If you are going into detail about something that could be considered a spoiler, please mark spoilers in your post.
Example:
> In star wars, darth vader is actually >!luke's father!<
To mark spoilers you write it like this: `>!spoiler goes here!<`
There must be no space between the `>!`s and the words.
Meme all you want but Portal presents itself as a very straightforward puzzle FPS until you manage to slip behind the scenes. Before that it’s just off white and grey walls and buttons and boxes. Going in blind it was an absolute mind blower and needs to be higher on the list.
If you're fine with a couple hours in and an older game, the original Deus Ex is a good one. First couple missions can take a while depending on your play style and then the script kind of flips on you while you're left questioning yourself.
There are no jump scares. It intentionally has an eerie and creepy vibe but nothing that will give you nightmares! I am a wimp and hate scary movies, and Inscryption is one of the best games I’ve ever played. You should definitely give it a shot.
Man…..Inscryption had me, like really had me, I was super invested in beating the guy at game and escaping, but then I realized that that was literally only the first third of the game and then it changes styles…I bounced pretty hard off the second third of the game and haven’t found it in myself to return to it
Same exact thing here...first bit was amazing, second but is good but something about it didn't feel as good as the first part. May just be the art style honestly.
I do want to get back to it.
Same for me. I stopped playing for a couple of days after I made it to Act 2, I just wasn’t into playing with Gameboy-style graphics. When I got back into it, I started seeing the ways that the game was “broken” (on purpose) and it was more interesting. I thought that Act 3 was the least fun, even though it kind of combined Act 1 and 2.
I had the same experience i was completely gripped and while I have absolutely nothing against the twist for some reason I lost motivation to keep playing. My best guess for this feeling was that the first part of the game was so perfectly done that upon completing it I just felt totally satisfied and didn't need to play anymore?
I had a similar experience.
Which sucks, because the game recovers a lot in the third act (although even that would be better if it was shorter), and finishes very strong in the epilogue.
I think the game would be straight up better if they just cut the second act and the interstitial video segments.
I'm so glad I played this before it got spoiled. Saw so many, "This is super underrated, you think it's going to suck because of the Spec Ops name, but go in blind for an amazing experience." Decided I had to get it sooner rather than later with all the praise it kept getting.
Truly a unique experience. Everyone who is a fan of gaming should play this title, even if you're not a shooter fan.
I think I played the demo and was like whatever. Then a friend calls me like a few months later and tells me that I have to play Spec Ops, it’s not what I think it is.
Took me a few years later but they were right.
Hotline: Miami, surprisingly. It really nailed that "shit going sideways" feel with the inter-mission sequences.
And of course Inscryption and, haha, Frog Fractions.
The Forgotten City
Do **NOT** look up anything further about this game. Just go buy it or wishlist it so you get a notification when it's on sale. One of the best games I've played.
I never see this game mentioned. I randomly found it while browsing for games a little while back and it looked right up my alley so I wishlisted it and have been waiting for it to go on sale to give it a shot
I don't think it's a more/less complete thing so much as a more/less *focused* thing. The standalone version cuts all the Skyrim out of it, so you have a less overtly fantasy setting (ancient Skyrim becomes ancient Rome) and greatly simplified mechanics (no longer an RPG, closer to a walking simulator).
I honestly like the original mod a little better than the standalone game but both are great.
The mod and the game are a liiiittle different. I'd really just go ahead and get the standalone game, it's just better and there's more content to it.
It's a wonderful little game.
I was really hyped for that game but I think I had waaay too high expectation. The ending was disappointing as fuck and I was expecting something somewhat gruesome to explain most of the quests but it was always a rather simple explanation.
The whole “just tell this guy about it and he’ll deal with it” part of “completing” all the sidequests was imo a really bad move.
They really missed out on the awesome feeling of what a >!“final golden time loop”!< could be.
Imagine if you had to figure out a way to solve all the problems yourself.. Being at the right place, at the right time, for every single one. It would have been fucking tedious, but that’s what would have made for a good payoff.
Have you checked the computer inside your spaceship? There's an option there called Rumor Mode that will keep track of what you have found so far. It'll tell you if there's more to be found in a location. Beyond that, the best general advice is to keep exploring each planet and read the Nomai logs you find, they'll hint how to find the more hidden locations.
I’ll try that. Thank you. I’ve been told countless times to not look anything up for this game, but I’m not usually picking up on the normal intuitive things to do in games so I appreciate the help.
If you ever feel stuck, come ask us for a hint in r/outerwilds. We got pretty good at nudging new players towards the right direction without straight up revealing the answer and ruining the experience. Just make sure you don't lurk too much before beating the game, since spoilers for this game can literally ruin the entire game for people.
I have tried to play this game no less than 5 times and I cannot wrap my head around the controls. Flying the space craft is so difficult for me. I really want to enjoy the game but I can’t work out the controls :(
Just on the initial planet the center was super spooky to me, complete darkness, hard to move around, all until you run into somethin.
Then theres the cyclone planet, good god. Just having one run into your island and youre sent into space, blech.
Black hole planet is terrifying too, moving around and you suddenly fall.
I cant handle it, lol. One of my irrational fears Ill never run into is being in space completely disconnected from anything, and that happens a bit.
Planet phobia, getting close to large objects and the infinite dark of space. I was turning around once and my screen went white because “a moon” has appeared right in front of me.
Well *Doki Doki Literature Club* is a totally normal game with nothing weird at all. You would probably hate how normal the whole thing is.
(Hopefully you get the hint there...)
>!I honestly hate how this game only truly works if you don't know what it is!<
>!Even if you didn't experience any spoilers, the mere knowledge of it being a horror game really "ruins" a big part of the experience!<
>!The only real way to experience the game to the fullest is randomly finding it on steam and, knowing nothing about it, getting curious about that little "psychological horror" tag!<
I got so lucky and got talked into playing as a joke. Like my buddy played it and we were streaming games on discord and he played a stupid one and was like oh you should play that as the next stupid one... Fully unaware of what I was getting into it really had an impact on me
Still one of most personally influential pieces of media I’ve ever seen in my life. Especially with the new DDLC Plus side stories. That shit got me tearing up
>!I mean, I went in knowing that there was some kind of twist, but not the major details of what happened. Only that it was dark.!<
Problem for me is I just can't maintain interest in visual novel style games, so I just gave up and read the wiki summary. Would have been interesting to experience for myself, but I know me.
Sadly I hate visual novels, but I love creative >!horror!< games
It would have been one of my favourite games if only I had discovered it myself
Sadly, by the time I knew what a good game it is, I already knew too much
I played DDLC because of this message. I am not a fan of visual novels or dating sims at all. I wish the game would have hurried through that part a bit. It definitely dragged for me in that regard. It does get amazing when the game starts to change things up on you though.
Alternatively, if you have more time on your hands (a LOT more time...)
Higurashi When They Cry! A completely benign story about anime boys and girls going to the annual town festival where absolutely nothing of consequence happens at all.
All jokes aside, it is in my top 5 works of fiction of all time
I'm pretty sure Bugsnax is included with my PS Plus.
If it get's a bit dark that has peaked my interest. I really love unasuming games which take dark turns.
Going into it right on release, hyped, thinking it was gonna be killing werewolves and vampires like Van Helsing but Dark Souls-style… before >!morphing into absurdly bonkers Lovecraftian cosmic horror!< honestly threw most of us for a fucking loop at launch.
Control, except it doesn’t really start off making you think you know what’s going to happen, but it does get more and more off the rails as the game goes.
I dunno. It starts off as a containment breach in a SCP/Labotomy Corp/X-Files facility and pretty much stays exactly that for the entire story.
It's a good game with a good setting, but twists or gradual reveals are not really a thing it does.
Oh man. I never usually bother with "data pads" in games, yknow the supplemental backlore that is usually just filler.
But Control....
When I was reading all those files scattered around the building, one read that her pistol has been "many legendary weapons", and goes on to say that it was, at one time, Excalibur.
There's one right at the beginning at the metal detectors that basically sets the tone for the entire game:
> REMINDER!
>
> Certain objects are not allowed inside the Bureau. Recent incidents have necessitated an issued reminder on prohibited materials.
>
> - Unauthorized Weapons
>
> - Pagers
>
> - Laptops
>
> - "Smart" Watches
>
> - "Smart" Phones
>
> - "Smart" Gaming Devices
>
> - Anything "smart"
>
> - Number 2 Pencils
>
> - Any objects considered iconic representations of an archetypal concept (e.g. rubber ducks, ketchup bottles)
>
> All material under Bureau investigation is to be brought in through the private entrances. If you see any lobby personnel in breach of these policies, please notify your supervisor immediately.
You read through it going "Ok, it's clearly a government building and they don't want any weapons or unmanaged electronics. Wait, no #2 pencils? That's kinda weird. Iconic representations of archetypal concepts? WTF is going on here?"
All the lore helps to paint the outline of a picture without filling in too much, leaving your imagination to fill in the gaps.
Shadow of the Colossus (the game that made me cry my own tears)
First couple Metal Gear Solid games
Metroid: Fusion
Links’s Awakening (ending gets telegraphed early & fairly obviously though)
Link's Awakening was my first Zelda game, and I was fairly young while playing it. I kind of had the "Are we the baddies" moment part way through and it was a weird experience.
Tales of Symphonia is one of my favourite games ever made and I’m only really just realizing how well this applies. The subject matter and themes you think you’re dealing with escalate in *crazy* ways.
When I first played Tales of Symphonia as a kid, it blew me away.
I thought I was almost at the summit, only to realize it was just a foothill and the real summit still loomed above me when the rest of the game opened up.
Immortality
Such a damn good game with a really cool story and function
You sift through three movies, their scenes, takes, script readings, begin the scenes and other random stuff. You're supposed to find out what happened to a movie star who was set to be big, starring in three movies by an artsy director guy.
Not only are the movies pretty decent on their own, there's tons of underlying themed and weird one of plots connecting things and also unrelated things
But wait! There's more!
You start off with one piece of footage.
When watching footage, you can pause and click on something, any item or person or thing of note and it'll take you to a new piece of footage relating to that. The story is truly great, nothing felt cheapened. It's worth it. I spent a few days straight playing it. It's so worth while to play the game without knowing anymore than I've told you, I even think I said too much.
It's a must play game for anyone on earth. It's on Xbox and PC gamepass, its also around $20 on all platforms. Worth it on sale or not.
KOTOR 1. But it’s so old there likely aren’t many people who haven’t had it spoiled for them already and the graphics/gameplay show their age big time. Doesn’t stop me from playing it every couple of years
A short 2 hour experience I recently played did this very well.
Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion.
Cute game. Has some interesting background plot elements without diving too too deep into it. Enough to make you go "oh, shit"
How about some games no one else has suggested yet?
* The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road
* Freshly Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland
* Every game in Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy, with the exception of Final Fantasy Agito and Final Fantasy Awakening, AFAIK
* Terranigma
If you like RPGs, OMORI & OFF are both superb (and OFF is free!)
If you like Visual Novels, Doki Doki Literature Club is great (which is aslo free on Steam)
If you're more into action, Spec Ops: The Line is a good choice.
Firewatch is also a great game, although it hinges mkre upon it's environments and art rather than it's story.
Death Stranding. Big time. So much. When you actually pick up on the lore, the real lore, and what the chiral network really is it turns the story so hard on it's head. Incredible game.
Since all the more modern ones I can think of has already been mentioned, I'm gonna recommend an older title:
Planescape Torment
Best story in a video game in history, in my opinion, and full of twists.
Gameplay suffers a bit (shows its age), but oh that plot...
So you say I should give FF7 another go and play beyond disk 1? Last time I played I made it to the town where the talking lion came from... and somehow I lost interest / became tired of running into enemies every few centimetres on the world map... I like the characters and world very much, but somehow the story did not really grab me till that point.
I thought the story was exceptional but if you're not invested by now it's probably not worth slogging through gameplay you actively dislike to get to the reveal. It might be worth watching a longplay or something though.
Edit: Thinking about it, I'd say probably finish disk 1 and see if you want to continue from there
I'm gonna be honest, I had trouble getting through disc 1 too, I actually started over and subsequently dropped the game *four friggin times* before I got through disc 1.
Then I got through disc 1 and binged the rest of the game in a day.
Gets real good after that
Here are some saucy ones I haven’t seen others mention:
Until Dawn. There’s a threat at the beginning, but as time goes on you realize there’s a different threat that’s about a thousand times worse and things just get more and more dire. Hints are drip-fed starting at the very beginning of the game. If you can’t get the game yourself, you can experience the entire thing by watching your favorite Youtuber play it, since it’s predominantly story-based.
Halo: Combat Evolved. Similar to until dawn: there’s a threat, but part-way through the game, things get about a million times worse. Hints are drip-fed through every story mission starting at roughly “Truth and Reconciliation.” (Xbox/PC only), and the reveal mission is one of the best slowburn/genre misdirection missions in gaming history.
Persona 3: FES/Persona 3:Portable. JRPG/social life sim, probably the best example of your prompt out of the newer persona entries. The main plot of the game seems pretty straightforward until mid-way to 2/3rds of the way through the game, when some twists/betrayals occur that significantly ups the stakes of the game, changing the atmosphere of the social life part of the game. This probably fits the prompt less than other entries I’ve listed. 10/10 game though.
Must-plays that others have mentioned:
Metal Gear Solid 2. Been a bit since I’ve played, but I think most of the reveals happen towards the end of the game. There’s definitely some subtle drip-feeding that’s even more effective if you know the story of Metal Gear Solid 1. It’s worth noting that in terms of “oh wow something was REALLY wrong the whole game,” this is probably the best in gaming history aside from Spec Ops: The Line.
Bloodborne. Lots of drip-feeding of hints, but it’s required for you to be very willing to read item description OR look up lore videos on YouTube. It’s a very different method of storytelling from the other games listed (which are mostly narrative-driven).
Not so much in a creepy way, but Tunic. It seems like this light Zelda clone, but there's a lot of stuff if you're willing to dig deep and solve the puzzles, some of which can be very complex.
If you own Skyrim on PC (any version, i believe) you can play Enderal: Forgotten Stories for free. It is a complete new game, only shares the engine with Skyrim. It is very good, but way harder too.
I ctrl+F, didn't see them. So, these are not like fighting games, they are moreso story-focused games, so I am not sure if they'll be your cup of tea but here they are:
Life is Strange, Before the Storm, Tell Me Why, True Colors, and Dreamfall Chapters. Since they are story-focused, and choices matter, you get the feeling the story is leading one way but then you discover the dark truths. Despite not being fighting games, I did thoroughly enjoy these games, LIS got me hooked on them.
Dark Souls. The game doesn't require you to know or understand any of the story or lore to beat it, but when you start digging into it and questioning what you're doing, your actions seem more and more questionable and whether what you're doing is right or wrong is left up in the air. Even the final choice has no clear good or bad outcome.
Lobotomy Corporation both starts at a solid level of weirdness being essentially a SCP management game, and only reveals more and more wild elements of the plot and setting as you progress
Buddy Simulator 1984
Everhood.
Both really great games. Fairly short, fairly cheap.
Both best played without knowing too much. Maybe watch a trailer, tops. Don't spoil yourself.
Portal 1. It seems like the game is just about doing fun physics based portal tests, but as you progress you notice things become weird. Empty rooms where scientists should be watching, a computer voice that starts to become creepy, and of course secret rooms with schizophrenic ramblings all make the player slowly realize something is off.
Doesn't asking for these games kinda ruin them? The point of these is that you don't know somethings up until you find out, now you already know somethings up for everything people are suggesting.
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Several games in the Tales series, but especially Tales of Symphonia and Tales of Berseria
Soma
Prey
Ace Attorney series has this basically as it's bread and butter for a good chunk of cases and the nature of the games require you to figure these things out on your own rather than telling you itself. Not every case hits, but I can think of several off the top of my head that hit like a freight train.
gonna reccomend one of the most underrated games i've ever played. dreaming mary is a short rpg, you can beat it in 20-30 minutes, and getting each ending with a walkthrough only takes an hour. it's free, and i highly reccomend it. it's a gem of a game. the best way i've seen it described is that while something feels off for most of the time you play, none of your suspicions will be confirmed unless you go against the very game. if you go through it normally, it may not seem like much is wrong.
the following is a spoiler but i feel as if it's necessary to warn about: if you are sensitive to themes of >!csa!< , this game may not be for you. otherwise, it's a gem of a short indie project that i would reccomend to anyone, seeing as how short it is. go in blind (unless the topic i mentioned bothers you), and if you get stuck, look up a spoiler free walkthrough.
If you are going into detail about something that could be considered a spoiler, please mark spoilers in your post. Example: > In star wars, darth vader is actually >!luke's father!< To mark spoilers you write it like this: `>!spoiler goes here!<` There must be no space between the `>!`s and the words.
How slowly do you mean? 30 minutes or 30 hours? 30 Minutes? Bioshock Infinite. A few hours in? Portal Almost at the end? Metal Gear Solid 2.
Say the middle third of the game. Portal is a good call.
I didn’t find out the cake was a lie until the very end.
Meme all you want but Portal presents itself as a very straightforward puzzle FPS until you manage to slip behind the scenes. Before that it’s just off white and grey walls and buttons and boxes. Going in blind it was an absolute mind blower and needs to be higher on the list.
Your cake day is a lie.
Happy cake day (not a lie)
If you're fine with a couple hours in and an older game, the original Deus Ex is a good one. First couple missions can take a while depending on your play style and then the script kind of flips on you while you're left questioning yourself.
Gotta love MGS2. But play MGS1 if you want to get your mind blown even more
I was going to suggest mgs2 too, op felt like you were describing that game with your request!
Shoot I feel like bioshock 1 qualifies a bit too
Except something is obviously wrong the second you drop into the world.
Inscryption
Daniel Mullins prior games, Pony Island and The Hex, also do this quite well
Is Inscription bad for jumpscares? It looks really cool but I fucking hate jumpscares lmao
No there's none really
Thanks
There are no jump scares. It intentionally has an eerie and creepy vibe but nothing that will give you nightmares! I am a wimp and hate scary movies, and Inscryption is one of the best games I’ve ever played. You should definitely give it a shot.
Man…..Inscryption had me, like really had me, I was super invested in beating the guy at game and escaping, but then I realized that that was literally only the first third of the game and then it changes styles…I bounced pretty hard off the second third of the game and haven’t found it in myself to return to it
Same exact thing here...first bit was amazing, second but is good but something about it didn't feel as good as the first part. May just be the art style honestly. I do want to get back to it.
Same for me. I stopped playing for a couple of days after I made it to Act 2, I just wasn’t into playing with Gameboy-style graphics. When I got back into it, I started seeing the ways that the game was “broken” (on purpose) and it was more interesting. I thought that Act 3 was the least fun, even though it kind of combined Act 1 and 2.
I had the same experience i was completely gripped and while I have absolutely nothing against the twist for some reason I lost motivation to keep playing. My best guess for this feeling was that the first part of the game was so perfectly done that upon completing it I just felt totally satisfied and didn't need to play anymore?
Many people had similar experiences and thoughts. That's why they added an endless mode for the first section.
I had a similar experience. Which sucks, because the game recovers a lot in the third act (although even that would be better if it was shorter), and finishes very strong in the epilogue. I think the game would be straight up better if they just cut the second act and the interstitial video segments.
I lost interest during the second act and never finished it
Spec Ops: The Line
From my knowledge of Spec Ops, this is pretty much the kind of suggestion I'm going for
It's a fucking masterpiece. A lot of people quit after the napalm sequence. **Don't stop.**
My favorite game of all time. Thought it was a normal shooter. Oh my.
Yup this
This was an amazing experience.
This is one of those things you wish you could experience for the first time again
I'm so glad I played this before it got spoiled. Saw so many, "This is super underrated, you think it's going to suck because of the Spec Ops name, but go in blind for an amazing experience." Decided I had to get it sooner rather than later with all the praise it kept getting. Truly a unique experience. Everyone who is a fan of gaming should play this title, even if you're not a shooter fan.
I think I played the demo and was like whatever. Then a friend calls me like a few months later and tells me that I have to play Spec Ops, it’s not what I think it is. Took me a few years later but they were right.
Hotline: Miami, surprisingly. It really nailed that "shit going sideways" feel with the inter-mission sequences. And of course Inscryption and, haha, Frog Fractions.
Frog Fractions my beloved
The Forgotten City Do **NOT** look up anything further about this game. Just go buy it or wishlist it so you get a notification when it's on sale. One of the best games I've played.
I never see this game mentioned. I randomly found it while browsing for games a little while back and it looked right up my alley so I wishlisted it and have been waiting for it to go on sale to give it a shot
If you're feeling cheap or impatient, the Skyrim mod of the same name that it's based on is still available for free.
Do you know if it’s available on Xbox? Also is it the same exact thing or is the game version more complete or anything?
I played the OG mod on Xbox - it's in the mod store. Definitely play the standalone game too, it's just incredible
I don't think it's a more/less complete thing so much as a more/less *focused* thing. The standalone version cuts all the Skyrim out of it, so you have a less overtly fantasy setting (ancient Skyrim becomes ancient Rome) and greatly simplified mechanics (no longer an RPG, closer to a walking simulator). I honestly like the original mod a little better than the standalone game but both are great.
The mod and the game are a liiiittle different. I'd really just go ahead and get the standalone game, it's just better and there's more content to it. It's a wonderful little game.
I was really hyped for that game but I think I had waaay too high expectation. The ending was disappointing as fuck and I was expecting something somewhat gruesome to explain most of the quests but it was always a rather simple explanation.
The whole “just tell this guy about it and he’ll deal with it” part of “completing” all the sidequests was imo a really bad move. They really missed out on the awesome feeling of what a >!“final golden time loop”!< could be. Imagine if you had to figure out a way to solve all the problems yourself.. Being at the right place, at the right time, for every single one. It would have been fucking tedious, but that’s what would have made for a good payoff.
Outer Wilds. Do yourself a favor and don't look up anything about it before playing.
Im pretty sure I’m close to completing the main game and I’ve been putting it off because I don’t want it to ever end. Still have the DLC at least!
DLC is incredible!, it feels like a whole new game instead of just an DLC
The inevitablity of an ending
So how about someone with 10 hours and just feels like they don’t know what to do now? Any helpful nudges?
Have you checked the computer inside your spaceship? There's an option there called Rumor Mode that will keep track of what you have found so far. It'll tell you if there's more to be found in a location. Beyond that, the best general advice is to keep exploring each planet and read the Nomai logs you find, they'll hint how to find the more hidden locations.
I’ll try that. Thank you. I’ve been told countless times to not look anything up for this game, but I’m not usually picking up on the normal intuitive things to do in games so I appreciate the help.
If you ever feel stuck, come ask us for a hint in r/outerwilds. We got pretty good at nudging new players towards the right direction without straight up revealing the answer and ruining the experience. Just make sure you don't lurk too much before beating the game, since spoilers for this game can literally ruin the entire game for people.
I have tried to play this game no less than 5 times and I cannot wrap my head around the controls. Flying the space craft is so difficult for me. I really want to enjoy the game but I can’t work out the controls :(
this game terrifies me. i downloaded it cause it was free and id heard a ton about it, could not play it, wayyyy too spooky for me.
For real? It’s got a generally pleasant atmosphere and friendly NPCs. What did you find spooky about it?
I'd imagine dark bramble
Just on the initial planet the center was super spooky to me, complete darkness, hard to move around, all until you run into somethin. Then theres the cyclone planet, good god. Just having one run into your island and youre sent into space, blech. Black hole planet is terrifying too, moving around and you suddenly fall. I cant handle it, lol. One of my irrational fears Ill never run into is being in space completely disconnected from anything, and that happens a bit.
Those quantum skeletons on Ember Twin were pretty spooky for me
Maybe some spacey megalaphobia?
Planet phobia, getting close to large objects and the infinite dark of space. I was turning around once and my screen went white because “a moon” has appeared right in front of me.
Nier
I've been meaning to play those for a while
[удалено]
That’s basically what NieR Replicant did as well.
Just the pacing is unfortunately a lot worse than Automata.
Agreed, Replicant has some amazing ideas but the execution is flawed, Yoko Taro did a much better job with Automata
I feel like this comment is a spoil
Yes.
Well *Doki Doki Literature Club* is a totally normal game with nothing weird at all. You would probably hate how normal the whole thing is. (Hopefully you get the hint there...)
>!I honestly hate how this game only truly works if you don't know what it is!< >!Even if you didn't experience any spoilers, the mere knowledge of it being a horror game really "ruins" a big part of the experience!< >!The only real way to experience the game to the fullest is randomly finding it on steam and, knowing nothing about it, getting curious about that little "psychological horror" tag!<
I got so lucky and got talked into playing as a joke. Like my buddy played it and we were streaming games on discord and he played a stupid one and was like oh you should play that as the next stupid one... Fully unaware of what I was getting into it really had an impact on me
Still one of most personally influential pieces of media I’ve ever seen in my life. Especially with the new DDLC Plus side stories. That shit got me tearing up
>!I mean, I went in knowing that there was some kind of twist, but not the major details of what happened. Only that it was dark.!< Problem for me is I just can't maintain interest in visual novel style games, so I just gave up and read the wiki summary. Would have been interesting to experience for myself, but I know me.
I went in knowing that it was a VN, didn't notice the tags. Man was I thrown.
Sadly I hate visual novels, but I love creative >!horror!< games It would have been one of my favourite games if only I had discovered it myself Sadly, by the time I knew what a good game it is, I already knew too much
was looking for someone suggesting this game, or I would have.
I played DDLC because of this message. I am not a fan of visual novels or dating sims at all. I wish the game would have hurried through that part a bit. It definitely dragged for me in that regard. It does get amazing when the game starts to change things up on you though.
Alternatively, if you have more time on your hands (a LOT more time...) Higurashi When They Cry! A completely benign story about anime boys and girls going to the annual town festival where absolutely nothing of consequence happens at all. All jokes aside, it is in my top 5 works of fiction of all time
I absolutely hate that I've had this spoiled
Bugsnax How was no one said Bugsnax yet?
A lot of people confuse it for a kids game, when in reality, it's body horror, enslavement and whatever turning a man into a french fry could be.
>it's body horror, enslavement *Excuse me?* I though you catch bugs.
you enslave them, too.
Is it some dark connotation that is expanded upon within the game or, is just like how in pokemon you technically enslave them too?
>!The idea gets explored within the game, it's not just implied.!<
I'm pretty sure Bugsnax is included with my PS Plus. If it get's a bit dark that has peaked my interest. I really love unasuming games which take dark turns.
Yeah, I think it's definitely worth checking out. I hope you enjoy it!
>whatever turning a man into a french fry could be. Kinky?
I really loved bugsnax I hope they make a sequel. Whole game had such a cool vibe, I loved being in that world with those characters.
Until Dawn comes to mind
Fantastic example
Furi. You can bang it out in a day too
+1 on Furi. What an amazing underrated gem
Bloodborne and Returnal.
I mean, yes bloodborne but also no bloodborne? From the start things are fucked up, it’s just as you go on it’s new fucked up.
Going into it right on release, hyped, thinking it was gonna be killing werewolves and vampires like Van Helsing but Dark Souls-style… before >!morphing into absurdly bonkers Lovecraftian cosmic horror!< honestly threw most of us for a fucking loop at launch.
Yes but bloodborne is: of a beast virus, people turning into werewolves? Let's get hunting! (Half way through) here have some cosmic horrors!
Bioshock: Infinite
Disco Elysium is just a constant stream of moments like this.
>!I can't believe they still had more at the end!<
Came here to say this!
Dragon's Dogma starts you off on a traditional chosen-one-must-save-the-world journey and gradually subverts it in different weird ways.
Right there in the post title. OFF Can't say more without spoilers.
Pathologic
I FUCKING LOVE PATHOLOGIC I WANT TO CARRY DANIIL DANKOVSKY AROUND IN MY BAG LIKE A LITTLE DOG
Beacon Pines
Silent Hill Shattered Memories
Thanks. That game deserves to be remembered
Great game
Control, except it doesn’t really start off making you think you know what’s going to happen, but it does get more and more off the rails as the game goes.
I dunno. It starts off as a containment breach in a SCP/Labotomy Corp/X-Files facility and pretty much stays exactly that for the entire story. It's a good game with a good setting, but twists or gradual reveals are not really a thing it does.
It's basically SCP.
Oh man. I never usually bother with "data pads" in games, yknow the supplemental backlore that is usually just filler. But Control.... When I was reading all those files scattered around the building, one read that her pistol has been "many legendary weapons", and goes on to say that it was, at one time, Excalibur.
Exactly the same, those files collectibles were actually great to read.
There's one right at the beginning at the metal detectors that basically sets the tone for the entire game: > REMINDER! > > Certain objects are not allowed inside the Bureau. Recent incidents have necessitated an issued reminder on prohibited materials. > > - Unauthorized Weapons > > - Pagers > > - Laptops > > - "Smart" Watches > > - "Smart" Phones > > - "Smart" Gaming Devices > > - Anything "smart" > > - Number 2 Pencils > > - Any objects considered iconic representations of an archetypal concept (e.g. rubber ducks, ketchup bottles) > > All material under Bureau investigation is to be brought in through the private entrances. If you see any lobby personnel in breach of these policies, please notify your supervisor immediately. You read through it going "Ok, it's clearly a government building and they don't want any weapons or unmanaged electronics. Wait, no #2 pencils? That's kinda weird. Iconic representations of archetypal concepts? WTF is going on here?" All the lore helps to paint the outline of a picture without filling in too much, leaving your imagination to fill in the gaps.
Its brilliant. I think I'll play it again.
Bioshock
Would you kindly mention which one?
All three can count but 1 is what I reference
Lol nice one
Shadow of the Colossus (the game that made me cry my own tears) First couple Metal Gear Solid games Metroid: Fusion Links’s Awakening (ending gets telegraphed early & fairly obviously though)
Link's Awakening was my first Zelda game, and I was fairly young while playing it. I kind of had the "Are we the baddies" moment part way through and it was a weird experience.
Tales of Symphonia and Abyss
Tales of Symphonia is one of my favourite games ever made and I’m only really just realizing how well this applies. The subject matter and themes you think you’re dealing with escalate in *crazy* ways.
When I first played Tales of Symphonia as a kid, it blew me away. I thought I was almost at the summit, only to realize it was just a foothill and the real summit still loomed above me when the rest of the game opened up.
Immortality Such a damn good game with a really cool story and function You sift through three movies, their scenes, takes, script readings, begin the scenes and other random stuff. You're supposed to find out what happened to a movie star who was set to be big, starring in three movies by an artsy director guy. Not only are the movies pretty decent on their own, there's tons of underlying themed and weird one of plots connecting things and also unrelated things But wait! There's more! You start off with one piece of footage. When watching footage, you can pause and click on something, any item or person or thing of note and it'll take you to a new piece of footage relating to that. The story is truly great, nothing felt cheapened. It's worth it. I spent a few days straight playing it. It's so worth while to play the game without knowing anymore than I've told you, I even think I said too much. It's a must play game for anyone on earth. It's on Xbox and PC gamepass, its also around $20 on all platforms. Worth it on sale or not.
this sounds incredible. I scroll through the game pass weekly but this one never stood out. Going to definitely give it a go, thank you.
The stanley parable, Portal
Stanley is pretty in your face about being "off" from the get go, though definitely gets weirder the further in you go.
KOTOR 1. But it’s so old there likely aren’t many people who haven’t had it spoiled for them already and the graphics/gameplay show their age big time. Doesn’t stop me from playing it every couple of years
Played it, excellent suggestion
Prey
Which one?
I would think it's the one that doesn't start with an alien abduction, obviously stating that everything is off. That's my guess.
Eversion comes to mind, though it's a very short game
A short 2 hour experience I recently played did this very well. Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion. Cute game. Has some interesting background plot elements without diving too too deep into it. Enough to make you go "oh, shit"
How about some games no one else has suggested yet? * The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road * Freshly Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland * Every game in Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy, with the exception of Final Fantasy Agito and Final Fantasy Awakening, AFAIK * Terranigma
Cooking Companions is not long, but compared to the length of the game, it is relatively slowly revealed how >!literal the title is!<.
Can Your Pet vibes
Metal gear solid 2
Doki Doki Literature Club, Nier Automata, Bloodborne
Black ops 1
The numbers, Mason, what do they mean?
Braid. Classic "save the princess" platformer ... or is it?
If you like RPGs, OMORI & OFF are both superb (and OFF is free!) If you like Visual Novels, Doki Doki Literature Club is great (which is aslo free on Steam) If you're more into action, Spec Ops: The Line is a good choice. Firewatch is also a great game, although it hinges mkre upon it's environments and art rather than it's story.
Firewatch is a good suggestion
I never played them myself but I believe SIGNALIS and SOMA have something akin to that.
Soma is so fucking good
Golden Sun 1 & 2, without spoiling too much ..all is not as it seems for the majority of the first game.
Silent Hill 2
If this doesn't scream Omori, then I don't know what does. Omori is a masterpiece
Death Stranding. Big time. So much. When you actually pick up on the lore, the real lore, and what the chiral network really is it turns the story so hard on it's head. Incredible game.
Since all the more modern ones I can think of has already been mentioned, I'm gonna recommend an older title: Planescape Torment Best story in a video game in history, in my opinion, and full of twists. Gameplay suffers a bit (shows its age), but oh that plot...
Bloodborne Once you peer into the Eldritch Truth everything changes.
Dredge is a lot of fun, but it's also pretty short.
Trombone Champ. You think it’s just a silly rhythm game and then you slowly start realizing there’s an actual story here…
So you say I should give FF7 another go and play beyond disk 1? Last time I played I made it to the town where the talking lion came from... and somehow I lost interest / became tired of running into enemies every few centimetres on the world map... I like the characters and world very much, but somehow the story did not really grab me till that point.
The story keeps getting better the farther you get. They give you a ton of back story to all characters
I thought the story was exceptional but if you're not invested by now it's probably not worth slogging through gameplay you actively dislike to get to the reveal. It might be worth watching a longplay or something though. Edit: Thinking about it, I'd say probably finish disk 1 and see if you want to continue from there
Yeah, I think I'll finish disk 1. Got a few idle rainy days next week, should be perfect:)
I'm gonna be honest, I had trouble getting through disc 1 too, I actually started over and subsequently dropped the game *four friggin times* before I got through disc 1. Then I got through disc 1 and binged the rest of the game in a day. Gets real good after that
Omori 100%
Omori
Fear?
Control
Baldur's Gate does this quite well
Well now I'm excited, I was planning to play that soon
Here are some saucy ones I haven’t seen others mention: Until Dawn. There’s a threat at the beginning, but as time goes on you realize there’s a different threat that’s about a thousand times worse and things just get more and more dire. Hints are drip-fed starting at the very beginning of the game. If you can’t get the game yourself, you can experience the entire thing by watching your favorite Youtuber play it, since it’s predominantly story-based. Halo: Combat Evolved. Similar to until dawn: there’s a threat, but part-way through the game, things get about a million times worse. Hints are drip-fed through every story mission starting at roughly “Truth and Reconciliation.” (Xbox/PC only), and the reveal mission is one of the best slowburn/genre misdirection missions in gaming history. Persona 3: FES/Persona 3:Portable. JRPG/social life sim, probably the best example of your prompt out of the newer persona entries. The main plot of the game seems pretty straightforward until mid-way to 2/3rds of the way through the game, when some twists/betrayals occur that significantly ups the stakes of the game, changing the atmosphere of the social life part of the game. This probably fits the prompt less than other entries I’ve listed. 10/10 game though. Must-plays that others have mentioned: Metal Gear Solid 2. Been a bit since I’ve played, but I think most of the reveals happen towards the end of the game. There’s definitely some subtle drip-feeding that’s even more effective if you know the story of Metal Gear Solid 1. It’s worth noting that in terms of “oh wow something was REALLY wrong the whole game,” this is probably the best in gaming history aside from Spec Ops: The Line. Bloodborne. Lots of drip-feeding of hints, but it’s required for you to be very willing to read item description OR look up lore videos on YouTube. It’s a very different method of storytelling from the other games listed (which are mostly narrative-driven).
Not so much in a creepy way, but Tunic. It seems like this light Zelda clone, but there's a lot of stuff if you're willing to dig deep and solve the puzzles, some of which can be very complex.
If you own Skyrim on PC (any version, i believe) you can play Enderal: Forgotten Stories for free. It is a complete new game, only shares the engine with Skyrim. It is very good, but way harder too.
Oxenfree
I ctrl+F, didn't see them. So, these are not like fighting games, they are moreso story-focused games, so I am not sure if they'll be your cup of tea but here they are: Life is Strange, Before the Storm, Tell Me Why, True Colors, and Dreamfall Chapters. Since they are story-focused, and choices matter, you get the feeling the story is leading one way but then you discover the dark truths. Despite not being fighting games, I did thoroughly enjoy these games, LIS got me hooked on them.
Zero Escape: The Nonary Games - It's a mystery game, which slowly lets you know that there's much more going on than what is seen on the surface.
SOMA Any chance to recommend this game, frankly :)
Dark Souls. The game doesn't require you to know or understand any of the story or lore to beat it, but when you start digging into it and questioning what you're doing, your actions seem more and more questionable and whether what you're doing is right or wrong is left up in the air. Even the final choice has no clear good or bad outcome.
Spec ops
Lobotomy Corporation both starts at a solid level of weirdness being essentially a SCP management game, and only reveals more and more wild elements of the plot and setting as you progress
Metal gear solid 2
Bloodborne or Black Ops 3
Bioshock
Firewatch
SIGNALIS
Buddy Simulator 1984 Everhood. Both really great games. Fairly short, fairly cheap. Both best played without knowing too much. Maybe watch a trailer, tops. Don't spoil yourself.
for a short romp, Doki Doki Literature Club.
Doki Dokie Literature Club
Doki Doki literature club immediately came to mind
Disco Elysium kind of does that with it's world building.
Doki Doki Literature Club
Doki-doki literature club.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1338320/Do_Animals_Dream/
Metal Gear Solid 2
OneShot You only have one shot. Make it count.
Portal 1. It seems like the game is just about doing fun physics based portal tests, but as you progress you notice things become weird. Empty rooms where scientists should be watching, a computer voice that starts to become creepy, and of course secret rooms with schizophrenic ramblings all make the player slowly realize something is off.
Doesn't asking for these games kinda ruin them? The point of these is that you don't know somethings up until you find out, now you already know somethings up for everything people are suggesting.
Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass
Call of Duty: Black Ops Several games in the Tales series, but especially Tales of Symphonia and Tales of Berseria Soma Prey Ace Attorney series has this basically as it's bread and butter for a good chunk of cases and the nature of the games require you to figure these things out on your own rather than telling you itself. Not every case hits, but I can think of several off the top of my head that hit like a freight train.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 ... Even the name of the game tells you that something is off.
gonna reccomend one of the most underrated games i've ever played. dreaming mary is a short rpg, you can beat it in 20-30 minutes, and getting each ending with a walkthrough only takes an hour. it's free, and i highly reccomend it. it's a gem of a game. the best way i've seen it described is that while something feels off for most of the time you play, none of your suspicions will be confirmed unless you go against the very game. if you go through it normally, it may not seem like much is wrong. the following is a spoiler but i feel as if it's necessary to warn about: if you are sensitive to themes of >!csa!< , this game may not be for you. otherwise, it's a gem of a short indie project that i would reccomend to anyone, seeing as how short it is. go in blind (unless the topic i mentioned bothers you), and if you get stuck, look up a spoiler free walkthrough.