Games you wish you could play of the first time

[Shareefruck]

Personally if I'm in the mood for a Bethesda-style Fallout I stick to Fallout 4. I don't think the story and RPG mechanics of either game are particularly good but the improved combat and settlement mechanics of Fallout 4 just makes it a better game IMO.

I think it depends on the game. For example, my first playthrough of Resident Evil 7 I was legitimately creeped out for the majority of the game. However, on subsequent playthroughs where you know what to do and what's coming I still had fun but it really doesn't hit the same in that regard. I do generally agree with you though, if I can't enjoy playing through a game more than once or with prior knowledge then the game probably isn't that good to begin with. I think of something like The Last of Us where I knew the story going into the game and after a few hours I just thought to myself, "the gameplay isn't great and I already know the story, why am I even playing this?" and dropped it.

Yeah, I found the story of Last of Us really mediocre too. I kept thinking "this feels like the same level of writing of things that generally aren't even thought highly of in other mediums like Walking Dead/Logan or something." The only thing that franchise really has going for it is big budget production value and solid vocal performances, IMO. Not a fan of Druckmann's sensibilities in general.

 

[guinness]

SMB 3

 

[flyingkiwi]

I wish I could hear all the jokes in Portal and experience the Portal 2 story for the first time again. It's not the same when you know the solutions to the puzzles.

 

[Apex Predator]

I'll say the same but for Fallout 3, enjoyed New Vegas a ton but FO3 just hooked me in a bit more

Bioshock - I still go back and replay it if not yearly then fairly close to it, I wish I had the Men in black thing to erase my mind after each play through

The Last of Us

Uncharted series

Dead Space series

Fallout 3 is the game that hooked me to the fallout series! I haven’t enjoyed any of the other fallouts as much as I enjoyed fallout 3!

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

Marvel's Spiderman, I LOVE that game.

Legend of Zelda Ocarina of time but I'd want to do that in 1998 even if the water temple was a pain in the ass

 

[Panthaz89]

Final Fantasy V
XCOM 2
Mount and Blade Warband/Bannerlord
Halo 1,2,3
Perfect Dark on N64

 

[robertmac43]

Those first moments of Ghost of Tsushima when you come out of the forest on your horse was one of my favourite visual moments in gaming history. The novelty of the visuals has not worn off but I would love to experience those breathtaking first few minutes again.

 

[Kcb12345]

TLOU1 and TLOU2
The Witcher 3
Cyberpunk 2077

Honestly so many

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

“Mike Tyson’s Punch Out” on the NES

 

[LarKing]

Mass Effect 2 and 3 (1 too if I get the remastered one) and KOTOR 1 and 2. Never been more immersed into a game than with these two series. The GOAT for me personally.

 

[Frankie Spankie]

Almost got all the achievements in Gunfire Reborn. I'm on the last level of Reincarnation too. It's a ton of fun if anyone's looking for a FPS roguelite. It's great fun in co-op.

 

[iliketorock]

Good thread idea.

Battlefield 1942 - It was the first game my brother and I got once we got a 1/2 decent computer. The map selection was awesome and there were about 10 of us in school who had it (this is in 2004/2005 so it had already been out for a while)

World of Warcraft - I thought it was dumb but quite a few people in school played it and talked me into it..... It cost us all basically a hear of being social. Was good fun though there was close to 20 of us from high school all on the same faction/server.

 

[Sniper99]

Halo 1-3, played that for hours at friends places

 

[aleshemsky83]

Honestly, I don't really subscribe to the idea of the first experience of a piece of media being some special experience that matters enough to want to feel it again, personally.

My view is that if something's worth a damn, even the twentieth revisit should completely dwarf the power of the first experience, because appreciation/something ultimately feeling just right overwhelmingly outweighs novelty/being pleasantly surprised by something, for me.

Even with something like, say Final Fantasy VII, which was massively formative for me and blew me away as a kid (kind of introduced me to caring about the idea of artistry and creativity in general), but that I see tons of massive flaws in now, I think that understanding what elements do hold up as beautiful while acknowledging the things that don't, and losing the stuff I was delusional about at the time is a more rewarding type of satisfaction to me anyways.

Like, I guess experiencing that again for the first time would involve an explosive andrenaline rush that I can't get from it anymore, but I can take that or leave it, honestly.

you're speaking about a games narrative though. Can you honestly say a puzzle or adventure game is not good anymore because you know all the solutions the second time?

 

[Shareefruck]

you're speaking about a games narrative though. Can you honestly say a puzzle or adventure game is not good anymore because you know all the solutions the second time?

I actually didn't primarily have narrative in mind-- I feel that the same applies to other genres/facets as well (well, the stuff I care about, anyways), personally. Even when speaking purely about mechanics and design, appreciation of how deftly something is done and how satisfyingly they interact is a bigger part of the appeal to me than the novelty of not being able to do something and then being able to do it. If anything, I've had a tendency to not fall in love with pure-mechanics games until AFTER I realize how beautifully it holds up to speed-running, after playing them a bunch of times.

Again, I agree that you do lose some things over time that maybe you're alluding to, but those usually aren't the things that I love most about videogames anyways, and I can take them or leave them for the most part. For example, Portal is a brilliant game that I love, but the process of busting your brain to figure out an elaborate solution for the first time isn't really the thing that makes me feel that way. How cool the puzzle is, straight-up, is a bigger factor for me, among other more obvious things about it.

 

[crowi]

Return of the Obra Dinn. I've been waiting for another one like that since. A true masterpiece and I feel everyone who can appreciate storytelling (sounds, scenery, music, suspense) and likes to do some detective work should definitely play this.

Skyrim. I've spent over 1500 hours playing this game and still occasionally find/realize some new details about it.

World of Warcraft. Not the "classic" that's available now, but back when I was still young and sucked at the game. The world of that game was vast and truly something else. Also saved so much money not going to bars and instead played during weekends.

Horizon Zero Dawn. I suppose it's a game that copies other games in many ways (much like WoW did), but doesn't mean the story, setting, the world and beauty of it all should take a hit for that. Paid 130 € more for a PS5 than retail price to buy it from an auction website just to be able to play the sequel that releases in less than 2 months!

The Monkey Island series of games. Specifically Monkey Island 1 & 2 and The Curse of Monkey Island. These games molded my humour heavily and I still remember so many quotes from the games. These games are legends in the adventure game genre and for a good reason.

 

[Commander Clueless]

Return of the Obra Dinn. I've been waiting for another one like that since. A true masterpiece and I feel everyone who can appreciate storytelling (sounds, scenery, music, suspense) and likes to do some detective work should definitely play this.

Obra Dinn is one of those games I wish I could play period. I tried, but that visual style just makes my eyes and brain bleed

I appreciate the design, but I just get some strange combination of motion sickness and headache.

The Monkey Island series of games. Specifically Monkey Island 1 & 2 and The Curse of Monkey Island. These games molded my humour heavily and I still remember so many quotes from the games. These games are legends in the adventure game genre and for a good reason.

I think the classic style of PC adventure game is a good premise for this thread....the sort of game that you know all the nooks and crannies of and are still great to revisit, but the original magic of trying a bunch of crap and seeing what worked is something that can't be repeated.

For me, this is Quest for Glory and King's Quest.

 

[Osprey]

Obra Dinn is one of those games I wish I could play period. I tried, but that visual style just makes my eyes and brain bleed

I appreciate the design, but I just get some strange combination of motion sickness and headache.

I had a bit of a hard time adjusting to it, as well. After I tried all of the graphics modes, though, I found one that I could tolerate better than the others. If you never tried the other graphics modes, maybe you should. None will make it not be line drawings, but you might find that another color scheme is easier on your eyes.

 

[RandV]

I'd have a number of 16-bit era games (Super Metroid, a Link to the Past) but Final Fantasy VI in particular. Great game, then it opens up in the world of ruin for the latter half of the game which is amazing but play it a couple times and it just becomes routine knowing exactly where to go and in what order.

And for different reasons I'd have to say Skyrim too. Compared to other people I've only put around 200 hours into it between two characters, but that was on a largely under powered machine where I had to eventually stop because things got to slow. But now that I have a PC that can easily handle it... I've kind of been everywhere and seen everything already so I don't have the motivation to play a game through.

 

[SuperScript29]

Mass Effect Trilogy and Dragon Age Origins.

 

[JaegerDice]

Oh god, so many....

I guess I'll go in chronological order:

Super Mario Bros. 3
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the PasT
DOOM
Street Fighter 2
Final Fantasy VI
Super Metroid
Mega Man X
Chrono Trigger
Resident Evil
Final Fantasy Tactics
Planescape: Torment
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Metal Gear Solid
Xenogears
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Baldur's Gate 2
Silent Hill 2
Halo: Combat Evolved
Resident Evil 4
Okami
Bioshock
Dark Souls
Portal 2
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

....I'm sure there are more, but those are the memories that stand out.

 

[The Kingslayer]

Goldeneye.

 

[Beezers Mask]

Super Mario World
Super Mario Cart
Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time
Goldeneye
Halo Combat Evolved
GTA Vice City
Battlefield 3
Red Dead Redemption
Red Dead Redemption 2
The Last of Us

 

[Andrei79]

Oh god, so many....

I guess I'll go in chronological order:

Super Mario Bros. 3
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the PasT
DOOM
Street Fighter 2
Final Fantasy VI
Super Metroid
Mega Man X
Chrono Trigger
Resident Evil
Final Fantasy Tactics
Planescape: Torment
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Metal Gear Solid
Xenogears
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Baldur's Gate 2
Silent Hill 2
Halo: Combat Evolved
Resident Evil 4
Okami
Bioshock
Dark Souls
Portal 2
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

....I'm sure there are more, but those are the memories that stand out.

Gotta say I love your list.

 

[WeDislikeEich]

Nier: automata (love the story. Love some of the areas you explore. I still vividly remember entering one area for the first time. No spoilers...)

Far cry 3 (loved the story + villain)

Fallout 3/new Vegas/4 (fallout 3 is what hooked me to the series, and I put the most hours into NV + 4. Never even played fallout 76 though).

Horizon zero dawn (amazing game + story)

yakuza 6 (but this time I’d play it last, instead of first. lol)

Watch dogs 2 (loved the game play + story and exploring the Bay Area)

grand theft auto 5

god of war

assassins creed: odyssey

dragon age

really enjoyed uncharted 4 too.

Agree with others saying Witcher 3, RDR 2 and Skyrim.

Id put Borderlands 2 on the list but it was actually really frustrating the 1st play through. It wasn’t until I learned how to play the game better and switched character classes that I really started to love borderlands 2.

that’s all I have off the top of my head right now.