Got a game you feel passionate about? Sell it to us here!
I wrote a pretty long comment elsewhere regarding Xenoblade 3, which is pretty much my favourite game of all time in 30+ years of gaming. I guess it would be a cool idea for others to do the same - but don't just give a list, sell your favourite title to us!
So, Xenoblade 3 (Switch, although I now play it on my PC via Yuzu in 4k) is the final part of the RPG trilogy developed by Monolithsoft (Nintendo owned second party, responsible for the overworld tech in Zelda BOTW/TOTK). The director of the series is Tetsuya Takahashi, who is also the creator of Xenogears and Xenosaga (there are links to Blade, I won't spoil). It shows what happens to the individual worlds of Xenoblade 1 and 2 once they collide. However the series is structured in such a way that you can arguably play them in any order and not miss out. There are of course twists and callbacks throughout to reward those who play them in order. The one absolute rule is for the two massive DLC expansions. Xenoblade 1 (Future Connected, play after 1), Xenoblade 2 (Torna - to be played after 2) and Xenoblade 3 (Future Redeemed - to be played only after playing EVERYTHING else as it wraps up the trilogy).
Xenoblade 2 put off a lot of people with it's anime-ness and big tidday girls (not me, but eh). Xenoblade 3...doesn't have that.
It's serious and is set in the midst of an eternal war between two nations. Each inhabitant of this world is born at age 10, trained as a soldier to fight, and then either die on the battlefield or live long enough to die at age 20 by force. Both nations rely on the life force of the other side to live - hence the war.
The story concerns two groups (three from either side) from opposing sides who join together with the aim to live longer than their artificially reduced lifespans - of the two main protagonists, one (Mio) has only three months remaining. This is the crux of the story, really.
best bet to see if you'd like it are these two videos I took. The first is the first 15 minutes of the game - it introduces the world, scenario, characters, and also introduces the gameplay part-by-part. NO SPOILERS in any of these, I promise.
The battle system is gradually introduced throughout, at a pretty good pace (eg. chain attacks, transformations, combos, class changing). It ends up sometimes chaotic, but always fun. You can stay as a healer with a rifle, swap to a martial arts class and attack with your fists, or change to a tank class for each characters, for example. You also recruit computer playable heroes throughout the game who offer new classes and weapons.
Chain attacks are an entirely other thing, relying on measured logic and number skills. The other main draw is the story - this game takes some pretty dark turns. Your mileage may vary though, depending on your tolerance for cutscenes. There's still 100+ hours of actual gameplay easily and the sidequests and community supports are all actually well thought out.
and this is a short video showing the scale of the world (one of 9 massive regions - there's another desert, a canyon and a forest halfway up a mountain trail in this one. The sword in the distance holds a city at its peak. There's also an ocean that has a rocket powered boat to traverse, or you could just swim it), plus a short battle with 7 team members:
lastly I guess, if you're a dr who fan (who knows?), it may interest you that Jenna Coleman voices the Kevesi Queen.
anyhow the game is cool imo. I got the first Xenoblade a week before the UK launch date in August 2011 as I ran a Blockbuster at the time (Xenoblade was localised by Nintendo UK and came out here, Europe and Australia a mere year after Japan. NOA refused to launch it in America, until a petition forced their hand another year later). It blew me away, and the remastered Definitive Version is a classic. The fact that Nintendo UK localised it is why it has its unique UK focused VA throughout. The regions in the games are Welsh, Scottish, etc. It adds a huge amount of character that American voiced games lack imo.
Worth giving a shout out to Xenoblade X (outside of the trilogy's storyline), which still has the largest world of any game I've ever known, eternally stuck on the Wii U. That's a fucking mental game and I don't even know where to start with it. If you like Xenoblade, mech battles/flights and Attack on Titan's soundtrack (sawano), then it's the game for you.
anyhow back to Xenoblade 3, you may hate it who knows but... hopefully this does sell a few people on it.
You like cool space stuff? Science fiction? Exploration? Games that don't hold your hand? Wonderfully crafted experiences? Mysteries to solve? Existential crisis? "A-ha!" moments?
Outer Wilds is the game. If you answered "yes" to at least three questions, give it a try - you will probably love it.
Thing is, you can't really explain much about Outer Wilds without getting into spoilers, as the whole point of the game is to explore the game's solar system, figure out environmental puzzles and read ancient texts of a long-gone civilization to solve a mystery that you find yourself tangled in.
It is simply the most fascinating game I have ever played - it's amazingly well-thought as an experience, every little thing neatly fits together. And there is no right or wrong way to play - after the 'tutorial', the game never tells you what to do or where to go next. It is all up to your curiosity and interests. Stuck on exploring one planet? Go investigate something else. You'll probably find answers to help your exploration on the original planet! Any way you go about exploration, you will find revelations and eventually reach the game's amazing finale.
Furthermore, if you know what to do, you can complete the game in around 10 minutes. Outer Wilds is a 15-30 hour game. There are no powerups or tools to unlock - knowledge is what gates you from answers and is what allows you to progress.
I just wish people weren't so adamant about the whole "no spoilers" thing with it. It sort of soured my time with it when I finished the intro and was kinda just like... oh, it's the Majora's Mask thing. That's the big mind-blowing twist people are talking about.
I guess what I'm saying is thanks for just talking about what actually makes it so unique / impressive.
That's not really "the mind-blowing twist", it's just the game's main mechanic - even the Steam page flat-out says you are stuck in a time loop. There are several big discoveries in the story that you may find to be "twists" depending on how you explore.
To expand on what pipariturbiini said, the game is about discovery and knowledge, so any spoiler you look up is directly removing a part of the game experience for you. I'm sorry your experience was tainted by the advice to not seek out spoilers, but overall I think it does help ensure most people have the optimal experience.
Very well said. One of the greatest Games of all Time. You can go to everything you see in a Solar System and explore it. The conclusion is imho also pretty Epic.
Go play it if you haven't yet.
Man, outer wild is such a magic experience, probably the most unique game I have ever played.
I always get so nostalgic thinking about it.
Can't wait to play it again in 10 years when I'll finally forget everything about it!
Hi there! Looks like you linked to a Lemmy community using an URL instead of its name, which doesn't work well for people on different instances. Try fixing it like this: !outerwilds@vlemmy.net
Not a single post about Prey (2017), the Arkane's immersive sim gem set aboard the Talos I space station orbiting the Moon? I expected more of you, people!
Prey is a wonderful game. I think it wouldn't lie make a mistake by designating it an RPG and an immersive sim, given its various skills (that are actually more than a few stat changes here and there - they affect, dictate the way you play the game), the multitude of ways you can approach so many things from puzzles to locations where you're supposed to be to pretty much any in-game decision.
Prey's world is rather small, but in the best way possible - it's a space station, called Talos I, orbiting the Earth's only moon (the Moon), doing some bleeding edge scientific research thanks to its diverse crew of the very best people Earth could send there. Talos I itself is split into different sections, each with its own purpose, making them unique locations with their own dangers and breath-taking sights; some interiors are spacious and let you navigate the level in stealthy ways, avoiding the hostiles entirely (if you have the wits!), and some are narrower, but many still offer you an alternate path to your destination if you look hard enough.
Prey lets you do stuff. You don't like crawling in silence, trying to stay away from a fight until you hoover up every resource you can to make you "ready" to face the enemy? Go gun blazing - there's no shortage of unique lethal tech at your disposal! You want to play a certain role, like be a mad menace to society? Feel free to murder everything you see, either with your own hands or by letting them die another brutal death! You want to be a true video game hero, saving each and every one? Roll your sleeves and get to work, because there sure is some saving to do!
Prey is the game where you think you know what's going on, but you actually don't. There will be surprises, and there will be moments of awe, and they're all just done so well.
And last, but not least, is its magnificent soundtrack by Mick Gordon. The game looks gorgeous, and sometimes can give you some spooks, but the music completes the puzzle, setting its eerie atmosphere.
It's a game you will likely play more than once to experience everything it has to offer. The game does not force you to do this or that, it does not explicitly tell you what skills to pick to be a good person, and it does not block one path if you've already taken another one, but you sure will experience the call of curiosity: "What if I chose only that?" Whatever you choose, you have the ability to craft yourself a unique playthrough, each equally interesting and viable.
Prey is a masterpiece of world-building, level design, and gameplay. I can't overstate how special that game is. Without spoiling anything, its opening "level" was one of the coolest, awe-striking experiences I've had in gaming.
Pathologic 2 is a game that makes you feel like the entire world is against you. From the moment you start the game you're presented with a scenario in which you've already failed to stop the deadly plague infecting the city, and you get a chance to do it all over.
You are Artemy Burakh, a surgeon coming back home to his home in the Russian Steppe at the request of his late father. From the moment you arrive in town, things are off. You are quickly branded as a criminal and must hide away or risk being attacked by citizens. Slowly but surely, you keep encountering strange things in the town: an impossible spire stretching into the heavens, a building where an infection has seemingly taken over the walls, a band of children who have broken away to form their own gamg, and the plague itself speaks to you - warning you about the devastation to come.
The game is brutally tough. It has difficulty settings if you struggle too much - but the intended difficulty is meant to crush your will to continue. While fighting off the plague you must manage your own hunger, thirst, and health. Which becomes increasingly harder to do as the plague grows in strength. In addition - at the end of every day the game randomly rolls who in the town gets infected with the plague and for those already infected they could possibly die. Everyone, including you, and I mean everyone in the town has the potential to die. You are tasked with keeping them alive.
On top of that the game is an excellent journey into the psychology of those you meet, and comments on the blend between the supernatural culture of the steppe and the growing industrialization of the city. There's so much stuff there in the game (mind you there is some jank), and its the kind of game I think about all of the time. Also the soundtrack is beautiful and haunting, with the perfect emotion for each scene.
the longer you spend time around me the longer you'll find that I can't shut the fuck up about gravity rush 2
does it have flaws? probably. good luck trying to have a conversation with me about them. that game gave me a sense of joy and happiness I have literally been chasing since it came out in 2017.
a fun main character, one of the most unique movement mechanics I've experienced in a game, sick music, all the questions from the original game answered in ways I never would have expected, and an open world that, whilst not very interactive, is so architecturally interesting that I will boot the game up just to fly around and look at stuff to this day as a way to relax.
so yeah you should play Gravity Rush 2. and yes, the Xenoblades are great too, great taste tbh. they're so mechanically crunchy that I can play them for hours
I had a great time with Final Fantasy XV near the top of this year. I had a ton of fun with the floaty combat and the character moments! The game got patched up for PC, so the only problem I had was that they stopped support after the rough release and didn't finish the story they intended to tell.
This led me to pick up Forspoken (same devs) as well despite the negative press. I can't think of a movement system I've enjoyed more. The writing isn't as awful as everyone says (IMHO) and the spell casting focus with parkour woven in is just chefs kiss. Slap on some tunes and grind out my masteries was how I spent a good month. Huge fan of the cuff character as well (no spoilers). Honestly was devastating to hear the studio close, because the DLC just released was pretty rad too.
Edit - RIP the double post bug got me too. Deleted comment's just a copy of this
This is a trippy isometric RPG, takes maybe an hour to finish, and plays like a total fever dream. It was weird and mostly didn't make sense and I loved it. I think it's all told out of order too.
I found this developer sometime last year and just really enjoy their general philosophy on making games.
If you don't know what a videogame is or what they're supposed to do with one that's cool, nobody else does either. Chew up garbage media and use the mulch to make cool hives to store the tiny, stupid things you care about
- Excerpt from the website
The Rock Band series is my GOAT and probably the best party game of all time. The series on its own is fantastic--who doesn't want to jam out? But add a few other people and it's in a whole different league. I was living in the dorms when it came out. A lot of days we'd start it up and leave our door open and let people cycle in and out between classes or whatever else was going on through the days. We don't know you? You don't know us? Nobody gives a shit--we need someone on drums.
We eventually had several hundred songs through the games and DLC--just about any type of music someone might want to play. The equipment isn't made anymore to my knowledge and I don't think there's any way to get it other than second hand, but when it was at ots height the series was the high water mark of social gaming. It also served as a stepping stone to actual musical pursuits--I eventually picked up an electronic drum kit and started playing (very poorly) for real.
I used to love rock band and guitar hero. But those good memories were tainted by half my store being cluttered with them as trade-ins. Caused me so much aggro I never wanted to see one again!
I believe it. We must have gone through something like six or seven guitars, two drum kits, three cymbal sets, and who knows how many of those flimsy bass pedals. Didn't clutter any stores with trade ins though. Ran those things to the ground--only place that would take them was the dump.
Honestly, the game I like the most that deserves the praise the most is so obsessively discussed by it's own developer that I think they should speak for themselves:
https://www.gridsagegames.com/cogmind/index.html
It's really, truly underrated. No one talks about it, even when traditional Roguelikes come up, despite the absurd amount of effort poured into it.
Specifically the article about designing "information warfare" into the game way back in 2014 (it's still being developed) is a great example of how much is going on in this little ASCII game:
https://www.gridsagegames.com/blog/2014/11/information-warfare/
I guess what I could add is that surprisingly enough Cogmind actually has a story, a pretty dang extensive one, and the fact that it's sort of just hiding away in places you might never see blew my mind.
Also, that despite having as much depth as Dwarf Fortress (just more focused depth), the interface and controls aren't completely inscrutable. because thank god, it actually has mouse support.
I've played the hell out of this game, and long been a fan of the developer's articles on game development. He's pretty active on the Reddit roguelike development sub (one of which hasn't really sprung up on Lemmy yet, as far as I can tell).
XENOBLADE! love this series, i'll also recommend it. there's this video i liked that's like a fanmade ad for the game, here. pretty sure it's not too spoilery (or the spoilers are just out of context).
since you already mentioned it though, i'll recommend earthbound. the entire series is really good, but for play order, i'd recommend earthbound -> mother 3 -> mother 1. (any order is fine, since the games are only loosely connected though). such good jrpgs with an upbeat feel to them.
Man, this thread reminded me of some of the great old games I used to play back in the day.
And if any of ya'll are into Space Fighters and Dog-Fight Tactics, boy have I got something for you.
'Decent: Freespace' and 'Freespace 2'.
Although the graphics might seem a bit dated, believe me when I say it won't matter in the least. You'll be far more focused on the information your HUD is feeding you, giving orders to squad-mates and navigating the basic controls in a panic.
Unlike some modern space games, you don't get to just screw around with standard WASD +Mouse controls. Your keyboard is your cockpit and everything pretty much controls as in one (although a simplified one). There is no auto-aim and no freebies, if you can't keep your aim where it's supposed to be, you miss.
There's also a energy-management system where you get to prioritize what subsystems needs more power: Shields, Weapons or Engines. And you can overclock the different systems at the expense of the others on the fly. Choose wisely.
You get to choose your own ships and weapons loadout as you rise though the ranks and gain access to various new goodies, not all missions calls for the heaviest ordinance. Finesse and maneuverability are virtues here.
The story is fairly basic: "Terrans (Humans) and an Alien Race known as the Vasudans are at war. Third Alien Race pops in and wrecks house on both sides. Shit gets interesting as the new Alien Race are technologically superior and neigh unkillable."
The voice-acting is phenomenal and you really get the feeling of being an expandable grunt, that slowly gets to prove his worth and is let in on more and more Special-Ops assignments, equipment and such. Everything is on a need-to-know basis and there's a lot you don't need to know.
The game contains plenty of bonus objectives that aren't immediately apparent. Sometimes it pays off to stick around a bit longer when you're told you can go back to base. ;)
I don't know how good I am at selling the games, but damn if they aren't the best I've ever played in the space-fighter genre to date.
They are worth giving a try at the very least. And they are dirt cheap on GOG as a bonus.
...Ok, not gonna lie, the basic premise of Xenoblade 3 comes across to me like to warring societies of Souls Hollows, and while that's almost certainly wrong it sounds rad as hell. Armies fighting because they literally need the life of their enemies to live, never stopping to consider that by not allowing themselves to die they doom the world itself, eventually no one's left. Or something along those lines. In any case it feels like it's setting itself up to actually say something significant about the world.
One thing I didn't mention - everyone in the world is born at age 10, trained to fight, and either die on the battlefield or when they hit their 10th year (20 years old) in a process called "homecoming". The main goal of the protagonists is to live beyond their artificially short lifespan, and one of the two protagonists (an Agnian girl, Mio) has only three months left.
There's a lot more to it than just that, but spoilers. This is just the general gist as shown in the reveal trailer.
I am loving this post and am bookmarking it for future games to play.
The one I want to recommend is a little out of left field: “Photopia”, a text adventure that is more than 20 years old but that I just found out about. It’s a nonlinear narrative game with two distinct voices, where you gradually piece together the story of, well, go in unspoiled and you’ll be happier. It’s not a long game, and there aren’t much by way of puzzles, but the writing is wonderful and the story hits hard.
Also love this post, but I can't help noting the irony of a thread begging people to 'sell' a product on a platform that famously opposes advertising. In fact, thinking about it, there are a lot of "what are you playing now," "what should I play next," "what's your favorite..." threads on most of the gaming c/'s I've seen. Like, in the absence of advertising, people are just begging to be told what's new, exciting, and available, as though it's more meaningful coming from a pseudonymous internet stranger than a declared corporate minion. Real opinions or astroturf? Who's to say.
I got it on launch and was disappointed. I wanted a sequel to XB1, and got a game with a mute create-your-own main character and a story that had literally no connection to 1, if you could even call it a story. It's barebones. Since then, my opinion has changed and I love it. But it's a very different beast.
it's all about exploring, mining for resources, taking on quests, inventory/gear management and battling monsters on foot and in massive custom mechs. It's incredible. But it has some serious downsides, and some serious WTF music choices by Sawano, although the majority of his soundtrack is awesome.
I've got it playing on Cemu at the moment, still holds up.
Edit: your mech (called a skell) can fly. And turn into a car. And there are zero loading screens as you explore the gigantic world. At all. It's mindboggling that it even existed on the Wii U (the world engine was later used for Zelda: Breath of the Wild).
Edit edit: the game also had multiplayer when active on the Wii U. Being able to jump into other teams and help with quests is something they need to bring back.
So. Regarding xenoblade. I loved 2 and 2's expansion. But I couldn't get into 1 and 3 I found there were too many characters and management of their gear and resources so I dropped it. It was just overly complex and I honestly don't think I understood it very well or what I was doing.
Well, usually people find 2 to be the hardest to get into so that's interesting!
I find 3 to be the easiest to understand, and it actually has proper tutorials which can be accessed at any time, unlike XB2 (core bursts in battle are like, never explained!).
My daughter (12) recently finished XB3 and loved it, but is having trouble with the battles and systems in 2 - especially the forced field skills. Xenoblade 3 never locks anything away behind skills, aside from the ladders, ropes and slopes which just require a simple chat to the relevant hero once to access them you're able to use them going forward.
I do get that XB3 can be overwhelming. 7 party members at once is a bit of a jump up from only 3. Not for everyone!
Yah. I was just overwhelmed with the amount to manage for them all and I didn't feel connected to any of them. I think I put maybe 10 hours into it and that was it. I just didn't understand the job thing or whatever it was called. Like you could rank up in the job types or something of the other characters as secondary skills. There was just way too much going on I had no idea what was good or not good I felt like I was just randomly picking something and had no idea if it was doing anything worth while or not and there 2as just so much to pick from. It was such a time sink just in the menus to manage them.
Quick game: Journey!
You are a beeing in some kind of migration Journey through multiple landscapes (desert, sea and snow). You have to pick up special símbols that are hidden so that your scarf becames longer and you can fly, also it works as some kind of HP bar.
The cinematics is just beautifull, you float and slide as the sun sets it is more art than a game, just to enjoy and relax.
One of the feafures is that another player, like you, will be there. As a 1st time player they will guide you through the secrets of each level/place. You dont talk each of you just emit a kind of musical sound and, without any Word, it is increadible how both players can talk. It is really beautifull. On some other games you will be the guide, you dont know, you have yo try to comunicate and figure out your place in Journey.
I confess I cried the first time I finished the game.
Longer game: The Last guardian
From the same team that made shadow of the colossus, you will notice by the landscape.
You are a little boy in some kind of Maya/Inca Village that is kidnaped by a beeing that is mix of a giant mouse with horns and wings, called Trico.
It takes you to it s nest (huge and complex, like an ants), but both have an accident and get stuck somewhere. Trico lost it s wings so cannot fly.
Step by step you start to make friends with Trico to escape the huge nest, you can go on it s back, climb the hills, solve puzzles with it.
You also find why you are kidnapped (not going to give spoilers). You find other Tricos but they are very agressive, like they are under some kind of spell. Also the nest has strange beeings roaming around that try to suck your energy (the first encounter I had I got a huge gut feeling of strangeness and danger, increadible how the game can give you such a dread feeling and, no, I am not also telling how they are :) it is part of that first impact) and, remember, you are a little kid so you better run and trust that your Trico will help you.
(The game has a lot of detail. At some point my ps4 started to make a strange noise as an airplane taking off).
Have fun!
Edit: removed the word "curiosity" to not confuso anyone, did not know it was a game as well.
Journey is such a special game. And the other player is such a key element to the experience. I've played it a few times and each time felt so different based on who I was playing with. First time I actually just wanted to do it alone (I'm usually really not a fan of multiplayer), but after spending most of the journey with another player I finally understood why it was important. The second time I played from start to finish with the same veteran player, who guided me to all the secrets I didn't even have a clue existed, and we were constantly chiming to each other (that musical sound you mentioned). They were much more patient than the first player and by the end it was amazing how much emotion I felt having to part ways with someone I didn't even know. And I'll confess too, I cried on that second run.
Third time I must've had some connection problems because the other player would only be there for a little while then disappear, replaced by another later that would also disappear. When I finished the game by myself, it truly felt like a lonely experience. A beautiful, but sad lonely experience. But even after that time I would still 100% recommend it.
I haven't played Last Guardian or Curiosity, but Last Guardian I've definitely been meaning to try, and Curiosity I haven't heard of but I'm always a fan of games that put beauty before hardware longevity.
Natural selection 2. The game is pretty much dead now, and it is not easy on new players, but no other game I've played has this awesome sense to teamwork and coordination with intense combat. It kind of ruined all other multiplayer games for me. I haven't found anything like it.
Generally I try to keep my Freelancer obsession under wraps until I've known people for at least a few months.
I love this game and have put thousands of hours into both the online and campaign (I speedrun it) and into online server play. If you're a fan of Everspace, Elite: Dangerous, or other games in that vein, I very much recommend giving Freelancer a look as it still hasn't been beat 20 years later.
The world is set roughly 800 years after the Alliance has left the Sol system during the Alliance-Coalition War. Following the events of Starlancer (not at all necessary to have played, just tangenting off that universe) five sleeper ships were launched as part of the escape. The five ships named for their home countries - Liberty, Bretonia, Kusari, Rheinland, and Hispania, headed toward the Sirius sector and each landed on separate planets and funded their own governments mirroring their Earth counterparts.
The story picks up as you, Edison Trent, arrive on Planet Manhattan. You and the survivors of Freeport 14, which has been destroyed at the hands of some mysterious and seemingly alien force, are just coming to terms with what has happened and you're trying to pick up and move on. You meet a Liberty Security Force agent Jun'ko Zane, who has some contract work for you to pick up and outfits you with your first ship. Not two minutes out of atmo and the incoming diplomatic delegation from Rheinland is attacked and destroyed, and you, Juni, and her partner King find yourselves unraveling an investigation that goes to the highest levels of all four major Houses.
The rest of the game is pulling on those threads and unraveling a political conspiracy as you, King, and Juni track down leads. The main structure is alternating story missions and free roam periods, where the story missions expand the area you get to play in and push out to new systems, and then the free roam is you being the titular freelancer and picking up off jobs to earn credits and purchase better equipment and learn more at your own pace.
While the story is interesting, the true hooks in this for me are two things:
The World - There is so much love and lore tucked into every corner of this game. Loads of environmental storytelling, but then nearly every selectable object has an infocatd with additional detail fleshed out. History about everything is thought out to some degree. And if you see something interesting, odds are it has an interesting story to tell. This makes exploration rewarding, sometimes also financially within the game. Each system really feels like several hundred years of development and history were thought out to get to the game world's current state.
The Controls - Generally in an older game, controls are hard to get the hang of. Freelancer uses an intuitive mouse aim flight system that lets you focus on where you want to go rather than how you have to maneuver your ship to get there, which means it's not a burden to exploring and makes combat fun while still retaining a lot of depth. It's not a space sim in the traditional sense. It doesn't have the systems control that your more hardcore space sims do if that's your thing, but between the ship customization and ease of flight, the barrier to entry is almost non-existent while still being engaging.
Past the campaign, there is still a very active modding community that continues to support an active online player base. There are plenty of simplistic mods to add new ships, weapons, or QOL features, out to full mods such as Discovery that adds a new house and continues to extend the game storyline through iterative updates and player-driven events, including dynamic player-created stations, to total conversions like Tides of War that wrap the world in a well put together Star Wars skin.
I was active on Discovery for a long time and really is where I put most of my hours into this game, playing online and just existing and driving the world into different directions at the same level of quality as the original game.
I could gush so much more, but just booting it up and playing a few minutes I think is enough to hook the right person. While not on the digital distribution platforms, the usual abandonware sites typically host a copy of the disc iso (as does DiscoveryGC for use during their mod install process) and it will install and run without issue on modern systems. Last fall, the Freelancer HD Edition mod was released on ModDB that updates visuals, textures, and adds some QOL features so that the game properly supports widescreen resolutions and looks great on modern displays.
I love this game, and frankly it's the platonic ideal of a space sim that I'm still looking for a worthy successor to this day, with the closest from a gameplay perspective being Everspace, and nothing matching the depth and care and just jot of zooming around space.