We all have that one game that holds a special place in our hearts. What game is it for you?

For me, it’s Metal Slug. Growing up, every Monday, my parents would drag me to the laundromat after work. As a kid, it was a pretty boring, but I had my toys, origami books, and coloring books to keep me entertained. However, my favorite thing to do was playing the Metal Slug arcade machine with my dad.

My dad was great at the game, and he taught me how to play. Though I improved, I could never keep up. When I’d inevitably die, he’d let me take over his side to let me have a bit more playtime. My favorite part was when he’d share stories from when he lived in another country and would go to the local arcade.

Those moments are cherished memories, and even today, whenever I visit an arcade, Metal Slug is the first game I play, despite still being terrible at it haha

Honorable mention goes to Mario 64, another game that holds a special place in my heart. I got an N64 from a garage sale, and playing Mario 64 while at home, with my mom’s “chore” music in the background ignited my love for gaming

    • limeaide@lemmy.mlOP
      2·
      2 years ago

      I have yet to play it and every time I see someone bring it up in a comment or video I instantly close it haha.

      I love going in blind into new games and I’ve heard this game is a great experience

  • Thelsim@sh.itjust.works
    15·
    2 years ago

    Two come to mind.
    First is Monkey Island. It’s the first game I ever finished all by myself. The opening scene with the theme music still gives me goosebumps.
    The second is Daggerfall, the first game I devoted an ungodly amount of hours to. I spend all my time exploring every nook and cranny of that world, playing the tourist, borrowing huge amounts of money in some tiny country with no intend on paying back, splurging that money on houses, boats, clothes, armor and whatever else I wanted :)

    • Ashtear@lemm.ee
      3·
      2 years ago

      It’s crazy how much of this game was exactly what I needed. I had lived not far from the Oregon coast during the time this was set. Spent a lot of time there. I left a couple years before this game out, just long enough to start missing it deeply. The visuals and the dialogue especially were so on point that it was deeply nostalgic for me. The story about losing and reconnecting with friends, the nerdy shit, all the anxieties, even the animist undertones, I connected with all of it. This game is even a big reason why I started following voice actors, as I was so impressed by Ashly Burch in this role. Chloe is why I played Before the Storm and the Farewell episode, too.

      This is the closest a game has ever felt to being tailor-made for me. It was a step on my mental health journey. I started journaling after playing this. And I started moving on.

        • Ashtear@lemm.ee
          2·
          2 years ago

          I don’t want to oversell it! So much of how the game connected with me was due to unique circumstances and a lot of coincidences.

          It’s not a bad game, though. Got pretty decent reviews.

    • Donnywholovedbowling@lemmy.world
      4·
      2 years ago

      I’m surprised and delighted to see this so high up! This was the first RPG I ever really got immersed in, and what an incredible ride it was.

      What can change the nature of a man? This game, apparently

        • Donnywholovedbowling@lemmy.world
          3·
          2 years ago

          Just noticed your username, what a great character. The whole arc with the unbroken circle of zerthimon… I might need to go ahead and reinstall.

          • InEnduringGrowStrong@sh.itjust.works
            1·
            2 years ago

            It’s one of the few games where I genuinely cared for the characters.
            Most RPGs these days, I end up becoming some variation of murderhobo because by the end I’m fed up with every other NPC or faction.

            Love the Planescape setting, love the characters.
            I played Numerana… but it didn’t scratch the itch.
            I didn’t finish it, maybe it got better, maybe it’s not for me.

            It’s been a few years since I reinstalled, maybe I should.

    • Ashtear@lemm.ee
      7·
      2 years ago

      This one’s the game that lives rent-free in my head and is impossible to evict even though I’d like to sometimes😅

  • Cris@lemm.ee
    10·
    2 years ago

    Borderlands. Couch co-op with my brother was pretty much what videogames was to me as a kid, and borderlands was always our favorite. I can’t wait to have a platform I can play borderlands 3 and the tiny Tina game on with him over the Christmases when hes back in town (I know they’re not quite as good, thats perfectly okay)

    These days, hollow knight is also genuinely very special to me. I don’t think there’s any game I hold in the same kind of place of reverence

    • limeaide@lemmy.mlOP
      2·
      2 years ago

      I recently finished Tomb Raider 2013! I actually uploaded a review here haha

      I had a lot of fun with it and I was thinking about finishing it 100% but I started playing something else instead. Maybe on my next run I will do that

  • rxbudian@lemmy.ca
    81·
    2 years ago

    Capitalism 2 It’s one of the older games, but it’s pretty good at learning to understand supply chains and costing

  • PM_ME_FEET_PICS@sh.itjust.works
    7·
    2 years ago

    There have been so many great games but I don’t think I’ve had as much fun in video games than I did in Minecraft or Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

    • stoehraj@midwest.socialEnglish
      2·
      2 years ago

      I played this after losing both of my maternal grandparents within weeks of each other a couple years back (they were both in their mid-90s and one of them brought COVID home) and Spiritfarer really helped me process my emotions and get through everything. Some of the characters reminded me of them in various ways, which was touching and cathartic. What a beautiful game.

    • vivadanang@lemm.eeEnglish
      21·
      2 years ago

      Also David Lynch’s batshit insane original movie.

      yeah, seeing the miniseries and the new film has given me a lot more appreciation for how fantastic Lynch’s execution really was. Still one of my all time favorites and I love the books (er, original herbert, not the son as much).

      If you liked that stuff, check out Herbert’s other writing, specifically the Dosadi Experiment and Whipping Star. Any universe that posits a Bureau of Sabotage that fights against the galactic bureaucracy becoming too effective gets my respect.

  • son_named_bort@lemmy.world
    5·
    2 years ago

    Sonic Adventure 2: Battle for the GameCube. I had rented it during Spring Break one year. I also got sick during that same Spring Break. Playing that game helped me though the sickness and kept me occupied when I probably would’ve went stir crazy otherwise.

  • Fracturedfox@sh.itjust.works
    5·
    2 years ago

    Like others have said. Hard to pick one.

    I had an Age of Empires demo disk that I played through dozens of times before actually receiving the full game.

    Crash Bandicoot for PS1 on Christmas day at 7 years old is definitely a core memory.

    But more recently I’ve really enjoyed games that have a good blend of story/gameplay or that really nail a theme. Subnautica was an awesome experience to play (dark room and good headphones are recommended for the first time playing through), Portal 2 because it was so unique (I played #2 before #1).