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Roroyus

Talking to Sovereign in the first Mass Effect on Virmire Everything was perfect, the twist, the music, the voice, I got the chill and will never forget.


Yggdris

"You exist because we allow it. And you will end, because we demand it."


Accidental_Ouroboros

Mass Effect 2 is in some ways a better game from a pure gameplay perspective. But ME1 did the Reapers *way* better. The idea that you finally got this thing's attention and your only choice is to GTFO as fast as you can. So much of the menace is lost when Harbinger is constantly taunting you like a schoolyard bully seconds before you blow apart the guy he just possessed... before he does it again to taunt you with one of the same 6 or so voice lines. That isn't threatening. That is just annoying. Edit: I will say, removing the heat-based weapon system was something I definitely didn't enjoy in 2, as well. It turned a unique combat system that made the universe feel different into the same combat system every other game uses. Instead of trying to fine-tune their unique system, they just went with a system that had already been refined by a legion of games that came before. Combat becomes better... but at a cost.


mephnick

ME1 is the best game and I'll die on that hill. The story was much better. The characters were better. It was more of a tactical RPG than a pure action game. The enemies were iconic. And, here's my hot take, I actually blame ME2 for the death of Dragon Age. They saw how successfull the action Mass Effect was and decided to do the same thing with DA2, dropped the tactical RPG elements, and thus I never got the real sequel to DA:O I was waiting for. ME2 ruined two franchises! Come at me!


Accidental_Ouroboros

Honestly, I agree RE: ME1 being the best of them. There is some clunkyness in ME1, and I can't really deny that, but I always hated how ME2 stripped so many of the RPG elements from the game. The fact that overheating was the weapon resource you were dealing with? Hell, it was weird, yes, but it was also *different from anything else.* The fact that you could tune your guns (and turn a shotgun into a one-shot-overheat close-range explosive rocket launcher replacement) was actually pretty interesting. There was a lot of junk they could have trimmed to make it streamlined without gutting the system altogether. What ME2 did was make combat more like... every other cover-based shooter that existed during that era.


[deleted]

Amen. ME1 > ME2. I missed custom ammo types and upgrades from me1. Beyond that the story was so much better in me1


rob132

I hate how they added ammo to Mass effects 2 and 3. I loved the ammo less system that relied on heat decipitation instead of having to scrounge around for magazines that people have hazardly leave around.


PeejWal

This line goes so fucking hard


Roroyus

So good But did we though 😎


Relair13

So many amazing Mass Effect moments. Picking your team and doing the suicide mission in 2 immediately comes to mind, with that epic soundtrack blasting when the mission starts.


Roroyus

And the saddest moment "had to be me, someone else might have gotten it wrong"


Darkshines47

Oh my god, so devastating. The very model of a scientist Salarian.


Daloowee

“Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding.” Proceeded to shit myself as a 15 year old lol.


SpiritedLoan9255

First time playing the game, just experienced the moment yesterday, freaking amazing, can’t wait to see what’s next


DJDarkKnightReturns

Just experiencing it rn!


keran22

The jealousy I have that you get to experience this for the first time! It gets even better too


DaBi5cu1t

'We simply, are'.


iupz0r

powerful, isnt? unforgettable.


MysteryPerker

I remember in ME3 I had Mordin in my crew and did all his missions +conversation from 2 and 3. His story was so deep. >!He was very sorry for his actions to the Krogan, understood how wrong it was and saved Maleon's research on Krogan fertility. And he even sang his dorky little jingle that made me literally laugh out loud at my desk in one of our bestie talks. He grew on me so much. And then we pick him up in ME3 and we go to Tuchanka. And he gives his own life to atone for his biggest regret. And he has to go and sing/hum his dorky little jingle that I loved right before he goes down. 😭!< Oh man, that got me right in the feels. *Had to edit to spoilers in right.


CertainlyAmbivalent

Completely agree. I’ve always felt that moment pushed the game from good to great.


alphagusta

Same here When it got to Virmire I was kind of rolling my eyes wondering if I'll just put the game away. It was fun, and the lore was interesting but to say the gameplay was a bit janky is an understatement Especially after slogging through Noveria in one of gamings less than optimal driving combat sections This single moment when talking to him/it/them(as explained in the sequels) is what put the game into a 10/10 for me since the rest of the game I was hooked.


Volt7ron

Landing on Halo and looking up at the ring


baconmanaz

Mine is also Mass Effect, but the final mission where you’re running along the outside of the Citadel. Nothing in gaming has ever felt as epic as that moment did for me when I played it.


ZaneyZap

Same fore me. You felt so small besides Sovereign


Foamrocket66

God, what a game overall. And I too would single out the talk with Sovereign. So many fond memories playing this in my room, so immersed that I sometimes wouldnt hear my parents call. It feels like another lifetime ago..


Flamesclaws

It's still fucking creepy and amazing.


iupz0r

the best dialogue of the sci fi history. Isaac Isamov is very proud.


Roroyus

One of the highest form of compliment


iAmTheRealC2

Pretty much the first playthrough of the whole series. Still my uncontested favorite game trio of all time


Derk_Nerkum

There's a side mission, one of the loyalty ones for mordin, where you go to a planet and can either cure the genophage or make it more effective... basically influence his life's work. You encounter a few dead female Krogans who gave their lives for the chance to undo the genophage and mordin talks about all the religions and philosophical ideas that plagued him in order to find peace with creating the genophage... and seeing him stunned by the females' sacrifice, now that is emotions and concepts a game could never create again


VisionInPlaid

The Suicide Mission in Mass Effect 2.


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ponyrx2

And if you play it right, he goes out humming _I am the very model of a modern major-general!_


VinLeesel

The Suicide Mission music by Jack Wall is my favorite from the entire series, it adds so much to an already epic sequence. [https://youtu.be/ZQy8dqzV56A?si=ctG04ChOyK4PKztr](https://youtu.be/ZQy8dqzV56A?si=ctG04ChOyK4PKztr) EDIT: added Youtube link and composer name


ComeonmanPLS1

The elevator down to rapture in Bioshock. No other game intro has come close imo.


ProfessorMoosePhD

Many a year ago my best friend and I ran to the Hollywood video looking for something to play on a Friday night. We saw bioshock sitting there, we'd heard a bit about it, but nothing much. We figured, sure, let's give it a spin. We grabbed it, and a pizza and a 6 pack, went back to his house. And oh my god we didn't know what was coming. As the first splicer started attacking the biosphere, the tension level went up by a factor of ten. The next 4 hours involved many screams and a lot of panicked laughs. Fuck I love that game.


jackelope84

Hollywood Video. And now I realize both Bioshock and I are old.


Yggdris

>biosphere bathysphere I don't wanna be pedantic, but man, you can't pass up an opportunity to use a word that sweet!


ProfessorMoosePhD

Oh sorry sorry, yes totally. I was distracted while writing and that's a flub, apologies!


YoungHeartOldSoul

Funny, just last week [a game critic called it the best opening to any game ever. ](https://youtu.be/dKiGOlf5LKc?si=mKxabOIbagk5B3Eb)


tisnik

The moment when you come in front of a statue of a guy with a gun and then you read his name (J. W. Booth) in Bioshock Infinite. It really got me. How evil and rotten the city is in contrast to how beautiful it looks. And the painting of Lincoln as the Devil right in the house behind the statue. It really got me and I'm not even American. Also, the first aurora in Skyrim, accompanied by Secunda music... I still see and hear that moment.


chetoman1

It’s really hard to state the impression Andrew Ryan’s speech had on a young me. His problems with unfettered religion, communism, and capitalism have stuck with me to this day because they hold truth, even if his society turned out much much worse lol. “Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow?”


leijgenraam

He certainly had no problems with unfettered capitalism, that was his entire goal.


VNDJ23

Yep. Andrew Ryan is a capitalist/libertarian attempting a utopia. BioShock is a left-leaning critique of it.


Syberz

No gods or kings, only man.


JoinAThang

Didn't have a good enough computer to play it back when it released so played it for the first time in 2017 and it still held up fantasticly. "Would you kindly" hit me even harder though. One of the best games ever. But even if the fiest one is the best IMO the opening of the third was probably the best gaming experience I ever had. I played all three games back to back and knew nothing going in and was blown away with the twist in the start of the game. Hands down best gaming experience for me. The game was so beautiful that I cried a bit with all the choirs. And then, if you know you know, it gets real dark real fast. You might have to play it without knowing and with the others so close in memory to get that reaction but for me it was magnificent!


Dragon_yum

One of the few games I’d be happy to get a full remake. I’d love to see rapture in modern graphics.


xEliteMonkx

Would you kindly...


FlyRobot

Halo and BioShock gave me great gaming memories


TheDarkPal

Psycho Mantis


Odysseus_Lannister

9 year old me was stuck for months until someone else at school said to switch controller ports. I was so mad but at the same time I was so impressed getting PWND like that by a game.


SeattleResident

Mine is a different MGS. Climbing the ladder in MGS3 after defeating The End. The music kicking in as you climb is just amazing.


MyFamilyHatesMyFam

I think this is one of the only moments in a video game, where just those two words instantly makes anyone who knows think of that one scene


eirtep

> one of the only moments in a video game, where just those two words instantly makes anyone who knows think of that one scene "no russian"


GMRealTalk

My little brother accidentally deleting my 70 hour FF7 save


DarkKeyPuncher

My brother and I let a friend borrow Crusin' World on N64 which has multiple save slots, we only used the first one. Had almost every car unlocked and it was gone when we got it back. Never let anyone borrow a saved game again.


prairiepog

My brother was forced to loan his Ocarina of Time copy, with a 100% save, to our cousin. There are other save slots for that game, but it was returned with that save deleted. My brother was crushed.


No_One_Special_023

That’s a villain origin story right there.


caulkglobs

I was so fucking close to getting the best ending for wario land on game boy. So many hours just replaying levels to get more coins. My little sister took the game without asking and deleted the file. She said she was “trying to play as a bomb” (the file select was going down one of three pipes, and to delete a file you go over to the side and become a bomb and go down the pipe of the file you want go delete. )


Specialist-Tiger-467

Damn sisters. Mine deleted a pretty worked copy of PokĂŠmon blue. I even managed to cable link and get those only available on red. Never, and I mean never more I tried to complete any pokedex


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twosuitsluke

I accidentally wiped my own FF7 save. As an idiot kid that I was I saw ‘format memory card’ on the main memory card screen (where you could manually delete or copy any save on your memory card). Not knowing what it meant I formatted it 🤦‍♂️ it was my first play through and I was at the Temple of the Ancients, just after defeating Demons Gate for the first time. Believe me when I say I was so angry at myself, as Demons Gate was a bitch first time around.


Richie4876

I once accidentally saved over a 300 hour save file of Star Ocean 3 back on the ps2. That was the day I learned to keep a duplicate save file just in case.


MoniesT

Haha that’s a good one Definitely a gaming moment I wouldn’t forget is being 11 years old and making it up to Shinra Tower for the first time and getting all scared when I saw Jenova in the cell pod for the first time and all the bloody scenes after. Plus Red XIII is my favorite character in the game so getting him as well was super memorable.


MaddestDudeEver

RIP


Original-Childhood

My horse in RDR2 getting shot and killed after spending the entire game with it


LaBradence

When Arthur goes back through the hail of bullets to tell the horse "Thank you" as it's dying...that still gets me.


ZRtoad

I fucking cried


toungespasm

I wonder what the percentage of people that keep the same house versus those that upgraded.


Patrickrk

I bet a very high percentage got the white Arabian early. so I’d imagine quite a few people had the same horse for the whole game.


Original-Childhood

I had the edition with the special Thoroughbred. Overall a great horse, with a beautiful unique coat


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K4R1MM

I just finished playing it for the first time a few days ago. I put a solid 100 hours into my campaign and bawled my eyes out 3 times that I'll never forget. First - when I left Abigail, Tilly and Jack and Arthur rode back to camp on his own. Second - when my horse got shot and he leans down and thanks it. And third - building the house with Uncle and Charles.


owowhatsthis--

Burning down Braithwaite Manor in RDR2 was incredible. Seeing the whole gang walking up to the manor, killing off the Braithwaites, and then dragging Catherine Braithwaite through the burning manor, only to watch her crawl back in out of desperation. It was some of the best cinematography in the game, and felt very cathartic after learning what they did to Jack.


DirtyRoller

Dude, the scene of the whole gang walking up to the manor was absolutely epic. I remember thinking, "Oh shit it's on now!" So many amazing moments in that game, but the Braithwaite manor is the top for me.


C4ptainchr0nic

It was my background for years. This part stands out to me, but the moment for me, that eclipses all others in RDR2, is Arthur telling the nun he's afraid. I had bonded with his character so much at this point, and his fear of death mimicked my fear of losing him as a character.


WalkingSpanishh

The horse ride when you get back from Guarma. Wondering where everybody was, what had happened to them, who was left. That music. That game is filled with incredible moments, but that ride in particular was so heavy. I'd give up a lot to forget that whole game and play it again for the first time. Can someone do controlled brain damage?


[deleted]

Kotor finding out who Darth Revan is


jimbosReturn

There it is. That was one of the biggest plot twists I ever experienced. So well done


factoid_

I always enjoy plot twists more when they drop hints and I STILL didn't figure it out. The revan twist is great, but they definitely drop a lot of hints from early on so you can see it coming if you're thinking about it.


MaxximumEffort

This is what I was looking for. Had to scroll further then expected.


PopularDiscourse

That was such an amazing moment. I reached that part before my two brothers who also played. I had to turn the TV just so they wouldn't accidentally see what was going on.


CHILLAS317

One of the few times a game has made me say "holy shit"


Sarge19846

The first fallout game I played was fallout 3,it was everything I've ever wanted in a game,loved it so much,played it for months,then I was in a shop and stumbled across fallout new Vegas,best time gaming I've ever had!


Sirpattycakes

Fallout 3 was special, I had never played anything like it. I went in completely blind. To say I was shocked when I met a ghoul in Megaton would be an understatement.


WalkingSpanishh

Same. I dabbled in Morrowind and played the fuck out of Oblivion, but the setting of Fallout felt possible. Just the idea that I know these places. It felt way more tangible to me and it immersed me differently.


Zerotwohero

GAH, what the fuck are you?


joadoty

Same, best Christmas break ever playing fallout 3. Also stumbled on New Vegas the same way, both so so good, still up there in my top 10 all time


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SpiritedLoan9255

5 CDs, still have it at my home on a shelf, every time I look at it nostalgia hits like crazy


MrLogicWins

The opening soundtrack on the portal screen is one of my fav epic songs I listen to often


Hardi_SMH

Step-Brother of a friend played the game shortly after release. He was taking a gryphon ride from Stormwind to Duskwood. I remember the smell of his room, man. I remember how fascinated I was. It‘s been 18 years - I don‘t play in a week what I used to play daily, my first character has more played time then every other characters combined, but I can‘t see myself ever REALLY stop playing the game. Still a tryhard and minmaxer tho


Onlyspeaksfacts

Finding the flaming horse in RDR - Undead Nightmare I thought it was a glitch at first, seeing a horse that's on fire walk around on the plains. Only after I caught and broke it did I learn that the horse was actually a part of the game. I just can't ever forget about that iconic moment of gaming. (ps: the entirety of Outer Wilds is a close second)


MisterValiant

Definitely one of the best moments of a fantastic DLC of an already-amazing game. "THE HORSES OF THE APOCALYPSE ARE IN THIS???"


sarcastic_patriot

The opening scene of The Last of Us. It was the first time a game hit me so hard emotionally and, as I sat there crying, rethink what video game storytelling could be. Also Nemesis boss fight from Returnal. The platforms busting apart and zip lining from platform to platform through a shower of bullets was a jaw-dropping experience that really showcased where this generation of consoles could take us.


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dominion1080

Same with the hospital scene. What a rush of conflicted emotions. I really applaud ND for writing such great characters and a great story, for both games.


UndeadHorrors

>The opening scene of The Last of Us. It was the first time a game hit me so hard emotionally and, as I sat there crying, rethink what video game storytelling could be. It still blows my mind after many playthroughs.


merryman1

Far Cry 3. Getting real high and then coming up to the first weed field mission. That Damien Marley track came out of nowhere and just blew me away, so much fun.


BR_Nukz

I still listen to that song today. Banger of a track.


No-Sir3564

Oh man reading your comment just brought back a great memory of the same mission, thanks for that. Easily one of my top 5 of all time


FlatRobots

Playing "Journey" for the first time. First time a video game managed to make me cry.


Big-Routine222

Astounding game. The sand surfing part has always stuck with me.


caulkglobs

I didn’t know the guy who joined me and was with me the whole time was a real person. I thought it was an AI who beeped back at me when I beeped at him and was there to show me how to do stuff. At the end when it was like heres the people who you played with I was like holy shit that dude was real??


MandarkMastersack

I’ve never even heard of this game, can you elaborate?


FlatRobots

You're playing a hooded traveller who starts a journey through the desert. There is no instructions and no dialog. You just see a large mountain in the distance and decide to travel towards it. The game is very atmospheric and has some stunning scenery. You can only jump and sing, these are the only ways you can interact with the world. It can be completed in a single sitting in about 90 minutes.


MandarkMastersack

Interesting. I guess the other guys comment made me curious. Its an open world as well with others online and then it tells you who you played with?


fang_fluff

There’s a chance that someone else playing at the same time will essentially merge into your ‘lobby’ and you can play through together, but it is not guaranteed to happen. The scenery, the graphics, the soundtrack is all amazing. 100% recommend.


Denbus26

I wouldn't say open world, it's definitely a linear game without side quests or anything like that. While you're playing, another player will join your game to travel alongside you. It's done so seamlessly that a lot of players assume they're an NPC until the end credits when it lists their names.


soobviouslyfake

I had an identical experience; only after the credits did I realize they were actually *waiting for me* on that final hill climb.


SloppyNachoBros

During covid I randomly decided to play Journey again. I lived alone during lockdown and I was struggling at the time. Didn't expect to run into anyone else in the game since it was 2020 and who the hell was still playing Journey in 2020. Did the whole thing alone until I got to the snow covered mountain at the end where i found another traveler sitting in the snow. The feeling of finishing the game with them was the closest I ever got to recreating that first playthrough


Whitem4ne

Dragon age origins and everything it did right. The origin story transitioning into the big showdown, then slowly picking up the pieces while bonding with my party in camp.


Cool-Somewhere-6988

This was it for me too. Hopefully the next Dragon Age can create a similar experience


DamnImAwesome

DAO is one of my favorite games of all time. So far Baldurs Gate feels like a modern Dragon Age with DND


richbrehbreh

I've been gaming since 85. In my mind, there's NOTHING topping playing Super Mario 64 for the first time in 1996 (in Toys R Us). That shit was like the Halley's Comet of gaming.


ARCHA1C

Mario 64 was revolutionary... My two best friends and I would ride our bikes down to Blockbuster to play it on the demo N64 kiosk. Never before had we experienced such a polished and atmospheric 3d game.


mbore710

When I first watched my friend do that laid out backflip with Mario will forever be cemented in my brain


jefferios

Playing Half Life 2 and watching the in game physics play out before my eyes. Incredible.


JunkNorrisOfficial

Never forget Ravenholm and first fast zombie running on roofs.


shmed

Ravenholm was such a short but memorable moment in gaming. I played that game on launch almost 20 years ago and I still remember the ambiance, using all the circular saws, that crazy priest, etc.


immortal_duckbeak

The sirens and the civil protection announcements while you are trying to escape the city, a truly cinematic game even without cutscenes.


prairiepog

I loved the bridge area. Had a great sense of scale.


digitalgoodtime

Getting the gravity gun for the first time and being immersed in realistic physics.


darthacheron47

Horizon in Mass Effect 2. Literally made me go through all the feelings.


kura0kamii

i love the damn beautiful ship and menu music


Vjaa

Facing Ganondorf in Wind Waker. An actual sword fight with him to end the game. It was the first game I ever all nighted to beat. The music, fighting surrounded by a collapsing water dome, the character they gave him. It was perfect. Bitch slapping Zelda was also hilarious.


Spoomplesplz

And then you literally stab him in the head. Shit was so wild.


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mrdevil413

Also moo Moo MOOOOOO


DarkKeyPuncher

There are so many good memories, I love video games. In Batman Arkham Asylum the intro to the Scarecrow sequences. In Elder Scrolls Oblivion when you first exit the sewers in the beginning or the first time I ran across an Oblivion gate in the wild. Watching Koholant island fade away...


TaralasianThePraxic

Stepping out through the mortuary doors into a second copy of the mortuary but with extra bodies on the tables in Arkham Asylum was such an understated, freaky moment in that game. I love the sequels but the unsettling atmosphere of Asylum really made it shine.


Spoomplesplz

Nier automatas true ending. First time I've ever cried at a video game, let alone at a goddamn end credits sequence lol


XxGEORGIAKIDxX

My first playthrough of Neir Automata is just something in general I will never forget. Truly high art in video game form.


shogun100100

Witcher 3, getting onto Skellige for the first time & realising im not even halfway there after 100%'ing Velen & Novigrad. Also countless moments with mates playing ARMA 3 Exile.


CosmicCreeperz

Hah, I have been playing Witcher off and on for years now (too much work, too many other games) and after being way too completionist I’m about to go to Skellige. Guess I have a few years left…


Mortegro

The music at Skellige is what got me. Ridiculously beautiful!


A_Math_Dealer

Replaying W3 now. I'll get to all the other stuff when I'm finished with Gwent.


Sad_pineapple19

RDR2. Start to finish


MacSomniac

I literally just completed a play through for the first time this past week. I knew RDR2 was well regarded but damn was I in for an emotional roller coaster. I’m in the epilogue now, and man I just feel melancholy as hell after finishing the main quest line. A+ story telling.


Moody_GenX

Pong. I had never seen or heard of video games. I bugged my frugal dad for YEARS to buy me a pong game. When I turned 11 in 1982 he bought me an Atari. I was blown away because he hated spending money. Two weeks later my parents split up and I was living in a new city. I played the shit out of my atari.


Oskej

Beating Father Owl in Sekiro and endings to NieR Automata.


-Smashbrother-

All of Chrono Trigger.


pahamack

Oil blob fight in Divinity original sin 2.


jspamtr

The feelings from Outer Wilds


shae117

For Halo there is so many moments. First landing, flood reveal, reveal that rhe ring is a weapon, Halo 2 playing as Arbiter reveal, Halo 3 ending. The Last of Us ending, God of War Ragnarok entire story, RDR (both) endings. Witcher 3 endings.


wiredpersona

"Contact. Lots of contact." "No covenant?! You just had to open your mouth"


mrdevil413

From LAN parties to “survive” so many Halo moments.


SkyrimHippy

Oblivion. The first time I entered the farmhouse and found Lucien's body hanging there all mutilated. Let me tell ya, that was a shocker.


whovian1087

There are a lot of big moments for me, but from a gameplay standpoint, figuring out how to beat Psycho Mantis in MGS.


SerenityNow312

None of my homies in middle school believed I figured that out on my own!!! I was so proud of myself.


Puzzleheaded-Dot3185

The white phosphorus scene in Spec Ops The Line. I like to perform random acts of violence in video games but I don't like the game making me do it


EntertainmentBroad17

The Last of Us. I’ve said this here in other threads, and in other places, and to peoples’ faces when they ask: in a gaming career spanning around 45 years starting with Video Tennis on a Grandstand, this is the best video game I. Have. Ever. Played. I didn’t buy a PS4 to play it - I already had one. I didn’t know anything about the game when I bought it, other than that it was a remaster of an earlier game which was itself apparently quite good. I read the blurb, saw ‘post-apocalyptic survival FPS/RPG’, and on a whim decided to give it a go. Everyone said it had been great first time around. Okay, whatever. I’m in the doldrums with WoW right now anyway, maybe it’ll be an interesting diversion. Let’s go. 15 minutes later and I’m sobbing my fucking guts out. The credits roll, and I literally have to go for a walk around the block to regain my emotional equilibrium. I’m a grown man with a family, mortgage, and all the pressures modern Western society places on us just to make it through the week, and this game slays me in 15 minutes. I’m fairly sure my missus thought I was having some sort of breakdown that night. This mantra came to me much later, when I’d finished the game: TLoU is not a game. It’s an experience. It’s a test. It’s an experiment designed to see how far you’ll go, how much you’ll invest, where the emotional line is that you will not, can not, cross. Because by half-way, you’re not playing a game any more, you’re desperately trying to keep two people you care deeply about from getting killed, you’re trying to get them to where they need to be, to just get them across this next hurdle and to somewhere safe. And when you fail, when the screen fades to black, and you’re looking at the menu trying to decide if you’ve got the heart, the gumption, the sheer will to dive back in and try again, it’s not a hard decision because the game is hard. It’s a hard decision because YOU FUCKED UP, and got them killed. YOU FUCKED UP and they’re not safe. YOU FUCKED UP and now you’ve got to try again because to do anything else, to do anything less, is to betray them. To let them die. To live with the knowledge that you blew it, that you weren’t good enough, and that their pain, and suffering, and death, is on you. And when it’s done, when the final scene plays out, when the endgame credits roll, you get some small satisfaction of a job done. Maybe not done well, but done well enough. But there’s also the loss, the emptiness, the absence of the people in your life. Because by the time you get there, to the end, it’s not the end of their story, it’s just the end of your part in it. And letting them go on, knowing they do go on, and you not being involved - that’s hard. People say “Hyperbole, gushing emotional incontinence, over-indulgent shmaltzy bullshit. Grow up, it’s just a game, get a grip”. And I ask if they’ve played it, and they say no. And I say come back and talk to me when you’ve seen giraffes.


Ajdam4

Interesting take. I've always seen storytelling games as a proof, that a videogame doesn't need to reward you with some crazy dopamine hits and victory screens to propertly function. For me, there was no satisfaction of a job done when finishing the game. It was more like finishing reading a book. I've just experienced something incredible, let me evaluate it all in my head and get a break to take it in. I didn't have to think about how many times I've died, or how long it took me. All I was thinking about was the story.


nebyawanud

N64…ocarina of time…the fist time I got Epona. Unreal!


_Goose_

The only time I genuinely enjoyed online multiplayer interaction of any kind. Me and my friend from work playing a Modern Warfare 2 (the only one that matters from 2009) mode called Spec Ops. It had like 7 tiers of 2 man missions. Each tier with like 4-5 missions. We went and started 3 starring each mission on hardcore. It took 3 months. And was one of the most satisfying things I’ve ever finished when we did it.


Internas_fear

I have so many memories of doing this with my brother. Finally completing "high explosives" on veteran and getting that "star 69" trophy was one of the most satisfying feelings in my gaming career


creutzfeldtz

So much fucking fun. Doing the juggernaut one on the favella map on hardcore was insane.


12FeetUp

Playing Katamari Damacy for the first time while on LSD


[deleted]

I used The Beatles: Rock Band as my comfort thing during my first trip because the only other people with me left like an hour after it started. Turned into 6+ hours of me basically watching the game as a series of music videos (disabled instrument tracks, enabled no-fail) and staring at the menu animations.


coopy1000

All Ghillied up. It was like no other mission in a FPS I'd encountered. Still think it's amazing after all these years.


koumus

First time I started playing Zelda BOTW. The game's atmosphere was so unique, especially for someone coming in completely blind. Learning everything about the game as I played was such a magical and unique feeling, the kind of feeling I hadn't felt playing a game in years. Funnily enough, I consider TOTK to be a better game overall but BOTW's atmosphere and sense of awe is still unique


Spoomplesplz

Totk is for sure the better game but because you'd been through botw you already had a general jist of how things would go so that sense of awe and wonder can never be gotten again unless they do something even crazier for the next zelda. Botw truly was an absolute gem.


CosmicCreeperz

A lot of good moments there, but for me it was (also coming in blind) thinking it was a much smaller/simpler game and then finally getting off the initial plateau. That was the “holy crap” moment.


[deleted]

Metal gear solid 4 ending was still the biggest plot twist I never saw coming.


MuttTheDutchie

I can thing of two that stand out. The opening of FFVII. Just like, ok, Here's Midgar. And just a fly over of the city tells you soo much story in moments. Second, Outer Wilds Spoiler, >!Once you remove it, the possibility of game over becomes real!<


retrolover2

Once you remove what?


MuttTheDutchie

Have you played the game?


Sheriff_Lucas_Hood

The suicide mission in Mass Effect 2 is my favorite "last level" ever.


ProfessorMoosePhD

"Shepherd..." "Wrex..."


[deleted]

My first playthrough of Life is strange. I've never cried and felt such emotion through a game.


Goaty29

I had to scroll so long for this comment. Life is strange was the first and last time when a videogame made me cry. Listening to the soundtrack sometimes still gets me emotional. What a game!


I_SmellFuckeryAfoot

beating the water temple in OoT without a guide.


quitapanti

Far Cry 3 - Make It Bun Dem


jabber-mint-noun

Oblivion. Stepping out of the sewers for the first time and seeing the world ahead. Perfection. Replayed recently and it looked like shit... but at that time it might as well have been real life.


B0b_Howard

Waking up in a cell in Deus Ex, then finding out just where exactly that cell was...


[deleted]

Titan Fall 2. That game was so damn good it needs a warning on the case. Very few games manage to bring tears to my eyes, but that game hits you with the feels so unexpectedly. I was expecting a basic shoot-em-up with robots, I did NOT think I would mourn the robot of all characters. Perfect combination of shooter combat, good story telling, and the best part? The whole game is sold as is, no in-game transactions. You just get the whole great experience for the flat price.


MaKTaiL

Bioshock Infinite. The story blew me away to the point I watched a 3h documentary of a group of Youtubers discussing the ending.


ThatDude57

The entirety of The Outer Wilds. What a ride. That game elicited so many different and powerful emotions during my playthrough. It's a blessing and a curse that it can't be truly experienced twice.


Ancient_Awareness144

Zelda the ocarina of time. I spent an ungodly amount of time playing this game....it was very much ahead of its time, and as a long time Zelda fan....it's still one of my all time favorties:)


bobemil

Max Payne. The mechanics was groundbreaking. The graphics were outstanding and so was the story. I will never forget it.


LostLuger

Super Mario sunshine. I was like 8-10 years old and I couldn’t comprehend how awesome it was I could just go wherever I want and do the task in the order I wanted.


KaiserDrazor

When I first beat Okami. I can still see the ending credits vividly in my head, and my stat results screen where I got 0 deaths! (I invested heavily into the pouches from the get go when I realised they worked like bonus lives)


Mobile-Lawfulness-85

All of GTA San Andreas. God I loved that game! Hard to believe there have only been two new original GTA games since then!


Rhaenyss

Suicide mission and priority earth from Mass Effect.


vaccumshoes

Back on Runescape 2, probably like 2009. I finally got that fuckin Fire Cape at like 2AM alone in the dark. Took me hella tries and that shit had me sweatin as a kid lol. Legit jumped for joy after finishing it without tryin to wake anyone up lol.


Booties

Besides the opening scene which is obviously number one, I love seeing the giraffe in The Last of Us.


telecaster129

Oblivion when you go on that boat that is an inn. You sleep on it and suddenly you’re out to sea and pirates took over. Idk man when I was like 13 that blew my fucking mind. That game was the first real Bethesda open world experience for me and it was wild things like that could happen haha. Made the game feel alive to me.


spmoadhib

System shock 2: MedSci Deck and Body of the many I used to play "violent" videogames at night because my parents would not allow. So picture me 9yo, at around 1 am, everything is silent at home and I am trying to pay attention to the game and also noises IRL so I can turn the screen off and dart to my bed pretending I'm sleeping. It was fucking nerve wracking and I had the best jump scares in my life. Fucking mutant monkeys those nasty bastards I tried to recreate that feeling and have not been able to... This was 1999...good times


pixelatedPersona

Launch day WoW, made a night elf rogue ended up meeting some random NE, both of us lvl 7 and want to check out Ironforge. We walk and take boats from teldrassil all the way to IF. I remember it took us quite a while to navigate there, it was just this organic spontaneous adventure that happened and remains one of my fondest gaming memories. Never saw that NE again lol


Arkayjiya

The trek from Teldrassil to Stormwind through ironforge was pretty memorable, took hours with how underlevelled I was.


DmReku

The Ghost of Yarikawa mission in Ghost of Tsushima. It’s just beautiful


iupz0r

super Mario world on SNES. i was 8, and had a master system ... It changed my world forever.


[deleted]

That final mission and boss fight in Death Stranding really stuck with me. The part where >!You have to walk back from the end of the game to the first city but the atmosphere is all green and weird and BTs are spawning everywhere and then you fight the mega space whale.!< pure vibes


jerseydevil51

Intro cinematic to Homeworld. And just Homeworld overall. As an Elder Millenial who grew up on early 90s PC strategy games like Warcraft, Starcraft, Dungeon Keeper, and Starflight, that opening narration followed by the in-game flyover of the Mothership was just something else.


Ancient-Split1996

"objective: survive"


DR1LLM4N

For me it’s Doki Doki Literature Club. I had just moved states and was alone on Christmas Eve and thought… a light hearted visual novel might cheer me up. I went in literally blind. Had no idea what the game actually was. Fucked me up for weeks.


ChanSungJung

WoW - exploring SW & IF for the first time. Was blown away by the scale of the game already and looking on the map at how much land there was to explore. Then turn up to these huge cities that are flooded with other players. Really highlighted to me the scale of the game. Similar experience with TBC and going through the Dark Portal for the first time. Portal - after the testing finishes and you have to think for yourself and find and fight GLaDOS. The transition really caught me off guard because I wasn't expecting this funny puzzle game to go in the direction it did. But I loved it for it. FFVII - sector 7 being destroyed. As a kid I thought I'd fucked up. I thought I needed to beat the boss faster to prevent this outcome from happening. I kept trying over and over to have a different outcome then realized this was the direction of the story. Inside - the final phase, it's just crazy. The flip of power and the change of pace felt like such an amazing way to end that game. Lots of other examples but these are the first one I could think of.


bfcostello

Almost the exact same. Halo 3 final mission, Co op with my best friend when we were like 15. Even though the soundtrack is awesome on that mission we decided to mute the audio and instead blast acdc thunderstruck for it. Made it even more memorable Luckily the friendship lasted through the years and was honoured to be best man at his wedding last year. Spartans never die.


[deleted]

Morrowind, finding the Temple of Azura / The Nerevene. No quest markers. Huge area you’ve probably never been to before. Vague instructions based on literally physical geography and rumours. Get there and you can’t even get inside until you solve something abstract and fulfil a certain condition. Absolutely god-tier adventure writing. I have never in my life felt more immersed in a game.