Games that move us emotionally: The Walking Dead

[Bikerdude]

So...

 

..I just got the end of the game I'm not ashamed to admit I cried. Despite the horribly low res graphics, the storytelling and voice acting was second to none. Maybe that's why the thief series of games have endure for so long, more focus on good stories and the art of story telling than fancy graphics.

[Springheel]

Right there with you bud. I choked up at the end too, and also had an incredibly visceral reaction that affected me for hours earlier in that last episode. More of an interactive story than a game, but a damn good one. (although, I really felt like I WAS the main character, even though my choices were quite limited)

[Bikerdude]

I have the 400 days dlc, worth playing or just an afterthought..?

[Springheel]

Can't say. I plan on playing it but haven't got to it yet.

[Lux]

Haven't played it but I agree, story++. Its one of the redeeming features of SC:Blacklist, too, IMO. I'm sure TWD's story is better than that though.

[Sotha]

Alan Wake. I've been playing that recently. Haven't finished it yet, but so far it is like this:

*Mediocre gameplay. You run, you flash with lamp, you shoot. Repeat, with minor variations with shooting with a different gun or using a flashbang instead. Booring. Not even challenging. And it is always the same!

*Too gamey! Collect paper pieces. Collect coffee mugs... The collector's edition!

*Puzzles are just silly artificial hindrances. Find the button. Get the chair, climb on it in order to get the banana from the ceiling. Do something trivial (like turn on a generator or a coffee machine(!)). There is never any satisfaction of solving a interesting problem, it is just drudgework.

*Addicting plot with gorgeous environment.

 

The plot and the environment make the success of the game. I found myself tolerate the interactive parts only to get my next dose of the plot, the environment and the atmosphere. If this was a TV-series or a movie I'd be so hooked, you'd need to use a crowbar to pry me off it, too bad the gaming parts are so dull.

 

Anyways: if you see it in discount (say 5e), I recommend it. The story is interesting and it is supplied in nice addicting doses, which is something TDM mappers should pay attention to. Actually, it may very well be that the story IS interesting BECAUSE of the well-proportioned doses it is given to the player. You always crave for more. I want to play because I want to know what happens next, not because the gaming itself is fun.

 

The makers of this game certainly watched LOST-series and learned from it. I see many influences. I'd like to see some parts seen in AW game in TDM missions too.

[Lux]

For me it was like playing through a Stephen King novel in the fictional town of Castle Rock where he bases many of his books. The story was great and I agree on the game play.

[STiFU]

The walking dead ending:

 

I had already arranged myself with the fact that the main character is going to die, so it didn't come as a surprise and I was sort of emotionally ready for it.

 

 

However, I have played some very moving games. I was flabbergasted by the ending of Bioshock Infinite for example. The most recent Tomb Raider was also very intense.

[Sotha]

For me it was like playing through a Stephen King novel in the fictional town of Castle Rock where he bases many of his books. The story was great and I agree on the game play.

 

Actually Mass Effect 1 and 2 were similar. The gameplay wasn't the main attraction, but the story and -most importantly- the characters and their interactions.

[brethren]

It wasn't cry inducing, but the game The Last Of Us really had some believable and engaging characters, and the story really stuck with me for a while after I finished it. Strong stuff.

[7upMan]

I'm not finished with TWD,

I had to stop at the scene where I am with Kenny and he's just not capable of shooting the little boy who hungered to death and came back. I have a kid that age, and while Duck's death was a tremendous blow, somehow that little boy up there just got to me.

 

 

That being said, I watched a complete and uncommented Let's Play of "The Last of Us" on YT (I don't own a PS3). This is definitely one of the most intense experiences of my gaming life, and it left me thinking even days after.

[Baal]

A game you never played was the most intense experience of your gaming life? Sounds like it should have been a movie instead of a game.

 

Edit: Or did you refer to The Walking Dead? I must try that some day.

Edited October 1, 2013 by Baal

[Bikerdude]

I really wished TLOU was on other platforms that just the PS3, I may have to rent/borrow a console & the game..