Story-time
Some games offer a real sense of adventure and the possibility of going on an adventure. They let us use their gameplay to go off and discover things for ourselves or they hold our hands to show us amazing scenes and scenery. Either way, the medium is brimming with sights, monsters and heroes that move through real ordeals to arrive in a place of change and catharsis.
It's story-time folks!
I want to know what kinds of adventures you remember from the games you played. As always, examples below for some inspiration:
Ocarina of Time: The finale
In the summer of 2002 I finally got to play more than just the opening hours of Ocarina of Time together with my friend who had it and an N64. Taking into account all the dungeons we completed and the temples we conquered and side-quests we cleared (Biggoron Sword ftw) the culmination was incredible and the final bosses are perfect and the ending from a story-POV was incredible. This was my first exposure beyond just having the tone of adventure that a video-game could truly go from A to B and feel as if something had moved for me. I felt the passing of time, age and wear and tear of going through so many things and seeing all the amazing things flash before me as my friend and I entered this final dungeon.
Hotel Dusk: Room 215 - Discovering the final secrets
Again, it all comes down to the finish line. This is a Nintendo DS game (for those who don't know) in a point-and-click style with very interactive and mechanical puzzles, and A+ tier writing from the golden age of NoA's localization. It simply tells a really good mystery plot with empathetic characters and people I got to know, and by the time I reached the final chapter my heart was racing. This was a page-turner, and I was standing before something completely unknown that just added up to the pile of secrets that seemed to occur in this one hotel. I will not say what the big twist is, but it can be boiled down to a single sentence. It starts with the letter "O". If you're intrigued I recommend you play this game however you can. It's simply amazing and it felt like the conclusion to a real arc as it wrapped up on par with the best TV-shows out there.
Zelda: Breath of the Wild - "Wherever You Were in the Mid-point of the Journey"
I've been quite down on this game. I think it's overrated, and in fact I put it off for the longest time after my initial 20 hours, but last year I returned. Something Miyamoto said about the game in an interview (he's exec producer on it) is that rather than telling a traditional story this game is more about the story that occurs inside the player's head, and for a long time I felt like that was a bunch of hogwash, and then... I got to this point in my playthrough. After uncovering every memory and beating three of the Divine Beasts I decided now it was time to go seek out that forest they mentioned. I found the Master Sword and was engulfed in nostalgia for the whole series. In many ways BotW feels so different for a Zelda game, rejecting most of its recent formula in favor of its 'Open-Air' design. But pulling out the sword I felt the journey I had been on. I climbed so many hills, and went to so many high places and made my way down again, always thinking about how I wanted to go from A to B and experimenting with mechanics, and along the way all you do is soak in the serene atmosphere in the game. And that makes every standout moment so much more impactful among all the low-paced tranquility. Picking up the Master Sword I could feel my purpose, to finish the last dungeon and find Ganon inside the castle. This game was a testament to how game mechanics are effectively the device to tell the story. I don't think the story is good in this game, but because the interface for it is so mechanics-driven, it almost feels like a good tale. More of this, please.
With my gushing out of the way, what are your examples of games you played that instilled a real feeling of adventure and journey in you?
It's story-time folks!
I want to know what kinds of adventures you remember from the games you played. As always, examples below for some inspiration:
Ocarina of Time: The finale
In the summer of 2002 I finally got to play more than just the opening hours of Ocarina of Time together with my friend who had it and an N64. Taking into account all the dungeons we completed and the temples we conquered and side-quests we cleared (Biggoron Sword ftw) the culmination was incredible and the final bosses are perfect and the ending from a story-POV was incredible. This was my first exposure beyond just having the tone of adventure that a video-game could truly go from A to B and feel as if something had moved for me. I felt the passing of time, age and wear and tear of going through so many things and seeing all the amazing things flash before me as my friend and I entered this final dungeon.
Hotel Dusk: Room 215 - Discovering the final secrets
Again, it all comes down to the finish line. This is a Nintendo DS game (for those who don't know) in a point-and-click style with very interactive and mechanical puzzles, and A+ tier writing from the golden age of NoA's localization. It simply tells a really good mystery plot with empathetic characters and people I got to know, and by the time I reached the final chapter my heart was racing. This was a page-turner, and I was standing before something completely unknown that just added up to the pile of secrets that seemed to occur in this one hotel. I will not say what the big twist is, but it can be boiled down to a single sentence. It starts with the letter "O". If you're intrigued I recommend you play this game however you can. It's simply amazing and it felt like the conclusion to a real arc as it wrapped up on par with the best TV-shows out there.
Zelda: Breath of the Wild - "Wherever You Were in the Mid-point of the Journey"
I've been quite down on this game. I think it's overrated, and in fact I put it off for the longest time after my initial 20 hours, but last year I returned. Something Miyamoto said about the game in an interview (he's exec producer on it) is that rather than telling a traditional story this game is more about the story that occurs inside the player's head, and for a long time I felt like that was a bunch of hogwash, and then... I got to this point in my playthrough. After uncovering every memory and beating three of the Divine Beasts I decided now it was time to go seek out that forest they mentioned. I found the Master Sword and was engulfed in nostalgia for the whole series. In many ways BotW feels so different for a Zelda game, rejecting most of its recent formula in favor of its 'Open-Air' design. But pulling out the sword I felt the journey I had been on. I climbed so many hills, and went to so many high places and made my way down again, always thinking about how I wanted to go from A to B and experimenting with mechanics, and along the way all you do is soak in the serene atmosphere in the game. And that makes every standout moment so much more impactful among all the low-paced tranquility. Picking up the Master Sword I could feel my purpose, to finish the last dungeon and find Ganon inside the castle. This game was a testament to how game mechanics are effectively the device to tell the story. I don't think the story is good in this game, but because the interface for it is so mechanics-driven, it almost feels like a good tale. More of this, please.
With my gushing out of the way, what are your examples of games you played that instilled a real feeling of adventure and journey in you?
