Incline Post-decline gems

[std::namespace]

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

why am i still readin teh codex? is there actually anything funny left here?

the god forsaken steam forums are from time to time actually more monocled than the cattle around here...

 

[Lady Error]

So go there. We all understand that you are just here to bitch and moan - instead of listing games you enjoyed.

 

[Lemming42]

why am i still readin teh codex?

I agree, you should stop.

 

[v01]

 

[TripJack]

behead all alpha protocol posters

 

[Shuruga]

In no particular order:

1. Dragon Age: Origins (2009)
2. The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings (2011)
3. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015)
4. Fallout: New Vegas (2010)
5. Kingdom Come: Deliverance (2018)
6. Dark Souls (2011)
7. Mass Effect 1-3 (2007, 2010, 2012) [I don't see much point in subselecting from the series since anyone who hasn't played them should just get all 3 in the Legendary Edition... though I share the common view that #2 is the best of the series]
8. Deus Ex: Human Revolution (2011)

 

[Zlaja]

- Ninja Gaiden Black (2005)
- Devil May Cry 3 (2005)
- Stalker (2007)
- Demon's Souls (2009)
- Call Of Juarez: Bound In Blood (2009)
- Mafia 2 (2010)
- LA Noire (2011)
- Dragon's Dogma (2012)
- Bloodborne (2015)
- Dying Light (2015)

- Risen (2009)
- Fallout: New Vegas (2010)
- Elex (2017)
- Kingdom Come Deliverance (2018)

- XCOM 2 (2016)

 

[Ash]

So, please list the video games that fit the following requirements for you:

1. Released 2005 or later (after the age of plenty).
2. You consider it a real gem. In other words, please don't post ok games, or decent games, or games you kind of liked. Only games that you thought were really something special.
3. Can be PC games or console games, or console games ported to PC/emulated on PC.

Well this is bullshit because 2005 was still an acceptable year. It was 2006 onwards where suddenly it was like a switch was flipped and good games ceased to exist. 2005 had some great games like Ninja Gaiden Black, GTA: San Andreas, Onimusha: DoD, Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners, Resident Evil 4, Need For Speed: Underground 2, The Punisher, Devil May Cry 3, Gun, Castlevania: DoS. Probably my second favorite year of the 2000s, after the year 2000 itself. Not many exceptional games present mind you, but a lot of good.

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

Whatever year you pick, someone will have an issue with it, either too late, or too early. To me, it felt like by 2005, things were dead.

 

[Ash]

So let's begin. Gems only (8/10 min.). Adding extra rules of 1) Singleplayer only and 2) no ports, rereleases or remakes of old games, unless is superior version:

** = Probably doesn't even deserve 8/10, but it's a toss-up
= An absolute must-play
= Only becomes a worthy or great game w/ mods.

2005:

Ninja Gaiden Black
GTA: San Andreas
Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth
Resident Evil 4
Need For Speed: Most Wanted
The Punisher
Devil May Cry 3
Gun
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi
Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction**
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow**

Now post-decline:

Hitman: Blood Money (2006)
Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams (2006)
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (2006)
Colin McRae: Dirt** (2007)
Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl (2007)
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (2008)
Dead Space (2008)
The Saboteur** (2009)
Resident Evil 5 (2009)
Demons Souls (2009)
Stalker: Call of Pipyrat (2010)
Fallout: New Vegas (2010)
Dead Nation (2010)
Dark Souls (2011)
Dead Space 2 (2011)
Trials: Evolution (2012)
Spelunky HD (2012)
Rogue Legacy (2013)
Dark Souls 2 (2014)
Far Cry 4 (2014)
Shadowrun: Dragonfall** (2014)
Dying Light (2015)
Fallout 4** (2015)
XCOM2 (2016)
Salt & Sanctuary (2016)
Dark Souls 3 (2016)
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided** (2016)
Hollow Knight (2017)
Darkwood (2017)
Everspace (2017)
Prey (2017)
Immortal Redneck (2017)
Synthetik (2018)
Overload (2018)
Guns, Gore & Cannoli 2 (2018)
Bombslinger** (2018)
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019)
Void Bastards (2019)
Toe Jam & Earl: Back in the Groove** (2019)
Doom Eternal (2020)
Spelunky 2 (2020)
Undermine** (2020)
Hades (2020)
Ashes Afterglow (2021) (a mod so good it belongs here, and I have nothing else to put, so GOTY2021).
One More Dungeon 2 (2022)

I gave up on ardently following new releases around 2013, after many years of extreme disappointment and abandonment of hope. It's very likely I missed a few gems in the years thereafter.

As you can see, from around 2017 onwards indies really picked up the slack.

Far Cry 3 (2012) (this and FC1 are the only Far Cry games worth playing)

Fake news. 4 was better than 3 in every way.

 

[Zlaja]

Resident Evil 5

 

[Ash]

I stand by that entry just as it had gameplayfag's back covered in those very dire years. Almost no dev gave a crap about gameplay anymore, it was all story/graphics/cinematics decline. While RE5 had so very little of the soul and identity of prior mainline entries, had an ugly brown and green color palette, the fact that playing local coop was required to truly enjoy it, nonetheless it was ultimately FUN and engaging, for multiple playthroughs. It's just a great local coop game no more no less. "Local" being the key word. It is one of the best of that subcategory of games. If you play online with someone, or with AI, it's just not the same.

...And yeah I did say no multiplayer allowed, but I make an exception for local coop for sure.

 

[HoboForEternity]

Order of ecclesia was sublime and i had a huge crush for the main character back then.

 

[Squidhead]

Burnout Paradise.

Maybe the last racer I fell in love with.

 

[Dadd]

Infra Arcana

 

[Zlaja]

Burnout Paradise.

Maybe the last racer I fell in love with.

Speaking of Burnout: my favorite in the series is Burnout 3: Takedown, which is also my favorite racer ever, but it was released in 2004, so that's why I didn't include it in my list.

 

[Lemming42]

Fake news. 4 was better than 3 in every way.

3 still has enough remnants of old-style FPS games, with some more linear levels and "corridor shooter" segments. The open world isn't a big draw for me in the post-FC1 Far Cry games, I just like the missions, and 4 felt a bit too open and unstructured to me.

 

[DJOGamer PT]

Resident Evil 5

The campgain is quite fun in co-op
And the Mercenaires mode is great - honestly could be it own game

 

[Kruyurk]

Kenshi

 

[Zlaja]

The campgain is quite fun in co-op
And the Mercenaires mode is great - honestly could be it own game

Many co-op games can be "quite fun" with the right partner in crime, but that doesn't necessarily make the game in question "a gem".

 

[Iucounu]

My list:

Do you really consider The Witcher 3 and Metro Exodus "real gems"?

 

[Lemming42]

Hate the Witcher, but I'll go in to bat for Metro Exodus. I think it's far and away the best evolution of the cinematic FPS subgenre that started with Half-Life. Gunplay is great and weapons feel very weighty, the option to use stealth or go loud is very welcome (and affects the story), the levels are open enough to allow the player to plan their own approach to most encounters, and the cinematic aspects tend to be exciting and well-handled.

Most of the criticisms people make of Metro are that it's too script-heavy, but that's the whole point and exactly what the devs set out to do. The only real criticism I'd make of it is that some of the train-based scenes go on way too long.

 

[Cat Headed Eagle]

So, please list the video games that fit the following requirements for you:

1. Released 2005 or later (after the age of plenty).
2. You consider it a real gem. In other words, please don't post ok games, or decent games, or games you kind of liked. Only games that you thought were really something special.
3. Can be PC games or console games, or console games ported to PC/emulated on PC.

Well this is bullshit because 2005 was still an acceptable year. It was 2006 onwards where suddenly it was like a switch was flipped and good games ceased to exist. 2005 had some great games like Ninja Gaiden Black, GTA: San Andreas, Onimusha: DoD, Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners, Resident Evil 4, Need For Speed: Underground 2, The Punisher, Devil May Cry 3, Gun, Castlevania: DoS. Probably my second favorite year of the 2000s, after the year 2000 itself. Not many exceptional games present mind you, but a lot of good.

If this is the RPGCodex, the last year of the really good times would be 2004, with the release of Bloodlines.
After that, tbh, gaming as a whole went kinda down, but some gems were had here and there. Mostly japanese ones, like half of the games you mention are japanese and you didn't even mention Dragon's Dogma.

 

[911 Jumper]

I'm surprised to see Alpha Protocol mentioned. I've heard that the game is terribly frustrating on the harder difficulty settings because of the bugs in the game. I've also heard that the hacking mini game can be really annoying.
I know the game isn't even available digitally and it's unlikely to ever get an improved remaster or remake. I'm just wondering whether it'd be worth picking up.

 

[HoboForEternity]

I didnt mention dragons dogma and pret 2017 because i assumed it's already said, but it wasnt when i posted so idk.