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?
Firewatch. Road 96.
Huh? The point of that game is being a narrative roguelite, everytime you start out different and have different choices to make.
I felt like the gimmick in Road 96 wasn’t worth it.
It feels more like window dressing. Turning night into day. Or instead of looking for a walkie talkie, it’s batteries.
The beats are too specific and if you had one motorcycle minigame, you had them all.
Same with firewatch.
Firewatch has 1 ending and only pretty small changes depending on dialog.
How “bad” is the walking simulator aspect in these games? Is it mostly just walking or is there actual gameplay?
Bad if you hate it, good if you like it.
I like walking simulator and Firewatch is great. Lacking gameplay doesn’t mean it is bad.
What Remains of Edith Finch is even better.
I haven’t really tried a walking sim before but I suspect I’ll find it boring - considering the reviews on What Remains of Edith Finch, I’m statistically unlikely to dislike it though, so I guess I’ll give it a shot and see what I think :)
If you like exploration and discovery, good “walking simulators” are actually really compelling.
If you don’t like games without action, they’re going to feel rather boring.
I definitely recommend trying one, at least.
Personally I thought What Remains Of Edith Finch was boring as hell as none of the emotional points hit and the super-low-fi sequences made the game feel almost buggy and as a result ruined a lot of the atmosphere.
OTOH, I loved Firewatch, a great short interactive story about someone working in isolation and trying to get away from their life.
Try changing your mindset when you approach the game, treat it like an interactive exploration or a digital toy. You might get into it more easily doing that.
I would not recommend Road 96 although some people seem to like it.
Instead, I would suggest “As Dusk Falls”.
I hate the term “walking simulator”. It’s totally missing the point. They’re never about walking, but about discovery. Outer Wilds is a “walking simulator” in that there’s no combat and traversal is the only “action” you take. That’s definitely not what Outer Wilds is about though, right? That term should probably die.
Road 96 has quite a bit of replay ability as you’re unlikely to get 100% of all stories on the first playthrough.