RetroGaming

Not the greatest of all time I don't think, but the greatest in recent memory

At the end of Chapter 12 of the Entropy Centre I really felt like I was saving the world against all odds. And Chapter 13 immediately after was a trip in a good way. If you're curious, having a good setup (TV, speakers) helps a lot.

Ragnarok Online. Before the third jobs, and without donation items and high rates. I played on the kRO server for a while and afterwards for many years on a 5/5/3 private server. I still remember how it felt, the first time I played it. Never found anything like it again.

Now, I've played a lot of amazing games and some of them really hit me in the feels, but this was the first MMORPG I played, ever. I was like what, 15? when I started playing and I played this game with the same people, for years. In the same guild, over Ventrilo, I knew these people. From all over the world, we'd even set alarms and such to make sure people were there when WoE started and half of us were sleeping due to time zones, or to make sure we could keep the MVP boss schedules. Some of us even met in real life, we talked off-game as well. We grew up together, quite literally, from teenager to adult. It's not surprising it left such a mark, I guess. Nowadays.. well I've tried MMO's but it just isn't like that anymore.

I only have to listen to the soundtrack, music from Prontera or Amatsu, and boom, nostalgia!

I (horribly inefficiently) figured out a puzzle in Prime Mover last night that took me four hours over two days. It was a real hallelujah moment.

When Myst first came out and then me and all my friends carrying our controllers around with us for spontaneous (but constant) quake 3 arena battles on the Dreamcast. Those were the days I'll always remember but never be able to relive.

Not retro at all, but Destiny 2 Forsaken. I’ve always loved the Bungie game feel and gunplay, and I finally kicked my D2 habit right after Edge of Salvation week one. I’ve tried many single player shooters since and have yet to find something that comes close to scratching the itch.

A lot of gaming highs from time to time that engulfed me into gaming completely.

The very first high was the OG Half Life. Before that I didn't know that Games could have a story like that.

Then Max Payne 1&2, it was like playing a Noir Matrix movie.

Then GTA Vice City (and its soundtrack) hooked me up for a long time.

Then Far Cry 3 which has made me buy every subsequent Far Cry game ever since (yet to feel that again).

And the last one was "Assassin's Creed Origins", which being a fan of ancient Egypt, was a dream come true.

Metal Gear Solid V: Mission 16.

black and white, and HSGSS, SINCE i never had a PC to own until late 2000s, then it was WC3/SC1 BROOD war, then off and on rs.

The experience of a brand new game with a new computer build that upped the standards. Particularly from the ‘90s to ~2010. Games pushed ahead with more expansive levels, better graphics, better sound, larger worlds. All more incredible than what you’d ever played before. It was a joy just to see it and experience it on top of whatever storyline and toys were in the game itself. Every year there was a leap in some facet of gaming.

I haven’t really experienced that since. PC builds are just way more expensive for minimal gain, franchises are just rehashes of old games, and it’s hard to find storylines and worlds that are fleshed out enough to make me want to invest the time.

On an individual game level, Battlefield’s Gunmaster mode is a real rush. Success can be ripped away instantly, you’re on your own skill, PvAll, and it’s a race to the top. Intense AF to win, got my heart rate up.

Not really a thing I’ve been chasing but I did really enjoy the time I was home sick from work and spent all day playing Super Mario Odyssey back when it first came out. I really felt like I was a kid again and hadn’t felt that before or since.

Middle of the road millennial for age context.

Not sure which one I would pick. Pokemon Blue, Oblivion, Star Wars KOTOR, Warcraft 3 or Super Mario 64 maybe. All of them were amazing and had a lasting impact on me.

More recently I played Enter the Gungeon, Slay the Spire and Return to the Obra Dinn

Accomplishment-wise playing in a few ProAm counterstrike tourneys, beating any of the dark souls/elden ring/Bloodborne was great, beating a couple of the xwing missions felt like an accomplishment too, topping the score board in online shooters like TF2, tribes 2, quake arena etc

Just overall hitting max level in wow and raid level in EverQuest back in the day, and a couple rpgs Chrono trigger, phantasy star 4, pillars of eternity 1/2 for the story and characters. Monster sanctuary ng+ randomizer is a lot of fun too

Two that come to mind:

• One that I still remember from high school. It was just a simple Counter Strike match. But it was down to me and one other guy. I switched to knife, turned the corner, there he was, going the other way. He didn't see me. So I followed him, riiight behind him, around several corners, while chat spectated. Still never noticed. I finally knifed him in the back, chat erupted, I felt like a god even though I sucked at Counter Strike.

• Winning my first Rocket League tournament after years. It really felt like I'd done something that mattered.

The first time I beat the final boss of Sekiro. It was a culmination of everything you learned in that game and perfectly paced. Felt like being part of a well choreographed dance and like everything you had gone through to get to this point of the game was paying off.

LAN party 2012ish. Playing Farcry 2 team Deathmatch multiplayer on the Clear Cut map. First team to 100 kills win. I got 60 of the 100 kills to win and from that point forward I was no longer permitted to use the 50cal sniper rifle.

Arma 3 Exile

In Cookie Clicker when you manage to stack 3 fortune cookie modifiers. Numbers going up so fucking hard.

Gael from Darksouls 3 and Orphan from Bloodborne were really cool and intense fights, those probably gave me the greatest rushes in Fromsoft games but I havent played Eldenring yet.

Getting a crit with Paladin in DnD is always amazing. I dont know if the updated 5e rules ended up removing the crit on Divine Smite but I'd elect to ignore that

The last time must have been when Valheim released. That shit got me hooked. Now I am waiting for the Deep North biome to finish development before I play it again.

Now that I think about it the last time was when Schedule 1 released.