viking_funeral

This is going to have a cult following, and maybe 10x as many people complaining that anyone is enjoying it.

Play (as a beginner):

• Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
• Shadowrun: Dragonfall
• Dragon Age: Origins

To echo what @wemibelle said, both Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Dragon Age: Origins are good gateway games. Of the two, I would highly recommend KotOR. It's not overly long, not too complicated, and it's still an absolutely amazing game. DA:O is quite a bit longer and has some stretches that are tedious for even fans of the genre. It's also *slightly* more complicated stats wise.

Shadowrun is much more like the classic CRPGs, with the isometric perspective and combat style, plus they are relatively short for the genre - around 20 hours or so.

Avoid (as a newcomer):

• Fallout 1/2
• Planescape: Torment
• Arcanum

As much as I love Fallout and Planescape: Torment, I cannot recommend those games to someone who is new the genre. Fallout 1 has aged very poorly, and there is far too much freedom for someone who is new to these games. It's really easy to screw yourself over. Same for Arcanum. Planescape: Torment has an absolutely amazing story, but the combat is ass and there are enough words to rival the Silmarillion. It's possible for a newcomer to enjoy these games, but if they're already struggling with Baldur's Gate, I can't recommend going from the lake into the ocean.

Arcanum also has some serious bugs. I don't know if they've been improved recently, but almost everything Troika made had bugs out the kazoo.

Isn't this a yearly occurrence?

What's really fascinating is how many people are getting screwed on this ride. There was an article about how a good deal of recent inflation was due to a pump 'n' dump, that then spiraled out of control when people saw the prices rise and egged everyone else to get into crypto around December. Then some market shut down and kept most all of the money. This is basically what an unregulated stock market would look like. Or the return of penny-stocks.

Horizon will be quicker and easier to complete, if you're time starved. I rarely 100% games that don't make my top 5 of the year, and I got platinum in Horizon in about 40 hours.

Nioh has much more replayability, but it is also a bit harder. It plays like a hybrid of Dark Souls and Ninja Gaiden. As a Souls vet, I found it hard at first, by holy crap does the combat have a lot of depth. That game can easily last you a summer.

So, really, it's a question of casual exploration and good story with moderate difficulty (Horizon) or a deep dive, challenging ninja & demon party (Nioh).

Looking at Super Mario Maker, Hitman, & PUBG... the game would need 3 features:

1. Low expectations before launch
2. Be easy to stream
3. Allow for a lot of crazy "What was that?!" moments

So whatever it is, we probably won't know before it happens. I sincerely doubt it will be Anthem. That game will probably just take over the position Destiny has as the game they have a love-hate relationship with.

@dgtlty: Fortnight Battle Royal is growing like crazy and is fairly competently made. The only complaint is that some people don't like the building mechanics, but I find it interesting enough to watch (in the background). The viewer numbers are certainly good. It's currently the 3rd highest streaming game on Twitch, right behind PUBG and League of Legends.

Quick tip: Pick up the cleric as your companion, otherwise you can soft-lock yourself out of the second half of the game if you overlevel. That's right, a game that forces you to grind more than any other JRPG will be impossible to complete if you don't pick one of the seven characters as your traveling companion and actually level to a point where the game won't kick your ass. It's got issues.

@cmblasko: If people think the encounter rates here are bad, they should try either SNES Breath of Fire, Lufia II, or 7th Saga. Actually, no, don't try 7th Saga. Why in the world they actually made that game harder for Western audiences is beyond me, but that is easily the worst grinding I have ever experiences in a Japanese RPG. Just awful.

Though there is something pleasant about grinding in a good game. I recently played through the NES Dragon Quest games, and there's a certain zen to the grinding. It's like playing one of those tapping games on your phone. Once you get into the flow, you can easily kill 20-30 minutes just peacefully grinding. I suppose that is much less fun if your goal is to just get through the game, but I'd argue that some of these JRPGs are more about the journey than the destination.

Except 7th Saga. Screw that game.

You just reminded me that I have cognac. I should go grab a glass.

That said, I can live without alcohol. It just an extra spice in life. Now if the question was about coffee...

@dbones80: Hmmm. I can see that angle, and it is arguably the only way to have true longevity, but there are right and wrong ways to do such things.

If 9S hacks a robot without being detected, you can control that robot until it dies or you self-destruct. 9S disappears from the field of play during this, and will reappear where the robot is destroyed.