Last truly original gameplay you experienced?

[Box]

Most gameplay nowadays is just derivative or a straight up copy of something else. I'm not saying those games aren't good/fun because of that fact, but it's hard to get excited over new trailers when the gameplay looks the same as a thousand other games that have come before it.

I get that there's a limit to just how many ways you can shoot, fight, or navigate a character around a screen, but the fact remains that I rarely feel I'm playing anything truly new gameplay-wise.

I really enjoyed Chants of the Senaar because I don't think I've ever played a game where I was deciphering individual letters of different pictographic languages to navigate the world before. Not for everyone but there's a demo available if you want to see what I mean. I suppose ultimately it's just another puzzle game, but the puzzles felt pretty unique to me.

 

[Luffy123]

Alan Wake 2’s concert

I’ve never seen anything like it before

It made me believe that combining live action and ingame gameplay can be possible

 

[Zzero]

Some of the TotK building and movement options (ascend) I guess, back in May. I really fell off of gaming hard in the second half of this year, though so there weren't many chances after that.

 

[Vertigo]

Hard to answer. I start leaning towards revolutionary changes when I think about it because sometimes innovative can be like gimmicky.

With that said… MGS3’s zombie river

 

[historia]

The Other Wilds and Pedestrian

 

[Bryank75]

I guess Sekiro felt unique...

So did Sifu, to me anyway.

Returnal, even though I wasn't able to really get into it, also felt very different.

Then there are parts of games that feel unique, like the music part of Control, I liked that. Ashtray room?

 

[Nhomnhom]

BG3 to me felt really fresh (likely because I did not play Larian previous games). There are just so many possibilities and interacting systems that is hard to even understand how it was possible to develop a game like this.

I love how it actually has countless builds that work and change how you play, specially when you get into multi-classing. Their engine is so good for this type of game that they should license it to other RPG makers just like id licensed the Quake engine back in the day.

 

[anonpuffs]

Probably the most innovative in storytelling i can remember off the top of my head is inscryption. Not only was the game itself crazy, it was attached to an irl ARG that included geocaching game related items that advanced the lore of the game and unlocked in-game passwords.

 

[TheLastOfSnatcher]

Alan Wake 2’s concert

I’ve never seen anything like it before

It made me believe that combining live action and ingame gameplay can be possible

Came to post this. First post nails it.

 

[Dr Bass]

Some of the TotK building and movement options (ascend) I guess, back in May. I really fell off of gaming hard in the second half of this year, though so there weren't many chances after that.

The pure player creativity possible with TotK is pretty mind boggling. And then the way you can apply it to solving stuff in the game ... it was a level of fun I don't often experience in games these days.

Before that ... hard to say. Shadow of the Colossus? I thought Returnal was pretty fresh for a 3rd person shooting experience (at least to me it was). If that basic gameplay feel/formula were applied to a 3D Metroid, it would be way better than the Prime games iMO.

 

[ethomaz]

Death Stranding was the last time an innovative gameplay surprised me.

 

[Dr Bass]

Death Stranding was the last time an innovative gameplay surprised me.

Good call.