Curious as to what people think has the most replay potential.
Rules:
-
The “desert island” aspect here is just to create an isolated environment. You don’t have to worry about survival or anything along those lines, where playing the game would be problematic. This isn’t about min-maxing your situation on the island outside of the game, or the time after leaving.
-
No live service games unless the live service aspect is complete and it can be played offline – that is, you can’t just rely on the developer churning out new material during your time on the island. The game you get has to be in its complete form when you go to the island.
-
No multiplayer games – can’t rely on the outside world in the form of people out there being a source of new material. The island is isolated from the rest of the world.
-
You get existing DLC/mods/etc for a game. You don’t get multiple games in a series, though.
-
Cost isn’t a factor. If you want The Sims 4 and all its DLC (currently looks like it’s $1,300 on Steam, and I would guess that there’s probably a lot more stuff on EA’s store or whatever), DCS World and all DLC ($3,900), or something like that, you can have it as readily as a free game.
-
No platform restrictions (within reason; you’re limited to something that would be fairly mainstream). PC, console, phone, etc games are all fine. No “I want a game that can only run on a 10,000 node parallel compute cluster”, though, even if you can find something like that.
-
Accessories that would be reasonably within the mainstream are provided. If you’re playing a light gun game, you can have a light gun. You can have a game controller, a VR headset and controllers, something like that. No “I want a $20 million 4DOF suspended flight sim cockpit to play my flight sim properly”.
-
You have available to you the tools to extend the game that an ordinary member of the public would have access to. If there are modding tools that exist, you have access to those, can spend time learning them. If it’s an open-source game and you want to learn how to modify the game at a source level, you can do that. You don’t have access to a video game studio’s internal-only tools, though.
-
You have available to you existing documentation and material related to the game that is generally publicly-available. Fandom wikis, howtos and guides, etc.
-
You get the game in its present-day form. No updates to the game or new DLC being made available to you while you’re on the island.
What three games do you choose to take with you?
Satisfactory
Star Sector
Nintendo game and watch collection (so I can save the high score but the original Donkey Kong hardware would be fine too)
Skyrim
Borderlands 2
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
I probably would have picked Mass Effect over Odyssey if you hadn’t specified no series. There’s really no point in playing just one ME.
There’s really no point in playing just one ME.
Huh. Speaking as someone who has that series on their “never played, but have it on their backlog list”, could you explain why?
Might need to note that I am ignoring Andromeda here. Personally I see all three games as one long game because the story is so involved. Maybe someone else has no problem just playing one by itself but I can’t, in the same way that I’m never going to watch just one LOTR movie.
DOOM 2, Minecraft, F-Zero EXpansion Kit
Minecraft 3x over, still hardly ever play any games to completion (ADHD) but Ive lost whole days to Minecraft.
If I’m interpreting ‘existing mods’ as ALL existing mods, Jesus Christ imma 5 years isn’t enough imma need at least 10
THANK GOD I’d be free from the next 5 years of updates cause it’ll be a cold day in hell before Microsoft goes that long without adding some type of micro transactions/ads to the game
BG3, Skyrim, and I guess minecraft. If I can choose a non-game software, then probably the requirements for something like Godot and some downloaded documentation and libraries instead of minecraft.
I was very tempted to pick BG3 but lacking patch 7. I would be too frustrated about needing to mod the game the hard way.
I only got to act 2 and just got super busy so I have plenty left, heh
Ah that’s when the game really starts. Want any advice?
No thanks :) I’ll pick it back up in fall/winter when the work outside winds down.
- Skyrim with a ton of mods
- Stellar is with a ton of mods
- Minecraft with a ton of mods
I would pick Baldur’s Gate 3 if I can bring my wife to play with me, then we may actually get to act 3 by the 5th year and not even need another game.
I love this hypothetical. I think mine would be:
-
X-Plane 12 flight sim. Plenty to do and lots of variation between areas, weather patterns, etc. (Unlike MSFS, it is not a live service.)
-
Automation: the car company tycoon game. It serves very well as a creative outlet when designing your own cars.
-
Probably some strategy game. Old World? One of the Civs? Maybe Anno 1800, assuming I could get past Ubi Connect or whatever the hell they call it now. 😁
-
Monster Hunter World GTA V Ocarina of Time
Then I’d paint cave walls with my stories for future generations to discover.
Just because I’m seeing this quite a bit with out explanation, and I’m super curious, I will once again copy my question from another comment
Genuine question. Do the Legend of Zelda 64 games give you replay value, or do you feel you have enough with the other 2 and want to bring a favorite?
It’s just a favorite that I replay at least once a year. It came out when I was the just the right age for it, and even today it’s like chicken soup for my soul.
Hell yeah, I get it. Thank you for answering
Factorio
Cataclysm DDA
AC:OdysseyHaving actually run something fairly close to this experiment I think I can say Satisfactory, Subnautica and West of Loathing. Yes Satisfactory has the capability of being multiplayer but it’s not exactly Fortnite.
I’d select the following, noting that if I follow the rules strictly games like Gary’s mod are disallowed because they are multiplayer.
-
Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead This is a game that could theoretically be played forever. Following the rules strictly I’ll be able to use the open source aspect to tweak it.
-
Sims 3 Why not 4? Well 3 has more mature mods and expansion packs to enjoy. I’m less likely to be stuck with a big bug.
-
OpenViva let’s face it, I’m going to be really lonely and as I slowly drift into insanity a VR escape filled with waifus may be exactly what I need to hold on. Plus it’s open-source and it’s plenty of time to learn how to use blender.
-
I saw Minecraft and Stardew mentioned already. But not the ultimate time sink, Kerbal SP, especially with mods and documentation. Though I’m not sure 5 years is long enough, can I request an extension?
-
Morrowind (This one is a lock. I can make a new character with different specialties. I can role play differently with a new character. I can join different guilds. And I can finally get around to modding if I ever get really adventurous.)
-
Final Fantasy VIII (XII would also be a good pick since it has exploration. X is my favorite, but doesn’t have as much replayability as the other 2. I thought about Tactics because I want to get around to it. But I’m not gambling on loving it.)
-
Rogue Legacy 2 (I thought about the first one, which is a cathartic game for me. But I still haven’t beaten the second and it scratches almost the same itch. Also thought about Jade Cocoon or Arc the Lad 2 or 3, which are similarly cathartic games for me.)
-
I’ve been playing EU4 for over 5 years. Might as well take that one. Fuck it, I’ll take 3 copies.
I’ve always been tempted to jump into that fucking trench of a game.
Have attempted hoi4 but never stuck.
What sticks out about eu4 for you compared to other paradox similar type games?
I’ve never really played the others. Coworker got me into it. It’s a lot easier to get into the games if you’re playing with someone who already knows what they’re doing.
EU5 looks like it’s bringing a lot from the other games though.
Easy.
Diablo, Diablo 2 and D2 LoD. Done.
