I want to try and play some more games. That feels more fulfilling if you play games that you can finish and be done with.
So what are some good games that have zero (or close to zero perhaps) replayability? I’ll start with my own suggestions:
- Return of the Obra Dinn: Amazing mystery/detective game. However once you’ve played it, you basically can’t play it again as you remember the solution already and the challenge of the game is trivialized.
- Chants of Sennaar: Really great game about deciphering languages. However, once again, by playing the game once, you’ll remember the languages and the game has no challenge any more.
- Outer Wilds: Mystery adventure game. There is some replayability as there are perhaps areas that you can still explore, but largely once you figure out the mystery and complete the game, there’s not much more to experience. Some people speedrun the game though.
All of the above games I value extremely highly even though I only played them ~8-10 hours.
Do you have any others?
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Myst
I replayed it the other week after not touching it since the original release. Was fun. I managed to forget a bunch of puzzles, and the new graphics made it fun to just explore the Ages.
Does it hold up?
I never played Myst as a kid but when I tried it a few years ago, the puzzles seem really hard and abstract by today’s standards.
And I played a LOT of point and click games, and most I can solve without a walkthrough. But the 15 mins in Myst felt like I need to play it with a guide.
I haven’t played it in a while but I did watch a playthrough recently and I don’t think there was any guessing necessary or anything.
Honestly felt this way about BioShock Infinite - the gameplay was alright, but it was the story that made it good, but you only get to explore it for the first time once. I have zero plans to ever pick that one up again
Same for the latest Tomb Raider trilogy for me
Bioshock 1 had replayability for me, but the next 2 games were a bother. It’s especially annoying in Bioshock 2 when you’re expected to gather ADAM with the little girls for full completion, when the benefit of doing so doesn’t justify the time it takes.
I played BioShock like 3-4 times! There’s just so many ways to go through a level with different character builds!
Agreed. It was great game because the story, but I can barely remember anything about the gameplay aside from the interactions with Elizabeth. Sadly, my final moments were destroyed by a visual bug - right at the climax of the story near the end of the game Elizabeth’s hair inexplicably stopped rendering… She was as bald as Sinead O’Connor. It kinda killed the vibe.
I replayed it a few years ago with a meele only playthrough. I had to use the pistol a few times but all in all it was more fun than the original play through.
There is a plasmid that lets you dash into an enemies face, which I combined with perks give your sky hook shock damage and an execute.
Factorio.
Just kidding, someone please help me
I recently started factorio, damn iam HOOKED
Funny OP, you named the exact 3 games I was planning on naming here.
Great minds think alike 😜
It’s quite an open question. Most games I play are “one and done” even though I think most people go back to them. Even with replayability it doesn’t mean that you have to and I’m happy to leave things be once the story is over.
Mafia trilogy sticks to the story and will take a decent amount of hours.
Inside is short but fun.
+1 for inside, I love this game
Don’t forget about Limbo!
Stranded Deep - one of the only survival/crafting/procedural open world games that has a defined objective and an actual ending.
10/10 don’t need to play it again but I might anyway because it was so great
I would also put Subnautica here - and personally say it is worlds superior to Stranded Deep but of course personal preference can give either hte advantage.
Subnautica is replayae just because the world is so beautiful
I enjoy replaying it, but the contrast between first time and any repeat is mind-boggling, and nearly enough to say that replaying it isn’t worth it. That first time… wow, it just hit so well.
I want to like this game but I keep making stupid decisions and being so confused at the start that I just gave up. The game is fun but doesn’t do a fantastic job at explaining how to get going.
What Remains of Edith Finch. A psychological horror game that REALLY sucks you in. As you play, there is a lot of stuff that doesn’t make any sense, but there’s a secret (disturbing) meaning behind it all.
I spent a good chunk of a Saturday going through it and there’s no need to do it again, but it was a great ride!
Oh man - I loved WRoEF, but the bathtub segment has ensured I can never play it again.
Oh yeah. They aren’t subtle in that one, you know what’s coming and I think I just muttered “oh no. Oh no. Oh no.” through the whole thing.
I am thinking of replaying Edith Finch because I must have missed a lot of details by the time I realised what the story was about.
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a little older but it kind of reminds me of Edith Finch in vibes. It’s also really beautiful.
And if you do want more try out Unfinished Swan.
The Unfinished Swan is such a hidden gem, honestly. I never hear anyone talk about it. Very unique style and mechanics and an endearing story. Some beautiful environments too. And pretty short, so not a big commitment.
It’s a great, great game.
Thanks for pointing that out, I had never heard of that one. I looked it up and I’ll definitely check it out.
Also take a look at: The Suicide of Rachel Foster
It’s currently 90% off on steam at 1.79USD
Antichamber - clever first person puzzle game. I played it exactly once and I loved it.
I’d place Superliminal in this category as well.
Superliminal was cool, but I just didn’t enjoy it. It was fun for a bit, but I feel like the mechanic overstayed it’s welcome for how simple it is. There’s not very many unique ways to use it. That’s probably why Valve abandoned the idea too.
Still, it’s interesting and worth a shot. Plenty of people love it.
This goes for most of these first person puzzle games. Once you solve the puzzle its not very fun to do it again.
Portal 1 and 2, the Witness, Talos Principle 1 and 2, Manifold Garden - all worth a play through. Next on my list to try is Viewfinder.
I play through both Portal games every few years; maybe every 5 or 6. I think I’m due again soon.
I feel portal could be replayed if you focused too hard on the puzzles the first time through, there were quite a few secrets worth exploring in that world, though none too deep unfortunately
I kind of got bored of manifold garden. I guess it was the lack of any story. I just had no motivation to continue.
Awesome game. I was high on cannabis when I played it, and managed to beat it in one sitting about 10 years ago. I want to play it while high on shrooms, that would be even crazier.
Copying my comment from elsewhere in this thread
I was going to write anti chamber, because I never want to play it again, but %'s 30-90 of the way through the game I was itching to start over. It had me so hooked, but then the ending just took the wind out of the sails so hard. Heck maybe 10-98% of the game had me itching to replay it.
I replayed it after many years. It was fantastic, now I need to wait another many years to forget the solution.
The older you get the more often you’ll be able to play!
Good suggestion, I played it many years ago as well :)
Firewatch. Road 96.
Road 96 has quite a bit of replay ability as you’re unlikely to get 100% of all stories on the first playthrough.
Road 96
Huh? The point of that game is being a narrative roguelite, everytime you start out different and have different choices to make.
Same with firewatch.
Firewatch has 1 ending and only pretty small changes depending on dialog.
How “bad” is the walking simulator aspect in these games? Is it mostly just walking or is there actual gameplay?
I hate the term “walking simulator”. It’s totally missing the point. They’re never about walking, but about discovery. Outer Wilds is a “walking simulator” in that there’s no combat and traversal is the only “action” you take. That’s definitely not what Outer Wilds is about though, right? That term should probably die.
Bad if you hate it, good if you like it.
I like walking simulator and Firewatch is great. Lacking gameplay doesn’t mean it is bad.
What Remains of Edith Finch is even better.
I haven’t really tried a walking sim before but I suspect I’ll find it boring - considering the reviews on What Remains of Edith Finch, I’m statistically unlikely to dislike it though, so I guess I’ll give it a shot and see what I think :)
Try changing your mindset when you approach the game, treat it like an interactive exploration or a digital toy. You might get into it more easily doing that.
I would not recommend Road 96 although some people seem to like it.
Instead, I would suggest “As Dusk Falls”.
Personally I thought What Remains Of Edith Finch was boring as hell as none of the emotional points hit and the super-low-fi sequences made the game feel almost buggy and as a result ruined a lot of the atmosphere.
OTOH, I loved Firewatch, a great short interactive story about someone working in isolation and trying to get away from their life.
If you like exploration and discovery, good “walking simulators” are actually really compelling.
If you don’t like games without action, they’re going to feel rather boring.
I definitely recommend trying one, at least.
Out of all that I could’ve suggested, Ace Attorney series probably fits the bill the most
Ace Attorney series probably fits the bill the most
Hehe, and there is me who has finished the trilogy about 3 times now.
Honestly, I also replay the trilogy from time to time lol
And if you try ace attorney and liked it then I would highly recommend Ghost Trick by the same creator.
I have yet to play it, do you think it is better to go with the DS version or the Switch version?
This is not a joke question, I tried TWEWY on the Switch and I didn’t like the controls.
Yeah, I’ve yet to check it out
13 sentinels: aegis rim
Personally, any bigass AAA game that has a million different things to do. Like there’s no way I’m playing the God of War sequel-reboot again even though I enjoyed it. Coming from someone who beat the original trilogy like 3 times each at least
More on topic though: Any adventure game for as long as you remember the solutions
I haven’t even played the Witcher 3 DLCs.
I beat the the main game at one point but was so exhausted with the game I had to take a break. By the time I got back I didn’t remember enough about the main game to play the DLCs, so I keep trying to replay it from the beginning.
I think I’ve made 4 attempts so far and end up stalling out about 10 hours in each time.
What do you need to know about the main game to play the DLCs that isn’t in the DLCs?
It’s going to be hard to come up with a list of things I have forgotten that might be relevant to the DLCs I haven’t played.
That aside, it’s more that I barely remember even many of the main story beats and any characters aside from the top 4.
Edit: Oh, and I remember another thing. My main playthrough was on PC, but I don’t use my PC for gaming so much anymore. I had a decent playthrough on main game on Xbox, but I bought the GOTY edition without realizing that the saves weren’t compatible, or something like that. Hence, my attempts at trying to play through the game.
They don’t exactly fit with your theme of short mystery and puzzle games, but based on your initial question most JRPGs and most story-focused games came to mind. Let’s go over a few of them I’d recommend to everyone interested in those games:
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Persona 5 Royal: It’s about a 100h and very story-heavy. There are some twists and turns which keep you engaged and you built relationships with a wide cast of characters. Besides the story and actual combat, there’s a ton of side activities, all of which you only do a few times. It’s probably my favorite game I’ll never replay, because all these things are an absolute slog to play again. The same goes for Persona 4 and maybe 3, haven’t played that one.
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every Etrian Odyssey: They are old-school dungeon crawlers originally released on the 3/DS and got remakes on steam and the Switch. You draw you own maps of every layer the dungeon has, which is a large puzzle in itself. However, once you know the dungeon, there is literally no point in exploring it again. You know every trap, every worthwhile detour and of course the path to take.
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Like a dragon 7/8: They combine an open world with lots of mini-games, funny and/or touching side stories and an epic overarching main story to follow. There are tons of interactions with your companions, all of them interesting. It’s just, similarly to Persona 5, all these mini-games and interactions only carry themselves for the short burst you get them in and while they are fresh. Replaying them? It’s an absolute slog. You know every punchline, you have optimized most mini-games and probably remember most of the great backstories each character has - you’d be skipping most of the content and the non-optional combat system isn’t fun enough to carry itself on its own.
Can’t you have fun in dungeon crawlers by trying other party compositions? Or is EO badly balanced where you can only succeed with an specific composition?
You absolutely can! There are classes, subclasses and equipable skills depending on the game. All with different builds. You can win with all of them and swapping around can be fun. However, you can also do this within a single playthrough. At least in my opinion, the dungeon is the main draw here - but of course, as with all games here, there are certainly people who like to replay them.
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If you liked chants of shenaar, check out heaven’s vault. I think it does what chants of shenaar does, but better, and it did it years before. It was a bit strange to me to see chants of shenaar get so much hype, but have heaven’s vault stay slept on.
I considered it as well, but this review made me reconsider. Would you say it is as bad as that review makes it seem?
Well - I played both and I quite enjoyed Heaven’s Vault as well.
I played HV through twice - once for the story and then a second time to see how far I could alter that story with different choices. My wife even played a third time to try for a really particular set of events.
The translation game in HV goes much harder than Chants’. After the first playthrough, you get longer and more challenging texts to decipher.
Also - there’s no backtracking really required. The game is pretty strict about telling you where you can and cannot go and reacting to what you found or didn’t find. You can cut whole plot lines in HV and it’s no problem.
Which makes it one of the better games for replayablity in my mind.
It is - for sure - slow paced. Almost meditative.
Funnily enough, what that review said is basically what I said in my review about chants of shenaar, except without the glowing praise. Lots of tedious running across maps and very surface level language-puzzling, whereas I don’t remember any tedium with heaven’s vault at all. I guess different strokes for different folks?
I would say, it’s such a unique and well-executed concept that I would give it a play yourself to see what you think. It’s one of those games I haven’t found a replacement for, even with chants of shenaar.
I’ll give it a shot!
Breathedge - SciFi game where you are stranded in a small shuttle after your main ship exploded, you’ll need to fly around in a space suit with limited air supply, gather stuff, examine objects to identify possible devices you can cobble together from random space trash, and eventually build and upgrade your equipment to the point that you can progress to another area, and so on.
Once you know how specific items are built, the solution is near identical, just some components might be drifting in another part of the screen.
