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Do you have a game you play over and over, when nothing else fits your mood? That game that is infinitely re-playable, somewhat the same every time and somewhat new and interesting?

For me it's the games in the Orcs Must Die series. But mostly OMD 3. I play the mode called Scramble, where you have to beat 5 rounds of orcs, and they get harder and harder as you progress. There are random things to make it harder (nerfs) and you can choose 1 thing per round to make it easier (buffs). I've probably played that something like 300 times now since I beat the main game + DLCs a long while ago. I go into a special mental state while playing, since I know it all so well, and just zone out for about an hour each time.

Patient gamers, what's your "I will keep playing this game for the rest of my life" fallback?

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[-] jjjalljs@ttrpg.network 6 points 3 hours ago

Crawl: Stone Soup. Classic rogue like. You can play it in the browser so it's very fast to get going. Minotaur Berserker is a nice semi brainless flow.

https://crawl.develz.org/

[-] stormdelay@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 minutes ago

I'm partial to Gargoyle Fighter, slam maces into everything

[-] banana_lama@lemm.ee 6 points 3 hours ago

I'll play a multiplayer shooter or civilization 6

[-] nilaus@lemmy.world 6 points 3 hours ago

Civilization V.

[-] surph_ninja@lemmy.world 3 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago)

I’ll load up Spider-man a couple times a month just to go on patrol, and stop random crimes.

Been doing this since Spider-man 2 came out on the original Xbox. Glad the new one came out, and I don’t have to chase that kid’s damn balloon anymore.

[-] RougeEric@lemm.ee 3 points 3 hours ago

Guild Wars 2 and Dear Esther

I did that a lot with Subnautica but I think I've worn it out. I would make up challenge runs for myself to spice it up and I've run out of those. It was my "I want to play a video game right now" game. I kinda wish I had fewer objections to Subnautica 2, because there's things I like about that game and things I don't and the don'ts slightly outweigh the things that do.

[-] perishthethought@lemm.ee 1 points 3 hours ago

I've had Subnautica on my wishlist forever. I should get to that soon

It's great, go play it, and I suggest going in as blind as you can.

I once saw a playthrough by Let's Play Easy Mode, I don't know how he acquired a copy of the game while knowing as little as he did about it. He correctly guessed there'd be swimming in it and realized about six minutes in that it was a survival game.

I like to give this one hint, which I think is enough guidance to keep you from looking up the wiki and encountering actual spoilers: The answer to "well, now what?" is "go deeper."

[-] supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz 6 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago)

For me it is loading up Xonotic to strafe jump around and blast bots. The movement in Xonotic is hypnotic, and while I usually play in short bursts I don't think I will ever get bored of returning over and over again to learn the nuances and creative opportunities of combat and movement in Xonotic. All it takes is the first strafe jump to put a stupid smile on my face.

https://xonotic.org/

Also I love open world driving games and Motortown is my jam. I do urgent taxi jobs and just let my mind relax as I drive like a complete madman. The tire grip and burnout mechanics along with the vehicle handling in general is the best I have tried in any game.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1369670/Motor_Town_Behind_The_Wheel/

[-] steeznson@lemmy.world 2 points 3 hours ago

Xonotic is mint can't recommend it enough! has replaced Quake 3 for me

[-] JokeDeity@lemm.ee 4 points 5 hours ago

When I'm too tired or depressed to dive deep into something it's always something really simple like Ring of Pain, Vampire Survivors, or other slow paced stuff.

[-] knocks@lemmy.world 5 points 7 hours ago

I have no idea why, but Wurm Online always manages to draw me back. Guess it's a Zen and the Art of Imping addiction.

[-] yamper@lemmy.world 11 points 12 hours ago

this is a smartass answer but if no video game is catching your attention, don't play a video game. do anything else. pick up a new hobby or revisit an old one.

[-] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 3 points 6 hours ago

Yup. I like reading and working on coding projects.

That said, sometimes I get a hankering to play a game, but none of the dozens I have installed look interesting, so I'll go play one of my favorites (EU4, C:S, Mount & Blade, etc).

[-] grrgyle@slrpnk.net 2 points 7 hours ago

This is what I also do. I have plenty of old favourites, but if I'm really not in the mood, I don't try to push it.

[-] BoxOfFeet@lemmy.world 1 points 7 hours ago

Ys Seven for the PSP. I have Ys VII and Ys: MoC for the Vita and Ys IX for the Switch, but there's something about Seven that keeps me coming back.

[-] southernbrewer@lemmy.world 7 points 11 hours ago

HL2, Portal 2, Far Cry (1), Commander Keen, Supreme Commander, Raptor: Call of the Shadows. Halo MCC but particularly 2.

[-] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 1 points 4 hours ago

Oh sweet I can get Raptor for 84¢ right now, haven't played that since the '90s

[-] uriel238@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 10 hours ago

Deep Rock Galactic is good even in singleplayer.

[-] mudstickmcgee@sh.itjust.works 1 points 4 hours ago

Rock and stone, to the bone!

[-] vividspecter@lemm.ee 10 points 13 hours ago
[-] Thassodar@lemm.ee 5 points 12 hours ago

I'm late but: Fights In Tight Spaces. I thoroughly enjoy their daily challenges, and save my replays when I have a spectacular run with no damage.

[-] kandoh@reddthat.com 11 points 15 hours ago
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[-] hakase@lemm.ee 10 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago)

Dark Souls. If there's nothing else I want to play, I'm always up for another run through Lordran with a build I've never tried before.

[-] jjjalljs@ttrpg.network 2 points 3 hours ago

The run up to the gargoyles in ds1 is very good and sometimes that's what I do. After that the pacing has some hiccups, but that first part is A+

[-] hakase@lemm.ee 1 points 2 hours ago

I'll often go through O&S, and then lose steam during one of the Lord Souls afterward.

[-] JokeDeity@lemm.ee 1 points 5 hours ago

For me this is the most unhinged option. But then DS is like putting hot needles in my eyes to me.

[-] missingno@fedia.io 4 points 13 hours ago

These days I mostly just grind the same handful of games. Actually having a hard time pulling myself away long enough to get through the JRPGs on my backlog...

  • Skullgirls
  • Them's Fightin' Herds
  • Under Night In-Birth II [Sys:Celes]
  • Riichi Mahjong (Mahjong Soul, Riichi City, IRL)
  • Slay the Spire
  • Puyo Puyo Champions
  • Panel de Pon
[-] Enkers@sh.itjust.works 17 points 18 hours ago

Factorio, Minecraft, Stardew Valley. Also solitaire on my phone (PySolFC).

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[-] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 7 points 15 hours ago

Europa Universalis IV. There are tons of countries to play, lots of variation each time, and so many options for self challenges (e.g. accomplish goal by year).

The only thing that would get me to stop playing is if EUV is good, and then only a few years and DLC in. Even then, I could see myself coming back to it.

[-] Thalfon@sh.itjust.works 15 points 18 hours ago

Crypt of the Necrodancer.

Really fun roguelike game where you and enemies have to move to the beat of that floor's song. I think part of the reason I still play it a lot is that it's amenable to very short sessions. I've played enough that runs go fast and I either clear or die within 10 minutes.

Over 1200 hours now almost a decade after release, and a huge chunk of that is probably sessions of under 30 mins in length.

[-] Kacarott@aussie.zone 1 points 1 hour ago

And the soundtrack is great too

[-] laranis@lemmy.zip 9 points 17 hours ago

StarCraft. The original. My brain and body is hardwired to play that game. "SCV ready" triggers something. I have a fantasy of retiring in an old folks home and me and a few of my fellow geriatrics fire that shit up and play LAN games until the DNR kicks in.

[-] Jarix@lemmy.world 2 points 3 hours ago

I hope you mean broodwar and not just the original release

[-] laranis@lemmy.zip 3 points 1 hour ago

Your are correct. As far as I'm concerned, the original release was an early beta.

[-] ObsidianZed@lemmy.world 7 points 15 hours ago
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[-] minyakcurry@monyet.cc 25 points 20 hours ago

Slay the spire. Quick 30-45 minute run is just enough to kill time.

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this post was submitted on 24 Dec 2024
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