How could I have deprived myself for so long?

[Cowabungaa]

The first Doom, actually.

I'm well-aware of Doom's reputation. I played a little bit of Doom 2 years ago and though I forgot anything about my experience a love for the run & gun shooter genre was always there. So I've always played some of them, like Painkiller, the Shadow Warrior remake, Duke Nukem 3D, Unreal Tournament, Quake 2, etc.

So here we are a month or so ago and Doom 2016 comes out. Tough luck says my wallet, you ain't getting it. So what do I do instead? Get Ultimate Doom on GoG for a fiver to get at least a bit of a fix. And since I never really played that, why not right?

Spoiler: Me half an hour later.

[HEADING=2]Oh my God this is amazing![/HEADING]

After I updated the control scheme to modern sensibilities of course. Gotta need some WASD and mouse look. But after I did that I had an absolute blast and ripped through it in a matter of days. Truly the best run & gun shooter I've ever played.

It makes me want to go checkout earthbound and mother 3.

Earthbound I can absolutely recommend, which is actually the other game that made me feel like this recently.

I can't remember the circumstances but I found out it was real easy to do a certain somethin' somethin' with a PSP. And seeing as I hadn't touched my PSP in ages I decided hell why not because I wasn't into gaming much during the SNES generation, so now I could actually check some of those classics out. Earthbound was one of the first I went to and so far it's one of the few that's actually sticking with me. It's fantastic and truly unique, I can see why it got its cult status.

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

The Shin Megami Tensei series in general. Playing and loving SMT IV despite its insane difficulty got me interested in the rest. Now I probably play the Devil Survivor games, Soul Hackers,, Strange Journey and Nocturne more than I play any other franchise.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

Rocket league is a damn drug, stay clear! No, wait...Love it dearly. But not too dearly, you'll scare it away. But, umm yeah, similar thing over here with that game. Also free map updates! Yayy!!

To try and be original, i'd add Oxenfree. Words cannot do it justice, i guess is the running theme for us all here, right?

Shadow Warrior, the title and cover art are fairly offputting. Were it not for accidentally viewing a snippet of gameplay, i may never have tried it.

 

[Casual Shinji]

The first God of War.

This was before I had internet, and all the promotional material only ever showed the QTE bits, so I figured this game was just a more violent version of Parapa the Rapper. Also I didn't care much for the look of the main character.

Then I got a demo of it on disc in a magazine and thought 'What the heck...' I couldn't peddle fast enough to the nearest videostore.

 

[beyondbrainmatter]

Planescape: Torment, lol. I used to be like: "...Can't possibly be better than Baldurs Gate 2"...

 

[FakeSympathy]

Battlefield Bad Company 2.

I was used to the closed quarted quick match style of COD. Then Bad Co.2 changed my fps experience forever. Ever since then, BF series became my favorite FPS franchise

 

[tippy2k2]

I've had a few lately.

Well first, it took me a while longer than most to get to the Souls games, starting with Demon's. Definitely one of the greatest gaming journeys I've taken (well, still taking actually). After playing so many series guided by cut scenes, scripted sequences, etc. it was a breath of fresh air to play something where the gameplay alone could deliver something deeper and more engaging than anything in recent memory.

Next would be Shadow of the Colossus. Started playing the HD version over a year ago, but gave up after the 3rd because they felt too similar and I was distracted by other games. Decided to give it another go recently and don't regret it one bit. These creatures are some of the best designed "levels" in gaming history, and tactics really do vary as the game progresses. Kinda glad I waited for the update because I've heard the original had performance issues. If I had more time this would be a game I'd love to Platinum. Its simplicity of design suits it well, and the singular challenges make each victory feel incredibly significant and satisfying.

Most recently though, Deus Ex: HR Director's Cut is taking up the mantle. I heard it was good, but kinda took a "we'll see" approach. Would have started it a long time ago if I knew it would be like taking the best from the original's depth of design and adding modern play-ability. I've barely gotten into it after taking a brief reprieve from SotC, but as soon as I finish that I'll be sinking my teeth into this digital treasure chest.

 

[RebornKusabi]

Alien: Isolation

I bought it digitally on PS4 (like I do for all of my current gen games) and for some reason never played it. The reviews came in and I felt slightly put off by some of them, and I just got lost in other games that came out around it (like the incredible The Evil Within).

When I finally got around to playing it... THIS YEAR, to be exact, I immediately fell in love with it. It's the best Alien, period, and I legitimately felt sad when I read up that it bombed :/

 

[Saelune]

Metal Gear Solid. Wasn't until my brother bought a PS3 (after PS4s just released) and I wanted my own PS3 game, and bought the MGSHD collection. Played em all back to back over the time span of maybe a month. Beat MGS4 in one go in under one day. Though I got the basic version, and halfway through either MGS3 or Peace Walker found out there was a better version that had MGS4 and a code for 1, so I got it. Ended up going MGS2, 3, Peace Walker, 1, 4. Its not as confusing a plot when you play em all at once.

Unfortunately I became a super fan just in time to experience the awfulness of MGSV. Fuck that game.

 

[SweetShark]

Many games actually.
I play a lot of games for many years and by experience I know I am not rhe mainstream guy. I don't get easily hype for AAA titles (with some exceptions like Persona 5, Doom). This happened with the first Deadspace. Not interested for the game and when I saw the reactions for the 3rd game, I decided to be away as far as possible from this series.
Then I get the EA humble bundle and just for the heck of it, I installed it.
What a great game.
The satisfaction I get when I rip and tear space zombies, seeing some very unique jumpscares, digging the lore of the game made me at least to play1 the sequel in the near future.
In the end, some hypes are real people.

 

[FPLOON]

Hmmmmm... I guess Splatoon would be the most recent game that can come similar to a feeling of depravity... I mean, it was yet another game I would play for literally hours before realizing that I'm past the point of insomnia and sleep was out of the question... Also, I'm reminded of the first game that gave me that depraved feeling of missing out in the form of Tales of Symphonia for the GameCube all because of how I first dismissed the game all because my middle school "rival" praised the game to "high heaven" and then later only bought the game (once I had a GameCube) because I wanted to feel like I was right about my "rival" spouting BS about the game in the first place... That game, too, I would play for literal hours on end just because I wanted to see what the next plot twist would be this time...

Other than that, on the "ironic" end of the spectrum, I bought the first build of Skullgirls off PSN (before that version was pulled because Konami or some shit like that) out on a fucking limb and barely touched it until right before the announcement of Skullgirls Encore and then having my friends play against me locally because they were interested in what Encore had to offer...

 

[Jute88]

Probably the Total War games, it was maybe back in 2012/2013 when I bought Total War: Rome during a sale because why the hell not, Civilization never looked good to me until I tried it myself. So I started playing Rome and I was like, this is great! So I ended up buying Total War: Shogun 2 because I felt like I needed something more recently released and ended up spending 100 hours in to it.

Total War: Rome 2 kinda killed it for me though.

Have you tried the original Shogun and Medieval 1 and 2? They're all pretty good (Shogun is a bit bare bones, but still okay).

It's one of my favorite game series, but I've only been able to beat it twice without cheating (Shogun and Medieval: Viking Invasion). I was about to ask how good Shogun 2 is compared to the rest of the series, but since you've apparently only played Rome 1 and 2...

 

[Jeroenr]

For me it was Dark Souls. Because all everyone talks about is how difficult that series is, I assumed it's popularity was in being some kind of throwback to old school coin-stealers that I had no interest in because I didn't spend my childhood staving off parental neglect in some arcade. What encouraged me to give it a go was the Best Friends' LP of Dark Souls 2, which made me realise it was actually just a really good, really deep action-RPG series that's actually quite manageable once you know how it works. So then I bought DS1, then a few months later Bloodborne came out and I've never looked back since.

Pretty much this. I thought Dark Soul's was going to be yet another generic fantasy game, probably filled with orcs, elves, and dwarves. Then everyone started talking about how hard it was, and I promptly lost interest. It just sounded like some awful old school throwback title.

Then Yahtzee basically called it a metroidvania game, and I promptly bought it for about $15. Good thing, too. I think I knew I'd found something special the moment the title music started. Me and Dark Soul's have been enjoying a happy BDSM lifestyle ever since.

When i first played it, i had a really hard time with the Taurus Demon (or even getting there to be honest)
Combined with not getting how to use the stats properly. (just leveling health)
The game wasn't challenging difficult, but unfun like brutal.
Year (or 2) later gave it a go again, did figure out how the stats worked.
And its up in my top 10 most fun games i played.

 

[Mcgeezaks]

Probably the Total War games, it was maybe back in 2012/2013 when I bought Total War: Rome during a sale because why the hell not, Civilization never looked good to me until I tried it myself. So I started playing Rome and I was like, this is great! So I ended up buying Total War: Shogun 2 because I felt like I needed something more recently released and ended up spending 100 hours in to it.

Total War: Rome 2 kinda killed it for me though.

Total War: Rome 2 killed it for a lot of people, but don't let that shitty game ruin things for you, since there have been good Total War games before and since. You've already mentioned Rome and Shogun 2, so I'd recommend progressing with Napoleon and Attila. Napoleon is the good version of Empire and Attila is kind of like the good version of Rome 2 as well. The new Warhammer one is apparently good too.

Yeah that's true, I'm gonna wait for the summer sale to buy a couple of Total War games, thanks!

Probably the Total War games, it was maybe back in 2012/2013 when I bought Total War: Rome during a sale because why the hell not, Civilization never looked good to me until I tried it myself. So I started playing Rome and I was like, this is great! So I ended up buying Total War: Shogun 2 because I felt like I needed something more recently released and ended up spending 100 hours in to it.

Total War: Rome 2 kinda killed it for me though.

Have you tried the original Shogun and Medieval 1 and 2? They're all pretty good (Shogun is a bit bare bones, but still okay).

It's one of my favorite game series, but I've only been able to beat it twice without cheating (Shogun and Medieval: Viking Invasion). I was about to ask how good Shogun 2 is compared to the rest of the series, but since you've apparently only played Rome 1 and 2...

I haven't but thanks for the suggestions. I really loved Shogun 2 and it's getting a lot of love over at steam, if that helps anything.

 

[Denamic]

I guess dota. I kept hearing how good dota was way back in the day, but I was sure it was nothing for me. Then I got a dota 2 beta key. Got thousands of hours in the piece of shit trash game and I love it.

 

[CaitSeith]

Skyrim. I didn't start to play it until the past. But after starting, I didn't play anything else for months.

 

[The Raw Shark]

Knights of The Old Republic 1,2 and The Old Republic.
Yeah the endings for both KoTOR games aren't the BEST but besides that I couldn't help but just love both games anyways. And honestly I don't hate The Old Republic when it ignores anything involving their butchering of Revan and The Exile.

The games just let me feel so free to act how I want. There was so much wit and snark to the characters dialogue with agreeing, disagreeing and being neutral all present in their glory. Even mixed varieties in dialogue were present to make me like I could say exactly what I wanted to. Or this is just me still reeling from Dragon Age: Shitquisition's piss poor dialogue and story.

Either way I can't believe even now how much I like the games.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

For me it was Mass Effect 2. I think we can all agree ME1 is kinda a snoozefest that didn't age well at all. Its clunky, awkward, routinely boring and repetitive and the controls are abysmal. So I really put off ME2 for years. I ended up getting it on firesale when my local Games Stop closed down for like $4.99 used, and this was like 4 weeks before ME3 came out.

Totally loved every second of it and pre-ordered ME3 right around the time I realized you could romance Tali. 'cause waifu!

And Portal. Didn't get around to playing Portal until after Portal 2. Its alright. Fun and whatnot. I think Portal 2 is the superior game, but they're both fun enough.

And I guess I'll mention Amnesia. If only because it made me want to play Amnesia A Machine for Pigs, the better of the two. And I didn't get around to DD until the day AMFP came out.

 

[Worgen]

Rayman origins. I got it rather cheap on steam sale and absolutely loved it. Too bad the sequel needed uplay.
Dark Souls, I got it it on steam long ago but it took me forever to actually play it, even after gfwl was removed. Mostly because I just didnt want to get into something as big as I saw it being. Eventually I ran other out other things and played it, loved it.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Just yesterday I beat Kirby and the Amazing Mirror. Maybe I don't frequent the right corners of the internet but you don't generally hear people sing the praises of Kirby games in general and when they do it's games like Return to Dreamland, Adventure 3, and other games which are hard to find/expensive. Amazing Mirror is a game I tried playing but couldn't wrap my head around back in 2012 I think, back when I got my 3DS (ambassador program freebie). I picked it back up about 3 or 4 days ago and just binge-played it. It's this weird sort of game and I want to use the term Metroidvania to describe it though I think Kirbyvania would be more appropriate. You can conceivably go anywhere in the world from the very beginning if you have the correct power-up. There's a whole lot of exploration to be done. There are a lot of re-used bosses which is kinda lame (I lost count of how many times I fought that fire-bat and the box) but the unique, shard-holding bosses were a lot better (Mega Titan and, Dark Mind are rightfully praised, holy shit).

I'll be back on this thread in about...5 months or so when I get a PS4 Slim or whatever and a butt-ton of PS4 games that I missed out on over the last 3 years or so. I already know Dying Light is good and I already know that I hate The Last of Us so I'll try not to gush too much when I get there.