What Game Came Close to being your Perfect Game?

[Xprimentyl]

Wasn't sure if I had this or not and went to take a look... yup!
Did you play 2? Got that for PS3 while Sony still supported PS3 and Vita on PS+. Man I miss that.
View attachment 1579

@ObsidianJones asked at Steam about the issue, thanks! I should have tried that long ago. I looked at the Windows support link you included but that's mostly about not being able to connect the controller to your PC. Mine connects. Just gotta be able to play the game.

Yeah, I played Prototype 2 as well. Not as good as the first one, but mostly because it didn't do much to differentiate itself from the first one, and the change from an "anti-hero" in the first to an outright "protagonist" in the second made it tonally dissonant considering the gameplay still had you terrorizing a city and consuming innocents.

 

[Gergar12]

None, my perfect game is set in the whole Star Wars Universe with all trillions of people, and all the planets, and all the weapons.

 

[sXeth]

There's an argument to made for Neverwinter Nights, given I played that for almost a decade straight. Granted, the counter-argumetn there is that the official content was basically trash or demo quality at best. and all longevity and interest was largely based on user content and worlds and interaction (a point Obsidan basically missed the boat on entirely when developing the sequel, which explains why its much less live while NWN1 stuff carries on)


Heroes of Might and Magic 3 (and 5, which is mainly 3 with shinier graphics, though I would give a slight edge to 3 still).A nice blend of turn-absed RTS with some city building/kingdom management elements, and some minor RPG throw in. In a setting I was somewhat nostalgic for that is at least somewhat unique (Although Heroes doesn't touch on too many of the more unique elements). There are definitely way more in depth variations of these style of games, but that can also be a detriment, I think HoMM hits a nice sweet spot in there.


Ultima 6. Ultima 6 basically refines the Ultima 4 and 5 experience out, without jumping into the various awkward real-time experiments of the latter entries gameplay wise. Alongside Ultima 4, its also one of the entries with its semi-unique premise of winning not being a matter of simply tackling down the big bad evil threat (although ironically the end of Ultima 4 is what causes the events of Ultima 6). Honestly, other then lacking some of the elements of player choice that come up in more modern CRPGs you could basically paste this forwards and it''d be standing in with your Torments and et al. Its also the first properly "open world", I can think of. With the exception of actual dungeons, keeping everything on singular map including towns.


Perfdect Dark. Stick a giant asterisk for N64 controls on here, but everything else about this has the seal of approval.


Unreal Tournament. What I would I consider the last great multiplayer deathmatch shooter. You got your variety of weapons, loads upon loads of maps. Bot matching. Even a campaign, such as it was. Nothing since has really set out to provide the quality and content of this type, despite sharing similar focus on multiplayer. Given that Epic has essentially abandoned the current iteration of the series to crowd-sourced development as they yanked the team for Fortnite BR, Digital Extremes is busy with Warframe, and Psyonix (who heloped on 2k4 with vehicles) has Rocket League, I wouldn't expect any rebirths to pop up anytime soon)

 

[Gordon_4]

Mass Effect 3. There has to be something compelling or magnetic about a game in which I have dropped 600+ hours and still love to death each time.

 

[SilentPony]

None, my perfect game is set in the whole Star Wars Universe with all trillions of people, and all the planets, and all the weapons.

What time though? Star Wars canon is a silly number of years long, with a lot of rises and falls of Republics, Jedis and Sith Wars.

 

[immortalfrieza]

What time though? Star Wars canon is a silly number of years long, with a lot of rises and falls of Republics, Jedis and Sith Wars.

Man, I'd go crazy for an open world Star Wars game, I don't care when it's set so long as it's a true single player and an action RPG. Preferably somewhere where there's a wide variety of environments so they could put a lot of stuff from across the Star Wars universe on one planet, or traveling between different planets with large open areas.

For the OP, mine would be a series. The Tales series of RPGs are easily the best games I've ever played, and they keep outdoing themselves with nearly every entry. The combat gets smoother and more fast paced, the characters are written brilliantly and identifiably, and the stories just destroy one cliche after another. Probably the only games that I would consider bad are Zesteria for easily being the most cliched of all the games and Legendia for deciding not to voice the characters abruptly halfway through the game. Both could use a remake to rework the story some in the case of the former and fully voice and improve the graphics in the case of the latter. I suppose there's also the playstation 1 and earlier entries which don't have a lot of the stuff the later games do and thus are looking really outdated, but they're still not bad.

 

[EvilRoy]

The Tales series of RPGs are easily the best games I've ever played, and they keep outdoing themselves with nearly every entry.

I loved Tales of Destiny 2 (Tales of Eternia) way back because I thought the battle system was totally groundbreaking - keeping in mind that at that time I had played punishingly few JRPGs or even RPGs because they were either associated with satanism, or just not available in my town built on the crossroads of 'nowhere' and 'who gives a shit'. Plus the depth of the game was pretty mindblowing for me, just the sheer amount of stuff in the game and then you go to a whole new world and there's even more stuff and its all stylistically different.

Keep meaning to check out some of the more recent installations, but I haven't owned a console since the Wii.

 

[Dreiko]

I loved Tales of Destiny 2 (Tales of Eternia) way back because I thought the battle system was totally groundbreaking - keeping in mind that at that time I had played punishingly few JRPGs or even RPGs because they were either associated with satanism, or just not available in my town built on the crossroads of 'nowhere' and 'who gives a shit'. Plus the depth of the game was pretty mindblowing for me, just the sheer amount of stuff in the game and then you go to a whole new world and there's even more stuff and its all stylistically different.

Keep meaning to check out some of the more recent installations, but I haven't owned a console since the Wii.

Tales of Berseria is pretty great, both plot and gameplay-wise. I think some of them are on pc too.

 

[BrawlMan]

This is a simple concept, but I have to say quite handily my perfect game came in the form of Darksiders 2.

If you know anything about me, I like Combos, I like Grinding for Levels/strength, and I like Loot. Nioh came close with this, but it's still stiff in the Soulsborne manner that the combat isn't as fluid as I like.

But being Death? Everything feels fluid. Every encounter feels like the ability to show off how I've grown from the last. And the loot. The sweet, sweet loot. I'm a self proclaimed Loot Whore. I'll admit I feel Nioh has a more robust loot system, but it does not give me Aerial Raves like I can pull off in Darksiders 2.

Also it has the Crucible. I love arena levels. Sometimes I don't care about the plot of the game. Sometimes, I just want to deal some damage.

Now some of the things that keeps it from being my perfect game is the setting. It feels like a 14 year olds wet dream. Or at least a digitalized Death Metal Album cover. It's not to my liking. And as I touched on, the loot could be more robust.

I only discovered Darksiders on my Switch, even though I had it for years on my computer. But hopefully there's a next gen experience that will put DS 2 to shame.

For you.

​

 

[BrawlMan]

Yeah, I played Prototype 2 as well. Not as good as the first one, but mostly because it didn't do much to differentiate itself from the first one, and the change from an "anti-hero" in the first to an outright "protagonist" in the second made it tonally dissonant considering the gameplay still had you terrorizing a city and consuming innocents.

I hated the 2nd game so much. Thank you for getting rid of Alex Mercer's character development assholes. And then play as some other guy you do not care about.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

Titanfall 2 is probably the best FPS game I've ever played. It doesn't have the best singleplayer, you could argue that some games have a better multiplayer, but there isn't game I've played that offers so much quality in both sections. TF2's campaign is just a fucking blast to play through, offering quite a lot of variety and epic setpieces. The multiplayer will have you aching for wallrunning and grappling hooks in every other FPS shooter you play.

The game is just pure, unadulterated fun injected straight into your bloodstream. I'd give both my legs for the IP to go to literally anyone else other than EA for the third game. Which I really, really we get.

 

[Ghostrick Dorklord]

Darkstalkers 3/Vampire Savior: I love this game to death (ha) and its my favorite fighting game ever. Its very fast and it has a ton of personality. I love all the characters, both design and personality wise, and how over the top it is. I just wish there was more games to this series, something new to enjoy. Its not that I don't love it, its just that its the only thing I have for the past couple of decades other than cameos in the Capcom Vs games. I don't think newer fighting games captured the charm of this game either, though I do think Under Night in-Birth comes close so special mention to that.

Ni no Kuni 2: I actually didn't play the first game mind you but I'm in love with the combat and art style in this game. Sure it isn't DMC or anything like that but I really liked how they blend the JRPG aspects with fast paced combat that feels so good, at least for me. I also was actually hooked with the story with Roland being the President and transported to another world while being competent at everything. But that's one of the problems for me; The story doesn't focus on Roland at all and its just not as interesting as that first hook once it gets going. There's some things I don't like; For example I like how combat transitions between combat and exploration in dungeons but instead of connecting everything together organically they decided to put in this world map that I don't like at all, namely for it being slow and honestly taking out some of my immersion due to a different art style. I also don't like the random RTS sections, which does seem optional (I stopped playing at a point), but there's a lot in the game that wants you to focus on it when there doesn't seem to be much strategy involved. It just brings it down for me.

Nexomon: Extinction: This is what I wanted from Pokemon for a while now. A great plot going on and all mons are not only catchable but viable. And heck they even have some realism to the plot and its mechanics since the game likes to poke fun at everything in the genre. The only thing that brings it down for me is that the gameplay is pretty simple. Simple is best is good yeah but I really love all the small additions to gameplay Pokemon over the years that makes things fun and interesting for me.

No More Heroes 1+Desperate Struggle: I love these games too. A fun hack and slash with wacky bosses and a big meta commentary behind it? Sign me up! I do love the colorful cast of wackos yeah but there's only a few things that do bother me. Namely the overworld in 1 doesn't have anything special to do other than finding shirts and 2 while streamlining the experience makes money kind of redundant and loses the meta commentary it was going for. And combat feels fine and all I just wish it wasn't designed around the Wii's motion control philosophy.

Disgaea: Hour of Darkness: I have mentioned this game before many times. I love the story, the characters, and the gameplay but I don't think the latter part actually aged well compared to the newer games. The newer games made it easier to grind to the higher levels easily and all that. However I feel like even with all the new gameplay and balance improvements the stories and characters (barring 4) have been pretty weak compared to the original. I didn't like 5's cast because they felt pretty static, notably Red Magnus and Seraphina who don't really gain anything from the story. They did a remaster of the first game but they only updated the visuals [somewhat] and didn't add any of the newer mechanics or anything other than a few monster classes replacing some of the old but it feels clunky in comparison.

Yakuza 0: Great combat, story, and characters. I think this is one of my favorite experiences in recent years and it feels very unique. I honestly can't think too much of any critiques for this game to be honest. Its just a really fun time and I won't forget it. Its just feel like the other games on this list has priority over it due to nostalgia or what not. However I will say this is the best use of a sandbox I've ever experienced due to the amount of activities and side quests to do.

Odin Sphere: I'd probably say this is my perfect game. Its a hack and slash JRPG but it simplifies things somewhat, not that its a bad thing. The story is very interesting, being based on Norse myth but taking its own spin on things like this version of Thor is a bit of a jackass for example. The story however is told through different perspectives based a different protagonist. I really love how its presented like this because you get to see everything in the story and different sides of characters. The most notable example is Belial the dragon who first appears as the first boss in the game, just summoned by the Fairy Queen to deal with Gwendolyn and seems to be just a big scary dragon. However in Cornelius' and Mercedes' story we learn that he isn't a mindless beast, being capable of speech but is also a very compassionate character who's forced to fight due to his master magically controlling him. I do really love the gameplay too because its very fast and simple, maybe too simple for me to like unlike Ni no Kuni 2 but I still really like it. Its one of those games I've been thinking ever since I first played way back when. But I'm honestly beating around the bush at this point. I know the perfect game for me is...

BIRD GAME 10/10 GAME OF FOREVER BABEH!

And that's my ted talk! BUH BYE!

 

[Mister Mumbler]

Mine connects. Just gotta be able to play the game.

Hmm...it might be that Windows didn't attach the right drivers to it to respond properly to Steam. Check your 'Devices and Printers' from the Control Panel.

EDIT: Whoops, on-topic; Burnout 3. It is an amazing arcade racer that I have put a lot of time in over the years, but it's soundtrack is mostly dated these days.

 

[Phoenixmgs]

The only games that really come to mind as possibly being perfect are...

SMB3
- cuz it's fucking SMB3

Bayonetta
- I really can't find a single thing I don't like about the game (outside of PS3 port issues). I love the world, lore, characters, story; it's kinda like a super B-movie John Wick played ridiculous instead of serious. I can't even find a nitpick about the gameplay; I love the dodge offset to death and I love how the game literally teaches how to play as you go up difficulties slowly drip-feeding you enemies that are immune to witch time and then basically removing it from the game on NSIC difficulty. There's also no fluff whatsoever in the game.

Shadow of the Colossus
- Another game with no fluff, the game delivers only and exactly what it needs to. The boss battles are epic and basically puzzles at the same time. The world is barren but also extremely interesting to explore. Exploration should just be something you want to do vs only doing because of a reward for loot or something. I never understood the criticism of the controls in Team ICO games, I've never had a single issue with the controls. They may not be standard but they work just as well with a little getting used to.

Metal Gear Online 2
- The very best online shooter ever created and a testament to Kojima's game design. The reason it's a testament to his game design is because literally the only thing that had to be changed for the multiplayer environment was that tranq darts don't slowly drain stamina over time and they take a set amount of stamina away instead as that would be pretty broken in multiplayer. Outside of that all his gameplay systems work perfectly and better than anybody else's systems in a multiplayer environment. Not only that but pretty much every single multiplayer shooter copied MGO2's SOP system in some form (being able to see teammates/enemies through walls) after 4-5 years, but did it worse. Sensor grenades in your Gears of War and COD are fucking e-locators. It's also all about being able to do the little things like lean or throw a grenade underhand or grab a dude, stick C4 to him, and let him run around until you feel like detonating it. That's why the control scheme isn't "standard" and takes some time to get used to because you're allowed to do many actions that aren't "standard" with ZERO contextual controls to boot so you always do what you input vs the game deciding you rolled instead of took cover (like Uncharted). Lastly, the game features amazing game modes like fucking Team Sneaking, it's so fucking good that I hope the PS5 controllers work flawlessly with the PS3 so I can play Team Sneaking with a proper controller again because you can't find DS3s anymore.

---

Close but no cigar...

Horizon Zero Dawn
- Just about as well designed an open world game there is. It's very reserved in nature without have 100s of points of interests that are just busy. Basically everything is there to serve the game in one form or another. The story isn't about some immediate threat making faffing about not feel completely out of place. Faffing about is part of the story and Aloy's development while there also being far less faffing than pretty much every other open world game. The game's enemies also require an open world to be housed in. Everything in the game is working towards a singular experience. The human combat sucks, but that's like it.

Dishonored
- I prefer the original over the sequel because of the rather elaborate options you have for eliminating (but not killing) your targets that's not present in the sequel. Dunwall is a very interesting city to explore and uncover lore whether it be stuff about whale oil or a small personal story you uncover. Dishonored is kinda like a black hole version of a Bethesda game with all the interesting bits compressed into a rather small world where every few steps you can find something interesting. I do wish the overall story had more to it and that Corvo wasn't a silent protagonist (he does get a voice, Garrett the thief, in the sequel).

 

[BrawlMan]

No More Heroes 1+Desperate Struggle: I love these games too. A fun hack and slash with wacky bosses and a big meta commentary behind it? Sign me up! I do love the colorful cast of wackos yeah but there's only a few things that do bother me. Namely the overworld in 1 doesn't have anything special to do other than finding shirts and 2 while streamlining the experience makes money kind of redundant and loses the meta commentary it was going for. And combat feels fine and all I just wish it wasn't designed around the Wii's motion control philosophy.

In NMH2 on Wii, you can play with the classic controller. On the Switch versions of 1 and 2, you can play with a controller if you want. From what I've seen, both transitioned great. Just a heads up.

 

[stroopwafel]

Shadow of the Colossus
- Another game with no fluff, the game delivers only and exactly what it needs to. The boss battles are epic and basically puzzles at the same time. The world is barren but also extremely interesting to explore. Exploration should just be something you want to do vs only doing because of a reward for loot or something. I never understood the criticism of the controls in Team ICO games, I've never had a single issue with the controls. They may not be standard but they work just as well with a little getting used to.

SotC is a game I really wanted to like. I love the game's set-up and general ambiance. Played it on PS2 when it first came out, made it past the first few colossi and lost motivation to continue playing. Gave it another chance on PS3 HD collection b/c better framerate, same thing. Then the remake by Bluepoint and same thing again.

I think it's ultimately that combination of jittery, imprecise and clumsy controls. Which could be part of it's charm but fighting against the controls seems to be the biggest gameplay element, b/c the colossi themselves are basically just gimmick battles. Atleast in my experience there isn't really a satisfying feedback loop. But I can definitely see why the game is so revered as a classic.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Bayonetta
- I really can't find a single thing I don't like about the game (outside of PS3 port issues). I love the world, lore, characters, story; it's kinda like a super B-movie John Wick played ridiculous instead of serious. I can't even find a nitpick about the gameplay; I love the dodge offset to death and I love how the game literally teaches how to play as you go up difficulties slowly drip-feeding you enemies that are immune to witch time and then basically removing it from the game on NSIC difficulty. There's also no fluff whatsoever in the game.

Not even the really, really, REALLY bad QTE cutscenes that just appear out of nowhere and insta-kill you with just one wrong button press, which then factors into your overall score? Because I tried getting into this game again with the PS4 remaster and the moment I discovered they didn't bother to take that shit out I drop the game immediately.

OT: MY perfect game? Probably still Resident Evil 4. Still has the best third-person shooting of any game, with just the perfect aim wobble. The laser pointer not only makes aiming feel more skillful compared to games that have a reticle, it also gives the impression of you aiming the gun as opposed to the screen. Guns have the most satisfying kick to them, and reload animations are sexy as hell.

The dank, swampy farm setting is a great backdrop for a creepy monster adventure, and the variety and design of the creatures is superb. Sound design and music is fantastic as well. Voice acting is utterly silly, but with passion behind it- none of it feels phoned in, or like they didn't know what they were doing. What is there to say about the story other than that it's a perfect fit for a game where you play a badass who shoots a bunch of monsters. And the dumb ass one-liners are just a treasure.

Ashley is still one of the best A.I. companions in games, only being frustrating if you treat her as a frustration. Her huddling behind Leon the moment you draw a weapon is one of the most underrated mechanics in games. Not only is it incredibly effective to keep her out of harm's way, it perfectly shows the roles of both characters; Leon as the protector, Ashley as the protectee. It's a marriage of mechanics and narrative that really doesn't get more flawless than that.

You also get to supplex monks, with the occasional head explossion as a result.

I'd say the only thing genuinely wrong with this game is that it's a bit too long, with the game kinda feeling like it's running out of steam when you get to the industrial setting. The lack of a strafe highlighting the awkwardness of the tank controls. And the subplot of Leon being injected with the Plagas, which adds a ticking clock neither to the gameplay or the narrative, and is just completely superfluous.

 

[Iron]

I like role-playing. New Vegas was wonderful for me, same with Deus Ex (the OG), additionally games of other genres - like Xcom (turn-based strategy) and Stellaris (real-time excel sheet simulator) were really ideal for my favorite kind of game. I love it when I can immerse myself in a game and wake up when I have to pee several hours later without even noticing the time.

 

[BrawlMan]

Not even the really, really, REALLY bad QTE cutscenes that just appear out of nowhere and insta-kill you with just one wrong button press, which then factors into your overall score? Because I tried getting into this game again with the PS4 remaster and the moment I discovered they didn't bother to take that shit out I drop the game immediately.

It's why I love 2 so much more than 1. I'm use to most of the QTEs, but it does make it any less annoying. Especially when you have grind halos, put way more hours in to unlocking a weapon than necessary, and have to go through all of bull crap just unlock the equivalent of DMC's Bloody Palace. 2 fixed that with weapons that are easier to get or unlock by completing simpler task, all QTEs mainly do is reward you points for doing them with quick reaction time with rarely a punishment in failure, and Witch Trials are unlocked after beating the game once. Then you have the 2 player co-op mode. Something DMC really didn't get until the Switch edition of 3:SE. DMC5, does not count as it is not even true multiplayer. Not unless you're playing a modded version of 5.

Sure Bayo2 when a bit overboard in making thing easier. There is a little to no punishment using items as they no longer effect your score, but I am already hard wired not to use them anyway. Other than that and what I described in my first post, the game is nearly flawless.

 

[meiam]

I loved Tales of Destiny 2 (Tales of Eternia) way back because I thought the battle system was totally groundbreaking - keeping in mind that at that time I had played punishingly few JRPGs or even RPGs because they were either associated with satanism, or just not available in my town built on the crossroads of 'nowhere' and 'who gives a shit'. Plus the depth of the game was pretty mindblowing for me, just the sheer amount of stuff in the game and then you go to a whole new world and there's even more stuff and its all stylistically different.

Keep meaning to check out some of the more recent installations, but I haven't owned a console since the Wii.

You're in luck, tale of grace F is literally the tales of with the best combat system and it's on the wii. Sadly it also has one of the worst story/cast...