Many games suffer from a little bit of distance. You play them and they seem great, but once the novelty has faded, so has part of their soul. I’d say Dragon Age: Inquisition is a good example there. It’s a game I enjoyed, but it’s also one I’ve not really thought about since its credits rolled.
RPGs are often huge, sprawling endeavours. With limited playtime, we have to choose wisely, so here's the best western RPGs available today.
"I started playing games yesterday" the List... Meh!
How about a few RPGs that deserve some love instead?
1 - Alpha Protocol - Now on GOG
2 - else Heart.Break()
3 - Shadowrun Trilogy
4 - Wasteland 2
5 - UnderRail
6 - Tyranny
7 - Torment: Tides of Numenera
And for a bonus game that flew under the radar:
8 - Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden
Not only glorious jank, but the idea that the story can completely change depending on what you do, or say, or side with, makes it one of the most forward thinking games ever. The amount of story permutation is the equivalent of a Hitman level but in Story Form. And it wasn't just that the story changed, no, it was that you met completely new characters, or missed them, depending on your choices. Made Mass Effect feel static in comparison.
Alpha Protocol was absolutely glorious, indeed. And it was, and still is, more Next Gen than most anything out there these days. In this regard at least.
Pity.
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.
Wealth of Geeks explores some of the best gaming romances that have stolen our hearts over the years.
Good article, But....
This is where reading the books before playing the game has a massively different impact on how you percieve the main story of the game, but also the primary and secondary supporting cast - and their motivations. If you haven't read the books, it will take a while to really understand Ciri, and how/why she does what she does. Same with Emhyr, Yennifer, the lodge of sorceresses, Radovid, Djikstra etc etc.
In regards to the pacing of the main story, as well as the secondary storues - this is really down to the player. Do you just blow through the stories - or do you get side tracked to explore that cave, abandonded village or person in distress? I found that I just couldn't go in a straight line through the quests, and would very often start a quest only to not come back to it after a few hours of switching primary objectives to side quests, treasure hunts for Witcher Gear, Monster hunts or whatever.
The pacing of the stories was then down to me. But it is in the stories that CDPR tells, that makes this game one of the best RPG's ever made. It is a testament to the writing and story telling that you can say many of the secondary quests could be considered better stories that the actually main quest. As a person who has read all the books, and played the previous two games, I can confidently say that CDPR catured the characters, the world and the stories perfectly.
That is not to say the game is perfect, it is'nt - but which game is? But it is definately the best RPG in a long long time.
But.. OMG you haven't played Gwent yet? What have you been doing for the last 100hrs??? :)
The game suffered, no doubt about that. Not as much as DA: Inquisition, but looking deeper into what people are praising, it's really nothing compared to the characters the game draws from. Some of the more important characters barely get any screentime at all, and the main ''villain'' is just another enemy to chop down.
They did a much better job with a character such as Letho, which i would've liked to see more in Witcher 3 as well. But then again, Witcher 2 was a more focused game and actually a sequel.
It's a good standalone game, but a poor sequel to Witcher 2. I also believe CDPR bit over more than they could chew with the world, stretching out content so they could say that it was a massive world. The choices in previosu games mean nothing in Witcher 3, and even the choices in that game falls below their potential.
Hopefully CDPR can actually use their more creative minds when creating Cyberpunk 2077, because they're not restricted by books this time. More characters like Letho would be great, because he was almost always present in Witcher 2.