For me, in no particular order:

  • Firewatch
  • This War of Mine
  • What Remains of Edith Finch
  • Gone Home
  • Papers Please
  • Doki Doki Literature Club
  • I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream
  • count_duckula@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
    2·
    2 years ago

    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.

    • nicotinell@lemmy.ml
      1·
      2 years ago

      I fell into a week long depression after finishing the game for the first time. For me the Witcher 3 is the best story you’ll find in a game, period.

      • count_duckula@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
        1·
        2 years ago

        Arguably the best story telling in a game. Each side quest was given a lot of attention to detail and never felt like any were copy-paste jobs.

  • Contramuffin@lemmy.world
    2·
    2 years ago

    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

    • curryandbeans@lemmy.world
      1·
      2 years ago

      Yeah what an unbelievable game. The music really hit the feels button for some reason. I still need to play the DLC!

      • IceHazard@lemm.ee
        1·
        2 years ago

        I highly recommend the DLC! The best thing I can say about it is that it’s more Outer Wilds, with the same level of world-building, puzzle-solving, and emotional impact.

  • HydraliskConcave@lemmy.world
    1·
    2 years ago

    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.

  • sigtro@vlemmy.net
    1·
    2 years ago

    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

    • 🇰 🌀 🇱 🇦 🇳 🇦 🇰 🇮 🏆@yiffit.net
      1·
      2 years ago

      Oh man… I don’t know why this wasn’t the first thing I thought of when ever since I played it earlier this year, I have had the phrase “I don’t want to be this kind of animal anymore” stuck in my head. I think that daily.

  • Teodomo@lemmy.world
    1·
    2 years ago
    • 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
  • anon@lemm.ee
    1·
    2 years ago

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

  • Woedenaz@lemmy.fmhy.ml
    1·
    2 years ago

    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.

  • Cavemanfreak@vlemmy.net
    0·
    2 years ago

    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.

    • Rannoch@lemm.ee
      1·
      2 years ago

      Same! Loved Before Your Eyes. It was short and not necessarily replayable many times, but very emotional and unique. I’d love to find other unique games like this, where the main game/mechanic is new or different in some way like the blinking control was, but not sure how to find them!

  • EpeeGnome@lemmy.fmhy.ml
    0·
    2 years ago

    A lot of good ones, but no one has mentioned Brothers: a Tale of Two Sons. Fairly short, controlling two characters simultaneously was a cool mechanic, and the puzzles were fun but not very challenging. It probably hit me the hardest of any game I’ve played. I literally teared up every time

    spoiler

    I pressed older brother’s interact button in the final chapter.

    • Daymanz@lemmy.world
      2·
      2 years ago

      I was hoping to see this one here. Been a long while since I played, but it still stands out in my memory. I love the way that game manipulates the control scheme towards the end to perfectly mirror the loss felt by the character (and his eventual overcoming that loss).

  • Virtim@lemmy.virtim.dev
    0·
    2 years ago

    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.