Edit: Thanks so much for all your awesome recommendations and feedback. Based on sheer popularity it looks like my next 3 franchises will be Mass Effect (5 votes), Dead Space (3 votes) and Batman Arkham (3 votes). I love Lemmy!
So since picking up my steam deck last year I’ve been slowly but surely working through some old trilogies that I never got round to playing. I’m a very casual gamer who plays when opportunity strikes, so it’s taken me a year to play all 3 bioshock, mafia and tomb raider games. I played them in alternating order of release (bioshock 1, mafia 1, tomb raider, bioshock 2, mafia 2, tomb raider 2 etc) and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of watching each story unfold and graphics improve.
So as I approach the end of Mafia 3, I’m looking to repeat this exercise. The Assassin’s creed collection just went on sale on steam, so I’m thinking I may start there, so am looking for recommendations for another 2 franchises to compliment (or change up) my playing experience over the next year.
Any help much appreciated!
Streets of Rage! Although 3 isn’t very good, but 4 more than makes up for it.
Incidentally, I’ve made <10 comments on this account and the majority have been recommending these games and/or their soundtracks, which should tell you all you need to know.
Mass Effect is one of my favourite game franchises of all time (the trilogy - I never really got into Andromeda) and can definitely be played on a casual basis.
Playing through the Legendary Edition remasters on Xbox right now - I second this recommendation, they’re a lot of fun.
More efficient than an alt. I approve.
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Sorry, I read your comment wrong. Thought you were both recommending the game and seconding your recommendation in the same reply.
Ha! No, genuine individual recommendation.
[Was tempted to reply here recommending Mass Effect again - not sure the joke would’ve landed thought :-)]
I second that recommendation!
Heya, i may be a bit late to the party (as I am with my games, lol) but I can highly recommend the Gears of War Franchise. If you’re into action games with interesting characters and we’ll balanced gameplay, this is perfect for you. Awesome pacing between action and story. I’ve binged through 1-4 in a few weeks. Now I’m a bit stuck on 5 because of that one Boss fight, but so far the series is amazing imo
Thank you, will check it out!
Dead Space. It’s like the brutal lovechild of Bioshock and Resident Evil. Cannot recommend the trilogy enough if you like the horror shooter genre. Especially Dead Space 1 and 2, truly ahead of its time.
I recommend playing the Original Trilogy first, then play the recently released Dead Space Remake if you’d like (OR be a real patient gamer and wait ten years before playing the Remake). The original trilogy should be pretty affordable everywhere but they are also all on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate if you have that.
Edit: I played the entire trilogy on my Steam Deck. Chef’s Kiss 👌
I was going to recommend you the Uncharted trilogy, but then I noticed you said on Steam Deck, then I proceed to be sad because I don’t have one lol.
Is emulating an option? That opens up more stuff!
Without a doubt, Max Payne 1, 2 and 3
Max Payne one works surprisingly well on controller. You’ll have to use stream’s controller mapping, but Remedy have a configuration already up you can use. I had to modify it a little bit (I especially recommend adding quick save and quick load to the back bumpers of the deck), but overall I got through the whole game with a controller
Ace Attorney Trilogy. I was immediately hooked even though I am not a fan of visual novel or detective games.
Or, if you’re fine with a duology, the Great Ace Attorney. They have more convenience features than the original trilogy (though I also still highly recommend the original trilogy)
OBJECTION!! But seriously, they’re excellent.
GTA 3D universe games: GTA III, Vice City and San Andreas
You can go as deep as you like from just doing the main missions to 100 percenting them. I think they hold up well enough on most fronts, even graphically, but seeing some of the games in your list that shouldn’t matter.
Doom 1,2, 3!
Borderlands 1,2,3?
More than a trilogy, but I’ve been enjoying Yakuza quite a bit.
For games that you can download and play right away on the Steam Deck
-Mass Effect Legendary Edition Remastered
-Dead Space
-Yakuza series
-Uncharted Trilogy
-Shadows of Mordor and Shadows of War
I would also recommend Max Payne 1-3, but that I know of the first one, at least, does need a bit finagling.
Also the Borderlands series, not sure if it can be played on Deck as is. 2 is a masterpiece though
I also would also not recommend anything Ubisoft right now with the whole deleting people’s profiles and game libraries right now, even though Black Flag is one of my favorites. With all the other games and series everyone else is recommending, anything Ubisoft made can take a backseat for now imo.
Please do try the Mass Effect trilogy if you haven’t yet. I put it off for the longest time and then just started playing. I finished all three games within a combined 100h over the course of like two months and could not play anything else. It was that good.
Elder Scrolls: first complete Daggerfall, then Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim.
“Complete” TES games? There are people who don’t get so distracted by side-quests that they never finish the main quest in those?
Wait. You mean there’s a main quest?
Prince of Persia trilogy could work. It’s more linear than assassin’s creed so it could offer a change of pace.
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Yeah I love the story of the first games
As others have said I would 100% recommended the Mass Effect trilogy.
I Also really enjoyed the crysis trilogy, it’s like playing through a Michael Bay alien movie. The 2nd and 3rd games especially.
I’d also recommend the Arkham and Witcher trilogies. For the Witcher trilogy I’d wait till the remake of the first game comes out if you plan on playing them in order, as the first game hasn’t aged particularly well.
crysis is a lot like the matrix of video games. the first one was groundbreaking and set technical standard all releases were compared to - for years! - then 2 and 3 were very meh and forgettable.
I actually really liked Crysis 2, it felt like a polished Crysis and I enjoyed the city setting. The plot was quite basic but so was the first game.
I am sad there was no Zero-G moments though.
By the time the Witcher 1 remake comes out we will also have a Witcher 4, so it won’t be a trilogy anymore. That being said, I’m hoping both entries turn out to be good, especially the W1 remake. It’s a fantastic game that’s really hard to recommend for newcomers to the series.