isaac io

outer wilds - i could beat it in 10 minutes now that i already know everything. playing through echoes of the eye with my girlfriend for our first times was really cool too and it'd be so cool if we could have done the whole game, although the base game has a lot more reading than echoes of the eye

the witness - once you've learned the rules there's no way to unlearn them. the only thing left to do is look at the pretty world and try the challenge.

SMT Persona 4, to relive all the twists and turns of the plot, it was my first foray into SMT and been hooked ever since. While I can still enjoy the story, the first time is just unmatched.

Honorable mention to Zero Escape, for similar reasons, haha.

(and a dishonorable mention to kingdom hearts as a whole, would pretty much just like to forget it ever happened)

I think for me it would be Minit. It's a very short puzzle game with a super cool premise, it's all about opening enough shortcuts to beat the entire game in under one minute. Going around the world and discovering secrets was a delight, even with the limited time constraints. I felt like a genius every time I progressed.

And also, not technically an entire game, just a specific moment: I wish I could relive the moment I first met Thanatos in Hades. I'm usually very hard to please when it comes to romanceable NPCs in video games, and I knew that Hades did let the player romance certain characters, but I simply wasn't interested in any of them.

Until I saw Thanatos that is. I felt like everything in that encounter was tailor made for me to like him... I felt like that gif of Vince Mcmahon with every line he spoke. It was like the stars had aligned to give me this moment of pure surprise, confusion and delight all at the same time.

I don't think I'll ever experience something like that in a game ever again, which is a shame 😔

My first pick is probably Bravely Default, but Undertale would definitely be a good choice, specially since I didn't get to play it blind, I already knew about hald the gsme when I went in, and I wish I could have had the true newcomer experience with it.

And as an added bonus: all those games I left halfway through years ago, which I remember clearly enough so a new playthrough would feel boring for the first half, but not clearly enough as to feel confident jumping right into the middle of the game. Looking at you, Chrono Trigger and FFX.

I will never get "Playing Obra Dinn for the first time," again. I want that back

I'm gonna cheat and say EVERHOOD, probably one of my favorite games. It's hard to stress how much I love the themes it presents and it's music is fucking amazing but literally talking in specificity about any of it will spoil some of its most effective moments.

I think Heat Signature. Like your Doom example, its not like a game with a huge emotional impact but the experience of discovering that game and getting really good with it was awesome.

is it cheating to say my own game, Copy Kitty? It's the one game that i truly never had a chance to experience on my own, i already knew everything about it at every stage of development. I feel like it'd be pretty transcendental to experience my own work "for real" and see how good it truly is!

if not that, then i'm not actually sure... i really value the memories of everything i've played, and how everything else has built upon it over the years. If i had to pick, maybe Metroid Prime?

Spiritfarer. Ignore the “”””cozy”””” descriptors, I found the game kinda of heartbreaking. I love a management game but I was so caught off guard by the characters and their stories. Imperfect ghosts trying find comfort in their final days.

13 Sentinels, Death Stranding, Nier Automata and BOTW!

FFXIV: Endwalker. It's interesting to see them again on a repeat, but that also points out its flaws and makes me get distracted by things that don't really make sense if I think about them more. It doesn't exactly ruin the game, but it does lose the magic of the first time through. I was bawling by the ending because it just hit so hard. Who knows maybe it'll still hit somewhat. idk.

Nier: Automata would probably be my next pick. I keep thinking I should play it again. I haven't because what would I even get out of it when I already know BECOME AS GODS is coming. what a fucking game.

I need to play Heaven's Vault, it looks so cool

Tales of Symphonia, but I think if I did that in the first place I'd instantly lose about 78% of my entire personality.

Honest to god it's most of the games I've played. Subnautica, Undertale/Deltarune (easy picking), Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass, Bug Fables, I could probably name so many. Doom 2016 is definitely on there.

If I absolutely had to pick one, it'd be Outer Wilds. That game is absolutely beautiful and you can't explain why without spoiling it, and it has near-zero replayability because the entire game revolves around the story and world.

KILLER7

After some thought, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective. The characters were great and the story was a good mix of serious and silly. It has the best boy, interesting mechanics, and good writing with great twists. It was a great experience. Getting to relive all that for the first time again would be amazing! I’m happy it got a remake and got into the hands of a new generation. <3

Shout-outs to FF7, Dark Souls 3, and Bastion (never beat them), PMD: Explorers of Sky, and Hades.
Edit: Frick, comments reminded me of Nier Automata. I’m sticking with Ghost Trick, but Nier Automata is a super close second.

Infogame's 1999 hit-classic "Silver". Game takes place in a book, so story within a story starting with the murder of an artist, to a decree that all women of marriable age must be taken to the despotic emperor's tower as he wishes to have a bride. and seeking refuge in the library of Gno that's been overrun with demon imps.

The locations are fantastic, the characters rich, varied, and oh so very quirky. The UI and Controls is something to also commend: To fight you have to gesture with your mouse, holding down M1 and swishing in a direction to do lunges, and strikes, or attack behind you. Every character is voice-acted.

This game was foundational to my tastes, and informed me of how to run TTRPGs to bring Silver's magic to every group I play with, that spawned a lot of recurring memes among my players: "THE ISLAND IS A DRAGON!"

very yes. all 3 of these

Definitely Outer Wilds