The last game where you felt "it".

[JimiHendrix]

I second that. Breaking the time loop knowing full well the consequences if you fail was a chilling moment that still makes my spine tingle. Sure, there aren't really any consequences for death in the game; Outer Wilds does a good job of drawing you into the story and making you feel like there are consequences however.

Spoiler

maybe i'm just stupid and didn't understand, but part of what made Outerwilds memorable for me was I was working under the assumption if I solved the mystery I could save them. I couldn't.

 

[Syikeblade]

Hollow Knight, I love exploring the world and finding secrets and lore. And the boss fights are difficult but gives a fun challenge my favorites being the tough version of Soul Master and the Mantis Lord's.

 

[The Fair Lady]

Probably Final Fantasy XV and the remake of 7. Prior to them it'd have to be the Mass Effect trilogy.

 

[Syaoran Li]

For me, it was Resident Evil 2 remake last year. RE2 was one of my all-time favorite games as a kid, and the remake blew me away

Prior to that, I'd say Final Fantasy XV, Mafia II, Red Dead Redemption, and New Vegas.

 

[Iodised Ant]

Crappy cash shop focused korean f2p system aside. I really enjoyed the geography of TERA. I loved mounting up and just exploring through every nook and cranny of that world. I'd love speculating the non existent lore about the ruins and structures that dotted the world.

 

[Balr0g]

The last game? that would be Persona 5 Royal, just like the original I just couldn't lay it away. Same goes for Ace Combat 7 which drew me in. More in the past it was Vampire: Bloodlines and Metal Marines (tahnk you SNES emulator)

 

[Myauspat]

Halo. Though I didn't know what I was doing half of the time, everything was still memorable.

 

[Get_your_kicks_with_30-06]

Doom Eternal is probably the most recent game that made me feel really excited to play a video game and the gameplay is so incredibly good that it is probably the closest thing to an adrenaline high you can get from a video game.

But no game will compare to playing New Vegas to me and the Fallout lore in general (pre Fallout 4 that is). I don't even want to begin to think how many hours I have put into New Vegas and the hours I have put into reading Fallout lore on the Nukapedia.

 

[The Last Stand]

The Sims.

Not only you could create your own character, but have them interact in the world and do what you want. Essentially, you created your own story. It felt like you could do and be whatever, whoever you want.

 

[Korpon]

Last games I can think of is New Vegas and RDR1 back in 2010, Rimworld, RDR2 and Halo MCC. Especially when Halo 2 dropped, damn that was some nostalgia, and I'm going through Halo 3 on Legendary now, it just brings me back to the good ol' days as a kid.

 

[Duncan Hills Coffee]

I've been feeling "it" a lot recently, probably because I've had so much free time thanks to Corona.

Yakuza 0 is easily my new favorite sandbox game because it has small but very intimate world in the forms of Kamurocho and Sotenburi. They're small, but they're crammed with so much detail and it's so much fun to stumble across a substory or a random fight. I also adore the combat and the story, and I love how the serious presentation of the story simultaneously contrasts and compliments the over the top fights.

Dragon Quest III is another one. I think that's the point where the series' signature grinding actually becomes satisfying. It's a nice, comforting feeling hacking away at enemies, gaining gold and experience to make your party that much stronger. It's strangely addictive in a way that captivates me more than other JRPGs with similar amounts of grinding. I especially love how the game opens up in the latter half once you get the ship and are free to explore basically the entire world.

 

[Bread Fetishist]

Rayman Legends, which I finished a few months back. While it wasn’t the last great game I played, it just filled me with nigh-unparalleled levels of joy and excitement. And those music levels were just plain delightful.

 

[LazarusOwenhart]

Spent today replaying Baldur's Gate 2. Dem Planasphere feels man. Fuck it, hook up with Aerie and chill.

 

[Sable]

I don't know about recently, but my first playthrough of each of the 'Souls games pretty much always has that feeling, but DS1 when you first get to Anor Londo is probably the strongest, as that was my first.

My first one was probably beating Lance in Gold/Silver, and the one I remember best is first leaving the sewers in TES: Oblivion.

 

[Mongo0o]

Super Mario Bros 3 & Castlevania IV.

 

[whatever I feel like]

Played the Witcher III earlier this year, randomly stumbled upon that lab on the island early in the playthrough and knew something was up there but couldn't get all the details. A lesser game like Oblivion would have locked you out.

 

[Smaug's Smokey Hole]

Games peaked with the release of The Devil Inside for me and idgaf if anyone even knows what that game is.

The Devil Inside was so god damn shit and jank combined with fun ideas. I remember it vividly but I also have a long time fascination with Cryo(the developer), their games aren't great but they often had something interesting going on. They're defunct now and in my opinion their spiritual successor is ACE Team.
Check out Dreams to Reality(it's very french) and for gods sake play it using software rendering to get the most MMX:y experience possible.

Back to The Devil Inside, I remember them shoehorning in bullet time at the last second to beat Max Payne to the punch. One cool thing was that the camera in third person was operated by a cameraman, like Lakitu in Mario 64, and I think you could accidentally kill him and a new one had to be sent in. The game was a reality TV show of some kind. (there was a first person mode as well)

They also made the From Dusk to Dawn game that Civvie11 did a video on, it uses the same engine as Devil Within which is easy to see, especially when looking at the origami style hands and arms.

 

[Uncle June]

I played through the 007: Everything or Nothing game on Xbox at least 40 or so times. Never got old or tiring in the slightest, and was one of the few games that I found to be absolutely flawless.

I was a young autist at the time though, so the rose colored tints are gone and I can see its flaws now, but the wonderment always stuck with me.

 

[The Last Stand]

I played through the 007: Everything or Nothing game on Xbox at least 40 or so times. Never got old or tiring in the slightest, and was one of the few games that I found to be absolutely flawless.

I was a young autist at the time though, so the rose colored tints are gone and I can see its flaws now, but the wonderment always stuck with me.

I remember playing Agent Under Fire on the PS2. I thought it was the best first person shooter on the PS2. Like an interactive movie. The gadgets, the action, the setpieces, absolutely amazing.

 

[LazarusOwenhart]

I played through the 007: Everything or Nothing game on Xbox at least 40 or so times. Never got old or tiring in the slightest, and was one of the few games that I found to be absolutely flawless.

I was a young autist at the time though, so the rose colored tints are gone and I can see its flaws now, but the wonderment always stuck with me.

The co-op campaign in EoN was incredible for killing a few hours with a friend.