ProDarwin said:In reply to Duke :
I didnt see it metioned, but the OP said he doesn't want to do any objectives. Seems he is looking more for a sandbox style game.
That said, if Portal works, also check out AntiChamber, Quantumn Conundrum, The Stanley Parable, and Q.U.B.E. 2
I would add Turing Test to that list.
I've finally goten around to playing Hollow Knight. Quite enjoying that at the moment.
Definitely one of the harder and frequently more frustrating games in that style. Doesn't give as much direction and leaves you to figure a lot out for yourself. My biggest frustration comes when banging my head against the wall of a tough boss battle or similarly difficult section where I repeatedly die, and the tedium of getting sent back to the previous save point and having to work my way back to the section I'm trying to get to. That and not really knowing how much of banging my head against the wall is because I'm lacking an ability, or just because it's tougher than my current skill level.
Still good and I'm enjoying it. I would say I enjoyed the Ori games (especially Will o' the Wisp) more.
andy_b said:ProDarwin said:In reply to Duke :
I didnt see it metioned, but the OP said he doesn't want to do any objectives. Seems he is looking more for a sandbox style game.
That said, if Portal works, also check out AntiChamber, Quantumn Conundrum, The Stanley Parable, and Q.U.B.E. 2
I would add Turing Test to that list.
That was a lot more fun than it had a right to be.
Beer Baron said:ProDarwin said:Hades has won numerous awards and received all around praise for the last ~2? years. I need to add it to my wishlist and pick it up next time its on sale.
You missed a recent sale.
I say don't wait. Next time you're looking for a new game, buy Hades. It's well worth the $25 full price tag. Or add it to a Steam wishlist and grab it immediately the next time you see it on sale. Then pause whatever else you've been playing and get sucked in. Looks like it goes on sale every couple months.
I finally snagged this during the steam sale and played it for a bit last night. Its good so far.
Edit: but no 21:9 support? What is this, 2005?
andy_b said:ProDarwin said:In reply to Duke :
I didnt see it metioned, but the OP said he doesn't want to do any objectives. Seems he is looking more for a sandbox style game.
That said, if Portal works, also check out AntiChamber, Quantumn Conundrum, The Stanley Parable, and Q.U.B.E. 2
I would add Turing Test to that list.
Also Talos Principle and Magrunner
GameboyRMH said:andy_b said:ProDarwin said:In reply to Duke :
I didnt see it metioned, but the OP said he doesn't want to do any objectives. Seems he is looking more for a sandbox style game.
That said, if Portal works, also check out AntiChamber, Quantumn Conundrum, The Stanley Parable, and Q.U.B.E. 2
I would add Turing Test to that list.
Also Talos Principle and Magrunner
Also Superliminal. Its a little on the short side, but its really well done. Its portal but with mind-bending perspective stuff instead of portals.
Also check out the first QUBE game (I played Director's Cut), maybe we can make a thread on which choice you tried at the end and why 
Mndsm said:And then of course, the marquee title, tiny Tina's wonderlands. It's from the borderlands games, but different. It's still a shoot and loot, but there's a lot more rpg elements to it and a focus on goblins and skeletons and stuff as opposed to robots and weird mutants. It's sucked up all my time lately.
Tiny Tina is amazing, but I don't know that it holds up well enough for me to want to do another run with a different character.
If OP likes older titles, an independent group remade the original Half Life with modern graphics, it's called Black Mesa and it's fantastic. Along the same lines, there's a very good Doom homage called Dusk that I'm playing right now that's really good.
Last year I was absolutely blown away by Control. The lore, the soundtrack, the gameplay, all of it was absolutely incredible. It's not necessarily open world, but absolutely worth a look.
I'll second (third?) everyone else saying Fallout. The entire series is absolutely brilliant, I've put thousands of hours into the series. New Vegas is the best, but there's an independent team releasing a large mod for Fallout 4 at the end of the year, so it might be worth starting there just due to the free content.
Hollow Knight is superb, but the bosses get much, much more difficult the deeper you get into the game. The final boss in particular is ridiculous. If you enjoy that style of game but want an easier time, check out Ori and the Blind Forest.
Other random games I've really enjoyed: Prey, RUINER, Transistor, and I highly recommend West of Loathing if you like quirky, off-beat games. It's a very light RPG Western but the writing is absolutely hysterical
if you're into sci fiction type of games subnautica is a fun game, it gets boring at times because theres alot of grinding involved.
detroit become human is another good choice based game
Beer Baron said:Minor Hijack for a game that I'm loving: Hades
<a bunch of praise>
Have you ever wondered what this game would be like with 4 player couch co-op, and set in the TMNT universe?
I've been playing this with my son and its pretty great.
Side note, I never finished Hades, I might go back and give it a try from the couch now that I have a console PC.
In reply to TravisTheHuman :
Well, that has my attention.
Do it.
I've heard good things about 'Pacific Drive'. Seems like exactly the sort of thing that people on here would enjoy.
Beer Baron 🍺 said:I've heard good things about 'Pacific Drive'. Seems like exactly the sort of thing that people on here would enjoy.
so nice I bought it twice. Seriously. My 2024 Goty.
I bought Pacific Drive as well and am having trouble with it. Are you guys playing with a controller or a mouse and keyboard? We don't yet have any USB game controllers. Might need to look into that.
In reply to DarkMonohue :
I was on PS5 so...controller.
You have a PC I assume....you have Bluetooth capabilities? Most modern windows boxes will just Bluetooth straight into an Xbox controller with no fuss and it just works. No Logitech submacar nonsense here. I think it works with PS5 controllers as well but I've never tested it.
I had some time over the past couple of weeks to relax and play some games, and I discovered some new favorites:
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge
Remember the old TMNT arcade games? This is a beat-em-up a lot like those, but better! There are tons of levels, secrets, unlockables, and fun stuff to do to keep your interest for a long time. It also has couch co-op so you can play with friends and family right in your living room.
Islets
This Metroidvania was short but sweet. I 100%ed this one in just over 10 hours total. Great art style, simple but good combat, and lots of fun upgrading your character. It's similar to Hollow Knight but with a brighter mood.
Broforce
I mentioned this one before, but since I played it last, they added more "Bros", so I played through it again, laughing the entire time. And this time, I got the good ending! I cannot stress enough how ridiculous this game is.
Dredge
I started playing this a couple days ago, and I'm hooked, no pun intended. It's an interesting game that combines a fishing game, the parts of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker where you're on the boat and exploring/looking for treasure, Jaws, and Lovecraftian horror. It seems to be set in the early 1930's, and you find yourself washed ashore on a small island in a large archipelago. The mayor of the island gives you a boat that clearly belonged to someone who is no longer around, and you start fishing to earn money and seeking out salvage material from the many shipwrecks in the area to upgrade your boat and/or to sell for money. You quickly start suspecting from all the characters you encounter that everyone is hiding something. As you progress, you start figuring out that something is definitely off. There's a day/night cycle, and once the sun sets, you start to get paranoid and strange things start happening. I won't spoil much more, but it's been really fun so far exploring and trying to figure out what's going on and what people are hiding from you.
Squirrel with a gun was decent. Very platformer, 3rd person shooter. Lots of guns, lots of outfits, some story, short play.
Brotato was an alright rogue like. Only 2 maps, but like 100 different characters with different skills and buffs I completed all the achievements which was a long grind, but for a way to kill 25 minutes at a time it's ok
Stardew Valley. Don't know how this has been missed in this thread before. No real goal, just a farming sim, with multiple islands, hundreds of secrets, and all kinds of freedom, in 8 bit graphic glory.
My last playthrough in 2022 was over 100 hours and not finished. My current playthrough is already at 80 hours and I've barely cracked the surface. You can play pretty much however you want, build relationships, fish, mine caves, farm and farm some more.
In reply to Tony Sestito :
I really enjoyed Dredge. The right size and seriousness of game for me. I loved the sort of juxtaposition of cozy dad game with Lovecraftian eldritch horror mystery.
Other notable standouts for me this past couple years:
Hi-Fi Rush - or maybe this was 2 years ago? Either way, it was fabulous. Super fun and dynamic.
Spiritfarer - Another in the Cozy game camp. Similar to Dredge in that cozy simple gameplay, but interesting story that unfolds and finally concludes as you play. Only happy cartoony, not horror. You're a new ferry-person for wayward souls helping them wrap up business to move on. Lots of growing crops, harvesting, and cooking to feed your crew and get to know them better.
Balatro - It's just a fun time waster.
I played but did not jive with Stardew Valley or Baldur's Gate III. Stardew Valley, I got bored with an unending loop that didn't seem to build to anything. BG III, is a great game, but not for me. Managing a full D&D party, plus a complete backup roster, all with extra abilities... every time I would jump in, I'd spend my first 15 minutes just double checking inventory and spell lists and such. I spent more time fiddling than playing.
Mndsm said:In reply to DarkMonohue :
I was on PS5 so...controller.
You have a PC I assume....you have Bluetooth capabilities? Most modern windows boxes will just Bluetooth straight into an Xbox controller with no fuss and it just works. No Logitech submacar nonsense here. I think it works with PS5 controllers as well but I've never tested it.
Yep, on a PC, old enough that it does not have Bluetooth built in.
EDIT: I'll confirm that later, but pretty sure there is no native BT on this motherboard.
Beer Baron 🍺 said:In reply to Tony Sestito :
Balatro - It's just a fun time waster.
"Fun time waster"
You have a weird way of spelling "crippling unexplainable addiction".
In reply to DarkMonohue :
According to googles AI a USB/usb-c will solve that problem and you can still use an Xbox controller. No blue teeth involved. So.....???? Might be worth a shot. Target has the robot white on sale for $40 right now. Up to you. I have an inherited distrust of third party controllers, especially when cords are involved dating back to my nes days and going to the homies house and getting "that " controller, so any time I can adapt OEM/OEM+ gaming tech, I do. Even hot rod E36 M3 like razer/Corsair/etc...do not want.
Mndsm said:You have a PC I assume....you have Bluetooth capabilities? Most modern windows boxes will just Bluetooth straight into an Xbox controller with no fuss and it just works. No Logitech submacar nonsense here. I think it works with PS5 controllers as well but I've never tested it.
"no fuss" is exactly the opposite of my experiences with xbox controllers. I love the controllers, but keeping them paired to the PC has been a berkeleying nightmare since day 1. Its one of the main downfalls of PC-as-a-console.
In reply to TravisTheHuman :
I like an XBox OE controller connected via USB.
I have 2 Xbox controllers (Microsoft, made in 2023). Pairing them both via bluetooth = nightmare. Constantly unpair, or wont pair.
Switched to Xbox wireless adapter. Now 70% of the time, they work every time. Periodically I have to unplug the adapter and plug it back in. Occasionally (2 days ago for example), they will just disconnect at random, every minute or two. To fix that I had to download the xbox accessories app to update the controller firmware (wtf), although now in order for that app to work, you also need to be logged into the Xbox app (double wtf).
So yeah, need an Xbox account for your controller to work.
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