If you could only play 5 games for the rest of your life...

[danzibr]

Another 5-er thread.

I was talking to my son, a budding gamer, yesterday. We talked about the difference between liking a game and it being replayable. I said that some of my absolute favorite games wouldn't make it on a list of games in the title. For me it'd be something like

1 WoW
2 MineCraft
3 Hollow Knight, maybe
4 Some 4X game
5 Maybe the Sims or something

On the other hand, the only one of those games I'd consider one of my favorites of all time is Hollow Knight.

What about you?

[Eldan]

Probably no story heavy games. Some I can replay several times, but not enough to be worth it.

So, one grand strategy game, probably EUIV (most replayed) or CKII (most diverse mods, including Elder Scrolls, Warhammer and Song of Ice and Fire), one 4X game (Alpha Centauri? Endless Legend?), probably some kind of open world build/survival game (one I haven't played yet, maybe?), some action game to let off steam if I'm in the mood for that, probably a multiplayer one with a broad character roster (I guess that's Smash Brothers? Though alternatively some kind of cooperative team game like Deep Rock Galactic or Vermintide , to play with friends.).

Oh, and SS13. That's just a game that's endlessly fun and always changing.

[danzibr]

Oooohhhhh good call with Smash Bros. If you have some fun people to play with, endless enjoyment out of that.

[Antonok]

I would have to go with moddable games since then you can add variance to them, even better if you can make your own mods. That said my list would look something like (in no particular order) Also, are full trilogies/series included? Cause that would change my list a bit.

1: WoW
2: League of Legends
3: Terraria
4: Legend of Zelda Link to the Past
5: Bladur's Gate II (or some other top down RPG)

[Lacco]

1. Mount & Blade: Warband (or Bannerlord, but my current computer can not run it)
2. Stardew Valley (with multiplayer!)
3. Mercenaries 2: World In Flames (with multiplayer!)
4. Kerbal Space Program
5. Dwarf Fortress. For the fun.

I think it's important for the game to work on the "make your own fun" level to be enjoyable even after long time. That's why I have Warband there: I actually return to it time after time and it's most probably the game I have spent playing most time. Also: mods.

I was torn between including Jagged Alliance 2 and Stardew Valley, but then I thought of which one of these I actually re-install and play through once in a while. If we are talking about singleplayer only, Alan Wake beats Mercenaries 2 and Jagged Alliance 2 beats Stardew Valley. But when you include multiplayers, SV and Mercs win.

Because there aren't enough games where you can pilot a Huey to destroy enemy fort with your friend shooting from Vulcan minigun on the side, and finishing the attack with actual nuclear bunker buster missile being delivered.

[Gauntlet]

1. RimWorld
2. League of Legends (Teamfight Tactics is in the same client, which makes a nice 2-for-1)
3. MTGO
4. Tabletop Simulator
5. Smash Ultimate

[Cespenar]

I think that if you take into account the average human life and the gradual loss of actual active fun on a singular game (as opposed to just familiarity), I'd expect most picks converging to the same result (zero) at somewhere around your middle age.

Yes, I'm also not fun at parties.

[Zevox]

Honestly, for me, there's little if any difference between how much I like a game and how replayable it is. I know a lot of people want games to be able to be different in some way when they replay them, but I never have - I'll happily replay a game over and over if I like it enough. Can't count how many times I re-played games like Ocarina of Time or Banjo-Kazooie when I was younger, and even these days when I have less free time to go around I'm happy to occasionally pull something out and re-play it regardless of whether it has what others might call "replay value." Hell, last year when DMC5 came out I played through it at least three times in a row, plus completed Bloody Palace mode with Dante and came close to doing it with Nero, before moving on to something else.

Still, setting that disagreement with the premise aside, my problem for answering the question is that I'd want a fighting game or two on there, but no one fighting game is going to have an active online community forever. New iterations, sequels, or just generally new games in the genre will cause people to move on eventually, no matter what game it is. And without that, well, all I could do is training mode basically, since playing against an AI is a very poor substitute for human opponents. And as much fun as training mode can be, if you never get to do the things you learn in it against actual opponents, it'd be a bit hollow.

Beyond that, well, hard to say. I'd certainly have to include a Persona game; probably Persona 4 Golden, since P3 never got certain improvements the series has made since then, and I like 3 and 4 overall better than 5 for story reasons. A great action game would be a must - top candidates being DMC 5, Bayonetta 2, and maybe Metal Gear Rising, in my mind. Hm, what else... oh, I ought to have a platformer I love in there. That probably has to be Banjo-Kazooie.

So, if I ignore the issue with the online communities of the fighting games, I think I'd come up with something like:
1) Persona 4 Golden
2) One of DMC 5, Bayonetta 2, or Metal Gear Rising.
3) Banjo-Kazooie
4) Super Smash Brothers Ultimate
5) One of Dragon Ball FighterZ or BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle.

Smash Ultimate gets the nod because it's basically "video game all-stars: the fighting game," so it'd be very hard to exclude it - though I'd really be hoping they released a new version with better online someday, because it can be rough sometimes, even if it is still better than nothing. And DBFZ and BBTag have just been duking it out for the title of my favorite traditional fighting game ever since they came out, and I still can't decide.

[NeoVid]

I'd need games with near-unlimited replay value, which means largely multiplayer... on the condition that the games would always have a player base to interact with. With that in mind, my top 5 would likely be

Warframe
City of Heroes
Super Monday Night Combat
D&D Online
Overwatch? Not sure about the last slot.

[Narkis]

First few choices are easy. Master of Orion 2, Civilization 4, Starcraft, Diablo 2. These are all games that have stood the test of time and I still go back to play fairly frequently even with newer games out in their respective genres. And my final choice will have to be Baldur's Gate (just BG2 if I can't cheat and have the entire series). It was the first RPG I ever played, and while it may not be as replayable as the rest, I would hate never playing it again.

[boj0]

1) The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
Probably ones of my favourite games ever; the sheer number of mechanical and roleplay options in the game are immense. I could spend an incredible amount of time just making up custom classes and just messing around.

2) Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
Toxic? Yes. Broken guns? Of course. Bad for my blood pressure? Probably. Am I capable of sitting and playing for 13 hours straight trolling kids with C4 and the Crossbow? You know it. The only CoD, hell, the only online FPS where I could say I was actually good at it, and I still need to finish the grind for diamond launchers.
*Note: this assumes the question isn't one of those "you're stuck on a deserted island" types, and I can actually play online.

3) Super Smash Bros (Tie between Melee and Ultimate)
Just mindless fun

4) Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Best soundtrack ever in my opinion, one of my favorite platformers, and a massive nostalgia trip every time.

5) Diablo II
Playing for any amount of time approaching infinity will eventually lead to a point where I get a Zod rune

[Kaptin Keen]

Can I go with: 5 games I haven't played, yet?

[Dire_Flumph]

1. Pinball Fx3
Love me some pinball, a great selection of excellent tables.

2. Star Wars: TIE Fighter
Since the day it released it's probably been my all time favorite game. Not sure I'll ever get tired of the campaigns.

3. Minecraft
If I could have just one game it might be this one. I've been playing for years and feel like I've only just scratched the surface of what I could build.

4. One of the Civilization games
Lots of pros and cons for different entries. Hard to make up my mind.

5. FTL
Need a roguelike, to date this is my fave.

[Knaight]

1. Dominions 5. 4X games in general are pretty replayable, and this one in particular has a stupidly huge number of different factions that are actually substantially different and not Civ style 2-units-and-a-building different.

2. Spelunky. This is going to be a roguelike heavy list (because replayability is a thing), and despite some of Spelunky's more dubious thematic trappings it's a rock solid game mechanically. Though this might get replaced by a sequel at some point soonish.

3. DROD: The Second Sky. This is a bit of a dubious one, but the game can technically encompass all previous games in the serious as holds (level sets), along with having a ton of player made levels that can actually be really good. As my favorite puzzle game series DROD gets a place here.

4. Into The Breach. One of these roguelikes needs to be turn based, and while there are a few other major contenders (ToME, Bionic Dues) ITB takes it.

5. Super Smash Bros Ultimate. Sometimes you want to play a party game, and SSB can do that. Sometimes you want to play a deeply technical competitive fighting game and SSB can do that. Plus, local multiplayer is generally fun.

The total lack of 3D games here is notable, but not exactly surprising.

[Corlindale]

Good question! I'm bound to have missed some obvious choices, but here's my list.

1. Tales of Maj'Eyal (ToME) - I return to this game again and again, and still barely feel I've scratched the surface. All you really need to know about its longevity is probably summed up in this one-word Steam review from a person with 6000+ hours played: "help"

2. Path of Exile - Similar to ToME, so much variety in the characters you can build, and new stuff keeps being added.

3. Might & Magic VII - Yeah, this is partly nostalgia, but not only is MMVIII one of my all time favourite games, it's also one of the few old games I regularly return to to test out wacky party combinations, and just to visit all the familiar places again.

At this point the list gets more tricky. There are definitely other games I've played for hundreds of hours, but many of those I haven't played for years.

4. Civilization IV - There has to be a Civ game on the list, and IV is my favourite (neither V nor VI really clicked with me). If mods are also on the table, there's a bazillion hours of content here. Just typing this makes me want to fire it up again, come to think of it.

5. Minecraft - I've never gotten truly deep into Minecraft, but it is a game I find myself returning to often, and there is pretty much no limit on the kind of things you can do and build (not to mention great multiplayer potential), so I imagine it would serve well as an eternity game.

[Corvus]

Had to have a good think about this one.

1) Morrowind. By far the best story that Bethesda have ever told. The villain isn't out to destroy the world for evulz and may actually be right about some things. Plus it was an extremely unique world compared to the typical copy-paste medieval Europe settings. Soundtrack was amazing as well. Even after all the time I've played in it I've barely scratched the surface.

2) Dwarf Fortress. You're not going to run out of things to do in it.

3) Aurora 4x: Basically dwarf fortress in space.

4) Crusader Kings 2. I've already put nearly 1000 hours into it and there is still a lot I haven't done. Crusader Kings 3 may replace it, depending on how good it is.

5) Mass Effect 1. The best of the Mass Effect trilogy. This one is very likely to be replaced with Cyberpunk 2077 when it comes out if it is anywhere near as good as I hope it is.

Honourable mentions: Master of Orion 2, Empire: Total War, Warhammer 2: Total War, Emperor of the Fading Suns, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

1. Halo: The Master Chief Collection. Bit of a cheat here, since it contains Halo: Anniversary, Halo 2: Anniversary, and Halo 3 all in one disc. If forced to choose between the three, it would be the first (I've replayed the campaign so many times and I still love it), but having three campaigns and multiplayers to switch between will help greatly with variety. Bit of a shame to miss out on ODST, Reach, 4, and the Halo Wars games, but whatcha gonna do. (I don't hate Halo 5, but nor do I love it like I do the rest of the series).

2. Slay the Spire. Empirical data suggests this one is capable of keeping me entertained for quite some time, what with my... let me check... 115 hours of total playtime since I got it a few weeks ago. Granted, a significant chunk of that is probably just me being too lazy to save & quit and just leaving it running while I do non-computer things. Much the same reason I have thousands of hours logged on Roll20.

3. Smash Bros Brawl. Endless entertainment for local play, and there's always the Subspace Emissary when alone. I've barely played Ultimate; it may be the better choice here, but I wouldn't know.

4. Happy Colors. What? I want at least one mobile game on the list, and this is the one I'm playing right now. Relaxed, pretty, and kills time quite effectively.

5. Either Devil May Cry V or DMC: Devil May Cry. There's actually several things I prefer about DMC: DMC to the new game. The big one is the absence of the fifth game's horrible lock-on; I want to be able to aim my attacks, not just lunge towards whatever enemy happens to be closest at the time - but I also like how elegant switching between stances using the triggers is and how you can use any weapon to start a combo before switching to the one you want to finish it with. However, there's no denying that DMC V is the deeper game, with three characters and dozens of moves and combos for each of them, so I think that's the one it has to be for increased replayability. Nero vs. Urizen is also one of the best uses of gameplay/story integration I've seen, taking what should by all rights be a fairly cliche villain and making him legitimately intimidating.


Honorable Mentions: Cave Story, Warframe, Wordscapes, and Batman: Arkham City.

[UtopiaNext]

Another 5-er thread.

I was talking to my son, a budding gamer, yesterday. We talked about the difference between liking a game and it being replayable. I said that some of my absolute favorite games wouldn't make it on a list of games in the title. For me it'd be something like

1 WoW
2 MineCraft
3 Hollow Knight, maybe
4 Some 4X game
5 Maybe the Sims or something

On the other hand, the only one of those games I'd consider one of my favorites of all time is Hollow Knight.

What about you?

I'd say my list is:

1. Batmud (yes, a mud! they still exist :D)
2. WoW (mostly for pvp)
3. Planetside 2 (for pvp goodness)
4. Star Trek Online
5. Star Citizen (when it finally actually comes out as planned >_>)

I'm mostly into the Scifi approach, but Batmud and WoW are games I started playing many years ago and they're still good, so, I'll keep up with them. Actually PS2 and STO I also started a while back, but not as far back :)

[InvisibleBison]

1) Mass Effect
2) Tales of Maj'Eyal
3) Stellaris
4) Heat Signature
5) Minecraft

[Squire Doodad]

I'm not sure, but the one traditional RPG that would be able to be on that list would be FFV. So many options for classes, it's got almost infinite replayability. If we permit a cheat code for All Jobs, there's a lot of fun to be had in it across many playthroughs.

[Spore]

I think that if you take into account the average human life and the gradual loss of actual active fun on a singular game (as opposed to just familiarity), I'd expect most picks converging to the same result (zero) at somewhere around your middle age.

Yes, I'm also not fun at parties.

This, so much this. I would probably quit gaming alltogether, taking up a more varied hobby, since the advantage of games is actually that you can do so much stuff in games that you cannot feasibly fit in even the most active lifestyle.

If I had to push 5 games into the 2-3 years it takes me to "wean" me off gaming, these would probably be:

1. something creative: Minecraft was mentioned but I am not really into that. More likely Tabletop Simulator, yannow to be able to play whatever.
2. something card-game-y: most likely MTGA.
3. something with 4x or strategy involved, most likely Civ 5 or 6.
4. some diablo clone: for the katharsis of mowing down hordes of monsters, with a depth of skill trees. Stuff like Path of Exile, Diablo 2 or 3,
5. A racing game with moddable circuits. This means Mario Kart 8 if it allows custom tracks. I am not really into that genre, but I would want to for this reason. Arcade-y gameplay is not a focus, just longyevity (please tell me I spelled that right) and modder support.

[Yora]

Warcraft 3
Mirror's Edge
Mass Effect 2
Dark Souls
And perhaps Morrowind. It's not a good game, but a great world to look at.

[jayem]

Obviously depends on the situation...anyhow here is my shortlist (which which still needs cutting down by one).

Medieval Total War has in some senses passed the practical test for me, it's been the 5th game for enough years, the combination of the two games (strategic and tactical) works fairly well in any case.
Simutrans (or Sim City), though some of that comes from hoping the updates have made it different.
Death to Spies (Hitman), again you get 2 games in one, Spy or Shoot-em-up
Tome seems a good choice, a massive world, an old style large MUD would possibly be even better.
A card game collection1, lots of simple nominal different games (it's a bit of a cheat)
The Sims, ideally it would be good if you could set it up to have more of a life sim mode. Building pretty buildings and moving people around is addictive, but it's a game that promises more than delivers.

[Psyren]

1. WoW - While I go boom and bust with it, it's reliably a game I come back to consistently.
2. Starcraft 2 - putting aside the endlessly engaging co-op, the sheer moddability is insane - people have created everything inside from MMOs to Hearthstone to League to racing games and many more.
3. Divinity Original Sin 2 - Moddability is the key here as well, plus it would allow me to game either as a player or as a GM for my friends in my own custom worlds. This one also gives me an offline/single-player/story-based option when I need it, provided I can obtain custom campaigns from other people.
4. Overwatch 2 - Would need at least one mindless actionfest to break up the more thoughtful experiences, and this one would have both PvP and PvE.
5. Anthem 2.0 - if it's as good as it looks to be shaping up to be. If not, swap out for some other looter-shooter (possibly Warframe.)

[Leon]

Minecraft
Warframe
XCOM 2
Total Annihilation
Guild Wars 2

[Eldan]

Warcraft 3
Mirror's Edge
Mass Effect 2
Dark Souls
And perhaps Morrowind. It's not a good game, but a great world to look at.

Mirror's Edge, really? I mean, I liked the game, but is it a game you can play more than once or twice?

[DarthArminius]

Hmm If I could only play 5 games for my whole life, I would be real sad. :(

Well here it goes.

1) Dragon Warrior 7
2) Chrono Trigger
3) Final Fantasy VI
4) Skyrim
5) Um, jee, I don't know. . . Lufia 2?

[danzibr]

Hmm If I could only play 5 games for my whole life, I would be real sad. :(

Well here it goes.

1) Dragon Warrior 7
2) Chrono Trigger
3) Final Fantasy VI
4) Skyrim
5) Um, jee, I don't know. . . Lufia 2?

RPG fan eh?

Replayability skyrockets if we allow mods at least :P

[DarthArminius]

RPG fan eh?

Replayability skyrockets if we allow mods at least :P

Yep. RPGs are my favorite genre of video games.

[Balmas]

Well, let's go with the all-time hits. If it's gonna be only five game, I'm looking for things that can be either modded or of superlative quality.

Minecraft is definitely on the list. Infinite possibility, lots of modding options.

Skyrim is on the list, largely for the same reasons. It's a bit basic, but you can turn it into basically any game and bring any game into it, so that's a positive.

Fallout: New Vegas is one of my favorite RPGs of all time, and I'm pretty sure my ADHD would kill me if I got cut off from it.

Witcher 3, for similar reasons as New Vegas.

And an oldie but a goodie: Star Wars: Episode 1 Racer. I've been playing it since it released back in the 90s, and it's just a good game that's consistently good.