Everyone has a couple of games that they always go back to playing. Whenever the release schedule gets thin, or you just can’t decide what you want to play, these are the games you keep booting up. There’s no one specific genre or style, they’re just great games that you want to keep playing. These eight examples of games like this come directly from our awesome community.
Thanks to Silentpony for starting the thread!
Tony Hawk series
atomic304 is hopelessly addicted to it.
The Tony Hawk series of games has been around since 1999. Each game lets players pull off skateboard tricks while competing against the AI or their friends. The series is also notable because Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 was both the first PS2 title that could be played online, and the last title released for the Nintendo 64. There have been a number of spinoffs, and both the Pro Skater and Underground games were hugely influential on the genre. It is best known for its high skill ceiling and tight controls.
Terraria
Fallow is hopelessly addicted to it.
An open-end 2D sandbox game, Terraria offers up exploration and adventure gameplay. The game’s world is procedurally generated, leaving the player to not only explore, but to build and protect himself in a strange place. As they progress, players can construct complex system, attract NPCs to live in their buildings, and summon and defeat powerful boss monsters. It’s a game that it built from the ground up to continually challenge the player, and its random nature means that you never know what you might find or encounter in your next play session. It’s not hard to understand why people keep coming back to it.
Civilization IV
veloper is hopelessly addicted to it.
Pretty much any of the games in the Civilization series could have ended up on this list. Like most strategy games, there is almost no limit to the number of different experiences you can have in game, and some of those experiences may never be repeated. With many different map types, factions, and other options, Civilization IV offers up plenty of ways to vary your experience. You can also choose how you want to try to win the game, as there are six different victory conditions, ranging from score to conquest to diplomacy. Whatever you choose, beware. Civilization IV is a game that can make you lose track of time in a serious way.
Fallout: New Vegas
Eddie the head is hopelessly addicted to it.
Obsidian’s tale of the Mojave Wasteland is definitely worth multiple playthroughs. Not only are there far too many secrets and areas to find in one playthrough, there are so many possible combinations of endings that you can’t help but play through the game again to see what happens to the different factions depending on our choices and karma. What happens if you kill Caesar but befriend Mr. House? How does the game change if you don’t upgrade the Securitrons? Most importantly, which endings did I miss? Add in the plethora of mods you can grab for the game, and you begin to understand its almost endless replayability.
Torchlight II
thoughtwrangler is hopelessly addicted to it.
Action RPGs tend to be highly replayable, and Runic’s Torchlight II is no exception. Not only does it improve on the first game in the series in almost every way, it adds a New Game + mode that lets you start a new game with all the skills and treasure that you had when you finished the previous playthrough. Add in the Torchlight II editor (known as GUTS) that allows the easy creation of mods, and you’ve got a game that’s almost infinitely replayable. It’s also kind of awesome.
Killing Floor
Barbas is hopelessly addicted to it.
Killing Floor began its life as a mod for Unreal Tournament, and in 2009, got a full retail release. The game pits players against waves of zombies, with each kill being worth a set amount of money. Each wave culminates in a boss fight. Between waves, players can find a randomly placed shop and use their cash to purchase weapons, armor, and additional ammunition. In 2012, Tripwire added Steam Workshop functionality, allowing user content to add to the game experience. Even with a sequel on the way, Killing Floor is still packing lots of replay value.
Mass Effect series
Adam Jensen is hopelessly addicted to it.
The Mass Effect series drives replay on its story and the interactions between the characters. No matter how much you disliked the ending, you can’t deny how well the series did in that regard. Furthermore, it offers up a storylien that branches enough that you’d like to see how making different choices plays out. Taking out Sovereign, the Collectors, and the Reapers is worth doing more than once. With the Extended Cut and Citadel DLCs, you can even get a better ending experience than you got in the original trilogy. It’s definitely worth playing through a few more times.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Fiz_The_Toaster is hopelessly addicted to it.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution bring replay value to the table in more ways than one. First, there’s the storyline, which lets you approach people in different ways, from sympathetic to hostile, resulting in different reactions and outcomes. Second, you can choose different ways to approach problems in the games, from a full-on run-and-gun style to a complete non-lethal stealth run. Finally, you can also choose different augments to activate, which also factor into how you approach each mission. It’s a stellar game that’s worth playing multiple times, especially now that we know there’s a sequel on the way.
