Some video games start slower than others, forcing players to be patient until they discover their true potential.
Whether it’s a story that moves slowly or complex mechanics that require a continuous explanation, certain experiences are more enjoyable when they unfold gradually.
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Of course, this tends to scare away some players, as you must dedicate several hours of your life to an experience until it becomes its best version.
However, if you don’t mind unhurried starts that demand attention and consistency, this list of ten games that get better as you go is perfect for you.
10 Ghostrunner
Hooking Challenges
With its combination of parkour, platforming, and one-hit enemy kills, Ghostrunner is a game that’s quite discouraging at first, as you don’t feel comfortable yet with the movement options.
However, sooner rather than later, you’ll realize how incredibly satisfying its gameplay loop is, with levels that present a significant challenge both mechanically and mentally.
As you unlock new tools and become familiar with how to interact with the environment, each map is a playground that encourages you to perfect it to the maximum and achieve exceptional times.
When you reach the later levels, you’ll be racing with adrenaline as you wall-run, deflect bullets, and slice enemies in half in seconds, generating indescribably delightful sensations at every step.
9 Titanfall 2
An Unstoppable Momentum
Having come out in an era of sci-fi shooters, Titanfall 2’s first impressions can be a bit mixed because it does little to break away from the stereotype at an initial glance.
Despite this, what initially seems like a generic FPS with jetpacks and mechs turns out to be one of the most intense, varied, and engaging campaigns in the genre’s history.
Thanks to its magnificent levels, tight script and characters, and near-perfect gunplay, each new plot development is yet another reason to fall in love with the game.
No mission is the same as the last, and the creativity with which Titanfall 2 constantly reinvents itself is unusual even by today’s standards, achieving masterpiece status without any major setbacks.
8 Monster Hunter Wilds
Hunting as a Profession
As someone who debuted in the series with Monster Hunter Wilds, I can say the title is overwhelming at first because of its innumerable systems and unintuitive interface.
Yet, once you get used to its structure and familiarize yourself with how it works, you find yourself experiencing some of the most immersive and dynamic gameplay seen in the last couple of years.
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At first, you don’t handle any weapons or comprehend each one’s full potential, but when you embrace a style and master it to defeat titanic beasts, you realize just how amazing it can be.
You may never feel the interface is clear, and multiple systems aren’t clear until you’ve played dozens of hours, but Monster Hunter Wilds is remarkable and gets much better by the endgame with new weapons, enemies, and quests to complete.
7 Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening
The Rise of a Demon
Not all games improve over time by starting slowly, but by constantly being able to improve, just like Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening does.
As you progress, you discover increasingly incredible levels, encounter spectacular new weapons, and master the complex combat system, eventually becoming an all-powerful entity.
While you already feel superb at first, given the title is phenomenal from the beginning, it’s difficult to compare it to the experience of landing endless combos in the campaign’s later stages.
Devil May Cry 3 starts intensely and ends even more so, never letting up and always offering an adrenaline-pumping adventure at its maximum and most enjoyable.
6 Red Dead Redemption 2
A Slow Start to a Masterpiece
Despite being among the best action games, Red Dead Redemption 2 starts incredibly slowly, both cinematically and mechanically.
Colter is a small mining settlement that serves as the backdrop for the plot’s beginning, which takes its time to introduce us to all the characters and the adventure’s tone.
The story’s slow pace has been a detriment to many, but it’s the calm beginning needed for a campaign that later becomes the most intense and exciting experience in the interactive medium.
As you discover the map, immerse yourself in its universe, and learn to navigate its systems, Red Dead Redemption 2’s open world is simply perfect, so it’s worth the initial sacrifice.
5 Mirror’s Edge
Reaching the Flow State
Mirror’s Edge
Due to its minimalist interface and simple tutorial, it’s tough to imagine the breadth of possibilities offered by Mirror’s Edge’s gameplay, which you only fully discover over time.
Going from being unable to chain two consecutive jumps without losing momentum to flying between buildings in extreme escape sequences without thinking about it is magically indescribable.
Although Faith doesn’t acquire new abilities, the level design adapts to more challenging demands that truly push you to learn the game’s mechanics, turning you into a true parkour master.
The more you jump, grab, and wall-run, the more comfortable you become with the movements, distances, and physics. So, by the time you reach the credits, you’ll be thinking of nothing but Mirror’s Edge as a work of art.
4 Celeste
A Perfect Mountain
Since Celeste makes failure fun, you’ll spend the entire game experiencing entertainment’s purest form, but it will be frustrating at first.
Besides not having as many movement tools at your disposal, falling so many times is disheartening, especially if you’re not used to video games where losing is a vital part of the experience.
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If you can overcome the initial dissatisfaction and give the title a chance to teach you its secrets, you’ll feel motivated to play the campaign, DLC, and each chapter’s alternate versions. Celeste is compelling enough to even make you go for all the achievements, which is quite a feat.
With the tightest controls ever, a beautiful story, a magnificent soundtrack, and inexplicable platforming sequences, you’ll end up developing a fondness for this indie game that few products on the market can match.
3 Outer Wilds
The Art of Discovery
Outer Wilds isn’t an accessible game. It explains little, confuses a lot, and you can spend hours before you even know what you’re supposed to do.
However, if you can see it more as an adventure than a typical video game, you’ll understand why most people who recommend it praise it as a divine title.
The sense of discovery the game generates is unprecedented, creating one of the most engaging and immersive campaigns where you truly feel part of a living and complex ecosystem.
It doesn’t bother clarifying almost anything, and understanding your role in its world is extremely demanding, but when Outer Wilds clicks, it immediately becomes one of the most transcendent and unique video games you’ve ever played.
2 Death Stranding
A Journey Without Comparison
At first, Death Stranding is a confusing game in every way. The story doesn’t connect, all the characters seem to know things you don’t, and the mechanics are remarkably convoluted.
However, the essence of Hideo Kojima’s work is revealed to you as it goes, with a plot that gradually makes perfect sense and gameplay that practically becomes one with you.
You start as a scruffy employee who doesn’t know why he does what he does, and end up as a god of movement who knows the map down to the last millimeter and can explain the dense lore like a child’s tale.
Few games in history benefit so much from exposition over time, but Death Stranding is one of those games that, the more you play it, the more you realize why it leaves a lasting impact on those who love it.
1 Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
The Way of the Shinobi
Speaking of entering a flow state, no title can match Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Thanks to its seamless gameplay, this is the game where mechanical mastery feels more than any other.
The transition from a clumsy warrior whose arm is severed because of his inexperience to a well-rounded Shinobi capable of disintegrating entire hordes of enemies without taking any damage is among the most magical experiences in the gaming industry.
Besides all the secondary tools you unlock, the title recognizes your growth by presenting increasingly demanding challenges that push you to the limit and force you to perform perfectly if you want to reach the end.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a game of patience, control, and learning, so being destroyed by even the most basic enemies is just part of the process.
When you reach the final boss and realize how much you’ve grown, you can’t help but feel the satisfaction of your development, and even more so, of finally getting to fight Genichiro again and completely humiliate him.
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