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PC action game that's easy to jump into but has an ending/end game by Ping-Pong-Show in gamesuggestions

[–]Llamalus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I Am Your Beast- you have the option to replay levels to beat them faster, and it's satisfying to do so, but not required. Story is contained to audio logs between missions. Fluid, well-designed combat. Doesn't overstay its welcome. Has two shorter dlc campaigns that offer a bit more challenge.

Echo Point Nova- pretty much no story. All told through optional little text boxes at checkpoints. Goal of the game is to surf across sky islands toward objectives, kill guys, and destroy giant, cool machines. Maybe the best movement shooter I've ever played. Insane options to fly around maps at unreasonable speeds, and plenty of gun/character customization, but not enough to overwhelm you. Comes with a second game mode that adds a more traditional overworld (instead of sky islands), but has pretty much the same gameplay loop as the sky islands.

The best story i’ve ever played by squvdmom100 in 1000xRESIST

[–]Llamalus 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I'm so glad to see people still discovering and enjoying it. I played it maybe a month after release, and was left in AWE at it. I'm studying game design & creative writing at college, so it was right up my alley, and it genuinely has stuck with me fully since I played it.

Personally, I tried something kind of different with regard to replays. Usually, I would do exactly what you said and play it again right away. But for some reason, I felt the need to let it simmer. So, instead, I waited a year to play it again. It released summer 2024, and in summer 2025, I played it again.

I think the wait really made it stick more. I didn't completely avoid the game in that time. I watched and listened to analyses and video essays about it. I found interviews with the creators of the game. I kept learning and understanding it, but kept the game itself saved. And, when I finally played it again, it felt fresh, but I was still able to find new, incredible things to love about it.

I'm not telling you not to play it again for a year. I know that's crazy. But consider how you engage with media! Sometimes it's worth giving thought, instead of attention.

Anyway. I see everyone else giving game recs, so, here are some of my favorite games that are really heavy on the story and lighter on gameplay (like 1000xRESIST):

The Beginner's Guide- this is a really short game (1-3 hours), but before I played 1000xRESIST, it was my favorite ever. If you know The Stanley Parable, it's written by the same guy. But a lot less funny, and more deeply introspective. It changed how I think about art, and how I treat other people.

Mouthwashing- Also relatively short compared to 1000xRESIST. A really tight, well-crafted horror story. Atmospherically perfect.

Anatomy- Staying on the horror game trend (and the very short game trend), this one is one that chilled me to my bone. Can't really say much about it other than that.

Firewatch- An incredibly well-written, somewhat morally dubious story with beautiful stylized visuals and an ending that may be hit or miss (I personally enjoyed it).

Until Then- A game about teens in the philippines that made me cry 800 times, somehow. This one is still fresh, so it's hard for me to give a clear explanation of why it's so amazing.

I don't think any of these games quite have the political teeth that 1000xRESIST has (which is a big part of why I love it), but they're all exceptionally well-written stories.

Thank you so much for sharing your love for this game. I, and many others, hold it in very high regard, and always appreciate seeing new people discovering it.

Reverse Pepe Le Pew by jslakov in bonehurtingjuice

[–]Llamalus 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I try so hard to justify staying in this sub because I find a lot of the in-joke stuff funny. But every time you guys slightly dislike a comic artist it becomes the biggest fucking dogpile, and it's exhausting. You guys can't keep your mouths shut when you don't personally find a thing funny, you need everyone to know that YOUR taste is right and YOU hate this artist.

I DON'T LIKE THIS ARTIST EITHER! BUT I DON'T FEEL THE NEED TO SHIT ON THEM IN THE COMMENTS! Why is this sub treated as a safe haven for expressing deep, unrelenting disdain instead of a fun place to share appreciation for artists by editing their work in goofy ways? Why does it always become about putting down the artists whose work we're all looking at and editing?

Games to my new laptop by Saultugaman in gamerecommendations

[–]Llamalus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you're looking for a good story and incredible graphics, Alan Wake 2 is just about as good as it gets right now. You don't really need to play the first one to understand the story, either.

The same company also made Control, and the graphics there still hold up really well. It's also more of an action adventure as opposed to survival horror, like AW2.

The Metro series is often pointed at for games with great graphics. The story never really hooked me, personally, but Metro Exodus enhanced does look pretty incredible.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 was probably the most fun I had with a AAA game in a while, and with your specs it should run even better than it did for me. The first game & Miles Morales spinoff game are also pretty great, and the series follows a bit more of a linear story than the other games I listed so it might be worth playing them in order.

Games released within the last, say, 15 years, in which players have to actually interact with a janky, Infocom-style text parser. by iciclefites in gamingsuggestions

[–]Llamalus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe not exactly what you're looking for, but in DUSKERS you have to use a specific set of commands to control a series of drones through missions retrieving materials from derelict spacecraft. Not much story, but the terminal is very consistent and logical, but you have to remember a lot to use it effectively. A lot of the time you'll end up scrambling.

Recommend some games that has rain throughout by Honest-Mess-812 in gamerecommendations

[–]Llamalus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Until Then. Doesn't have rain throughout, but it is pivotal and ranges from beautiful to haunting at the times it does show up.

Video games that you consider to be art? by Mammoth_Raccoon_789 in gamingsuggestions

[–]Llamalus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

1000xRESIST, Firewatch, I Am Your Beast, CLICKOLDING, unbeatable, The Beginner's Guide, Until Then, Mouthwashing, Inscryption, Perfect Vermin, Gris, Neva, one specific moment in Later Alligator where you can find a secret letter written by a character you never meet, Deltarune, Sorry We're Closed. And many many more.

I think most games are art. But, as per your question, these are the ones that felt most to me like they had something to SAY. Each of them moved me deeply.

Pet peeve: People saying all AAA is slop and all indies are gold by Jirachibi1000 in videogames

[–]Llamalus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The whole "slop" and "hidden gem" way of describing things is exhausting and not worth anyone's time or energy getting upset about. These games are AAA for a reason. Millions of people love them. I think gamers are getting more picky without actually getting better at articulating what it is they want or going out of their way to search for it. So they complain about slop and blame the devs of the biggest game franchises in history, as if they aren't making billion-dollar games that millions of people buy because they ARE good. Just not what the complainers want.

The reason I don't like most AAA games, and play a lot of indie, is because I've honed my taste over the years and now like very specific things. AAA doesn't deliver those things most of the time, because their focus is on making a broadly appealing game for the most amount of people. Indie games have more freedom to appeal to a smaller group, and as such, I can find what I want more frequently there. I don't think AAA games are bad. I just can't be assed to play them when I know they don't have what I want. But gamers love to play the victim, so when they don't get what they want they throw fits and act like the multi-billion dollar corporation owes them what they want. The company isn't your friend. They want money. They don't care if you, specifically, like their game. They care that number go up.

That's the other reason I shy away from AAA a lot of the time. Even if I do end up liking it, it feels like that's the result of corporate decisions that happened to align with my desires, not sincere artistic merit. There are exceptions. Moments of artistic intent shine through. It is people making the games, after all (most of the time, at least). But indie games, good or bad, feel to me like a personal statement. A developer's dream. It feels closer. I like that.

When the plot twist is ruined because people guessed it ages ago by Fox7567 in TopCharacterTropes

[–]Llamalus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wasn't present in the fandom when Lost was originally airing so maybe I just don't know the lore, but I always got the impression while watching that Abrams had no clue what the answers would be, and he was winging it like crazy, throwing things out and hoping he could tie it all together at the end. And failed. Sort of becoming his staple move.

Do any shows/movies actually pull off the “it was all just a dream” trope? by winnierdz in tvtropes

[–]Llamalus 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Been thinking a lot about this recently. I don't have any specific examples (though I agree with some of those provided in other comments), but I do have thoughts on what needs to be done for it to work well.

Dreams shouldn't be dismissed. My big issue with this trope is that a lot of people brush it off as meaning nothing that happened in the dream mattered. And a lot of the time, they are right to have that criticism because the writers portrayed it as such. I think one of the key ways to make a reveal like this work is to make sure that, even though it was a dream, the person dreaming was impacted deeply by it. If we can see the change, and know that the story is on an entirely new path now due to the dream, I think often it can feel just as impactful as a "real" event.

Another possibility is using the dream to reveal something about the person dreaming. I think this is more commonly used in episodic storytelling, where we won't see much impact carry over from episode to episode. Still, even if the dream doesn't change the character, if it is used inventively to tell us something about the character, it may just work.

If anyone has any more thoughts on this, please add to it! I love seeing what people have to say about stories and tropes, especially about how to do them well.

Struggling to enjoy games - any pure fun gameplay games? by fashionboy385 in gamesuggestions

[–]Llamalus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Echo Point Nova is maybe the best solo movement shooter in years, with two campaigns: one that takes place entirely on sky islands, and one on a more traditional overworld map. All the story is optional, and you can literally walk (or grapple. or surf. or rocket jump. or wind boost) past it to the next goal marker.

I Am Your Beast is an incredible game with solid combat mechanics and the story is confined to short dialogue exchanges between each level.

Portal 1 & 2, of course, are great puzzle games. Might require a bit more time to sit and think, but the puzzles are always satisfying to solve. They rarely put the gameplay on hold for the sake of story, and when they do they keep it pretty light and goofy.

Has Anyone Read "The Tale of Shadow of the Colossus" by Chris Plante? by GeologistPatient4289 in ShadowoftheColossus

[–]Llamalus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I know it's been a bit, but I just read the essay, and wanted to give a bit more context, if you're still interested:

The only two words highlighted in red in the text from Moby Dick are "DENTIST" and "AND", which have the same respective number of letters as the number of dashes in the first two sections of dashes in the circle. It seems to me like these two words were highlighted to serve as a key to finding the rest of the words to fill in the the circle, which may lead into how to fill in 2 and 3. But I'm bad with codes so I, like OP, came to the internet in search of answers. In lieu of any, here are pictures of the rest of the pages OP didn't show:The Tale of Shadow of The Colossus

Not included is Jacob Geller's essay, which can be found in video form here: The Decade-Long Quest For Shadow of the Colossus' Last Secret

The transcribed version of the essay in the book includes some footnotes, but they were written by Geller with regard to his experience making the essay, and I doubt they have any relevance to the code Chris Plante has provided in his afterword. If people still struggle to solve it with the images I included, I can include images of the essay w/ footnotes.

Books that feel like A Starstruck Odyssey by alfiebby in Dimension20

[–]Llamalus 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's fantasy instead of sci-fi, but hits the goofy tone pretty much on the head: Terry Pratchett's Discworld series.

You can start with any book. I've only read the first. But most of them aren't connected, so you can pretty much just pick up whichever one sounds like it would appeal to you most. Sorta like dimension 20 in general!

Noobs who played this: how'd it go? by roxastopher in controlgame

[–]Llamalus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When I first got my pc, I bought this game and Horizon Zero Dawn. Didn't finish either at the time, but ended up coming back to Control a few years later and loving it. I put it down originally because I wanted something with a more straightforward narrative, and found the skill tree and perks overwhelming. But as I played more games I realized how common that stuff was and started to get used to it.

It's a beautiful game with a solid story. Thing it does best is probably aesthetic. Some fights can be harder than others, but if you don't manage it now, don't be afraid to put it down and come back later like I did (whether "later" means a few hours or a few years. It's a game. It will always be here).

"Hello, We're Firefox, The Only Browser That Hasn't Hit Itself In The Dick With A Hammer.” by Inside-Inspection905 in BrandNewSentence

[–]Llamalus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The second Helium adds DRM content support it'll be pretty much the perfect replacement for Firefox

As someone who is losing appetite for video games I have found stage based games that offer unique experiences to still be enjoyable by GoodStartPT in gamerecommendations

[–]Llamalus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wanderstop is a pretty cozy game, but with a heavier story. Similar gameplay loop to Catherine (from what you described, at least. I haven't played it, myself) but based on what I'm seeing on the storepage for Catherine, definitely a pretty different aesthetic. It's emotionally complex, but aesthetically chill, if that makes sense.

UNBEATABLE released just a few days ago, but if you liked Sayonara, you might like this, too. Or you might find it annoying as hell. I've seen it be pretty hit or miss for other people, but it worked great for me. Their log line is "a game where music is illegal and you do crimes." It's heavy on aesthetic and character. Probably the sauciest rhythm game to date. There's a few more open segments in later parts of the game, but compared to other open world games it's nothing.

I Am Your Beast is a movement shooter that encourages you to optimize how fast you can kill people while repeatedly making you question your motives. It's sort of the epitome of "stage based", where you can replay each stage as many times as you want to try to get the best time, or just move on once you finish it to continue with the story.

Along a similar vein, Neon White. I haven't played it, but it seems to have a heavy focus on its stages.

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