Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
An absolute emotional rollercoaster start to end.
33/33 would recommend
The only game I have sat still as the credits rolled absolutely dumbfounded for at least 30 minutes
Just finished the main quest last night. My head is still spinning. Best story driven game I’ve played in some time if not all time for me. They really did a great job everywhere.
Celeste is so. fucking. good.
absolutely amazing game in every way
I wanna finish it but I’m stuck finding all the secret strawberries
I second this. Didn’t cry while playing it but did tear up listening to the Farewell soundtrack on full blast in my car.
TF2, when I get repeatedly owned by the same enemy. Especially if they’re a soldier with love heart cosmetics.
The Last Of Us Part II.
Revenge. Revenge never changes.
What’s done is done and it can never be undone.
It is such a tear jerker. So good
Journey’s ending hit me pretty hard: the score’s composer, Austin Wintory, did such a great job channeling emotions into the game narrative
Shadow of the Colossus. Hands down one of the saddest games I’ve ever played.
AGRO!
When I played Hell blade: Senua’s Sacrifice.
The symbology and story made me understand the struggles of a close friend, who succumbed to her psychosis many years ago. Felt like more than just a game.
Playing this game in the darkness with headphones is an unforgettable experience. I’ll hopefully never know what it’s like to suffer from psychosis, but I don’t think there is anything that comes closer.
…and I just read that they added VR support. Holy shit.
She was a great friend, with an unfortunate circumstance. If you ever, within your lifetime, become well acquainted with someone who has either schizophrenia or psychosis, remember the person underneath the struggle as they face a constant battle in their heads. I hope mental health support gets better, and it is, however in my experience there is little support for the lasting effects of abuse as it’s mostly surface level things - my local NHS hospital has claimed there is no specialist for CPTSD in my area of London, at all (and not everyone is in the position to pay out of pocket, especially when my friend was already staying at sheltered accommodation).
Many issues in society can be fixed with proper mental health support, I’m just hoping that gets here soon.
Thank you for sharing your friend’s story and honoring her memory.
This is very true. There are more than enough social and psychological barriers to getting the help you need in this situation - it’s high time we get rid of at least the economic ones.
I was fortunate enough to get to know people on both sides of this struggle, though less severe than your friend. It takes effort to build empathy, remember the person underneath as you said, make space for them where the may be needed, and - without assuming full responsibility - being there for them where possible.
Thank you for being you :)
To the Moon
I convinced my partner to play to the moon. The sound of crying was how I knew she’d reached the end.
The music still gets me a little bit sometimes.
this needs to be higher up. to the moon is a gem
I gotta get around to the other games in the series sometime, To The Moon was incredible. It’s been so long and I don’t remember many specifics, but I do recall it being one of a few games that encouraged me to come to terms with mortality.
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, right near the end. I don’t want to spoil too much, but I never thought a game mechanic would make me emotional.
Game: Press this button to trigger this game mechanic
Me: Starts ugly crying
A few times.
Most notably, when playing Outer Wilds. I was playing it during the pandemic and had lost two friends, my grandfather and my cat within the span of around 3 months. I was struggling with depression and I got to one specific spot in the game and the revelation caused me to just sit there and cry for like 10 minutes, I was so emotionally shut down at the time that the tears felt like a life preserver. I had to stop playing for a bit, but it definitely helped me process my grief.
I also cried during a couple of quests in FFXIV. The post-Shadowbringers content especially, not because it was sad, just very poignant. And again in the last area of Endwalker, where Masayoshi Soken’s incredible composition combined with some very emotional content just got to me (especially the Endwalk, jfc).
I think I cried a bit at the end of Journey just because it was a powerful experience, but I had an amazing partner in that game who stayed with me through the whole thing.
Outer Wilds got me too, for sure, and stayed in my thoughts long after I finished. The music from the slideshow at the end of the DLC still makes me well up a bit. Such an incredible game. I still think of “the universe is and we are” from one of Solanum’s logs all the time.
Haven’t been the same since I finished the game a few years ago. Andrew Prahlow dominated my Spotify playlist for two years following and now I have an emotional aversion to pulling the game open, after having played through it (and the DLC) three or six times over the course of 90+ hours gameplay.
10/10 would recommend lol
I had some friends I convinced to play through it and they just didn’t get anything out of it. Couldn’t believe it tbh
It’s no exaggeration to say it changed my perspective about life, I still can’t hear Final Voyage without tearing up.
My sister tried playing it and didn’t get very far, but her preferences are for highly character-driven material so I think it’s just not for her.
If only I could replay Journey as a new experience again. There were so many revelations at the end for someone who went in knowing nothing about it that really made it a powerful experience.
I was just about to mention exactly these games!
Outer Wilds’ ending was, to me, a beautiful meditation on confronting loss, the ending of things, and coming to peace with it.
Shadowbringers was along a similar theme. It was interesting emphasizing with Emet, and yet still realizing he’s wrong (“cool motive, still interdimensional genocide”). It was a combination of feeling unbearably sad for him, and yet thankful for stopping him. Also, seeing Ardbert during the camera pan in the Crystarium at the end.
Endwalker’s final walk had to have been designed in a lab to generate waterworks. What an experience.
My reaction to both The Dying Gasp and Seat of Sacrifice fights was “Can’t I feel good about winning just once?” and then speaking to Seto at the end was full on waterworks.
I cried for a good thirty minutes when I beat Outer Wilds, such a wonderful and bittersweet ending.
Braid’s ending.
Tim (the player) is likely the villain. His quest was never about saving the princess but about his own selfish desire to reclaim something/someone that no longer wants him. The game masterfully subverts expectations, making players reflect on perspective, responsibility, and consequences.
Brother’s got me ugly crying
RDR2, when Arthur stopped to thank his (dying) horse (near the final mission). I got a lil choked up.
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Darkness/Time/Sky
Mmm, great memories of Blue Rescue team.
I’ve been meaning to play the others, but DS emulation is kind of subpar by design.
Is it? I thought DS emulators are pretty good. I’ve seen a few Streamers stream the Pokémon DS games without issues. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon also doesn’t make much use of the touch screen iirc
It works well, but using 2 screens on one monitor will always be a lesser experience.
RDR2. Miss you, Hamish, thanks for the good times.
Right? RDR2, TLOU 1 & 2…there are others that are slipping my ind now but a well told story is a well told story. These people all saying they never cry over stories in games are disturbing if you ask me lol
That’s just one of many, and I’ll never forget the tears that flowed when, as but a child, I experienced that scene in FFVII, while screaming “NO,NO! USE A FUCKING PHOENIX DOWN YOU FUCKING ASSHOLES!”
