Really didn't think they could keep that same sense of mystery and wonder with the DLC, but they absolutely smashed it. And yes, this was also my immediate thought in answer to the question.
Mass Effect 1.
The first encounter with the Reapers, with Sovereign, is such an incredible moment. These horrifying, unkillable deities that can't be reasoned with or stopped that just want to destroy was so intimidating on the first playthrough.
The reveal about the mass relays and how they guided tech advancement was incredible too.
You exist because we allow it. You will end because we demand it.
Same here. The story and presentation are so sublime. ME universe is was designed so comprehensively and coherently it left me awestruck on many times throughout the first playthrough.
And the sequel is just a cherry on top, drawing from the now-estabilished world, themes, interstellar politics, all to build one absolutely epic finale. No other game managed to engage me so much.
Playing the beginning of ME3 was crazy to me. "IT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING? I figured we would somehow stop the invasion at the last minute...because how are they going to put such large set pieces and warzones into the game?"
I'll never forget the day I started playing this game. It was so cool and so different from anything else I had played that I couldn't stop playing, and finished the game in one session. Awesome night!
Man... That was such a trip. A friend of mine brought it over because my computer was much better and I had a 3rd party ISP lightning fast 56k connection. It was so crazy just to see the little world. I still log into the private servers every few years just to see some of the new tech fans are throwing on top of it.
If I could also not have played Half Life, I'd like a do-over of Black Mesa. Don't get me wrong, HL is still brilliant, but the Xen section of BM is just chef's kiss
Halo 3 back in its heyday without question. The hours and hours spent grinding ranks in playlists and playing custom games is some of the best times I’ve ever had in gaming.
Factorio. I had actually become aware of how fun building games could be through Prison Architect a couple years prior. But Factorio took it to a whole other level. Extraordinary freedom and near limitless things to do -- it's distilled, weaponized, dangerously addictive fun for people who have engineering brains
Factorio. I had so much fun figuring out all the stuff it throws at you and making a mess of spaghetti beacuse you couldn't predict what was next to sort things out.
Would have loved to play some of the early 360 games online including Halo back in there prime. I just didn't have good enough internet for it to be playable back then.
Oblivion. Probably sunk 1000 hours sucking every last drop of dopamine out of that game.
Edit: also a very old and very obscure PC game called AMBER: Journeys Beyond. Basically, you had to go check on your collegue and do some ghost hunting and puzzle solving to save her
The first (and best) BioShock. I have no idea how I got away with so many years of not knowing the story or nothing being spoiled, but man, playing that for the first time was an absolute trip, especially that part.
BioShock was such a wild experience above and beyond simply being a good game.
I went in absolutely blind, after seeing an ad and just liking the aesthetic and wanting to shoot stuff - not expecting any of the philosophical content or storytelling of that quality, and it was one of those games that I finished and then just like ... sat there ... for an hour to process the ride I'd been on.
I absolutely agree. It's not my favorite or my most played, but it is, imo, one of the best stories and atmosphere by far. I love games I can replay, but for BioShock, it isn't so much the replayability as it is that feeling I had the first time. That being said I've replayed it many times lol.
FF VIII was a great story but the very exploitable leveling system kinda makes it kinda boring to play sometimes, Triple triad makes up for it, though!
Okami hands down. This is the only game that I've bought for multiple consoles. The art style and solid game play age beautifully and the game is still as much fun today as it was when it first came out.
Red Dead Redemption. When the music starts picking up as you enter Mexico for the first time it was beautiful and something I had never experienced in a video game before.
For sure. This is my answer. Even the first time I took my horse into the basin with Armadillo at night was magical. Haven't felt that in a game since.
Final Fantasy XIV. I wish I could forget the story to experience it all over, but it'd also be nice to not remember some of the old things I miss too. Ignorance is bliss and all.
I was so bored with games, and had been playing everything on the hardest setting trying to make games more fun. A friend of mine recommended Demon's Souls and it was instant joy!
I would say RDR2 or TLOU, both left such an impact on me after I beat them. Prob is now I remember the story so it doesn’t have that surprise or shock factor. I really wish I could use the MiB memory wipe stick sometimes.
I had never heard of it when a coworker introduced me to it 10+ years ago. I knew nothing going into it, and then I played it obsessively from beginning to end. It was nearly impossible to find even then.
Portal. I completed it in a single sitting. The audio bugged and I had no voiceover. I had no idea what I was missing out on. Not the same on the second play tbh.
Return of the Obra Dinn. Discovering the story and mystery for the first time, putting the pieces together, looking for clues and drawing conclusions, it was a fantastic experience that can never be repeated so long as you remember even fragments of it.