Quick Thought: How I Measure Great Games

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before in any of my posts, but when I play a game, I try to play my first run of the game without a walkthrough. I go in as blind as possible. Mainly, I do this because I relish in the feeling I get when I accomplish something completely on my own merit. If there’s a difficult puzzle or challenge in a game, it feels all the more rewarding when conquered with your own knowledge and abilities. It’s kind of the same feeling I get from beating games on Hard Mode, despite that Hard Mode can be bullshit sometimes (here are my thoughts on that matter). ​

However, this method of playing through games does have a major disadvantage; you absolutely will miss some stuff.I hate missing stuff, especially optional characters and the like. As a result, I’ve become a bit incessant on exploring every area and every object I can when I’m playing through a game. Unfortunately, this method can be pretty time consuming, which forced me to become a little less incessant and a little more choosey. I’ll still explore as much as I can and check every object, but when I’ve beaten a game, I’ll start checking walkthroughs and forums. I’ll then realize I invariably missed some side quest/item/character and I’m left with a decision to make. Is it worth it to replay the game to acquire the things I missed? Sometimes the answer is yes, sometimes no, but whatever my decision is, I realize how I felt about the game. It’s one of my major criteria on what games I think are truly great.

Some of the games that hit that point for me that I’ve played recently have been:
​

Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors

Zero’s Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Fire Emblem: Awakening

​Nier

There are definitely others, but these are ones that some gamers may have missed or skipped, but I highly recommend.
​
Saying that, I also want to hear what other peoples’ measure of great games may be and if they have any recommendations. Let us know in the comment section!