Inspired by a similar question on reddit:
What games do you replay regularly/annually? (No shame if you skipped a year or two.) I am especially interested in ‘comfort’ games.
Only rule is, you should have played the game for the first time at least 5 years back.
My list:
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Street Fighter 2 in all variations/on all platforms I have access two. I guess I have been playing it regularly for more than 25 years by now. No Street Fighter after the Alpha/3rd Strike ever captured me like this.
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Contra / NES This one I play regularly for more than 30 years (at least), to this day my favorite action game and the ultimate benchmark (I played all NES/SNES/Genesis Contras and Operation Galuga, nothing comes close.)
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Slay the Spire: Hits 5 years of being released, I played since the early access and wasted too much time on this, still fun and perfect on smartphones
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Doom I/II: I cannot tell you what it is, there are obviously better FPS than Doom I/II, but sometimes, if I just want to blow some steam, Doom is the only thing that delivers. (I think I never played trough all episodes of either Doom I or Doom II
I always think of myself as being in between runs of the Long Dark; it’s the game I’m always in a state of playing for long stretches, even if it’s been 6 months to a year since I last booted it up. You just can’t beat that first gameplay loop of trying to find something, anything, to keep warm and stay alive for another day.
I don’t agree with some of the choices they’ve made with the new dlc, but it remains my most played game of all time and is a GOAT for sure.
This may be surprising, but Subnautica is my comfort game, even though the game isn’t purely relaxing and has some scary parts. But the gameplay loop is so satisfying, the story is nice even after several playthroughs and there is beauty in these alien underwater biomes. I just wish it was longer, now that I know where to find what, it gets quite short :)
Second comfort game is Terraria but I also play that for entertainment/when I feel a rush of creativity for building stuff. And it’s just so nice to dig your way through a large world and find all the hidden items.
Nice! I’ll have to play Subnautica! :-)
I play StS a bunch, but in that vein, games I just come back to:
-Stardew Valley, and it gets the 1.6 update next week so I guess I will again
-frostpunk, which gets a sequel this year!
-gen 3/4/5 Pokemon
Stardew Valley is in my library of shame, I just never feel that peaceful when I have the urge to play. ;-)
I feel that. It’s got some non-peaceful elements, maybe the 1.6 release is the excuse you need to try it out!
I’ve owned Frostpunk for a while now. I really need to play it.
It’s great, I’d really recommend if you like city builders, dystopian settings, and great music/ambiance
I play Bloodborne during the Return to Yarnham event.
That’s great. I hope there will be a PC port someday. … and thanks to telling me about hte Return to Yarnham event, didn’t even know it exists and now I am looking forward to the Return to Lodran event next January! :-)
Castlevania - Symphony of the Night
Die monster! You don’t belong in this world!
Deep Rock Galactic. Every time there’s a cool new seasonal hat, I try to jump on.
Rock and stone!
To the bone!
Chrono Trigger. I’ve played it on so many platforms it’s a bit mind blowing
Have you gotten all 13 endings? You can actually do them in order in one NG+ play through.
Incredibly, in spite of the fact that I’ve been paying for 25 years, I very rarely go for any of the alternative endings, other than the developer ending if you beat lavos the first time.
I was waiting for someone to mention Chrono Trigger, thanks! At the same time it is one of my favorite games of all time, but because of this I always want to replay it when I can fully focus on it. (Which of course, never happens for adults.)
Symphony of the Night
Also, if you enjoy Doom 1 and 2, I highly recommend seeking out Heretic and Strife. Heretic has amazing level design using the Doom engine to create places that feel like towns and medieval churches and stuff. And Strife somehow managed to make Doom into an interconnected world with a decent story.
I’m not big on Hexen - the respawning enemies and the lack of weapons (there’s only 4, technically 12 but you only have access to 4) bugged me.
Mirror’s Edge - I usually turn the voices off and just run. Once you’re in the flow it’s so calming, and it doesn’t overstay it’s welcome.
Thanks, looks exactly like my kind of game!
Just a heads up if you do try it, I mean the original not Catalyst. The sequel constantly kills that flow state with all the annoying intrusions you’ll see from other AAA open world games. It’s not the worst game ever, I did finish it, but it was the last time I bought something on release.
The original is just a short collection of levels. It’s extremely minimalist. The only diversions from the flow is a simple story linking them and a handful of hidden collectibles.
I didn’t enjoy catalyst that much. I loved the levels of the first and catalyst took the levels out for an open world which I wasn’t that interested in though I liked a couple missions in catalyst when they brought into an interior.
I go back to Super Metroid about once a year. I just get a yearning to hear the moody music and see the alien scenery.
I usually try an ascend at least once during the annual Nethack tournament:
https://nethackwiki.com/wiki/The_November_NetHack_Tournament
- Ghost of Tsushima
- ACO
Sid Meier’s Pirates! Specifically the remastered pc version from 2004.
I remember being blown away by a gameplay demo of Bioshock during E3. They used a lightning bolt to shock the water, and it worked?!
I rented the game for the Xbox 360, and was equally blown away by its story. What an awesome experience. I play though it occasionally on my PC just to live in its world again, though I think I like the original more than the remaster.
Starcraft. Not 2, just StarCraft.
And sometimes Command and Conquer Red Alert in the emulator.
Spawn more overlords!
You must construct additional pylons!