I just finished my second playthrough of Dead Island 2, and for some reason this game really resonated with me the way few other games ever have, and just like with the first playthrough, I’m kind of bummed that there’s nothing left for me to do in the game.
The story was the weakest part, but the gameplay, music, sound production, voice acting, “set design,” – everything-- was absolutely incredible, imo. Attention to detail is huge for me, and when I can read what it says on a tiny box of pills–that says passionate devs and quality publisher to me. I also LOVE how the zombie damage is depicted, with different weapons causing different wound shapes, and the guts jiggle independently of the body. Most satisfying zombie killing ever.
So what games did you yearn for more of when you finished it?
Control is like this for me. It’s already a pretty lengthy game if you aim to complete all the side missions and collect everything, but there’s definitely a point where it hits a wall, and it’s like, “Whelp, I got all the documents, records, files, outfits, etc. I really want to play more but there’s nothing more to do.”
Both “Dishonored” games
Mirror’s Edge. The ending scene in the game with the helicopter, I thought I was only halfway through, until I saw the credits roll in. I was like “WTF? THAT’S IT? THAT’S HOW IT ENDS??”
Then I played Mirror’s Edge Catalyst, which I think perfectly carries on from that horribly fumbled ending, but the gameplay just feels too overengineered to be enjoyable, they ruined the fighting mechanics, and the part that hurts me the most is that a majority of the original art direction was lost, it just feels like it was trying to blend in with all the Cyberpunk 2077 clones.
In both cases I’m sure it’s because of EA
I have two. First is Portal2. I had so much fun in that game. The second is Half-Life: Alyx. That is the game that taught me how immersive a VR game could be. I particularly enjoyed one part where I was in a pitch black tunnel with only a narrow flashlight beam to try and spot the head-crab that I could hear somewhere nearby in the darkness. But the whole game was a fantastic experience.
Alyx is a genre defining game. It’s Half-Life 3 for anyone who bought into VR, and it’s one of the best and most immersive games you’ll ever play. In fact, I’m hoping that it gets its due with the new Steam equipment.
I highly recommend looking into the Goldeneye Mod if you wanted to juice a little more playtime in the system. The facility map is :chefs-kiss:.
Try portal: reloaded and portal: revolution. Those are fan made mods with more levels. Pretty good so far.
Portal: Revolution is awesome!
Deathloop
I first played Deathloop on Gamepass and loved it even though I rushed through it (one of the negatives of GP is rushing through games so you “get your money’s worth”). When it came back to GP, I convinced my friend to play it, and ended up going through it a second time (though, again, hurriedly). I bought it on Steam at full price and gave it to my kid’s S.O. as a gift, but didn’t start playing… Until a couple weeks later when I canceled Gamepass and picked it up on Steam for $8. Been going through it for the 3rd time now, taking my time and exploring it all. Still enjoying it immensely, and still getting sucked into the lore!
Not really what you’re asking, but Lego: The Hobbit.
My wife and I used to love playing Lego games after a couple drinks. Being a bit drunk makes them very fun.
But with that one, Smaug flies out to go burn Laketown, and the credits roll. Apparently, the 3rd movie did so badly that they decided not to finish the game and just released it as is. It’s missing 1/3 of the game.
Megaman legends. Yes it was a little kid game (although legends 2 had some seriously dark moments regarding triggers reboot and recalling the master) but it just such a fun little low poly world to run around in and dig under.
And then it’s just gone and nothing else out there is like it.
Outer Wilds. Such a great game. I won’t post any spoilers but there were moments I actually held my breath. I had feelings I havent had in any other video game. It was bittersweet to finish. I still haven’t done the DLC - I’ve been saving it for a good time.
I just beat Outer Wilds a few months ago and the DLC last week. It’s easily one of my favorite games but once you know the secrets there’s no going back. I’m so glad I never had anything spoiled and went in on a random recommendation.
Even though I loved the base game the DLC doesn’t have quite the same feel. I got legitimately frustrated at certain parts too. But it’s also more outer wilds and is nearly it’s own game so can’t really complain.
I agree with the dlc. I could not finish it. I am sure they just wanted to do something new, but it just felt too different to me.
First time I really felt like I actually died/lost the game in a certain situation.
Not to be confused with Outer Worlds, the Morning bsidian RPG. That one is also good but nowhere near as mind-blowing as Outer Wilds is
The Outer Worlds was like… copper. Maybe tin. I went in with no expectations and was disappointed. It’s a fine game, it just really lacks depths and is way more linear than it puts on.
Honestly, I really disliked the end of outer worlds 1. The game felt not as polished near the end, and I got railroaded into the ‘evil’ ending with no way out of it.
Hoping outer worlds 2 fixes that, but I’m waiting for a deep discount first.
Wrapped it up this week, amazing game. One of my favorites of the last couple years.
You are supposed to finish them?
RDR2
I never should have left Horseshoe Overlook.
Spoilers
The game would be severely diminished if it’s story changed. IMO, the “good times” has more to do with Arthur being an “unreliable narrator” than the actual material circumstances.
This is illustrated best by Arthur recognizing Micah for what he was, while remaining childishly blind to Dutch’s character. Arthur’s constant doubt and reluctance was the truth bubbling up, just below Arthur’s consciousness.
The reading that Mica, Bill, and Javier are evil while Charles, John, and Arthur are good depends not on one group being more dishonorable, cruel, or murderous, but rather who stayed “loyal” to Dutch.
I think it’s brilliant the way the story uses the “ludonarrative dissonance” as tension not between gameplay and story, but perspective and reality.
Keep a save at the beginning of chapter 2 so you can go back to the good times.
Control
A sequel is coming.
Edit to add: Days Gone - great story and game
My cousin was on the dev team for Days Gone!
Don’t get to see him much, since he’s on the west coast & I’m in the Midwest, but it always makes me smile when people talk about “his” game (not a lead on the team, lol)
Tell 'em it’s never too late for a sequel!
Control is SO GOOD I felt exactly the same way. I just finished Alan Wake and I’m now playing Alan Wake 2 and would highly recommend them both if you enjoyed control. Alan Wake 2 has some tie-ins with the Control story too.
I had Alan Wake on PSPlus but cut that subscription, along with any support for Playstation after the Mythbusters fiasco, so I’ll have to pick them up on Steam/GoG/other sources when I’m done with my 4th playthrough and 100% achievements on a 2nd platform (PS4 and now PC).
Has to be mentioned: ASHTRAY MAZE. One of the best music and action levels I’ve enjoyed in any game.
Man, that game did so many things right. Really miss the experience and really looking forward to the next.
The service weapon as melee looks awesome and the Hiss escaping into New York provides for some awesome opportunities in a large (open?) world.
(open?) world.
No thank you
Good point, part of Control’s magic is the narrative which could be broken by an open world. Also would complicate one of the cool things about Control, which was that (AFAIK) you cannot lock yourself out from achievements.
Subnautica. There wasn’t really anything left to do, story-wise, but I wasn’t ready to go.
I’m still waiting for another game that will grip me like Subnautica did, Witcher 3, Far Cry 4 were my other obsessions, these days I install a game and play for a bit and then get bored of the repetitive game loop and uninstall, might also be because of all the current stress in my life that I cannot properly unwind and spend hours gaming
Aw man I loooooved that game so much and never beat it. I never even got into the final biome. I should play again and try to fully beat it. I beat Below Zero but that wasn’t as good as the original. It was still good but missing some things that made the first game incredible.
GTA IV
It was strange - I’m not much of a gamer anyway, but I’d never felt that way before after finishing a game. I really fell in love with NYC, even though it’s not at all the kind of place I’d want to live in.
Still, I had this sad, melancholic feeling hanging around for probably a week after.
Hey cousin! Let’s go bowling!
Still the only GTA I finished because ths story was so much fun. And yes, I went bowling a lot.
I live in NYC, and I missed the GTAIV version of my city when the game was over.
Reptilian death rays! Gotta be!
Titanfall 2. Such a well-crafted and deftlessly-executed story that lasted just a few hours. I really wish they had poured effort into making it the exceptional single-player experience it could have been instead of just another arena game.
Final Fantasy 12
I got to a point in the game where I was literally saying to myself “Oh, okay this is the mid game point, and after this things open up a bit and we maybe get a twist, kinda like FFX when it’s time to rescue Yuna from Bevelle, that’s where we are here.”
Went in, fought a boss, roll credits.
I was almost actually slack jawed in amazement that the game was actually over.
