Portal 2.
What games are just objective master pieces?
Submitted 2 days ago by weirdbeardgame@lemmy.world to games@lemmy.world
Comments
capuccino@lemmy.world 2 days ago
SaltSong@startrek.website 2 days ago
Portal 1 was flawless. Portal 2 had a crucial flaw.
Specifically, it was not Portal 1. Everything else was perfect.
capuccino@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Are you saying that Portal 2 is not perfect due is a sequel?
bamboo@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 days ago
This was a triumph
I’m making a note here
“Huge success”
It’s hard to overstate my satisfaction
Krauerking@lemy.lol 15 hours ago
So I think it’s actually really important that the games that would be co sidered objective masterpieces would have to overcome any language barriers and be an experience approachable by anyone. You can learn the mechanics to enjoy the gameplay without words
So:- Portal
- Journey
- Binding of Isaac
- Shadow of the Colossus
- Metro 2033 (which I have sat on and I believe even if it was entirely in Russian you would still get it )
- DOOM (original you don’t need words you shoot)
- Super Mario Bros. 3
- Katamari Damacy
Then there are dialogue option stories that are fantastic stories that I could sider greats but shareable masterpieces is hard to say as they rely on you speaking the language both literally and then gameplay wise:
- Stanley Parable
- Outer Wilds
- Tales From the Borderlands
- To the Moon
- Talos Principle
- Golf Club Wasteland
- Dead Space
theblips@lemm.ee 20 hours ago
Celeste. Emotional narrative that seamlessly blends with the gameplay, which implementa never before seen accessibility configuration, enhanced by one of the best soundtracks ever. All while being cheap, indie, and one of the best speedrun games ever made
Deflated0ne@lemmy.world 17 hours ago
RDR2. Witcher 3. Fallout New Vegas.
swordgeek@lemmy.ca 15 hours ago
- Portal 1/2 of course.
- Grim Fandango. (Flawed yes, but absolutely a masterpiece)
- Psychonauts.
- Fallout New Vegas.
- System Shock (the original).
- The Longest Journey.
- Mass Effect. Maybe.
fpslem@lemmy.world 10 hours ago
Portal 1 & 2 were the first to my mind as well. I really like this list, actually.
swordgeek@lemmy.ca 7 hours ago
Glad to hear it.
I’m tempted to add Red Dead Redemption 2 to the list, but it’s too new for me to decide yet.
I think it belongs. It was the greatest storytelling game I’ve played in a decade or more.
mechoman444@lemmy.world 15 hours ago
What’s left of edith finch.
Such an amazing game. Absolute masterpiece.
TheOakTree@lemm.ee 14 hours ago
This is the game I used to convince my film nerd friends that games can be art too. They really enjoyed playing through it!
Shardikprime@lemmy.world 17 hours ago
Spec Ops: The line
Basically the “committing war crimes isn’t funny after all” game
This is your fault, god-damnit 🫵
SCmSTR@lemmy.blahaj.zone 17 hours ago
Okay, now do it all on a bell curve.
What’s the most absolute medium game, to which all other games are compared to, and if worse, fail, or are better and pass?
Coelacanth@feddit.nu 17 hours ago
Oooooh I like that question. I feel like it would have to be some kind of Call of Duty, right? Some absolutely mediocre slop that still has enough mechanical satisfaction and mind-numbing explosion-and-cliché-filled story to keep you somewhat entertained, yet still remaining completely forgettable.
SCmSTR@lemmy.blahaj.zone 16 hours ago
The McDonald’s of videogames.
weirdbeardgame@lemmy.world 12 hours ago
Hell I’d make that a separate post!
Shardikprime@lemmy.world 15 hours ago
Pong.
It’s that or tetris
tal@lemmy.today 2 days ago
Just out of curiosity, listing the games mentioned here as of this writing and their date of release:
Release Date Game 1980 Pac-Man 1985 The Oregon Trail (assuming widely-played 1985 game) 1986 Kid Icarus 1988 Mega Man 2 1988 Super Mario Brothers 3 1988 Tetris 1988 The Guardian Legend 1989 Abadox: The Deadly Inner War 1989 Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II 1989 Monster Party 1989 Populous 1989 Sweet Home 1990 Dr. Mario 1990 Final Fantasy III 1991 Battletoads (assuming original game) 1991 The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 1992 Ecco the Dolphin 1992 Sonic the Hedgehog 2 1992 Super Mario Kart 1993 Dinopark Tycoon 1993 Doom 1993 Gauntlet IV 1993 Lufia & the Fortress of Doom (assuming first game) 1993 Mega Man X 1994 Donkey Kong Country 1994 Earthworm Jim 1994 Sonic & Knuckles 1994 Sonic the Hedgehog 3 1994 Super Metroid 1994 The Lion King 1995 Chrono Trigger 1997 Castlevania: Symphony of the Night 1997 Diablo 1997 Final Fantasy VII 1997 Final Fantasy VII 1997 Mega Man X4 1997 Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee 1997 Snowboard Kids 1998 Banjo-Kazooie 1998 Metal Gear Solid 1998 Sonic Adventure 1998 South Park 1998 StarCraft: Brood War 1999 Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings 1999 Heroes of Might and Magic III 1999 Planescape:Torment 1999 Quake III Arena 1999 RollerCoaster Tycoon 1999 Silent Hill 1999 Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike 1999 Sven Co-op 1999 Unreal Tournament 1999 Worms Armageddon 2000 Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 2000 Diablo II 2000 Resident Evil CODE: Veronica 2000 SimCity 3000 Unlimited 2000 Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 2001 Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies 2001 Final Fantasy X 2001 Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty 2001 Shenmue II 2002 The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind 2003 Beyond Good & Evil 2003 Need for Speed: Underground 2003 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2004 Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War 2004 Champions of Norrath 2004 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas 2004 Gran Turismo 4 2004 Half Life 2 2004 Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater 2004 The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap 2005 Champions: Return to Arms 2005 Psychonauts 2005 Shadow of the Colossus 2006 Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War 2006 Ōkami 2007 BioShock 2007 *Dark Souls 2007 Mass Effect 2007 Portal 2008 Clonk Rage 2008 Left 4 Dead 2008 Mirror’s Edge 2008 Super Smash Bros. Brawl 2009 Dragon Age: Origins 2009 Forza Motorsport 3 2009 Killing Floor 2009 Left 4 Dead 2 2009 Plants vs. Zombies 2009 Steins;Gate 2010 Battlefield: Bad Company 2 2010 Limbo 2010 Nier 2010 Planet Minigolf 2011 Bastion 2011 Portal 2 2011 Terraria 2011 The Binding of Isaac 2012 Hotline Miami 2012 The House in Fata Morgana 2012 Tokyo Jungle 2014 Forza Horizon 2 2014 LISA: The Painful 2015 Bloodborne 2015 Ori and the Blind Forest 2015 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 2015 Undertale 2016 Doom (2016) 2016 Kirby: Planet Robobot 2016 Stardew VAlley 2016 The Witness 2016 Titanfall 2 2016 Tyranny 2017 Little Nightmares 2017 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (for Deluxe version) 2017 Nier: Automata 2017 Night in the Woods 2017 Super Mario Odyssey 2017 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2018 Celeste 2018 Donut County 2018 Return of the Obra Dinn 2018 Rimworld 2018 Subnautica 2019 A Short Hike 2019 Disco Elysium 2019 Outer Wilds 2019 Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice 2019 Slay the Spire 2020 Cyberpunk 2077 2020 Factorio 2020 Hades 2021 Everhood: An Ineffable Tale of the Inexpressible Divine Moments of Truth 2021 Psychonauts 2 2022 Elden Ring 2022 Lil Gator Game 2023 Baldur’s Gate 3 2023 Dave the Diver 2024 Balatro Skunk@jlai.lu 2 days ago
2025: Clair Obscur Expedition 33.
Even if the year is not finished, this game is such a perfect work of art on so many levels that it became the new favorite to me, and to plenty other players.
QueenMidna@lemmy.ca 2 days ago
Going to have to disagree, especially when it comes to storytelling
mohab@piefed.social 12 hours ago
The only game I kinda like on this list is Okami.
TheFriar@lemm.ee 2 days ago
Has seriously no one mentioned The Last of Us? That’s crazy.
I think the second should be included.
As well as red dead redemption 2.
The storytelling is just top tier. Better than literally almost all media made today.
AsslessChaps@lemmynsfw.com 2 days ago
Rdr2 was the only game that I was actually emotionally tied to the characters. It was truly a masterpiece.
XM34@feddit.org 1 day ago
Last of Us 1 was really good. But the second one was so bad, it kind of ruined the first one for me as well. And I wouldn’t call it masterpiece. Because for me a masterpiece shines in gameplay, narrative and atmosphere. The Last of Us’ gameplay serves its purpose, but there’s really nothing special here compared to e.g. Elden Ring, were story, atmosphere and gameplay are all pretty much perfect.
TechAnon@lemm.ee 13 hours ago
1996: Duke Nukem 3D
biofaust@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Missing Half-life (the first one). That game was the first one to feature scripted scenes during player interaction and it was mind-blowing. Plus, it had the most sophisticated story ever seen in an FPS before.
noxypaws@pawb.social 2 days ago
Tokyo Jungle, YES!
A game so sadly lost to time. My partner’s PS3 still has it installed, but no idea if the hard drive is still functional…
TheHotze@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Since I haven’t seen it on here: FTL.
Ashiette@lemmy.world 1 day ago
There are a lot of answers, mine will be drowned but… there it is. In no particular order :
- Final Fantasy X
- Clair Obscur : Expedition 33
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2 (but you had to be there when it came out)
- Metal Gear Solid 3
- Shadow Hearts : Covenant
- Kya : Dark Lineage (the bugs were a feature)
- Horizon : Zero Dawn
- Megaman (any megaman will do)
- Crash Bandicoot Trilogy
- Spyro Trilogy
- Pokemon Yellow/Crystal/Emerald
- Pokemon Jade (yes that bootleg version)
- The Last of Us (pt. I & II)
- Astroneer
- GTA : Vice City
- Unreal Tournament 2004
- CS 1.6 played in the most dirty lan at your disposal
- Control
- Tetris
LanguageIsCool@lemmy.world 17 hours ago
Just started BG3. Fuckin mind-blowingly amazing.
Ashiette@lemmy.world 16 hours ago
If you really liked BG3 you might also like Neverwinter Nights 2 and DA:O. I heard there was a remaster of Neverwinter Nights 2 in the works, maybe give it a try when it comes out.
salmoura@lemmy.eco.br 2 days ago
Factorio.
dantheclamman@lemmy.world 15 hours ago
Immersive sims: Prey, Dishonored, Deus Ex Story-driven: The Last of Us, Horizon Zero Dawn, Halo, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Uncharted, HL2, Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, Splinter Shock Platformer: Braid, Ori and the Blind Forest, Mario 64, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Limbo Action/roguelike: Bastion, Hades RPG: Fallout: New Vegas, Mass Effect Puzzle: Lumines, Puzzle Quest, World of Goo, You Must Build a Boat, Reigns, Threes, Meteos Other: Desert Golfing
Krauerking@lemy.lol 15 hours ago
I always forget how absolutely awesome Escape From Butcher Bay is until I’m reminded of its existence and its shockingly unfair to that game.
dantheclamman@lemmy.world 15 hours ago
I’d kill for a new Riddick game!
frank@sopuli.xyz 2 days ago
I think Outer Wilds is the most unique and fantastic way to tell a story I’ve ever experienced. Truly open in a way I’ve not seen before or since.
With the banger of a soundtrack too, I just can’t bring myself to rate other games higher than it; even if I enjoy them more, Outer Wilds is probably the best game I’ve ever played.
Slay the Spire probably makes the list as it’s inspired countless tweaks on its incredibly balanced deck building experience
BlameTheAntifa@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Disco Elysium Alpha Centauri Super Marios Bros 3 Bloodborne Ori 1 & 2 Fallout 1 & 2 Planescape: Torment
Tillman@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Atari: Frogger NES: RBI Baseball / Tecmo Bowl Genesis: Phantasy Star IV N64: Ocarina PSX: FF IX PSP: Lumines Saturn: Panzer Dragoon Dreamcast: Rez and Skies of Arcadia PS2 Vice City XBOX: PD Orta 360: Child of Eden / Shadow Complex PC agree with all yours. Would add Syndicate Witcher 3 DS: Dawn of Sorrow Neo Geo: Last Blade 2
Allero@lemmy.today 13 hours ago
Honestly, many of them you know full well, but that’s because yes, they are that good:
- Minecraft
- TES III Morrowind and TES V Skyrim
- The Witcher 1 and 3
- Deus Ex Human Revolution and Mankind Divided
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Dishonored 1 and 2
- Warcraft III and World of Warcraft
Completely deserve their legendary status
ZeroHora@lemmy.ml 1 day ago
- Chrono Trigger
- Disco Elysium
- Sekiro
- Zelda Ocarina of Time
- Bioshock
- Portal
- Half Life
- Nier Automata
- Tetris
Flawed Masterpieces
- Minecraft (surprising)
- Dragon age Origins
- Team Fortress 2
- Fallout New Vegas
- Dark Souls
- Every Baldur’s Gate
Masterpiece in my heart: Terraria
jacksilver@lemmy.world 13 hours ago
I’m always curious why people add things like Ocarina of Time to lists like these. While the game was revolutionary at the time, I don’t think it holds up particularly well nor succeeds where later zeldas fail.
To call it an objective masterpiece I feel like it has to be a game that someone picking up today would still enjoy and appreciate. Tetris and Portal for example hold up well even by today’s standards.
ZeroHora@lemmy.ml 12 hours ago
The thing that not holds well in Ocarina of Time is the N64 controls and like what they supposed to do to overcome that?
Coelacanth@feddit.nu 1 day ago
Good list. I desperately wanted to put Dark Souls on my list, as the first blind playthrough of it was a magical experience. But I don’t think it’s correct, no matter how much I love it. Flawed masterpiece is about right.
darthelmet@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Yeah the souls games are something I like in spite of all of the things wrong with them. There is just so much jank and bizarre design decisions.
I kinda hate that all of the games that have tried to copy them have done so to a point of not critically evaluating everything in them. And then they have all the same flaws, but none of the unique charm that makes me look past them for FROM’s games.
GaMEChld@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Super Metroid
user_name@lemmy.world 14 hours ago
Minesweeper.
Simple, endlessly playable.
SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 days ago
Holy shit somehow no one has mentioned:
Nier Automata.
It counts as a masterpiece because of how well it blends game design and story. I have played very few games as thoughtful, or that weaved the gameplay together into the story it was telling in such a meaningful way. I never thought once in my life that I would think philosophically about bullet hell but somehow Nier Automata has something profound to say and even manages to say it using bullet hell as a gameplay mechanic.
On top of all this, it also has a lot to say about classical philosophers, their works, and honestly deeply subverts things they had to say.
Further, Yoko Taro is doing something that a lot of game developers fail to manage to do: He is embracing gaming as a storytelling medium and eschewing the traditional three-act arc from film. Because gaming is not film. As Marshall McLuhan posited, “the medium is the message” and unlike other developers Taro’s writing is aimed at the medium he is working in instead of leaning on the ropes and tropes of other mediums. (Referring back to above, tying the gameplay into the story, focusing on the medium)
It’s basically impossible to not break down into tears at the ending.
Don’t write it off because of the scantily clad anime women. Stay for the depth of the human condition. It is truly a masterwork in multiple respects.
MarauderIIC@lemmy.zip 2 days ago
I appreciate that you justified your submission, unlike many answers here.
Bbbbbbbbbbb@lemmy.world 2 days ago
It’s basically impossible to not break down into tears at the ending.
The god damn ending is a gameplay mechanic to tell a not yet finished story. Damn you Yoko Taro
SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 days ago
spoiler
The wild part is that he’s so good at subverting anime tropes, too. The “killing god” trope is mentioned in the first lines of the game… and then going on to battling the end credits themselves?? Literally killing the gods who created the world this all exists in? Taking it to the absurd yet logical extreme, so brilliant.
msage@programming.dev 1 day ago
I tried to play that game, expecting perhaps a DMC-like gameplay.
Instead I got a 2D plane scroller?
Then 2D sort of platformer?
Then some weird 3D action that I did not understand at all?
What the fuck is that game.
If I enjoyed combat more, I could give it another go. But it was just not for me.
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
Nier Automata
I loved Nier Replicant, but didn’t get into Automata, maybe I’ll give it another shot. I do love that style of storytelling though.
Katana314@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Man, I wish I understood a single bit of this evaluation of the game after finishing every chapter (sorry - “Ending”). The whole thing felt mostly like a waste of time.
That said, I’m a fan of Spec Ops: The Line, a game that has much the same level of division among its players. Interesting how philosophical games get that reaction.
mintiefresh@lemmy.ca 2 days ago
One of my favorite games of all time.
TomSelleck@lemm.ee 2 days ago
I didn’t know Chris Plante is on Lemmy.
shrodes@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Quick, go through their post history and see if they’ve mentioned any Neil Breen films
SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 days ago
For a moment I thought you were talking about the Newsmax host and I was very offended and confused, but it looks like there is another, lesser known Chris Plante in gaming journalism.
ThraawnSolo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 day ago
Zelda: A Link to the Past
Jordan117@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Katamari Damacy. It has a reputation for being silly Japanese nonsense, but the gameplay is brilliant, the graphics are timeless, the soundtrack is incredible, and it has some surprising thematic depth.
weirdbeardgame@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Na naaaaa na na na na na, na na, na naaaa Katamari Damacyyyyyyy
Coelacanth@feddit.nu 2 days ago
We’ll see how much is recency bias and how well it will stand the test of time, but I really think Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 will be on this list going forward. It’s definitely one of the best games I’ve ever played, and I’ve played a lot of games. It’s not perfect, but it’s close enough in all the parts that actually matter.
Otherwise there’s your usual suspects:
Disco Elysium Portal Half-Life 2 Bioshock 1 Final Fantasy VI Chrono Trigger Zelda: Ocarina of Time The Last of Us Baldur’s Gate 2
SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 day ago
Props for DE being at the top of your list.
puia@lemm.ee 1 day ago
I still have to play it, but Clair Obscus seems like this year Baldur’s Gate 3, which is rare. A game that came out of no where and is ready to win goty
Coelacanth@feddit.nu 1 day ago
I know this is a hot take, but: BG3 is a good game. Clair Obscur is a work of art.
Redacted@lemmy.zip 1 day ago
Slay the Spire
inb4_FoundTheVegan@lemmy.world 1 day ago
It’s a niche masterpiece, but my 600 hours of play time agrees I am in that niche
UnfairUtan@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Outer wilds
kinther@lemmy.world 17 hours ago
SOMA was great
FeelzGoodMan420@eviltoast.org 8 hours ago
I’ve been craving another experience like SOMA but unfortunately nothing even comes close. It was probably the coolest and most disturbing story I’ve ever seen. Finishing that game gave me an existential crisis for like 2 days after. It was that good.
Tattorack@lemmy.world 14 hours ago
I’d say games that have set the standard for their genre, and have not been surpassed, would be the only ones that count.
- Half Life 1 and then again with 2
- Half Life Alyx
- Age of Empires II
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Warframe
- Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando
- Knights of the Old Republic
- Fallout: New Vegas
- Crash Bandicoot: Warped
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and then again with Tears of the Kingdom
- Elden Ring
- Hollow Knight
- Dirt Rally
- The World Ends With You (the original NDS version)
iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
None. There’s no such thing as an objective master piece. Games are art which is, by definition, subjective.
rustydrd@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
Assuming that “masterpiece” refers to how the games worked in their time (not how well they aged) some of my picks would be:
- Baldur’s Gate 2 + ToB
- Morrowind
- Read Dead Redemption 2
- The Witcher 3
- The Last of Us 1+2
- God of War
- The Legend of Zelda: BOTW
- Mass Effect 1+2
- Half Life 2
- BioShock 1
- Diablo 2
setsneedtofeed@lemmy.world 2 days ago
MEDIA APPRECIATION DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY, GOOD NIGHT!
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