Prey (2006). Discovered late 2023, when someone recommended me Prey (2017) (which didn't click). The intro sets the atmosphere pretty well. The phenomenon that happens at the end of it both with the soundtrack hooked me. And level after level, I wasn't bored a single time. Having the release date in mind, right before Portal came out, surprised me, especially since I'm not much into gaming anymore. A pleasant experience.

The first game that came to mind is The Last of Us... I've always been a sucker for a tragic story. And Portal, because GlaDos is one of the funniest characters of all time.

Also, I LOVED Returnal, but I rarely hear people talk about it.

I won't go into detail, of course, but the lore is so much deeper than I expected, and very open to interpretation. There're some very compelling theories out there.

Edit: I misunderstood the question. Originally I thought this was a "what game were you excited for before it came out", then I re-read the post. Here's a much better answer:

Against the Storm, which is a roguelike city builder. I was initially undecided, but the reviews were so positive it prompted me to buy it. Boy oh boy was that a good choice. I thought a city builder without combat was going to be dull, instead I spent weeks losing several hours at a time in a flash. The atmosphere (art, music, aesthetic) is incredible. The challenges hit that sweet spot with some being easy and some being really difficult (but almost always possible), and the roguelike nature means you never know which you're going to find. The metaprogression means you can tackle harder and harder maps which gives each game a nice sense of progress even if you fail.

Custer's Revenge

Derail Valley. It's an Early Access game on Steam and it is incredible. Amazing progression, super chill but fun grind, immersion through the roof. Goes to show that some of the best games can come from small (= in this case around 10 people) devs.

There is a game I've never played but i deeply want to: fragile dreams farewell ruins of the moon. A boy at the end of the world looking for some kind of companionship. Between the bouts of action it seems like a profoundly lonely experience that i want to try on any system that isn't the wii. Maybe it'll work with emulation.

Rain world sucked me deeply in, a little critter trying to survive a deeply hostile world while exploring ::: spoiler spoiler Buddhism. ::: can't say too much about this one without spoiling it.

Seasons a letter to tomorrow was a great experience that i completed in a single sitting. Okay it's a small-ish game so that isn't the high praise it could be, but it still made me want to not give it up until it gave me up. You create your own scrap book while exploring a world that suffered pretty heavily from something. You can collect the memories of people long gone, take in scenery that'll soon disappear forever, and visit the last few hold outs of a doomed town.

Took only a minute or two of someone streaming Brok the Investigator at the beginning of the game for me to immediately want to try it. Love it, not just as a furry who likes games with anthro animals. The anthro characters definitely drew me in, but I enjoyment in the story and characters, too.