This video discusses 10 video games that have "aged like fine wine," meaning they remain enjoyable and hold up well years after their release. The games are highlighted for their timeless gameplay, art direction, innovative mechanics, and engaging narratives, despite some showing their age graphically.
Portal 1 and 2
- Release Dates: 2007 (Portal 1) and 2011 (Portal 2).
- Timelessness: Feel contemporary despite their age; use the Half-Life 2 engine, still relevant for modern games.
- Gameplay: Brillantly designed puzzle games with a mind-blowing, simple gimmick (portals) that remains fresh due to lack of replication.
- Presentation: Excellent voice acting, deadpan humor, and pacing make them re-playable even after knowing solutions.
- Replayability: Enough variety and humor to keep the experience fresh, unlike many similar puzzle games.
Fear
- Developer: Monolith.
- Aging: Shows its age more than Portal due to mid-2000s character models and blocky environmental design.
- Combat: Some of the best single-player FPS combat ever for a 20-year-old game.
- Enemy AI: Enemies use tactics and communication, superior to many modern games.
- Gunplay: Extremely powerful and satisfying.
- Effects: Impressive effects for its time (e.g., lights casting rays when shot), rarely seen in modern games.
- Flaws: Not perfect; some boring parts and drab environmental design.
- Overall: Delivers pure adrenaline and satisfaction in combat, feeling sublime to play.
The Witcher 3
- Release Date: 2015.
- Impact: A major influence on the AAA gaming industry and open-world games, setting a new standard.
- Combat: The weakest aspect; floaty and loose, but unique and not a copy-paste system.
- Details: Rich with little details, unique character interactions, humorous dialogue, hidden secrets, and alternative quest resolutions.
- Graphics: Holds up well due to a "heightened realism" and stylized appearance, making it feel like a conscious art style.
- World Design: One of the most bespoke and carefully crafted open worlds.
- Legacy: Became the benchmark for open-world games; Cyberpunk 2077 struggled under its shadow, and Witcher 4 will be compared to it.
Ratchet and Clank: Future
- Release Date: 2007.
- Appearance: Looks like it could have been released 10 years later; animation quality and art design hold up spectacularly.
- Graphics: Lack of fancy shader effects is a minor giveaway, but resembles Pixar movies of a certain era.
- Gameplay: Classic, simple, and timeless; run around and blast everything. The formula has been consistently good and only slightly updated throughout the series.
- Evolution: The PlayStation 3 entries stand out for looking "amazing" and feeling timeless due to updated character designs and improved animation.
Ori and the Blind Forest
- Visuals: One of the most beautiful sidescrollers ever; impeccable art design.
- Integration: Seamless integration of 3D models with painted backdrops, appearing totally natural despite the 2D/3D mix.
- Gameplay: A "damn good game" and a conventional Metroidvania, but pre-dates the massive surge in the genre (e.g., before Hollow Knight in 2017).
- Narrative: Starts with an emotional cutscene, introducing a strong narrative to the genre.
- Overall: Holds up better than most Metroidvania games despite its age.
World in Conflict
- Genre: Cold War RTS.
- Innovation: An innovator in the RTS space when the genre was declining; feels modern because few big-budget RTS games are made today.
- Accessibility: Featured a functional camera and made RTS tactical yet accessible.
- Narrative: Cold War story about a US invasion; surprisingly straight, realistic, and cinematic with strong characters and excellent cutscene direction.
- Pacing: Excellent, with the forward momentum of a Call of Duty campaign but with more heart and intelligence.
- Gameplay: Fun and engaging without being a chore; satisfying air strikes are a highlight.
Batman: Arkham Asylum
- Release Date: 2009.
- Revolutionary: Revolutionary for its time, holds up shockingly well.
- Design: Zero bloat, no open-world elements; a single island with a perfectly paced story.
- Unconventional: Weird design decisions (e.g., Batman's movement) that work perfectly.
- Core Mechanics: Top-of-the-line combat and stealth.
- Details: Relies on small details, memorable character interactions, and elements like Scarecrow segments and Riddler trophies.
- Developer Passion: Clearly a "labor of love" from developers with many great ideas.
Dishonored
- Gameplay: Pitch-perfect; graphics show age but have a stylistic appeal.
- Story: Simple, timeless revenge plot.
- Player Agency: Offers many options for achieving goals; sprawling levels can be approached stealthily or with aggressive combat.
- Abilities: Powerful abilities granted by "the Outsider" allow for varied gameplay.
- Difficulty: Player-defined difficulty; missions can take minutes or hours.
- Karma System: "Chaos" system where indiscriminate killing affects the city and ending (e.g., plague worsening).
- Level Design: Best-in-class level design; brilliant, unique missions that feel like real places with surreal whimsy.
Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2
- Genre: 3D Mario games.
- Timelessness: Many Mario games (NES/SNES) have timeless appeal; Galaxy games are especially accessible unlike some 3D titles (e.g., Mario 64).
- Control: Rock-solid and pitch-perfect.
- Levels: Creative, consistently fun, and constantly introduce new ideas and power-ups.
- Balance: Perfect balance between engaging and fun without being boringly easy.
- Level Structure: Shorter, more linear levels that don't overstay their welcome.
- Sequel: Galaxy 2 is a refinement of the first, with many considering it even better.
- Platforms: Hold up well, especially on Switch, but even original Wii releases are good despite the Wii remote.
Silent Hill 3
- Release Date: 2003 (PS2).
- Graphics: Looks incredibly good for a PS2 game; visuals shockingly hold up over 20 years later.
- Art Style: Blurry textures used effectively for horror in otherworld segments.
- Character Models: Impressive character models and cutscenes.
- Gameplay: Mostly holds up.
- Controls: Full analog movement, not limited to tank controls common at the time.
- Horror Loop: Uses a horror gameplay loop still common today (avoiding monsters, collecting items, solving puzzles).
- Story: Surprisingly mature and deals with complex issues, ahead of its time.
- Modernity: Feels surprisingly modern, could fit alongside modern indie survival horror games, but with a bigger budget.
- Versions: PC version is the best (especially patched); recommends skipping the HD collection. Currently difficult to purchase legally.
- Legacy: Impressive achievement, one of the best Silent Hill games and the best-aged of the original four.
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