I think the most common answer is going to be Tears of the Kingdom, and that is one for me that stands out for sure, but I will try to add some more unique inputs as well. Many are games that came out longer than a year ago, but i didnt get around to playing until more recently.

-Escape From Tarkov, Single Player. Okay look, I have 3000 hours in EFT Live/regular. There is nothing that competes with it, nothing like the experience. But there are so many excessive and unlikely to be changed negatives to the experience that I simply cant put more time into it anymore, much less recommend it to others. LUCKILY the SPT version exists, and it is so fucking fun and refreshing. No cheater, no long load times, no disgusting server desync. No busted ass rogue and boss AI. Hate the stupid base exp rates? change them. Hate the ridiculous hideout install times that only exist to keep people from bullrushing high tier ammo in week 1? change them. I have mods installed that vastly improve the enemy AI, that fix the truly deranged shooting/recoil physics, that show you more data on different ammunition in game so you dont need a wiki open constantly, sell you gunsmith compatible guns so i dont have to build that shit for the 1000th time. Shit I even turned off fall damage so i could yeet myself off cliffs and chase down gun shots. It is simply much much much more fun. Its really the only Tarkov experience i can recommend these days.

-Mechabellum. This game is what ive wanted from the auto battle genre since it first popped up. Its got the perfect blend of conceptual strategy (think chess, the first game in the genre was auto-chess after all), randomness (the starting loadouts and perks on each round work as a very effective randomizing seed) and LACK of high APM micro bullshit that makes traditional multiplayer RTS a nightmare to pick up and learn. Its wonderful and im going to be playing so much of it as they are adding more coop modes and maps. 150 hours already.

-Monster Hunter Rise. This last year was the year that monster hunter really clicked for me, after like 5 years of on and off trying and failing to get into it. I think what changed was finally understanding that the game is just pushing you to improve on a purely mechanical perspective, constantly. In the same way that dark souls combat rewards you for ‘getting good’ (learning the movesets, knowing when to push and pull back, etc) Monster Hunter just wants you to be a goddamn badass, but youll have to work for it. Go slap that dragon with a big fish. 250 hours (yeesh)

-Hades. This is one of maybe 3 games ever that i could actually describe as ‘perfect’. Im sure a lot of people have read this sentiment online, but here’s the thing; I tried Hades 3 times previously and, while i did enjoy the experience and got like 2-5 successful patricides, it never really clicked into place. Until this time. The entire reason i got back into it was getting a steam deck, which i cannot recommend enough (if the price is right, be wary that a steam deck 2 in late 2024 is quite possible). but that was just a trigger. What actually made the difference was me slowing down a bit to appreciate the absolutely unparalleled and breathtaking attention to detail that the game constantly fulfills. 21000 voicelines, and ive never heard a repeat in 80 hours. Still unlocking new things like 30 or 40 successful runs in. Even the most supremely minor things: There is a decoration you can buy for your room, a big harp. you can run up to it and pluck some gross discordant notes. Neat, this kind of thing is in a lot of games, but still neat. EXCEPT plucking this thing enough gives you unique dialogues with a certain character. plucking it enough in between different runs shows you actually improving, making some less gross notes, then gross chords, then less gross chords, all with unique dialogue unlocks as you go. and eventually you pluck it and produce some real music. I cannot emphasize enough, this is a silly little decoration in your room that is totally optional and it wouldnt shock me if 95% of players completely miss it. THIS is the level of detail the game is constantly operating on. Super rare niche legendary boon from Demeter that kills stuff with a certain condition when its at 10% hp? bam, unique demeter voiceline for using it to beat the final boss. shit like that, is why this game is special, and what makes it next-level.

-Project Wingman VR. I love PW, i put like 30-40 hours in the regular game and it stands out to me as the best arcade flying game(ily AC7 but AC8 has to step up). But I recently got my VR headset working properly and tried PW in VR using my modest T.16000M throttle and stick, and oh my sweet lord there is something so transcendent about the experience. So rarely do i feel goosebumps when i play a game anymore (getting old) but this was like 2 straight hours of goosebumps. I also literally, actually, shit my pants a little when i collided with another plane, so thats nice.

  • dr_catman@beehaw.org
    1·
    11 months ago

    I started playing Factorio about a month ago and I’m completely addicted. I love it so much. I guess there’s not much more I can say about it, given how everybody but me had already heard of and played this game. But it’s definitely my #1 gaming highlight of the year.

  • Secret_Duck@beehaw.org
    1·
    11 months ago

    Hades really is a banger. I cannot wait for Hades 2, my goodness.

    Another perfect game for me is Outer Wilds. It’s hard to really get across the emotional impact it has on you.

    Unfortunately due to the nature of the game, you can only really ever play it once. You are able to complete the game immediately, but the whole point is you discover clues as you explore that eventually build up to a point where it all clicks together, and suddenly you know what you must do.

    Go in completely blind. Play on your own with your headphones on and get truly immersed. Try not to look up any guides. If you can get there on your own it’s truly satisfying.

    When people say videogames are stupid I think of this game and feel sorry for what these people miss out on!

    Edit: Oh mechabellum too - great shout. It’s criminal how small the player base is for such an addictive and fun game.

    • Blackmist@feddit.ukEnglish
      1·
      11 months ago

      I’ve already told my wife that if I suffer a brain injury and lose all memories, to not bother showing me pictures of our wedding day or any of that guff. I want to play The Outer Wilds again.

      Although having said that she might take the opportunity to pretend she never met me.

  • DracEULA@beehaw.org
    1·
    11 months ago

    Metro 2033 Redux: I’m not usually big on first person shooters, but love horror games so I gave it a try. The atmosphere and mechanics combine to make it a really immersive and tense experience. I loved that they put a stealth option in a FPS. There’s limited gas mask filters which pushes you to move faster, while at the same time the traps and lack of ammo make you want to slow down; which keeps up the tension even if there’s nothing elsr happening at the moment. There’s a good variety in the types of levels, so you’re not just blasting your way through everything all the time.

    Their approach to moral choices was also very well implemented; instead of giving you clunky and obvious dialogue options, they just watch how you play the game to determine which ending you get.

  • d3Xt3r@beehaw.org
    1·
    11 months ago

    Besides TotK:

    - Project Diablo 2 Season 7: If you’ve been meaning to check out the Diablo series, or you’re not impressed with Diablo IV, then this is the variant of the game you have to try. Of course, Diablo 2 is a classic and PD2 is a well received mod, but Season 7 adds some much welcome graphical QoL changes - 60FPS and HD text rendering that looks pretty good even on 4K monitors. Of course, the graphics still doesn’t compare to Resurrected or other modern games, but if you can look past that, you’re in for a helluva ride. This is hands down, the best ARPG, IMO.

    - Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds: If you’re a Star Wars and an Age of Empires fan, you have to check this out. On the surface, it’s just a reskinned AoE 2, but calling it just that wouldn’t do it justice. You can have fleets of X-Wings and Tie Fighters, little R2 units as your villagers, destroyer droids, Jedi Knights as priests, bounty hunters, and of course, stormtroopers. All your classic Star Wars character types, all the familiar SW locales like Tatooine, campaigns based on movie plots, all of it accompanied by original soundtracks by John Williams from the movie - and you’ve got a winner. Unfortunately, this game never received the official HD treatment like AoE did, but thankfully, the Expanding Fronts mod exists - it adds much needed QoL fixes, plus new civilisations, units, maps and music from the movies. You may want to pair it with the cnc-ddraw patch for better graphics btw. I’ve been playing this game almost every single day with my friends using ZeroTier and it’s been sooo much fun.

    - 0 A.D.: This is another RTS that every AoE/RTS fan should check out. It’s a cross-platform open-source game that’s been under development for a long time, and whilst still technically an “alpha”, it’s reached a state where you can genuinely enjoy campaigns and multiplayer games without any major issues. A couple of things that stand out for me is a) the music, which is really, really well done, matching the civilisation you’re playing b) the details on the buildings - you can zoom in super close and appreciate all the details, in fact, it’s not just the buildings but the attention to detail in general stands out in so many ways, for instance, even your farms look different with different civilisations c) the AI is really well done - even on “easy” mode it can pose a bit of a challenge and isn’t a complete pushover (unlike AoE’s easy AI), and you can also customize their behavior as well (per civilization) when starting your game (you can choose between defensive, aggressive, balanced etc) - which greatly adds to the replay value and d) you can have effectively unlimited population and very large battalions with lots of different formations, for some epic battles (provided your system can handle it of course). The only thing I miss are the keyboard shortcuts from AoE, but it’s not a big deal since you aren’t playing any ranked games or playing with randoms. Overall, the quality of this game, especially for an open-source game, is amazing, and makes it must-try for every RTS fan.

  • charles@lemmy.ca
    1·
    11 months ago

    Do you have a guide or something to reference to setup EFT Single Player as you’ve described? I haven’t played in a long time (last time was right around when the first versions of the SP mod was made public) because I got fed up with the online experience. I’d love to jump back in to SP eventually to see what’s changed, I definitely miss the EFT gameplay.

  • thenicnet@kbin.social
    1·
    11 months ago

    I can’t hype The Outer Wilds enough. It’s such a fun exploration game that evolves into a big mystery.

    I also just finished Ixion for the second time. It’s a city builder but with stress. I enjoyed it a lot because it scratched my particular brain itch, but I can see it not being for everyone though. IXION soundtrack is a banger though.

    • falsem@kbin.social
      1·
      11 months ago

      I was a big fan of Frostpunk but Ixion is damn hard, I think I failed around the 3rd or 4th level 3 times before giving up? It’s really easy to get into a cascade failures in that game and the space you have to build in is much smaller than it looks at first. That was before they added the easy mode though so maybe I’ll try it again at some point.

  • apotheotic(she/they)@beehaw.org
    0·
    11 months ago

    As others have mentioned: Outer Wilds.

    It’s a game I can never experience in the same way ever again, and I am jealous of everyone who has yet to play it.

      • apotheotic(she/they)@beehaw.org
        1·
        11 months ago

        Yes! I thoroughly enjoyed it, although I didn’t like the way the NPC AI worked. That specific aspect felt less like a “horror” experience and more like a “will the jank fuck me this time?” fest. Everything else was excellent, though.

        Main game was a 10/10 without question DLC was a 9.5/10 and would have been a 10 if not for that.

        I still got a lot of “Outer Wilds moments” in the DLC. Very few games have given me that kind of “oh, you’re kidding, that’s awesome” feeling when you figure something out.

  • dQw4w9WgXcQ@lemm.ee
    0·
    11 months ago

    Satisfactory.

    I do software development for work, so the game resonates with me intensely. Doing math to optimize input/output and refactor systems to obtain best capacity compared to the available technology. It’s great.

    And yes, I have played through Factorio too.