Divinity: Original Sin II certainly *looks* pretty, and I think there's a rich game in here, but I'm having trouble summoning the will to watch the hours of tutorials I'll need to go through to survive the first nontrivial combat.
I'm willing to read a rulebook for a tabletop game, but I want a video game to introduce things gradually. Let me learn by playing with the first three concepts or controls for a bit before telling me about the next forty.
@peterdrake I like that it probably has a lot of story, but it's a bit too meticulous in gameplay. That and a shitton of reading.
I think Gamedec does this nicer, as it's still a shitton of reading but no combat involved. So you truly choose your path by decisions you make along the way, and it's got some basic stats to go with. It also has a shitton of lore you can read if you're in the mood for it but it's not necessary to play a fun session.
@trinsec Ooh, a shit-ton of reading is a big red flag. I can't stand wandering around for two minutes between bland paragraphs and trying to keep track of dozens of characters. I can't remember playing a game where the story was the good part.
Give me a puzzle where the complexity is emergent. Portal. Heat Signature. Magnum Opus.
@peterdrake Hmmm, I'll list some games that I enjoyed playing and has puzzle elements. Some are outright puzzles, others have a storyline. Not entirely sure what you're craving.
- Adam's Venture series
- Aer
- Carto
- Delete
- Detective Grimoire
- Divide by sheep
- Entangle
- Hexcells series
- Militia
- Prelogate
- Rime
- Roofbot
- The Room series
- The Silent Age
- The Spectrum Retreat
- The Swapper
- Tales of the Neonsea
@trinsec Ooh, I haven't heard of any of those. I'll take a look -- thanks!
@peterdrake I had done a bit of Monument Valley on my old phone, yeah. Until I had to remove it due to space shortage. I suppose I could install it on this new phone now. It's nice but a bit repetitive imo.
You might want to take a peek at Rime as well if you like Aer. And look at The Spectrum Retreat if you want a portal-inspired game. Not quite the same but I consider it from the same family of puzzling.
@trinsec Aer and The Swapper look interesting. I think I had heard about The Swapper before.
Carto, Delete, Divide By Sheep, Entangle, and Hexcells all look like things I'd like to play on my phone, but alas they're not available for Android. On a related note, have you done Monument Valley?