Did an older game ever completely immerse you inside its world?

[ThePixelatedGenocide]

To where it almost felt real, for a little bit? Even if you knew better?

Don't worry, I'm in no position to judge you.

Today, nothing on a screen scares me, except for an unresponsive chat invite. Some of my friends' anxiety disorders can handle imaginary rejection better than others.

But nearly 3 decades ago? That was back when the primitive NPC idle animations on a 4 tone passive dot matrix screen were still unexpected signs of life, and the Song of the Windfish felt like it was telling my story too. Wanting to escape a bad dream? And explore the real world beyond it? Hasn't everyone felt that way, at some point in their lives?

And then going on a first date where one person opens up about all their hopes and dreams, and the other is the silent protagonist of legend? At that age, it was the most painfully relatable love story I'd ever seen on screen.

Too bad it was a tragedy.

Just the sight of pixelated instruments surrounding Link, one by one, beneath the wormlight? For one brief, guilty moment, it felt like I really had committed a murder.

Not that it was ever going to stop me from beating the game. I'd already done far worse. My NPC body count in Ultima III was too high to count...but here was a game where you weren't actually given a choice, and it was the right thing to do...

And somehow, it still felt wrong.

And that's still the highest praise I can give any game from that era. Yoshiaki Koizumi just has a gift for making characters worth caring about, and often where you least expect to find them.

[ASalvaro]

i think the game for me that came the closest was the original Silent Hill on the PSX

[Stalvern]

I think the closest I ever got to being that dweeby about a game (if you'll pardon the bluntness) was with Digital: A Love Story, but then the big dumb twist happened and suddenly made it much harder to care.

Edit: Photopia too. Never quite hit the same level, but at least it kept me on its side all the way through.

[Gentlegamer]

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

[MSR1701]

Metroid II. I would spend hours as a kid thinking up what all the ruins were for, who built the robots, what the robots were for, how and why the Metroids took over, etc.

[Marriott_Guy]

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

I have to second this. Also, King's Field I on the PS1 also had the same effect for me.

[icepeople]

Planetfall and Wishbringer (either you get this or don't)

Myst (yes, it was awesome for its day)

[DrLitch]

Fallout 1,2.

Absorbed me, I was fascinated by it. Mad Max but better.

Others:

Super Metroid - one of the first games I gave a f**k about.
Link to the Past - another one of those that sucked me into the map.

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

Agreed, an obsession of mine in the early 00's. All time classic. .