“on rails” progression - no loot, any new gear is discovered as part of the story (e.g. OG Zelda -> blue ring -> red ring); minimal loot
hard, but fair, boss fights
dungeon feel - less emphasis on puzzles, more on working room to room to find items to access the boss
minimal emphasis on stats, so grinding shouldn’t be a thing of playing normally
forced usage of gadgets/types of weapons
Examples of games that qualify:
most Zelda titles - A Link to the Past, Link’s Awakening, Ocarina of Time, Skyward Sword; not BotW or TotK
Ys games - esp. Ys 1 and Ys Origin; later titles lose focus IMO (more gear, more leveling, etc)
Okami - boss fights aren’t exactly what I’m looking for, but the rest of the game is close
Examples that don’t qualify:
Diablo and similar - far too much loot and skill trees
Dark Souls - it’s close, but the variety of equipment is a bit much; I want less choice, not more,; but DS is pretty close
Assassin’s Creed - “boss fights” are usually lame, too much focus on upgrades, stealth isn’t really my thing
Games on the fence:
Tunic - I’ve played an hour or so and it was tons of fun
Titan Souls - finished and loved it, just worried mentioning it will take people off track since it doesn’t have any progression, dungeons, etc
Furi - again, loved it, but like Titan Souls, it’s a bit of an exception
Basically, I want a game that forces me to learn and adapt using the limited tools the game provides. Here are things I absolutely want to avoid:
feeling of being OP - causes me to drop most (a)RPGs
lots of choices - if I get an upgrade, it should be strictly an upgrade (e.g. more damage)
loot - I hate managing inventories (exception: switching gadgets to solve puzzles/different enemy types) and buying/selling stuff; I want that progression managed for me
Basically, I shouldn’t have to think outside solving puzzles and fighting bosses.
Indie games are preferred.
Platforms:
PC (or emulator) - preferred, esp if I can use my Steam Deck
Lies of P seems like it fits most criteria. It’s much less “build your DnD character” than Dark Souls, you have a handful of options but the focus is more on level design and boss fights than customizability from what I’ve played of it. Like Bloodborne but with a narrower focus.
StarTropics on NES. It’s a near-clone of Zelda 1, but harder. I’ve heard some really bad things about how LCD lag and emulator lag affect gameplay, though.
Faxanadu on NES maybe? It’s side-scrolling, but otherwise fits. It does have a level system but leveling doesn’t seem to affect your basic stats.
If side-scrolling works for you, Faxanadu isn’t a million miles away from Castlevania II and the Igavanias, and those are closely related to the Metroid series and newer “Metroidvanias”.
Crystalis has forced or near-forced grinding due to level requirements to hurt bosses, so it’s on the fence. If its progression were a little smoother it would be a shoo-in.
There is a hack to remove boss level requirements but fighting a boss below the intended level may not be fun.
You are not logged in. However you can subscribe from another Fediverse account, for example Lemmy or Mastodon. To do this, paste the following into the search field of your instance: [email protected]
A gaming community free from the hype and oversaturation of current releases, catering to gamers who wait at least 12 months after release to play a game. Whether it’s price, waiting for bugs/issues to be patched, DLC to be released, don’t meet the system requirements, or just haven’t had the time to keep up with the latest releases.
Hollow Knight (and HK:Silksong) seem like they fit these criteria pretty well
I feel like Sekiro would meet most of your criteria, except for the dungeon aspect.
Literally nothing but key items and consumables.
Seconded
Lies of P seems like it fits most criteria. It’s much less “build your DnD character” than Dark Souls, you have a handful of options but the focus is more on level design and boss fights than customizability from what I’ve played of it. Like Bloodborne but with a narrower focus.
CrossCode is probably on the fence of what you’re looking for.
Lots of gear in it, though, otherwise a fantastic recommendation.
CrossCode seems too puzzle-heavy and stat-heavy and loot-heavy, but it’s adjacent for sure.
Have you played the existing Legend of Zelda titles? I mean, there are a ton of them. Even if you stop at Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda
How about Spindle?
Also, girl from Arkanya.
I may have some more that fit too, I’ll have to search later 👍
You might like Alundra. PlayStation game. Here’s a long play so you can see what it’s like: https://youtu.be/C7GXOjlshqg
How about Death’s Door?
Seconded
Keep playing TUNIC. It’s great.
Someone else mentioned Death’s Door which I see as TUNIC’s overlooked cousin.
Some others that are similar, have either played them or purchased and not played yet, due to similar taste to yours:
Alwa’s Awakening & Alwa’s Legacy
Anodyne
Blossom Tales series
Fountains
Lunacid
The Messenger
Moonlighter series
Unsouled
friendly reminder you can ask at [email protected] (full disclosure, I mod it) for suggestions
Awesome! Subbed.
StarTropics on NES. It’s a near-clone of Zelda 1, but harder. I’ve heard some really bad things about how LCD lag and emulator lag affect gameplay, though.
Faxanadu on NES maybe? It’s side-scrolling, but otherwise fits. It does have a level system but leveling doesn’t seem to affect your basic stats.
If side-scrolling works for you, Faxanadu isn’t a million miles away from Castlevania II and the Igavanias, and those are closely related to the Metroid series and newer “Metroidvanias”.
Beyond Oasis on the Genesis should fit the bill.
Illusion of Gaia on SNES maybe?
And by extension Terranigma and Soul Blazer.
Also Secret of Mana and Secret of Evermore as well.
Also Crystalis on NES.
Crystalis totally fits the requirements. Excellent NES RPG.
Crystalis has forced or near-forced grinding due to level requirements to hurt bosses, so it’s on the fence. If its progression were a little smoother it would be a shoo-in.
There is a hack to remove boss level requirements but fighting a boss below the intended level may not be fun.