Off topic - please don't hate me - looking for game suggestions

[Patient]

Honestly I had a hard time trying to figure out where and how to ask this question. It's more of a question suited to Facebook or Reddit but I don't have many gamer-ish friends on facebook and I've never asked a question on reddit before and I guess I'm intimidated by it? I'll probably try reddit next if this doesn't work though. . .

For myself I have been finding it increasingly difficult to discover new games that I haven't played before that really catch my interest to the point where I am willing to pick them up and go try them.

I freely admit that maybe it's because my expectations have just become too high, maybe I'm too inflexible or not open-minded enough, maybe it's an age thing (as you get older you find that many games that used to hold your interest just don't anymore?) maybe current market trends just haven't been geared towards my preferences as of late? Maybe my interests are just too 'vanilla' so to speak?

I'm here fishing for game titles or series that you love and I haven't necessarily tried yet. They don't need to be related to Civ V. The kind of games that you love so much that you can't wait to get home from work / school / whatever just so you can get in that next hour, your next match, that new character build you've been wanting to try.

I've gone through the Steam discovery queue on a number of occasions and have managed to hit a total of 1,017 titles as "not interested" in.

Here's Steam's suggested tags for genres I should be looking at and I pretty much agree:
Turn-Based Strategy
4X
Historical
Hex Grid
City Builder
Addictive
Moddable
Economy
Building
Turn-Based
Sandbox
Multiplayer
Open World
Strategy
Simulation
Singleplayer
Horror
Great Soundtrack
RPG
Indie

Here's my most played games according to online tracked hours on Steam:
Civilization V
Cities: Skylines
RimWorld
Fallout 4
Endless Space 2
Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance
Tropico 6
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Crusader Kings II
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion
The Forest
Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Killing Floor 2
Age of Empires II (2013)
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Soulstorm
Killing Floor
Stardew Valley
Stronghold Crusader HD
Arma 3

Some other games I adore, past or present:
Devil Daggers
Red Dead Redemption games
Dragon Age games
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri (but not Beyond Earth lol)
Half-Life games
Portal games, Talos Principle, Turing Test
Max Payne games
Black & White games (a lost in time artifact now)
Majesty (just a weird, unique game)
A few of the Telltale games - the wolf among us, the walking dead
Thief games, minus the newest one

Looking forward to Cyperpunk 2077 and MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries releases, Outer Worlds looks promising too.

Games that have been sitting on my wishlist for a while that I haven't been able to pull the trigger on. Maybe you can give me a strong recommendation for one of them?
Creeper World 3 (haven't played 1 or 2 yet)
Factorio
Divinity Original Sin 2
DUSK
Tropico 4 or 5
Banner Saga games
Space Engineers
Subnautica
Frostpunk
AI War 2

Thanks if you read this far. Any titles you throw at me I will definitely consider. Many thanks

[лягушка]

Don't feel bad because you're asking people for game suggestions. Gaming is sometimes a closed community that can feel hard to get into, but many people are welcoming - and nobody (at least normal people) will judge you because you want to have fun! I noticed that neither of your lists have even the slightest mention of the game known as Endless Legend. I've been trying to get into it myself, and it is -very- complicated - but it has a nice guide called Endless Legend for Civilization V Players. I've had some experience playing Endless Space, which kinda shares some of the features, like the FISDI system - but other than that, it is very different and refreshing. I've had no luck jumping into it myself though, due to lack of time and commitement. I've also noticed that you brushed off Beyond Earth for some reason - and I've been having a lot of fun playing it. It is no better than Civilization V, but since you've played Civilization V for quite a while - it could be a breath of fresh air.

Tropico 4 is really nice - it had a price bug recently so it's super cheap if you know where to look, I got it for 0.35€ and I've been having a blast playing it. It's like SimCity, but with dictators. It is really deep, and you can select -anyone- and do whatever you want to them (you shouldn't though, that's rude). The game itself is a balancing game between sending money to your Swiss bank account - and trying not to make people revolt against you.

Here are some other games I won't describe but are of note for me:

• Terraria
  
• Civilization IV
  
• DiRT: Rally
  
• GRID 2
  
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Series (this one is my favourite of all time)
  
• Fallout: New Vegas

Feel free to add me if you're low on Steam friends - I'd be glad to have more myself. You are more experienced in Civilization V and you could help me improve as well.

[JaSzczur]

I loved Divinity Original Sin 2, the second best game I've ever played after The Witcher 3, absolutely recommend. I could play co-op with you if you'd like to.

Frostpunk is cool, but it's kind of short. At least for now, there are 2 DLC coming very soon. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't a long adventure for me.

You can check out Darkest Dungeon if you haven't seen it, I think it could also grab your interest.

[rresuggan]

im playing outer worlds now just hit lvl10 if you liked fallout 4 it is in the same vein.
i loved the stalker series as well one of the best fps/rpg horror shooters ever made
my other favorites are the borderlands series which you can pick up bl2 goty when its on sale for around $10 which gives 100's of hours of play

[freebiscuit2002]

I’m not seeing Europa Universalis on your list. If you like(d) Civ, that’ll give you a new take on the whole running a country/world domination theme. Check it out. It’s different from Civ and its imitators in that it’s not turn-based, so events happen and you need to react in real time, and it has a highly detailed real-Earth map, reflecting real-Earth history, you pick the date you start and you pick from several hundred tribes/nations with *realistic* chances of survival/success.

[Patient]

Thank you everyone for the great suggestions!

I will definitely look at Endless Legend as I enjoy Civ 5 and Endless Space 2.
Sorry I totally did brush off Beyond Earth but you're right I should probably give it another try. I think I was put off by Beyond Earth because I'm a diehard Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri fan and Beyond Earth just, didn't live up to my expectations I guess.
Will definitely consider Tropico 4 as I love Tropico 6. todorb have you played Tropico 5? I have not played 4 or 5 only 6 and was just curious if you have a favourite or if you would say they are all good.
Sorry I have played Terraria and Minecraft and enjoy them, they just managed to slip off my list.
I keep thinking I'll try Civ 4 I just never seem to get around to it lol!
Not a huge fan of racing games unfortunately but thank you for the suggestions none the less!
I've been meaning to play the Stalker games forever, I think the only thing that has stopped me from pulling the trigger on them is that they are starting to age a bit. But that's not really a good excuse not to play a game.
Also maybe a week ago I started a game of Fallout New Vegas for the first time so that suggestion is on point!

Will also look at Divinity Original Sin 2, only thing I heard was that the difficulty curve was steep but the same could be said of some other games on my list. Would you say that the first time you played DOS 2 it was difficult or not really as tough as people say it is?
Also had the same thoughts about Frostpunk, looks cool but I heard it was kinda short!
I'm not sure if Darkest Dungeon is for me as I heard it was pretty grindy and I'm not big on 'the grind' but I will def look at Darkest Dungeon too.

I've played all the Borderlands games and loved them, forgot to add them to my list lol. Alright that's two recommendations for the Stalker games now, officially on my to-play list. And an Outer Worlds recommendation, dope!

I've also had my eye on Europa for a while, the only thing I heard was that the learning curve was pretty steep. Again, same could be said of some other games on my list though. And I really enjoyed Crusader Kings II but man did it take forever for me to learn how to play that! So like I should prob just suck it up and look up some Europa guides like I did for Crusader Kings lol. freebiscuit did you find Europa was hard to learn or not really as hard as people say it is?

tobord and FeelsBadMan I'll shoot you friend requests and hit me up some time :)

[Preacher]

I also suggest EU4, the game is great once you get through "the learning curve". I really enjoyed it as much as ck2, perhaps more.

I also suggest Mount and Blade Warband if you haven't looked at it yet. I have sunk most of my hours into it. Very enjoyable.

[OkayIshGamer]

Just to name a few:

-Total War games (i especially enjoy the Warhammer games)
-Subnautica
-M&B: Warband
-Gothic series
-Metro series (2033, Last Light and Exodus)
-Middle-earth Shadow of Mordor & Shadow of War
-Alien Isolation
-Prey
-Dark Souls series
-Sekiro Shadows Die Twice
-Alan Wake
-Dark Messiah of Might & Magic Single Player
-Brothers in Arms series (especially Road to Hill 30 and Earned in Blood)
-Singularity
-Mafia 2
-L.A Noire
-F.E.A.R (especially 1, tho you can't buy it on Steam separately anymore so i'd suggest looking it up from GoG instead as 2&3 are a bit meh compared to 1)
-BioShock series
-STAR WARS™ Republic Commando (imo the best fps star wars game)
-Star Wars Jedi Outcast & Academy
-Star Wars Empire at War
-Penumbra series (similar to Amnesia)
-Amnesia series
-Outlast (2 is kinda meh)
-Dishonored series
-Limbo & Inside
-Dead Space games (1&2 mainly)
-Crysis series
-DOOM
-Stalker games
-A Story About My Uncle (a fun 1st person platformer game)
-Star Wars force unleashed series
-How to Survive games
-Star Wars Kotor seires
-Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
-Mad Max
-Half Life seires
-Portal series
-Prototype series
-Darkwood
-Just Cause series

[kensw]

I've gone through the Steam discovery queue on a number of occasions and have managed to hit a total of 1,017 titles as "not interested" in.

Only 1k ignored - I am almost at 12k ignored and I know of people that have gone over 40k
So just keep on trying - I find one gem in hundreds

As for games I am loving right now - Battletech turn based mech combat
I should mention I have been a huge follower of the Battletech franchise started with Table top in the 1980's
This is kind of a love it or hate it game - wait for a sale ( Christmas is coming ) and give it a try

[knighttemplar1960]

Of the ones you listed Factorio springs out. The game is highly addictive. Check its reviews. I've never seen one with that large a proportion of positive reviews. The game is still early release. The final version hasn't been released yet (soon though) but even in its unreleased state is has fewer bugs than most all ready released titles. The game developers want a virtually bug free release. Last time I checked you could download and play the tutorials without purchasing the game. This was the one thing that caused me to break my rule of never buying a pre-release game. I tried the tutorials and it was a game that fit my style quite well. I bought it when it was in version .16. Version .17 was a huge improvement of an all ready stellar game. The devs release new information on the game every Friday which is another all most unheard of thing and they read the suggestions and have incorporated many of the suggestions into the current version. If the vanilla game gets to staid for you there are settings in the game to change the flavor and if that isn't enough the game supports mods and all ready has some in place. Did I mention that its highly addictive?

[[NWA]Tjalfe - TooStonedToAim]

The Guild 2 or 3 ..Sid Meiers Colonization, The Settlers 2(or series) , Heroes of Might & Magic 3 (or series).

[abonamente]

Judging by your preferences, you might like some of these:

STALKER (all, including various mods)
The Long Dark
Galactic Civilizations 3 (complete)
Fallout 3
Fallout New Vegas
Silent Hunter 3
Rise of Nations
Battletech
Atlantic Fleet
Far Cry (all, except 1 and Primal, which I didn't like much)
Operation Flashpoint - Cold War Crisis (Arma 1)
The Witcher 1 (personally, didn't like 2&3, so take it with a grain of salt)
Mechwarrior (all)
Mechcommander (all)
Panzer General (all)
Heroes of Might and Magic (all)
The Longest Journey (all)
Mass Effect 1 (didn't like much the others)
Caesar 3
Pharaoh+Cleopatra
Zeus+Poseidon
Emperor - Rise of the Middle Kingdom
King's Bounty (all)
Banished
Risen (1 and 2)
Empire Earth 1 and 2
Mafia 2
BioShock (1 and 2, didn't like much 3)
Two Worlds
Patrician 4
Sea Dogs (all)
FEAR (all)
Endless Legend
Grand Theft Auto 3, 4 (and expansions)
Cities XXL
Deus Ex

[Patient]

Omg so many suggestions thank you everyone! There are def some here I've already tried / played a bunch but failed to mention in my first post but still many more new ones for me to explore too.
In particular I've had Factorio and Mount & Blade games mentioned to me before so great to see them get mentioned by Civ players a bunch here too.
Man would I love if a follow up game to Jedi Academy and/or Jedi Outcast ever came into existence.

@ Tjalfe or anyone else who's played the Guild series, sorry I don't mean to single you / the game out just wanted to ask for some clarification as I always thought that they looked cool & unique but shied away due to the mixed reviews. So anyways do you find that they are buggy games? And if so, would you say that they are still very enjoyable despite the bugs? Sorry kinda a subjective question because everyone has a different tolerance to bugs. And maybe the bugs are ironed out by now or you never experienced the bugs? Just looking for your thoughts/opinions.

[Patient]

Also on the discovery queue. . . damn lol here I thought 1k 'not interested' was a high number, lol 40k!!!
It just makes me ponder how either / and (1) how saturated the game market is (2) how many games never survive development & release (3) if our expectations are too high / not in line with reality or if game companies are making the wrong games or (4) well for every person who finds a game uninteresting / unoriginal or just downright bad there's at least 2 more people out there that love it!
Maybe I'm just annoyed because I feel like my discovery queue isn't specific enough to my interests? But that humbles me, that someone has gone through 40k 'not interested' in their discovery queue. and probably still going.
EDIT: Not to mention Steam doesn't represent the whole market, I shouldn't just be looking on Steam.

[Amanoob105]

THEIR ASKING ABOUT NON CIV GAMES ON THE CIV FORUM?!?! GET THEM (some good advice)!

[Patient]

lmao that was my legitimate concern at first, that the off-topic police might come get me. I quickly learned everyone here is super helpful and friendly though :)