I feel like the labor of love part being something like Factorio, Satisfactory, NMS is fitting. Also grand scale, holds up well, graphics aren't the main point
this post was submitted on 28 Jun 2025
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Neither of these are popular enough to be on the scale of LoTR, but in terms of atmosphere and detail:
Hollow Knight - my absolute favorite thing about it is each NPC has its own voiced language recorded, babbling in the background as you read the dialogue.
Subnautica (the first one) - shitting myself with each new experience is something I'll always cherish. Highly recommend just playing without looking into the gameplay or plot. Has elements of exploring, resource gathering, base building, psychological horror (not graphic, just tense scenarios), sneaking.
The Persona series comes to mind. But probably more than anything Witcher 3, Skyrim, Disco Elysium, Stardew Valley, No Man’s Sky, Nier Replicant/Automata, Metal Gear Solid 3, there’s actually quite a few imo.
Edit: oh and dwarf fortress!
Skyrim is pretty bad compared to LotR, but pretty good compared to video games.
Witcher 3 may be the better pick from what I've heard, but I've barely played it.
The obvious choice, after reading other comments, is Baldur's Gate 3.
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Add Hades in this list, too. Incredible game with so much love poured into it.
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Undertale and Deltarune.
Dwarf Fortress.
Ultima 1-7 and 8 partially.
A genuinely heart warming story that deals with strong themes of love and friendship in a way that made a genuine impact?
Undertale.
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Mass Effect. Even though it has its flaws, it was just an epic story, built up perfectly over three games. The ending is disappointing for some, but I really liked it. I was really excited for the sequels when the first one came out.
Witcher 3 is pretty good
The stanley parable
World of Warcraft, at least for the first 3 expansions. I think the people that made it back then were utterly devoted to the story and gameplay, as were the players. I'll remember playing that until I die, so many memories.
Downvote away.
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Outer Wilds is this game.
Final fantasy 6 Chrono trigger Capcom vs SNK2 Soul Calibur 2 Super Mario Bros 3
These games all stand tall as giants of excellence decades after their release. Teams have already decent renowned executing at the peak of their genre with true craftsmanship and deep care into their design from mechanics to aesthetics to music to gameplay.
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I always felt like Breath of the Wild was Lord of the rings animated by studio Ghibli the videogame.
I feel like BotW has some fundamental design problems with lots of repetitive content, an unsatisfying weapon-breaking system, and of course it lacks dungeons. The dialogue has a lot of words but very little to say. Don't get me wrong, the open world is breathtaking, but a lot was sacrificed on that altar.
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satisfactory
Clair obscur
Has he not heard of Ocarina of Time?
Books are where it's at! Lord of the Rings all the way!
Cold Waters if you're hankering for some hot sub on sub action.
Deus Ex, if you ignore that it really is ugly as sin. Sounds amazing! Plays beautifully! But yeesh, Unreal Engine 1 humans.
Most immersive sims are arguably in the same boat. The people involved had enormous ideas. As commercial products, they were woefully underappreciated, until years later. And quite frankly they do look like shit compared to much simpler contemporaries. Some NoClip documentary about Looking Glass could show a major artist had muscular dystrophy that makes his shoulders work wrong, and I'd be like, oh, that explains things.
Dark souls 1
Transport Tycoon would still be a fun game even today.
OpenTTD is!