For a lot of the same reasons Silent Hill does.
After the first playthrough it's just autistically sneaking around, most of the atmospherics are old hat by then, and the jumpscares & murders in the dark are planned for.
Yeah but the second playthrough is also great. Leading newbies around to get the scarf pieces is rewarding in its own way. Also the white/gold pallet swap is really nice.
Dark Souls , no playthrough will ever be as stressful as the first.
Subnautica, once you know what to do and you've explored the entire map, doing it again is pretty mundane, but the first time is a killer.
The Phoenix Wright games, less for the plot (since most of it is heavily telegraphed with regards to who the killer is) but for the bizarre yet sensible moon logic that powers some of the debates. The one exception is Dual Destinies. That game does something entirely unexpected in its third act that would be ruined if I was less vague about it. Similarly, Ghost Trick. If you want an excellent game with a silly Saturday morning plot that will absolutely gut punch you in the third act, play it blind.
Also, Persona 5. I’m hesitant to even hint at this but whatever, this isn’t a direct spoiler as much as it is just a vague pointer in the direction of the thing that might give it away:
One of the game’s major themes is about forming messages to the public that manipulate their emotions for your own gain, and how a properly framed message will be accepted regardless how innately wrong it is in context. The game proceeds to pull this on you over the course of its plot by presenting you with something incredibly wrong early on that you just sort of accept due to the framing (the thing is so out of place that everyone I know who’s played it comments on it when they encounter it and then immediately ignores it), only for that thing to be critical to the plot in the last hour or so.
One of the game’s major themes is about forming messages to the public that manipulate their emotions for your own gain, and how a properly framed message will be accepted regardless how innately wrong it is in context. The game proceeds to pull this on you over the course of its plot by presenting you with something incredibly wrong early on that you just sort of accept due to the framing (the thing is so out of place that everyone I know who’s played it comments on it when they encounter it and then immediately ignores it), only for that thing to be critical to the plot in the last hour or so.
Igor's voice, that's really not so much of a spoiler as to ruin the game. Yaldabaoth ended up being a very weak villain and the twist wasn't really that much of a shocker, especially considering Persona 3 and 4 already did the "trusted authority figure who you let your guard down around" trope. I can replay the game just find and not really care about it. I'd say the Phantom Thieves pulling one over Akechi is the more effective twist, and it makes that section of the game kind of amusing on subsequent playthroughs.
Really, Persona 5 is one of the few RPGs that you can replay and still enjoy the story (when you're not skipping the obnoxious scenes). Most of the twists are very telegraphed or otherwise not too shocking on first playthroughs, and the anime diversion shit is fun to watch no matter how much you've played it. What prevents me from replaying it a bunch is the fact that it's incredibly tedious.
Knowing how RDR2 plays out dampens the impact of most of the scenes, especially if you've seen them for yourself. I'll never forget Sean, & Arthur's deaths, the former because I hadn't seen it coming, the latter because I saw it in a fucking stream that counts how many times they say the word "BOAH".
Really, Persona 5 is one of the few RPGs that you can replay and still enjoy the story (when you're not skipping the obnoxious scenes). Most of the twists are very telegraphed or otherwise not too shocking on first playthroughs, and the anime diversion shit is fun to watch no matter how much you've played it. What prevents me from replaying it a bunch is the fact that it's incredibly tedious.
Yeah, that was the thing/theme I was referring to. Agreed about the pace of the game definitely ruining subsequent playthroughs, I felt it really hard since I wound up picking it up after playing through P4 in an emulator on fast forward. I really wish that'd be a standard feature for JRPGs since a lot of stuff I'd probably replay in a decade or two have a memorably long dungeon slog that can't be cheesed past, or cutscenes with unnecessary 20 second pauses. I guess I could always EXP cheat, though.
Hotel Dusk
since its a mystery game figuring out Dunning was scammed into making paintings for his daughter and Bradly was a good guy all along trying to kill those in Nile for messing with his sister is a sorta feel that hit me big time, though I heard the new game plus has a reveal that adds to the ending, it never really hits the feels like it does the first time
The Phoenix Wright games, less for the plot (since most of it is heavily telegraphed with regards to who the killer is) but for the bizarre yet sensible moon logic that powers some of the debates. The one exception is Dual Destinies. That game does something entirely unexpected in its third act that would be ruined if I was less vague about it. Similarly, Ghost Trick. If you want an excellent game with a silly Saturday morning plot that will absolutely gut punch you in the third act, play it blind.
Also, Persona 5. I’m hesitant to even hint at this but whatever, this isn’t a direct spoiler as much as it is just a vague pointer in the direction of the thing that might give it away:
One of the game’s major themes is about forming messages to the public that manipulate their emotions for your own gain, and how a properly framed message will be accepted regardless how innately wrong it is in context. The game proceeds to pull this on you over the course of its plot by presenting you with something incredibly wrong early on that you just sort of accept due to the framing (the thing is so out of place that everyone I know who’s played it comments on it when they encounter it and then immediately ignores it), only for that thing to be critical to the plot in the last hour or so.
Really? I always loved going back to shu takumi’s works every now and then, yeah you never really experience that same “WHAT” feeling every time you re-discover a batshit insane plot twist but everything is just so well written that you can’t help but go back just to experience the plot and appreciate all the little bits and pieces of foreshadowing that lead up to the truth at the end.
I’ve returned to play it but the twist in KOTOR was the most mind blowing moment I had as a younger gamer. I’ve never had that sense of awe and shock replicated when I played any other rpg.
I would say any game based on puzzles and figuring things out, for obvious reasons.
But otherwise, I’d say games heavy on the story that have big things happen to refrain everything. So games like Silent Hill 2 and Lisa The Painful. Both are great story that are made better by the ending.
Deadly Premonition. Not only will you not want to play it twice because so much of the gameplay is ridiculous, but an odd and hilarious game goes off the fucking rails in the last act.
I'm going to be a basic white girl and say, in all seriousness, Life is Strange. Reputation as a tumblr game aside, I went into it not knowing what to expect, but that game killed me. Episode 4's ending left me just screaming "what the fuck", and episode 5 just left me quietly contemplating my life choices.
Advanced Wars 2. On paper there is a lot of variety in units/COs/mechanics, but the second half of the campaign amounts to "beat the mission the way IntSys intended or get stalemated/routed" . Even missions where you get to choose your CO or control multiple armies at once fall under this; there's an obvious best choice and some of the other options (looking at you here Sami and Sonja) aren't worth considering outside of a challenge or gimmick run.
Advanced Wars 2. On paper there is a lot of variety in units/COs/mechanics, but the second half of the campaign amounts to "beat the mission the way IntSys intended or get stalemated/routed" . Even missions where you get to choose your CO or control multiple armies at once fall under this; there's an obvious best choice and some of the other options (looking at you here Sami and Sonja) aren't worth considering outside of a challenge or gimmick run.
The entire AW series did have some serious problems with having maps where you had to basically just figure out exactly how the weird AI reacts to everything, since none of its actions are randomized. Like the War Room had tons of gigantic maps that were imbalanced in favor of the computer to a silly degree, and I guess you were just supposed to figure out exactly how to push through.
Though this wasn't so much a problem in Dual Strike, where you could stomp just about anyone with a leveled-up Colin/Sasha duo. Buy neotanks for pennies on the dollar, switch to Sasha, use your super CO power to do two turns in a row and roll credits.
Also shout out to Rachel, who has Sturm's CO power (so, very OP) except she's the first character you get in the game. It's the best game for anyone who just loves easy comp stomping.
You know I’m suddenly picturing hotline Miami if it was released today with modern minimalist UI that looks like baby’s first unity game. I do not want to live in that reality.
