What games are just objective masterpieces?
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Do you think Return of the Obra Dinn would belong alongside these or is that game too flawed by comparison? I ask because I myself am not sure.
Oh, actually Disco Elysium would fit right in here as well as a "fully-realized microcosms where the primary game is unfolding the complex origami of the setting".
Haven't actually played these two but from what I gather, they definitely fit the list!
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Celeste. Emotional narrative that seamlessly blends with the gameplay, which implementa never before seen accessibility configuration, enhanced by one of the best soundtracks ever. All while being cheap, indie, and one of the best speedrun games ever made
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How come no one has mentioned “Life is strange” yet? Also, “A plague tale”.
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Historically a masterpiece has been a (or the) work that demonstrates an artist is capable of utilizing their medium to its fullest extent, i.e. it has been mastered. Per ye olde Wiki:
Historically, a "masterpiece" was a work of a very high standard produced by an apprentice to obtain full membership, as a "master", of a guild or academy in various areas of the visual arts and crafts.
In that light, I'd say the best qualified would be games that completely utilized the capabilities of the platform they were designed for or, perhaps of interest to more people, expanded what everyone thought could be done with those systems. Games which were furthermore well polished and complete, and did not have much room for improvement taking into account the constraints they had to work with at the time. (For instance: No duh we could make Mario 64 run at a higher framerate and have better textures to look nicer on hardware now. That doesn't mean it wasn't arguably a masterpiece of its time, on the system it was on.) This doesn't just have to be technical stuff -- It could be the way the game used storytelling, its gameplay mechanics, or anything else.
Spyro and Crash trilogies on the PSX, as well as the Quake 2 port, would definitely merit being called technical masterpieces
On the original Xbox, Phantom Dust would fit that bill, despite being a commercial failure at the time. The tldr is that you create a collection of spells (attacks, traps, dodges, curses, buffs) and try to grab them and the "mana" during the real time duels, in order to beat your opponents. Terrain is semi destructible and you have to take into consideration the trajectory of your spells - https://www.xbox.com/games/store/phantom-dust/9PCDNBHR11MR
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Have you played Prey? Only other game to scratch that same itch for me.
Prey 2017 or Prey 2006?
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Nioh 2 is one of my favorite soulslikes, but falls short of masterpiece in my opinion due to the repeatedly recycled levels.
Have you played the mainline souls titles? The NG+ system in Nioh 2 leads out into new unique maps (The abyss) rather than being the same game with revamped enemy placement and health nine times lol.
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RDR2. Witcher 3. Fallout New Vegas.
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RDR2. Witcher 3. Fallout New Vegas.
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Fallout 2
Wasteland 3.
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Wasteland 3.
In this case, Jagged Alliance 2 (with 1.13 mod).
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Curious to hear what the criteria for "masterpiece" is, otherwise I think it is just peoples' subjective opinion of what makes a great game that they also think others might agree about being a great game. Genuinely curious, interested in discussion, not saying this to shut down any of the answers here.
In my mind a masterpiece video game can't be copied. Or at least if someone tried it would just be called a cheap clone of the original.
Then again everything can be copied but the more difficult it is to copy the closer it is to a masterpiece IMO.
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There are a lot of answers, mine will be drowned but... there it is. In no particular order :
- Final Fantasy X
- Clair Obscur : Expedition 33
- Baldur's Gate 3
- Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2 (but you had to be there when it came out)
- Metal Gear Solid 3
- Shadow Hearts : Covenant
- Kya : Dark Lineage (the bugs were a feature)
- Horizon : Zero Dawn
- Megaman (any megaman will do)
- Crash Bandicoot Trilogy
- Spyro Trilogy
- Pokemon Yellow/Crystal/Emerald
- Pokemon Jade (yes that bootleg version)
- The Last of Us (pt. I & II)
- Astroneer
- GTA : Vice City
- Unreal Tournament 2004
- CS 1.6 played in the most dirty lan at your disposal
- Control
- Tetris
- Neverwinter Nights 2
- Dragon Age : Origins
- Quake III
- Bomberman
Just started BG3. Fuckin mind-blowingly amazing.
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Okay, now do it all on a bell curve.
What's the most absolute medium game, to which all other games are compared to, and if worse, fail, or are better and pass?
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Spec Ops: The line
Basically the "committing war crimes isn't funny after all" game
This is your fault, god-damnit 🫵
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My Picks...
Deus Ex (So many games try to be this and fail)
Cyberpunk (This one eventually measured up)
Alpha Centauri (Innovation mixed with familiarity and setting)
Fallout 2 (they're all good. Fallout 2 is special)
Kotor (Star Wars story telling in a beautiful way)
Baldur's Gate 2 and 3 (I'm stunned that 3 was a worthy successor)
Homeworld (One of the World's truly beautiful games)
Phantom Liberty is where Cyberpunk becomes a masterpiece.
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Okay, now do it all on a bell curve.
What's the most absolute medium game, to which all other games are compared to, and if worse, fail, or are better and pass?
Oooooh I like that question. I feel like it would have to be some kind of Call of Duty, right? Some absolutely mediocre slop that still has enough mechanical satisfaction and mind-numbing explosion-and-cliché-filled story to keep you somewhat entertained, yet still remaining completely forgettable.
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SOMA was great
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I think Bioshock 1, Inscryption, Portal 1 & 2(I believe that 2 wouldn't be so loved if we didn't already love 1, I like to think of them as a set), Silent Hill 2, Resident Evil, Nier Automata, and Okami.
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Just started BG3. Fuckin mind-blowingly amazing.
If you really liked BG3 you might also like Neverwinter Nights 2 and DA:O. I heard there was a remaster of Neverwinter Nights 2 in the works, maybe give it a try when it comes out.
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Oooooh I like that question. I feel like it would have to be some kind of Call of Duty, right? Some absolutely mediocre slop that still has enough mechanical satisfaction and mind-numbing explosion-and-cliché-filled story to keep you somewhat entertained, yet still remaining completely forgettable.
The McDonald's of videogames.
