For anyone who may have been interested, the above posts have been un-redacted.
The 2025 Desert Island Video Game Draft
- Thread starter Capt. Factorial
- Start date
For anyone who may have been interested, the above posts have been un-redacted.
whitechocolate
Bench
I was getting serious recency bias with my last pick. Trying not to pick two games with similar gameplay, I ended up deciding between Gungrave G.O.R.E., Risk of Rain, and Rain World. I chose the dopamine shot.
A few others on my list:
- Wolfenstein 3D
- Portal 2
- (The Ultimate) Doom (original game)
- Unreal
- Peggle Nights
- Dig Dug
- Plants vs. Zombies
- Angry Birds
- Galaga
- Doom (2016)
- Tempest
- Joust
- Defender
- Quake II
- Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit
- Heretic II
- Serious Sam: The First Encounter (with 3D goggles, etc.)
- Pong (just because!)
Some OG classics, for real!
whitechocolate
Bench
h
Have you played Doom Eternal? It has a fast paced dynamic with enemy weaknesses, movement tech, and blending the collection of resources with killing everything.
Nope. Hadn't even heard of it!
whitechocolate
Bench
VI is my favorite. But IV was the first turn based RPG I ever saw. I was at a friends house, and was astonished at it, as I had never seen anything like it.
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Padrino
All-Star
This was fun! I'm quite happy with my Desert Island draft selections in the end, though I do feel that I missed out on the following, listed in order of the magnitude of the sting:
Red Dead Redemption II (PC)
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64)
Alien: Isolation (PC)
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch)
Chrono Trigger (SNES)
Baldur's Gate III (PC)
Great picks to those who selected them! Even if those two Zelda entries would have violated my personal rule against picking multiple games within the same franchise, it's still hard to abide others snagging them!
I also prepped a very large list of games, so I won't shotgun blast everything I had remaining, but here are some of the Honorable Mentions I was very seriously considering picking:
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out (NES)
Prince of Persia (SNES)
F-Zero (SNES)
Star Fox (SNES)
Soul Blazer (SNES)
Terranigma (SNES)
Super Mario 64 (N64)
Moonlighter (Switch)
Tunic (Switch)
Dungeons of Hinterburg (Switch)
Nier:Automata (PC)
Alan Wake (PC)
Alan Wake 2 (PC)
Dragon's Dogma 2 (PC)
Signalis (PC)
Pentiment (PC)
NORCO (PC)
Red Dead Redemption II (PC)
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64)
Alien: Isolation (PC)
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch)
Chrono Trigger (SNES)
Baldur's Gate III (PC)
Great picks to those who selected them! Even if those two Zelda entries would have violated my personal rule against picking multiple games within the same franchise, it's still hard to abide others snagging them!
I also prepped a very large list of games, so I won't shotgun blast everything I had remaining, but here are some of the Honorable Mentions I was very seriously considering picking:
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out (NES)
Prince of Persia (SNES)
F-Zero (SNES)
Star Fox (SNES)
Soul Blazer (SNES)
Terranigma (SNES)
Super Mario 64 (N64)
Moonlighter (Switch)
Tunic (Switch)
Dungeons of Hinterburg (Switch)
Nier:Automata (PC)
Alan Wake (PC)
Alan Wake 2 (PC)
Dragon's Dogma 2 (PC)
Signalis (PC)
Pentiment (PC)
NORCO (PC)
whitechocolate
Bench
Imagine Doom (2016), but much faster and with plenty of reasons to frequently change weapons.
Löwenherz
Starter
Based on your taste and descriptions, I think you’d like Odin Sphere and maybe Vanillaware as a whole.
Muramasa: The Demon Blade, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, and Unicorn Overlord might check the boxes you listed.
whitechocolate
Bench
I somehow missed Platinum Games' output, despite how much they appear to line up with my tastes. I need to play the first Bayonetta, Vanquish, Metal Gear Rising, and Nier: Automata.
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Padrino
All-Star
I will post my top 15 undrafted later. No Mercy is going to be on it. Otherwise I will respect Slim's list too 
SLAB
Hall of Famer
I wish I grabbed Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) to add to my functional picks.
Because my lord, the new ones are so in depth with all the actual things you can learn about planes. Plus the visuals you get choosing to fly over random stretches of wherever are absolutely incredible. It’s a geography lesson in addition to the plane stuff!
Because my lord, the new ones are so in depth with all the actual things you can learn about planes. Plus the visuals you get choosing to fly over random stretches of wherever are absolutely incredible. It’s a geography lesson in addition to the plane stuff!
Löwenherz
Starter
Yet another on my long list of games to get to when time, budget, and family permits.
Returnal
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Ghost of Tsushima
Fallout: New Vegas
Control
Hi-Fi Rush
Dave the Diver
Armored Core 6
Spec Ops: The Line
Marvel’s Midnight Suns
Lousy adulting; what are you good for?
Oh, and …
I look forward to your support in the coming campaign
Padrino
All-Star
Insomniacal Fan
Starter
@Padrino scooped the most picks from me, I didn't think the board would let one list take Disco Elysium, and Witcher 3, and Skyrim and Mass Effect. But that's where we are I guessThis was fun! I'm quite happy with my Desert Island draft selections in the end, though I do feel that I missed out on the following, listed in order of the magnitude of the sting:
Red Dead Redemption II (PC)
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64)
Alien: Isolation (PC)
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch)
Chrono Trigger (SNES)
Baldur's Gate III (PC)
Great picks to those who selected them! Even if those two Zelda entries would have violated my personal rule against picking multiple games within the same franchise, it's still hard to abide others snagging them!
But I think Breath of the Wild is the best game I missed
macadocious
Starter
A few others
- Doom for Sega Dreamcast legit scared me as a child
- no idea the name, but an Atari game where you jumped ice blocks
- Any Madden not selected
- Grand Tourismo for PS2
- Daytona 500 at the Arcade
- DigDug - Arcade
- Doom for Sega Dreamcast legit scared me as a child
- no idea the name, but an Atari game where you jumped ice blocks
- Any Madden not selected
- Grand Tourismo for PS2
- Daytona 500 at the Arcade
- DigDug - Arcade
SLAB
Hall of Famer
Best non-From souls game out there. And I’ve played and beaten pretty much all the decent ones that have ventured over to console.
My 15 all undrafted and in no particular order...
1. WWF No Mercy (N64)
2. Fire Pro Wrestling S: 6 Men Scramble (Sega Saturn)
Far and away my two favorite wrestling games. No Mercy had a pick up and play ability that I could be playing these games year round and bring it home for Thanksgiving and Christmas and my brother could jump in and we'd have great games. Nobody did customization in this era like Fire Pro and frankly the grapple system was maybe outside of the AKI engine's extreme ease of pick up and play, the best alternative. Honorable mentions to NES Pro Wrestling and Mat Mania
3. NFL 2K5 (Dreamcast)
Broke the Madden grip, probably best football simcade game ever made. All Pro 2k8 is also super fun but I am going with the one with the license. EA got so upset they bought exclusive rights to NFL, NCAA AND the Arena Football League to freeze 2k out.
4. Rock Band 3 (Xbox 360)
Pinnacle of the series for me. Pro mode with effectively real drums and guitar. Keyboards. Three part vocal harmonies. Rock Band Network. Pretty sure it also had the best career mode and character creator suite. Rock Band 4 kept alive for the next/current gen but dropped all that cool stuff and went back to basics.
5. NHL 2K3 (Xbox)
If I recall correctly this was the first hockey game with Xbox Live support. Descended from Power Play Hockey (amazing) the 2K series was far more sim like and topped EA for years until the mid-00s. This one I give the nod for being my first online NHL experience.
6. Deathrow (Xbox)
As a die hard sports gamer I also had a love for future-sports games - this one may have been the best of the best.
7. The Pinball Arcade (iOS)
No pinballs were taken. I am not sure if that was a strict rule or not, but being a digital game this one gets a pass. I pick the iOS version because it can be played with vertical orientation. Sadly they lost the Williams pinball license in 2018 but presumably since if you bought them you keep them, I'd have all of those too.
8. Skate 3 (Xbox 360)
THPS 2 and 4 are my favorites of that series but Skate really upped the ante with the trick sticks and realism. Hard time picking which one but I do think Skate 3 is the most feature packed. The lack of features actually made some of the OG Skate pretty cool though - just hitting some huge insane gaps and having to actually stick a clean landing. So awesome.
9. College Hoops 2K8 (Xbox 360)
College sports games are so fun. 2K8 was insane and the last of the series. So much fun recruiting your class. Way more fun for a great basketball playing game with stuff to do on the side than the trading card games NBA 2k MyTeam has become. Sega actually made a pretty killer College Football title on Genesis as part of the Sports Talk line. I had to mention here or in the 2K football, because those games were pretty killer and worthy of play in the early Madden days as well.
10. DecAthlete (Sega Saturn)
Did the olds playing along ever play Decathlon on 2600? I loved that game and chasing records but the joystick wiggling mechanic is no bueno. This was another Decathlon arcade game released on Saturn around the Atlanta Games. We used to have the best time at my condo in Boston playing this one with 4 of us chasing our own records. Another pick up and play party game that was super fun before online ruled everything.
Honorable mention in this category to Epyx for Summer Games, Winter Games, California Games, and The Games: Winter Edition
11. Police Quest (Apple ][ GS)
Leisure Suit Larry was picked and I loved all these Sierra games. In the late 80s they were up there with EA for me. This is the earlier version of the game that had the text interface and not the later one where you could mouse click to solve everything. Such a fun one. All the Quest games were awesome in their own right and I sorta feel guilty for picking the cop one instead of a Space Quest or something but what the heck.
12. Red Baron (PC)
Hard time choosing between Dynamix flight sims. I think that Aces of the Pacific was my favorite, but Red Baron could be played online through the Imagination Network in the early through mid-90s and was so much fun. Probably the most fun I would have on a dial up modem. I loved aerial combat games, from X-Wing and Tie Fighter to these. Especially when you could turn off enough simulation to make them fun but leave on enough that it wasn't just an arcade game.
13. Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge (Xbox)
Developed by FASA (of MechWarrior/Mech Assault fame) this one was another aerial combat game on Xbox Live for the OG Xbox. It was an absolute blast, kind of a retro future story. Fun online modes.
Honorable mention in the dog fight game category to Wings of Fury on the Apple ][. This was a killer 80s dogfight side scroller. So much fun, I'd have Iron Maiden's Aces High playing constantly.
14. Fallout 2 (PC)
The first two Fallouts were my favorite. Don't blame @hrdboild for taking the original but F2 was infinitely bigger. If this is some desert island thing, I'll take the extra options. Ok, confession time: I never beat it. I beat the first. So that's also why.
15. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic (Xbox)
I really don't understand how this one did not get picked. Classic BioWare RPG with an awesome Star Wars story. The one Star Wars game I'd put up against Tie Fighter.
I probably have another 5-10 honorable mentions. Sandbox: Mercenaries. FPS: Outlaws. Turnbased Strategy: Jagged Alliance. Classic action/RPG: AutoDuel and Mobius. Karateka... oh man.
Like I said, I played a crap ton of games since my dad brought home the VCS up until when I got divorced and my time got busy with all my other responsibilities.
1. WWF No Mercy (N64)
2. Fire Pro Wrestling S: 6 Men Scramble (Sega Saturn)
Far and away my two favorite wrestling games. No Mercy had a pick up and play ability that I could be playing these games year round and bring it home for Thanksgiving and Christmas and my brother could jump in and we'd have great games. Nobody did customization in this era like Fire Pro and frankly the grapple system was maybe outside of the AKI engine's extreme ease of pick up and play, the best alternative. Honorable mentions to NES Pro Wrestling and Mat Mania
3. NFL 2K5 (Dreamcast)
Broke the Madden grip, probably best football simcade game ever made. All Pro 2k8 is also super fun but I am going with the one with the license. EA got so upset they bought exclusive rights to NFL, NCAA AND the Arena Football League to freeze 2k out.
4. Rock Band 3 (Xbox 360)
Pinnacle of the series for me. Pro mode with effectively real drums and guitar. Keyboards. Three part vocal harmonies. Rock Band Network. Pretty sure it also had the best career mode and character creator suite. Rock Band 4 kept alive for the next/current gen but dropped all that cool stuff and went back to basics.
5. NHL 2K3 (Xbox)
If I recall correctly this was the first hockey game with Xbox Live support. Descended from Power Play Hockey (amazing) the 2K series was far more sim like and topped EA for years until the mid-00s. This one I give the nod for being my first online NHL experience.
6. Deathrow (Xbox)
As a die hard sports gamer I also had a love for future-sports games - this one may have been the best of the best.
7. The Pinball Arcade (iOS)
No pinballs were taken. I am not sure if that was a strict rule or not, but being a digital game this one gets a pass. I pick the iOS version because it can be played with vertical orientation. Sadly they lost the Williams pinball license in 2018 but presumably since if you bought them you keep them, I'd have all of those too.
8. Skate 3 (Xbox 360)
THPS 2 and 4 are my favorites of that series but Skate really upped the ante with the trick sticks and realism. Hard time picking which one but I do think Skate 3 is the most feature packed. The lack of features actually made some of the OG Skate pretty cool though - just hitting some huge insane gaps and having to actually stick a clean landing. So awesome.
9. College Hoops 2K8 (Xbox 360)
College sports games are so fun. 2K8 was insane and the last of the series. So much fun recruiting your class. Way more fun for a great basketball playing game with stuff to do on the side than the trading card games NBA 2k MyTeam has become. Sega actually made a pretty killer College Football title on Genesis as part of the Sports Talk line. I had to mention here or in the 2K football, because those games were pretty killer and worthy of play in the early Madden days as well.
10. DecAthlete (Sega Saturn)
Did the olds playing along ever play Decathlon on 2600? I loved that game and chasing records but the joystick wiggling mechanic is no bueno. This was another Decathlon arcade game released on Saturn around the Atlanta Games. We used to have the best time at my condo in Boston playing this one with 4 of us chasing our own records. Another pick up and play party game that was super fun before online ruled everything.
Honorable mention in this category to Epyx for Summer Games, Winter Games, California Games, and The Games: Winter Edition
11. Police Quest (Apple ][ GS)
Leisure Suit Larry was picked and I loved all these Sierra games. In the late 80s they were up there with EA for me. This is the earlier version of the game that had the text interface and not the later one where you could mouse click to solve everything. Such a fun one. All the Quest games were awesome in their own right and I sorta feel guilty for picking the cop one instead of a Space Quest or something but what the heck.
12. Red Baron (PC)
Hard time choosing between Dynamix flight sims. I think that Aces of the Pacific was my favorite, but Red Baron could be played online through the Imagination Network in the early through mid-90s and was so much fun. Probably the most fun I would have on a dial up modem. I loved aerial combat games, from X-Wing and Tie Fighter to these. Especially when you could turn off enough simulation to make them fun but leave on enough that it wasn't just an arcade game.
13. Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge (Xbox)
Developed by FASA (of MechWarrior/Mech Assault fame) this one was another aerial combat game on Xbox Live for the OG Xbox. It was an absolute blast, kind of a retro future story. Fun online modes.
Honorable mention in the dog fight game category to Wings of Fury on the Apple ][. This was a killer 80s dogfight side scroller. So much fun, I'd have Iron Maiden's Aces High playing constantly.
14. Fallout 2 (PC)
The first two Fallouts were my favorite. Don't blame @hrdboild for taking the original but F2 was infinitely bigger. If this is some desert island thing, I'll take the extra options. Ok, confession time: I never beat it. I beat the first. So that's also why.
15. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic (Xbox)
I really don't understand how this one did not get picked. Classic BioWare RPG with an awesome Star Wars story. The one Star Wars game I'd put up against Tie Fighter.
I probably have another 5-10 honorable mentions. Sandbox: Mercenaries. FPS: Outlaws. Turnbased Strategy: Jagged Alliance. Classic action/RPG: AutoDuel and Mobius. Karateka... oh man.
Like I said, I played a crap ton of games since my dad brought home the VCS up until when I got divorced and my time got busy with all my other responsibilities.
macadocious
Starter
Skate or Die!
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