Some games have decent recaps or disconnected stories which mean you can start from the latest release and still have the full experience.

In Fallout for example, with the 3D games, you can start wherever and because it’s a new protagonist and location every time you aren’t missing a ton. The disconnect is slightly more noticeable going from Fallout to Fallout 2 (the isometric titles) however because of how the games build on top of each other.

What I am wondering about are series where you really do need to start from the beginning (or some early point) to get the full experience.

Can you think of any examples that are truly difficult?

Maybe they started on DOS, MSX, or the NES and their latest releases are on the PS5 and Xbox Series X and on top of that the genre shifted.

This is obviously going to vary from person to person. Like with The Elder Scrolls series for example. People might argue for different starting points.

For context I am playing The Witcher 2 and I feel like I’m missing a notable part of the story. That might be because it’s a fantasy game though and it isn’t based in our world.

It made me think of Metal Gear and Final Fantasy. Two popular series where I don’t know how interconnected the games are.

  • @[email protected]English
    13•7 months ago

    This was a surprisingly difficult question and I had to dig into my library for inspiration but here are some games that I would recommend that (mostly) require starting from the beginning of the story:

    • The Last Of Us
    • Uncharted
    • Dishonored
    • God of War (2018 and Ragnarok definitely, original PS2+PSP games for extra depth and different game style)
    • Hellblade (sequel doesn’t release until next month but I’m still pretty confident in this answer)

    Loose Fits

    • Portal
    • Dead Space
    • F.E.A.R.
    • Resistance

    Honorable Mentions as I can’t personally attest to having not beaten every game

    • Shadow of Mordor
    • Mass Effect (I know it’s been mentioned)
    • Dragon Age (same as above)
    • BioShock
    • CorrodedOPEnglish
      2•7 months ago

      Is Bioshock Infinite that connected to the first the two games? I can’t recall a lot of callbacks.

      I feel like that’s one of those situations where you could use Infinite as a starting point then go back and play the originals.

      • @[email protected]English
        3•7 months ago

        That’s probably the series I have the least experience with from my list so you may be correct.

      • @[email protected]English
        1•7 months ago

        Without spoiling, there is a reveal that ties all the BioShock games together in Infinite. That reveal would be much more impactful if you have knowledge of the others, and might not make any sense if it’s your first BioShock experience.