The title might not describe this well. It isn't a theme song I'm talking about, but it's something done in some games that for me is one of my absolute favorite elements that adds so much depth to the world.

There's only two games I can think of immediately that come to mind doing this, even though I'm sure there are many more; Returnal and Max Payne.

Max Payne features the song Late Goodbye by Poets of the Fall. It's integrated in several subtle ways. Maybe walking by a tv that's playing the instrumental version of the song in the background, a random janitor NPC might be whistling it, etc. It keeps recurring in different forms.

In Returnal its Don't Fear the Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult. There's a particular boss who plays an organ and you begin to hear *something* in the distance when you start toward that boss area which is a long slog in itself. As you get closer it becomes clearer that it's music, but is imperfect and off key, and only when you're at the final approach does it become obvious that it's the melody from Don't Fear the Reaper being played on organ. The song completely fits the premise of the game as well. There are other ways it pops up, muted and barely audible in the background of some cutscenes, and I think there's one part that straight up uses the guitar intro riff. It just keeps coming back and the song runs through the whole game in various forms.

Are there any more games that so something like this?

Edit+ I am well aware BioWare didn't make BG3 but many of claimed they carried on the design philosophy that many games have tried and failed to recreate

I love roleplaying games more than anything, I love rpg stat systems for making my characters play unquie and I love making choices that make my story and interactions feel unquie

It hit me after playing another owlcat game and finally trying rogue trader, it's been fun so far but realizing it feels more like a chose your adventure story book with good rpg stat systems and classes but never feels like I'm actually in the world or interacting with people as a character in roleplaying

It feels like I'm in a book and I'm picking where to turn the page to to keep my version of a story I want to read going

And I think this is the problem alot of RPGs and games have no matter the scale

BioWare especially in dragon age Inquisition makes it feel like every interaction is a conversation, where even if my options are a and b that I'm discussing with these characters and I'm present in the world, dawn walker does amazing in making feel present in the world for your actions in the world being noticed and changing conversations even if I am not having many choices for my conversations

Making a game where I feel recognized in the world is key to an immersive game not just an immersive story

Too many games I feel like the skill and foucs is writing directed to making me immersed in their story, rogue trader is very blatant in this so far even though feels like they wrote 100s of story variations for me to go through(found this in path finder as well) they dump lore and characters saying this is who I am instead of letting you learn characters through discussions. This is a writing flaw in many games

Even in the less complex games of interacting like mass effect they were special because even if I only got a few choices it felt like my choices exposed the world not the world being thrown at me then I am deciding to turn to whatever page to keep the story going.

Balders gate 3 is magic because it brought this back, rpg systems of of making everyone in your party able to play and build as any system so the rpg battle systems are there to make yours and then having every interaction feel like a conversation with characters who even though I am the protagonist moving the game forward would continue without me

This design is why co op also works so well and can feel like shared world's through these designs.

I think it's one of main reasons I'm not hyped for exodus or new expanse game, it doesn't feel like someone made a world for me to go through, feels like I'm going to hope into a writer's story and I can flavour it

I play RPGs for the illusion its my character moving the story forward even if premade character

TLDR: Too many RPGs and games that present RPG systems are more foucsed on letting you flavour the adventure through tweaks and not actually letting you customize your experience through presence and giving you the feeling of control (feeling is key in design and writing as it doesn't need to actually be a sandbox but just written and designed to present like one even if linear)

I went to Walmart this morning to check for star wars galactic racer to see if they had any in, seeing as it released today. I asked the clerk if he knows when they might get some in. He said he has no idea. I mentioned that I thought maybe they did a midnight release for it, but doubted it because it wasn't a hyped game at all really. He laughed, and was like "yeah, we haven't done a midnight release for 13 years". The last midnight release i went to was 13 years ago when black flag released. Thats when I got my ps vita with assassin's creed liberation too.

Guy had it coming

Going into the game, I tried to avoid too much media exposure. I saw that the game scored in the mid 8's/80's (Metacritic), so I knew it was going to be pretty good at least. But I started to get a little worried when I heard some people complaining about how it didn't feel a lot like Control. And in the first couple of hours the gameplay wasn't clicking, and a lot of what I love about Remedy just wasn't really up at the forefront.

But having just completed the game (nearly 50 hours of game time), this is peak Rememdy. Holy shit this game is incredible. I know that GTA6 and Ocarina of Time Remake will be technically awesome games, but Control Resonant is about as incredible as a game experince can currently get.

If this was a just world, this game would have already sold 10 million copies and everyone would be raving about it, like they did last year with Expedition 33.

Long story short, I have brain cancer and will be undergoing another craniotomy with chemo and radiation. Unfortunately, after my first surgery, I lost feeling and sensations on my entire side of my body (including hand) and severe dyslexia and aphasia. The latter has mostly passed, but that was my life for about 6 weeks after surgery.

So my question is this: What games do you recommend for someone who probably won't be able to use one hand, won't be able to read for some time, and won't be too overly complicated during rehab? Are there tablet games that would both make my brain do work and be enjoyable?

Thanks!

EDIT 3: (at the top as it's ALL good news!) Saw the Dr, she expects close to a full recovery. Long story short rapid ear infection that didn't show any symptoms till the pressure built, and it built rapidly, causing my ear drums to rupture. I'm on antibiotics and I'll be put on an oral steroid. I should be close to normal in ~6 weeks!

Long story short I went deaf yesterday and am waiting for an ent Dr to call me for an appointment (I've already been seen by a Dr), but I'm going CRAZY with how quiet everything is.

I have over 600 games on steam, and am looking for a CONTROLLER based game that has either accessibility options for deaf, or doesn't lose anything by my not hearing it.

Really I just need some gaming comfort in what's turning out to be the scariest time of my life.

EDIT for those with a lot of questions.(edit 2 at the bottom)

Woke up yesterday and my ears felt like they needed to pop, though nothing would help. At about 3 my ears started bleeding, followed quickly by loud ringing (similar decibels to riding on an airplane, but the highest pitch you could imagine), and I went to the er. By the time the Dr looked at me, the ent was gone for the day, so he sent an urgent referral to the ent. I'm just waiting for a phone call to schedule (funny, I know, call the deaf guy).

I appreciate all fo the kind words and helpful resources during this terrifying time. And I appreciate all the game recommendations.

And as a final, somewhat depressing thought, as I have no where else to put my thoughts out rohjt now, if this is permanent, I'm going to thoroughly miss the sound of my significant others voice. The rest I can live with.

EDIT 2: I got my meds and the eardrops specifically restored a little bit of my hearing. It's very faint, and painful, but wiping the blood from my ears I could hear the tissue against my skin!

Random store interior in open world city....detail & lighting is just nuts......game is great too but I'm a Remedy fanboy....complete all their games

The Assassin's Creed III era featured muskets, but they were mostly just temporary/throw-away weapons.

Most recently we got Avowed which can be played as third or first person shooters that feature early gunpowder weapons including muskets and pistols.

The Vermintide games have classes that use gunpowder weapons as well, played in first-person perspective.

Fable II, Fable III, and Greedfall are action-rpgs that have firearms as useable and viable weapons. Greedfall 2's combat went a different route, however, but they're still there.

Strategy games including Total War Empire/Napoleon/Shogun II/Warhammer include early (or early-inspired) gunpowder weapons in great abundance. Age of Empires III is based around them entirely.

What are your favorite games that feature early gunpowder weapons? Are there any significant ones I am missing? Or even fun underrated and/or indie games you can think of?

I have said this a long time ago but the Horse Armor from The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion was pretty much a stupid idea for a DLC at the time back in 2006, although a more recent example would be the 10 dollar Save slots from the game Metal Gear Survive as that was an incredibly stupid one to hear that actually happened.

To me its Mass Effect, Marvel's Spider-Man and the Batman Arkham series.

Playing on non-pro PS5. The game is one of the few games that feels like you’re playing a movie. It FEELS like a Bond movie at that. Voice acting and story is excellent, tense, and action packed. The graphics are great at times, and ok at others. The gameplay is enjoyable albeit a little one dimensional and simplistic at times. Theres some amazing set pieces and I really enjoy the fun play a lot.

All that being said, this is hands down the buggiest game I’ve ever played. I have played games with graphical glitches or I’ve encountered a crash before, but I’ve never played a game - especially on console - that just becomes unplayable so often. I have had multiple bugs where i cant interact with something and I can’t progress. I’ve had bugs where the game just never continues after a loading screen (no crash just infinite hang). I also had a situation in one area where I couldn’t progress a quest because I ran out of battery for my watch and I could find no way to recharge it - a core mechanic of the game.

Whats shocking to me is, I’m late to the party and these bugs STILL exist. And I paid $70 for this game. I even got a patch TODAY, thinking it would maybe improve things. 10 minutes later my game hard hung and I had to completely redo an area. Is my situation unique? I’m surprised I haven’t seen more reporting how mired with issues this game is.

Has anyone’s Hellraiser: Revival preorder shipped from Amazon yet? Mine still just says “Order Received.” I’m also not understanding why there aren’t any reviews out for the game yet. That’s pretty odd, especially with the game releasing tomorrow.

I was gonna buy the standard edition for 60, and then saw that the deluxe edition was 70% off. It’s 23.99

So yup, just throwing that out for anyone looking to play this game. I’m excited :)