What are your favorite "gotta go in blind" games?

Subnautica.

Survival. But you're in the middle of an ocean. Good luck!

The way the game drip feeds you information. I love it!
Is it available for android?
- No, but it's on Nintendo Switch, PC/Steam, and a few other consoles, I believe!
  
  I think it may be my favorite game of all time, so if you choose to play it, I hope you have fun!

Undertale, but at this point you'd have to have lived in a cave for the last decade to not know most of the spoilers by now.

Well, apparently I have!
The only thing I've heard about Undertale so far is that it is supposed to be good.
- That's all Ive heard too. I tried playing it but the combat was weird. Kinda boring to me so I never advanced further.
- It's good in a way that isn't really expected - the only thing I can say without spoiling is it did something really different with things that had been there a long time.
Undertale is such a bolt of lightning. It both depends on its player having experience with traditional JRPG and having no fucking clue what it is. But when the conditions line up, as it did for many people at release, it was such a master fully crafted experience. But even the slightest amount of "it's good because..." really siphons part of the experience away.
https://xkcd.com/1053/
Tbh, I played it for a few hours, didn't like it and don't understand all the fuss about it. Does it get good later?

I was at a point, where I was going through a cave with a castle in the background (it was a few years ago), it was probably some kind of riddle, but I couldn't be bothered.
Is it worth going forward or did I see enough to just say "it's not my kind of game"?
- I'm gonna be the heretic here, it's actually really terrible. If you don't like Homestuck and that brand of humor, you won't like Undertale.
Spoiler: There are high jinks, low jinks, dangers, puzzles, capers, japers, being captured, and other sorts of fun activities in this game.
I have heard the name but don't know what it's about, I'll look into it. Thanks !
- I'll look into it.
  
  No, don't!
  
  Or at least don't do anymore than choose your preferred platform and then buy it. Its available on Windows, Linux, Mac, PS, Xbox and Switch but not on Android or iOS.
  
  Its a couple of bucks on steam at the moment, included in PSN if you do that, or full price everywhere else.
Guess I live in a cave then. I have even had the game on steam for ages now. The graphics are just too much of a turn off for me to ever play it.

Disco Elysium
Return of the Obra Dinn
House Of The Dying Sun
FEAR
Limbo
Oxenfree

I disagree with FEAR simply because I'd say to play it on the hardest difficulty and go balls to the wall because the AI will fuck you over if it gets the chance; and the longer you take to clear a room, the more time the AI has to organize and execute a plan. If it weren't for the fact that I've seen plenty of people get stuck on FEAR because they tried to play it like a cover shooter, I'd fully agree with you.
- Honestly, fair assessment. Well said.
Yes! Return of the Obra Dinn 100%. You can still watch other people play it on YouTube later and have a blast seeing them figure things out. And read Lucas Pope's excellent devblog later as well.
- I am super intimidated Return of the Obra Dinn. But it looks so cool, and I feel like it uses a lot of lateral thinking and makes you smarter for playing it.
Can you send me the link to FEAR? In steam there are a lot of games with this name lol.
- https://store.steampowered.com/app/21090/FEAR/
I went into Oxenfree completely blind after picking it up for next to nothing on the switch store. Great story with choices that actually matter. OP, do yourself a favor and play this without a guide.
- Heck yes. I still need to play the second one.

Control

Yeah, got it for free on epic, assumed it was a game on dictatorship for reason... What a trip it turned out to be
Great combat, graat atmosphere, great story. Definitely worth your time.
It's on sale on Steam for $7, just got it!
The DLC for that game was a trip too. Highly recommend checking it out as it really added to Alan Wake 2 for me.

You should go into Nier: Automata thinking it's a game about a hot chick fighting a bunch of robots. The only spoiler you should know is that the end isn't the end, and you need to play it again.

You should go into Spec Ops: the Line thinking it's a game about a cool special forces team fighting a bunch of terrorists or something. The only spoiler you should know is that it's supposed to feel like a generic third person shooter.

Haha I stopped playing Nier Automata after finishing it once. Yeah, yeah I heard it's not the end, but the gameplay really isn't good enough to go through it again. Right now I'd give it a 7/10, but if you force me to do it all again I am going down to 3/10. I think it feels incredibly cheap to do this gimmick.
- For you, a little extra spoiler: the next ending also isn't the end, there's a lot more. I will admit that playing the second run is a big grindy at first, but it quickly differentiates itself from your first run by the time you get to the first boss. Also, in the second run, the side quests are crucial.
  
  An extra-extra spoiler: there's a lot to dig your teeth into, philosophically, that makes the whole rigmarole worth it.
I love Nier! I'm thought the second play through would be a slog, but they kept it really interesting imo. And starting it up for a third time was wild. Even starting that game is part of the game mechanic, it's so neat!
- I would have to disagree about the second playthrough; I found it to be a very large slog. The third and subsequent playthroughs were amazing though.
I bought it expecting like a Devil May Cry or maybe Souls... then the game started and I noped the hell out. It's weird and I did not like it at all.
- If I remember right, the first couple minutes is like a top-down shoot-em-up, but it transitions into that Devil May Cry style pretty quickly

Tunic.

The one thing I think is worth “spoiling” just to save you some pain:

Tap for spoiler

If you find a room with a bunch of curtains and bells, it is NOT A PUZZLE!

I also second Outer Wilds.

i bounced off tunic super hard. i love the puzzle aspects, the cryptic manual pages, and figuring things out, but the combat was way too brutal, even on the easier setting. the bigger white ghost enemies at the very start killed me so many times i no longer want to go back to it.
- I’ve gotta remember what those ghosts are.
  
  I’ve slowly acclimated to Soulslikes since Tunic, and a common theme is that they make you think you need to be pressing more buttons, when they’re often teaching specialized bits of patience. In Tunic’s case, a lot of people expend their stamina too quickly.
  
  Still don’t like FromSoft’s games
- I thought the reward for the puzzles was not good enough, either. When you play Outer Wilds, you figure things out, unlock a wonderful story, and learn tricks for other puzzles. When you play Tunic, you (eventually) figure things out and get a bad ending for a game that barely reveals anything, story-wise.
  
  I also thought that requiring a web app or a bunch of paperwork to figure out the language was far too inconvenient for a game made in the 21st century. They borrowed the wrong lessons from Fez.
- Understandable. It got pretty frustrating for me too at various points. I'm kinda bad at this kind of combat in general. Most of what motivates me to push through it in games like Dark Souls or Tunic is being interested in the world. But sometimes not even that's enough.
- I switched that to easy mode at one of the mid game bosses, and I still struggled. The combat is way too tough for what it is.
I just finished playing tunic (good ending). A friend and I were playing it at the same time. If I didn't have that friendly competition I would have dropped it so many times. There is way too much manual work in this game that you often times aren't playing a video game anymore.

At the end of it all I didn't feel a sense of accomplishment just relief that I'm done with the game. Only to find out after doing the secret puzzle is just more meta puzzles outside the game.

Outer Wilds on the other hand is fantastic and not having to use a pencil and paper to advance in the game is A+.

Journey. You can get it on PlayStation, iOS, steam (on sale for $5 atm) and epic. It is 2-3 hours short and not very challenging, but it does look absolutely stunning and has a very beautiful gameplay mechanic that you better find out for yourself. IMO it is one of the best games of all time and one that really demonstrates what the medium is capable of.

spoiler

Gosh this one makes me cry every time
I wish someone had told me what Journey was about so I could have avoided it. I went in blind and didn't enjoy it at all. It was a cool concept but it wasn't for me.
- That is odd that nobody could tell this wouldn’t be for you @[email protected]
- I fucking loved it and cried.
  
  Tap for spoiler
  
  The person I matched up with was a 10/10. I went in blind but I knew it would match me with someone. I found them right away and they stayed with me the whole game. My partner got a person who dropped out, then restarted. Got another person… speedrunner. Tried once more and got someone who dropped out after an hour. Got another person they finished with, super frustrated. They did not have my experience.
Thank you for this. Just recently picked up and played through twice Gris and Neva. Even though they're short as well I really find myself loving the visuals, gameplay and the atmosphere created by these games.

Subnautica. Just bopping along, in my cute little submarine.

I had no background and nearly shat myself at a moment you can probably guess lol
- A moment? I had a few during my first playthrough. PD, RL, W, T, DL. And many moments of forgetting to keep an eye on that oxygen meter lol.

Subnautica. You can only play it for the first time once.

Absolutely this. I am jealous each time I recommend it to someone who hasn't played it yet.
- I'm glad there was a thread about Subnautica in here.
  
  absolutely stunning, especially if one has any kind of decent audio system
I tried it a few years ago and gave up after an hour of not knowing what to do. But I had this week off and tried it again, it I'm really enjoying it this time. It's not like anything else, and once that initial bump is passed its learning curve is really quite good.
- It is one of my all-time favorite games. I have unfortunately played it to death; I've run out of stupid challenge runs. The game has a story and uniquely for survival games it has an ending, there's a Win The Game button. But the game is as much about the story you're going to create; the way you choose to go about things, the order you decide to explore in, the happenstances of your adventure are maybe more important than what the wiki says the story is. Savor that.
  
  I will offer this hint. I don't think it's a spoiler; I think there is a strong possibility this hint will prevent you from alt-tabbing out to look up the wiki and accidentally encounter a spoiler. But I will tag it as a spoiler anyway.
  
  spoiler
  
  If you find yourself without an immediate goal, you're milling about the ocean thinking "well now what?" Go deeper.

Minesweeper

I don't know if you're being sarcastic, but your comment is so true it hurts. When you first figure out how minesweeper works, your mind is blown away.

Inscryption

Damn, was I surprised as a fan of older TCGs and videogame TCGs.
Was gonna mention this one soooooo good
And The Hex, which is his prior game. IT IS SO HORRIBLY UNDERRATED

I'm surprised no one mentioned Spec Ops: The Line yet

Inside. Made by the same company as Limbo, but Inside is much more "don't look up a single thing"

Thanks for the recommendation. Just bought both for $3 lol
- Sweet deal!!
  
  Limbo was alright for me, but Inside blew my mind. So if Limbo doesn't float your boat, don't stop there!
- have a great time !! Inside is fantastic
- Awesome! Inside is far better than Limbo in my opinion, but they are both good games

Inscryption absolutely blew my mind. I'd toss Undertale on there too.

Inscryption totally lost me after the cabin. Felt like having the rug pulled out from beneath me.

The Long Dark

Getting lost in the snowy wilderness I so much fun. I have many "oh shit" moments that kinda don't happen once you learn the maps and improve.

I’ve had that one in my library since it originally came out and I’ve been wanting to play it ever since, but haven’t found time. I understand they’ve added quite a bit since the early days!
- Yeah it's changed a lot over the years but is such a unique experience I recommend it to everyone.
  
  They still haven't released all the story mode chapters but survival mode is by far the best way to play.

Sauna2000 (it's not out yet, but there are some demos floating around).

Squirrel stapler

Cruelty Squad - depends on the kinda person you are. If you're super open-minded about game presentation then I'd tell you to go into it blind. If not, then I'll happily try to sell you on it. If it helps, the game looks the way that it does because of how fucking confident it is in itself; and that confidence is fully justified. Give it time, even if the first level doesn't hook you, give it time because in my experience it will eventually hook you and reel you in and leave you thinking it's one of the best games of all time.

Undertale

Hypnospace Outlaw

Jet Set Radio, Jet Set Radio Future, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk. Give the first two a try, and if you don't like either one, skip BRC; it's a spiritual successor to JSRF and if you didn't like JSRF then you probably won't like BRC.

Hylics. If you liked that and wanted more, Hylics 2. Hylics 2 actually does something throughout the game that I've only ever seen as a gimmick in other games. It's really cool and it'll probably catch you off-guard every time it does it.

Katamari Damacy. If you liked that, there's also We <3 Katamari.

Myst. The newest version has VR support. If you liked that, the recent Riven remaster also has VR support.

S C O R N (if you like Myst, give it a try. It feels very myst-like)

Hrot (boomer shooter, but if you like boomer shooters then you should give it a go).

If you're at a place in your life where you're trying to still find yourself: Night in the Woods. Especially if you're a furry. This game is really fucking good. It'll make you laugh. It'll make you cry. It'll make you miss home but also be glad you aren't there anymore. It'll make you question your place in life and who you are. Also, you can interact with things multiple times, make sure you don't miss out on dialogue, you'll regret it.

STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl - This is hard to go into blind because it's buggy as fuck and most people recommend some form of community patch even for your first playthrough. That said, play it on the highest difficulty. It's unironically more fun once you get used to it. If it's too hard though, don't be fooled into thinking that dropping the difficulty will make it easier, the hardest difficulty is special (you can only take a few hits, but the same is true for most enemies), and dropping it down will result in enemy difficulty scaling becoming more traditional (buffing health and damage).

Portal (and Portal 2).

Bugsnax.

If I can throw in a movie too:

Willy's Wonderland. It's a Nicolas Cage movie and that's all I'll tell you. DO NOT LOOK UP THE TRAILER. I wouldn't have watched it if I hadn't seen the trailer, but the trailer also has huge spoilers. I'm not a huge movie person and I had to watch it after seeing the trailer, but again the trailer has spoilers. It is on my top-10 movies list now.

Portal 2 has, hands-down, the most hilariously-written dialogue I have ever seen in a video game. That alone is worth playing the game, but it's also a fun puzzle game to boot.
I was gonna mention Bugsnax, but you beat me to it. That game starts so innocent.

Soma

Thanks, just bought it.
- One of my all-time favorites. If you don't like horror games, don't let that stop you. It's too important a story to pass up, and worse-case, you can turn off some of the scary elements of the game. It's really a sci-fi masterpiece first, and a horror game second.

I'm gonna go with Skyrim, the more unoptimized and aimless your playthrough is, the more fun you'll have.

Just started playing Skyrim for the first time last week.
My character is optimized for ending fights before they begin – by liquifying the opponent's noggin' with one swing of her 2-handed warhammer.
Other than that, she travels the world collecting ingredients to cook, brew and smith stuff with.
I suspect that's not an optimal build, but it's fun.
- Perfect, I wouldn't change a thing.

I believe Cyberpunk 2077 is a fantastic experience going in blind.

Especially Phantom Liberty. I went in blind, made decisions, lived to regret them, fucked up everything, and loved every minute of it.
- Playing through Phantom Liberty now. So far it’s a breath of fresh air in a save I’ve been playing on and off since launch.
There's a couple of quests that have a time limit, and it's easy to not be aware since all the others can be completed whenever. I only knew beforehand because I read about it, and I'm glad I did, because letting them unintentionally expire has really bad outcomes.

Also I got a mod for infinite respecs. Otherwise I would worry about wasting finite consumable points and never spend them.

Tunic. Knowing how to do the puzzles defeats the fun of the game.

+1 Loved every time I learned a new mechanic through the game.

I'm surprised I haven't seen anyone mention one of my favorites:

Spec Ops: The Line.

The risk with going in blind is that it seems like a generic cover-shooter that doesn't do everything quite as well as its competitors but it actually works to its advantage once you get into it.

If you haven't tried it, I highly recommend it, you can usually find it for really cheap.

Well you can’t buy it digitally at all anymore and if you do find the disc it’s usually priced as a “retro collectible” so the only reasonable way to get it is via the high seas—which, technically, is “really cheap”

Death Stranding

Hollow knight. The exploration of that game is absolutely the pinnacle of world layouts

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

And probably Tears of the Kingdom too but I haven’t played it yet.

If you've played botw, you basically can't play totk blind by the nature of the games' similarities
TotK makes BotW feel like a tech demo

Doki Doki should be 90% blind. Players need to understand they're going into a horror game.

But I'll also add one, Detroit: Become Human. While it's based on replaying it a massive number of times, going in blind makes the story a lot better.

David Cage gets lots of shit for his games, but If you experience them blind without spoilers ahead of time I find they're pretty good interactive movies.
My gf watched me play through all of Detroit, and then started to wonder "what would happen if x didn't y?" Aaaand rabbit hole time.

Bioshock.

Red Dead Redemption (and RDR2).

Portal.

What about Portal makes it worth going in blind?
- Its something of a mystery game. You wake up in an unfamiliar place and have a nebulous goal.
  
  Letting the clues of the story build is a big part of the experience.
- At its heart it's a puzzle game so going in having seen someone do the puzzles will make it not as interesting.

What happened to Edith Finch

What Remains of Edith Finch
- Yeah. That one. I'm just going to stick with calling it Edith Finch.

Prey 2017 can be incredible blind and Dredge might be worse if you’ve had the ending spoiled

Now i wonder about the opposite. Games that you should never go in blind XD

Dwarf Fortress, probably.
- That one's tough. I went in blind when the steam version released and had a blast. The actual "game" part is not challenging once you figure out the basics. The fun of it is the stories that spring up that are mostly out of your control.
  
  So, I'd say going in blind, but being open to asking questions or googling specific things is a great way to play it.
My Summer Car
Most multiplayer games gain by already knowing mechanics, maps, characters, items, etc.
Path of Exile is one of those games where you never stop learning new things and the ceiling is always higher than you think it is.
If you‘re an achievement/trophy hunter, there‘s a lot of those cause of missables
Personally I'd say none because I'm a firm believer games tend to be more fun when you go in blind.
Hearts of Iron IV

Someone already mentioned Disco Elysium, system shock 2 and BioShock are also very good

SOMA
DUSKERS

I agree with your others

Hollow Knight

Warframe

Noita

The warframe lore is pretty complex, but its also great. Especially the way the game tells you the story. Can only recommend going into it blind.
I don't think you understood the assignment...
- I think they're all games that seriously benefit from not knowing the lore or mechanics beforehand... you didn't even contribute aside from being snide to me so how about you explain what I did wrong?

Surprised I haven’t seen Undertale yet. The online fanbase is hilariously toxic, (seriously, don’t go looking for any extra details about the game after you finish it) but it’s a solid game that should be experienced 100% blind. All I’ll say is that it’s a game that is written to subvert expectations; If you go into it expecting to play it like a traditional RPG, you’ll be in for a big surprise.

Detroit: Become Human

Gris

Stray

Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons

An astonishingly good story line that can only be really appreciated blind.

For those of you who remember TotalBiscuit, he rated this as one of his favourite games.

Maybe literally the only game that's ever done storytelling through gameplay mechanics-- really cool concept
- Death Stranding would like a word...
- a lot of games do this?

Will second Doki Doki Literature Club. Undertale should also be on this list I feel.

warframe used to be. but it's near-impossible now to start & get through even the first major 'holyshit' moment without having it at least partially spoiled before hand.

Nothing will ever match the effect The Second Dream had on me. This Is What You Are still sends shivers down my spine

I've tried to get back into it a few times, but there's just so much new stuff that it's hard to pick it back up
sorry, but online free-to-play disqualifies it for me.
- TBF, Warframe was far from a free-to-play tier experience, at least back when I played it. The Second Dream is still my favorite story quest in any game I've ever played
- Doki is free to play. DotA is online and free to play.

I'm disappointed that nobody's mentioned Pony Island yet.

Fucking great game, Inscryption was mentioned in here at least.
- Everyone always glosses over his second big game, The Hex. It’s fucking stellar, and a GREAT game to go into blind.
  
  Quick edit: I didn’t think I’d like it more than Inscryption and it doesn’t have the same replay value, but after beating it over the course of two days… The Hex is his best work. Very excited for Pony Island 2.

Snatcher
Policenauts
King's Field (any of them, even Pilot Style)
Halo 1-3 + ODST and Reach
Yakuza 0
Silent Hill 2 (the original, Enhanced Edition for PC is still the best way to experience SH2)
Life is Strange (only the original game, completely ignore the fanbase, theyre all toxic)
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic (too bad BioWare doesnt have a single good or competent writer anymore)
NieR, both Gestalt and Automata
Rule of Rose
Dark Souls 1-3
Elden Ring
Kuon
Armored Core (all of them, but the controls are hard to deal with before Nexus)
Steel Battalion (only if you can find and afford the controller, otherwise dont bother)

I'm honestly not sure this applies to any of those games.
- The Halo 1 and KOTOR twists do hit pretty hard if you somehow haven't been spoiled. KOTOR has one of my favorite reveal sequences ever with showing you how much foreshadowing you missed, and Halo's twist turns the game on its head.
- Someone hasn't played NieR!

Morrowind.

I mean, it's a 22 year old game, but since you asked nicely... 🤷‍♂️

Seeing that silt strider just outside Seyda Neen after the intro to what looked like your run of the mill D&D style fantasy RPG was a surprise, to say the least...

... and it was just the beginning.

It's a real shame later Elder Scrolls games mostly lost that otherworldly feel.

What they did to The Summerset Isles in ESO is a crime against Auriel and the 9 divines. I was expecting mushroom houses, and they made rivendell.

I'm not salty and bitter. Bethesda is salty and bitter.
It's almost impossible to have not been bombarded with the main story and setting of Morrowind by this point. But when this game came out, it was an experience and a half. Unlike anything I had seen before at least. Sure, Ultima, TES 2, etc all existed. But none of them had never sold their world so effectively if you ask me.

Not as good as the examples you listed but subnautica imo

Silent Hill 2 and SOMA

Return to the Obra Dinn, you are a insurance auditor

I wish I could erase all my memories of Obra Dinn, just so I could experience it again for the first time 🥺 Also that soundtrack slaps!

BioShock. It really depends on playing it blind in order to have an impact.

Frog Fractions

What, and I can't state this clearly enough, the FUCK did I just play?
I wasn't prepared to have the history of punching explained to me on Mars in a frog platformer.
- I envy you.

Undertale

God of War 2018. I played all the original games but I was still just a casual fan. I heard about the new game coming out but didn't really pay much attention to it. I eventually play it and holy crap I didn't know it was going to be what it was. Before playing it, I had RDR2 as my game of the year but GOW really stole it in the end.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
~~Jade Empire~~
Observation

EDIT: Jade Empire doesn't really fit, so I'll go with Observation instead. I'll still argue you're better off not knowing anything about KOTOR aside from being an RPG in the Star Wars universe.

I can confirm that when you know "the thing" about KOTOR ahead of time, it ruins a lot of the magic.
- Yeah, definitely. I've still managed to finish it some 20 times but going in blind the first time really contributed to me loving it so much.
  
  I'd also argue you shouldn't look too much into the sequel. Not because of any "thing" in particular but because it's more fun to immerse yourself in the game and slowly begin to unveil all the major themes of its story.
- Could you spoil me on what that thing is? I played it forever ago and I won’t be playing it again.

Bioshock.

SOMA! Just play it.

Thanks, just bought it.
- Nice! You're in for an experience.
- It's so great! I played through it recently.

The Zero Escape Series. I wish I could play it again without knowing anything.

Same with Professor Layton games (for the big plots).

Chants of Senaar - You interpret alien languages.

Echoing Zero Escape. The twists and turns of the series are absolutely magical, and I wish I could play the end of 999 for the first time again.

I got lucky and was there when my partner played for the first time, and watching his shock was a treat!

The Beginner's Guide

It's by the same guy that made The Stanley Parable, but it's more serious.

It's the same themes from Stanley Parable except made into an actual story instead of one long recurring joke.

I'm not saying the long recurring joke is bad - someone will probably hate that I said that - but they're just two different things that both do their different things very well. The Stanley Parable explicitly never builds to any kind of conclusion.

What Remains of Edith Finch, I think it has a fantastic narrative. Not so much twists, just best experienced yourself.

+1 for Outer Wilds

Most of the really good games have been posted already, so here are three that you should play regardless if you’ve never heard of them before:

Frog Fractions
Duty Calls: The Calm Before the Storm
GAME OF THE YEAR 420 BLAZE IT

Check them all out because they’re short and free

Oh man, frog fractions! Been a long time but that is an experience I will never forget.
NICE! I like free stuff!
Just finished Frog Fractions.
I...what the fuck???
(honestly though, one of the best games I played this year)
- Dude you must be so good at fractions now!!!

Journey

ANIMAL WELL

What a treat of a game. That feeling of discovery made me feel like I was 10 years old

Paradise Killer

I feel like the obvious answer would be something like Fallout New Vegas, DLCs as well (especially the DLCs) or any visual novel games like Song of Data or the Danganronpa series.

Though for non-obvious answers, gonna say Brok the Investigator. Story driven with changing how you play affecting the ending you get. Non-obvious because I don't see a ton of hype around it, even though there's a cool looking DLC being developed.

Edit:

Forgot to add just about any puzzle game to the list. I watched someone play a puzzle game (Baba Is You) roughly 4-5 years ago and picked it up last spring. Just long enough for me to remember almost none of the solutions. Definitely much more fun that way. Same reason I loved Portal 2 back when I got it on xbox. Didn't have a clue what would happen or what the puzzle solutions were.

I don't think this one is even vaguely possible anymore, but "I Wanna Be The Guy" would be my suggestion for this question. That first encounter with the game is one of the most special moments in all of gaming.

Ooooo play Syobon Action if you like IWTBTG!

Definitely fear and hunger (the first one)

Also, baldur's gate 3 has an uncountable number of "no fucking way the devs did this" that make a blind run of the game a memorable experience

Same goes with the metal gear solid saga

Lol, Fear and Hunger is banned in Germany (which usually means it's good).

BG3 might be a bit above my current PC's capabilities.
I've donated my gaming PC for controlling the lighting at a local non-profit concert venue, so now I only have my laptop to game.
- I think it's not banned, but doesn't have an age rating, which makes it ill gal to be advertised in Germany. Since displaying the game counts as "advertisement", Valve simply doesn't let you buy it.
- I've played BG3 mostly on geforce now, it's a nice workaround if your pc is not capable enough. If you buy it on steam you'll have synced saves for when you get your pc back.
  
  They are still updating the game and it has official mod support (not on geforce now though).
  
  It's also discounted 20% on steam right now

Omori and Disco Elysium

I actually think an argument could be made for Disco Elysium not being one of these games actually. I've seen people bounce off it because they went in with the wrong expectations. The game doesn't really market itself correctly: it claims to be an isometric RPG and a detective game, but it could be argued the game is actually neither. Also lots of people miss out on a lot because they weren't aware of the fail-forward design principle.
- Yeah I decided to run away when asked to pay the bill. Failed the roll and while jumping and giving a double bird to the manager crashed into and old lady in a wheelchair. Manager was so upset he gave me a huge discount on the bill.
  
  10/10 would play again.
Although the trailer captures the essence of OMORI very well.

There isn't a game that exists that isn't better going in knowing very little, if anything at all, about it. I don't even understand reading an entire guide or wiki about a game before you ever even load it up and play.

There are definitely plenty of games, especially those with harsh skill curves, that do benefit from knowing what you're getting yourself into.
- games that heavily rely on external guides just to get started - often a weakness of the game, but sometimes the strengths are worth it.
Sometimes you need to know a bit about a game to know why it's worth playing

Dishonored

TBH though, most if not all games are better blind.

I had this kind of moment with Prey.

Outside. Recent patches may affect your starting location.

This is the worst example in this thread. You do not want to launch this game unprepared!

Much better to have an established player with enough resources build and equip your character.
If you put too few points in resources, choose the wrong class or race, or get hit by a random nerf, you'll be locked out of most of the progression.
There's no second chances, all you get is one save. And when you quit the game, it bricks your system.

Cultist Simulator is most fun when you really know nothing about the game and you stumble into things.

Katana ZERO
Undertale
Kitsune Tails

Bokura. This is a bit hard though since the Steam store page kind of spoils it but just get it and think of it as a cool short co-op puzzle platformer.

My wife and I played it. Lots of fun! Forcing ourselves not to look at each others' screens for the puzzles and dialogue was hard, but definitely made it more enjoyable from a communication aspect!

Factorio and Dyson Sphere Program. At least don't watch people like Nilaus and Dosh Doshington play the game until you've tried to make your own solutions first.

Pony island, 0,75 cent on sale right now on steam.

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim.

Do not go in knowing anything.

The most I will tell you is that it's an adventure game with some minor tower defense elements. And that it is the best game I've ever played, and no game has ever topped it since.

I've recently been eyeing the case for that game on the shelf and thinking about going back to it, but it's been so long since I last played that I 100% would need to start over again. I had gotten prob 20+ hours so it's a lot to lose. But I remember the story being pretty mindbending, and there being some interesting mechanics.
No computer release boooooo
I'd add "you will think we are trolling you for the frist two hours, just truwt us!"

The real answer will always be Outer Wilds.

But also...

Fez. It definitely inspired Animal Well and Tunic.

I dislike two types of games the most: >!ones that make me replay the same thing and puzzles!<.
(very minor spoiler)

Outer Wilds is amazing. Top of my list if an alien landed on our plannet and had time to try one game only.

Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery. This game is fairly old now (like maybe 15 years) and I’ve only played it once and it took like 4 hours of total playtime, but it remains among the most memorable games I’ve witnessed. I HIGHLY recommend it.

I mean, why the fuck not? 😂

This is probably the cheapest thing I bought this month.
(and that includes the purchase of a single bell pepper)
- Yay! Just, please don’t leave it untouched. Mild spoiler, but the game tells you how long you should play each session and the first is 30 minutes. So please give it a 30 minute chance to grab you

Rez and Fez. Similar names, very different games.

Pin the tail on the donkey.

Some slightly more obscure ones:

Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean
Planescape: Torment

Also surprised Metal Gear Solid hasn't been mentioned yet.

Is it even possible to play MGS without spoilers these days? Maybe I'm online too much, but I feel like I've seen 50% of it through memes alone.
- The quantity of things to spoil in that game, though. So much happens.

Dark souls

Another opportunity to shout out my 2024 GOTY, Dread Delusion! I have so much love to gush for it. I wouldn’t say it “blows the mind” per se, but it knows what it is and executes it soundly. Give it a shot if you enjoy the sonder-type experience from a well-crafted storyline

Outer Wilds.

Arco.

A recent and lesser known game - unique turn-based tactical combat, and a heart-wrenching story.

Warframe. Focus on the Main Quest. That is all.

I haven't played in a couple of years now, since they released the big open world plains. I did install it earlier in the fall, but still haven't gotten around to it yet...

Factorio

For normal Factorio i would not absolutely agree,but for space age this is absolutely true. It takes a lot from you when you already know how to get started on the new planets.

The Xenoblade games. Probably Xenogears and Xenosaga, too, but I haven't played those yet.

Partially agree. The series as a whole fully agree, game by game is iffy

XC1 can absolutely stand alone and really needs you to go in blind

XCFC doesn't make sense without having played XC1

XC2 again can stand alone but you'll catch some story stuff sooner if you'd played XC1

XCTTGC makes no sense without XC2

XC3 is this bizzaro mess I'm still not sure what the fuck happened but I think it does need XC1 and 2 background knowledge

XCFR retains XC3 heavy reliance on the previous games, but cranked up to levels that makes the Star Wars sequels seem almost reasonable

Nethack / Cdda / coq...

Because going blind Is the game

Ahh, I'd love to tell you, but it would spoil the surprise.

I'll also add The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky FC. I know there's a remake coming out next year, but there's a bunch of shady stuff surrounding how they're gonna localize it. (Supposedly, they're gonna use AI to try to do most of it and then have real people brush it up.)

So I'd recommend playing the original instead. It's a 2.5D game with a mostly 360° camera. It uses turn-based combat, but not traditional turn-based combat. And it has a great story.

It's also on sale for only US$9.99 on GOG (which is DRM-free) and Steam.

Oh no, are they really going to use AI to translate a Falcom RPG? That's fucking heresy. The scripts in those games, are one of the things that set them apart from other JRPG schlock...

spoiler

The persistent/recurring NPCs having their own little side stories that you can miss or skip entirely if you don't talk to literally every NPC twice every single day (I haven't played a ton of Trails in the Sky series yet, was going to wait for the remake, but now I'm not sure.... This take is based on Cold Steel and Zero/Azure), is one of the most charming aspects of these games imo... Each NPC has their own individual personality, and it remains consistent (or sometimes even changes through character growth. In the background and completely missable if you don't exhaust all of their dialogue. Just off the top of my head, I'm thinking of Mint from Cold Steel I & II. What a little rascal! And her interactions with her uncle, Professor Makarov. Then Makarov's budding romance with that other teacher after Mint sets them up... Lol, I remember this shit more than some of the main plot.

I love that shit!

And, typically, it seems as though they put a lot of care into the localization. This is super disappointing if true.

I get that these scripts must be massive but I'd rather wait an extra 6 months or whatever, if it means the NPC dialogue doesn't read like ChatGPT.

Edit: I realized that this thread is all about going in blind, and my comment could be construed as ruining that. I despise spoilers of any kind (and my brain seems to seek them out so as to troll me), so I'm very sensitive to that. Apologies.

Nobody said Firewatch yet?

I'll also add To The Moon as well. I could list more, but almost any game where narrative is the main focus and gameplay is secondary.

That Dragon, Cancer turned me into a blubbering sobbing mess.

There's are so many spots in the game that could hit someone the hardest, and I know what mine was.

The Walking Dead by Telltale.

Way to make me feel old, I don't know any of those games.

Where's my late 90s early 2000s gamers at?

I'm going to nominate:

Fallout (1997) for plot twists and introducing (to me at least) open world role playing.
Fallout 2 (1998) for further plot twists
Max Payne (2001) for stealing bullet time from the matrix and putting it in a game
Mafia (2002) for being a kick ass game that would blow your mind, by making 6 hours of your night disappear, and not lifting the lid on that plot twist before you heard the birds start singing, and realize that you should probably hit the shower and get to school.

If Fallout introduced you to open world RPG's, that means you missed Daggerfall.
Arguably the greatest open world RPG of all time.
That was the game that absolutely, completely blew my mind with its openness, freedom, and scale (none of which were matched by any following TES game).
Well worth blocking the phone line for an entire night and running up a phone bill that'll get you yelled at by your parents, to download the 140MB installer.

Luckily today, it's available for free:
https://www.gog.com/de/game/the_elder_scrolls_chapter_ii_daggerfall

Helltaker

Free, short, puzzles, cute, and banger ost

dishonoured 1 and 2.

If you're referring to being blind to the plot specifically (but not what style of game it is), then my list is:

outer wilds
hades
disco elysium

Gods Will Be Watching and The Red Strings Club

Spec Ops: The Line

Subnautica I guess

Dark Souls and Return of the Obra Dinn have already been mentioned, but I'll also recommend Universal Paperclips. These also happen to be my favorite 3 games.

Sorry if these have been said already. Note I suck at gaming and couldn't finish either but I enjoyed my time with them:

Animal Well and Lorelei and the Laser Eyes

In Stars and Time

Saved this for sure.

Minecraft

Stardew Valley

The Witcher 3

seriously? How the fuck are you gonna "go in blind" with those?
That's like saying "bro, you gotta watch Star Wars without looking it up first".
- I don't see the point in stardew Valley and witcher, they are pretty self explanatory. But going in blind into Minecraft? Yeah, you're not getting anything done.
- Funny enough, I was in this situation. Didn’t really grow up in a culture and time that was heavy about Star Wars. Someone pointed out to me that my last name backwards was Anakin, harped on me to watch Star Wars, and I got about forty minutes in before I realized I just wasn’t into it.
  
  There are still some of us living under rocks.
- I could go in blind on stardew and it's in the family library...