Ask Lemmy

This War of Mine, Quantum Break and #1 by far: Kingdom Come: Deliverance.

Pentiment. Just it.

The Xenoblade Chronicles trilogy have had immense moments of emotional ups and downs. Few games just make me sit there to contemplate what just occurred to its story, conflicts, or characters; XBC games have many moments sprinkled through its entire playtime that do that.

Katawa Shoujo.

Titanfall 2... I legit cried at the ending. No other fps has ever made me cry lol.

Just Shapes and Beats, of all things. It tells a very basic story in such a charming way and the characters are simple but easy to get attached to. Friend of mine had the same experience when I gifted him the game.

MyHouse.wad, a Doom 2 map about friendship and loss that really hits hard and awesome. Read the initial post, read the supplemental material on the Google Drive, if you feel like it and then play it.

Super Mario Galaxy also hit me but more for the joy and amazement at the innovative levels and gameplay. One of the few games I played with my wife to 100 % completion.

• Eliza. If you are a software engineer working on product there's no game that will come as close as being relatable than this. It's just perfect. Is very short and there's barely any interactivity. The "scifi" layer than runs the main plot is good, as it's extremely believable and well done, but its nothing groundbreaking that has been talked about in other places. But the characters, good lord, the way they speak and experiences they tell... I swear that I have met carbon copies of some of them. Probably the best description of burnout and long days I have ever seen. If you don't work with software this is just a short, flawed VN. But if you do, I highly recommend it.

• Disco Elysium. IMHO the best writing in any game, and by a fucking mile (planescape was good as well but found DE much better). The phone call was ridiculously relatable and there were several other emotional moments that hit hard as well. The silliness was too much at first but it grew on me as it made the rest of the game much more palatable without becoming dark satire.

• Mass Effect. Okay it isnt as well written as the other two above but still manages to pull emotional strings with the characters. Specially Thane and Mordin.

Dragon Quest 11. Once with a mermaid side story, once with the main bit.

Stardew Valley never fails to make me get all weirdly emotional.

Titanfall 2

Tears of the Kingdom, man. It's far from a perfect game, but the ending is ASTOUNDINGLY good.

Pyre is structured in such a way that you can't NOT feel something at each of the key moments. These are your guys - specifically the ones you rely on to secure victory in tough spots. You can't help but feel something when

A lot of good ones, but no one has mentioned Brothers: a Tale of Two Sons. Fairly short, controlling two characters simultaneously was a cool mechanic, and the puzzles were fun but not very challenging. It probably hit me the hardest of any game I've played. I literally teared up every time

Telltale's The Walking Dead. I have never had a gaming experience like it before or since. It drew me in and hit me in the feels over and over

I'm playing Ratchet and Clank: A Rift Apart and it's doing a good job of making me feel ways about stuff.

I really loved Cyberpunk 2077 for this, too.

Rocket League also makes me feel emotions. Mostly anger.

And just to add something probably not as well known, Lil Gator Game. For a game specifically for children, I did not expect the heavy hitting emotional story it provided.

Ether One made me cry a lot

I'll probably be the only one here, brave enough, to mention this, but the Gear of War series has had some very real tear jerker moments. I don't think I've ever actually cried, but I've come close and it has definitely left me feeling different after the events. Gears 2, 3, and 5 specifically come to mind. If you know, you know.