Inspired by a similar question on reddit:
What games do you replay regularly/annually? (No shame if you skipped a year or two.) I am especially interested in ‘comfort’ games.
Only rule is, you should have played the game for the first time at least 5 years back.
My list:
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Street Fighter 2 in all variations/on all platforms I have access two. I guess I have been playing it regularly for more than 25 years by now. No Street Fighter after the Alpha/3rd Strike ever captured me like this.
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Contra / NES This one I play regularly for more than 30 years (at least), to this day my favorite action game and the ultimate benchmark (I played all NES/SNES/Genesis Contras and Operation Galuga, nothing comes close.)
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Slay the Spire: Hits 5 years of being released, I played since the early access and wasted too much time on this, still fun and perfect on smartphones
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Doom I/II: I cannot tell you what it is, there are obviously better FPS than Doom I/II, but sometimes, if I just want to blow some steam, Doom is the only thing that delivers. (I think I never played trough all episodes of either Doom I or Doom II
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Zelda 2.
It’s divisive, but I like it. I have fond memories of playing that game with my dad when I was young. When we reached the great palace, I died so quickly that he once got up early and started playing at 5am to farm extra lives for me. I went into the palace with 26 extra lives.
…I didn’t die at all on that run.
I still play it about once per year. In fact, I just finished it again about a week ago. I want to play the remade fan game, I just haven’t had time to sit and get it setup.
Sid Meier’s Pirates! Specifically the remastered pc version from 2004.
Rimworld. You can do everything from hedonistic hobbit type colonies to the most despicable humans to have ever lived. Very relaxing to me.
When I’m feeling nostalgic, Shining Force II for the Sega Genesis.
This may be surprising, but Subnautica is my comfort game, even though the game isn’t purely relaxing and has some scary parts. But the gameplay loop is so satisfying, the story is nice even after several playthroughs and there is beauty in these alien underwater biomes. I just wish it was longer, now that I know where to find what, it gets quite short :)
Second comfort game is Terraria but I also play that for entertainment/when I feel a rush of creativity for building stuff. And it’s just so nice to dig your way through a large world and find all the hidden items.
Nice! I’ll have to play Subnautica! :-)
Chrono Trigger. I’ve played it on so many platforms it’s a bit mind blowing
Have you gotten all 13 endings? You can actually do them in order in one NG+ play through.
Incredibly, in spite of the fact that I’ve been paying for 25 years, I very rarely go for any of the alternative endings, other than the developer ending if you beat lavos the first time.
I was waiting for someone to mention Chrono Trigger, thanks! At the same time it is one of my favorite games of all time, but because of this I always want to replay it when I can fully focus on it. (Which of course, never happens for adults.)
Civ 5 until Civ 6 released, then Civ 6.
Idk I just get Civ fever with my friends in Player vs computer matches every few months. I almost always do the same (what I’ll call the DaVinci) strat of being relatively peaceful until rushing the Advanced Flight tech before anything else and levelling all the unprepared cities in the middle ages.
The other one is Minecraft. The funnest part to me is that exhilaration of surviving the first few days in the wild on a multiplayer server with friends, setting up that initial base and then spending more days building up to your elaborate design. I tend to alternate between the latest vanilla Java server then a modded one.
Starcraft. Not 2, just StarCraft.
And sometimes Command and Conquer Red Alert in the emulator.
Spawn more overlords!
You must construct additional pylons!
Every time I think I’m over it I’m doing another playthrough of Mass Effect with new mods. Just can’t help myself! And it’s fun every time.
This might be a dumb question but is it doable to replay without having to talk to all your crew so frequently? And would you mind giving a rundown of what mods you’re using and what they do? I’ve only ever played the trilogy with no mods. Also played ME3 multiplayer a ton.
Honestly it really changes with my mood. If I’m planning on an insanity run the mods have more to do with mechanics than anything else. If I’m in a story mood I’ll get some really great hair and outfits xD
When Legendary edition came out they redid basically everything, so the slate was wiped; but I’m gearing up for another run as soon as I get my PC back from the shop so if you wanna just tell me what kind of run you want I’ll share my intel with you.
Leastways there have been some recent articles about the best new mods and unfortunately there’s no Steam Workshop for them, so you’ll need to head over to NexusMods to get the job done. Since that’s also the main depository for the mods, you can also just pull up a list there and see what tickles your fancy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvnZoGvTU54 for a comprehensive look at recent mods
I’ll have to check it out. Thanks!
This is an extremely close second for me, next to Super Metroid.
I only played after the trilogy was released, and holy-freaking-oh-my-god! I was sad when it was over and regularly return.
Hope the new game is good.
Deep Rock Galactic. Every time there’s a cool new seasonal hat, I try to jump on.
Rock and stone!
To the bone!
I remember being blown away by a gameplay demo of Bioshock during E3. They used a lightning bolt to shock the water, and it worked?!
I rented the game for the Xbox 360, and was equally blown away by its story. What an awesome experience. I play though it occasionally on my PC just to live in its world again, though I think I like the original more than the remaster.
Symphony of the Night
Also, if you enjoy Doom 1 and 2, I highly recommend seeking out Heretic and Strife. Heretic has amazing level design using the Doom engine to create places that feel like towns and medieval churches and stuff. And Strife somehow managed to make Doom into an interconnected world with a decent story.
I’m not big on Hexen - the respawning enemies and the lack of weapons (there’s only 4, technically 12 but you only have access to 4) bugged me.
I go back to Super Metroid about once a year. I just get a yearning to hear the moody music and see the alien scenery.
GOAT
I play StS a bunch, but in that vein, games I just come back to:
-Stardew Valley, and it gets the 1.6 update next week so I guess I will again
-frostpunk, which gets a sequel this year!
-gen 3/4/5 Pokemon
I’ve owned Frostpunk for a while now. I really need to play it.
It’s great, I’d really recommend if you like city builders, dystopian settings, and great music/ambiance
Stardew Valley is in my library of shame, I just never feel that peaceful when I have the urge to play. ;-)
I feel that. It’s got some non-peaceful elements, maybe the 1.6 release is the excuse you need to try it out!
Mirror’s Edge - I usually turn the voices off and just run. Once you’re in the flow it’s so calming, and it doesn’t overstay it’s welcome.
Thanks, looks exactly like my kind of game!
Just a heads up if you do try it, I mean the original not Catalyst. The sequel constantly kills that flow state with all the annoying intrusions you’ll see from other AAA open world games. It’s not the worst game ever, I did finish it, but it was the last time I bought something on release.
The original is just a short collection of levels. It’s extremely minimalist. The only diversions from the flow is a simple story linking them and a handful of hidden collectibles.
I didn’t enjoy catalyst that much. I loved the levels of the first and catalyst took the levels out for an open world which I wasn’t that interested in though I liked a couple missions in catalyst when they brought into an interior.
Castlevania - Symphony of the Night
Die monster! You don’t belong in this world!
