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What was the last truly original game you played?
- Thread starter Multievolution
- Start date
Disco Elysium, 13 Sentinels, and Ring Fit are all ones I have played recently that I would count, but since they have already been mentioned my vote goes to OMORI
A lot of people mention something like the Earthbound/Mother series or maybe Undertale, and I can see where it got some inspiration from them, but it sets itself apart quite a bit from anything I've played before imo. I'm hooked.
A lot of people mention something like the Earthbound/Mother series or maybe Undertale, and I can see where it got some inspiration from them, but it sets itself apart quite a bit from anything I've played before imo. I'm hooked.
I wouldn't say it's truly original because all art is inspired by something (but that's a debate for another time), however I'd say that Death Stranding is easily the game that surprised me the most by introducing concepts, a game world, a sense of atmosphere and a gameplay loop that not only feel fresh but also bold within the scope of AAA games. That game is a different kind of beast, like it or not.
Definately The Witness, got it for free on Epic Games Store some years ago. Started playing it last summer but stopped for some reason. Now I've picked it up again. Amazingly smart game and a fun one to play cooperatively with a partner/friend aswell.
Truly original? That feels like an impossibly tough question to answer completely truthly. Just about ever game borrows from something else in some way and so is not truly original so I'm really not sure.
Mirror's Edge and Portal came to mind but the ideas and how they are implemented could loosely be traced elsewhere I think. Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan or Guitar Hero (I can't remember which I played first) perhaps? I don't think I had played a rhythm game before that but timed actions in video games goes back much further than those games. Maybe I'm overthinking it but honestly I don't know. :\
Mirror's Edge and Portal came to mind but the ideas and how they are implemented could loosely be traced elsewhere I think. Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan or Guitar Hero (I can't remember which I played first) perhaps? I don't think I had played a rhythm game before that but timed actions in video games goes back much further than those games. Maybe I'm overthinking it but honestly I don't know. :\
Outer Wilds, the most recent game I finished that falls into this category, and Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin, the most recent game I've played that falls into this category.
Although it's an iteration on survival games, the long dark feels pretty unique to me because of its atmosphere and loneliness, it really captures post apocalypse better than most survival games imo so yeah, that.
Super Mario 64.
Everything is pretty derivative these days, but that's kind of the point of having established genres and sub-genres.
The most originality seems to come from puzzle-focused games, but in the end they are just visual interfaces for logical problem-solving.
Everything is pretty derivative these days, but that's kind of the point of having established genres and sub-genres.
The most originality seems to come from puzzle-focused games, but in the end they are just visual interfaces for logical problem-solving.
You can take inspiration and still be incredibly original and novel, surely?
To answer OP, Obra Dinn and Outer Wilds were unlike anything else I've ever played. I've not played it myself, but Hypnospace Outlaw also looks very unique.
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Ring Fit Adventure really felt special as far as a unique perspective on an idea no one has really done well.
Holy shit the pedantry in this thread is off the charts. Apparently the correct answer is "Go" because all other games are basically derivations of it. True story.
More relevant answer is In Other Waters, a point-and-click adventure/cartography game.
More relevant answer is In Other Waters, a point-and-click adventure/cartography game.
This is a silly and narrowly focused statement because it creates a situation where you shrug genuine gameplay innovations by condescendingly putting them under all under the same category.
It's written as a piece of puffery and in reality the example you provided could easily be picked apart by that same logic because a) you could argue that Super Mario 64 is derivative of Super Mario Bros and b) you could argue that it's derivative of other previous 3D platform era like Jumping Flash.
If you think something like Outer Wilds isn't a innovation because it falls under the banner of "logic problem solving" than I don't know what to say other than that's silly.
Ring Fit would immediately come to mind. It's an honestly brilliant concept and easily one of the smartest products Nintendo's ever made.
I'll also give a nod to Astral Chain. I'm usually pretty hard on it for certain shortcomings that I have a hard time glossing over, but the combat being centered around the (literal) link between you and your Legion is a pretty novel approach to action game design, and it was a breath of fresh air in that space.
I'll also give a nod to Astral Chain. I'm usually pretty hard on it for certain shortcomings that I have a hard time glossing over, but the combat being centered around the (literal) link between you and your Legion is a pretty novel approach to action game design, and it was a breath of fresh air in that space.
Far out mate, I wasn't half serious (most things ARE derivative of established genres however).
Most of my posting is sarcastic. Feel free to add me to your ignore list.
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I'll say it like this: the greatest uniqueness I've experienced in a game compared to what I'd experienced before it was Shadow of the Colossus.
