What's the Most Immersive Game You've Ever Played?

[Michael Hirst]

Amnesia The Dark Descent, one of the few times I've really felt like part of the game and as a result been scared half way to death.

Half Life 2 and Portal, Valve are fantastic at immersion in their single player titles.

Deus Ex, Everything looks so hideously dated but it's so interesting and well thought out.

Demons Souls, that feeling you get when you see an invasion warning, nothing quite like it.

Deus Ex Human Revolution, in particular the dialogue bosses, probably one of the best systems I've ever seen for it and really makes things interesting, especially if you don't use CASIE to help you. Only in Planescape Torment have I taken dialogue choices as seriously and really thought about what I was saying.

 

[Continuity]

I was just curious, since Skyrim is one of the most immersive games I've ever played, basically being my own D&D world to role-play in, I was wondering what games you guys have played that've had the same effect on you? What game really got you into the story? Into the character? Into the world of the game?

NOTE: This does not refer to any one element, (story, graphics, etc) but rather the game as a whole.

Possibly exile 3 [http://www.spidweb.com/exile3/winexile3.html], though I've played literally hundreds of games so its impossible to say at this point. Maybe Fallout or Baldurs gate too, but they had a lot more charm back in the day, played on a 13" CRT with a mechanical mouse and a 1gb hard drive...

But really any good RPG can be very immersive if you have the time to plough into it, thats what RPG is all about, becoming immersed in a fantasy world. Sadly its the "having the time" part that gets harder and harder as you get older.

 

[Blood Brain Barrier]

Definitely Amnesia. No other game has made me scared to turn off the lights, or stop playing out of fear.

Second might be Secret of Monkey Island. I have never been and will never be closer to visiting the warm, steamy caribbean nights than the first part of that game.

 

[Ectoplasmicz]

Amnesia has got it for me, so so immersive.

 

[Scarim Coral]

To me that would be Guild Wars and Legned of Zelda Ocarina of Time.

 

[NathLines]

I think that has to be Batman: Arkham Asylum. Sooooooo good. Arkham City just got released on PC, so I'm currently enjoying that one too.

 

[garfoldsomeoneelse]

STALKER series. Very, very enthralling.

First answer nailed it. Bought it a few months ago after seeing a million threads about it on /v/. For the first half hour, all I could think about was how dated it looked and was kinda bored with shooting dogs, but after my first bloodsucker encounter, every square inch of Chernobyl felt like it was out to get me, forever.

Spoiler: huff huff huff huff HUFF HUFF HUFF HUFF

"What on earth is that noi-" UNINSTALL​

Also,

Resident Evil 4

Especially that first act in the farm lands.

I never felt this close to being part of a Texas Chainsaw experience.

Easily the strongest introduction to any game I've ever played. The first house was kinda creepy, but kinda forgettable. The path with the dog? Creepier. The village? HOLY DOGSHIT, I ONLY HAVE BULLETS FOR LIKE A THIRD OF THESE PEOPLE, THERE'S NO WAY I CAN HIDE FROM THEM IN THEIR OWN HOMES, I AM SO BONED AND IS THAT A CHAINSAW?! The minimalist soundtrack made it a hundred times scarier, too, with just that deep, menacing, despairing tone that sounds like cranial trauma transcribed to audio. The entire thing was so fucking tense, thanks for reminding me of that wonderful game.

 

[The-Epicly-Named-Man]

Either Red Dead Redemption or Half Life 2. They're both just fantastic games, simple as.

 

[Whispering Cynic]

Thief 1&2, first Mass Effect, Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines.

If I had to pick one as the most immersive, it would be Thief Gold. It had an incredible atmosphere, brilliant level design and a main character I could easily identify with. I even caught myself checking for the light gem a few times in real life after playing it...

 

[uzo]

'Immersive' is one of those words that almost everyone has their own interpretation of.

For me, I'd say it's when a game world doesn't pause while you go fumbling through your inventory for half an hour. A game where what you carry is actually represented on your model. A game where, just like in real life, a knife to the face or a bullet to pretty much anywhere is going to do more than make you grunt and flinch momentarily.

And the sad thing is, almost every game that people have thus far listed do not match my interpretation AT ALL. The most glaring is Fallout/Elder Scrolls games - don't get me wrong, I love the games. I spent my Sunday playing Skyrim for about 5 hours. Playing through as a Breton mage now (just doing the College of Magic stuff, ignoring main story. Finished Dragonslayer story last night with my Nord axeman), and whilst blasting my way through another room of rogue mages I noticed my health was quite low - so I opened up my inventory. And proceeded to spend 5 minutes quaffing a few health and magicka potions, some resist magic and fire and frost philters, then I decided to double check that my activated spells were the best for the situation ... annnnnd ... all good. Back to the fight. BZZZT FLASH BANG they were dead and I had won.

Compare this to a moment of combat in Mount and Blade:

OH SWEET JESUS HE'S GOT AN AXE ... *wince ... parry!* PING! damn he's fast! *woosh thud* .. here he comes again!! *swoosh ping ping thud ping swoosh chop* HRRAAAA ... *Crumple* He's down .. right, *looks around quickly ... sees enemy cavalry making a beeline for him, lanced crouched and aimed* Oh shii ... *SKEWER!*

Now THAT is immersion. There's no inventory micromanagement in the middle of a battle. If you don't have the right thing in your hand to start with, you're gonna die. Quickly.

A lot of people in this thread seem to be just describing a game they like, and using 'immersion' like you would use the word 'good'. Seriously ... Final Fantasy? Are you fucking kidding? A game where bitter foes line up and take turns using their most powerful attacks on each other? Sounds like fucking Roshambo to me.

 

[Kungfu_Teddybear]

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, while playing both of these games hours have just flown by without me realising. Like last night, I was playing Skyrim, I looked at the time and it was 8pm. Next time I looked at the clock it was 5am and I hadn't even noticed time go by.

Honourable mention to Amnesia: The Dark Descent.

 

[ZehMadScientist]

Probably Mass Effect 1 & 2. I also got quite immersed in BioShock, but Shepard's Feel like a Badass syndrome wins this one.

 

[Draitheryn]

Mass Effect 2. When I see someone else play I scoff thinking to myself "that's not how Shepard looks or acts". I've even found myself defensive about how Shepard should be.
Aside from that I was very immersed in the Legacy of Kain series, such a great story line and great characters, it's a shame the series left me with blueballs (Not Raziel's)

 

[EmperorSubcutaneous]

'Immersive' is one of those words that almost everyone has their own interpretation of.

For me...

A lot of people in this thread seem to be just describing a game they like, and using 'immersion' like you would use the word 'good'. Seriously ... Final Fantasy? Are you fucking kidding? A game where bitter foes line up and take turns using their most powerful attacks on each other? Sounds like fucking Roshambo to me.

So just let them have their own interpretation.

My definition of "immersive" is a game (or movie) that makes me lose track of the passage of time and also gets me to start imagining that my other senses--mostly my senses of smell and balance--are also engaged, or if I hear a loud noise in the game it makes me look over my shoulder in real life, or if the feeling of being in that game world sticks with me after I've shut it down.

The following games are immersive for me:
1. Riven (riding on the MagLevs always made me subconsciously lean slightly from side to side like I was in a real vehicle)
2. Silent Hill 2 (I had to keep the lights on or I would have been too scared to continue)
3. Final Fantasy XI (somehow I know what Sarutabaruta smells like, and just hearing the music from that zone brings back sight and smell memories)
4. Aquaria (which I've just started playing recently, but I can already spend hours in without realizing it; especially compared to the SWTOR beta which I can't spend more than two hours playing, all the while feeling the seconds ticking painfully away)

And a few more to a lesser extent, like Ico and Uru.

I haven't played Amnesia: The Dark Descent yet, but I will soon. I'm scared though.

For contrast, here are some games that I consider to be good but not immersive: Dragon Age: Origins, Machinarium, and the Portal games. Don't ask me why. They just never drew me in like the games I mentioned above. But I still love them.

 

[Your Fearless Captain]

Half Life 2. I played for 8 hours and didn't even notice. Although Fallout 3 is a close contender.

 

[Marik Bentusi]

Skyrim is surprisingly immersive. I didn't actually think up a character, but now my character has developed quite a number of habits I just feel I should follow through.

Metro 2033 was more immersive tho. They did a good job with the hud and using as many game elements as possible for the GUI.
Warcraft 3 gets an honorable mention. I didn't feel like part actually part of the world - as it tends to be with the "god perspective" in RTS - but the world was crafted well enough to suck me in.


Homeworld had me really immersed when it was fresh and I was new to the genre. Nostalgia probably has a role in it as well. But I really felt the cold, dangerous beauty of space and because of how scarce resources are in the beginning, every single unit meant something to you and every single death scream pulled at my heart strings.





Amensia, despite following the instructions to the letter, was completely unimmersive for me tho. Such a shame, I'd love playing a game that can actually scare me. But then I suddenly had to follow a trail of neon unicorn puke and the more I discovered about the world the more asshole-ish the protagonist became and the more I understood the behavior monsters, for which I mostly felt pity if anything.

 

[Kilroy17]

Borderlands, definitely for me.

 

[Marik Bentusi]

Now THAT is immersion. There's no inventory micromanagement in the middle of a battle. If you don't have the right thing in your hand to start with, you're gonna die. Quickly.

A lot of people in this thread seem to be just describing a game they like, and using 'immersion' like you would use the word 'good'. Seriously ... Final Fantasy? Are you fucking kidding? A game where bitter foes line up and take turns using their most powerful attacks on each other? Sounds like fucking Roshambo to me.

Immersion generally is simply when you can completely lose yourself in a game, when you don't think about pressing buttons anymore. As such, the term is very subjective inherently. Someone very familiar with the FF GUI could probably be immersed despite the turn-based-combat and cutscenes simply because of the world and character crafting and some own imagination.

As for Skyrim, I'd say it's a matter of playstyle entirely. I for one don't use drugs at all unless I have to reload one bit again and again - and at this point my immersion has likely been broken anyway. In combat I only use hotkeys.
If you avoid open combat and play as a sneaky thief, you'll get even less micromanagement. Well unless you're using poison, but generally everything dies from a backstab or a couple of arrows anyway.

Generally I think Skyrim can immerse the player well because of how the world is crafted. I really feel like wandering on this frozen continent, climbing those mountains during snow storms, finding shelter in nearby villages. The art direction did a pretty good job there IMO.
The characters also acknowledge your actions, which helps the immersion inside of cities.

 

[Whateveralot]

Propably Heavy Rain.

That game has driven me through every emotion there is. Love, compassion, hate, anger, sadness... really good game.