Steel battalion with the full controller setup
I still kick myself for not grabbing that game off a buddy for $100… I did get to play it, though, but never finished.
factorio
the dedication of the dev is perceptible, almost unlimited replay value and the will release a major extension in 9 days that looks wonderful.
I came here to say this. I’ve been gaming since the early 80s. Factorio is top 5 for me.
Could you explain the appeal to someone who hasnever played anything similar? I played RCT3, but I don’t know how comparable that is. It just seems like a really finnicky and tedious game of micromanagement.
I haven’t played RCT so not sure how I compares.
But Factorio is first of, a sandbox game. You can build however you want in your own tempo. Not sure what you mean by finicky?
But I don’t think it’s tedious micromanagement at all. it feels super good when you build something new and it works. And there is so many technologies and it’s jus fun exploring how everything works together and coming up with new designs!
There is also enemies, but can be turned off if you just want to focus on building a Factory. I mostly play with them, building up defences and killboxes and making automated train supply that comes with ammo, wall, etc.
It has a demo you can try out. It’s scenarios so you try out different base mechanics in the game. But the actual game is a sandbox game.
What? I thought the space DLC was months away!
It’s happening!
None. Buying isn’t owning and piracy isn’t stealing. Pirate all the games!!
Drag really likes Deathloop.
Buying isn’t owning
Often true
piracy isn’t stealing
Definitely true
Do pirate as needed, but also do try to send a few dollars to the dev’s pockets when you like the game.
They also have families to feed (or cats I guess) and if they can’t do it by making games, they’ll stop making games.
Don’t hate me, but I like Cyberpunk 2077. It may have had its problems at launch, and I heard people were promised all kinds of stuff that was not delived, or was delivered only much later, but I never listen to hype anyway. I’ve played this for many hours. There are great mods for that game that make it even better, and it has such cool characters, such a fascinating world, good music, great design, the combat is fun… I love it.
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on one side, yeah it’s pretty af
on the other, driving in circles is funner than actually playing. Its so smoothing 🥹
for me it was definitely worth the $35 I spent on it.
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I agree. It is exactly the aesthetic I wanted when I heard about it and I love it. And also, the story is pretty good, and so are the actors.
Only a couple levels in, but so far I’d say if you like collect-a-thon style 3D platformers, Yooka-Laylee is worth checking out. So far my only complaint is how they allow you to go around certain edges of the first level past the tutorial and hub, but don’t have hidden any hidden secrets.
Command & Conquer, Tie Fighter, Simpsons Doom, Quake, Portal, and DDR.
Hello fellow 50ish year old gamer.
You forgot homeworld.
I’m not 50 something, but I got some of these games from a 50 something.
Well since you didn’t specify, I’ll let everyone know you definitely meant Command and Conquer 4.
Sorry, I meant Red Alert.
If you haven’t, check out Combined Arms. It is an OpenRA mod that brings in a lot of units and design from RA2, Generals, and C&C3.
Simpsons Doom sounds interesting!
Doom had a great mod community, and Simpsons Doom was my favorite mod.
I only play a certain part of games, I don’t care for rpgs or top-down games as much as I like first person shooters, racing games, or simulation games.
With that being said, here’s my list.
- Red Dead Redemption 2: The best game I have ever played, hands-down. It’s story and gameplay are both perfection.
- Trepang2: A less heard of game, but a really fun first-person shooter which is like a mix of Crysis and Doom.
- Mafia 1 and 2: A great series with solid stories and gameplay, these are very enjoyable to play. Just don’t buy Mafia 3. It’s like if Ubisoft made a Mafia game.
- Arma III: A classic military simulation game which I spent hours on hours in. I love exploring the maps while engaging in realistic shootouts, especially with mods like ACE which make it even more realistic and immersive.
I will second your recommendation of Red Dead Redemption:2.
After hundreds of hours I know there are many things I have not encountered, it’s amazing.
My wife, who does not game, watched me playing for the storyline only(like a movie/soap opera) and only complained about staring at a horses rear end occasionally.
Yeah it’s a great game in every aspect…
Nier Automata
Hades
Xiii shooter (original on PS2, not the remake)
Metal Gear Solid 1, 3, and 4. 2 is okay but it’s the black sheep. 5 is a good game but doesn’t fit the series great imo. We don’t talk about Survive. Revengence is okay.
Maneater. Basically a remake of the old Jaws game from PS2 era gameplay-wise
FF7 original. If you’re bored with it, try the New Threat mod by SegaChief. Absolutely worth a look.
If you’re into pokemon rom hacks, Emerald SeaGlass and Crystal Legacy.
Crash Bandicoot 1-4. Ignore any titles from PS2 era.
Spyro 1-3. Also ignore any PS2 era titles.
Castle Crashers
If you have a non-gamer around that does like movies, give Beyond: 2 Souls and Until Dawn a look.
Spec Ops: The Line
Doki Doki Literature Club
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 1 + 2
I’m sure I’ll add more.
Doki Doki Literature Club
If you’ve never heard of this game, I envy you being able to play it blind. Don’t do research, just play it and you’ll get more from the experience!
I don’t feel Spec Ops: The Line aged well at all. I had it on my to-play list for years and finally got around to playing it. I was rather disappointed in what I experienced. The gunplay and cover system is middling at best, and the story wasn’t anything like the hype led me to believe. Graphics are also way behind its contemporaries. It may have been groundbreaking when it came out in a very pro-war, pro-military time, but it wasn’t anything special by the time I played it 2023. I finished the game wondering what people felt was so special about it. The lack of decision making removed impact from what my character was doing, namely the infamous white phosphorus part. You can’t advance the game without performing the worst possible action, which is the only thing to do at that point in the level. Lame.
Music was good but overall I felt it was a 6/10 game. I think watching YouTube commentaries on the game is much more enjoyable than actually playing it.
Instead of firing into the crowd, you can fire in the air.
Sounds like the game worked :p
You can’t avoid using WP mortars on the civilians.
Right there with you. (Uh oh, accidentally spawned a rant lol)
It’s definitely a game that put way more thought into clever artsy storytelling and “subversion” above most else. I didn’t enjoy the “forced” element either.
I liked that it tried something different. I like that it tried to be a bit meta, but it did so in a “high on their own farts” kind of way.
All the clever storytelling is really good though! The “You always seem to keep going down no matter how high you start from, past points of no return” aspect, lots of spirals (I think?), the voice lines becoming more unhinged. (He goes from “Target that tango!” to “KILL THAT SUNNOVABITCH!”), their gear gets gradually more destroyed. A lot of really deep thought put into those aspects!!
But yeah, the infamous “Whisky/(Willy?) Pete”
For the WP part, the creators themselves say something like “At that point, you could have just turned off the game, but you had to keep playing.”
Which I feel felt SO CLEVER in the writing room, but it is rather insulting. Like, man, how pretentious can you get?? Basically to them, it would have been some kinda moral achievement if their game product had a 95% refund rate and their studio got shut down because players refused to follow a forced narrative to hurt digital people in a video game they bought with very real money.
So, yeah, it felt clever, but also like some really dark prank that kinda just cheats the player and calls them a horrible person for having the good faith to expect a good time out of a videogame. If “There’s always a choice” and quitting is an ending, why wasn’t there a cutscene-credits ending there? THEN you have slightly more ground to berate your player’s choices.
HOWEVER, I also think there’s a valuable commentary here on how, unlike players, soldiers can’t just walk away. They’re oath-bound to be blunt instruments of their handlers, and, like the player, they might be compelled to keep making horrible decisions that help nobody, hoping some heroic good might come out of it.
So uh, the moral is “Don’t pay recruiters any mind if you value your personal autonomy, kids.”?
BioShock I felt did a much better job with making the player consider the “follow the objectives to progress” assumption, and Metal Gear Solid was a fantastic anti-war game without beating you over the head for it.
I’m as sick of US-Mil funded propaganda games as the next person, but I feel like a game designed to emotionally manipulate players and berate them for giving it a chance is ultimately…cheap.
Good rant, thanks for sharing. I felt it was massively over hyped to me also considering the games you mentioned came out well before and had better storytelling, gameplay, and graphics. It was solidly mediocre to me. I did play it through to completion though, maybe a bit of rage-completion there.
Thanks! I appreciate it. :)
And yeah same here. There very much was a point I just rolled my eyes and went “FINE. You got something to say, just say it already.” I think we’re just sensitive to being cheaply manipulated by media lol!
Actually one more game on my mind that did this well: Metro 2033. Incredible atmosphere, and the “moral” is very nuanced. It’s one of those things that feels profound when it hits you and most people weren’t even aware there was a “moral system.” (No shame in looking up which actions help get the good ending)
I highly recommend it.
I love the Metro series; I played 2033 near its release, beaten Exodus three times (once at release and 2x after release of the Enhanced edition) and just recently beat Last Light Redux. I should probably play 2033 Redux now.
Closely related, I’m very excited for STALKER 2; Shadow of Chernobyl was my first love back in 2008 and I’ve played all three of those a bunch of times.
Crosscode, Disco Elysium, Outer Wilds, Celeste, Fallout: New Vegas
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I bought crosscode some months ago on GOG and I’m slowly working through it.
I’m constantly amazed at how it feels like a grand AAA mmorpg. The complexity of the maps is astounding (sometimes at a fault) and there is a lot of stuff to do. A tales of grindea on steroids, if you will
Strongly recommended if you enjoy the genre
S-tier list
I think everyone should play factorio for at least a few hours. It will be some of the most interesting 17 months of their lives.
Is it a time lapse game? Where you play for like an hour, then suddenly the sun is down?
And you’re absolutely starving, yes.
I would personally recommend Satisfactory over Factorio. I think it’s a more casual experience while still scratching that factory building itch.
Factorio is a casual game. You see a person with a massive base that makes a gazillion science packs a minute, don’t get intimidated. They have no clue what they’re doing either, and probably already forgot how a third of their factory is put together. They have just been in the game for longer.
I don’t mean less casual in that sense. I actually had 3 main points in mind that make satisfactory more casual.
First are the aliens. The evolution and pollution doesn’t stop which means in a way you are fighting against time. If you don’t keep up with it the aliens will attack and destroy your base. I know they can be turned off but the game is designed with their attacks in mind and you’re skipping entire production lines if you turn them off.
The second reason is factory building. I think the extra dimension in Satisfactory makes factory building much easier. If you run out of space horizontally, build up. In Factorio you better plan out how big your factory is going to be because if you run out of space you’re probably going to start spaghettifying your factory or you need to start tearing down parts of your factory to make more space. In my current satisfactory factory I just built a whole new level ontop of my old factory because I couldn’t be bothered to clean it up.
And the last point goes together with the previous point. You have so many things you need to produce. The entire belt production thing for example. If you want express belts you need to build the fast belts which needs the basic belts. If you want express splitters you’re going to have to build the fast splitter, which needs the basic splitter which requires basic belts. Meanwhile in Satisfactory if you want a faster belt you just need the new material for the belt. Factorio production pipelines are like a deep well while Satisfactory production lines are more like a wide puddle (that only towards the very end can go deep, like ficsonium fuel rods). Satisfactory has overall a wider variety of things to produce (if we exclude the tiered items in Factorio), but they’re much less dependent on each other. For example if your industrial beam production isn’t at peak performance that not going to stop you from getting the higher tier belts because they need aluminum which are built from a completely different raw material. Solve aluminum production and you get new belts. Compare that to Factorio where, lets say you want to start using express belts but you’ve been kinda winging your belt production. Well first you need to fix your fast belt production, which then means you need to fix your basic belt production which means you need to fix your iron production which means you have to scale up your iron mining.
The factory can grow over your head but Satisfactory still has easier production pipelines, easier factory planning and you can take however long you want to figure out how to build your factory. To me all of those things indicate that Satisfactory is a more casual experience.
The classic Doom collection, classic Doom has a massive modding scene and you can put the wads into a source port like GZDoom.
I just went through the first five episodes of Doom 1 and had a ton of fun. Sigil II is a brick wall.
Celeste. Great fun Mario-level game, but with a deeper story in both game and in development.
I love Celeste so much, the writing was way better than I anticipated a platformer game to have.
I also love some of the easter eggs they put in, like the white block in one of the earlier stages, where you will fall “behind” the block if you crouch on it for a few seconds; a nod to hidden mechanic in Super Mario Bros 3.
Metal gear solid 3 is IMO one of the best games ever made
Wait for delta. The whole metal gear franchise is IMO worth buying.
