Game with the biggest emotional impact?

G

GlimpseDart

Guest
Ok, so what game have you played - that had the biggest emotional impact on you?

It doesn't have to be good or bad. Just something you actually felt and recognised.
 
Games when I was younger - notably the endings to Torment & Fallout 1; I find it difficult to get emotionally wound up in a game as an adult as I did back when I was young and everything was new.

Welcome back, Dart! (for now:gorath:)
 
Joined
Nov 10, 2008
Messages
5,980
Location
Florida, USA
The Last of Us is up there. I still watch clips of the ending from time to time. The first Bioshock and its big reveal. Ramses and Photopia (text adventures)
 
Joined
Aug 31, 2013
Messages
4,918
Location
Portland, OR
JFarrell71 said:
The Last of Us is up there. I still watch clips of the ending from time to time. The first Bioshock and its big reveal. Ramses and Photopia (text adventures)
Click to expand...

Funny you should mention Last of Us and Bioshock, as they're also my favorites in this way.

Though, for me, it was Bioshock Infinite and not the original Bioshock.

Last of Us had the strongest beginning - and Infinite the strongest ending :)

Both had a tremendous effect on me. I actually cried during Last of Us (the giraffe scene).
 
Red Dead Redemption 1 epilogue, back in the day, almost made me want to found a familly.

The Last of Us prologue, with the tragic death of a little girl.
I don't know about lasting impact, but it's a really sad scene. I cried a little...
 
Joined
Jul 27, 2018
Messages
1,026
Location
France
Still Last of Us for me, I'm afraid. I was right there with them.

Bioshock Infinite was also brilliant, but I always found the gameplay in the Bioshock games a bit lacking - I found all the powers and charms a bit too wacky and nonsensical, in a way that pulled me out of it. Whatever the limitations of Last of Us, it all felt right to me.
 
Joined
Nov 8, 2014
Messages
12,085
Ripper said:
Still Last of Us for me, I'm afraid. I was right there with them.

Bioshock Infinite was also brilliant, but I always found the gameplay in the Bioshock games a bit lacking - I found all the powers and charms a bit too wacky and nonsensical, in a way that pulled me out of it. Whatever the limitations of Last of Us, it all felt right to me.
Click to expand...

I agree about Bioshock gameplay. It wasn't bad, but it also wasn't that interesting.

I consider Infinite the superior shooter - but it wasn't as interesting as Bioshock in terms of build choices.

That said, both of them are inferior to System Shock 2.

But in terms of story, I think Bioshock Infinite is the one single game - out of the literally thousands I've played - that had my jaw actually drop at the very end.

For me, the last 30-60 minutes just knocked me completely off my feet - and I will never forget that.

The Elizabeth theme playing during the credits tied everything together for me :)
 
I recently cried a little playing X4: Foundations after saving $50m for a carrier and placing my order, only to have the religious-zealot faction blow up the shipyard before it could be built. :(
 
Joined
Sep 16, 2010
Messages
4,813
I've got no problem with the game, other than it has captured my mind more than it probably should. It's a damn masterpiece, if a bit buggy.
 
Joined
Sep 16, 2010
Messages
4,813
Capt. Huggy Face said:
I've got no problem with the game, other than it has captured my mind more than it probably should. It's a damn masterpiece, if a bit buggy.
Click to expand...

It's in my Steam library :)

But I haven't really been able to get into the X series since the first one.

They all seem a little too lonely and clunky.
 
It's still lonely and clunky. It's an X game. But it's also brilliant. Its essentially X3 combined with the 1st-person stuff from Rebirth, and everything just works now. Well, mostly. If you give it a go, get yourself the pilot-skill-tweak mod, named something close to that, and "Go Home, Drone." With those two, the game works.
 
Joined
Sep 16, 2010
Messages
4,813
Off the top of my head, I also name Last of Us and Bioshock Infinite. I also absolutely loved when Geralt finds Ciri in Witcher 3, for the first time. I felt a real gut-punch before realizing what had happened. Geralt showed real emotion in that scene. That cinematic was masterful.

Another series, which I'm not sure if I felt an emotional punch during, but felt one after having understood the timelines, was the Legacy of Kain series. For for an actual high-point I guess I could name when Raziel's destiny comes full circle.
 
Joined
Jul 31, 2007
Messages
6,359
danutz_plusplus said:
Off the top of my head, I also name Last of Us and Bioshock Infinite. I also absolutely loved when Geralt finds Ciri in Witcher 3, for the first time. I felt a real gut-punch before realizing what had happened. Geralt showed real emotion in that scene. That cinematic was masterful.
Click to expand...

Agreed about that Witcher 3 scene. Same goes for several scenes in W3 - and I loved the entirety of the Bloody Baron stuff as well, including everything involving the ladies of the woods.
 
GlimpseDart said:
Agreed about that Witcher 3 scene. Same goes for several scenes in W3 - and I loved the entirety of the Bloody Baron stuff as well, including everything involving the ladies of the woods.
Click to expand...

Oh, man I just got goose-bumps after having remembered the sad ending (for the barron) to the bloody baron quest-line. That really left me bumed out.

I also felt something special during Firewatch, I think. The two main voice actors were fantastic in that. There was real chemistry between the two of them.
 
Joined
Jul 31, 2007
Messages
6,359
Oh, and another very strong point for me was in Bloodborne when you finally get enough insight to "see" what's sprawled all over Yharnam. I real bone chilling moment when something horrifying, that was always present, reveals itself to have always been in plain sight. I suddenly felt to small and insignificant. Fantastic implementation by FromSoft. That game really has the best implementation for the classic lovecraft idea that knowing too much about something drives you mad.
 
Joined
Jul 31, 2007
Messages
6,359
Yeah, the Witcher series, 3 in particular, is a big one for me as well. There are several scenes that had some impact (Trish being tortured comes to mind, and the choice of whether or not Geralt's love for Yennefer was merely because of a spell), but none moreso than the ending of Blood & Wine when you just felt like a long and signficant journey was coming to an end, and you were saying goodbye to a friend.
 
Joined
Aug 31, 2013
Messages
4,918
Location
Portland, OR
Just had a thought. Fear is an emotion, right? :)

Well, in that case - I have to mention Alien Isolation, because there's no other game out there that comes close in terms of provoking fear in me.

It's the only game I've ever played where I had to take breaks literally every 20-30 minutes or so. It was that intense.

I only completed it out of sheer stubborn principle, because I couldn't accept being too afraid :)

Of course, it didn't help that it was massively padded for the relatively simplistic formula it ended up representing. What's worse is that I found the story incredibly dull and unimaginative. In fact, I can't remember anything about it.

But, man, the sheer terror it managed to convey.....
 
Probably exiting the boat in Seyda Neen in Morrowind. The emotion was awe. Seeing the giant tic and the twin moons for the first time just left me stunned. Probably for minutes. I had been supporting the development through Dalnet and had spent years with Bethesda by that time. Seeing their product hit the light of day, just left a lasting impression. It is probably that piece of time that has kept me a fan of their company.

I haven't played most of the games you folks mention, but the Baron quest was amazing. In general, I found Witcher 3 underwhelming, but that quest was one for the ages. I was kinda hoping that Geralt would finally find Ciri and she'd be in bed with Dandelion. Geralt was a man whore, so I was hoping his protege would get back at him with his buddy :D
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
8,836
Bard's Tale III. Completing it after playing for so many years growing up simply felt incredible. It was a pity the journey had to end in some ways. A very satisfying game for me and certainly a formative cRPG experience.

Ultima IV wove philosophy and ethical considerations into a gaming world where the notion of self-relflection and understanding played a massive role. Given I had recently completed a major in philosophy at uni at the time of playing, this was quite a radical and powerful idea. Again, completing it felt amazing and insightful. It's a shame no other cRPG in recent times has really had a similar effect.

As far as modern games, the finale to the The Walking Dead Season 1 by Tell Tale had some strong impact. I was surprised at how engaged I was with that narrative and the quasi-paternal instincts the Clementine character created through the central relationship. A friend of mine and I even had an argument over the end of the second game as to which choice was the more "ethical". I still need to get to part three actually to see how it all panned out for her.
 
Joined
Jul 12, 2009
Messages
1,975
Location
Australia
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom