphere, and the emotions in the game really resonated with me. I’m actually a bit hesitant to play it again because I don’t want to lose the special memories from my first time through the game.
I don’t think I’ve ever emotionally connected with a game more than Disco Elysium. It had a profound effect on me, that game can truly do sadness
Oh man… I don’t know why this wasn’t the first thing I thought of when ever since I played it earlier this year, I have had the phrase “I don’t want to be this kind of animal anymore” stuck in my head. I think that daily.
Haven’t seen Before Your Eyes mentioned yet. It’s not a long game, but it’s got a good story reliving the main character’s life through their eyes. Also, you control it by blinking! As soon as you blink, there will be a time skip.
Same! Loved Before Your Eyes. It was short and not necessarily replayable many times, but very emotional and unique. I’d love to find other unique games like this, where the main game/mechanic is new or different in some way like the blinking control was, but not sure how to find them!
