What was the last truly original game you played?

[Diarrhea Day-Lewis]

I think it sounds like you really need to try a new IP, indies, or something outside your comfort zone OP. There are so many games nowadays you shouldn't have much issue finding something highly original.

I'm just about to beat The Pathless, which has been amazing and really unique. Had just beaten 13 Sentinels last month, Pikmin 3 and I have Obra Dinn waiting for me. Not to mention Stardew's 1.5 update soon.

 

[Deer]

Superhot VR ❤ (especially as I hadn't played the original flat version either)

so far Alyx just feels like such an ordinary game in comparison :(

 

[JigglesBunny]

Ring Fit Adventure is one of those things that seems so airtight conceptually and in terms of execution that you wonder how nobody had ever come up with it before, like it's such a perfect idea that it's absurd to think that it hasn't always been a no-brainer.

 

[Ojli]

Depends on how stickly you want to be with the definition of originality, but DOOM maybe?

 

[Tatsu91]

I was thinking on about how most of the games I'm interested in these days (all if I'm being honest) are either a sequel, remake or some other thing that's been done a dozen times, now obviously a good game will learn from similar genres and some will as a result straightforward but there's other games those that dared to break the convention for better or worse, I'm curious what yours was, I personally can't answer at current as I'm trapped in what I mentioned above.

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TearDown the whole using physics to plan a crime escape route is pretty innovatie the Ray tracing without Cude cores is a cherry on top.

 

[Feep]

This is an interesting question that nails down so many of my absolute favorite games from the past two years. 13 Sentinels, Outer Wilds, Baba is You, and Return of the Obra Dinn are all games I'll remember forever.

 

[Trisc]

A toss-up between What the Golf? and Death Stranding.

By the time I was golfing the tee flag into a golf ball, I was pretty certain I wasn't playing PGA Tour.

 

[daninthemix]

Death Stranding.

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Yeah. I pretty much hated it, but it sure was original.

 

[Unicorn]

Probably Outer Wilds.

What a game.

Obra Dinn before that too.

Both are from 2019, so I'm probably missing out, however.

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Yes and yes!

This is an interesting question that nails down so many of my absolute favorite games from the past two years. 13 Sentinels, Outer Wilds, Baba is You, and Return of the Obra Dinn are all games I'll remember forever.

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Damn, time to try 13 Sentinels then.

 

[Deleted member 41178]

The Oute Wilds
Return Of The Obra Dinn
Paradise Killer
Baba Is You

Are the ones that spring to mind most recently but I'm sure there are loads more I'm just not remembering.

 

[Addleburg]

Spiritfarer definitely feels original in many aspects. But yeah, Death Stranding really pulled me in unexpectedly last summer.

 

[Another]

Just this year these two spring to mind:

Hylics 2

Umurangi Generation

 

[Sumio Mondo]

A 2D rhythm platformer about a dead rat that gets revived to seek vengeance on the evil lab tech who killed him, with his trusty sidekick, his exposed heart. He has the power to reverse time like Blinx too.

 

[OozeMan]

Baba is You, Disco Elysium, Outer Wilds and Cuphead. They all have elements that haven't previously (or popularly) been done in the games industry.

I love games that have a unique identity. Those mentioned above are amongst the last five games that I finished.

 

[Jerm411]

Among Us or Flower....

 

[FaceHugger]

Journey I guess.

 

[sirap]

Baba Is You

 

[N.47H.4N]

Return of the Obra Dinn last year, masterpiece.

 

[StarPhlox]

A couple of days ago I finished 13 Sentinels. I do think that he does several things that are unique including the nonlinear storytelling and I just find it to be more epic in scope than what I'm used to in games. So I think that's one of the more original mainstream games that's come out recently.

 

[Paquete_PT]

In the AAA space? Definitely Death Stranding. That game will be remembered for years by those that played it. Truly original.
Outer Wilds is the other one that comes to mind

 

[Rangerx]

Death Stranding.

 

[xir]

Heavens vault. 3D world but characters are eight sided sprites. And you are trying to learn a written language

 

[Pariah]

I barely play these days, but sure, both Death Stranding and Obra Dinn were like nothing else I had tried at the time. I'd also add Kentucky Route Zero to the list; as with 13 Sentinels, it's not in the genre where lies the novelty, but the execution of it.

Kudos to The Wonderful 101 and Catherine for doing something different with familiar concepts.

 

[collige]

Originality isn't a binary; I don't think there's any specific point where a game goes from "unique" to "not unique" or something like that, everyone is always building off something else.

 

[DigSCCP]

Paper Beast a few months ago. It has a unique animal ecosystem where animals are made of paper origami and can hunt and/or help each other. The game has very genuine animal movement in the animation that really sells the effect and this is physics-based too so they'll properly stumble on the edge of a slope.

It's very weird at times. Some real head-scratching moments. (in a good way)

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This right here.
Amazing game !

Flat screen probably The Last Guardian.

Honorable mentions to : Death Stranding and Fall Guys.

 

[wallmeat]

Baba is You would be my pick. In the big AAA space I'd say Death Stranding for sure. Fall Guys is neat too.

 

[Deleted member 49319]

Death Stranding, though I didn't like it.

 

[Flevance]

+1 for 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, it was certainly a unique experience. Also Dreams deserves to be mentioned for its originality

 

[7thFloor]

Originality isn't a binary; I don't think there's any specific point where a game goes from "unique" to "not unique" or something like that, everyone is always building off something else.

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Don't ever bother on forums

 

[Lurcharound]

Obra Din
Outer Wilds
Superhot VR
Statik VR
ALYX VR
Dreams (sort of)
Death Stranding

 

[WestEgg]

Playing Sakuna: of Rice and Ruin right now and really enjoying it.

 

[Deleted member 56803]

2019 was the year of ideas. Disco Elysium, Pathologic 2, Outer Wilds, Death Stranding, Horace, Heaven's Vault, and Hypnospace Outlaw. Nothing really original or imaginative came out last year apart from Kentucky Route Zero and I'm not sure that counts.

 

[Lady Gaia]

The Outer Wilds is easily the most original game I've played in the past year (yes, I was late to the party but it didn't stop me from finding it absolutely fascinating!) Loved 13 Sentinels and thought it was a standout game with great writing and ideas, ambitious in all the right ways, but it didn't have that same spark for me of something I'd never seen attempted before.

 

[Multievolution]

Originality isn't a binary; I don't think there's any specific point where a game goes from "unique" to "not unique" or something like that, everyone is always building off something else.

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I agree that to some degree everything takes inspiration from something and that's perfectly fine, it's even fine if the inspiration is so obvious that it almost feels the same at times, this was merely trying to allow for those games that go out of their way to be unique to shine and the reason I asked for games like that is for me personally I have found a lot of the games that I play to be fairly similar.

 

[Mr.Deadshot]

Death Stranding is the easy answer.

 

[JudgmentJay]

I played 6 games last year that were pretty fresh, at least to me... Sayonara Wild Hearts, Outer Wilds, What the Golf, Disco Elysium, Rain World, and Fall Guys.

EDIT: Oh, and Death Stranding.

 

[Deleted member 8468]

Death Stranding

Baba is You

Goragoa

From the last year-ish.

 

[Skulldead]

Sayonara Wild Hearts. Its the Interstella 5555 of video games and deserves recognition as such.

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Same i dont remember last time ive enjoy a game so much. I 100% without feeling tired to play. Ill glady play it each year.

 

[labx]

Kentucky Rout Zero.

 

[Aladan]

13 Sentinels Aegis Rim was my last original game. At the moment I'm playing Immortals Fenyx Rising.

 

[blacktout]

Untitled Goose Game is probably the last time a game felt truly unique to me.

Thought Ape Out gets an honorable mention.

 

[Deleted member 12352]

Death Stranding.

 

[jsnepo]

Death Stranding

 

[Deleted member 76797]

Spiritfarer
Death Stranding
Slay the Spire

 

[Dogui]

Played Kuru Kuru Kururin 2 months ago for the first time. It was surprisingly very fun, challenging and unique. It's one of those games you never expect to be so good.

Originality isn't a binary; I don't think there's any specific point where a game goes from "unique" to "not unique" or something like that, everyone is always building off something else.

Click to shrink...

Nothing will be 100% unique but i think we can draw a line in the sand with games that were never "cloned" or received a sequel.

A game like Mount Your Friends wasn't created from absolute zero, but we could agree (or not, maybe there's a clone hidden on steam, dunno) that there's nothing that plays like it, even compared to Mount Your Friends 3D.

It's subjective and personal of course. But i think any game that doesn't have a more-of-the-same sequel or follow a genre recipe could be considered for the thread.

But yeah, i think it's more about feeling that something was an unique personal experience than anything.

 

[CaptainK]

Wattam. It's about making friends and holding hands and discovering how the world works or something.

 

[ShinUltramanJ]

A truly original experience? That's pretty rare.

Within the last five years I'd say Fall Guys, Say No! More, and Half Life Alyx.

 

[Síriocaz]

Cuphead, maybe? I still have it pending, but I have greater interest in other games in my backlog.

 

[digitalrelic]

Today with Psychonauts (although I'm right in the beginning of this one so I can't say for sure how "truly original" it is yet)

And then like 2 days ago with Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice.

And like a week before that with What Remains of Edith Finch.

There's all kinds of stuff out there if you're looking for it.

 

[MarvelousIntent]

+1 for Outer Wilds and Baba is You