Games like Life is Strange?

GONE HOME, maybe? It's very divisive, though. I haven't played LiS thanks to my stupid Mac but GH is basically a game which requires you to walk around a house, picking some stuff up, and listening. There's also a strong YA bent.

Seconding Gone Home, which is fantastic. It's only controversial because the subject matter and mechanics don't mesh with the conventional (and very narrow) definition of "games" that some hard-core gamers hold.

There's a whole sub-genre of story games built heavily on experience. Dear Esther is another. I find them a little trying sometimes in that the form is still experimental and the writing sometimes reflects that more than being really moving. Though if you dig deep enough into Gone Home there's a helluva twist.

There's also Journey or anything else Jenova Chen (and thatgamecompany) has made. They definitely put the emotion back into it, though they tend to require a little bit more use of the controller. They're impeccably designed to not force button-mashing. Journey is all about flowing movements, but you do have to time them a bit.

Otherwise, some turn-based RPGs are very playable while on a treadmill. I've done that, and they're also my go-to when I'm running a fever or something. Most are fairly story-based.

The other issue with the newer, minimalistic story games is that they really struggle with replayability. Gone Home is a great game, but I've played it once and I can't see that changing any time soon.

That's why I suggested the RPGs. Or try some sort of sandbox game like Elder Scrolls or something because presumably you want to keep working out and those games clock in at 80-100 hours on the short side. They also have enough customization that you can replay with different characteristics and such. They're not everyone's cup of tea but might be a longer-term solution.

Oh, and the Myst series, if you can find one for whatever system you have set up. They're incredibly slow-paced puzzle games, but a similar kind of experiential world. It's puzzle gameplay, so it's a lot of interacting with objects and trying to figure out how to progress rather than action.

Putputt said:

I'll check out the Myst series. Do you guys know how much dexterity is needed for the Walking Dead game?

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All the Telltale games are pretty heavy into quicktime events, so I don't think they'd be really well suited to a treadmill. I don't know how much focusing on the treadmill you need to do on a treadmill.

I just finished Journey and loved it. Flower was a lot of fun too (though both rely on interesting controls. I'd probably hurt myself trying them on a treadmill...)

It was a little too horror for me, so I didn't get too far but The Vanishing of Ethan Carter might fit your bill. I didn't get far enough to find anything that required a lot of quick response/dexterity.

Loved Gone Home, but I agree, I didn't find it re-playable.

This posts makes me wonder if I'm just very bad at using a treadmill....

Everyone has already mentioned Gone Home, but another game that is similar is Ether One. It's supposed to be atmospheric, and is an exploration game with optional puzzles. The story premise is that you play a person, who has a special ability to "restore" people's memories, who projects himself into someone's mind in order to help restore the memories of that someone.

I'm not a huge fan of linear interactive stories, but I've played a few.

By far my favorite (and one of my favorite interactive stories/games) is the Stanley Parable. Brilliant narration, easy to play (just walking and looking). And as it has multiple endings and different scenarios to reach them, the replayability is high. I do recommend downloading the playing the demo first, as it's its own game on its own.

Can't believe I forgot Stanley Parable. Weird and wonderful little game but it'll give you diversion for a workout or two and more if you try and figure it all out.

Anyone suggested To The Moon yet? I must admit, I haven't played it yet, but it looks good.

I loved LiS. Liked Gone Home right up until the ending, which... meh. Color me unimpressed. But I know I'm in the minority there.

Hmm... Well I would recommend Tell Tale games like both seasons of The Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us. Tell Tale also made this game based on the Back to the Future movies, which was actually pretty good. Also I don't think it was as heavy on the quick time events as their later games. Also (if you're smart enough to use the pause button) FTL is a good choice.

slashedkaze said:

Anyone suggested To The Moon yet? I must admit, I haven't played it yet, but it looks good.

I loved LiS. Liked Gone Home right up until the ending, which... meh. Color me unimpressed. But I know I'm in the minority there.

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I have played To The Moon and I highly recommend it! Very emotional and it integrates similar themes.

This thread is a tad old, but I wanted to chime in that To The Moon is brilliant. It's the only game that's ever made me weepy, and all you do is explore and solve some fairly simple puzzles.

Stanley Parable and Dear Esther are both excellent.

Nobody's mentioned some of my passions of choice, so here are some more recs...

Point 'n clicks: The Secret of Monkey Island and it's sequels, Grim Fandango
Dating SIMs: Hatoful Boyfriend which you think is a daft game about dating pigeons until it surprises you; Steins;Gate for Doctor Who-style time travel shenanigans with a lot of geeky references, and if you're okay with x-rated guy/guy dating SIMs there's DRAMATICAL MURDER/DmmD and STARFIGHTER. Hustle Cat (pick-your-gender, any-romance friendly dating SIM) is out Feb 2016.
Visual Novels: Analogue: A Hate Story; Long Live the Queen
Visual Novel Tie-Ins: The Sam & Max games, The Walking Dead games, the Fables: Wolf Among Us games.

Other: Ib (Free 8-bit horror game without much demand on the reflexes)

EDIT: Woops, didn't realise this was a necrothread. Ah well, have some game recs anyway.

Just finished playing Life is Strange. Awesome game. Thanks for the tip, people. I never would have played this game otherwise.

Firewatch isn't a bad game, mostly narrative. Though it does take place in a forest you can explore. Interesting plot line. It is a little short though, I beat it in two days.

Ib translated : http://vgperson.com/games/

Love love love Ib, though I wouldn't play it on a treadmill.
I like JRPGs like final fantasy and the chrono series for that.

EMaree said:

Stanley Parable and Dear Esther are both excellent.

Nobody's mentioned some of my passions of choice, so here are some more recs...

Point 'n clicks: The Secret of Monkey Island and it's sequels, Grim Fandango
Dating SIMs: Hatoful Boyfriend which you think is a daft game about dating pigeons until it surprises you; Steins;Gate for Doctor Who-style time travel shenanigans with a lot of geeky references, and if you're okay with x-rated guy/guy dating SIMs there's DRAMATICAL MURDER/DmmD and STARFIGHTER. Hustle Cat (pick-your-gender, any-romance friendly dating SIM) is out Feb 2016.
Visual Novels: Analogue: A Hate Story; Long Live the Queen
Visual Novel Tie-Ins: The Sam & Max games, The Walking Dead games, the Fables: Wolf Among Us games.

Other: Ib(Free 8-bit horror game without much demand on the reflexes)

EDIT: Woops, didn't realise this was a necrothread. Ah well, have some game recs anyway.

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You might like The Witness. Dunno much about the story, but you walk from one puzzle to the next, unlocking areas as you go. Would be easy to walk up to a puzzle and then sit there while you try to figure it out.

I've been playing Until Dawn myself. Very story-based, not really much game-play. Some wandering/exploring, quick-time event sequences, choose-your-own-adventure stuff. Dunno if the jump scares would be conducive to being on a treadmill though.

The newest Kings Quest is kinda similar in being a narrative driven game. Though there's harder puzzle solving in Kings Quest. You could also skim through Steam's Story Rich tag: http://store.steampowered.com/tag/en/Story Rich/#p=0&tab=NewReleases

Indigo Prophecy and Heavy Rain are kind of similar. Gone Home. The TellTale games are decent, but you would probably want to be somewhat invested in the original property (TWD, GoT, etc.) to get as much out of it.

Or, because it's maybe one of the best games ever, just play Life is Strange again. I feel like I could keep playing it forever.