this post was submitted on 09 Oct 2025
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Man a lot of recent games have been amazing. God of War 2018. The return of Kratos in a whole new setting and gameplay style.
Elden Ring as my first souls game. Being an absolute souls noob, my build was shit. Every boss defeated truly felt amazing. The journey was long and hard to become Elden Lord. The environments, enemy design, it is truly and outstanding game.
Kingdome Come Deliverance 2. Has to be one of the best RPGs. It commits to what it is, and I have probably learned more about Bohemian history from the game than in school.
Baldur's Gate 3 as my first Baldur's Gate game. Nothing needs to be said about this absolute master piece. Except Laezel > Karlach > Shadowheart.
The Bayonetta franchise. What an amazing over the top experience. Especially Bayo 1 has this early playstation 1-2 vibes that tickles my monkey brain.
So many more games that I wish I could erase out of my mind to experience again for the first time.
If we’re specifically doing recent games, then Outer Wilds really is a once-in-a-lifetime gaming experience. Which, if you’ve not played it, you really want to play with as few spoilers as possible. It’s genuinely one of the most profoundly moving experiences I’ve had while consuming any media.
Will check it out, lots of people praise it. I have a certain love for Starbound. Very different kind of game, but also on the vain of Space Exploration. So i'll give it a go soon!
Right now playing through Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon. If u need something to hit that Elder Scrolls spot then u should try it!
If you do check it out, then I’ve got two recommendations. The first is as I’ve already said - try to know as little as possible going in. Progression is the aquisition of knowledge, so the more you know going in, the more cool discoveries you’re not allowing yourself to have organically.
The second is to not treat it as a game. Every person I’ve seen not like the game has treated it as a game with quests and having to finish an area before progressing to the next, etc. etc.
Instead be the character, and be in the world they’re in. If you see something and think “oh, that looks interesting”…go and look at the interesting thing. If you see something and think “oh, does that mean…” …go and find out if it does mean. And if you get distracted by something shiny along the way, get distracted by the shiny thing.
Lots of games sell themselves as being open world. This game really is, one necessary trigger right at the start aside. It’s my most-watched YouTube let’s play because every single person who plays it has a very, very different path through it. The first thing one player does might be something that another player does right before the end. And it’s so well-written that both are equally rewarding and make the player feel like they’ve discovered things in the “right” order.
And that is a big part of what gives it its power. It’d honestly make a good film, book, or TV series. But none of them would be as good as the game, because here you’re not being told the story, you’re discovering it for yourself, and in a way that nobody else quite has.
I’m very evangelical for this game (can you tell?), but that’s because it really is an experience. There’s a review quote used in one of the trailers which calls it a “once-in-a-generation game”. I really, strongly, believe that to be true. There’s nothing else quite like it, and I want as many people as possible to have the opportunity to experience it, because - more than anything else I’ve ever played - you really can only play it for the first time once.