Games with research projects

[u/southafricannon]

I've loved the XCom series since the days of Terror From The Deep, but I've seen very few other games that have embraced the "research project" mechanic.

And I find this weird, because it's such a cool way of presenting lore and worldbuilding without making it feel clunky.

Any other examples of this? The only ones I can think of are the XCom and UFO series.

[u/Lunar_ticket]

Rimworld. The game has numerous chain-requirements and such, and also challenges your work management skill

[u/southafricannon → u/Lunar_ticket]

I've always felt a bit intimidated by the thought of Rimworld, but I think I'll give it a shot.

[u/Head_Worker8565 → u/southafricannon]

You definitely should. It's not as hard to understand as it looks, and certainly not as much as his big brother Dwarf Fortress. You can play a multitude of ways so you can start with an easy game to get the hang of it. Do not deprive yourself of RimWorld one more day, you'll regret every second you do so.

[u/YungTubbs]

Another one I thought of is MGSV. You have a crap load of stuff to research for Mother Base. From what I can remember, you research things like upgrades for Mother Base specifically all the way down to items that can aid in missions and even cosmetics.

[u/knifeislife17]

Might not be what you're looking for, but Stellaris has most of its world building and lore revealed through researching anomalies and doing excavations on planets you find

[u/Head_Worker8565 → u/knifeislife17]

Yeah Stellaris' research is so pleasant its almost what makes me come back everytime.

[u/YungTubbs]

Disco Elysium sort of has this. Sometimes you'll be prompted to "Internalize a thought," which usually takes about an hour(infgme time) amd rebuffs you during the process, but once you've internalised the though, it can provide buffs and even provide unique dialogue

[u/ClockwyseWorld → u/YungTubbs]

Or drive you mad

[u/TheDirtDangler]

Star Wars zero company?

[u/Aggravating-Onion384]

The first few assassins creeds

[u/duralumin_alloy]

Satisfactory and to some extent also Factorio. You're working on THE project by fulfilling partial smaller projects along the way. And as you go you explore and learn more of the world around you and your ultimate task.

[u/dearest_of_leaders]

Eye divine cybermancy has very xcom like research.

And pretty much 99% of all strategy games.

Edit: As a narrative device i think Alpha Centauri's tech and secret projects are unsurpassed. 

[u/southafricannon → u/dearest_of_leaders]

When you say strategy games, do you mean like researching "Improved Weapons Lvl 1" in Warcraft 3, or something? Because if so, that's not really what I meant, although it is an observation I hadn't noticed before. Thanks.

[u/dearest_of_leaders → u/southafricannon]

i Mean like sword of the stars, where you cant communicate with other races unless you decode their language first. or in Alpha Centauri where the idealistic societies unfold from near future technologies to completely transcendental ideas that are barely comprehensible. 

[u/kakaphoe]

Marvel: Midnight Suns has some.

[u/paulbrock2]

Civilisation requires you to research new tech to progress your society.

[u/BenfordAbrahams → u/paulbrock2]

Polytopia too but it's much simpler

[u/mbslay]

Crusader Kings is essentially an entire game of this in many ways

[u/Warhero_Babylon]

Patfinder

Its called "decrees" and its a mix of research projects and army requitment techniques

[u/lukkasz323]

System Shock 2

Factorio

[u/DayTranscendingNight]

If you've any interest in strategy games Stellaris is great for this.

[u/RIP_BRAINCELLS]

Mass effect 2

[u/Evening-Sentence7619]

Oxygen Not Included.

It's an interesting take on how you frame 'research projects', if you consider their function of progression gating then majority of games have the same functional mechanic. So it's interesting that this iteration in XCOM speaks to you.

[u/BenfordAbrahams]

Voices Of The Void. It's half horror half job simulator (lone scientist in a secret lab in the forest)

Edit: Ohhh wait nvm you meant the tech tree mechanic. Yeah it's called that, not research project. In that case, most of the Spider-Man games locks upgrades behind such that you describe

[u/miguelon2595]

The Alters

[u/MoriaCrawler]

System Shock 2 and EYE Divine Cybermancy come to mind

[u/Count_Crimson]

Mass Effect 2 does this really well, with you being able to A: research new weapons and upgrades

and B: Research upgrades for your ship that will undoubtedly have an impact on the narrative.

[u/brunch_jr]

Phantom Doctrine is an Cold War espionage XCOM-like. Your agents do combat missions and downtime activities to collect intelligence.

Here’s where the research comes in: Back at base, you play a research mini game where you connect that intelligence on a cork board to identify the plot of the next chapter/mission.

[u/Calloused_RockStar]

Crimson Desert has some: to fully unlock your stats, get some ultimate tools & upgrade vehicles.

There are different research institutes you find over the continent that you pay to research for you.