I found it boring, but I played on easy because there was no trophy for difficulty and people talk about Nier for it’s story, not the gameplay. I feel like I might have actually liked it if I didn’t play on easy. I just did the same one or two moves over and over again until I beat the game 4 times. I feel like I would have had to switch it up if I wasn’t playing on easy.
Agree with everyone saying Bioshock. Even as other parts of that game begin to show their age, the opening is still solid.
Yes. Yes you should.
Accidentally bought Mafia 3 after seeing this post and it’s GOOD
I LOVE the opening to Bioshock Infinite. From the start to the baptism is maybe my favorite intro to a game I’ve ever seen.
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Although it’s already been cited, the opening for Indigo Prophecy was so good, and so compelling, that I can’t leave here without also screaming about it.
There is only one way to open a video game: you greet your player, you immediately put a leash on your player, and then you present them with the easiest, simplest scenario they will ever experience in your game in order to ensure your new player’s safety as they familiarize themselves with their new body, their new surroundings - after all, they are very fragile!
Indigo Prophecy largely rejects that template. Before the player is ever given control, they watch as their character stabs a man to death in a diner bathroom. The screen splits in two, and in the adjacent panel, they are shown that there is a cop at a booth in the diner, drinking coffee. It’s implied that there is a timer running, and the player needs to do everything they can to clean up and get out of the diner without looking suspicious before the cop enters the restroom. There are no instructions.
What do you do first? Wash your hands? Where do you put the murder weapon? Can you clean up the blood? Are you going to remember to pay your bill on the way out? Will the cop notice you as you pass him towards the exit? Will he catch you in the restroom if you don’t make up your mind and act fast? There is a sense of urgency that stands in direct opposition to a game’s normal sense of peace in an introductory sequence.
Couple the unorthodox introduction methodology with the setting and tone of a crime scene in snowy New York, all under the crushing weight of Angelo Badalamenti’s haunting cinematic score, and this introduction got my pulse racing like a game never had before, and rarely has since.
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The fact that no one said portal 2 yet is gosh-darn tragic. The opening of that game is pitch freaking perfect.
I’m gonna go for something a bit more unorthodox here and say Dead Space 2. that opening is so incredibly unrelenting and frantic, in a way that introduces you to the game’s style of shoving your head underwater and not letting go really well.
the original Prey(2006) had a really fantastic opening. The moment when “Don’t Fear the Reaper” kicks in is just * chef kiss *
I’d say that the opening to Uncharted 2 accomplishes all of the stuff the franchise had been beloved for with flying colors, and the opening of The Last of US is honestly one of my most memorable gaming moments in general
And yeah obviously the beginning of Bioshock is the best because Bioshock is the best.
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Bioshock and Infinite definitely are up there for me for the reasons most have stated. Feels like you are being thrown into a new world that you do not belong.
Stanley Parable is also in the conversation for me. Whether it be the opening moments or the first play through, honestly the real beginning, it does a swell job of prepping you for the twisting narrative you play with.
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Mass Effect 2 really blew me away. One of the greatest.
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F*ckdamn, you’re right. I almost feel the need to apologise 
Portal 2 had an amazing opening scene. That bit where the AI voice can’t tell you how many days have passed and just gets in a loop of “nine-nine-nine-nine-nine-nine” gave me the chills.
And every origins has something equally fucked up happening to them. The beginning of da:o regardless of origin is wild, honestly. I’m not saying it is the best beginning of a game I ever played but it’s definitely up there.
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I’m sure it was mentioned somewhere, but Metal Gear Solid 2.
You throw the player in this amazing stealth sandbox with mindblowing visuals and a never beaten level of detail to the environment and mechanics. Being in control is fun, and when you aren’t in control you are treated to fantastically cool cutscenes with action and suspense. And then end it with a bang.
The codecs can go on a little long, sure, but I never minded that personally. And they are easily skippable once you’ve heard them.
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The whole beginning section of MGS2 is mindblowing for sure. Snake jumping from the bridge, the rain effects, being able to shoot the lights, the dark corridors leading to Metal Gear with a squad coming at you, infiltrating areas with hundreds of soldiers while switching the projector to make them move…absolutely brilliant
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Although, it might be considered one of the worst beginnings because the game completely does a 180 once you start the next chapter. One of the greatest “bait and switch” moments in video games was when you find out that you don’t play as Snake through the rest of the game.
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[Insert huge rant where I complain about how unappreciated MGS2 is and how it predicted the future like 15 years early]
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It doing a 180 adds to it being the best beginning! ; )
I am reminded Waypoint still has the worst MGS2 article
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Final Fantasy Tactics Advance has a snowball fight as the intro/tutorial. It does a great job of teaching the intricacies of the genre in a low stakes fun setting. Great intro to a good game.
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Good lord, it turns out opinions are actually bad.
WOW, he even manages to trash the best Matrix movie(Reloaded) in the process. This take is boiling!
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