Which games blow your mind, but only if you know nothing about them in advance?

Best examples I can think of are:

  • Outer Wilds
  • Doki Doki Literature Club
  • The Stanley Parable

What are yours?

(please no spoilers)

  • PM_Your_Nudes_Please@lemmy.worldEnglish
    13·
    3 days ago

    Surprised I haven’t seen Undertale yet. The online fanbase is hilariously toxic, (seriously, don’t go looking for any extra details about the game after you finish it) but it’s a solid game that should be experienced 100% blind. All I’ll say is that it’s a game that is written to subvert expectations; If you go into it expecting to play it like a traditional RPG, you’ll be in for a big surprise.

    • Lenny@lemmy.worldEnglish
      5·
      4 days ago

      Absolutely this. I am jealous each time I recommend it to someone who hasn’t played it yet.

      • SidewaysHighways@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        3 days ago

        I’m glad there was a thread about Subnautica in here.

        absolutely stunning, especially if one has any kind of decent audio system

    • LuckyPierre@lemm.eeEnglish
      3·
      3 days ago

      I tried it a few years ago and gave up after an hour of not knowing what to do. But I had this week off and tried it again, it I’m really enjoying it this time. It’s not like anything else, and once that initial bump is passed its learning curve is really quite good.

      • Captain Aggravated@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        1·
        3 days ago

        It is one of my all-time favorite games. I have unfortunately played it to death; I’ve run out of stupid challenge runs. The game has a story and uniquely for survival games it has an ending, there’s a Win The Game button. But the game is as much about the story you’re going to create; the way you choose to go about things, the order you decide to explore in, the happenstances of your adventure are maybe more important than what the wiki says the story is. Savor that.

        I will offer this hint. I don’t think it’s a spoiler; I think there is a strong possibility this hint will prevent you from alt-tabbing out to look up the wiki and accidentally encounter a spoiler. But I will tag it as a spoiler anyway.

        spoiler

        If you find yourself without an immediate goal, you’re milling about the ocean thinking “well now what?” Go deeper.

    • kazerniel@lemmy.worldEnglish
      4·
      3 days ago

      I wish I could erase all my memories of Obra Dinn, just so I could experience it again for the first time 🥺 Also that soundtrack slaps!

  • darreninthenet@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
    13·
    4 days ago

    Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons

    An astonishingly good story line that can only be really appreciated blind.

    For those of you who remember TotalBiscuit, he rated this as one of his favourite games.

    • tigeruppercut@lemmy.zipEnglish
      1·
      3 days ago

      Maybe literally the only game that’s ever done storytelling through gameplay mechanics-- really cool concept

          • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
            2·
            3 days ago

            Honestly… I would say that the game fits with the theme of the original post, and explaining it would ruin the magic.

            I will say that not only do the mechanics change based on the story, but there is an entire asynchronous online system where users help other users (that they will never see or meet in game) to construct be infrastructure to make travel for others (they will never see or meet) easier.

            Then those mechanics feed back into the actual story. It’s kind of wild.

            I know it’s a divisive game, but I will say it’s a masterpiece imo. Even if only for those mechanics.

            And yes, the controls change based on how the load you’re carrying is balanced. I believe the definitive way to play is the Definitive Edition on PS5 with the DualSense controller since the adaptive triggers become harder to press as your load increases.

        • tigeruppercut@lemmy.zipEnglish
          1·
          3 days ago

          sorry, badly phrased-- I was trying not to give away the mechanic. In the game the literal controls on your keyboard/controller get altered in order to advance the story

  • Blackmist@feddit.ukEnglish
    5·
    3 days ago

    The real answer will always be Outer Wilds.

    But also…

    Fez. It definitely inspired Animal Well and Tunic.

      • Buddahriffic@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        2 days ago

        A moment? I had a few during my first playthrough. PD, RL, W, T, DL. And many moments of forgetting to keep an eye on that oxygen meter lol.

  • Maggoty@lemmy.worldEnglish
    16·
    4 days ago

    Doki Doki should be 90% blind. Players need to understand they’re going into a horror game.

    But I’ll also add one, Detroit: Become Human. While it’s based on replaying it a massive number of times, going in blind makes the story a lot better.

    • ZC3rr0r@lemmy.caEnglish
      5·
      4 days ago

      David Cage gets lots of shit for his games, but If you experience them blind without spoilers ahead of time I find they’re pretty good interactive movies.

    • TastyWheat@lemmy.worldEnglish
      4·
      4 days ago

      My gf watched me play through all of Detroit, and then started to wonder “what would happen if x didn’t y?” Aaaand rabbit hole time.

    • BigDanishGuy@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      3·
      3 days ago

      I don’t know if you’re being sarcastic, but your comment is so true it hurts. When you first figure out how minesweeper works, your mind is blown away.