I want to try and play some more games. That feels more fulfilling if you play games that you can finish and be done with.
So what are some good games that have zero (or close to zero perhaps) replayability? I’ll start with my own suggestions:
- Return of the Obra Dinn: Amazing mystery/detective game. However once you’ve played it, you basically can’t play it again as you remember the solution already and the challenge of the game is trivialized.
- Chants of Sennaar: Really great game about deciphering languages. However, once again, by playing the game once, you’ll remember the languages and the game has no challenge any more.
- Outer Wilds: Mystery adventure game. There is some replayability as there are perhaps areas that you can still explore, but largely once you figure out the mystery and complete the game, there’s not much more to experience. Some people speedrun the game though.
All of the above games I value extremely highly even though I only played them ~8-10 hours.
Do you have any others?
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Thomas was alone.(I recommend this one up there with obra dinn)
Spec ops the line
Dlc quest
Limbo
For something quite a bit different, amnesia the dark decent.
I played amnesia exactly once and still haven’t brought myself to replay it. I tried a year ago (originally played in 2012) and, while I admit I didn’t give it much effort to relearn the mazes, I didn’t feel too motivated still remembering most of the plot and of course the finale.
Spec Ops The Line has sadly been delisted and is no longer available for purchase. If you already got it, you’re fine, but the only way to get a copy now is 🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️
I played through Limbo twice, but it didn’t hit quite the same way the second time around.
Play “Inside” by the same team
And cocoon
Deathloop’s story basically means that >!you’re replaying the game because you failed your previous attempt at escaping!<. You can play it more than once, the game encourages you to, and I kinda want to, but I never did because I already won.
Also… A big part of playing Death Loop was figuring out the proper order to kill everybody. … and sadly, there’s only one order that will work. So once you know the order, a big part of the challenge is eliminated.
It would have been really cool if the game selected a random ordering for your character at new game start and each target’s vulnerable timing changes accordingly. Something similar to how some of Dishonored’s missions could have multiple solutions.
… but I get why they didn’t. Dishonored had mission variants just switch up some text which is relatively cheap compared to having fully different behaviors and speech and so on that would need to be created just for the tiny set of players that not only finish but replay a game.
As someone who played through Dishonored 1,2 and all their respective DLCs multiple times, I was sad that Death Loop didn’t have the same level of repayablity baked into the overarching structure, but I still quite enjoyed the game itself. I just finished it once and moved on.
I don’t mind that there’s only one winning order too much. Could be cool to have more options but I’m okay with that design choice. Like you said, it’s a lot of effort for not a lot of players. I could still vary the gameplay during the missions and that’s good enough. Besides, I enjoyed the world and the characters more than in any other Arkane game, maybe on par with Prey, can’t put one above the other.
The Witness has a lot of generative puzzles that I guess technically are replayable, but you can’t go back to before the moments of joy of discovery and that’s the core of what made that game incredible to me
I did play the Witness, though the ending was quite disappointing to me. I got kind of tired of the (imo) very similar puzzles throughout the game.
Agreed. By the end, i was just looking up the solutions so i can just figure out what the heck happened on the island, only to be met with the biggest let-down in my personal gaming history. Game went from an 9/10 to a 3/10 just on the ending alone.
A problem with The Witness is that the game’s single biggest excitement comes from a twist that revealing completely spoils
spoiler
The environment puzzles
So it’s stuck in the position of letting 80% of its player base walk right past the best part, or preserving the moment of discovery.
I’m personally grateful it has the integrity to let me find it on my own, but it’s also a bummer since at least two of my friends beat it without ever realizing
If you want a good laugh, check out The Looker. It’s a short satire of the Witness, free on Steam
Funny OP, you named the exact 3 games I was planning on naming here.
Great minds think alike 😜
What Remains of Edith Finch. A psychological horror game that REALLY sucks you in. As you play, there is a lot of stuff that doesn’t make any sense, but there’s a secret (disturbing) meaning behind it all.
I spent a good chunk of a Saturday going through it and there’s no need to do it again, but it was a great ride!
I am thinking of replaying Edith Finch because I must have missed a lot of details by the time I realised what the story was about.
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a little older but it kind of reminds me of Edith Finch in vibes. It’s also really beautiful.
And if you do want more try out Unfinished Swan.
Thanks for pointing that out, I had never heard of that one. I looked it up and I’ll definitely check it out.
The Unfinished Swan is such a hidden gem, honestly. I never hear anyone talk about it. Very unique style and mechanics and an endearing story. Some beautiful environments too. And pretty short, so not a big commitment.
It’s a great, great game.
Also take a look at: The Suicide of Rachel Foster
It’s currently 90% off on steam at 1.79USD
Oh man - I loved WRoEF, but the bathtub segment has ensured I can never play it again.
Oh yeah. They aren’t subtle in that one, you know what’s coming and I think I just muttered “oh no. Oh no. Oh no.” through the whole thing.
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Spec ops: The line. I think this was delisted from most stores though, so you might need to sail the high seas to get it. It might not be as impactful today as it was when it came out, but it’s a great game with a great twist.
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Life is strange. It’s a story driven game, sure you can replay it and choose different things, but realistically you probably won’t since the main of the story is the same.
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Batman games. Those were my go to for a while when I wanted something linear with an end.
I patient gamered Spec Ops and beat it a couple weeks ago. I found it to be rather mediocre. The combat sucks ass and the graphics don’t help.
Couple cool sequences but I felt it was massively overhyped.
I think it kinda falls into the same sort of category as citizen Kane. Important for what it did when it did it, but not really good by modern standards.
If I played this in 2012 at release I think I’d feel just the same. What do you find is important about this game? I’m curious as I see it mentioned all over the place, but I really don’t see what’s the big deal. Releasing a game where you shoot US soldiers, in the middle of hyper patriotism in the US, seems edgy for the time but that’s about it. The moral choices were few and only had impact in terms of a bit of flavor. No serious consequences.
I did enjoy the music and especially like the detail of the characters getting progressively dirtier as the game went on.
Focusing on the gameplay really misses the point. It was practically an interactive story, but they wanted it to be a shooter so you’d feel more responsible for the outcome rather than just watching things unfold. And while the “choices” in game made little difference, that pretty much reinforced the message that some situations are basically fukt and “pushing forward” doesn’t make it any better.
Gameplay is 90% of time spent in the game, which is why it colored my experience so much. Regardless; what do you feel the game does well? Specific examples, please.
I read a ton of positive comments before playing it, and avoided spoilers for years. Turns out there’s much to spoil, IMO. There’s the white phosphorus scene, but you can’t even choose to not do that. It was very disappointing when I sat there and it railroaded me into using WP when my squad mate was telling me not to. I don’t feel it was a pioneer in any way, and feels quite dated even against games many years it’s senior. Bioshock came out five years earlier and has deeper social commentary, more engaging gameplay, and much better graphics.
If you have specific examples I’d love to hear them. It’s entirely possible I’m just not getting it, but I feel this game seemed epic for some console gaming teenagers in 2012 and it’s mostly nostalgia. I don’t feel the game did anything that special.
Spoilers
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spoiler
My interpretation and granted it is probably a bit shaking as I havent played in a long time is:
I personally found spec ops interesting into the slow descent into darkness, how your team is professional in the beginning and over time they become savage, to the point of blood thristiness, their animations changes, their speech, mannerisms and their models get gradually worn down.
You do actions but over time you think wait - am I really doing the right thing, like if you decide to help the cia guy, you find out you’ve been played and just destroyed the water supply for a whole area that is in desparate need of it, this come back to haunt you later on when an angry mob catches up to one of your team. I still remember feeling vindictive of hearing my teammate scream in panic and fear as I was rushing to get to him
Then to get there and see him murdered and and an angry mob looking for blood, my first reaction was vengeance not orderly dispersal…
The character and the remaining team mate gunned down civilians mercilessly because I felt outrage at them killing one of my own… and the crowd had just cause to be pissed as your rag tag band of misfits have been blowing up commiting warcrimes after to warcrimes justifiying it to some “greater cause”
As you play the game even the loading screen are questioning you if you are enjoying yourself and nothing is stopping you from continuing to play. It is quite in your face to say that what you are doing is wrong, but if you keep playing and by finishing the game you are justifying the main characters actions, you are complicit in the acts of violence as you the player are determined to see the game to the end just as he is
Their original mission was to just scout… and it somehow turned into this Dubai tour de violence because the main character believes that there was a radio call from someone he idolised
If I recall there is that scene at the end that shows all the bullshit, the hanged men, the voice on the radio your character thinks they see and hear is in their head - they have severe ptsd, and have “main character hero syndrome” and none of the game would have happened if they just followed orders
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You’ve got a solid recollection of the events. I think my expectations were set too high from what I read online. It was decent, but I was expecting S tier.
I did really enjoy how “degraded” the characters got as they went through everything like you mention. Very nice little touch.
I loved the Batman Arkham games, but yeah, one and done is good.
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Brothers, a tale of two sons. It’s a 2h ish long story, really good.
Ugh - this game!
I loved it. The mechanics of The Scene is still one of the most amazing bits of storytelling I’ve seen in a video game. I think about it frequently when I’m considering how video games can tell stories in ways that movies or books just can’t.
The game as a whole is good, but a little uneven IMO. But I’d put that scene up there with Braid for the sheer impact of storytelling-via-videogame-mechanics.
I’ve played this game all the way through 3 times. The only thing that affects its replayability is the long-term emotional damage.
A lot of people are posting games that are short and linear. But to match your energy, games that cannot be replayed unless you forget what you learn;
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Case of the Golden Idol is a mystery/deduction game, a la Obra Dinn.
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Toki Tori 2 is a puzzle metroidvania, where you can do your full moveset from the start - tweet and stomp. Right from the first screen, big chunks of the map can be shortcut through once you put your later learnings into practice.
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That dragon, Cancer
After playing it once, I can’t go through it a second time.
Wow. Yeah, absolutely. I had forgotten about that game until you mentioned it. Thank you for reminding me. It’s entirely unique and deserves to be remembered. But yeah, I don’t think I have it in me to replay it.
Soma - This is such an amazing game, but it made me so mad that I would never play it again.
The Painscreek Killings - A really fun detective/mystery walking sim. You absolutely have to figure everything out yourself, as there is no hand-holding or hints given by the game. At all. But, like Return of the Obra Dinn, once you’ve figured out the mystery, there really is no sense in replaying it.
I was going to add some others before realizing I had a theme of mystery walking sims. I think that genre of games are pretty one and done kind of plays. They can be really great, but most don’t give you a reason to go back and replay them, unless it’s for achievements or something.
SOMA was great, but yeah, not much replayability once you know everything. Curious, tho, what about it made you mad?
It’s been a few years since I’ve played it, but I remember not being a fan of the female companion. To me it felt like she was just using the main character as a means to get to her goal and nothing more. I know that’s an unpopular take (I’ve gotten into a couple light arguments over it), but I just could not stand her by the end of the game. The way she treated the MC just made the post-credits scene so angering.
That makes a lot of sense, she did have the player do some relatively fucked up stuff that he wouldn’t have wanted done to him!
But also she was right to call him a fucking idiot for repeatedly failing to understand the core concept
Oh, yeah, don’t get me wrong, he was not very smart, but she did not really help either lol
The vanishing of Ethan carter
Dredge comes to mind. It’s a nice game and all, but outside of the two endings (which are basically a choose left or right situation) you see pretty much everything there’s to see in a single playthrough.
What remains of Edith Finch Life is Strange series The beginner’s guide
If you’re ok with point and click/puzzlers, the rusty lake games are probably some of my favourite storylines. Extremely well written imo, creepy and with a few jump scares to keep you on your toes.
They’re incredible.
I hooked my wife with Rusty Lake Hotel, which is probably the easiest entry point into the whole series.
Then we went into a few cube games, and then Rusty Lake Roots, which is so well made and where all the best lore is.
Did some more cube games, and right into Rusty Lake Paradise and Samara Room, and Underground Blossom.
I also didn’t tell her The Past Within is also a Rusty Lake game, so when she saw the connections while we were playing, her excitement went through the roof.
Storyteller
A short but memorable puzzle-type game where you have to put together scenes and characters to create a story. Actions in previous scenes affect how characters behave or appear in later ones.
Really liked that one, it’s fun.
