Half-Life: Alyx, hands down.
I may have cried a little bit after my first round at it.
I don’t think VR is a cop out considering it should be the most immersive gaming experience. It just kinda sucks that Alyx is really the only kind of VR game (that’s actually a game) that also immerses you in the game using the same shit non-VR games do to make them immersive. IMO this question should be a thinker; but there’s not much to think about other than Alyx.
I probably wouldn’t have bought it, but it came with my Index and Holy shit what an incredible experience. I’ve been playing the Arizona Sunshine remake and it’s been scratching the same itch. The reload mechanics are a ton of fun.
Football Manager. I’m a simple man. I don’t like starting off as a top team, it’s always more fun for me to download one of the extended databases and take an amateur Sunday League team to the highest heights. I’ve been managing my current side, Wakefield AFC, for almost 20 years. I’ve led them up the ladder from the Northern Counties East League Division One to the Championship.
I remember the first time we averaged more than 100 fans in attendance per season. I remember the first player we sold for cash (veteran midfielder Jack Sang, for a whopping $2,400) instead of letting go on a free. I remember our first ever televised match in 2030 during our Cinderella run in the FA Cup. It was a respectable 2-1 loss to a team 3 divisions above us, but the $250k share of the gate receipts saved us from bankruptcy. I can picture the statue they’ll build someday of Seb Bolton, who scored 116 goals in 223 appearances between 2026-2032 and led us to back-to-back promotions. I’m currently trying to shepherd the development of youth player Tony Okonkwo, a 6’5" center forward who very well could become our first homegrown million dollar man.
That was an enjoyable read in the same vein of reading about crazy EVE Online shenanigans. I will probably never touch it but I admire how fun you make it sound.
do you follow tradition and put on a suit for the Finals?
Top contenders:
- Subnautica
- Dishonored
- Prey
- Bioshock
- Control
- Titanfall 2
- Modern Warfare 2
- The Outer Wilds
Outer Wilds and subnautica still trigger all my phobias so effectively. It’s terrifying
With that list of games, you may like Green Hell.
Prey yes
Red Dead Redemption 2, by far.
Honorable mention to Elite: Dangerous while playing with a HOTAS
Probably skyrim. The first time I played it, it made me feel like I had a 2nd separate life that I had to pull myself back out of to rejoin the real world.
Same. I remember seeing a lot of buzz surrounding it on release day, but I’d never played a TES game before. Decided to download it and play for an hour just to see what it’s about. I remember after what felt like roughly an hour I suddenly had massive hunger pains, checked the time and realised I’d just been playing for about 9 hours straight with no break. I don’t think I’ve ever had another game do that to me before.
The first STALKER game. Near the beginning when I had hardly any ammo.
I saw a pack of feral dogs in the distance and while they didn’t sound friendly I didn’t know whether they would be hostile or how close I could get before they would aggro. Since I had so little ammo I resolved to not take any shots unless they got close.
Well, one of them did start running towards me, but before it got that close it cut off and ran away at a 90° angle. Then another, and another did the same thing. “Maybe they’re not hostile?” I thought to myself, “Do they just run around randomly?”.
Then I realized I was being circled. Which was an extremely unnerving realization. I went from thinking about aggro ranges and AI states to being thrust into a situation that I sometimes have to worry about not falling into in real life.
Then I realized I was being circled. Which was an extremely unnerving realization. I went from thinking about aggro ranges and AI states to being thrust into a situation that I sometimes have to worry about not falling into in real life.
Makes it that much more sad seeing A-Life getting trashed in STALKER 2. Moments like these were awesome
SOMA. Downright existential horror in all the right ways.
SOMA was fantastic, I played it in peaceful mode
Skyrim with the right mods
VR Skyrim.
I know there are much more immersive games, but the most immersive I’ve played is The Witcher 3, I don’t play many realistic games. Stardew Valley and Minecraft for the win.
The Long Dark with headphones in a dark room. Really makes you feel cold.
Elite Dangerous as well. My ship auto-docking while I look at my side screens and hear various radio chatter is awesome.
Hmm…
Mass Effect Trilogy. Kingdom Come Deliverance (can’t wait for KCD2!). Red Dead Redemption 2. Dishonored. Deus Ex. Baldur’s Gate 3. The Witcher 3. Disco Elysium. Dragon Age. Kotor. Bioshock. Cyberpunk2077 Divinity:OS+OS2
I can go on a bit, but anything with a good story gets me. I love being immersed. It helps me escape reality. Same goes for books. I love long series that I can throw myself into.
Subnautica. Literally immersive
That’s virtually immersive. Literally immersive was when I fell into an actual pool while playing Super Mario on a gameboy.
I remember being soldered to my game boy as a kid, too…
Actually happened in my 30s LOL.
when you walked into a pool of tin ?
Cyberpunk 2077 by far
Tetris Effect. Combine its gameplay, music, narrative, controller feedback and sound design, and you have quite the blending of the senses. Under certain circumstances, it’s incredible.
Good pick. Tetris effect is fuckin wild under certain circumstances. I wouldn’t have thought about this as immersive but it’s more immersive than many games.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Felt like I was fighting for my actual life in that game.
Pretty sure I have actual trauma from that game because I tried to play the bunker and had to quit 5 minutes in.
Never even saw the monster.
THE WATER LEVEL THO.
