PC Games you can recommend....

[pawzisme]

Hello, am brand-new here so hope I am not treading on any-one's toes.... let me briefly introduce myself. I am a lady of (ahem) mature years, and have been playing PC games since the days of Speccy's (though I fairly quickly moved on to Amigas and just used the speccy for BASIC). I found there were some games I could not happily play (such as Populous) because my little people worshipped me as a 'god', and that bothered me. I recently bought Godus, attracted by the graphics, and have the same problem with that. As games progressed I found the levels of violence and gore to be beyond my tolerance, so, unless I can find a mod to reduce these aspects (as in Fallout3) I don't play those either. Zombies are a no-no, and too much 'alchemy, summoning of dark forces' is a turn off, though, as in Oblivion, if it is possible to play without going down those particular paths, I do. Now, if you have similar reservations, you will, like me, always be looking out for decent PC games which are not composed of mindless killing, demonic beings and gore -which is why I have started this thread, in the hope that one or two of us can swap recommendations. Obviously, city-building games, puzzles, sports, sea-games, strategy etc are already 'OK categories and need not be mentioned.

The game I am currently playing (for the second time around) is called Miasmata, a survivalist game, which you can get on Steam for about £12.00 and I have seen it a tad cheaper elsewhere, maybe on GOG, dunno. I had never heard of it until I saw it on Steam, and got it because the price of the game I really wanted to buy ( Rust) was a bit expensive for an unfinished product. When I first tried Miasmata, I did not like it, and it took me three or four tries to get into it and get used to the blocky graphics. It is an indie game, and the two brothers who created it ran out of steam before they had fully developed the plot - but that does not get in the way of the action. it is unlike any other game I have played so far, and until The Long Dark gets here I doubt I will find another quite like it. Recommended!

 

[The Mighty Gerbil]

Ummm have you looked at Minecraft possibly? It's really blocky, has zombies and alchemy but it's far less explicit than what is in Oblivion and most of the game is spent building things. If you are looking for multi-player it has a player base on these forums as well.

Perhaps Portal? It's a single player FPS but no zombies or organic enemies even. I can't remember if your character bleeds though. It is rather tame and quite good (I used it for my avatar ). Unlike most FPS games it only requires a few fast reflexes. My father player it fine and he is of "mature years" as well. I haven't played the sequel as yet though and the original is rather short.

If you are looking for currently popular multiplayer games I've seen a couple clan members playing Civilization 5 and Dota2. Then there are the MMOs. Guild War 2, Wildstar, Star Wars: The Old Republic and Mabinogi have gotten mentioned on the forums lately but only a little. No single game seems to be really popular right now so you'll be lucky to get a game with anyone.

Welcome to the forums btw .

 

[pawzisme]

I prefer single player. Rust would have been peer-to-peer I think, and I was going to give that a go, but whatever game I play, I would not want to interact or chat with other folk, so I go for single player by choice. Portal I have, and have played, but I get bored with it, and my reflexes are rubbish! I get on well with games like Silent Hunter or X-Universe games, you can take your time plotting your next move and do your own thing in those. I have looked at Minecraft, and have that on my 'maybe' list, but I think the 'toy-ness' of it will stop me getting absorbed. However, I DO like building things, so it is a possible. Likewise Civilization, I have played it in the early days, and got on with it quite well, but it wouldn't be a favourite. I think I have Civ 3 on Steam, I guess Civ 5 will be much the same. I have never played DOTA, I understand it has a huge following, like WoW. Perhaps I am missing out, but don't feel particulalry drawn to the 'do quests and battle dragons with yer mates' scenario ( am I being difficult?). Mabinogi sounds a bit more interesting ( I just Wiki'd it), thank you for that There are a lot of indie games on Green Light in Steam that hold great promise and I lust after them - but they ain't here yet. However, I figure there MUST be good Indie games out there NOW,somewhere and someone must be playing them....!

 

[The Mighty Gerbil]

I prefer single player. Rust would have been peer-to-peer I think, and I was going to give that a go, but whatever game I play, I would not want to interact or chat with other folk, so I go for single player by choice. Portal I have, and have played, but I get bored with it, and my reflexes are rubbish! I get on well with games like Silent Hunter or X-Universe games, you can take your time plotting your next move and do your own thing in those. I have looked at Minecraft, and have that on my 'maybe' list, but I think the 'toy-ness' of it will stop me getting absorbed. However, I DO like building things, so it is a possible. Likewise Civilization, I have played it in the early days, and got on with it quite well, but it wouldn't be a favourite. I think I have Civ 3 on Steam, I guess Civ 5 will be much the same. I have never played DOTA, I understand it has a huge following, like WoW. Perhaps I am missing out, but don't feel particulalry drawn to the 'do quests and battle dragons with yer mates' scenario ( am I being difficult?). Mabinogi sounds a bit more interesting ( I just Wiki'd it), thank you for that There are a lot of indie games on Green Light in Steam that hold great promise and I lust after them - but they ain't here yet. However, I figure there MUST be good Indie games out there NOW,somewhere and someone must be playing them....!

Dota is multiplayer "VS" only if you don't know.

For indie games I like "FTL" but it can be a hate thing sometimes as it could have been balanced better but then it is a rogue like. You might want to look at "Paper's Please" as well. It has a few cuss words but it's a genuinely original concept that is made well, a rarity in this age. I got it as something I thought both my Mom and I would like. Though I actually haven't finished it yet as it takes a bit of warming up for me to get in the zone and play it well, I can't just pick it up and play it. Mom hasn't tried it yet either.

 

[pawzisme]

FTL looks.. interesting. Will check that one out - it is also for Windows, yes?
Papers Please I looked at a while back and decided not because it seemed 'odd', but if you reckon it OK, I will take another look at it - thank you! I made the mistake of buying The Stanley Parable a while back. A frustrating non-experience in my view, I might use several words to describe it, but 'game' would not be one of them. While I am typing this I have a youtube video on FTL playing with a running commentary - sounds interesting!!

thank you for your help TMG - appreciated

 

[Wolfeman]

We seem to have a lot in common so I will also strongly recommend FTL. It's not a very indepth game and the scenarios you face tend to get a bit repetitive after a few play throughs but the random nature of it gives it a lot of replayability and makes it quite hard to stop at just one game.

I recently bought Banished during the summer sale but haven't had a chance to play it so I can't really comment on it other than it looks like a wonderful building game.

Minecraft is an awesome building game that quickly blows away the toy like quality. It does have zombies and skeletons. It also has a second realm called the Nether that has been compared to Hell but really reminds me of the inside of a volcano. Minecraft also has a lot of mods that change the visual quality quite a bit as well as the gameplay. Some mods even turn it into an entirely differnt game.

Craft the World is a fun building/digging game with dwarves I've played a few times. It also gets a bit repetitive tho so buy it on sale if you're going to get it. Very fun tho and well worth it.

Cogs is an amazing puzzle game I highly recommend to anyone. I don't like the music levels but that's just me.

Evil Genius is a really fun variation on the building/managing game where you manage an evil genuis and build his base on a private island while secret agents try to infiltrate. I've spent many hours on this one and still love it.

Any of the PopCap games are great time sinks and easy to get lost in.

Hope that helps.

 

[The Mighty Gerbil]

FTL looks.. interesting. Will check that one out - it is also for Windows, yes?
Papers Please I looked at a while back and decided not because it seemed 'odd', but if you reckon it OK, I will take another look at it - thank you! I made the mistake of buying The Stanley Parable a while back. A frustrating non-experience in my view, I might use several words to describe it, but 'game' would not be one of them. While I am typing this I have a youtube video on FTL playing with a running commentary - sounds interesting!!

thank you for your help TMG - appreciated

Yes the game is on windows.

I think whether one likes FTL or not is defined by if you can accept inevitable defeat. On some playthroughs the game simpley won't drop what you need or will spawn the perfect counter to your ship. It's the random nature of rogue likes to do that but I feel it could have been better balanced. Having said that I've actually beaten the game with all but one ship on hard (doing it with that ship is just unreasonable XD). It took a zillion tries and an unreasonable amount of time for me to do it XD but it can be done. Hard mode is really hard though just play on normal and enjoy it .

Note FTL let's you take as long as you like, with Paper's Please you are always against the clock, just an FYI.

Yeah I get what you mean about Stanley Parable. Regardless of if it's written well or not one could get the Stanley Parable experience from just watching let's play videos of it.

Side thought: In addition to Steam sales if you want a game cheap there are the humble bundle sales https://www.humblebundle.com/. Of course that's if you want to wait for either place.

 

[pawzisme]

Wolfeman, thank you for the rec, that is two of you giving FTL the thumbs up, so I will look into it. I have Banished, and followed the game from its earliest days until it got released, and was dead keen to play it. It is still work in progress, with mods being anticipated, and the developer keeps the players fully updated on what he is doing and what issues he has had to sort out etc. I find it very stable, had absolutely no problems running it - but I do find it slow in pace (and even a bit boring). Hopefully a few mods and extras will change that perception. I think the game (which is totally the work of just one man) is sort of stuck in the first tier of development. What I mean is that once you have built each of the available buildings -school, blacksmiths, mine, foresters, traders etc, there is nothing more to discover. Sure you have to keep your population balanced, alive, fed etc, but there is nothing new to unlock or to attain. The buildings don't morph into something grander as you grow your town, no new skills become available, no advancement in tools, unless the trader brings something in I don't yet know about... so, good game, but it needs something more to reach for than it has at present - that is my opinion.

You are making me think I might give Minecraft a go.. I know it is very popular, and 'mods' sounds attractive... I will look up Cog too Oh, and Evil Genius (so pleased to have found this forum!). Thanks very much

TMG, I will still look at Papers Please, but if it is timed it probably won't suit me - I am not a fast player! Thank you -yes, I am on Steam and know about Humble bundles (GOG.com is good too for older stuff). I rather pigged out on the recent Steam Sale - only on cheapos, but reckon I must have bought about seven games in as many days (hopes to hide bank account from the eyes of Best Beloved). Haven't really looked at them yet, so possibly joys to come.

 

[Tek7]

Quick recommendations for non-gory/non-zombie PC games:

Cave Story+ - But settle for the decent ending and look up the True Ending on YouTube

Critter Crunch - Especially puzzle mode, given that you don't care for timed modes. So much <3 for this game.

FEZ - Fantastic game, but I strongly recommend you not read ANYTHING about the game's creator until after you've finished it

Fractal - Turn-based single-player puzzle game. Takes a little while to get the hang of, but much fun and quite relaxing after

Peggle - Because Peggle

PixelJunk Eden - Relaxing since they added a rewind feature to the PC version

Portal, Portal 2 - Portal 1 is a fantastic single-player game. Portal 2 is a worthy successor AND its co-op mode is, IMO, one of the best co-op experiences in gaming

Quantum Conundrum - First-person puzzler featuring the voice of Q from Star Trek TNG (and Discord, for MLP fans)

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed - If you like kart racers, this is as good as it gets on PC

Thomas Was Alone - Minimalist platformer with a funny narrator

To The Moon - I confess I haven't played it yet, but so many had positive things to say about it. More about story than gameplay, but that's okay!

Waves - If you like twin stick shooters and aren't prone to epileptic seizures

World of Goo - Building with goo balls to make bridges and solve puzzles!

 

[pawzisme]

thank you Tek7. I have two of those; Portal and Peggle (Origin gave it out as a freebie) - though I did have one years back, about going to the moon, which was a puzzle game. I shall look into some of those. Another one comes to mind, which I own but have not got very far into yet, - quite challenging, called Montague's Mount, which you can get on Steam for £6.99. It is set In Ireland.

Puzzle games and casual games are good for a quick relax or when you are too tired to get into anything 'meaty' - but it is the 'in-depth' games which appeal most for me. That is where the difficulty lies in finding acceptable content. I am waiting, somewhat impatiently, for several 'survivalist' games to finish production, where you are up against nature itself - no 'zombies' or 'ghouls'. And I prefer first-person perspective in that sort of environment, so I can feel it is 'me' in there, not some character I am overseeing. Meanwhile my shelf is well-stocked and I have plenty to choose from. City-building games and also the girlie Sims3 get played a lot too, simply because I really enjoy organising the world and making things better for its inhabitants - if only we could do that for real!! I also play the Silent Hunter series, though if I play SH3, Best Beloved looks on with disapproval as in that I am a German sub sinking British ships.... the other 'main' games I play are the X-Universe space games - like Elite, only better.

 

[Wolfeman]

Minecraft.net has a demo version of the game you can download and play for free. I really really recommend you try it. It's a perfect blend of first person survival with building. Not sure about the PC version but the tablet version my daughter played was limited in what you could do, the world size and content. But it gave a really good view of the game.

Minecraft can be a very social game. CGA/ToJ has a server set up here you could play on. However, I tend to run off into the woods and find me a nice place to set up then get busy terraforming the land and building something big. It can also be played in single player mode (which is what I currently do because I can't find a good Christian server to play on I like) if you want to avoid people all together.

It does have zombies and skeletons but they feel more like dangerous animals than anything evil. Witches and wizards are present as well but vary rarely. Again, the 8 bit textures make them feel so much less than they are (the numbing or dumbing down of how evil is portrayed is always dangerous but there is so much more to the game that I really think it's less of an issue here).

There is a Nether region you travel too thru a portal you build. It's been called Hell but I really imagine it to be more like the inside of a giant volcano or inside the earth. It has Pigmen and a Ghast (giant floating ghost that shoots fireballs at you).

Watch some videos. It really is a one of a kind game (that has now been copied infinitely by others). Play the demo. It's my favorite game because it combines survival with resource gathering, management and infinite building possibilities.

It also has horses, cows, cats, dogs, pigs, bunnies and a whole host of other things to see and do.

 

[pawzisme]

I might give the demo a go then Wolfe, thanks - I looked up Minecraft on the web and it was £17+ (gulp).
Yep, single-player would be me
I have just bought FTL and The Guild2 from GOG, so that's all my pennies spent for a bit...
Is 'Wolfe' part of your screen-name because you have a dog? Maybe a GSD?

Oh... have had a look at the tutorials, and briefly played the demo ( have to go down stairs and feed critturs soon), and yes, I think I want to get Minecraft ( you can feel when a game 'clicks' can't you), but £17.99 is way more than I feel comfy paying in one go, and I don't suppose I will find it cheaper, so it will have to wait until I feel I can splurge such a sum. Perhaps someone will want their poorly computer fixed, and although we don't charge, they do sometimes insist they give us something so they can 'ask again' if they need to.. for now I shall have to be strong and patient!

 

[Wolfeman]

Wolfe is my last name so Wolfeman was a fairly natural extension of that. Owned a dog and two cats but we've gotten rid of the dog and are trying to find good homes for the cats.

The price for Minecraft is a bit high but well worth it. (well, I say that but I only paid $5 because I got into it way back when it was still alpha/beta and the price has gone up as it got more complete.) You can't buy it thru steam and I've never seen it on sale anywhere (don't buy it from anyone secondhand!) so I'm sorry for that but it really is a very good game. Multi player is actually really fun because you can go off by yourself and do your own thing but still have a bit of interaction with others when you choose to. I actually miss being able to show off some of my creations and look at the stuff others build but can't find a clean place to play right now that I want to build and play in.

 

[pawzisme]

I shall be patient and look forward to the day when I can get it Only six months to Christmas........

 

[The Mighty Gerbil]

You can't buy it thru steam and I've never seen it on sale anywhere (don't buy it from anyone secondhand!)

I actually have a spare unused alpha code but never decided what to do with it, indecisive Gerbil is indecisive as always. ATM I need it until I can get a clan member access to the website login on a used copy I gave them (we can log in to the game but not the website. I know it uses an e-mail it just won't work).

 

[pawzisme]

not sure I know what an alpha code is but suspect you are trying to help me - thank you, but don't you worry none old bean, I will get Minecraft in due course. We have just paid out nearly £700 on car maintenaince ( Himself mutters something about bath-curves in respect of old cars getting more and more expensive to maintain), so we are feeling a bit protective of our dwindling savings ( both pensioners) - but I will get it I know, just might take a little longer...

 

[The Mighty Gerbil]

Way, way back in the day before Minecraft was fully released it was in "alpha". Everyone who bought it then was promised all further updates would be free while those who bought it after full release were not. It was a selling point which may never be acted on though. As far as I know everyone has been getting all the updates regardless of when they bought it. It was also cheaper back then so I bought an extra copy thinking I could sell it later to recoup a little of the money on the other copies I bought. I never did anything with it though and I am not likely to for the immediate future for the reasons I mentioned in the last post.

I know you are full up on games right now, and dismissed Paper's Please, but I remembered you can download the free beta/demo of it here. /also remembered it has some 8-bit very non-sexual nudity when you have to search people. You can turn it off in the full game though I don't remember about the demo.

I've also got to say your British-ness I lubs it! It's always neat meeting Christians from around the world !

 

[pawzisme]

'aw, shucks is about all the 'American' I know' - oh, and maybe y'all (said in a drawl) and 'have a good day!', which seems to be fairly global now. Sometimes Ellis Potter (itinerant preacher) comes to give us a talk at church, and in telling anecdotes he can affect the most wonderful hill-billy way of talking when he wants to illustrate a point - just love it, can't help smiling with delight. I am the editor of our church news-sheet ( a very modest affair), and tend to address many of the folk who send stuff in as 'old bean', so one lady now calls me 'OB1' and I call her 'OB2'. I hate to be 'stuffy', so an easy and friendly style of communicating suits me

I did download the beta and had a little play - and the game 'clicked' for me, with the sheep baah-ing at me and some strange little black creature swimming in the water. I thought at first it was a sheep which had fallen in and was waving it's little black legs in the air - but as I jumped down to rescue it it looked more like an octopus,so I let it be. Yup, got FTL - failed miserably on my first play, but I will get the hang of it eventually. Also got The Guild 2 from GOG, and Risen in the Steam sale ( I think), so those and my 'regulars' will keep me quiet for a while...

 

[The Mighty Gerbil]

'aw, shucks is about all the 'American' I know' - oh, and maybe y'all (said in a drawl) and 'have a good day!', which seems to be fairly global now. Sometimes Ellis Potter (itinerant preacher) comes to give us a talk at church, and in telling anecdotes he can affect the most wonderful hill-billy way of talking when he wants to illustrate a point - just love it, can't help smiling with delight. I am the editor of our church news-sheet ( a very modest affair), and tend to address many of the folk who send stuff in as 'old bean', so one lady now calls me 'OB1' and I call her 'OB2'. I hate to be 'stuffy', so an easy and friendly style of communicating suits me

I did download the beta and had a little play - and the game 'clicked' for me, with the sheep baah-ing at me and some strange little black creature swimming in the water. I thought at first it was a sheep which had fallen in and was waving it's little black legs in the air - but as I jumped down to rescue it it looked more like an octopus,so I let it be.

That doesn't sound like Papers Please. You may have downloaded a different game of his as several of them are on the page I linked. EDIT: Ah figured it out you are talking about Minecraft ah ok .

Yup, got FTL - failed miserably on my first play, but I will get the hang of it eventually.

If you want tips, just ask, I'm quite experienced in the game. I'm sure you'll get the hang of it without them though .

 

[Patriot]

'aw, shucks is about all the 'American' I know' - oh, and maybe y'all (said in a drawl) and 'have a good day!', which seems to be fairly global now

It's funny the disparity in dialects just across the US. I don't know that I've ever heard anyone use 'shucks' outside of TV shows and movies. But then, I'm in the Southwestern corner. We tend more toward words like 'dude'.

Here's an odd question: In US television commercials I've noticed the advertisers will often find a speaker with a British accent to lend an air of credibility to what they are saying (I often play a personal game where I try to spot the tricks or outright lies that advertisements are using). Do commercials in Great Britain ever use folks with a different accent in the same manner? If so, which accent?

As for games, I was going to recommend Civilization but I noticed you already own it. Seeing how you own Oblivion, I would recommend Skyrim but there are definitely skeletons and 'undead' warriors sprinkled throughout. Not to mention other potential issues. Probably not what you are looking for.