Similar games to Myst, Dear Esther, Firewatch, The Long Dark.

LEGOJim1989 · 14-11-2022 5:39pm #1

Hi all

So I am really into these kinds of games - explorative with atmosphere and music and perhaps a sprinkle of survival action in the case of The Long Dark. Walking sims etc.

The last really good one I played was The Long Dark and I am struggling to find anything so absorbing.

Do people have any recommends?

maximoose · 14-11-2022 5:45pm

What Remains of Edith Finch

Gone Home

jj880 · 14-11-2022 5:49pm

If you liked Myst you have to play The Witness. No survival element but plenty of mystery, exploring and tough puzzler.

johnny_ultimate · 14-11-2022 5:59pm

Quite different games there!

For puzzle / exploration games, The Witness is fantastic. Obduction is a 'spiritual successor' to Myst and well-worth playing IMO. Both games are very puzzle-heavy, of course.

For more straightforward 'walking sim' type experiences, I would strongly recommend Devotion which is the best of the recent ones IMO. It has to be bought directly from the developers due to a whole political kerfuffle in China that resulted in it being pulled from the major storefronts. Well worth playing though IMO, https://shop.redcandlegames.com/app/devotion

For pure atmosphere, there are few better options that Naissance - a criminally underplayed game that is one of my absolute favourites.

The upcoming Season will fit the bill based on the recent demo, but the game is still a few months away from release.

Spear · 14-11-2022 6:01pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119873808#Comment_119873808

I think that was meant to read Obduction.

johnny_ultimate · 14-11-2022 6:03pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119873825#Comment_119873825

Correct, and corrected now!

jj880 · 14-11-2022 6:10pm

Damn never heard of Obduction. Looks excellent.

I see it's in VR on Rift. I just replayed Myst on Quest 2. It plays really well in VR.

dreamers75 · 14-11-2022 6:12pm

Raft isnt bad now that its story is kinda complete.

Stone Deaf 4evr · 14-11-2022 6:18pm

I havent played it myself, but 'Call of the sea' is fairly highly regarded, on xbox game pass as well if you have that.

johnny_ultimate · 14-11-2022 6:34pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119873853#Comment_119873853

Obduction is often very good indeed and nicely modernises aspects of the Myst design. It does have some mechanical jank and executing what's needed to solve some of the late-game puzzles can be quite tedious. But there is more good than bad for sure.

DoctorEdgeWild · 14-11-2022 6:43pm

Another vote for Edith Finch here.

If Point and Click is your style (it should be, best games in the world) then there’s a whole world of classics like Grim Fandango, Steel Sky, Monkey Island, Blade Runner etc

My favourite of all time is The Dark Eye, which is a limited branching narrative puzzler, which takes you through some of the works of Edgar Allen Poe. Genuinely the most atmospheric game I’d ever played at the time, and still fondly remembered.

jj880 · 14-11-2022 6:45pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119873960#Comment_119873960

I enjoyed The Witness right up to the end and it got frustrating as hell. I think what a lot of people might find tedious I see as a challenge especially when it comes to puzzle games. Im a scifi fan too so Obduction looks the business for me.

johnny_ultimate · 14-11-2022 6:50pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119874014#Comment_119874014

The problem isn't necessarily tedium in figuring out what to do, but more that it involves jumping through a few gameworld states. On launch at least that was quite a time-consuming process so just getting from place to place to make necessary adjustments became a chore. It was back in 2016 that I played it though so it may have been tidied up in patches or might benefit from an SSD and more modern GPU tech.

The Witness was mostly the perfect level of challenge for me, even though I did sit staring at some puzzles for an hour or so straight 😅 What the game was doing mechanically and thematically was endlessly fascinating to me. That said, the final 'Challenge' took me maybe two or three full nights of play to finally get through. It was a testament to how much I liked the game that I was willing to push through!