For the past couple of weeks now, I have been thinking about replaying Half-Life 2. This in turn got me thinking about gamses that I revisit on a regular or semi-regular basis. That is what I wanted to talk about today, games that we come back to and replay. Hopefully I will also have reason why I replay these games.
Obviously Half-Life 2 is on my list. Not just Half-Life 2, but the originial. I have bought and sold and repurchased the PS2 version of Half-Life a good 3 or 4 times. I have done the same with Half-Life 2. There is just something about those games that keep me coming back. The gameplay is solid and isn't a detriment to the overall package, but I know it isn't the best in the industry. It is probably the story and how it is portrayed that keeps me coming back on semi-regular basis. Also, Alyx Vance is one of my favorite videogame characters.
Super Metroid and A Link to the Past are two games that I come back to on a yearly basis. Both games came to me at just the right time, and I poured hours upon hours into them. To the point that I have the games almost completely memorized. I definitely come back to these two for the gameplay, and the nostalgia is a big factor.
Bioshock 1 and 2 are the next ones that come to mind. I know that I have talked about my love of Bioshock 2 ad naseum in the past. The biggest reason that I know of to return to these games is Rapture. The world is perfectly realized. I sure as heck hope that there is a Bioshock collection coming to the PS4. Just thinking about the water-drenched city makes me want to dive back into that world.
There is just one last game that I wanted to mention at the moment, and it is actually the newest of the bunch. I love Shovel Knight and have come back to it a couple times over the past 2 years. The gameplay, soundtrack and even story keeps me coming back... that and the fact that Yacht Club keeps adding more content and have more planned.
So, what games do you guys/gals replay on a regularly?
The first ones that come to mind are Silent Hill's 1,2 and 3 but then I don't replay many games.
I've played Final Fantasy VII several times, mostly just the first 3/4 of the game and once all the way to Sephiroth before giving after what seemed like hours of the final battle.
I love playing Sly Cooper games again and I've been thinking of getting Shovel Knight DLC.
When you say getting you mean playing right? Seeing as it comes as a standard update to the game... For free.
I did not know that. I have it on Steam, but really want it for PSN. You may have just made Yacht Club Games another sale.
Resident Evil and Silent Hill PSOne games. These are basically always in rotation. I go back and play through these when I'm finished or bored with something else. I never played the online Outbreak games and just received RE Outbreak File #1 recently, and I'm playing through that now. I also just bought all 3 FATAL FRAME games for $1 each in the flash sale, so I will be playing that series more frequently as well.
Links Awakening I play through all the time as well. The original gameboy game.
Basically horror from PSOne PS2 era. I don't particularly enjoy walking simulators or whatever horror has become recently. I like the slow paced exploration action and item hunt/puzzles of the old days.
I also want to mention Dark Souls 1. There really is nothing else like it, despite there being Bloodborne and Dark Souls 2.
My fav Final Fantasy is 8, and I'm playing that now as well.
Sometimes going back and replaying old games is the perfect palate cleanser. When playing a game I know by heart I feel a sense of empowerment that I can't find with a game I have never played.
I've gone back to Wizardry Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord every so often. I never get tired of that game, although, I don't play to win it anymore. There's too much grinding. So I play it all rogue-like and go until my whole party dies.
I usually apply that logic to the older Super Mario Bros games. I try to get as far as I can before I lose all my lives. Sometimes that is the best way to play a game.
It's surprisingly fun. All this emphasis on finishing or beating a game. Who cares! Have fun. At least that's what I tell myself as I try and get 100% completion in Disney Infinity games.
I think the only game series I definitely replay almost every year is the Metroid series. Lately, it's mostly been either Metroid, Metroid II, or Metroid Prime 1. In fact, I just beat the original Metroid about a week ago (I'm gearing up to write a review).
I think this time around, I'm going to play the Meroid series in the chronological order the series has established (Metroid, Metroid Prime trilogy, Metroid II, etc.). As you can probably tell, it's one of my most favorite game series in all my life of gaming (though I'm not a fan of Other M).
I am right there with you. Metroid is in my Top 5 favorite series. I usually play through Fusion on a regular basis, but when I do at least two runs through it back to back. I love that game so much. Look forward to your review.
I like to replay at least one Bioware game a year, usually Knights of the Old Republic or Mass Effect as well as a Pokemon game. Outside that, I always give Super Mario World, Sonic 2, and Crash Bandicoot Warped a replay.
The Mass Effect series is another one that I really hope to see get ported to the PS4 and XBOne. I want to see Bioware use our choices from the original Trilogy in Andromeda. That is my big hope for Andromeda, and I know it might be unrealistic.
When I was a kid, I used to replay games all the time. I don't know if it's because I didn't have as many games or not as many games came out, or if they were just shorter (maybe a bit of all three). I would replay games a lot up until after college. Once I had to start doing 'adult' things, I have had less time to replay games.
I will start by saying that most arcade games I can replay over and over again, but that's due to their nature. Just recently I played and finsihed the HD version of Twilight Princess, which is much better than when I played it on the Wii nearly ten years ago!
If I were to replay another older game, right now I would consider A Link Between Worlds. Mainly because it's pretty short and easy, and it's also a lot like Link to the Past, a game I replayed a lot as a kid, because I could.
I don't replay that much stuff since I always have more stuff I've never played once but it does happen. Metroid Prime is a big one for me. I've been itching to go back to that for a while but I'd like my wife to play it first so that I don't spoil the experience for her, though after the last Retronauts I'm wondering if I should put that off till I can get a nicer CRT (we have a little one). ANYWAY. I've come back to Portal a couple times and am really looking forward to more Shovel Knight too 
The only games I really constantly play are sports games like NCAA Football, and casual games on the tablet. Everything else I play once or twice and then I move on.
