For 90s kids, there’s no need for explanation. For others, well, pokemon was a phenomenon. It was everywhere, on TV, in magazines, toys, stickers. You could trade pokemon at the school excursion on the bus.
You felt alive in this world, pokemon gen 1-2 were the pinnacle of pokemon for me. And in gen2, finishing the game, and lo and behold, there’s a whole other region (kanto) waiting for you to explore it. The night cycle in the game blew my mind in ways that I have been chasing ever since.
I know it will never be reached again, but the memory will remain as powerful as it was that evening of the early 00s. What is your greatest gaming high, that you know will never be topped again, and that you have been chasing ever since?
Bioshock, the first one at the end. “Would you kindly”. I lost my mind.
This is the same thing I thought of as well. Blew my mind at the time.
Um … I definitely saw that coming. Gorgeous game tho. The sequels … meh.
Getting called out by my name in the literature club, or being told about how I could have used my superpower better in that other game. Two get-up-and-take-a-walk moments for me.
On a different tack, the introverted but social Unreal Tournament clan nights, Instagib with Relics. Played that to absolute death, clan nights with pizza and beers. Worms, too, with four people sharing a keyboard.
Lands Of Lore, Eye of the Beholder, BG1 and 2, etc. when solving a puzzle or finding a secret after being lost for hours.
I just finished Stray, which is a masterpiece. So it’s not been that long, honestly.
Damn, I need to get around to finishing this one. Took a break after the second chapter and forgot to pick it back up.
You definitely should! It’s challenging but short; it’ll be over before you know it. And I’m someone who struggles to finish most media.
Once you get past the tower where you have to run around while you wait for the elevator, things ease up. Still lots of chances to die, but that’s the only spot in the game where you are that hard pressed. Although the sewer run is pretty stressful too …
That’s a hell of a game ending, is it not? It fukin screams for a sequel.
B12 is alive! That flicker. He’s there. And we just freed the zurks …
It broke me somewhat. Finishing that at 2 AM and having work the next day… not my best decision.
I’ve seen the ‘true ending’ video which helped a little. I just wish we get to see a sequel someday. Until then, I’ll have to try replaying and collecting the various things I missed.
I want to feel that time again when we ran a mod-packed Minecraft server with friends and we built a whole city with really creative and elaborate structures and cool tech. Everyone had their speciality and it all came together perfectly.
Nowadays none of us have the time anymore to get lost in games for weeks and months like that. Also it’s hard to get back into it after such a long pause. Everything has changed so much.
But going more retro, it would probably be starting up my new N64 and jumping around with Mario in this crazy 3D environment. Holy shit that was amazing!
I doubt anybody’s gonna actually use it much, but I’m currently setting up a Minetest/Luanti Voxelibre server accessible to friends and fam through TailScale on my home server.
I thought it’d be so neat having a world running whether I was there to see it or not.
But yeah, I know I won’t get that community aspect of having a digital third-place the people in my life can just vibe. =\
My wife lost her Minecraft login / key we had since beta, but I really enjoyed playing with her, and personally using Technic mods and stuff.
This open source implementation has come REALLY FAR and feels like discovery again!
Aww man, the memories of making a garden base for Botania outside my friend’s Thaumcraft witch tower, across a river where your could see a Buildcraft quarry running next to someone’s industrial complex… Good times!
Tried playing Cobblemon with the idea to make our own themed towns but just like you there doesn’t seem to be time for it anymore :(
I lived and breathed Morrowind.
But I’ve got optimistic insane news for you all
IT’S HAPPENING AGAIN
I’m playing a game called Kenshi and it feels like it’s 2003!
I’m at the verge of tears. Chase that gaming high, YOU’LL FIND IT!!!
“I heard them say we’ve reached Morrowind. I’m sure they’ll let us go.”
–Jiub
Truly loved Morrowind. The first game that I played that had such a powerful construction set! And getting to influence the construction of the colony on Solstheim in Bloodmoon was captivating.
It really did feel like “Living another life” as the box art proclaimed.
I’m still enjoying OpenMW to this day, when I can, in my adult life. Also (can’t find the image at the moment)
YoU wOuLdN’T sTeAL a LiMeWaRe PlaTteR!!
Are we soulmates!? I lived and breathed Morrowind too! I’ve got Kirkbride’s concept art tattooed all over my body, hehe.
Morrowind. Playing it, modding it, breaking it, trying to fix mods, writing new mods, all of it. Morrowind was so fun, for some time it convinced me that Bethesda might be a competent company
Ah modding it…I remember, for some reason, whenever I wanted to make a new NPC, everyone in the world reacted as if I were naked. I have no idea what that was about!
…so I just did goofy stuff like putting a ton of that ice ore chunk stuff in a barrel right next to the guy that makes you ice armor in Bloodmoon.
Or making the “Glass Bracers of Chuck Norris” to fortify hand to hand because mine sucked and I needed to beat up a guy for a quest…killed him in one punch. Oops. <_<
I also made a fun house in Balmora with a bunch of replenishing colorful torches (I LOVE the light sources in this game) and embedded tons of chests in the walls, since the poor sucker it belonged to never would go inside. XD
Beating halo final level with wife in co-op
Sonic 2 all emeralds, no deaths Metal Slug in the arcade
Any clutch ending
Beating halo final level with wife in co-op
Ah, The Maw after your very first experience.
“Stop! This is where Foehammer is going to pick us up!”
(PUNCHES THE GAS)
Such an incredible final mission haha.
Playing the Mass Effect Trilogy for the first time.
Sure the ending was a bit disappointing, but the ride was absolutely phenomenal.
The ending of ME2 alone makes the whole trilogy worth it IMHO. I dare say that’s just about a “perfect game.”
Yup. Especially with The Arrival DLC.
Woah you know what? I think when I got it on 360 I didn’t get any of the DLCs. Just a special edition that gave me a…nuke launcher? Lol
Here the remastered trilogy is just sitting in my library…I need to finally get to it!
Oh yeah. The DLC doesn’t add an incredibly large amount of content, but there are a lot of awesome nuggets in there. The Citadel DLC for ME3 is flipping hilarious and incredible, too. Easily adds 10-15 hours of gameplay. Wrex’s “MOAR ICE” lives rent free in my head as one of the funniest ME moments ever.
Probably not everyone’s type of game but the first time I got into orbit in KSP. Doing it manually was a huge challenge and the first time I got into orbit not to mention later when they added the mun and I landed and returned to kerbin was a awesome feeling . When they added other planets and later when they added asteroids it was still a great feeling to do it without mechjeb. Of course that was in 2011. I have more hours in that game than any other and I still play it for few week one or two times a year.
There was a period of about 2 years where every single one of my friends played Destiny religiously. Every day I could log on and just have 2 friends ready to run strikes or get a ragtag team of 6 and run raids (yes, plural).)
15 to 20 members in the clan, just loving this flawed game, having laughs, bantering, even getting deep and serious about relationships, politics, religion, and more.
Even the fights that meant we kicked out 2 racist pieces of garbage from the clan are such precious memories to me.
We have lives now, partners and jobs. I still play, but I raid with strangers or not at all. Sometimes we log on and do an old activity together or run trials, we laugh and have fun, bit never again will we be carefree, and whimsical.
Ark Survival Evolved.
Waking up on the beach, getting insta-murdered by a raptor.
Managing to meet up with your mates, building a hut, thinking you are doing ok and carno eats you and your hut in the night.
Taming your first T rex, stomping about monching everything, thinking you are doing ok, then suddenly giga eats you and everything you love.
Wish I could recapture that feeling.
It’s a recent one, but the boss fight in chapter 6 of Celeste is the best gaming experience I have ever had. Highly recommend. The story, mechanics, and music are top tier.
The first two weeks of Pokemon go were like peace on earth. Everyone was friendly, excited, and walking around outside together, chatting with perfect strangers was actually a blast for once. We shared tips and locations, exchanged numbers, metup after work, cops were largely unmotivated to do anything about it because of how many of us and how wholesome it really was. Honestly best 2 weeks of my life
I was trying to think of an answer and when I got to yours, I found myself remembering that time and that gaming high that game collectively gave everyone. And then they took away the step tracker, and while I still played daily until 2018, taking that away really took some gas out of the game. I don’t know what else to call it so hopefully you understand what I’m referring to. The thing that helped you find the pokemon and whether you were going in the right direction or not.
I got sick of all the Pidgeys so quit after a week. I did come back to it eventually… and then quit again when they over-enshittified it
I’m forever looking for a game that’ll affect me emotionally as much as Arthur’s last ride in RDR2. I still can’t hear that Daniel Lanois track without feeling all of the feelings, and it’s been a good few years since I played it.
Absolutely remarkable experience.
For me, Baldurs Gate 2. So much story to immerse yourself in, companions to learn about. And on top of that really fun fighting; a good amount of tactical thinking needed, but not too much.
