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No problem, friend! I hope you enjoy yourself!
Due to being made by such a small team (Toby Fox made most of the game himself, to my knowledge), Undertale has a really unique creative vision. It’s definitely Earthbound-inspired, but there’s nothing like the music, art, and humor of Undertale. It’s a game for the ages for sure.
Spiritual successor/sequel, kinda, AFAIK. You would definitely get a lot more out of it if you played Undertale first. But, if the first two chapters are anything to go by, all of the things originally from Undertale have been totally repurposed. For instance, quite a few NPCs from Undertale show up with the same characterization but no memory of the world and events in Undertale.
Though, knowing Toby Fox, there’s either a huge twist or something super meta tying the worlds together at the end. I should note I haven’t finished it yet.
I’ve been playing through Black Ops II again recently, what with it taking place this year. The story is such a step up from 1. From playing as Menendez to interviewing Woods, it feels like the main actors on both sides are fleshed out. The story is insanely prophetic.
I mean, if you had asked me if BO2 or MW3 was more realistic back in the day, I would have said MW3 hands down. Yet Black Ops II’s plot centers around advancement in tech due to rare earth minerals mainly owned by China, mass scale drone warfare, and a cult of personality grown through YouTube.
Realizing there were multiple endings was major for me as a kid, and I honestly get chills with every time I play it.
This one is a lame attempt to recapture what people loved about the first two games. That’s what 5 and 6 were as well. Plus, the return of Menendez really dampens any excitement I would have had. If they can barely write Woods well, how are they going to write Menendez well?
Super Mario Bros 3. It barely makes the cutoff, releasing jn 1990 in North America. But man, it is something special. I completely understand why people prefer Mario World, but Mario 3 feels like the peak of the 2d franchise for me, and everything after that is just reiterating what it perfected.
Sonic 2 and Crash Bandicoot 3 are up there, too. The first time I played Crash especially, my mind was blown. There are several games that scratch the same itch as Mario and Sonic, but I’ve not found a single game that feels like Crash Bandicoot. Gamers were spoiled in the 90s. …unless you bought from a company that wasn’t Nintendo or Sony.
I think the decisions in NV are all grey enough to prevent decision fatigue. Oftimes, you’re picking the best of several bad options.
So sorry about your friend. Loss can make some things too hard to revisit. I’d not dare to speak for your loved one, but I would say that if I were to pass away, I’d certainly hope my friends played my favorite game. I’d probably take some time off from whatever afterlife there is just to watch.
I’ll chime in with the obligatory New Vegas recommendation.
It’s so different than Fallout 4 it’s really hard to describe. No looter shooter stuff, no focus on clearing the next dungeon. The world is there, it’s alive, it’s reactive, and you decide what to do and where to go. I’ve spent many hours scouring the world, and I always find something new. And when I say something new, I’m not talking about a copy/pasted skill magazine or bobblehead. I mean new quests, new lore, new perspectives It’s the closest I’ve ever seen a video game come to emulating real-world ideological conflict, and I adore it. The player freedom is off the chain, too. Hell, you can kill every NPC and still beat the game. Love it, rant over.
You can play New Vegas without mods, and I’d say it actually functions well (everyone’s machine handles the game differently though, tbh), but I recommend following this guide, at least the base version, to mod your game. Not strictly necessary, though. I’d hate to recommend you a game you have to spend hours fixing before you can play it.
As for Fable, there’s two versions on Steam. Fable: The Lost Chapters is the original Xbox release, and Fable Anniversary is the 360-era remaster. The only real differences between the two are:
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Fable Anniversary has remastered graphics. (As for if they’re better, that comes down to personal preference. I personally like the way Fable: TLC looks more)
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Fable Anniversary has controller support.
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Fable Anniversary has an added hard mode.
The controller support makes Anniversary my preferred way to play on Steam, but the remaster kinda destroyed the game’s atmosphere. I’d still rather just boot up my Xbox copy of Fable TLC so I can have my cake and, furthermore, eat it as well.
This was a tough one. But I’m probably going to have to say JSawyer Ultimate for Fallout: New Vegas. A continuation of the game director’s own rebalance mod, it makes the game hard in a way that feels fresh and fair (unlike the baked-in Hardcore mode).
I like to pair it with my runner-up: JAM - Just Assorted Mods, for a more modern HUD and a sprint feature. Of course then you need the NPCs Sprint mod to rebalance combat and- you know what, all of the Viva New Vegas modlist while you’re at it ;)
I count Dark Souls as a Metroidvania in my head, honestly.
But I think the actual defining feature is unlocking new abilities to reach new locations.
DS1 has you unlocking new areas that are interconnected with ones previously explored, but you don’t really unlock new moves to get to a new place, it usually just happens after you beat a boss or buy an item.
TLOU has some of the most satisfying gameplay I have ever experienced. I have to wait a while between playthroughs, because it’s almost like playing a movie. But it’s so much more than a walking sim. The stealth segments kept me incredibly engaged, and looting for craftable materials is addictive in that game. I got to play the DLC, Left Behind, for the first time recently as well, and it was spectacular.
As far as linear, story-based games go, it’s among the best.
Yeah I was gonna hop in here and say Fallout. New Vegas has all the themes of the classic series with the easier to play gameplay of the 3D era. That said though, I really don’t think you can start wherever with that series - IF you want a clear picture of what it’s about. I started with Fallout 3, and that definitely muddies the series themes a bit. Fallout 4 comes around and the realistic themes of humanity’s repetitive follies are all but thrown out the window to focus on the scifi, retrofuturism, and apocalyptic aspects of the series. Fallout 1, 2, and NV are the continued story of society rebuilding and making the same mistakes we always make as a species. Only the first one is a post apocalyptic game, 2 and NV are post-post apocalyptic with large communities and states starting to form.
No hate on the fun there is to be had exploring bombed out ruins, I still love Fallout 3 and I put in a good bit of time with Fallout 4. But while the West Coast tells the story of society rebuilding, with people making adobe houses reasonably soon after the bombs fell and eventually manufacturing concrete, the East Coast is full of convoluted reasons for why society hasn’t rebuilt yet in 200 years and everyone still lives in scrap metal shacks. Not that Fallout games are all realism, but I think the Bethesda games sacrifice the realism of how humanity functions to add more scifi components - and that’s just not what Fallout’s all about.
I should probably say an actual game series I think you can pick up at any game though, and I’ll have to go with Metal Gear Solid. Fantastic story that’s convoluted and told out of order. It doesn’t matter where you start, you’re always going to have fun! I recommend MGS1 for anybody with a day job, and MGS5 for anyone who wants to sink some hours into a sandbox.
Maybe it works well for the story, but just because Niko doesn’t know about places doesn’t mean they shouldn’t exist for the player to find.
I don’t really mean crazy side missions, more small side content similar to how San Andreas had bars with arcades and pool, horse betting, driving school, flying school, collectibles, dancing, low riding, delivery missions, home robbery. Or how III had a place you could go get bombs put in cars. Small stuff that I think fleshes out the world.
The thing is, GTA IV and V do have some of this stuff, but I think their worlds are getting so big that Rockstar just can’t make enough content to fill them the way they used to. I know they like to push bigger worlds and better graphics with every game, but I think if GTA VI had a map the same size as V with the ability to enter every building and a ton of different businesses and activities populated throughout, it would feel much fuller and more alive.
But that also doesn’t invalidate what you’re saying about GTA IV. If it feels right, it feels right. And that’s the best feeling a game can give you. Fallout 3 is a busted mess with some of the worst shooter controls I have ever used, but maaaaaaaan do I think that game feels right.
Same. GTA V felt like it was the size of a real city, with nothing to do in it.
Meanwhile San Andreas’ map is smaller, really does feel like a whole state, is packed so full of activities that I’m still finding out about new stuff, and you can enter virtually every building in the game.
GTA IV was the start of world emptiness in the series, I wish they’d start designing for gameplay instead of scope again.
I never even bought it. It looked monetized to hell compared to MK11, and it didn’t seem to offer much more for the increased price. I liked most of the character designs, and of course the game looks beautiful. But that’s not going to cut it for me. All I heard about it was that it added a lot of aerial combat, which I really don’t care to tangle with.
Back 4 Blood.
You know what, it’s not Left 4 Dead 3, but I love it. It feels like L4D meets Call of Duty. The card system really makes the game for me; building better decks to play higher difficulties with more chaotic corruption cards.
The corruption cards especially make levels so much more replayable than they already would be. Getting fog over a level or a different type of ridden mutation appearing spices things up nicely.
It’s also extremely beautiful at points. I love the graphical style. It’s colorful and a tad cartoonish at points, with some genuinely disgusting visuals and insane ruins thrown in for good measure.
I wouldn’t buy it for full price, but the $9.99 I paid for the full game + DLC was more than worth it, in my opinion.
Bonanza Bros, Blast Corps, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Vampire: The Masquerade -Bloodlines, Cruisn World, LEGO Battles, NBA Jam
Bonanza Bros would be a great couch co-op multiplayer game in a world where we need more. It would benefit from some gameplay tweaks, and adding online play and 4 players would be big.
Blast Corps was awesome, I found it to be an extremely underrated Rare game. This game in an engine with simulated rubble and crazy explosions would be a gem. I also think changing the camera to first person should be an option at the very least.
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days got its cutscenes remastered. I want the full game. It was dripping in atmosphere, and I loved the premise of scouting the new worlds. The graphics could use an upgrade, and the combat could be brought up to par with KH2. But, I love the leveling system and think it would barely need touching.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines is awesome and not super long. It’s extremely buggy, but luckily there’s a modder named Wesp5 who has spend YEARS creating an Unofficial Patch, to a point where all the cut content is restored and it’s essentially feature-complete. There’s a version that just patches the game, and a restored content version. I think he should be given a team and be allowed to curate content and rebalance cut mechanics for a remake. It would be magical.
Cruisn World is one of my favorite arcade racers ever. It has untouchable vibes, and I’d just like to see that with a nice sheen over it, maybe more levels and vehicles?
LEGO Battles is an RTS for the Nintendo DS. Put it on PC, nuff said.
NBA Jam is not very niche. I want a remake, and I don’t care if it’s up-to-date. It’s the best sports game period.
“lol,” I said, “lmao”