Hello, in the recent years I find myself willing to spend much less time and energy on games, but I do still enjoy them. Oftentimes I end up quitting a new game I tried out relatively early on, because I’m encountering some block, grind, non-optional boring side quest, empty open world, uninteresting clutter or details that I have to manage, or similar. Like, I just wanna play the actual game play, see how the story continues, and visit those areas that were designed with care. Not worry where on the map I can sell the glimbrunses I collected so I can buy a 37% stronger glarpidifice that I’ll need to beat the next glutrey after which I’m allowed to continue the main story.

Sorry if this turned into some kind of a rant, but I hope it’s understandable what I’m looking for and what I meant by fluff. Some games that have fulfilled this for me during the last years:

  • Stray
  • Skyrim (there’s a lot of fluff you can worry about in Skyrim, but the thing is you don’t have to worry about it, you can also just walk in any direction and see what situation you wind up in, at least for the first 10-20h of a playthrough, which IMO is enough time for a game anyway)
  • Life is Strange
  • Some Pokémon ROM hacks where the difficulty spikes were not too harsh

Looking forward to hear your suggestions :) Games where there is some fluff but you’re allowed to just ignore it are also fine, but not having any fluff is preferred. Bonus points for anything on the Xbox game pass.

  • lime!@feddit.nuEnglish
    582·
    3 months ago

    OUTER WILDS!

    • zero fluff. every piece of text and every setpiece is in service to the main story.
    • no gating. you can go everywhere from moment one.
    • no grinding. no combat at all, in fact.
    • no time pressure. it may seem like it, but don’t worry.
    • the big mystery requires understanding the world and the story, rather than fighting a difficult battle
    • it will make you cry
      • lime!@feddit.nuEnglish
        4·
        3 months ago

        same! turns out you can make it a lot easier for yourself by observation. for example, there are only two of them you actually need to manoeuvre around. also, that entire section takes three to five minutes, but you have like twelve, so it’s fine to take it slow. finally, you can mark your destination from the log to get its location.

      • acosmichippo@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        3 months ago

        same. the trick is to float by doing literally nothing as slow as possible. it takes some trial and error to figure out when you can maneuver again but you do have to be a little patient.

    • Peter_Arbeitsloser@feddit.orgEnglish
      1·
      3 months ago

      I couldn’t bring myself to finishing it because “the timer” stressed me so much :( I loved everything else about it so much.

      • njm1314@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        3 months ago

        Timer? Can you elaborate a bit? I was thinking of getting it but I fucking loathe time limits in games.

        • acosmichippo@lemmy.worldEnglish
          0·
          3 months ago

          i don’t think it’s a spoiler to say this because you learn very early in the game - physically everything in the worlds goes back to square one after 22 minutes (or if you die).

          you do get to keep a log of everything you learn about the worlds and story but that’s all that persists. the log is actually helpful, so follow that if you get lost.

          slight spoiler:

          Tap for spoiler

          also the 22 minute reset is not an arbitrary design choice, it’s part of the story and puzzle.

          • njm1314@lemmy.worldEnglish
            3·
            3 months ago

            Oh okay. Thanks for the explanation that really helps. I was envisioning something more permanent from the initial description. That didn’t sound bad at all.