[Poll] Best immersive sim

[Nifft Batuff]

wtf is an immersive sim

A game without QTE.

 

[Spukrian]

wtf is an immersive sim

A game without QTE.

Then Prey is not an immersive sim.

 

[NecroLord]

 

[JarlFrank]

Thief, Deus Ex, Dishonored 2, in that order.

 

[NecroLord]

While I don't really like the term "immersive sim", Thief has an incredible ability to captivate you and immerse you with its dark fantasy setting and aesthetic. Atmosphere, stellar level design and soundtrack, the use of shadows as a game mechanic, fuck, can I praise this game more?
Yeah, I voted Thief, but to me, the order is Thief>Deus Ex>System Shock(1 and 2, particularly 2).

 

[toroid]

Where is My Summer Car? It is arguably the best "immersive sim" of all time. It just replaces dungeon crawling, combat and contrived quests with survival, npc & environment interaction, income dependence, car maintenance and getting blackout drunk.

 

[luj1]

Thief, Deus Ex, Dishonored 2, in that order.

I heard before that Dishonored 2 is somehow better than 1?

 

[JarlFrank]

Thief, Deus Ex, Dishonored 2, in that order.

I heard before that Dishonored 2 is somehow better than 1?

It's due to the level design. Dishonored 2 has some of the best level design in any commercially released game of the 2010s, rivaling Thief fan missions in size and complexity.
Every single level is good, and some are outstandingly excellent. Two of them rely on gimmicks, but rather than being one-trick-ponys the gimmicks are the core dynamic of their respective levels.

There's the clockwork manor with its moving rooms that shift and change as you pull levers, it's incredibly fun to navigate.
Then there's Stilton's manor where you lose your regular powers but get a time-shifting device that lets you enter the past so you can change a past event to influence the present. The way this was implemented is genius: the devs built two versions of the same manor, past (pristine) and present (dilapidated) and you can shift between them with one press of a button. This can be used to get past locked doors in the past, or past rubble in the present.

The rest of the levels are great too. Huge size, lots of verticality, a joy to explore.
The atmosphere of the Ducal Palace is sublime. It mixes a more modern style of architecture with mediterranean vibes and I can spend hours just relaxing in that place. It's also interconnected as fuck with tons of different approaches.

 

[Ash]

JarlFrank play System Shock 2 and Arx Fatalis already.

 

[JarlFrank]

JarlFrank play System Shock 2 and Arx Fatalis already.

I love them both but this poll only allows 3 votes.

 

[Ash]

Then I rate YOU decline. You dishonor classic design ingenuity. Fucking Dishonored 2.

 

[HansDampf]

Dishonored 2 has a couple of really cool missions in terms of level design. But overall, it doesn't even come close to System Shock 2. I'd also rate Prey (with balance mod) higher than Dishonored 2.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Thief & dishonored are not imsims

 

[rusty_shackleford]

what's everyone's favorite imsim?
https://store.steampowered.com/search/?tags=9204

 

[Turbo normie]

VR Chat !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[GhostCow]

I thought this was going to be a thread about Mechwarrior

 

[Lorebrok]

We all know what immersive sims are, stop with the intentional definition autism guys.

Its easily deus ex with thief being second place. Deus ex feels like its the most complete game. Thief 1 better than 2 because its more original while 2 is too heavily leaning on that metal age shit (hence the name). Comes down to personal preference though, as both games are quite the same.

 

[GhostCow]

We all know what immersive sims are, stop with the intentional definition autism guys.

Being honest here. I have literally never heard this term until I saw this thread.

 

[Hammer Of The Heretics]

I'm half-tempted to define an immersive sim as "any game where the first keypad you encounter can be unlocked with the code '0451'."

 

[antimeridian]

I'm half-tempted to define an immersive sim as "any game where the first keypad you encounter can be unlocked with the code '0451'."

I have indeed seen them called "0451-style games" before.

 

[Hammer Of The Heretics]

I'm half-tempted to define an immersive sim as "any game where the first keypad you encounter can be unlocked with the code '0451'."

I have indeed seen them called "0451-style games" before.

I've seriously considered getting 'I<heart>0451S' as a custom license plate. Last time I checked it was still available in my state.

 

[jebsmoker]

just call them '0451 games'

 

[Vic]

We all know what immersive sims are, stop with the intentional definition autism guys.

Being honest here. I have literally never heard this term until I saw this thread.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immersive_sim

An immersive sim (simulation) is a video game genre that emphasizes player choice. Its core, defining trait is the use of simulated systems that respond to a variety of player actions which, combined with a comparatively broad array of player abilities, allow the game to support varied and creative solutions to problems, as well as emergent gameplay beyond what has been explicitly designed by the developer.[1] This definition is not to be confused with game systems which allow player choice in a confined sense or systems which allow players to easily escape consequences of their choices.

Immersive sims by definition allow for multiple approaches, and typically incorporate elements of multiple genres, including role-playing games, stealth, first-person shooters, platform games and survival horror.[2] Although they typically have smaller worlds than open world games, they also generally allow for open-ended gameplay, allowing the player to progress in any order and pursue side missions alongside any main story missions.[3][1]Immersive sims are generally compared to games developed by Looking Glass Studios. The first such game generally considered an immersive sim is Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss, and other examples include Thief and Thief 2, System Shockand System Shock 2, as well as the first Deus Ex.[4]

The term "immersive sim" may also be used to describe the game design philosophy behind the immersive sim genre, which uses interacting, reactive and consistent game systems to create emergent gameplay and a sense of player agency.

 

[Dave the Druid]

We all know what immersive sims are, stop with the intentional definition autism guys.

Being honest here. I have literally never heard this term until I saw this thread.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immersive_sim

An immersive sim (simulation) is a video game genre that emphasizes player choice. Its core, defining trait is the use of simulated systems that respond to a variety of player actions which, combined with a comparatively broad array of player abilities, allow the game to support varied and creative solutions to problems, as well as emergent gameplay beyond what has been explicitly designed by the developer.[1] This definition is not to be confused with game systems which allow player choice in a confined sense or systems which allow players to easily escape consequences of their choices.

Immersive sims by definition allow for multiple approaches, and typically incorporate elements of multiple genres, including role-playing games, stealth, first-person shooters, platform games and survival horror.[2] Although they typically have smaller worlds than open world games, they also generally allow for open-ended gameplay, allowing the player to progress in any order and pursue side missions alongside any main story missions.[3][1]Immersive sims are generally compared to games developed by Looking Glass Studios. The first such game generally considered an immersive sim is Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss, and other examples include Thief and Thief 2, System Shockand System Shock 2, as well as the first Deus Ex.[4]

The term "immersive sim" may also be used to describe the game design philosophy behind the immersive sim genre, which uses interacting, reactive and consistent game systems to create emergent gameplay and a sense of player agency.

I literally just made an account just to say that Wikipedia article's a load of fucking shite. Here's the actual definition from Looking Glass's old website, written by Tim Stellmach and Mark 'MAHK' LeBlanc back when they were making Thief, although at the time they were calling it 'Immersive Reality' rather than Simulation.

Yeah, it's a bit long but that's the actual definition from the Looking Glass devs who made Ultima Underworld and System Shock while they were making Thief: The Dark Project. They even go into the whole 'what is an RPG?' debate while explaining it, as well as pointing out how their games aren't Doom or Quake clones. Since they literally weren't, and the term 'first-person shooter' literally didn't exist yet. Also the earliest archive I could find of this was from June 18, 1997, however digging around a bit on the website I found the earliest press release for The Dark Project, which also mentioned 'Immersive Reality.' Meaning this could've been written as early as December 18, 1996, which would make it almost 4 whole years older than Warren Spector's Deus Ex Postmortem where he allegedly coined the term.

Also:

"The point of all this talk about computer role-playing games is not to claim that this project of ours is or isn't an RPG. The point is that great games don't happen by shoe-horning your design into a rigid category made up by some magazine"

lmao the fucking irony.

 

[kangaxx]

I'm half-tempted to define an immersive sim as "any game where the first keypad you encounter can be unlocked with the code '0451'."

The true definition is whether you can pick up potted plants and activate toilets.