Games that spark joy

[Testicules]

I just discovered Archolos exists and, as a result, I'm having an absolute blast playing Gothic again, like more fun than I've had playing a game in years. This got me thinking about the fact that:

1. The older I get the less free time I have
2. I still play video games
3. I'd rather use my limited free time to play games I truly love

So I was thinking about games that were a genuine joy to play. Not an exhaustive list, but they include:

• Gothic/Gothic II
• Deus Ex
• VtM: Bloodlines
• World of Xeen
• MM7
• Risen
• Ghost of a Tale
• Half-Life/Half-Life 2
• Twinsen's Odyssey
• Majora's Mask
• Psychonauts
• GTA: Vice City
• Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
• Witcher 1
• Braid
• Bastion

Some of these games are codex favorites, some (e.g. HL2) not so much. In any case, these are all games that I loved playing at the time and actually stuck with me after the fact. I've sunk a lot of hours into plenty of excellent games (Fallout, PS:T, Shadowrun, Morrowind, HoMM series) and tried and failed to get past the beginning of others (BG2, Arcanum, System Shock 2). These games were objectively good, but they didn't have that "joy" factor that both sucked me in and made me retroactively enjoy them years down the road.

I don't know if there's a common thread connecting the games on that list, but if anyone has had similar experiences, fire away with recommendations.

 

[SumDrunkGuy]

Hide the sausage.

 

[Impressive Organ]

The Twisted Metal games always make me happy when I replay them. Love the character selection, love the action, love the black comedy endings.

 

[spectre]

I like to replay Tyrian whenever I want to shoot some stuff.
Homm3 hotseat with my kid also sparks joy.
And Ori and the Blind Forest is a very feelgood game overall.

Recently, I've gotten myself a heavily discounted Inquisitor Martyr and while it does get repetitive after a time, it does deliver the fundamentals:
heavy bolter fire hitting ass and leg, by the emprah, it's heavan. And then the heretic explodes into bloody chunks and it does spark joy.

 

[Abu Antar]

There are many Codex favorites that I could mention, but two games that make me smile are Rayman Origins and Rayman Legends. We played them in 4 player local co-op. We were laughing, yelling, screaming at each other, and having a great time throughout both games. One of few games where all 4 players did everything in their power to make time for. We made any kind of excuse to get together and play this at my place. The wives were not impressed and said that we were all acting like kids. That's the whole point!

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

honey select.

 

[Tel Velothi]

The older I get the less free time I have

cuck

do what you want instead of what you're expected

 

[Testicules]

cuck

do what you want instead of what you're expected

That's exactly what I do. I like to hike, play rec league sports, lift heavy shit, read books, do crossword puzzles, and watch faggy TV shows with my girlfriend. I also like to play video games, but not to the exclusion of all else. So maybe it's not that my free time has declined, I've just developed other hobbies such that my vidya time is at a premium.

 

[ELEXmakesMeHard]

Risen, Valheim, and Northgard, are my comfy feel-good games that I keep returning to for a healthy dose of joy.

 

[HeroMarine]

https://classicreload.com/awesome-earl-in-skaterock.html

 

[rado907]

ToME4 and Wesnoth.

 

[King Crispy]

X-COM: UFO Defense

System Shock 2

Microprose's M1 Tank Platoon

 

[Sunri]

Baldur's Gate I

 

[Alpan]

I feel this way about many games. But if I could play only one game for the rest of my life it would be Slay the Spire, I'm pretty sure. I never have a bad time with that game, even when I get a losing streak.

 

[Viata]

Any game that I have a big nostalgia for playing them as a kid does that for me. I have zero motivation to play the best game released this year, but full of motivation to play something like Donkey Kong Country 2.

 

[Strig]

Can someone explain to me how it is to feel joy? I either forgot or never grasped that concept.

 

[Silverfish]

Trials. Once you go through a few tracks and everything clicks, it's one of the most pure fun experiences you can have.

 

[Ismaul]

Recently, ELEX and DiscoE did it for me.

It's the sense of exploration that does it. Both felt fresh, stimulating.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Can someone explain to me how it is to feel joy? I either forgot or never grasped that concept.

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=how+to+make+methamphetamines

 

[Fedora Master]

W O B B L E D O G S

 

[wishbonetail]

Games without quest compass.

 

[Baron Dupek]

Asking Codex about joy is like asking about sex related topics on gaming forums.
There is no joy

 

[Ismaul]

There is no joy

Mark.L.Joy defend yourself

 

[Falksi]

One's which I return to constantly and which still spark that "joy" in me are:

• Deus Ex
• X-Com '94
• Shaowrun Dragonfall
• Escape From The Pit
• Hexen 2
• Vice City
• Link To The Past
• Final Fantasy X
• Shining Force 2
• Phantasy Star 4
• Bards Tale 4: Directors Cut
• Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday
• Doom
• Thunderforce 3
• Star Control
• Dark Souls series
• Monkey Island 1 & 3

• Contra 3
• Actraiser
• Streets of Rage 1 through 3
• Golden Axe
• Batman (Megadrive)
• Afterburner 2
• Atomic Runner
• Hellfire
• The Revenge of Shinobi
• Saints Row 4
• Forgotten Worlds
• Castlevania Bloodlines
• Ghouls N Ghosts
• F-Zero
• Flashback
• Aliens Vs Predator Arcade
• Smash TV
• Biometal
• Dune
• Trouble Shooter 2/Battlemania 2
• Blackthorne
• Eliminate Down
• The Combat Tribes
• Gley Lancer

There's far more too, but that's the short version.

 

[Mark.L.Joy]

There is no joy

Mark.L.Joy defend yourself

Joy can be found in all things, hatred, depression and shitty games alike.