If you were going to be stranded on a desert island, and for some reason you could bring 5 video games with their required hardware and means to power them, what would they be? No compilations or online multiplayer if you want to be a purist about it, but I’m still interested if you have thoughts about them :)
Games with the highest replay value for me:
- Civilization 4
- Heroes of Might and Magic III
- Sid Meyer’s Alpha Centauri
- TES3: Morrowind
- SimCity 2000
In no particular order:
- Rim World
- Terraria
- Oxygen not Included
- Factorio
- Vintage Story
- Minecraft
- Factorial
- Terraria
- Balatro
- Stardew valley
I’m just going for maximum time sink.
- Dark Souls + DLC
- Metroid Prime
- Super Metroid
- Persona 3 Portable
- SMTV:V
Edit: Might swap DS for Sekiro
Can I mod them? Because if so
- minecraft
- skyrim
- terraria
- dark souls 2
- hollowknight (so i can finally get those speedrun achievements)
DS2 gets hate for that agility bullshit, which wasn’t completely undeserved. But that game is one of my favorites of the whole souls Bourne collection.
Half-Life 3 through 7.
Minecraft as a reference guide for how to survive on said island.
Animal Crossing so I have someone to talk to.
Elden Ring to remind me how bleak and hopeless everything is.
Solitaire and Minesweeper. In case I get bored.
Yeah, all the best survival guides start with “find the nearest tree and punch it a couple of times”
For me, it would have to be:
- Factorio
- Rimworld
- Red Dead Redemption 2
- Tetris DS
- Disco Elysium
Gotta be one of the Paradox strategy games. I have two reasons for this: the first is that a good game unavoidably takes ages on them, so they have staying power; the other is that I know how to mod them, so I can make myself new scenarios once I get fed up of it. I’ll bring Crusader Kings 3 and Victoria 3 because I like them but haven’t yet played them much
I’ll add in Assetto Corsa and Dirt Rally 2 for some driving. Both have very high skill ceilings that I am nowhere near, so that gives me a lot to do. I also don’t own a wheel, so if I get that as part of the deal then that’d be fun to try. These two also have an odd bonus for me: they both have courses set near my home. I can sort of visit them by playing when I get a bit homesick
Lastly I’ll have Deep Rock Galactic for low effort shooty fun. I can’t always be putting mental energy into games
There are games I like as much or more than these five but which lack the replayability for this scenario. Like I adore Outer Wilds, but you can only really play it once
Roguelites are the way, fam:
- Noita
- FTL: Faster Than Light
- Slice & Dice
- Death Road to Canada
- I’ve never actually played it yet, but maybe S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, or else possibly Infested Planet or RimWorld
You’d better bring a copy of the Noita wiki with you so that you can decipher what half the late game stuff is/does. Or even just where it is. Although I suppose if you have basically unlimited time, you could just do your alchemy from first principles
Shattered Pixel Dungeon
WipeOut 2097(XL)
Tetris (arcade) or Karate Champ (arcade) or Speed Rumbler(arcade)
Descent II
Simon Tatham Puzzles collection
Modded morrowind,ultrakill, metal gear rising, modded Minecraft, modded skyrim
Why does it have to be a desert island? I don’t like sand. It’s coarse and rough and irritating… and it gets everywhere.
Cave in mountain side then surrounded by a forest with grizzly bears.
- Stellaris
- Kerbal Space Program
- Dead Cells
- Grim Dawn
- Against The Storm
Honorable Mentions:
- ΔV: Rings of Saturn
- We Who Are About To Die
Quake 3, UT 2004, Heroes 3, GTA2, Beavis & Butthead Hock a Loogie
