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Oh God, It Hurts Gaming

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    Oh God, It Hurts Gaming

    This morning I finished the little indie game Last Day in June which starts on a fairly sweet and melancholy note and never lets up. Though it's narrative is simple it's a very heartfelt tale and that has led to this very simple thread.

    Very straightforward -

    Which games or moments in gaming, both joyful and tearful, have given you the FEELS?

    #2
    I think if I was to list a few, they would be...

    Final Fantasy VII

    This is quite an obvious one, but Aeris's death. I played it pretty much blind, before this was widely known, and it was the first big JRPG I played too, so the idea I could get so attached to a character before they died, and really feel for them when they were gone, was a big surprise.

    As this was my first JRPG, prior to this I'd never really thought of games as a narrative medium; I preferred fighters and arcadey stuff. As a result this was a big deal for me.



    Phoenix Wright (several)

    To name a specific bit, the part where Maya gets kidnapped by the guy with the bomb, and Phoenix has to stall for time in court while the police try to find her. I hadn't realised, up until this point, just how engaged I had gotten with the characters.



    I think though that there are a few which really failed to land for me. For instance, Bioshock Infinite has the obvious one...

    ... where Elizabeth helps you for much of the game, then when she's kidnapped, you have to deal with how difficult the game can be without her.

    I saw this a MILE off. I knew it was going to happen. As a result when it happened, it felt tedious and forced.

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      #3
      What Remains of Edith Finch packed a whole bunch of emotional moments. The most significant was

      Gregory's chapter

      . You don't need to be a parent to find that part very difficult to play out. Heart breaking. The whole game pulls no punches, nor does it spoon-feed any answers, and the whole thing is so beautifully delivered it stays with you. Remarkable for a relatively short game. Bit of a mini-masterpiece. Not 'just another walking sim'. I really need to play it again.

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        #4
        Definitely The Last Guardian. That game teased out my dearest emotions. I generally balk at attempted sentiment in games because it's always so prefabricated and devoid of subtelty. It's attempted through cutscenes and scripted dialogue (something I care little for) but in The Last Guardian the bond with Trico is built up through gameplay. It's personal. You forged that relationship through mechanics. It wasn't the creation of a writer, artist or programmer.

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          #5
          Recently, I really enjoyed Portal 2 and the little story that came with it has really stuck with me, helped along by the great end song, "Want You Gone".

          Red Dead Redemption had me trying many things to avoid the ending, but it was not meant to be.

          I'll try to think of some others, but nice thread, Supes.

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            #6
            The end of Persona 4. I genuinely felt I was leaving friends behind after a long fun summer.

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              #7
              The end of Shadow of the Colossus and what the implications were...
              Lie with passion and be forever damned...

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                #8
                Shadow of the Colossus worked almost too well for me in that I disagreed with what the main character was doing so strongly that it disconnected me from the game. I couldn't really play as him because I didn't want to do what he was doing and it was the only thing the game let me do.

                Edith Finch is a great shout. That game is beautiful and touching and sad and I really should play it again soon. It's so strong.

                Gone Home is an obvious one. I cried my eyes out when I played that first. Thing is, I knew next to nothing about the game so I had no idea where it was going to go and it really took me by surprise. The end is so strong and for a reason I don't even want to mention for fear of ruining it for others but there is one big difference with this game and most other games that have me crying.

                Life Is Strange had me crying. Well at first, it didn't. I finished it and I held back the tears and the game haunted me for about an hour and I felt awful and so what I did was go back and replay the ending and just let it all out. I felt much better after that.

                I think it's fantastic that games have matured to the point where this is possible. They really can affect you deeply. It's wonderful.

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                  #9
                  The end of the first section in The Last of Us.

                  Punch to the gut and streams of tears everytime I play it.

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                    #10
                    Originally posted by Dogg Thang View Post
                    I think it's fantastic that games have matured to the point where this is possible. They really can affect you deeply.
                    Yes, and they're doing it in ways films and books etc can't.

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                      #11
                      Absolutely. The immersion and interactivity brings an entirely new level to it.

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                        #12
                        No, shock, I'm with Ted on his one. I think I was soggy eyed the first time I played that one. And it felt like a bit of an emotional rollercoaster straight through. I remember having great chat about it with [MENTION=13193]nakamura[/MENTION] about it when we both completed our first play throughs, both blown away by how involved in the game we'd become.

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                          #13
                          I second these two (@Dogg Thang and [MENTION=3332]MrKirov[/MENTION]): Life Is Strange had me feeling torn in my decision and guilty the aftermath brought by those actions.
                          And also Persona 4G, which also had me massively guilty and I'd cheated on all girls - if only to see if I could and what would happen. I should never have cheated Chie!

                          A Mind Forever Voyaging (Infocom): had me in tears by London Bridge, as I was on the 7:52 to Cannon Street. Great story if you like interactive fiction. Go check it out on a Z-Machine near you!
                          Last edited by gunrock; 20-09-2018, 15:17.

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                            #14
                            NieR and NieR: Automata. Too many times to count, but Emil and the twins were standouts for me. No other game has even been close. Automata killed modern gaming for me (except for the Switch) for a year, and in a good way.
                            Last edited by Nico87; 20-09-2018, 15:41.

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                              #15
                              Good shout @Nico87 when I listen to the N:A soundtrack in the car it gives me goosebumps.

                              This thread is making me want to replay a ton of games.

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