@fork's gundam/plamo thread got me feeling really nostalgic for mega man legends, a game that I remember renting from blockbuster multiple weekends in a row and playing up until the first boss. I think I was too young to get any further past that because I barely understood how to play the game . But the most vivid memory I have of the game is how scary it was. It wasn't a horror game in the slightest, but the atmosphere of the game was nothing like any other mega man game. The opening sequence has you going through a dark dungeon fighting mechs that have iconic sound effects and really does a good job of scaring the shit out of you if you're 7 years old (or however old I was I don't remember).

Anyways, I rushed to buy the PS1 games again so I could re-live it:

So this thread is to talk about atmosphere in games. Which games really made you feel something? Maybe something like Silent Hill creating a really immersive horror experience. Or maybe it's Ocarina of Time really making you feel like you were on a grand adventure.

I don't think games today get a reaction from me the same way they did before. Some of that is probably just my age, but I think there's something about PS1 or N64-style graphics that are better at creating a really aesthetic environment to get lost in. Or maybe I just totally have nostalgia glasses on, but either way, what are your favorite atmospheric games?

Half-Life 2 is my fave in terms of atmosphere, specifically highway 17, ravenholm, point insertion, sandtraps, and freeman pontifex in episode 2. The game just has this brutality and hopelessness that I haven't really experienced in many other games, but you do get moments of solace and peace inbetween where you just reflect on things.

I have nostalgia of playing this when i was 14, it was 4:00 am in the morning and it was early december, the internet was out and i only had like peggle and thief gold on my puter so I booted up this and played through ravenholm in the dark. I nearly pissed myself every time one of those damned fast zombies would pop out at you, having to shoot saw blades at a seemingly never ending horde when i wan out of ammo while dodging the poison headcrabs and regular ones. I remember watching that crazy bastard grigoli fight off what remained of the dead as I descended into the mines. When I left the mine and ascended above ground I was greeted by the cool sky, both in the game and in real life as light peeked through the blinds.

most valve games as well as games made on the source engine for that matter have this vibe of quiet tragedy to them, like some hell happened and we are only seeing the remains of it, having to wonder what horrors occurred there.

some other games I would say have baller atmosphere would be babbdi, kane and lynch 2, deus ex, mirrors edge. I'm Itchin to play S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl some time soon as the cosmic horror in a dying soviet city thing sounds neat.

half-life has been on my list of game series to play forever. So many people talk about it I really just need to do it. Especially because I already had the orange box and loved portal.

You also just reminded me of Mirror's Edge. I fucking loved that game so much it was unlike anything else.

This seems like a good thread to make my first post here in.

Nope. There was real artistry and passion at work in that era of gaming, which is mostly absent from the modern scene, aside from an indie here and there. The most atmospheric games tend to be within the SNES to PS2 era. Some personal favorites:

.hack//IMOQ (check out the anime too, .hack//sign) Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Legend of Mana Growlanser Dark Chronicle Final Fantasy 11 Final Fantasy Tactics Vagrant Story Meremanoid Threads of Fate Klonoa (1 and 2) Valkyrie Profile Tail Concerto Saga Frontier 2 Xenosaga (mainly the first one) Monster Hunter (earlier entries, MHFU is my personal favorite) Morrowind

These days I mainly play games for the same reasons I'd read a fantasy novel, ie. atmosphere, story, characters, setting. And then I hope the gameplay adds to the experience rather than detracting from it.

I definitely recommend Threads of Fate in particular if you love the PS1: https://yewtu.be/watch?v=T_w5xhx46bg

i recall playing the hl2 demo on my uncle's awful xp desktop back in 09 ravenholm fucked me up real bad as a kid. i jumped out of my chair when a zombie assaulted me from behind

In terms of pure atmosphere GTA III is immensely overlooked. The game has that vibe where it feels like the game itself hates you. Just strolling around any place in liberty city feel eerily similar to playing a silent hill game because the city and everyone else looks so lifeless.

The other GTA games don't do this, even IV

I've always loved GTA 3's artstyle. It has this sleazy, crooked style to it, like every character you interact with has this aura of corruption or cynicism behind them. This aura is present in most gta games but 3 is the only one where it fits perfectly.

Although in terms of atmosphere, gta 4 would be the one I prefer. It's one of those games where walking from point a to point b can be a fun adventure, as the act of walking around LC, traversing her streets and walking across her sidewalks alongside other citizens, sometimes hearing the sounds of loud music blasting inside of vans or the sounds of police sirens chasing after cars can be somewhat cathartic for me. Sometimes I call taxi's and sit inside of them, and look outside the window as cars pass me by. Most of my love for this game can be traced in nostalgia, as this game feels reminiscent of one of the few times I visited a city when I was younger, and no other game has been able to get the feeling of traveling through a city like GTA 4.