If you could only re-experience from new one game (like total immersion, wide-eyed wonder-at-the-majesty-of-it-all re-experience) and had yet to pick a console (Xbox versus PlayStation), what game on which console and why? (and feel free to remark on ideal controllers, add-ons, etc.)
I was hoping Starfield might be that kind of galvanizing experience, but the reviews are pretty underwhelming. So now casting about for the real deal.
Chrono Trigger on the SNES.
My mind went straight to this at well instinctively. If I had to pick an alternate it would be Final Fantasy 6. The twist for me half way was so unexpected I was blown away.
Easy game choice for me, Outer Wilds. I’ve regularly said that I wish I could go back in time and experience it again. I am a PS5 fan personally, Xbox has too much overlap with PC gaming.
There are some games that truly cannot be re-experienced. Once you know what happens in The Outer Wilds, it never hits the same on a replay. Anyone reading this who doesn’t know exactly what I’m talking about needs to play the game before someone spoils it
Definitely Outer Wilds for me too and it isn’t close. Such a great experience.
Super Metroid on the SNES. Still my favorite game to this day
Fuck yea, I was just thinking the same thing.
Another World on the Megadrive 2
or
ICO on the PS2although neither ever really lose that wonder on replay but there is something intangible about where you are in life when they find you
Shadow of the Colossus on PS2. Nothing like it.
And The Last Last Guardian on the ps4.
Never played it! I heard folks say it was a bit disappointing. You liked it?
I loved it. If you played (and liked) ico and sotc, then it’s definitely worth it. The few complaints I’ve heard (usually revolving around the movement/controls) aren’t really much of an issue if you played the previous 2.
At its heart, Last Guardian is an environmental puzzle game,more in the vain of something like Portal or qube. As in the previous 2 games, there’s only minimal dialog and the story unfolds in a very show-not-tell kind of way.
And, for me, that’s one of the things that really made this one stand out. It says so much without actually saying a word that you can’t help but admire the world building and the way the story is told through the level design, architecture, and interaction between you, trico, and the world around you that it’s one of those games where stopping just to check things out is a rewarding experience unto itself.
It’s not that long, maybe 6-8 hours and well worth the time. The graphics, sound and everything else still hold up quite well and, for me, the gameplay loop of “enter an area, figure out the puzzle, move forward” is a good one.
So yeah, definitely worth checking out!
Awesome. Thank you!
I’m gonna go with a more out there option and go with The Return of the Obra Dinn on the PC. Easily the best game I will never play again. The mystery and presentation were everything.
This is easily my pick.
Hell, if I could just re-live the moment just after the tutorial section when you look up and see what is happening during the storm, that would be enough.
I would like to play a finished dark souls 1 (like the team imagined) with dualsense 5 controller support.
When a weapon hits your shield the trigger pushes your finger up. Or the to raise a shield or swing a weapon the triggers are hard to press initially but get easier on the way, to mimic velocity.
That would be my dream. Of course with ps5 graphics.
This one is sorta cheating, but Xbox360 and Final Fantasy XI. Haven’t been sucked into a game and its world as deeply since I took that plunge.
There’s an extremely popular private server called HorizonXI that is the game as it was in '04. The community is amazing and it’s always easy to find a party. If you have the time to spare, I definitely recommend it.
I actually bought a PS1 and dance pads strictly for playing DDR.
I inherited a PS2 and tore some SSX up, probably 10 years after release. May never get that soundtrack out of my mind.
I drive to another state just to find an arcade with a DDR machine nowadays, this is a good call.
Yes, so rare now, I just ordered a connector id lost so I can play ddr on my old PS2 again.
Phantasy Star Online: Episode 1 & 2 for GameCube. Its not exactly what you asked for, but its the ultimate game for me.
You are correct. I really want someone to convince me to go out and buy a console and game today but I thank you for your reply and if I come into a game cube, “Phantasy Star Online Episode 1&2” will be at the top of my list! Was the game that special or was it more of a beautiful time-in-the-life kind of impression?
The game was that special, I mean it originally released for DreamCast and it had online play! Its a special kind of RPG that actually defined what Phantasy Star would become in the coming decades.
The novelty of being one of the first online, somewhat massively multi-player persistent rpg, was very special for 2000-2001, at least for the minimum wage earning, console-only teen that I was.
Did you play it online, and was the community active in GameCube? (Was it cross platform with dreamcast?)
I played the shit out of pso episode1 on DC, but sisnt have access to a credit cards, or funds for that matter, for episode 2.
I didn’t get to sadly. It was actually before my time and I had a friend get me into it around 2010 in high school.
I don’t think it was cross platform, as each console version was a different version of the game. The GameCube version differed greatly in some aspects from the DreamCast version. There are online servers for the PC version (Blue Burst) still in existence today. That version had all the content of the previous iterations with an extra last boss fight and level.
Morrowind, full VR headset, extra cliff racers, game drugs feel like real drugs.
Well I’ll never accidentally use moonsugar again.
SNES. Chrono Trigger. If you’ve played it you know just how impactful it is. Music, story, graphics. It is a perfect game. I bought a physical cartridge a few years ago—even after having beaten it dozens of times—because the game means so much to me.
Easily San Andreas on the PS2. I still go back and play this game at least once a year
Just follow that damn train, CJ!
8 year-old me was stuck on that mission for ages, among many others. Nowadays I can reliably jump the bike up on top of the train and get it done before the end of the first tunnel
Removing the console limitation, I’d go for Half-life on a Nvidia TNT 2 and CRT monitor.
Now, if it has to be console, then Persona 3 FES on the ps2.
Ah yes, celebrating the turn o’ the century with cutting edge gameplay on state of the art equipment. The future was bright!
Morrowind GOTY on the OG Xbox.
Just remember to keep you stamina bar above 50% or it will be unpleasant.
I was going to say Halo: CE on the OG Xbox, but I think Morrowind is the better choice.
Honorable mention: JetSet Radio Future on the same console, that game rocked.
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice on the Xbox One. Playing that with stereo headphones was a trip and a half, and it’s an experience that simply isn’t the same a second time through.
I still think Fenrir is the coolest damn boss ever, and the “in your sword still beats a heart” poem is my favorite piece of audio from any game
