Which game would you say changed your life?

[yankii]

My pick would have to be Persona 5 Royal. It's not my favorite game of all time, or even something I plan on going back to one day, but it did get me out of a pretty bad rut that I would otherwise still be stuck in - and for that, I'm grateful. I don't feel like getting into details, but it's as if can live a "fuller" life somehow, due to the message I took from P5 [which took me well over 200h to beat] - "take your time". There are games I liked playing more, as well as games that I will beat countless more times, but P5R will always have a special place.

 

[Afeohtan]

Skyrim. And nothing else after it even comes close. I used to like the Zelda games, until Aonuma ruined them in 2017.

 

[Asia81]

wind waker without any hesitation
Just chill on the sea when I'm on a bad mood

 

[tech3475]

Halo 1/2 (got them at the same time): first FPSs I actually got into by having decent gamepad controls and an plot I cared about.

Half Life 2/The Orange Box: Got me more into PC gaming after discovering mods

 

[BakerMan]

Sonic Adventure 2 brought me back into my Sonic phase hard and I don't see any exit right now

 

[Taleweaver]

UT2004 (with a tiny splash of UT99). This was at a time where "the internet" became mainstream enough to be affordable enough to be on it full time and speeds started being "genuinely less bad". My friends didn't play, but I found friends online. Was hesitant to join a "clan", but started discussing on forums...which I still do, last time I checked.
As I hung out on the same servers and forums, we bonded over our love of the video game. I reviewed maps, dabbled into making a few and played SO. MANY. CUSTOM. GAMETYPES. Hung out with a loose bunch of US people I considered friends (meaning: around 3AM in my timezone). Hung out at "local" (meaning: UK-based) onslaught maps.
Joined a clan, on the premisse it wouldn't be serious competition. Liked it. Helped a clanmate win a mapping contest. Won a small writing contest (on the forum...about UT2004). Went to a few specific LAN-parties, which also were among my first abroad travels as an adult (and first, the first time, considering I hadn't seen anyone face to face back then).

Through all that, it also dragged me through the sh** that is being unemployed. I dunno...I always presumed that once you had a grade and applied, the rest would come easy. It didn't. On hindsight, if I had gotten a job sooner, it wouldn't have been as life-altering. But it wouldn't be as bittersweet either (fuck...for that first LAN, I attempted to buy some UT merchandise from a shady shop through the pay credentials of a clan mate. I paid him back, but that merch never arrived. And while pocket money now, that really tore into my disposable income back then).

 

[Skv0ra]

Ultima Online in like 2002, despite being late to that whole party. Sandbox MMO at that time was absolutely mind-blowing compared to typical fps matches and was perfect for exploration and writing your own story that most others just weren't designed around.

Jedi Knight 2 and Academy to date had the near perfect take on saber combat and those games were hella populated in their hayday.

AvP1 & especially 2 revoltionized diversity of an fps game by mixing 3 distinct playstyles all into one pot.

 

[AngryCinnabon]

Stardew Valley and Celeste and it isn't even close.

Stardew kinda opened the door for me to question my position in LGBTQ+ spaces, as i crush hard on both Penny, Sam and Sebastian. So it was my pan awakening per say.

And; Celeste gave me the bravery to come out as trans to some people, and really spoke to me about anxiety. also I'm a redhead Canadian too lmao

 

[VinsCool]

Honestly? None really changed my life.
I have however enjoyed many games and had a great time playing them, so that's still something.

 

[DaFixer]

Back in the day I played many hours on my Commodore 64/Amiga 500.
Games like Turrican 1/2 (Amiga), Monty on the run (C64), Nicky Boom (Amiga), R-type (C64) and Apidya (Amiga) shaped my taste in music. Now I like to listen to electronic music!

 

[AkiraKurusu]

In one sense, Pokémon Pearl, as it kickstarted my longtime love for that franchise - and it was one of my first-ever games, as well.

More emotionally? Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Darkness was quite compelling, storywise, for me as a youngster, and the ending was likely the first time a game made me cry. Not ashamed to say it.

 

[Robert Newbie]

In one sense, Pokémon Pearl, as it kickstarted my longtime love for that franchise - and it was one of my first-ever games, as well.

More emotionally? Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Darkness was quite compelling, storywise, for me as a youngster, and the ending was likely the first time a game made me cry. Not ashamed to say it.

I don't know how Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Darkness plays out, but you reminded me of Shining Force II.

Despite being a game from the Genesis era, I was surprised by the ending, whereupon Lemon sacrifices himself by dragging King Galam into the portal. Between that and Secret of Mana, I wasn't used to video games that ended on such strong notes.

Reminds me of that Michael Bay movie, whereupon Bruce Willis flies his space shuttle into the asteroid to SAVE AMERICA THE WORLD!

 

[Deleted member 753700]

Oblivion was my childhood. It was everything I dreamt a game to be.

 

[Skv0ra]

Oblivion was my childhood. It was everything I dreamt a game to be.

Blessed are you that you didn't have to just stare at the screen trying to make out wtf to even do in Morrowind, hahaha.

Post automatically merged: Jul 14, 2025

In one sense, Pokémon Pearl, as it kickstarted my longtime love for that franchise - and it was one of my first-ever games, as well.

More emotionally? Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Darkness was quite compelling, storywise, for me as a youngster, and the ending was likely the first time a game made me cry. Not ashamed to say it.

NGL, Diamond was one helluva upgrade from Gen 1&2, and I poured my "last" hours into that one hard, especially when i learned of flashcarts and save editor (mostly to back things up and EV train within legal bounds), but playing a 4th game that was the same exact damn grind just put me off of the franchise. Got Sun when it came out solely to see if I was over pokemania, and it proved that I was. I'd say my equivalent to yours was Gold with how much more it brought over Gen 1, and I played obscene hours of gen 1.

 

[previous_member]

Pacman. Before that I knew not of video games. I was only 4, but Pacman started a lifelong obcession with video games.

 

[wamble]

I want to be buried with my copy of Blur.


I don't know if that ranks as "changed my life" but it might change my death. We are currently married & will be married for life.

 

[lightwo]

I don't think they changed my life per se, but Boneworks and modded (!) Skyrim VR have to be the most immersive games I played by a long shot. I don't play VR games at all lately, but in regards to being thoroughly impressed by games in general, these were the absolute peak.

As for whether any game changed my life in a literal sense, I can't say. If I played one of those electronics/IC/programming simulation games, it would be an obvious pick, but I'm too lazy for that. I don't even host a particularly complex game server. And I definitely don't remember any game that changed the way I think, other than maybe Metal Gear Solid 2.

 

[InsaneNutter]

I wouldn't go as far to say changed my life, however two games have certainly had an impact on it.

Jazz Jackrabbit 2 is the first. I randomly ended up going to the same University as someone I knew very well online from JJ2. We worked on Digiex in our free time while at Uni, which became somewhat popular for Xbox 360 related stuff back in the day.

Pokemon Go is the other most people probably have heard of. I've got to know various people locally I’d otherwise never have met playing this game.

When the UK hosted Pokemon Go Fest in 2023 I went to London for the weekend with some other local players from my town. We all stayed in the same hotel and had a great weekend, so much so we all decided to go to Chester (the perceived Pokemon Go capital of the north) the following year for the Global Go Fest 2024 and stay in an Airbnb.

I've certainly done some travelling / walking playing PoGo over the years! who says video games can't be good for you?!

 

[LaggySnake]

Really hard to pick one so I'll just list some that come to mind.
PS1 games like Crash Bandicoot and Spyro The Dragon pretty much introduced me to gaming.
Counter-Strike 1.6 and Team Fortress 2 got me more interested on the pc aspect of gaming (Steam)
Also been quite the fanboy over Metal Gear games ever since I played MGS2 in 2012. Been calling Metal Gear Rising my all-time favorite game since 2015.