Ask Lemmy

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

The Witcher 3. Sometimes there were no good choices to make and one had to choose the better of two bad outcomes. Sometimes the obvious good choice led to bad things happening to a village. That game was a rollercoaster of emotions.

I also second This War of Mine.

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.

• Citizen Sleeper
• Suikoden II
• Journey
• Papers, Please
• Darkest Dungeon (if only through the Narrator lines)
• Undertale
• Celeste
• Gris
• The Lion's Song
• Final Fantasy Tactics
• Silent Hill 2
• Ace Attorney
• Orwell
• What Remains of Edith Finch
• Tacoma
• Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
• SOMA
• The Red Strings Club
• Unpacking

Pentiment. Just it.

just in case, if you liked papers please you may love "the return of the obra dinn". really good game from the same guy.

Shadow of the Colossus

Journey.

I don't think it works quite as well nowadays with much fewer people playing it but it was an incredible experience when it first came out. I still play it whenever I need to calm down or just having a bad day. It's truly a special game to me.

Final fantasy 14 The main story quests were amazing. Especially loved the shadowbringers storyline.

• Plague Tale Requiem
• The Walking Dead
• Heavy Rain
• Gerda: A Flame in Winter
• As Dusk Falls
• Disco Elysium

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

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.