What are the games you play when you want to feel "good at videogames"

[Divine Moleman]

As we all know, being good at videogames is the finest thing someone can aspire to, the best feeling in the world and perhaps the closest thing to the "meaning to life" we have. So what games do you play when you want to feel "good at videogames"?

It doesn't matter if you are playing easy mode, or aren't actually good at videogames (I'm not entirely sure i am), but just games that make you feel skilled.

For me a big one is Hotline Miami 2. People complain about this game being too hard, and while I'm not going to do doing a No-death hard-mode run anytime soon I feel like I'm pretty good at it. People say the gunplay relies too much on "spray and pray" but really it's more of a "spritz and blitz" approach.

Also the recent game Wanted:Dead does this well, especially with normal mode. It has an unfairly difficult second boss fight where you fight a crowd of NPCs and super challenging boss, but after you do that again and again for two hours you are ready to take on the rest of the game and feel awesome. The next mission purposefully starts with huge crowds of enemies that have low HP (but do a lot of damage) so you feel like a god after honing your skills on the 2nd boss.

So what do you play when you want to feel "good at videogames"?

 

[Indelible]

Super Punch Out on SNES, one of the few games I mastered as a kid.

 

[Mesoian]

Fighting games.

If I go on a tear, even for a little while, feels good. DopamineXL. Makes you feel alive.

Also makes you feel TIRED.

 

[super-famicom]

Vampire Survivor run

 

[PlanetSmasher]

Symphony of the Night.

 

[PucePikmin]

Platformers. I'm good at platformers.

 

[L Thammy]

Mega Man Zero. When you beat the boss, that's you that accomplished it.

 

[Divine Moleman]

Fighting games.

If I go on a tear, even for a little while, feels good. DopamineXL. Makes you feel alive.

Also makes you feel TIRED.

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for real. I tried to get into Tekken recently and holy shit after 20 minutes of playing i need a 20 minute break because my brain is so tired. I should probably play that game when I want something good but also something I can't get lost in for hours.

 

[Fatmanp]

Destiny 2. Huge hit boxes and massive magnetism.

 

[Lobster Roll]

Celeste. Nothing like blasting through screen after screen after screen once you've mastered the game.

 

[Pancracio17]

I choose games I am actually kinda good at, like character action games or platformers. Or multiplayer games I am kinda decent at, but I only feel like I am god sometimes in those.

Underrated answer is puzzle games, nothing like feeling 200IQ.

 

[skobuffs]

Mario, Mega Man, Turtles II: The Arcade Game, Ninja Gaiden, etc. Basically any of the NES games I played the crap out of as a kid.

 

[spad3]

Mortal Kombat 12
Hades
Mario Odyssey
Pokemon
Deus Ex: HR / MD
Hitman WoA

 

[SirNinja]

Diablo III. It's still great stress-relieving fun to just create a random dungeon and just mow down a couple thousand demons in the span of a few minutes, especially if it's a tileset with a ton of destructible objects. And hey, you never know: maybe today's the day you get that perfect Primal...

 

[galvatron]

Platformers, match 3, run n gun (Contra or Batman and Robin on Genesis), or Super Bomberman

 

[Keziaka6591]

Nioh 2.

You have so many options to be a highly customized murder machine. It's addicting.

 

[Divine Moleman]

Forgot about another favorite of mine, Sin & Punishment for n64

You can parry missiles back at enemies and quickly switch between melee and long range. I think quickly switching between enemies who are far away and enemies who are up close is a big turn on for me (it's also a big aspect of Wanted: Dead and Hotline Miami)

 

[The Albatross]

I guess Madden against the AI. I am very good at Madden against the AI on any difficulty, but It's also exceptionally dumb so I don't feel that good.

 

[Aurizen]

Final Fantasy X. They just don't make em like that anymore lol!

 

[sugar bear]

Paperboy - easy street level only
THPS2

 

[Deleted member 11543]

Hades.

 

[Menchin]

Path of Exile, Sekiro, any DMC game, Bayonetta 2

 

[ReclusiveHaze]

The original Resident Evil 1, 2, 3, and 7 and the remakes of 1, 2, and 3.

I've for the most part memorized the maps, item locations, enemies, puzzles, and how to manage inventory and getting past enemies optimally. Learning new ways to get through the game faster while using less ammo/items and taking less damage makes me feel that I'm actually good at the game.

 

[copelandmaster]

Tekken 7 player match. For the first 4 years it didn't feel this way, but I can consistently dunk on reds/other purples to get 10 - 20 win streaks now with Leo and Noctis. And if I want to feel bad at videogames, I pick Katarina :( . Harrier fucking sucks man...

 

[Iztok]

Racing games and first person competitive shooters.

Used to be Super Mario Kart and SF2 on SNES. In my circles I was unbeatable (this was before online, you see).

 

[Jalen]

Kingdom Hearts II on critical.

 

[PassiveObserver]

Returnal. I'm not great at it but at least the controls and base mechanics are buttery smooth and simple so I feel like I'm actually playing well.

 

[Caeda]

Dead Cells. I rarely make it to the end, and I may not be able to do any boss cell runs, but damn do I still feel pretty good at it after i get a decent loadout going.

 

[Spook & Spell]

Bloodrayne Betrayal runs when I want to prove to myself I'm capable.

 

[Poppy]

i do casual speedruns of la-mulana and touhou luna nights, i dont know that they make me feel "good" at games but i do like when i am playing particularly well

also sometimes replaying a touhou i'm already decent at makes me think i'm not awful at games

i guess maybe demon's souls too, it's like the easiest one of those but i still like the fact that i no longer get roadblocked by anything much anymore

 

[TheMadTitan]

Metal Gear Solid 1-whatever. No alerts, no deaths, no rations.

 

[E-bite]

Celeste. Nothing like blasting through screen after screen after screen once you've mastered the game.

Click to shrink...

 

[BringBackSonics]

Crusader Kings 3/Stellaris

 

[Blue_Toad507]

Bayonetta. One of my favourite things about it is how once you nail the mechanics, you end up being capable of the crazy stuff she does in cutscenes.

But you're in control.

 

[CatAssTrophy]

Any of the pre-3D Command and Conquer games. (Missions or skirmish against AI)

Toying with them and using a nuke or something on the very last enemy is never not fun.

 

[Divine Moleman]

Kingdom Hearts II on critical.

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This is a very good one and underrated overall. Kingdom Hearts becomes a very solid action game with some original ideas once you put it on critical.

 

[Budi]

Dota 2

 

[Haregan]

Competitive games I guess. It's mostly shooters, especially fast paced ones.

 

[Birdito]

Rocket League. I often pull off shots or deflections that come with (7) years of playing, and while I'm not that great, I have my moments.

 

[Mentalist]

Tetris for Windows.

 

[Dervius]

Sekiro.

That sublime combat system where you can stare down the barrel of an incredibly difficult, aggressive enemy or boss and say "Yeah, let's fucking dance".

When it clicks it's just poetry.

Alternatively, Trials games can make you feel like an absolute god when you get that silky smooth run or manage a Ninja track.

 

[KingFrost92]

Souls games. I spent a lot of time getting good at DS1 and since then, they've been my go-tos when I need that "I overcame something" feeling. Same with Nioh 2 - that game is a masterpiece and blazing through a run after finally understanding it just made me feel great.

Sometimes, Destiny 2 PvE stuff. Any time I raid, I'm usually the best prepared person and can help sherpa a group through encounters, which I find really satisfying.

Other than that, rhythm games. I'm a musician, and I love diving into a rhythm game, putting it to max difficulty, and trying to figure it out. Recently I've really enjoyed playing Theatrhythm. Now that it's clicked for me, I can do most of the songs in the game on the highest difficulty.

 

[shintoki]

Fall Guys. I have ascended to being that asshole bean who can do what he wants.

 

[writhingcorpse897]

Tekken 7 player match. For the first 4 years it didn't feel this way, but I can consistently dunk on reds/other purples to get 10 - 20 win streaks now with Leo and Noctis. And if I want to feel bad at videogames, I pick Katarina :( . Harrier fucking sucks man...

Click to shrink...

Very nice! Do you play ranked at all? Also I would argue Kat is good because 90% of the people never bothered to learn the matchup.

 

[denpanosekai]

VANQUISH

I'm more of a jrpg guy but holy fuck did this game activate some deeply hidden skills I never knew I had.

 

[copelandmaster]

Very nice! Do you play ranked at all? Also I would argue Kat is good because 90% of the people never bothered to learn the matchup.

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I haven't touched ranked once since right before they smoothed over everyone's rank/added the stats display/RGB-esque player names at the start of season 3, so its been years at this point. I barely hit Raijin with at least Noctis, maybe Leo, and maaaaaaybe Kat riiiiiight before, I don't remember. I gave up rianked after that, shit was too stressful. I probably wouldn't care so much if I went back now that I'm much better and more composed. The player distribution is crowded around purple anyway. Maybe I'll bum rush for at least Yaksa closer to T8.

I just hate her "real" combo game requiring harrier cancels like 2-3 times and uf2,3+4(?) post season 3, it has never felt right/kinesthetic to me. Her strongest single attack is also only 27dmg and unsafe. So, I pretend she's a bad mishima with scuffed wall carry/combo enders and use her for neutral and mind game practice. Shit, I just remembered that ~2w ago I pissed off a Nina/Kat player so bad as Kat while I was deathmatching them that they switch to their higher ranked Kat to try to fuck with me. They didn't last more than 4 or 5 games before switching back to smashing jab cancels with Nina. I rember thinking: "yeah mf, you know how hard that shit is, quit fuckin' playing lmao".

 

[Jalen]

This is a very good one and underrated overall. Kingdom Hearts becomes a very solid action game with some original ideas once you put it on critical.

Click to shrink...

Critical Mode and level 1 especially require you to be super creative and use all the tools the game gives you. Super satisfying to beat a tough encounter.

 

[Doomguy Fieri]

Starcraft 2 vs AI melee map on normal AI. Getting to 200 supply in chargelots and amoving.

 

[Akauser]

Still any Metal Gear game for me played them till death when I was younger and had the speedrun record on them for a while. Could always pick up MGS and play it to near perfection with a deep understanding of the AI the mechanics of it all feel super powerful infiltrating with speed and precision.

 

[inpHilltr8r]

naa naaa na na na na na na na katamari damacy!