Sometimes, there’s just no replaying a game. I mean, sure, you may always replay a game literally whenever you want, I’m not going to tell you what to do, but it won’t be the same the second time. Just like we’ll all one day find out ourselves, time is cruel to polygons… or something like that.
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There’s actually a variety of reasons not to replay your favorite JRPGs or horror games with things like knowing twists and knowing how the story will ultimately play out as the biggest reasons. That may not bother some people, but some games fall victim to those issues more than others.
10Resident Evil 6
I’m not on the train that saysResident Evil 6is a terrible game, and in fact, I think it has some of the best gameplay in the series,especially in Mercenary Mode, even if the story is… something. My issue is that it’s so action heavy and so ridiculous that it’s nearly impossible to even want to play again.
You pull off actual wrestling moves on zombies. you may’t make something like that up. You can channel the energy of Chris Jericho and Bulldog a zombie. Then there are all the other odd little touches like Leon killing a shark. It’s just a beautifully bizarre entry in the series, and it really should only be played once just to see experience the fever dream.
9The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
It may seem strange to say you should only playBreath of the Wildonce, but the magic really does stop being there if you’ve already done and seen everything there is to do or see. The game is all about exploration, and it’s hard to get jazzed up to collect Korok Seeds again just to get a golden turd, and yet now we have to do it all again but slightly differently in Tears Of The Kingdom.
The game is incredible, there’s no doubt about that, but while other games have solid stories that can be fun to re-experience, Breath of the Wild relies on a type of gameplay that will leave you loving that first playthrough far more than any other.
8Borderlands 2
There are actually a number of reasons why you shouldn’t playthis awesome action RPGmore than once. The first and most obvious isBorderlands’little menace known as ClapTrap. The hilarious but irritating little robot only needs to be experienced once, and he already appears across the series anyway.
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Then there’s Handsome Jack. Every line he says is infinitely quotable and he’ll have you laughing the whole time, and it just won’t be the same the second time around. Knowing exactly where Jack’s taunts and rants are going does strip away some of what makes the character special, so just hold on to the amazing first playthrough. That’s without mentioning that you can only experience the magic of Face McShooty once.
7Silent Hill 2
This is just one heavy game. Every time I play it I realize something different, and usually, it just makes me one sad little boy. James has a harrowing experience, and the fact that it can be revealed that a dog is basically behind it all is absolutely just too much.
Why is that dog so evil? What does it hope to achieve by forcing people through the horrors ofSilent Hill? We may never know, but all I know is, this is one game where everyone definitely does not want to pet the dog.
6Heavy Rain
You probably playedHeavy Rainyears ago when it first came out, and then proceed to move on to the huge list of awesome titles that have come out since. If you loved the experience, good, you should avoid ever playing it again.
Going back to Heavy Rain today is a hilarious experience. Every minute of the game just feels clunky and awkward in the best way possible. It’s the closest thing we have to a modern version of the magic that the original Resident Evil captured in a completely different way.
5God Of War
I’m not talking about the most recent line ofGod of Wargames, I’m talking about the very first entry into the series. The original God Of War might be rememberedas a fun hack-and-slashbeat-em-up, but it’s also home to the trauma we’ve all tried to forget.
I’m talking about those horrific rotating scythe walls. You know the ones. That single obstacle was enough to get anyone raging in frustration and you’d practically be cracking your controller over how hard you were squeezing it. Do yourself a favor and don’t attempt to relive that classic moment.
4Bloodborne
This one should already make sense to you. Any game that asks you to consume umbilical cords to see the true ending of the game is one that you probably don’t need to go ahead and play again.
Although, if you didn’t already know that was a thing then this list has backfired because you’re totally going to go back and playBloodbornenow. Just trust me, that portion of the game is just odd. The whole game is a bit of a weird experience, but it’s really the whole consuming umbilical cords thing that makes it a must-play only a single time.
3I Am Bread
Everyone should experience the bizarre game that is I Am Bread. There isn’t much to say about it other than you are, in fact, bread. You know exactly what you’re in for as soon as the game starts, but it never stops being a strange game.
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The odd little novelty suffers a bit from the fact that once you know what to do, the game is quite trivial. That doesn’t mean you may’t unleash this game on friends or family, though. Everyone should be bread, at least for a little while.
2Dark Souls
Why would anyone want to subject themselves to the pain and torment that comes withDark Soulsagain and again? Don’t be like me and dive into all those new game plus playthroughs, it’s a ton of fun but only if fun for you comes with hours of emotional pain.
Fighting impossible bossesthat only continue to get stronger is an absolute chore that can only be undertaken by the strongest Dark Souls players. Just meet your sun bro and choose your ending one single time — it’s not like the average person is going to be completely sure what even happened after multiple playthroughs anyway.
1Stardew Valley
This choice may not make sense to everyone, but anyone who’s sunk tens or even hundreds of hours into a single farm will know exactly why they can’t play the game a second time. Starting a new farm would mean losing all their connections with the many villagers.
Your chosen wife or husband would go back to being a complete stranger, and your best friend in town would view you as some random farmer. Handling that much heartbreak is already bad enough, but you’d also have to clear all that debris from your farm all over again. Just stick to that excellent farm you’ve already got inStardew Valley.
