I was finally able to understand Dwarf Fortress after spending time with Rimworld (and thanks to the 1.0 GUI update to DF). Definitely try it, if you haven't. Basically the same with a few wrinkles, but sooooo much added complexity/detail. Endlessly deep, for sure.
Minecraft. Mods are like magic, and can totally change the game. I've lost countless hours just poking around and building fun things, even on vanilla.
VR isn't really my thing, no. Thanks to my ADD I'm one of those nutjobs who has Skyrim going on one screen, a TV show on another, and Reddit (historically) open on my phone for during loading screens.
Yeah, even unmodded you can easily dump 200+ hours into a single playthrough just exploring. Then another 100+ if you add just Legacy of the Dragonborn.
Rimworld with mods. The shear amount of wild and bizarre experiences that I have in that game could easily keep me entertained for a lifetime. I doubt I’d get bored with it. Other than Stardew Valley and Zelda BOTW, it’s the only game I keep coming back to and unlike those two games, I don’t get bored of it. I simply have to tear myself away from it so I can function like a normal human being again.
Probably RimWorld. Somehow I've managed to accumulate nearly 4,000 hours. I'm pretty sure I could play for another 4,000 easily and then for the rest of my life. I love the stories that come out of each colony and how attached I get to pawns. I'll never forget Dinkleberg, the troublesome cat that has nearly wiped my colony twice by leaving doors open for invaders then when out by snorting too much cocaine
Rocket league. I know some people consider it the same thing over and over, but to me it plays like a sport. Every match is different, I've been playing almost daily since the pandemic, which is when I got into it. And apparently I'm in the top 5% of players. Which just shows how much the game clicked with me
This is a risky choice long-term, though. Sure it buys you a few years, but what about in 10-20 years if/when the servers are closed and it's just you, Caveman, Boomer, and the boys?
Let's see how Starfield turns out to be. If it is any good, it will entertain me for thousands of hours and if it has good mod support, why not commit for it for the rest of my days? Still a lot of ifs tho
Age of Wonders 4, the sheer replayability of the game is bonkers. And they will only release more content as time goes on, both through DLCs, free content updates, and workshop mods.
I literally just started playing it this week and IT'S SO COOL! I'm a race of underground highborn mole people that has now evolved to be in touch with nature and driven by religious fervor.
Minecraft, while nothing particularly special to me, is most likely what I would choose. The potential for making your own fun in that game is ridiculous even if its been the victim of bad new mechanics bloating vanilla for the past decade. Even the longest of my favorite games cap out around 200-300 hours with all their content squeezed out of them, and with the amount of gaming I do on the regular thats gonna last me a few months at best.
Minecraft with mods definetly - really adds a lot of variety, and even though I take long breaks i've been playing it a ridiculous amount of time since early beta maybe 11 or so years ago.
I have some of the super realistic shaders installed + mods to allow for easily placing entire rows/walls/etc... It's the ultimate creative sandbox. I'm spoiled by it now.
If I can't, I'd choose a Game as a Service type of deal, if we could also make the assumption that the game would also be actively developed for the rest of my life.
Destiny 2 comes to mind, because I really love the lore and the gameplay.
If we can't add mods or the game won't be updated for the rest of my life, I'd still choose Destiny 2. After it gets cancelled, I'd just go outside and touch grass then, I guess. 😅
For me it's Assetto Corsa (modded, in VR). Most-immersive, addictive, exciting gaming experience possible, in my opinion. I did thousands of miles on the Tokyo interstate at night alone, just trying out different cars. Sometimes raining. Sometimes not. Listen to music while you drive/race. Really amazing.
Before I had kids: PUBG. I went real hard on that game for 18 months. I played 10+ hrs a week and never lost interest.
After kids (PUBG is stressful, I don't need more of that) it'd be Rocket League. I've been playing it consistently since Day 1 and whilst I don't see myself improving much anymore, I still get a kick (ahem) out of scoring a nice goal, or a laugh at totally missing an empty net.
Probably path of exile. I've already put so much time into that game and still have no idea what the hell I'm doing, I think I could easily put a lifetime in without trying everything.
With friends, it'd probably be World of Warcraft. I already have 20k+ hours in the game, and would likely play it even now, if Blizzard wasn't just complete garbage right now.
Solo, a Diablo game I think, although I don't know which. I haven't played D4 (and won't for a while, same reason as I mentioned above), I love the fast and fluid combat in D3, but D2 might have more variety.
Dota. It's a game with infinite depth and variety. A game where the first 1000hours are the tutorial. A game where there are A LOT of players with over 10k hours in it. Nothing compares with its highs and lows.
Binding of Issac, for me one of the few games I could probably continue playing for a decade and still enjoy.
Slay the Spire is a strong contender, but overall the Isaac devs seem more like they would be swayed to create even more content for me.
Oh wait I forgot about MMOs, maybe FFXIV is a better choice in that case, I just forgot about it cause I am taking a long break until the next expansion.
I've stopped playing it for years but if there is only 1 game I can play, it will be Dota2. In fact I stopped playing it because it took all of my time from other games
Single player - F-Zero GX. The skill cap in this game is astronomical - mastering it akin to mastering a musical instrument. There's nothing else quite like it.
Multiplayer - Smash Ultimate. The amount of unique character matchups and interactions is so massive that there's always something new to see.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla. That game just never gets old for me. As an archaeologist I think this is as close to being in that time (albeit with it's anachronisms) as I will get.
Doom/Doom II. Already been playing it for 3/4 of my life, and the modding community still keeps it fresh so even if the core game gets old, there's still things to do with it.