Good morning, fluffpiles and scalemounds! I, Meta, have returned. :3
Right!
@Manchesterite , odd and memorable game recommendation time:
@metatherat, can you recommend some odd games like OFF and such? Don't recommend to me Japanese games, they're too mainstream for me now : P
I have no idea what you or anyone here likes, in terms of games, so I'm throwing suggestions all over the place, here
None of these are AAA experiences. Expect wonk. And jank. Hope that's ok
Caves of Qud:
Caves of Qud on GOG.com
I have no idea if you're into roguelikes, but if you are, here's a very weird and memorable one, set in a delightfully odd world that is expressed to the player pleasantly gradually. Qud and its inhabitants are decidedly weird, and the game's faction system means you can interact with them in strange ways. It's entirely possible to cultivate relationships with the various factions to a point where you go into a plot-relevant dungeon and everyone there is friendly to you. In dev, but very much playable.
Pathologic:
Pathologic Classic HD on GOG.com
A open world story-driven survival adventure. Wonky. Incomprehensible. Old. Disturbing. Unfairly hard. You can easily screw up your save so badly that you are doomed to failure. The mechanics feel like they are actively fighting against you. .... aand incredibly memorable. Gameplay consists majorly of exploring the weird weird world and conversing with the weird weird characters.
Pathologic 2:
https://www.gog.com/game/pathologic_2
2019 continuation to the original Pathologic. Haven't played this one yet, watched one episode of a let's play and instantly stuffed it into the backlog. Everything I wrote about the original game seems to still apply.
ELEX:
ELEX on GOG.com
A spiritual successor to the Gothic game series. Open world action RPG. But now set in a weird(er) world. You are an evil(?) dude of evil(?) faction. You get separated from your faction and have to make your life among three less(?) evil(?) factions.
Tyranny:
Tyranny - Standard Edition on GOG.com
Isometric action RPG in style of Baldur's Gate. You are an evil(?) judge-errant for an evil(?) faction. Memorable world, memorable characters. The plot can develop in various directions depending on your actions. More popular than the other games on this list, you perhaps have played this already...
The Sea Will Claim Everything:
store.steampowered.com: The Sea Will Claim Everything on Steam
A philosophical, narratively driven game that is so hard to describe I won't even bother to try. Very good. Evokes a sense of wonder if you'll let it.
The Gate of Firmament:
store.steampowered.com: 軒轅劍外傳穹之扉(The Gate of Firmament) on Steam
Tired of Japanese RPGs, you say. OK, then. Here's a Chinese one. It's very uniquely Chinese, yup.
Ashes of Oahu:
store.steampowered.com: Ashes of Oahu on Steam
A Far Cry/Just Cause that sucks mechanistically, but is more memorable. Hawaiian island of Oahu suffers a supernatural attack. You get spiritual Hawaii powers and a gun and decide to rip your metaphorical shirt heroically off.