Do you have a game you play over and over, when nothing else fits your mood? That game that is infinitely re-playable, somewhat the same every time and somewhat new and interesting?

For me it’s the games in the Orcs Must Die series. But mostly OMD 3. I play the mode called Scramble, where you have to beat 5 rounds of orcs, and they get harder and harder as you progress. There are random things to make it harder (nerfs) and you can choose 1 thing per round to make it easier (buffs). I’ve probably played that something like 300 times now since I beat the main game + DLCs a long while ago. I go into a special mental state while playing, since I know it all so well, and just zone out for about an hour each time.

Patient gamers, what’s your “I will keep playing this game for the rest of my life” fallback?

  • Captain Aggravated@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    6·
    10 days ago

    I did that a lot with Subnautica but I think I’ve worn it out. I would make up challenge runs for myself to spice it up and I’ve run out of those. It was my “I want to play a video game right now” game. I kinda wish I had fewer objections to Subnautica 2, because there’s things I like about that game and things I don’t and the don’ts slightly outweigh the things that do.

      • Captain Aggravated@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        4·
        10 days ago

        It’s great, go play it, and I suggest going in as blind as you can.

        I once saw a playthrough by Let’s Play Easy Mode, I don’t know how he acquired a copy of the game while knowing as little as he did about it. He correctly guessed there’d be swimming in it and realized about six minutes in that it was a survival game.

        I like to give this one hint, which I think is enough guidance to keep you from looking up the wiki and encountering actual spoilers: The answer to “well, now what?” is “go deeper.”

    • Obi@sopuli.xyz
      1·
      11 days ago

      I play pinball deluxe on my phone instead, tried to get some simulators running but gave up and this game is good enough. My brother and his friend are super into it, one has two real tables and the other has a fake, full size table with a TV inside that plays emulators. Good stuff.

  • HackerJoe@sh.itjust.works
    1·
    9 days ago

    X-Com (1993)+Mods, Jagged Alliance 2, Master of Orion 2, Starsector, Avorion and lately Balatro and Peglin for mindless fun.

        • iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works
          1·
          10 days ago

          Could buy it on EA Origin then instead. (I know that’s not your point btw, I’m being tongue-in-cheek. For real though, the games are amazing, don’t rob yourself of an awesome experience because of a dumb launcher)

      • BertramDitore@lemm.eeEnglish
        5·
        11 days ago

        You’re in for a treat! The Legendary edition was a great release, and the perfect excuse for me to replay the whole trilogy a couple years back for like, the fourth time. So good.

        • JokeDeity@lemm.ee
          3·
          11 days ago

          I tried the first game long long after they were all out for a while and it felt really rough and clunky. Did the legendary edition make things any smoother in the first game?

          • BertramDitore@lemm.eeEnglish
            4·
            10 days ago

            Yeah, they smoothed things out, improved the graphics, and squashed a lot of bugs. I think Legendary is probably the best way to play them, especially the first, which had the most fixed.

            Here’s a breakdown of the differences and improvements.

  • cRazi_man@lemm.ee
    43·
    11 days ago

    Rogue-lites are basically made to be infinitely re-playable and if I find one I like then I keep going back to it. Enter the Gungeon is a game I’ve played for years. Then there was a while this spot was taken by Slay the Spire and Balatro in turn. Now I’m back to Enter the Gungeon.

      • cRazi_man@lemm.ee
        17·
        11 days ago

        A warning before you jump in: it’s crazy difficult. It took me about 70 hours of gameplay to be able to finish a play through…but after that it became pretty repeatable once I had learnt how to do it. This is pretty standard, but the failed runs are all fun and the gameplay is excellent and hilarious. I can give some generic starter tips if you want, things I wished I knew before having to learn the hard way (equally learning the hard way is the way rogue-lites are intended to work, so up to you).

        The enemies are bullets that are holding guns and shooting bullets at you. You can unlock a gun that looks like a bullet, that shoots bullets that look like guns, that shoot their own bullets. Everything in the game is a pun.

  • Asparagus0098@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    5·
    11 days ago

    Phigros

    It’s a mobile rhythm game without ads and in-app purchases. It’s also completely offline so I don’t need an internet connection to play.

  • BoxOfFeet@lemmy.world
    1·
    11 days ago

    Ys Seven for the PSP. I have Ys VII and Ys: MoC for the Vita and Ys IX for the Switch, but there’s something about Seven that keeps me coming back.

    • Big_Boss_77@lemmynsfw.comEnglish
      2·
      10 days ago

      I just picked up Ys 8 recently and fell in love, now I’m on to 9… biggest issue with the game is not enough time to play.

      • BoxOfFeet@lemmy.world
        1·
        10 days ago

        8 is so good. And the music is great. I haven’t finished 9 yet, same issue as you with the lack of time. But I’m hopeful I’ll get back to it soon.

      • stringere@sh.itjust.works
        2·
        9 days ago

        I also like the lack of pressure to finish a round if you have to be drug away by life. I know they’ll likely be able to finish without me or someone will pop in after me to help.

  • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
    10·
    11 days ago

    Europa Universalis IV. There are tons of countries to play, lots of variation each time, and so many options for self challenges (e.g. accomplish goal by year).

    The only thing that would get me to stop playing is if EUV is good, and then only a few years and DLC in. Even then, I could see myself coming back to it.

    • Arkive@lemmy.zip
      2·
      10 days ago

      EU4 is one of mine as well. Been slowly working through the achievements, but they keep adding more!

      • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
        1·
        10 days ago

        Yeah, I was up to 20% or so, and now I’m around 17% since I didn’t play much for the last year or two. I think they’ll announce a sequel soon, maybe I’ll actually make progress.

  • Thassodar@lemm.eeEnglish
    5·
    11 days ago

    I’m late but: Fights In Tight Spaces. I thoroughly enjoy their daily challenges, and save my replays when I have a spectacular run with no damage.