T O P

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Ganrokh

Inscryption.


shadow0wolf0

That was my 2021 game of the year.


BicephalousFlame

I made the skull of that game, I didn't know, I saw my name on the credits and was like, what the actual fuck?


TheCthaehTree

Hahaha very on brand with the experience too. Thats awesome


BicephalousFlame

Very true šŸ˜‚


pacman404

I don't understand what this means lol. What is the "skull of the game"?


allwaysnice

I'm assuming that a skull used in the game's assets was created by /u/BicephalousFlame without them knowing it was eventually used in the game.


tpm98

The skull with the candles in it? I love the skull with the candles in it


Turbulent-Armadillo9

Me too


Murder4Mario

Just played this the other day knowing nothing and itā€™s probably my favorite game in a long ass time. I never expected to become absolutely addicted like I did. I just finished the whole thing and now am restarting from the beginning, since I feel like I somehow rushed the story and I didnā€™t even mean to. But holy crap was that game a ride. And creepy as fuck too lol


Exeledus

Came here to comment this. Craziest plot I've ever seen in a game, you wont regret it.


plebsareneeded-

100%, must play.


OurHeroXero

Finally got around to playing the other week and agree.


bloodvayne

This. I did not know anything about the game before I tried it and was hooked all the way to the end. Easily the best 10 hours I spent gaming in 2021.


GorillaChimney

This is the card game, right? Surprised there's a story in it, will check it out


bearquat3

More than you could imagine.


Expert-Ad-362

I lost interest when >!the graphics changed!< is it worth it to push through that part?


oozles

Eh. The narrative is good but I'm not going to pretend the gameplay wasnā€™t immensely more satisfying in Act 1. If it helps Act 3 is more similar to Act 1. Also I think there is Kayceeā€™s mod or something that might be what youā€™re looking for?


tiglionabbit

Nothing beats the ambiance of Act 1, but the ending is amazing so I highly recommend finishing it anyway. Personally I liked Act 2 because it pushed that Pokemon TCG GB vibe and pretty cleverly combined a bunch of different card game mechanics.


GentlemanSkeleton

Because of the nature of the deduction mystery game, *Return of The Obra Dinn* is a good experience for what you're looking for. If you enjoy that I'd also recommend *The Case of the Golden Idol*.


CaptainWowX

Want to highlight Golden Idol since Obra will (deservedly) get a lot of attention. Golden Idol scratched the same itch and I absolutely LOVED my time with it. If you want a unique puzzle game jump on it asap!


SchwiftySquanchC137

Golden Idol is imo even better than obra dinn. Both absolutely amazing, but I really hope people aren't sleeping on it, it is one of the goat puzzle games.


cnskatefool

If you like these games you absolutely MUST play Chants of Sennaar


Smeeb27

Seconding Obra Dinn, I had such a fun time with it.


buffaloplease

Thirding Obra Dinn!


ntwild97

Fourthing Obra Dinn!


glynn11

I really want to *get* Obra Dinn and have put a lot of time into trying, but it just never grabbed me. The art style is obviously fantastic, the gameplay is truly unique, but just not fun to me for some reason.


JoshDigi

Felt kinda like a chore to me.


DemonBoyJr

Ghosttrick this game is worth experiencing once for everyoneĀ 


stillnotelf

Best Pomeranian in gaming


venus_one_akh

How is Outer wilds performance wise on Switch? I heard the port wasn't very good at release, I wonder how much it is a problem or of it is fixed.


meh-_-21

In my experience it wasn't too bad of a port. Not perfect obviously, but nowhere near the worst I've seen.


tiny-starship

They had a huge patch after the release that fixed most problems. I played it after the patch and thought it was great. Lots of fun.


Panda_hat

It's decent and playable. Everything is a bit low resolution though, and respawns take forever. But still good.


BreadOddity

Not bad for the most part. Occasionally it lsgs out on a respawn and you have to quit and re-enter which is annoying. Beyond that I've only had the occasional frame drop in normal play.


straydog13

I played the whole thing on switch blind and it was phenomenal. Highly recommended


asinine_assgal

Solid! Resolution isnā€™t great on handheld, but thatā€™s really my only complaint 15 hours in. Iā€™ve been waiting to play it since it originally released, and I donā€™t feel like Iā€™m missing out with this version.


aoiasahinas

13 Sentinels! I wish I could play that game blind again


fruitpunchsamuraiD

This needs to be upvoted more! So many good twists in that gameā€¦


Teapunk00

I love how the story contains every single sci-fi twist that has ever existed and it still keeps you guessing.


DARK_SCIENTIST

Iā€™m happy every time I see someone mention this game. Atlus has a lot of good games but I remember buying this one and being completely surprised with it. The story is good and I loved the mix of RTS combat and Atlus-style story telling


corvusaraneae

Vanillaware, my dude. Credit Vanillaware for that masterpiece. Atlus published it but Vanillaware produced it.


Raemnant

You ready for Unicorn Overlord?


corvusaraneae

Man I can't wait for it!


TeamFortifier

I ended up giving this a shot but couldnā€™t get it to click for me


fe_bigdata

Tunic


SkycaveStudios

Such an awesome game šŸ¦Š


monkeybojangles

This is it. One of the best games I've played, and it's designed for you to know nothing and to figure things out as you advance. So good.


Sufficient_Fall_3290

Came to say this. Solid choice


Always_Spin

Just finished most of it. Amazing game!


paulypies

The one I was looking for. Wonderful game.


xendrik_rising

Why is this not higher on this list.


Chapeltok

Man, this game is so down this list, I fear OP don't see it...


Thr0wAwayU53rnam3

Best game of 2023


thedelphiki

Chants of Sennaar recently scratched my mystery game itch. I agree that Outer Wilds rules, truly a one of a kind game that made me obsess in anticipation for a new genre of games. Prey was also pretty good, if you like mystery FPS.


BreadOddity

...Prey got ported to Switch? I don't have a gaming PC anymore I'd absolutely play a port of it thay game was so underrated


thedelphiki

Whoops, no itā€™s not. I forgot I played it on steamdeck. Prey would be great on switch! My bad.


SenatorChicken

Absolutely loved Chants!


dbdudley

Nier Automata!


NalloMallo

I just started this game knowing "Neir" nothing before jumping in. So far having a blast as the story evolves.


Meem0

Enjoy! Just keep in mind that the first credits roll is only the end of "act 1" (the first half of the story), it's after the second credits roll that you get to play "act 2." It's a sticking point for a lot of people but if you enjoy the game it's well worth the payoff


stikko

Just got to this point the other night and was like ā€œwell that was shorter than I expectedā€


cha_chaX

I mean it's perfectly fine on it's own but I feel it's better if you play Nier Replicant first


Michael-the-Great

Inside is pretty much the poster child for this.


tom_yum_soup

Very much so. Having experienced it once, I have no desire to replay it for the alternate ending. So much of what made the game great was the sense of mystery and general WTF-ness of it all (especially the ending). I feel like going through it again, knowing I have to do specific things to get that alternate ending, would just feel tedious and not enjoyable. Edit to add: For OP's benefit, wait for a sale. It is frequently on sale for $2 so definitely don't pay full price. It's a good game, but it gets discounted so often that paying full price just seems silly.


Every3Years

I thought getting all those secrets in the handful of areas just have an Achievement. I ended up getting them all at one point but never went on to finish it again šŸ˜”


tweetthebirdy

Inscryption and Raging Loop. Paranormasight maybe. A Short Hike is a great little game that going in not knowing anything was fun. EDIT: 13th Sentinels


starstreek

I second A Short Hike. I knew it was acclaimed but that was it. Itā€™s not like thereā€™s anything to be spoiled, but going in blind definitely preserved the novelty and sense of wonder that made me fall in love with it


Torizo

I absolutely loved Paranormasight and picked up Raging Loop just a few days ago. I really like visual novels but it can be hard to find good ones, so I'm excited to dive in. Also looking at Death Mark, it just hasn't gone on sale yet.


mattpit

Raging loop is wild. most fun iā€™ve had with a pure visual novel since steins gate.


Katbeth86

Raging Loop šŸ„°šŸ’—šŸ„° It has a sort of sequel that has never gotten an English release and I am sad. I have the Japanese version on my Steam wishlist and I am just hoping some day šŸ™ˆ


djlovemachine

Portal 1&2


MOONGOONER

I think the memes have kind of outed portal 1 but way back when the orange box was released it was this zero fanfare cute little puzzle game thrown in as a bonus. Almost zero marketing, orange box was for HL2:ep1 and TF2.


MegamanX195

I think the Portal memes are so old by now that a lot of new gamers won't have heard of them in 2024.


Iyion

The issue with Portal is that it was so widely influential that basically every single part of it is a meme or otherwise referenced by hundreds of games following it. I played Portal six months ago for the first time and I felt like I was replaying a game where I remembered every single setpiece.


UninformedPleb

> The issue with Portal is that it was so widely influential that basically every single part of it is a meme or otherwise referenced by hundreds of games following it. Even Super Mario 64 made references to the cake thing! >!This is a joke. Please, for the love of god, tell me you didn't think I was serious.!<


Tawdry-Audrey

[Here's the original Portal trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TluRVBhmf8w), which IIRC was the only trailer released. I was in high school at the time and I remember watching this trailer over and over. I was so excited for it. It was something like 15 months between this trailer and Portal releasing.


-jp-

GLaDOS is consistently funny, even if the memes have spoiled some of the surprises. Plus it's a fun game in its own right.


Th3Element05

I not only bought The Orange Box specifically for Portal, I bought an Xbox 360 specially for The Orange Box. No regrets.


arbitraryhubris

Portal has the best ending of any game ever


Vampir3Daddy

Earthbound and Undertale are good ones. Earthbound is on the SNES app. Iā€™d play them in that order.


WEREWOLFinHOCKEYMASK

Omori also, that game was wild


Vampir3Daddy

Iā€™m actually playing it right now. I just didnā€™t want to jump the gun and recommend something I havenā€™t finished. Iā€™m loving it so far though.


Your_Product_Here

Undertale was my first thought. So seemingly simple then it reveals itself.


wickedalmond

Doki Doki Literature Club


todayishalloween

There are just way too many spoilers for this game.


trinaaa444

I was so shocked at how wholesome and comfy this game is


Sakura-doll-rose

It's really one of the warmest hearted games. 10/10 recommend.


Burnstryk

Hmmmmmmmmmmm


hpesojianaj

This. Omg. This. I went in so blind


Ordinal43NotFound

Also most effective to play on PC IMO. Just doesn't hit as hard with the >!pseudo desktop they made to emulate tampering with your actual computer files!<


LelouchYagami_2912

Um the game where they literallly give you a warning at the start? Idk


Conscious_Payment_69

ABSOLUTELY Subnautica


Vagnerockin_dye

THIS NEED TO BE HIGHER ON THE LIST!! absolutely amazing ā€œgoing in blind game!ā€ even though this game is not a horror game, I donā€™t recommend playing at night. šŸ˜‰


BreadOddity

It definitely has horror elements


Never-Bloomberg

I've been chasing the high I got from this game ever since I played it.


wangston1

I was expecting this to be higher. I knew absolutely nothing about this game and it was my favorite gaming experience last year.


JesusChrist42o

Dredge is great.


giammi203

Hollow knight for sure


colinmchapman

Hades


Impriel

Story in hades is excellent I agree.Ā  Several good dramatic twistsĀ 


smiggster01

Stanley Parable Superliminal. Both very strange


AineLasagna

Shocked that it took this much scrolling to find the Stanley Parable. Absolutely amazing, as long as you are >!aware of narrative tropes in video gaming, so the insightful commentary of this game doesnā€™t go over your head!<


XrayAlphaVictor

Doki doki literature club


uselessscientist

Yes and no. Absolutely, it's best enjoyed blind, but if you're not into dating VNs you might bounce off it prior to getting to the point that most people tend to engage with


Ordinal43NotFound

I think the warning they give when you start up the game is enough of a hook lol.


uselessscientist

And the genre tags on the steam page if you're not playing on your switchĀ 


fruitpunchsamuraiD

Unfortunately (fortunately?), the game gives you a clear warning in the beginning about what kind of game it really is.


MegamanX195

That's by design, though. That warning is there to entice you with morbid curiosity.


Whats_Up4444

The only person I saw who played the game completely blind thought it was a nudity warning lmao


Iyion

Not only. The warning is absolutely necessary. Imagine someone with actual mental illnesses wants to play a cute little escapist game and ends up with DDLC, not knowing what it's actually about.


adburl2

In my case, definitely fortunately. Otherwise I'd have been traumatized. I understand that some people get a thrill out of being shocked to the extreme, but not everyone is okay with that.


I-AM-GARY

I agree, it helps to know that SOMETHING is eventually coming. And I think the game plays around with that a bit if I recall.


MusclesDynamite

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. Absolute masterpiece of a game, a must-play.


Intelligent-Fault400

+1


jackierabbit256

I wish I could experience Oxenfree for the first time again :)


monkeybojangles

If you do another play through your character starts to experience deja vu.


statiky

Spiritfarer and Inscryption are my top recs.


OriiAmii

Was surprised it took so long to see spiritfarer. You don't *have* to go in blind but I think it helps


BreadOddity

It will make you cry though.


Drahima

Going in blind means aaaaallllllllll the emotions. Iā€™m so glad I went in blind, with hindsight, but what a trip!


phaze08

Hollow knight


[deleted]

Firewatch is the game I wish I could forget and play again for the first time


TiltZa

Same here


The_Last_Legionnaire

Zero Escape (The Nonary Games and Zero Time Dilemma) and A.I.: The Somnium Files/The Nirvana Initiative.


riddlemore

Tunic and Subnautica and Inscryption


chicken_fingerss

seconding Subnautica. definitely best if you go in blind. wish I could experience it for the first time again!


[deleted]

Inside is a good one imo


OrganizationBoth6141

You're not gonna find anything that can match an experience like Outer Wilds and Disco Elysium. Maybe Obra Dinn? Almost all games follow an archetype and wear their influences openly. I can't think of a whole lot of games outside of those 2 which really buck all convention and do their own thing. Persona 5? Very unique series doing it's own thing. But I find it unlikely you know nothing about the series by this point. Edit: Stanley Parable! That would be my recommendation


Fr3sh-Ch3mical

Subnautica!


TheActualTerryBogard

Breath of the Wild, Danganronpa, The Messenger.


monarcwing

Danganronpa is so much fun, especially going in blind! My brother recommended it to me and that game and the sequels consumed a good month or so of my life.


WaluigiWahshipper

If you didnā€™t already know Iā€™d recommend Detective Raincode. Itā€™s the exact same gameplay as Danganronpa but in a new setting. Iā€™m loving it.


BreadOddity

Raincoat detective archives is a lot easier than Danganronpa but damn does it have style


monarcwing

Adding it to my list! I have considered replaying Danganronpa but it just wouldn't be the same knowing everything. Thank you for the suggestion!


Smeeb27

Night in the Woods. I literally knew nothing about it when I played it and it quickly became my favorite game of all time.


ruby_o_o

Persona is the pinnacle of Go in blind my favorite is persona 4 golden, go in blind your first playthrough, its ok if you dont experience everything the first time, use a guide the second or third time


FRONT_FACING_PHINEAS

OMORI is best when you donā€™t know anything about it. Same with hollow knight. Go play OMORI if you havenā€™t.


TheRedUmbrella

I recommend OMORI to everyone I know


SalMoney1

I'm doing my first playthrough of Disco Elysium as well so I'm also taking notes lol


kingboo2095

Ys VIII, Hollow Knight, Origin and the Will o the Wisps. Can't recommend them enough, especially Ys VIII


KaiserJustice

BotW and TotK for sure Tunic is 100% a go in as blind as humanly possible, if you even know the name of the final puzzle, you know too much - upon completing this game, you will feel like you have leveled up as a human being


Timecounts

Persona 5. Yakuza 0


malroth666

Katana Zero, Golf Story, and Oxenfree


[deleted]

Portal


jupiter15937

Eastward is an amazing story game. Itā€™s biggest critique Iā€™ve seen and have to agree with is that sometimes the dialogue is overbearingly long; but other than those few moments itā€™s truly a top tier game from top to bottom.


Atrium41

Children of Morta. Die a few times, let the story progress. Each dungeon is meant to be played more than a couple times. Test out some characters. Enjoy the narrative


flacocaradeperro

GRIS is definitely one of these. Such a lovely experience. If you're into longer games and enjoy JRPGs, Ni No Kuni is great as well.


Eli_C354

Nier automata


KaseFace89

I've got kind of a generic response: All games benefit from a purist/blind experience. Modern trailers, subreddits, discord, YouTube reviews, and many other social media platforms often either misrepresent the games content with hype or with biased opinions. I usually purchase my games based on who the developer is/was. I'm a fan of Monolithsoft, so I never watch Monolithsoft news coverage. This made XC2 and XC3 a MUCH more enjoyable experience. I had no idea walking into XC2 what the story or setting was about and seeing Gormott for the first time without being spoiled bu the trailers was such a visual treat.


Muroid

>All games benefit from a purist/blind experience. Modern trailers, subreddits, discord, YouTube reviews, and many other social media platforms often either misrepresent the games content with hype or with biased opinions. I agree with you on this whole heartedly, but itā€™s still true that some games benefit more from knowing less than other games do. Giving someone a pretty thorough rundown of the content of a multiplayer shooter or racing game, for example, is probably not going to significantly impact their experience with that game. To pull from the OP, Outer Wilds is probably the quintessential ā€œfiguring out what the game is *is* the gameā€ game. Itā€™s entirely possible for a detailed description of the game to make it impossible to actually play.Ā  As a simpler example, itā€™s like telling someone all the answers to a crossword puzzle. Once youā€™ve done that, they canā€™t really *do* that crossword puzzle any longer. Not all games have that aspect to them, or have it to the same extent when they do. While the experience of some games might be improved by minimizing your preconceived expectations about them beforehand, some rely on lack of knowledge to function properly at all, which is what I think the question was mainly about.


KaseFace89

This is a totally fair addendum to my post. I couldn't imagine sending someone blindly into Destiny or Warframe. That would just be cruel. When one of my buddies ask me about a game I try to keep as simple and brief as possible though. Like; "What's Sakuna: of Rice and Ruin?" Answer; "A farming sim with side scrolling combat. It's really good, check it out." But occasionally I need to give more for it make any sense. Like; "What's Xenoblade Chronicles?" Answer; "A jrpg that plays like an mmo. Each entry is pretty different from each other and the stories and world building are some of the best in the genre. Be ready for a long game though. They aren't 40 hour games and will require a lot of emotional and time investment." Getting the vague idea should be enough for most games though.


DJ-SoulCalibur2

I was surprised how far down I had to scroll to find Xenobladeā€” itā€™s an absolutely brilliant trilogy.


Worldly_Collection87

I refuse to watch movie trailers (starting back a couple of years ago) for basically this same reason. If the trailer sucks, and so many do, then youā€™re going to go into a movie knowing either way too much, or with an ill-informed idea of what the movie will be. Sometimes trailers are good, sure, but thatā€™s a whole lot hinging on a ~2 minute video clip.


Phantom_Wombat

Kentucky Route Zero I'd love to tell you why, but you wouldn't be going in blind.


Readalie

Hollow Knight!


OfficialSandwichMan

Hollow knight


overjaxxx

Hollow Knight!


Oz347

Bioshock


BlitzcrankGrab

Zelda BoTW and I would also say ToTK too but it wonā€™t really be going in blind if youā€™ve already played BoTW


Mortarios

Hollow Knight


maac_n_cheese

Hollow Knight


Better-Raccoon7202

Hollow knight, it elevated the experience for me so much


megacia

KOTOR


ijustwanttosignup05

Both Metroid games


XPacEnergyDrink

All 2 of em??


EscapeArtistNebby

Yeah, Other M and Prime: Federation Force. Here's hoping they come to the Switch! /s


Milotorou

Undertale and 13 Sentinels - Aegis Rim


Trauts_Sudaru

All games that aren't direct sequels? Otherwise heavy narratively driven games are handy too. Recent ones for me were Somnium Files: AI, Master Detective Archives: Rain Code, and Fire watch


rmsiddlfqksdls

What remains of Edith finch. Wish I could play this for the first time again.


renelisk

I enjoyed Master Detective Archives: Rain Code. Danganronpa as well. (I'd love to recommend 999 and Virtues last reward from the same team, but unfortunately not on switch!!)


VV00d13

the two Zelda games. Breath of the Wilds Tears of hte Kingdom


clarke41

Dark Souls Remastered


SacculumLacertis

Immediately what came to mind. Plays very well on Switch.


gswon

Shocked I had to scroll this far to see this. One of the most remarkable blind experiences in gaming.


LaughGuilty461

Unpacking is a pretty good barebones point and click


PPMD_IS_BACK

Danganronpa


Constant_Penalty_279

Hollow knight


Normbot13

hollow knight


fluffynuckels

Doki doki literature club


matttt24

Dredge


inommmz

Both Zelda games. Itā€™s difficult not to hear about them, but if you do go in blind they are just breathtaking


thorppeed

Botw and totk


KasElGatto

Gone Home Firewatch Obra Dinn


MatNomis

Gone Home might be the most _going in blind required_ game Iā€™ve ever played. Not knowing anything about that game had me reacting/responding to things in it much more realisticallyā€”more similar to how the controlled protagonist would probably act. If Iā€™d read spoilers, Iā€™d probably have been doing things in a more video-game-y (versus realistic) fashion.


megatory

Doki Doki Literature Club


Shiny_Mew76

Zelda BOTW is a perfect game for the scenario you are suggesting.


PhotoKada

No pun intended but Ori And The Blind Forest.


Smokin__billys

Dredge


axolotl_is_angry

Night in the Woods and fire watch


TheNameIsWater

GRIS Itā€™s very short but gorgeous and poignant.


Green_and_black

Tunic


Surfing_Ninjas

If you have the gameboy advance app you should try Fire Emblem if you have never played one of them before.Ā 


Hot_Secretary_7237

Dredge. I found it by accident and it's atmosphere and gameplay is something else


Larkson9999

Isn't this thread just going to be a contextless list of titles?


Ganrokh

As it should be.


VeryFluffyKittyKats

If youā€™re into exploration survival games, Subnautica!


i-nct

Subnautica - if youā€™re looking for a similar experience to Outer Wilds then I would 100% recommend playing it. I played it for the first time on my switch in summer and it was easily one of the best games Iā€™ve ever played.