Which games blow your mind, but only if you know nothing about them in advance?
Best examples I can think of are:
- Outer Wilds
- Doki Doki Literature Club
- The Stanley Parable
What are yours?
(please no spoilers)
You must log in or register to comment.
Surprised I haven’t seen Undertale yet. The online fanbase is hilariously toxic, (seriously, don’t go looking for any extra details about the game after you finish it) but it’s a solid game that should be experienced 100% blind. All I’ll say is that it’s a game that is written to subvert expectations; If you go into it expecting to play it like a traditional RPG, you’ll be in for a big surprise.
Subnautica I guess
+1 for Outer Wilds
ANIMAL WELL
Subnautica. You can only play it for the first time once.
Absolutely this. I am jealous each time I recommend it to someone who hasn’t played it yet.
I’m glad there was a thread about Subnautica in here.
absolutely stunning, especially if one has any kind of decent audio system
I tried it a few years ago and gave up after an hour of not knowing what to do. But I had this week off and tried it again, it I’m really enjoying it this time. It’s not like anything else, and once that initial bump is passed its learning curve is really quite good.
It is one of my all-time favorite games. I have unfortunately played it to death; I’ve run out of stupid challenge runs. The game has a story and uniquely for survival games it has an ending, there’s a Win The Game button. But the game is as much about the story you’re going to create; the way you choose to go about things, the order you decide to explore in, the happenstances of your adventure are maybe more important than what the wiki says the story is. Savor that.
I will offer this hint. I don’t think it’s a spoiler; I think there is a strong possibility this hint will prevent you from alt-tabbing out to look up the wiki and accidentally encounter a spoiler. But I will tag it as a spoiler anyway.
spoiler
If you find yourself without an immediate goal, you’re milling about the ocean thinking “well now what?” Go deeper.
Return to the Obra Dinn, you are a insurance auditor
I wish I could erase all my memories of Obra Dinn, just so I could experience it again for the first time 🥺 Also that soundtrack slaps!
The real answer will always be Outer Wilds.
But also…
Fez. It definitely inspired Animal Well and Tunic.
Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons
An astonishingly good story line that can only be really appreciated blind.
For those of you who remember TotalBiscuit, he rated this as one of his favourite games.
Maybe literally the only game that’s ever done storytelling through gameplay mechanics-- really cool concept
Death Stranding would like a word…
haven’t played it-- how do the mechanics change with the story?
Honestly… I would say that the game fits with the theme of the original post, and explaining it would ruin the magic.
I will say that not only do the mechanics change based on the story, but there is an entire asynchronous online system where users help other users (that they will never see or meet in game) to construct be infrastructure to make travel for others (they will never see or meet) easier.
Then those mechanics feed back into the actual story. It’s kind of wild.
I know it’s a divisive game, but I will say it’s a masterpiece imo. Even if only for those mechanics.
And yes, the controls change based on how the load you’re carrying is balanced. I believe the definitive way to play is the Definitive Edition on PS5 with the DualSense controller since the adaptive triggers become harder to press as your load increases.
a lot of games do this?
sorry, badly phrased-- I was trying not to give away the mechanic. In the game the literal controls on your keyboard/controller get altered in order to advance the story
Pony island, 0,75 cent on sale right now on steam.
Doki Doki should be 90% blind. Players need to understand they’re going into a horror game.
But I’ll also add one, Detroit: Become Human. While it’s based on replaying it a massive number of times, going in blind makes the story a lot better.
David Cage gets lots of shit for his games, but If you experience them blind without spoilers ahead of time I find they’re pretty good interactive movies.
My gf watched me play through all of Detroit, and then started to wonder “what would happen if x didn’t y?” Aaaand rabbit hole time.
Subnautica. Just bopping along, in my cute little submarine.
I had no background and nearly shat myself at a moment you can probably guess lol
A moment? I had a few during my first playthrough. PD, RL, W, T, DL. And many moments of forgetting to keep an eye on that oxygen meter lol.
Hollow knight. The exploration of that game is absolutely the pinnacle of world layouts
Minesweeper
I don’t know if you’re being sarcastic, but your comment is so true it hurts. When you first figure out how minesweeper works, your mind is blown away.
Subnautica.
Survival. But you’re in the middle of an ocean. Good luck!
The way the game drip feeds you information. I love it!
Is it available for android?
No, but it’s on Nintendo Switch, PC/Steam, and a few other consoles, I believe!
I think it may be my favorite game of all time, so if you choose to play it, I hope you have fun!
