I’m curious what you guys have to say about this. Are there any games you consider perfect? Can a game even be perfect?

My example of a perfect game is always Portal 1. Portal 2 has more going on, but in 1 there just isn’t anything to shave off. From start to end, there is nothing I’d change about the game. It’s short, infinitely replayable, great pacing. I like Portal 2 a lot in concept, in concept it should be a perfect sequel, but it just doesn’t keep the extreme tightness of the original game.

  • ItsPequod [he/him]@hexbear.net
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    11 months ago

    Outer Wilds is my favorite game, it’s just so tight between the narrative and the gameplay, there’s not a second wasted and everything ties together appropriately and it doesn’t overstay it’s welcome so long as you’re moderately competent at the sleuthing. Better yet is the DLC they released was equally satisfying while remaining a standalone narrative with it’s own themes and mechanics, while still managing to tie in nicely with the base game narrative. I would suggest holding off on playing it until you’ve completed the OG, but theoretically you could do it anytime during the playthrough.

    I guess the only downside I can think of is re-playability, being a mystery/puzzle game once you’ve acquired the prerequisite knowledge it’s a bell that cannot be un-rung and experienced again with the same novelty. Maybe someday I’ll go back, but until then I’ll suffice with the tear-jerking OST of both game and DLC, as I’m reminded of the most humanistic and existential game I’ve ever played.

    • fanbois [he/him]@hexbear.net
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      11 months ago

      The only fault I can find are the relatively unwieldy controls. Had a friend who just got frustrated with the spaceship control and dropped it, despite my strong recommendations.

      And spoiler do not click if you want to play the game ever which you should just do it stop arguing it’s fantastic:

      seriously dont

      i got stuck on the hourglass twin puzzle with the warp. I understood the concept of warping to the other planet right, but apparently if you miss the timing, the sandstorm just yeets you into the sky. After three attempts I gave up and hours later had to ask the internet. Was a bit sad, because I just missed it by a fraction of a second.

      • TBooneChickens [any]@hexbear.net
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        11 months ago

        Ughhhhh I had the exact same experience. It made me feel so bad for having to go to a tutorial after feeling so accomplished from sussing everything else out. And then finding out it was a slight platforming error just left me frustrated with myself and the near perfection of that game

  • Annoyed_🦀 @monyet.cc
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    11 months ago

    Undertale. I can’t find fault with this game that i can do it with my other favourite game. Not Prey, not FO4, not stardew, not half-life 2, not darksouls 3, not monhunt 4u/world.

    • fanbois [he/him]@hexbear.net
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      edit-2
      11 months ago

      It just went above and beyond what a game of its size and scope should achieve. It should have been a little niche game, praised by some critics in a blog post here and there and gotten some mild success in a steam sale. But the music and the writing dragged it into the spotlight and made it unavoidable for anyone talking about games ever again, as it should be.

      • invo_rt [he/him]@hexbear.net
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        11 months ago

        the writing

        The efficiency of the writing really can’t be overstated either. There aren’t incredibly long diatribes and lore dumps in the game. It’s very effective in its characterizations.

        • AFineWayToDie [he/him]@hexbear.net
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          11 months ago

          The efficiency of the writing really can’t be overstated either.

          I’m playing Golden Sun on GBA for the first time right now and while I love the mechanics, I want to shake the game to see if it makes the conversations go faster. ALL OF YOU STOP TALKING STOP IT

          • invo_rt [he/him]@hexbear.net
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            0
            ·
            11 months ago

            Oh man, I love Golden Sun, but I haven’t played it in forever. I’m sure all that dialogue would get old fast if I went back to it now.

            • AFineWayToDie [he/him]@hexbear.net
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              0
              ·
              11 months ago

              Yeah, I have a lot of experience with classic RPG’s, but even some of the really great ones are rough in hindsight. I don’t have the nostalgia goggles on for this one so it’s quite grating. But the class system is great.

              • invo_rt [he/him]@hexbear.net
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                2
                ·
                11 months ago

                Same in terms of classic RPG experience. I work in a pretty nerdy company with a lot of people younger than myself. I’ve calibrated my feelings on a lot of my old favorites that when I’m recommending them, I heavily caveat that many games I like haven’t aged well. For Golden Sun, I have felt the drive to replay it recently. I also never played the sequel so I’m really curious about that.

  • Goadstool [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    edit-2
    11 months ago

    I consider Shovel Knight to be a perfect game, in that it perfectly achieves what it sets out to, and it does so with enough flourish to push beyond being only adequate. S-tier sound track, flawless pixel art, charming characters and plot, clean controls with interesting gameplay for the genre… it’s one of those games where if you don’t like it, it’s probably because you don’t like side-scrollers, or pixel art, or whatever.