I love hearing about people's favorite games! it's helped me learn about games i had never heard of before and lets me try out new things :)

my favorite game is rain world. it's an atmospheric platformer-based survival game where you play as a slugcat. it's pretty difficult, and is hard to get into, because you're more part of an ecosystem than a main character in a game-- so it's something to have to get used to. unfair deaths happen a lot because of the way the game is designed and it's meant to be that way, but that's one of the things that's so special about it for me. it has a surprisingly in-depth and tragic story with a lot of lore and great characters, but it's something you really need to actively seek out if you want the whole picture. it's got a DLC that adds five playable characters with their own storylines and place in the overall timeline to tie stuff together. all the animation is procedural so you get some really funny movements and creature interactions. it holds a super special place in my hear and i could talk about it forever!

Oh, gosh. I have… so many- So, allow me to leave my top three!

Firstly, Zelda holds a very special place in my heart. My first introduction to the series was Windwaker on the GameCube, when I was quite young. It was a birthday gift from my brother, and soon after he also got me Twilight Princess (which remains my favorite LoZ title to this day). Ever since, I've bought and played almost every Zelda game that came out (with the exceptions of the old, OLD games and Majora's Mask. Never played that one, though I intend to change that at some point.) I've been obsessed with LoZ's lore, and I find it both fascinating and quite depressing LOL. Since TOTK came out, I've been enjoying the heck out of it.

Animal Crossing

OKAY. Animal Crossing… my beloved. Like Zelda, my first introduction to it was way back on the GameCube. I remember going into Walmart and seeing it in the game section, not having a clue what it was, but I loved it the moment I saw it. Still remains my favorite game of the series, to this day. I've played every AC game since, although I'm sad to say I couldn't connect with New Horizons as much as previous titles. Not sure why, maybe it just intimidated me beyond all heck.

Okami

This game is a gem that I hope everyone gets to play at some point in their life. It's absolutely phenomenal. I first played it on the Wii, and have played it on two other systems since (PS4 and PC). I've beaten it a total of three times, and it's honestly that game that I know by heart and I never tire of it. The characters, the story, the ART- ugh, it's so gorgeous. It has such a big place in my heart, and that's never going to change. It remains one of my all time favorite games ever, and with that, I leave you with my top three beloveds <3

@divine Is there any reason that rain world suddenly exploded in popularity over the past year or two? I tried it about 4 or 5 years ago but couldn't properly get into it, maybe it's time to give it another chance

To answer your question though: Half-Life series my beloved. Local scientist wakes up late and accidentally causes a catastrophe that leads to an alien invasion. They might be a little bit dated at this point but I love them :')

@Toucan

I can answer that question! The developer (VideoCult) was in a lengthy legal battle with Adult Swim (the original publisher of the game) to regain sole rights to it, and last year they managed to win the battle and get full rights! They then approached several active fan-modders and said, “Hey do you want to work with us to make your modded content into an officially supported DLC?”

that DLC, Downpour, launched this past February (i think??? lol) and has been a lightning bolt to the fan community. im one of the people who only heard about rain world because of the surge in content that accompanied downpour's release so i'm glad it happened!

now i will lead this with “i am not being paid to advertise this game” lol, but there's actually a humblebundle right now that not only includes rain world (and hollow knight, which is a nearly objectively perfect game) but a coupon for 20% off of the Downpour DLC. >>;;

@ divine's original question

i love rain world too! i'm an animal behaviorist/ecologist by trade, and playing a game with such a believably complicated ecosystem was mind-blowing. very, very cool game for sure. who's your favorite scug to play? :D mine is spearmaster, though arti is a close second. boom, crash, the sound of scavengers exploding--

and then somehow, despite being on the polar opposite of genres of games, i love warframe. it's a free-to-play third-person horde shooter with a really fantastic movement system, 50+ “classes” (warframes) you can play as, and an ongoing story that remains shockingly not-terrible despite the game being live-service for nearly 10 years (!??) at this point. it's far from a perfect game but it's such a labor of love for the devs; they're genuinely trying to make a game that they themselves would enjoy playing, and it shows. it also has the least-predatory and least-annoying monetization practices of any game i've ever played. everything except for a small subset of cosmetics can be traded for or directly earned in the game, it's great.

@toucan

Doragon explained it really well! the developers are absolutely lovely and the Downpour DLC launched this past january. it's one of the best experiences i've had in games, and it has active workshop mod support! there are a ton of mods you can add to the game now to make it a more friendly experience, along with the in-game remix options that are all very good QOL!

half-life is so great. i need to get around to finishing it one of these days! :D

@doragon

oooh, that's a tough one-- gameplay wise i love spearmaster and artificer, especially in arena! but my favorite scug overall has to be saint. i really cannot describe the amount of emotions saint's campaign gave me and i think about it daily still! i love discussing it with people because of the wildly varying theories everyone has on it <3

warframe is cool!! my boyfriend is really into it, and i love watching him play it. i don't think i could get into it myself but it's so fun to watch haha

@Stormy

okami is one of my favorite games as well!! i recently replayed it actually on steam to get the achievements for it on my profile. i always run through and get all the stray beads because i think it's a fun collect-a-thon i find them all :D

OHOHOHOH TIME TO RANT ABOUT TLOU!!!
the last of us is. so great. i think the reason it broke the norm of shows being made based off games because the game itself was already really cinematic. the cutscenes are so, so important, and they're done in a way that you're going to want to keep watching, and you won't get bored like you do with most cutscenes in other games. the gameplay is also a lot more realistic than with other games of its kind, with ammo actually being a little difficult to find and whatnot. its just done so well that its hard to get bored, hard to stop playing. and the story is so so great. (spoilers, i don't know if you can tag them with html sob) i love how gradually you see ellie and joel building their relationship, and i love how joel goes from not giving two craps about what happens to ellie as long as she's alive when they reach the camp to “i will literally do ANYTHING for this little girl.” it is so great. i love it so much.

@doragon @divine Thank you both for the explanation!! Love hearing when devs get out of bad publishing deals, I've heard too many horror stories, super happy for them tbh. Cool that it gave them a sales/reputation boost too, I swear that no one was talking about the game like 3 years ago haha

I might have to give the DLC a try, I already grabbed the bundle for bloodstained and blasphemous so :eyes:

*Spamy, the avid Sonic fan she is, foams at the mouth upon reading the title of this topic. She will refrain for now, shifting the spotlight towards other games she enjoys...*

-Mad Rat Dead. I don't play it, but it's a rhythm game about a dead rat with a BANGER soundtrack! avalible for N-Switch and PS4

-Have you played Skylanders it's so cool It was my childhood pleasetellmeIwasn'ttheonlyone- was for the Wii system I think.

-Iwillnotrefrainforthisone- CHAO ISLAND! Nice little fan game. Raise a chao. Grind a lot. Free download for Windows.

-Visual novels. Not the sexy stuff, just the format in general. Very nice. Have you heard of Our Life: Begginings and Always? SO NIIIICE It made me tear up a bit. Free on steam :]

I’ve been an avid Pokémon fan since my first Pokémon game, Diamond