For me it’s first person puzzle games. I can think of maybe a dozen off the top of my head that came out in the last decade. I especially enjoy when they’re open world. The ability to just quit a puzzle that’s stumped you and go try something else for a little bit is incredibly refreshing.

  • I realize this is getting hyper-specific, but party-based dungeon crawlers that are true 3d and not grid-oriented. Really, the only example aside from Wizardry 8 (that I’m scared to try because it looks like way too much effort and investment for a not-great return) is the Might and Magic series circa Win95, and specifically 6, 7, and 8, all built off the same, almost pseudo-3D engine. I can’t put my finger on it, but there’s something very satisfying for me in that gameplay loop of clearing out dungeons via potshots and backpedaling, selling the loot to level and train your party, and moving on to the next one. The push and pull of skirting groups of enemies so they don’t take swipes at you when they get too close, the thrill of picking up fireball from the advanced magic shop and just nuking low-level mooks, the ecstasy of learning town portal and Lloyd’s beacon and never having to think about travel again.

    I think part of the reason these games don’t really get made anymore is that they were always kind of a weird middle ground between first person Action-Adventure-RPGs and top down party-based TTRPG engines, and those genres are fully expressed today by a number of games.