I've made a similar topic on mysterious games before but the recent Dark Souls Remastered announcement has got me thinking again about experiences I've had surrounding the mystique of some games I've played. I'm also curious of what games people have found the most mysterious other than the last one they've played. These are games that, by their design and atmosphere or just by being around the time of little to no internet, created a feeling of mystery when you were playing them.
So please rank your top 5 games that you felt were the most mysterious at the time that you played them and briefly describe why. This can be based off just memories of being mystified by a game. Here are mine:
5) Donkey Kong Country 3
I remember being totally obsessed with finding out what the deal with that secret cave was on the world map. I remember even having a dream about it as a kid and wondering for days what it could be and how to unlock its mysteries.
4) Mortal Kombat 2
This game had the benefit of having no internet to spoil its secrets. Rumors flew and me and my brother tried playing through 99 rounds to unlock the secret character who appears on fire in the background of the bridge level.
3) Super Mario World
First time seeing a world map in a game and it sparked my imagination as a kid. I would spend hours looking over the map and level layouts in the guide. Also had dreams about the super secret star levels and wondered what other secrets lay about in the world map.
2) Dark Souls
With the other games on this list being games I played as a kid, it speaks to the allure this game has even in this day and age. Even after spoiling myself with youtube videos, this game still intrigued me and held a mystifying feeling while I was playing. So many things happened that seemingly felt out of place that it made me feel like anything could happen. You always wondered what more could be hidden if you just digged deeper.
1) Harvest Moon
Here's a game that as a kid opened me up to a whole new way of playing games. Really felt like living your life and each day brought something new and possibly some mysterious event. It could happen on a rainy day, or in the middle of the night. One day you're watering your plants like normal and the next a huge earthquake opens up a path to a mysterious pond. You hear rumors about a mysterious flower that blooms on a certain day at the peak of a mountain. You run into tiny little elves living somewhere on your farmland! Kid me had a lot of dreams about this game: unlocking a new farming tool, finding a new path, etc.
So please rank your top 5 games that you felt were the most mysterious at the time that you played them and briefly describe why. This can be based off just memories of being mystified by a game. Here are mine:
5) Donkey Kong Country 3
I remember being totally obsessed with finding out what the deal with that secret cave was on the world map. I remember even having a dream about it as a kid and wondering for days what it could be and how to unlock its mysteries.
4) Mortal Kombat 2
This game had the benefit of having no internet to spoil its secrets. Rumors flew and me and my brother tried playing through 99 rounds to unlock the secret character who appears on fire in the background of the bridge level.
3) Super Mario World
First time seeing a world map in a game and it sparked my imagination as a kid. I would spend hours looking over the map and level layouts in the guide. Also had dreams about the super secret star levels and wondered what other secrets lay about in the world map.
2) Dark Souls
With the other games on this list being games I played as a kid, it speaks to the allure this game has even in this day and age. Even after spoiling myself with youtube videos, this game still intrigued me and held a mystifying feeling while I was playing. So many things happened that seemingly felt out of place that it made me feel like anything could happen. You always wondered what more could be hidden if you just digged deeper.
1) Harvest Moon
Here's a game that as a kid opened me up to a whole new way of playing games. Really felt like living your life and each day brought something new and possibly some mysterious event. It could happen on a rainy day, or in the middle of the night. One day you're watering your plants like normal and the next a huge earthquake opens up a path to a mysterious pond. You hear rumors about a mysterious flower that blooms on a certain day at the peak of a mountain. You run into tiny little elves living somewhere on your farmland! Kid me had a lot of dreams about this game: unlocking a new farming tool, finding a new path, etc.