Imagine you could have your memory wiped of a specific game and play that game for the first time all over again.
What would you choose?
For me?
Metroid Prime
I’m a big fan of Metroidvanias and I can’t get enough of that sense of exploration and progression. Not many games do it as well or better than Metroid Prime.
What’s yours?
There’s so many it’s hard to choose but I’ll go with Metal Gear Solid 3. It has the best story, atmosphere and bosses in any Metal Gear game and was probably Kojimas peak. I’d love to play the entire series blindly again.
Inside for me. That ending still gives me shivers.
Toss up between Final Fantasy 7 and Mass Effect.
Final Fantasy was such a revolution at the time, very few games had such depth of character combined with the cgi videos and such. To an eleven year old boy it was pretty much the first experience of ‘living another life’. The twists, the discoveries… Once you know where they are, it becomes meaningless the second time.
Mass Effect was superb, I came to it late so could play all three sequentially and being able to carry your character and story decisions over from game to game was unbelievable. Again, it is something about the depth of the characters and how much time you spend talking with them that builds memories that, for me, could not be replicated on a second play-through.
I think this is because if they say the same things a second time, it doesn’t feel organic and the feeling that these are real living characters is broken, and if they say something different then suddenly they are a different person and behaving out of character.
Dark Souls
I just finished Control recently and that’s one I wish I could experience all over again.
Up until this game I didn’t realize how much “intrigue” meant to me in movies, games, and books. This game is intriguing from beginning to end. Within the first 2 minutes I was hooked. I haven’t watched Twin Peaks but I’ve watched a bit of X-Files and that sort of mind-bending, trippy stuff is up my alley.
I also love Metroidvanias and it’s laid out as one , though there are better 3D Metroidvanias out there. Still, each new area you unlocked was incredible and held way more story, intrigue, and jaw dropping moments. The areas of the building itself told a story. This could have been a walking simulator and still you would get a lot from the fascinating level design.
There’s a satisfying gameplay progression in terms of leveling up your character and the gameplay is solid.
I’m the sort that thinks gameplay is king and story is secondary, usually because the story isn’t stimulating. I recently played through Metroidvanias Carrion and Dead Cells and they both had potential story-wise but ended up plateauing.
I bought Alan Wake over a decade ago but haven’t gone around to playing it and I think I will now. I’m going to go through all of Remedy’s games because of Control.
Wants to ride a time machine and travels to 4th quarter of 2012 where everything began about Killer Insitinct reboot and re-live every single moment from the announcement till end supports in late 2017.
Can’t believe that piece of Art was from Microsoft +___+
Metroid prime is such an excellent choice.
Probably Jade Empire.
Without a doubt Mass Effect.
If I could also go back in time for the Zeitgeist and sheer insanity around everything, be it graphics, gore, metal music and the 14.4k modem multiplayer - it has to be DOOM.
Metroid Prime and MGS3 are excellent choices, both absolute classics and still unmatched IMO in their genre.
There are many games that I’d like to do that but it’s very difficult to choose only one so here are 5 games! 
BUT If I had to choose one it would be Ocarina of Time, for sure. This game was a complete shock back then, best Christmas ever for me. 
I would love to play Return of the Obra Dinn again with fresh eyes.
Breathtakingly pretty and such a compelling puzzle. It’s like nothing else. If you haven’t played it yet, you owe it to yourself to do so. Given time I could no doubt come up with a hundred other examples, but that is the one foremost in my mind, the only other which is close would be Knights of the Old Republic.
I’d say either Resident Evil 1 Remake, Halo CE, Mass Effect, or Shenmue 1+2.
I do wonder if games like Mass Effect or Shenmue would have the same impact on me if I played them for the first time today.
I was thinking Halo CE for myself as well. But if I was playing it new today, probably the anniversary edition instead of the original.
Ditto for Ocarina of Time.
I got it as a Christmas present as well and remember spending the entire Christmas break playing it. Would be cool to go back and relive that experience.
Phantasy Star II. I can’t even explain what that game meant to me as a 13 year old.
Others would be: The EGA classic Sierra On-Line games.
More recently LIMBO & Inside.
Metroid Prime Shadow of the Colossus Ninja Gaiden Black Mass Effect 2
I’d be curious to see if my opinions changed if I played the Anniversary edition first and then the classic or original version second.
