Topic: Reminiscing On Games You've Beaten

We often reflect on games that we've recently beaten and then we move on. But I thought it'd be fun to reminisce on games we've beaten.

Ever since I finished it, I can't stop thinking about Lost Judgment. The overall story didn't leave a lasting impression, but the school setting certainly did. It was just so much fun experiencing Japanese high school, spending time in school clubs and befriending different students. I know this aspect is common in Persona games, but I honestly wouldn't mind an entire game that revolves around simply playing as a Japanese high school student and just experiencing high school life. Hanging out with your friends after school, maybe going out to eat some ramen, studying together and so on.

I really enjoyed Shadow of the Colossus.

I have the original PS2 version and the PS4 remaster. I don't mean to make this a comparison between the two versions and I do occasionally jump back in. I think the remaster is a faithful and fairly straightforward "upscale", but to me there is something artful in its original deployment that is not necessarily or entirely lost in the remaster, it's just not improved upon or meaningfully enhanced in my opinion.

What I mean is the feeling of expanse and loneliness. You're in the Forbidden Land. A place that's been lost to time and is slowly wearing away, but in another way is not; it's still alive, just not with people in it.

There are signs of civilisation but it's long gone. These characteristics are still present in the remake, but the original design utilised a stylistic simplicity that I think takes on the same feeling to me as some of my favourite childhood illustrated books. Realism isn't always the point, and imagination is a powerful thing.

It's peaceful, in a strangely subtractive way. You listen to the wind, watch the birds and trees. Silhouettes loom in the distance, invoking some sort of purpose. You fight the Colossi, and then in some strange way these deaths let a new silence into these massive structures. Is a prison without prisoners a more peaceful place?

There is evidence of the broader world and the peoples that inhabit it in the design language of the architecture. There are also subtle remains of technology and magic that is never explained. It doesn't need to be elaborated upon and I think those implications were deployed expertly.

You might not get anything tangible for your character by exploring every nook and cranny, but you are rewarded with a sensation and an appreciation for the video game as an artform.

To bring it back to the story, it was also strikingly profound and tragic that this whole time, you as the protagonist are unravelling something larger than yourself for a purpose which may be considered selfish in one sense, but is also sefless in another. There is a very good reason things were the way they were when you arrived, and I adored the questions this game makes you ask about what it means to be the good guy.

I have a few… maybe more than a few! For some reason Death Stranding and Days Gone in particular always pop up in my mind. The strange thing is that I played them one after the other too, so maybe it was more a time in my life than the games… or both, I dunno. Both games hold a special place for me though.

Heh, lovely idea sarge, kinda like some of the colonel’s threads (the colonel and the sarge, hehe), I got too many to share. They do cross the line of “recent” but that’s cuz I take fairly long breaks from gaming, so my gaming goals are usually pretty minor.

Nevertheless, if something spurs, I’ll likely drop a word here, ye.

@LtSarge Really great idea but it's so late and I'm so tired that nothing of real merit comes to mind (yet) but when it does I'll drop some feedback. It might only take scrolling through some trophies to trigger some long lost memory. I'd rather do it right than pick something random, I'm sure I'll think of a couple.

It is really fascinating how there are only a select few games out of the hundreds and hundreds I’ve beaten which strongly stick out as ones I’ve pondered for a long time after they’re over.

There’s a few different types of games that live long in my memory— those with really epic and engaging gameplay throughout, those with really emotional and philosophical narratives, and those with really impactful endings. And some games have all of those qualifiers.

@DemonStar89 mentioned Shadow of the Colossus and that’s definitely one I would agree has always sat in my catalog of great gaming memories, for the reasons stated. Likewise for Death Stranding as mentioned by @psmr

I reminisce fondly about both The Last of Us games. The first because of its moving ending, and the second for its journey which changed my perspective completely.

I’ll also never forget how I sat in awe at the ending of Nier Automata. What a crazy journey that was and an ending that blew my mind. I read and watched breakdown discussion about the philosophy of that game for weeks after I finished it.

As far as gameplay, I can’t forget Returnal. It wasn’t so much the narrative or the philosophical undertones in that game, rather the moment to moment gameplay and struggle against what seemed impossible at first, but I became obsessed with the gameplay loop. I couldn’t get the game out of my head for weeks after beating it.

Similarly, all the From Souls games are wonderful games to reminisce on, mostly because of the gameplay and total investment in building a character which can survive and come out victorious.

The ending of both Red Dead Redemption games are epic conclusions which I’ve always felt a personal connection to. Both of them had me pondering the game and its characters long after I finished.

And finally, a more recent game from my ledger, Baldur’s Gate 3. I beat that game about 2 months ago and I found myself randomly thinking about it yesterday, feeling tempted already to do another playthrough and planning an alternate character. I spent hundreds of hours on that game already, and it’s much too soon to go back to it. But the reminiscing on it is really strong.

@Th3solution nice retrospective you’ve posted here mah man ✌️

I think one thing to appreciate about the souls franchise is how community driven it is. One thing that @nessisonett brought up earlier this morning on the Dragon Quest X article about DQX implementing a GenAi partner is how stripping the community aspect from certain games (in DQX’s case, an MMO) can cannibalize the social aspect of it, but even the artistic one. No matter how you put it, extrinsic values are a core part of art. Your environment having a positive impact on your experience is something you should cherish.

It’s why once I started my dark souls 2 replay this year (especially since my birthday is coming up next month), I chimed in here in the forums again. Because narrating my soulsliks (and dislikes) experiences just isn’t the same without you, @psmr and @johnnyshoulder reading (or more accurately, surviving) my deathly rambles.

TOGETHER, WE MUST PRESS FORWARD.

@Yousef- Right about now
The funk soul Sister
Check it out now
The funk soul Sister

You are possibly too young to get that reference...

@JohnnyShoulder don’t underestimate my hiphop knowledge 😎
Though ill admit I haven’t thought of fatboy in years, such a nostalgia splash 😁