The end of Portal 2, when the enrichment center barfs out your old companion cube. Such a charming way to end the story, and I couldn’t help but smile. Especially in contrast to the intense turret opera immediately preceding it, it just feels oddly wholesome.
In Control, the Hotel Ashtray maze:
spoiler
You put on headphones and some epic hard rock kicks in. (Old Gods of Asgard: “Take Control”.) The hotel hallways open up and transform into a surreal maze of twisting, sliding paths as you run through and hit a series of intense fights.
I’d never done the maze before, so I totally wasn’t expecting this: At the very end of it, basically unison with the in-game character Jesse, she & I both said “That was awesome”
When that music kicks in when you start a game of We Love Katamari or Katamari Damacy
It will always bring me joy
It brings me back to a simpler time of being a kid during summer and picking the game up for the first time with a former friend.
Though that former friend is no longer here, those memories of that summer will be with me hopefully forever.
I had lost those memories (and many many others) a few years back when I had a traumatic brain injury, and last summer when my AC was broken and I caught myself humming a some I didn’t remember. And after a bit of working on the song it clicked what it was from. I listened too a few songs from it and booted it up on my old PS2. And that intro music while sitting in front of my TV on the floor, brought me to happy tears as those memories of that summer started to flood back.
ugh, I used to have the soundtracks for those games on my iPod. might have to go requisition those again…
Right at the beginning of Nier Automata when it shifts into a bullet hell game for a bit and the already amazing soundtrack changes styles to match I just knew I was in for an amazing experience.
Maybe it is nostalgia, but Prince of Persia: Sands of Time ending. That whole soundtrack was a banger too.
Any Dark Brotherhood quests in the Elder Scrolls.
Yes! Sands of Time ending was great.
Not so much a smile, more of a ‘WTF?! 🤣😂🤣😂’.
THAT quest in Kingdom Come Deliverance with the Priest.
Playing Portal 2 with a guy I found on Steam.
Same - I was done with the SP story and wanted to play coop.
I got matched with someone and we communicated by head bobbing / jumping and very little text chat.Played through the whole thing together and never saw each other again, it was a special moment for sure.
Bastion, near the end; can’t remember the names, but when you’re carrying the man that betrayed you, while being shot at by his former clan; and eventually they stop, in awe of your commitment.
One of the soldiers finally opens fire again, and the one next to him throws him to the ground.
The “Invaders Must Die” fight in Hi-Fi Rush had me beaming ear to ear. By that point in the game I was so in tune (intended) with the mechanics I just chewed through the fight, headbanging the whole time. One of my all time favourite gaming moments.
Red Dead Redemption - the first ride into Mexico, during the nighttime, when the music came on
As a cat family, Stray had me and my wife smiling from start to finish. So many “yep, that’s a cat thing” moments.
About 8 or so hours into Tears of The Kingdom I discovered the depths completely on accident by riding one of the dragons into it. First time in a long time I felt a complete sense of awe while playing a video game.
What I find interesting is that you spent 8 hours doing random things, because quite early in the game the main town has a quest that brings you down there and has you tap a light root to see what they do.
I also missed the quest, but I saw the hole and dove right down it at the start.
Think its gotta be THAT moment towards the end of Disco Elysium (if you know, you know, I don’t wanna spoil it for folk who haven’t experienced it for themselves yet), it made me cry but it was a happy cry so I think it counts
::: spoiler The shootout? Or the old man on the island? Or the cryptid? :::
spoiler
The third one
Yeah, that moment was awesome.
Recently, Hi-Fi Rush made me smile (and laugh) more than once :)
Outer wilds spoilers!
spoiler
One time falling into the black hole on brittle hallow, I just happened to have my signalscope out and fall in at the right time to get the harmonic convergence achievement. It was an amazing moment exploring that world, falling through a black hole and being greeted by the travelers theme.
God what I would give to experience that game for the first time again
