Looking for a game to "wow" me, any suggestions?

dreadpiratedan on 02/03/2016 - 00:13
Last edited 04/03/2016 - 00:15

Lately I am struggling to find games that really impress me and have me dropping hours into them at a time and finishing it in a matter of days. Hopefully some of you guys have some suggestions that might be up my alley :). One of my favourite charms in games is when you are rewarded for going off the main path, searching every corner for treasure (if it's usable items and not just 1/1300 hidden tokens)

Some examples of games that have met the criteria in the past decade-ish are:
Far Cry 3
The Walking Dead season 1-5
HALO 3 and CE
New Super Mario Bros Wii
The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay
Metro 2033 and Last Light
The Elder Scrolls IV: Obvlivion
Golden Sun and The Dark Age
Mortal Kombat: Deception
Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005)
Crysis
The Darkness
Gears of War
GTA: Vice City
Fable 2

The general theme appear to be FPSs, but this is not necessarily my preferred genre. Alas, the golden days of 3d platformers like Croc, Gex and Banjo Kazooie are behind us though, and I am left with less selection.

I am pretty opposed to online multiplayer games and indie titles. Strongly in favour of same screen multiplayer (co-op preferred) and genuine retro titles. The only platform limitation would be PS4/XBONE titles. EDIT: meaning I don't have a PS4 or XBONE. All other major consoles are far game, and PC is my primary platform. I just don't have the really obscure consoles like virtual boys and what not.

Any suggestions and I'm all ears! :D

UPDATE:
Of the suggestions I already own these games that I haven't played (more than 1/2 hour of at least)
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series
Tomb Raider (reboot)
Theif (Gold and 2014)
KOTOR 1&2

Ones I intend to get based on the recommendations:
The Last of Us
Dragon Age Origins
Shadow of the Colossus
Maybe The Witcher 3, I have 1&2 so might just check them out more. Seems like I'd have no time to give the game a proper chance though.

Look into:
Wolfenstein: The New Order
Metal Gear Solid

Finish off:
Halo ODST
Zelda Ocarina of Time (yeah… I know… :$ I only had the gameboy ones growing up)

Ones I have, and played a decent amount of, yet legit remember next to nothing about:
Mass effect (was really sick and dosed up on medication, I tried continuing my file the next week but had no idea what was going on)
Uncharted (I think I was just burning the candle at both ends back then)
Might have to revisit these one day, but not really my priority now :p

Some that are suggested which I already have, and played enough to gauge properly. In general they didn't "wow" me, possibly had their moments though:
Fallout 3 and NV
Bioshock and Infinite
Borderlands 1&2
any COD edit: except World at War, I liked that one
Half Life

Thanks again to everyone who has replied :)

Gaming

Comments

  • JayM on 04/03/2016 - 23:44

    I'll just drop my 2c.

    I got addicted to Orc Kill Simulator 2014 aka Shadows of Mordor.

    • scrimshaw on 05/03/2016 - 11:09

      Not that great IMO, but considering the low price of just $12 it is worth having it in your library.

      Combat was a little weak and repetitive, and a little too easy. Mash the attack button, add in some well timed parry plus some wraith stuns takes out most enemies. Finish off with execution. Rinse and repeat. Collect runes and become way too OP.

      The open world sandbox game play doesn't seem to suit the universe.

      Play Metal Gear solid v Phantom Pain instead. Also slightly repetitive but so much more stuff to do.

  • IdLikeToBeATree on 04/03/2016 - 23:59

    I'd be trying some incredible indie games like "Gone Home" "The Beginner's Guide" "The Stanley Parables" and such, those are the only real games that have wowed me in the last few years. Oh and Rocket League.. Damn that game is good

  • nahi11 on 05/03/2016 - 09:49
    +1

    Runescape

  • BertieBrown on 05/03/2016 - 11:26
    +2

    I am very much the same, as far as my interests and wants go in a title.

    The Last Of Us, whilst being a very good title, in my opinion, doesn't have a great deal of replay value. The story is captivating, though somewhat linear and the opportunity to just go wandering around is limited. The developer has in some ways limited your game play to somewhat of a directed path. Also, it didn't take me very long to finish, but like all titles YMMV. I'm only saying this, because if you only had one title to choose from and your criteria are as you originally posted, I wouldn't suggest TLOU.

    So..

    If I had to choose one title that fits most of your criteria, though not CO-OP (unfortunately a feature developers seem to moving further and further away from these days), it would be Skyrim. A vast expansive game world, where you can with a few limitations, pretty much go where ever you like. Lots of quest options. IMO, a lot of replay ability and also customisation. I lost count of the hours I sunk into that game. Truly, an epic time suck.

    I was really hoping that F4 was going to take the best bits of Skyrim and build on them, but honestly, after playing a lot of F4, I'd have to admit I've found myself wishing for a XB1 port of Skyrim. Alas, I'm getting off track, but I guess I can sympathise for your wanting for a good, long epic title.

    Other alternatives might be;

    Fallout 3/Fallout New Vegas (they don't compare with Skyrim graphically, but generally good game mechanics, for the most part, and large open worlds).

    Borderlands 1-2 (overall, I guess maybe somewhat limited in terms of that open world feel, specifically compared with Skyrim of the Fallout universes, but tons of loot and customisation options).

    • When the times come for upgrade to this gen, I'd suggest The Witcher 3 & Fallout 4.
  • somewherewest on 05/03/2016 - 12:44

    You should play Undertail :) It is an absolutely great grame (you are more playing for the storyline though).

  • buckster on 05/03/2016 - 13:47
    +2

    How about Deus Ex (1, NOT invisible war) or Deus Ex Human Revolution?

    • dreadpiratedan on 06/03/2016 - 23:13

      Well they are cheap as chips right now :D. I tossing up whether to get the entire Eidos pack on steam, wouldn't mind all the Legacy of Kain games, but reality is I'd probably be just as happy with the $6.73 for Deus Ex GOTY and Human revolution as all the games for $31. I calculated the total for just the games I want/don't have and it is higher than the entire pack. Damn that conversion rate, I'd have no worries dropping 31 in AUD.

      • buckster on 10/03/2016 - 12:14

        If you get Deus Ex GOTY make sure to grab the high resolution texture pack from the web, makes it look a fair bit crisper -

  • infinite on 05/03/2016 - 13:51
    +1

    I'd give any of these a go:

    Grim Dawn - It's the follow on to Diablo 2 that Blizzard never made and it's every bit as good as anyone could have hoped for. Made by dev's from D2/D3 as well. It's 50-60hrs to complete the 4 main acts, then another 50+ hours to level to your end game top level & then it's onwards and upwards from there. Unlike Diablo 3, there is no uber-specific end-game meta, so build variations and characteristics vary wildly. You can be equally as successfull going tank, as you can defence, as you can via spells and reflective damage. You run with more than double the amount and type of skills/passives/elemental effects of D3, so there's no one route you need to take to min/max a characters potential. Game vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgPgKxg0Z5Y

    Dying Light - Pretty much a cross between BF4 and Borderlands, but a zombie survival game. It's the best zombie game made by a long way and the full version with all DLC's can be found easily and cheap, too. Game Vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD0gR8uWIrU

    Torchlight 2 - It's Diablo 3 but faster, more singleplayer focused and unbelievably fun, with an insane amount of replayability. It has more community and dev-supported mods than Skyrim and Fallout 3/4 combined. It's truly unbelievable. Video Game reviewer TotalBuscuit rated it the best gameplay of any ARPG ever made & has two review videos that last over 2 hours a pop!

    ARMA 3 - It's an open world sandbox FPS, fully customizeable, fully moddable and you can literally create and script battles of over 1000 (yes, one thousand) bot's of fully customizeable AI and difficulty, in either a 1sq km zone, or a 100sq km area. First time I had a great "Wow" moment was creating a small valley full of multi-level buildings and basic envornmentals, then dropped in 130 snipers with night vision guns and made the map play at 2am, with nothing but moonlight to light the area. Was an insane free for all and took me over an hour just to clear my building area and get to safer high-ground.

    Far Cry 4 - Not the best game ever made, but good for what it is and there's certainly some crazy & fun adventures to be had. It's a good mix of open-world do what you want and also engaging campaign mode. You'll get some hilarious WTF and Wow moments in this one for sure. I was 6min into carefully ninja'ing my way around an enemy camp slowly taking out enemies one by one, when I got busted. I kill two guards rushing to hit the alarm then notice a third one I'm not going to be able to stop…. then BAM! A (profanity) bear and two leopards smash through the fence, all the enemy AI shit themselves and everyone go's running to safety. I hide there along with all the AI until the bear kills the leopards, then toss scooby snacks at the enemy AI until the bear has killed them all and wondered off. The enemy base is mine, i skin all the dead animals and profit. Game Vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9J0BvtSi_U

    • dreadpiratedan on 06/03/2016 - 23:15
      +1

      Hmmmm arma looks kinda up my ally. Can you just sorta fart around and take things at your own pace or does it more so force your hand in a sense? Looks like the type of game I'd get a jolly out of just exploring the fields.

      • infinite on 07/03/2016 - 07:33

        It's got a full singleplayer campaign where you approach any objective the way you like, then it also has a full multiplayer side to it, too. But the main chunk of the game that most people love/play is the fully customizeable map/mission/objective/campaign designer (which you can edit to be singlepleyer or multiplayer, with unlimited bot numbers to fight against).

  • Herbse on 05/03/2016 - 20:31

    Alien isolation and tomb raider reboot were my favorite games of the past couple of years

  • neonlight on 05/03/2016 - 21:45

    If you are into Japanese RPG, for sure checkout Persona 3 and 4. Otherwise if you are into investigation and story telling Phoenix Wright series is totally awesome from DS to 3DS. Can get the legacy bundle and latest is on iOS too.

    I still have a lot of backlog for these titles… from psp, ps3, DS and 3DS.

    I'm not playing any games on current gen maybe 3DS only

  • juki on 05/03/2016 - 23:45

    I really enjoy Crusader Kings and Europa Universalis, but it doesn't really seem to suit your theme.

    Recently i quite liked Life is Strange

    My friends like XCom or Mass Effect

  • SpaceFrog on 06/03/2016 - 10:40
    +1

    The games that impressed me in the last 12 months.

    "LIFE IS STRANGE" - An amazing game that really grabs at your heart strings, get's you emotionally involved with the characters in the game. Your decisions have great consequences. I actually lost sleep over one of the choices in the game.
    "ARK: SURVIVAL EVOLVED" (Also check out the mod Survival Of The Fittest) Minecraft with dinosaurs, can be a huge time sink. Check out non-official servers, and If you're competitive you have to play survival of the fittest (Hunger games with dinosaurs)
    "GTA V ONLINE" - Sandbox online, buy cars, clothes, property, kill people, or just drive around aimlessly for hours.
    And "HER STORY" A quick & cheap mystery game. maybe 2-3 hours gameplay.

  • leximus on 06/03/2016 - 12:08

    Shadow of Colossus
    Last of Us
    Fallout 4
    Witcher 3
    The Witness
    Metal Gear Solid 5
    GTA5
    Skyrim
    Batman Arkham games
    The Room 1,2,3

  • Bonsaichop on 06/03/2016 - 12:28

    Vanquish was good, on the PS3 only. a little short but very fun!

    • FrankMcFuzz on 09/03/2016 - 13:28

      To this I would add Platinum games in their entirety. I particularly liked Wonderful 101. And I'm counting Okami here too, because that was Clover games, and Platinum was Clover lol.

      "Vanquish was good on the PS3 only". I guess my Xbox 360 copy isn't real.

      • Bonsaichop on 09/03/2016 - 14:07

        Not that it wasn't good on the Xbox, but I've played it on both and visually to me, it looked better on the PS3. Bayonetta has the same issues.

        • FrankMcFuzz on 09/03/2016 - 15:04

          I agree with this…… But only because I have no HDMI cable for my xbox! :D lol

  • tassieeagle on 06/03/2016 - 13:24

    Deus Ex - ignore the dated graphics, still one of the best games of all time.
    Deus Ex human revolution - nearly as good as the first, better graphics
    Half life 1 + 2 - don't need to say much, just classics
    Morrowind - dated but still one of the best open world rpgs of all time. Don't bother with Oblivion though
    Skyrim - probably the best open world rpg around (I haven't played the witcher but it is supposed to be the best)
    Fallout 4 - if you don't like the earlier ones still give this a go, the gameplay and shooting mechanics have improved immeasurably and the world is the best sandbox yet from Bethesda
    GTAV - fun, so so fun and Trevor

  • HX925 on 06/03/2016 - 18:47
    -1

    Without a doubt, top recent games worth ur time mgs5 and witcher 3.

  • TRANCE on 06/03/2016 - 21:46

    If you liked Skyrim then you must try Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen, (or DDDA for short) on PC. It is a great open world RPG, albeit a bit more "hardcore" than Skyrim, aka you can't just go up to a stronger enemy in DDDA, unlike skyrim where all enemies are auto leveled to be beatable, in DDDA you need some patience, you start out weak and slowly but surely become a beast with all kinds of crazy cool abilites. DDDA has that similar magic of exploration, item collection, leveling, what it does even better than skyrim is it's combat, boss fights, and way more varied and interesting enemy types than skyrim. The only downside to DDDA is that it doesn't have as cool "lore" or story, so as such the world doesn't draw you in as much, but it's always hard to compete with elder scrolls in that regard. Also try Risen 1 and Risen 2, pretty fun open world adventure/rpg games, not as good as DDDA, but I had fun with them, Risen 3 is not so great btw.

  • pongie on 07/03/2016 - 07:33

    If you want to spend hours everyday then try Marvel Puzzle Quest. A simple match 3 game with a twist of marvel characters. Each have three abilities where the colours you match leads to you launching them. I've been playing for over a year and there's constantly new characters added to the game.

    You can play it on steam or mobile (both android and iOS, these two platform can sync with multiple devices, where as steam does not).

  • raj koothrappali on 07/03/2016 - 08:29

    Snake? Very addictive. Multiplayer option too. Just handover the Nokia to them.

  • Mugsy on 07/03/2016 - 09:03

    Life is Strange. I was quite impressed with the execution of the story. Good voice acting.

  • Tihocan on 07/03/2016 - 10:23

    Tom Clancy's The Division comes out tomorrow - it may be of interest to you.

  • YoursTruly on 07/03/2016 - 11:24

    SHEN MUE on DC, impresses till today -literally brings the cows home!!! I don't think I've seen attention to detail in a game like this anymore, and I mean the scope in terms of the little details (despite the visuals)

    that is if you have/ can get hold of a DC or DC emulator. A retro shop in your town is bound to stock it for decent price.

  • Grillman on 07/03/2016 - 14:49

    How about Dishonored and Sleeping Dogs? A couple of years old but they surprised the hell out of me for how good they were, and Dishonored 2 is on the way as well.

    • nikkirose on 08/03/2016 - 06:32
      +1

      I bought Dishonored preorder and was soo disappointed, maybe it plays better without the hype.

  • Laisanalgaib1 on 07/03/2016 - 17:34

    I don't think its been mentioned and it should be. Recently released game Stardew Valley, a Harvest Moon completionist style game:

    http://store.steampowered.com/app/413150/

    98% positive ratings for a game created by one man. The amount of content is staggering (my first playthrough is looking to be around 150 hours at this rate) and there are plenty of easter eggs. My one recommendation would be to play it without allowing yourself to use the wiki. Everything is discoverable in game and the wiki just spoils some of the fun.

  • KenDiaMoi on 07/03/2016 - 20:09
    -1

    If youre serious about wanting to be 'wowed', the only must play game that everyone needs to play is Last of Us

  • yesterdaysnews on 07/03/2016 - 22:47

    Frog fractions. Its a browser based game - very solid

    • FrankMcFuzz on 09/03/2016 - 15:29

      I have to say I gave up and wiki'd it at the text adventure segment.

      • yesterdaysnews on 09/03/2016 - 16:56

        Yeah i had a mate coaching me through the text adventure segment. Definitely something different to most games and refreshing. A number 2 went up on kickstarter where the game will be released on steam as your average game but will have a bizarre depth to it, and no one will be told what the game is until its discovered

  • nikkirose on 08/03/2016 - 06:30

    I found that Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, was a seriously under-rated game, I play most the games on your favourites list, so I believe you will be pleasantly surprise by this game. I must also backup the Red Dead Redemption nomination, I keep an old PS3 around just so I can play it, totally worth the storage space! Elder Scrolls Online have also got their shit together and it plays much better than it did at release, so if it has been a while since you played it, give it another shot!. Good Luck in your quest for epic entertainment ;)

  • FrankMcFuzz on 09/03/2016 - 13:23

    I'll say Undertale, just to be negged, but it was one of the most unique and memorable games I've played this side of Earthbound. Everything else last year was just "LOOK, WHEN I PRESS THE TRIGGER, BULLETS COME OUT AND THE BAD MEN DIE". If any shooting games are still wowing you, in this age of shooter oversaturation up to your eyeballs, then flashy lights are probably your favourite thing.

    And still, to this day, the game that "Wows" me the most is, and always will be, Dwarf Fortress. Entirely free and in a state of eternal development, it has systems and mechanics that makes 'hardcore' games today look like the kiddie-pool end of videogames. No other game can rival the experience and sense of attachment and ownership, or the sheer limitless replayability. In 20 years time, I will still be coming back to this game every quarter-of-a-year to play it for days on end. An absolute masterpiece with years of advancement still ahead of it and personally, I can't wait.

    Notable mentions:
    Dark Souls 1
    Wonderful 101
    Mount and Blade
    Jet Force Gemini (lol)
    FTL Faster Than Light

  • Maz1 on 09/03/2016 - 22:21
    -1

    I'm really having a blast with The Division. :O

  • nultma on 14/03/2016 - 14:24

    Deus Ex Human Revolution. One of the best games released in the past decade and you can get the directors cut edition (includes the extra doc and revised bosses) for under $10 easy. It'd be a good time to step in considering that the new one comes out in August.

    Also Dark Souls if you can get into it but it might not be your jam.

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