Exceptionally well-written gaming narratives are hard to come by, even these days. It takes a truly exceptional group of people to pull of a non-heavyhanded, gripping story in a medium that consists of tearing into aliens with a chainsaw. It takes an act of God to pull it off in a PUZZLE game. Valve is certainly one of God's greatest acts, somehow managing to pull of the impossible and create a gripping, wonderfully-written and legitimately side-splitting story, set inside of an extremely atmospheric world, with challenging, intuitive, and mindbending fun gameplay, with nary an actual flaw in sight. Surpassing their other masterpiece, Half-Life 2, as their magnum opus, and with that creating one of the most brilliant, flawless experiences in all of gaming, and in my opinion the very best.
Following the events of the original, whether it be a week or 1,000 years later, you are awoken from your slumber in a containment facility, by a brilliantly moronic personality core named Wheatley (voiced by Stephen Merchant), who enlists your silent and judgemental help escaping from the facility known as Aperture Science, all before "she" wakes up. What follows is one of the very most well-written and intuitively-told stories ever told. Like its parent franchise, Half-Life, Portal 2 is told completely first-person, and without a single cutscene; the way I wish more games would. Valve's writers completely immerse you with some of the funniest and memorable characters, and one of the most charming gamespaces, with its great lore and dark, hidden secrets. And I do mean DARK. Easily the darkest E10+ game I've ever played, though the darkness only adds to its oozing charm.
Puzzles, powered by Valve's extraordinary physics engine, Source, and extraordinary in their design and execution, demand the utmost wit and vigor to accomplish many of the later ones during the lengthy and meaty 12 hour playtime, using your portal gun, and any and all elements and little details at your disposal. The portal gun creates inter-dimensional vortexes, or "portals", which allow to send things, or yourself, through one and out the other. This demands precision and an eye for spotting what isn't easily spottable, and while extremely challenging later on, Valve always makes sure that the portal gun and other puzzle solving elements are well-known and easy to learn how to use, meaning the learning curve is absent to any and all who enjoy using their brains.
The graphics are great, proving that the Source engine hasn't outlived its usefulness just yet. The sound, however, is pristine, with Stephan Merchant, J.K. Simmons, and Ellen McLain all lending their profound voices and top-notch acting quality to this game, creating a damn-near unmatched aural experience. The turrets and gel/water sound effects are almost as good as their physics are visually stunning.
After the masterful 12-hour campaign, grab a buddy, online or off, and take to the awe-inspiring co-op campaign, which takes place after the main campaign. Play as either Atlas or P-Body, as the two of you take to some incredibly challenging and mind-bending puzzles, that require complete and utter concentration, compliance, and pitch-perfect teamwork, especially for the timed puzzles. The co-op narrative, while not as large in scope as the single-player's, is still just as hilarious, though some lines are repeated a few times, something that never happened in the main campaign, since the script was about as big as a triceratops' leg, though we can probably chalk this up to the fact that Ellen McLain does ALL of the voice-acting.
Portal 2 is a can't miss game for all who enjoy cerebral challenges, and top-notch storytelling. Its polish is unmatched by all except for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, and you'd be hard-pressed to find a single thing wrong, content or technical-wise, in this flawless technical masterpiece; the greatest game of all-time.
Given the medium's wild diversity, this primer of the essential video games everyone should try is a good place to start.
I can't fk with this list. They missed on alot of games probably before the writers times. Also I know people loved some portal but I was never a fan.
Tomb Raider 1
Driver 1
Abe’s Odyssey
FF6
King of Fighters 94
Mortal Kombat OG
LINK 2 the past
Street Fighter 2
Resident Evil 1
Infinite but not the first two games? Witcher 3 but not the first two games?? GTA V but not literally any of the games before it??? Portal 2 but not the first? Also if you're going to play Shadow of The Colossus play the remaster and not the remake. Can't say I disagree with the list but my man it's all over the place.
I mean some sequels are objectively better and you don’t need to play the whole series.
But most of these games have a story to follow, sure you can catch up with a YouTube vid but where's the fun in that?
A list like this isn't telling you not to play the previous games if you want to. It's just giving you legendary games to play.
But tbh, you don't always have to force yourself to play every entry in a franchise to get to the better ones.
- The vast majority of Witcher 3 players never played the first 2 and had a great time. The first 2 games aren't in the same league.
- The GTA games are self-contained with the odd fun reference. You can easily jump into any of them.
- The Shadow Of The Colossus remake looks and controls better than the original (plus it has a 60fps option while the remaster is just 30fps). New players will enjoy it more.
- Portal 2 is a lot better than Portal 1 and takes the concept much further gameplay-wise. Storywise, Portal 1 is fairly light too. Not that you shouldn't play it but realistically ... you'd love Portal 2 whether you play it or not (at lot of Portal 2 players have never played 1).
Bioshock 1 is the only one I agree with you on simply because it's one the best games of all time and arguably better than Infinite. No other setting like Rapture.
Looking at the list, I'd recommend playing Uncharted 1 before 2 but no doubt, 2 is the legendary one you have to play.
I get it, but that's just my opinion on his opinion. I just think that before you play a sequel you should still play what came before it. Maybe it's just me but i find it fascinating playing through the first game in a series and seeing how it has evolved through its sequels. Like I said I don't disagree with the list, other than SoTC which I strongly believe the remaster of the original should be played above the remake.
Awesome list! Hot take on Fear (and it's hard af expansion Persaus Mandate!) Bioshock Infinite is stellar, so is the Witcher 3 and you nailed it by having Ocarina of Time. So many fantastic games! Gotta play 'em all! Next one on my list is Prey after I beat Dead Space 2 and Splinter Cell Conviction.
Hybrid games that combine multiple genres are becoming more and more common these days but the concept has been around for ages. Here are some of the best hybrid games ever made.
What genres does that combine? I haven't started it yet, but I've been under the assumption that it was going to be a straight WRPG.
The concept of time plays a huge role in the story and imagery of Portal 2.
My only problem with this fantastic game, it was to short
Can't decide whether Portal 2, Bioshock or Dead Space was my number 1 game this gen. All 10s.