Summary
We’ve all had that conversation with a friend, where they recommend a slew of great games to us, and we nod along politely and promise that we’ll get around to playing them all eventually. And yet, maybe because we were waiting for a discounted price, or we just never really felt like it, somehow, those games never end up getting played at all.
Take this list as a sign. If any of these great games are on your to-be-played list, and you still haven’t gotten around to playing them, now is the time. Here are some of the best games we never got around to playing.
Cyberpunk 2077 is one of those games that had one of the most cursed launches of all time. Reviewers and fans alike were bemoaning the sheer number of glitches this game had. Some players even reported full-on crashes of their hardware.
For many of us, this was enough to get us to steer clear of the game for months if not years, or even push it all the way to the end of our to-be-played list. However, with plenty of patches under its belt, Cyberpunk 2077 does feature stunning graphics, an interesting world to explore, and plenty of techno-punk vibes to last a lifetime.
On a personal note, I have a deep fear ofbig open-world games. Though Elden Ring is broken up into many different chunks, making it somewhat manageable, the sheer size and scope of this game were enough to get me running for the hills when it first came out.
Plus, if you’ve never played a Souls-like game before, the combat can prove challenging. However, with the release of Elden Ring Nightrein, there’s never a better time to jump into the game that started it all. Just be prepared for a treacherous and extensive journey in the Lands Between.
I’ve been seeing gameplay footage and walkthroughs of this game for as long as I can remember. However, Bethesda and I don’t always get along. Plus, this is one of those games that gets recommended anytime you ask someone for open-world adventure games. It can’t possibly be that good if everyone recommends it, right?
You could go back and play other Fallout games, but there’s no doubt in anybody’s mind at this point that Fallout 4 is the pinnacle of this franchise. Plus, with the release of the tie-in TV series, there’s never really been a better time to see what all the fuss is about, especially if you’ve never played an open-world Bethesda game before.
Again, this is another game on this list that has me quaking just in terms of sheer length. Persona 5, on its face, might seem like your averagerole-playing video gamewith flashy and colorful characters; however, in reality, this game is far deeper than it seems.
Depending on how much of a completionist you are, the game can easily take over 150 hours to beat. Even if you’re not much of a completionist and just working your way through the main story, the full game can still take almost 100 hours. This is the kind of game you may only start if you’re prepared to take a month-long vacation to finish it.
This is another great game that sat on my to-be-played list for far too long. Control has all of the compelling aesthetics, exciting action-adventure combat, and unique mechanics of a typical triple-A video game, but just far less hype. For a while, this game has also been on-and-off subscription services like PlayStation Plus and Game Pass, so it might even be free to play.
In this game, you take on the role of Jesse Faden, who is trying desperately to find her kidnapped brother. The game starts relatively grounded, but eventually takes you through a series of confounding and supernatural realms that feel really exciting and fresh for a gunplay-based action-adventure game.
This game made its way onto a lot of critics' must-play lists for how ingenious andinventive a puzzle gameit is. However, some people got turned off by its seemingly derivative graphics style or the fact that the puzzles were, in fact, quite difficult to solve.
If you’ve never played Tunic, but are looking for a challenging and compelling puzzle adventure game in the style of The Legend of Zelda series, this is the game for you. In this game, you take on the role of a small fox brandishing a sword and shield. You’ll seek out pages from a lost video game manual to slowly unravel the puzzle of the mysterious island you find yourself on, only to discover that all is not as it seems.
This is a game that I had been meaning to play for a long time, and then, some global events distracted me from finally sitting down and playing it. Something about playing this game at the time felt a little too real, and wasn’t something that many of us were interested in indulging in.
Now, with some distance, it’s worth noting that A Plague Tale and its follow-up, A Plague Tale: Requiem, are two fantastic games with an extremely resonant and highly emotional story. These games are also great as they’re not too long, especially the first one, which is only about 10-12 hours.
This is a game that I’ve picked up and put down so many times I’ve lost count. Returnal and its subsequently released co-op mode are two of the most maddeningly difficult games out there. If you like sprite-based particle effects, roguelikes, and thrilling combat, Returnal is the game for you.
This game gained a lot of traction early on in the PS5’s lifespan thanks to it being one of the only PS5 exclusive games at launch. However, if you haven’t found the time to sit down and play it out, now’s definitely the time, as the graphics and combat of this game still hold up spectacularly years later.
I have a somewhat addictive personality when it comes to games, and love simulation and synergy-based strategy games. Satisfactory scratches all of those itches, and has been recommended to me more times than I can count. But, for fellow addictive-gamers, it’s fair to say that Satisfactory is a bit all-consuming at times.
But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t play it, and if you’ve been meaning to, it’s worth saying that the systems in this game are fantastically complex and engaging. Plus, you can play it with friends, so maybe you can convince each other to set time limits and go touch grass every once in a while.
What Remains of Edith Finch is one of those sleeper games that was recommended to me dozens of times since its 2017 release. It’s quick, but very emotional, and has a wonderful story. Finally, one day, I sat down to play it, taking only about two to three hours to complete.
But what a two to three hours it was. This game is incredibly captivating and can be played in the span of one afternoon. If you’re looking for a way to kill a lazy Sunday afternoon and haven’t gotten around to playing this highly unique point-and-click adventure game, now is the time.
