I was REALLY patient for this one but: Silent Hill (ps1). I tried to play it last year, ran into the creature in the alley at the very very start and immediately turned it off. Too spoopy for me. Finally decided to try again because the Silent Hill lore is just way too fascinating. Have made it through a lot farther this time (just passed the dog house now) and still going strong.
If you or anyone else is interested in playing more, I recommend:
- Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams (aka Director’s Cut). Not a continuation of the story of the first game, but a separate story in the same universe. Generally agreed to take everything good from the first game and improve upon it. The “Restless Dreams” version has a substantial extra scenario which adds some backstory and lore, but should probably be played only after completing the main game.
- Silent Hill 3. This one does continue the story of the first game, somewhat. To be honest I remember enjoying it but not much in terms of particulars.
- Silent Hill 4: The Room. Started out as a separate game unrelated to the Silent Hill mythos, but was rewritten to become an SH game during development. This sounds like it might be a terrible cash-in, but it really is a perfect fit for the SH universe. IMO almost as strong as SH2.
- Silent Hill: 0rigins. A PSP game set as a prequel to the first game. A little light on story, and with some odd combat mechanics, but I still found it very enjoyable. I played the later PS2 port.
- Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. A “reimagining” of the story from the first game. It plays and feels very different to the previous games, but I still enjoyed it quite a lot.
- Silent Hill: Orphan. A series of point-and-click adventures for Java-enabled mobile phones from the 2000s. Totally different mechanics from the mainline games, but they do the atmosphere and story well if you don’t mind the slower pace of point-and-click. They run on some J2ME emulators.
- Silent Hill: Alchemilla. A free fan-game centered on the Alchemilla Hospital, but also including several other locations. First-person view with many puzzles and no combat. Very polished and really nails the atmosphere.
I played a little of Silent Hill: Homecoming but got tired of it about 1/3 of the way through (I guess). I also bought Silent Hill: Downpour but gave up on that even more quickly. I don’t recommend either of them. Things introduced in the earlier games for specific psychological reasons related to the plot - especially sexy monster nurses and Pyramid Head - tend to be regurgitated in the later games for no real reason other than “Silent Hill”, which removes their impact completely.
You forgot the greatest one of them all:
Silent Hills: Playable Teaser :>
You are in for a real treat when you make it to the second game!
Tooth & Tail. Bite sized RaTS
Castlevania dawn of sorrow thanks to https://retroachievements.org/
Their weekly highlighted achievement is beating one of its bossos
I’ve been playing Hollow Knight thus week. Working on Pantheon 5 for the last achievement. Made it to Traitor Lord last night. Best run yet!
My last week has been filled with Marvels Midnight Suns. XCom meets deck builder meets dating simulator-lite. I’m having a blast, considering none of those genres are my forte
Tried Tetris effect today, last time I played Tetris was on the nds so this is quite the upgrade!
Probably too new for the sub, but baldur’s gate 3 since it was.on sale and my birthday’s coming up
I think the criteria is one year, and BG3 is definitely older than that
I’m playing Hidden Folks (2017) on Steam Deck, to chill in the evening, it’s probably the best where’s waldo game on steam ? I don’t find the cats series at all engaging
I also reinstalled Darkest Dungeon (2016), this time for sure I will commit to it and not stop after 3 runs 🤡
I’m a big fan of Darkest Dungeon, but I’m also a chronic restarter. Building a roster of heroes is fun, but permadeath is so punishing. I have a similar problem in XCOM where you spend so long in a campaign building up your roster, then you lose your ace squad and the whole thing unravels
I really enjoyed Darkest Dungeon 2. There are some radical changes, but it still hits the core vibe and offers a more roguelike experience. Even if I fail my run in spectacular fashion, I’m able to start over on the next one. Far less frustrating than a whole new campaign
I’ve only played the demo of Darkest Dungeon 2 so no idea about the changes, I liked the cart riding segment, it’s a fun way to take breaks between battles, I’ll take a look !
There is a series of tabletop games called MicroMacro that are sort of the same idea with a similar art style if you are into that. You have to solve various mysteries by tracing sequences of events. Good fun either solo or with friends.
Oh yes ! I discovered those thanks to Shut Up And Sit Down’s review, they look super fun
I love Hidden Folks! Hidden Through Time is another that’s basically the same but with color.
I only ever heard about the name, sounds super fun, thanks!
I got into Guild Wars 2 last week. I really like the fast progression, it’s the opposite to every other MMO i’ve tried that makes you grind hours for a level. I’ll reach max level pretty soon after only 10 hours or so playing
GW2 is really refreshing compared to the traditional MMOs
Just finished the 5 main endings of Nier Automata and enjoyed it! Wanted to see what the fuss was about (especially after seeing the meme about how doitsujin was motivated to develop DXVK to play it). Enjoyable time and I plan to get all the endings.
Next on my list is Mini Motorways and Alien Isolation :)
If you’re a sucker for side content, there’s a ton of short stories and novellas (even a musical) that the fans have translated: I just got Ending E | The Ark Wiki
Kept the setting alive for just a little longer, and added some more context to the world and characters. Massive spoilers for anyone who hasn’t beat Automata though.
I’ve been playing Kingdom Come: Deliverance (2018) for the past month or so. Haven’t been this immersed in a game world in a long time. Sure it’s a bit janky at parts and gets a while getting used to, but the world is beautiful and the attention to history and realism is incredible!
I started playing that one a couple of years ago but found myself horribly lost on one of the introductory quests (I think the first lockpicking was what did me on?) and kinda lost interest from there. I can see the appeal though and at some point I’ll certainly circle back to it
It’s worth getting into ahead of the release of the second one in a few months time
Another convert! Once the game mechanics clicked with me it’s been the most immersed I ever remember being in a game.
I started playing Darksiders 3 (2018) over the weekend. Never got around to play it on release because my PC couldn’t run it back then.
Just in time. There have been teasers hinting at the final entry in the darksieders quartett
Been playing FFXII international, been quite enjoying it so far.
Slogging through FFXIII here. It’s super linear and repetitive, but just what I need right now.
Deus Ex Mankind Divided.
Just getting started, but it’s been pretty fun so far. Not really appreciating how much it echoes the current happenings in society, though…
I played it last week. It was fun. Definetly better than HR.
to avoid disappointment: It doesn’t end… it just… stops
The dev for that game recently said if they made it now the story would have to be very different because of the echoes with current events.
That’s interesting. Do you have a link, by chance? I’d love to read more
I was off, here’s the real tea.
“If someone made Deus Ex today, it might be perceived as a documentary,” says creator Warren Spector
A Mortician’s Tale was a nice relatively short interactive experience about what it is like to work in that occupation and its ups and downs, and an opportunity to reflect a bit on the reality of death.
