So hopefully I’m doing this right! :) (I’m still new to some of this so haven’t figured out things yet! I did ask this via Mastodon also, but wanted to add more detail to my answer!)
Is there a computer game, a moment in a game, a boss fight, or a specific moment that you would love to experience fresh with no prior memory of it?
Mine would have to be The Seat of Sacrifice fight in Final Fantasy XIV, one of if not my most favourite fights in the game to date.
The mechanics work so well and tie into everything that’s been happening, and then that moment where <redacted> (I refuse to spoil it!) shows up to help and then leaves with I think what made me cheer SO MUCH the first time I did the fight.
The music, the song To The Edge has become one of my most played songs in my entire music library (alongside Endwalker - Footfalls and Shadowbringers) as it is quite frankly perfect for the fight. and when they revealed that Soken had been battling cancer and wrote it whilst in hospital…
I adore the fight all together, and cannot help but say the lines in the cut scene bit in the middle every time I do the fight, and will never ever get bored of it.
So what moments in a game would you love to complete again with no prior experience?
In Metal Gear Solid for the original PlayStation, there was a boss fight against Psycho Mantis, who was a psychic who could predict your every move. The fight was literally impossible. It didn’t matter what you did, he always had the perfect counter. Of course, he would taunt you about his ability to predict your every move.
My brother and I were absolutely stuck on the fight for what seemed like forever. At one point, a character mentions that he’s reading your controller and you can block him by switching to the 2nd control port. So you physically unplug your PlayStation controller and plug it into the other port. Then he reacts by not being able to read your moves, and you can actually fight him “fair”.
It blew my mind the first time it happened. I can’t remember a video game ever breaking the forth wall like that before.
I loved the fight so much. The way Mantis read the data for other games off your memory card was just so cool; such a clever way to mess with the player.
I can’t remember that part, but I might not have had any other saves at the time. Do you remember what he said?
Here’s the video to see all the interactions for yourself! https://youtu.be/cX-fX7Y87dk?t=6
A game moment to do again with no memory? Leaving the sewers for the first time in Oblivion. It was the first open world game I had ever played as a kid, and seeing the glare of the sun and realizing that everything I saw was able to be explored? Pure gaming magic.
A whole game to do again? Disco Elysium. There are plenty of ways to go back through the game on another playthrough and do things differently, but there is nothing quite like the first run of that game.
I’m about to do a second playthrough of Disco Elysium, and this time I think I won’t try to redeem the MC… I will try to beat it as an alcoholic brawler with a good heart who can’t stop analyzing people.
But it’s taking all my willpower not to do Inland Empire again 😅
Leaving the sewers… and almost immediately getting murdered by a khajiit with a giant hammer.
Same for me; I’d never even heard of Morrowind or played anything like it before. It was my first x360 game and it really made me believe the ‘next gen’ hype.
The Knights of the Old Republic reveal. When I first played it, I was speechless, although I suspected some kind of twist with Revan and Malak.
Portal 2. There are no words can can describe how I love that game.
Oh, portal is such a good suggestion. Both of them are great.
Playing through the first one was in my top 3 most satisfying game experiences. Great game, then suddenly there was a huge twist. Then that ending.
The second one is great but has such a different feel. And I wish they’d gone with “GladOS has actually been activated and bored this whole time” to explain why there was so much extra STUFF. And I didn’t want to hate Wheatley. Etc.
Still, all the Cave Johnson stuff was so great. And great puzzles. And the whole potato thing. And finding out GladOS’ backstory…
Portal 1, as Yahtzee famously said, is perfect. The twist, structure, pacing, music, even how efficient they were with assets and the length of the game. All flawless.
Portal 2 is great and also does a good job for its length but Portal 1 would be my pick.
Came to see portal, left to play portal
The entirety of Outer Wilds fits that bill, an amazing experience that you only get to truly live through once. Lucky for me I still have half the DLC ahead of me, which is also pretty good.
But if I had to pull a moment from a few decades in the past, I’d say returning to Balmora through the foyada, after a successful expedition, full of loot, my quiver empty, my gear half broken and my potions gone, only to be awestruck from looking up at the starry sky, with the clouds passing by, and the soundtrack booming. I still have that save, and I still play and enjoy Morrowind to this day.
Outer Wilds!
Subnautica, the first time I was attacked by a reaper I jumped out of my chair
This is the one for me. I got frustrated at one point not knowing where to go or how to progress and spoiled the game for myself by following a walkthrough and looking at the wiki. I’ve regretted it ever since.
Return of the Obra Dinn and The Outer Wilds both for sure. Both have common themes of solving an over-arching puzzle by exploration and examination of an environment.
Ok, somehow I’ve missed The Outer Wilds. And I’ve played like nearly everything else people have mentioned. But since this is far and away the most mentioned game here, sounds like I need to play it :)
It’s a game where all of the progression is knowledge based. So once you play through the whole thing once, it’ll never really be the same again. Absolutely loved my time in it. I never thought they’d be able to do that twice, but the DLC effectively hit me all over again. I highly recommend that, too. Play it and tell me what you think once you’re done!
This is my answer too. I would erase this game from my memory every year and replay if I could (outer wilds specifically. Obra dinn is amazing too)
Chrono Trigger, the battle with Magus. Most boss battles in any game have a really high beats per minute, or awesome high energy track. The music for this boss fills you with a sense of dread and fear. I remember the first time I played it, I had goose bumps.
Oh yes, Chrono Trigger most certainly. I was so shocked the first time I got to THAT specific Lavos fight in the game. I’d never seen that happen in a game before.
Confronting the great Dragon Grogori in dragons dogma. The entire game up to that point kept telling you that your fate was tied to his and that if you should want your heart back you must confront and defeat a creature considered invincible by all. When you first approach him he entices you with a wish of power stating you will become grand Duke over a kingdom and he will dissapear as if you had actually slain him all for the price of your loved ones life. There is so much more to the full battle but even just the beginning felt more personal than most final bosses.
I’d love to go back to Red Dead Redemption 1 and 2 and replay them for the first time.
Two of my favourite games to get absorbed into.
I came here to say, “Riding into Mexico in RDR1.” Jose Gonzalez. So good.
Most of the boss fights in MGS3, but I liked The End most of all
Came here for The End. What a badass, creative, memorable boss battle. Close second was the ladder
Bioshock Infinite, when Elizabeth realises what’s happening and slowly shows it to you.
Original one too. Would love to walk into Andrew Ryan’s office for the first time again.
oh yes both of those moments…amazing.
Would you kindly start another playthrough.
So many golden moments mentioned on here… Morrowind, BioShock, shadow of the colossus. Amazing.
A recent one for me was Tunic - those who have played it will know there is a moment about halfway through where your entire understanding of the game is flipped on its head. Left me awestruck.
Mass Effect 2’s final mission. Getting to use all the companions collected throughout the story, sending them off on tasks they may not survive and all within a brilliant atmosphere.
This was my first thought, too. That game is so incredible, and the suicide mission is such a wonderful way to bring it all together.
