Ask Lemmy

Rhythm games. I'm not getting immersed in the theming or story generally, but immersed by way of losing my attention span for anything else!

MGS3

Haven't experienced anything like it since, although I haven't really kept up with games at all.

dying light. i forgot to eat for 10 straight hours when playing that. was kinda short though.

Fallout New Vegas, had me fantasizing for weeks about being a desert cowboy. My wife and I finally went to Vegas and we visited a bunch of spots from the game. We played FNV all week together and then we went up the strat tower to get a birds eye view of the city. It was a really fun experience.

Game definitely shows its age now, but it really sold the atmosphere and dragged you into it when it came out.

The first STALKER game. Near the beginning when I had hardly any ammo.

I saw a pack of feral dogs in the distance and while they didn't sound friendly I didn't know whether they would be hostile or how close I could get before they would aggro. Since I had so little ammo I resolved to not take any shots unless they got close.

Well, one of them did start running towards me, but before it got that close it cut off and ran away at a 90° angle. Then another, and another did the same thing. "Maybe they're not hostile?" I thought to myself, "Do they just run around randomly?".

Then I realized I was being circled. Which was an extremely unnerving realization. I went from thinking about aggro ranges and AI states to being thrust into a situation that I sometimes have to worry about not falling into in real life.

Back in the day: Rescue On Fractalus, Cholo and Mercenary were all pioneering 3D games that really took me away. Also Ultima V was a masterpiece of immersion.

Now: Beat Saber. One can measure the immersion with a heart rate monitor :D

Hmm..

Mass Effect Trilogy. Kingdom Come Deliverance (can't wait for KCD2!). Red Dead Redemption 2. Dishonored. Deus Ex. Baldur's Gate 3. The Witcher 3. Disco Elysium. Dragon Age. Kotor. Bioshock. Cyberpunk2077 Divinity:OS+OS2

I can go on a bit, but anything with a good story gets me. I love being immersed. It helps me escape reality. Same goes for books. I love long series that I can throw myself into.

The awe of immersion in the first VR game I played was unforgettable. I knew that theoretically you could fool your brain into seeing depth using two screens, but that didn't prepare me to put on the glasses and completely be transported to another place. Nothing has ever borne that sensation for me. I've seen grown used to it and rarely play VR anymore, but still see it as the most immersive experience I've had.

World of Warcraft for me. When I first played the game I was ENTHRALLED, and couldn’t stop playing.

Elite Dangerous in VR.

King's Quest

Earthbound—no wait hear me out.

Yeah it's a 16 bit RPG about a really surreal alien invasion, but the whole world is full of lively NPCs with unique dialogue that often changes depending on where you are in the game. Even though the world of Earthbound is a surreal exaggeration of 1990s America, it's a really detailed world with every line of dialogue giving glimpses into people's ordinary (or not so ordinary) lives.

You ever get really engrossed in a book or movie to the point where when you stop reading/watching there's a brief moment of shock where you suddenly remember your own identity all at once, like waking up from a dream? Earthbound was the first time I experienced that sensation from a video game.

Super Mario on a Gameboy, by a pool, when I wasn't paying attention.

When I was younger I would play X-Wing Alliance on my PC with an actual like pilot joystick controller with all the lights turned off. That game is a Star Wars game where you fly space ships and fight other space ships, but it's all in first-person, so you see out of the pilot cockpit.

Subnautica. Literally immersive

Skyrim with the right mods

Hellblade 1 and 2 with headphones.

Hearing voices in the character's head in your own head is quite the experience.

I also think playing Asetto Corsa in a passable sim rig and Microsoft Flight simulator deserves honorable mentions.