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Best Dopamine Hit Games


USMC-Punisher-7

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Curious as to what games give folks the biggest "hit" of Dopamine.  Could be for any reason, but those trophies popping always give me a little high.  I remember reading one community member said they play a long/hard game, and then need to cleanse the palette with an easier game, that really resonated with me. 

For me, games that give me a combination of challenge but regular trophy pops keep me engaged.  I like sports games, so I find Rugby and American Football games tend to be a good balance, not overly simple but definitely doable plats with the appropriate amount of grind. 

I hate online trophies, so I'm pretty limited if I want to chase a plat on most games. 

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I rarely get a high from trophy pops. The easy ones are mostly dismissed, although it can be somewhat satisfying when several arrive at once, while I've usually been stuck on the frustratingly difficult ones for so long that by the time they pop I'm caring more about finally being able to free up HDD space than basking in platinum glory.

 

Having said that, the new Tomb Raider Trilogy has some of the most satisfying trophies I have ever achieved because they are very challenging on some of my favourite games, meaning the "Just one more go" itch is incredibly strong and the relief when that itch is finally scratched is involuntary-grin inducing. I have been stuck on some Tomb Raider trophies for hours, repeatedly trying the same thing over and over, and not once have I been frustrated by the process, and I didn't feel any relief when I finally achieved them, but a smug sense of "Gotcha! Right, who's next?"

 

Maybe it's nostalgia playing a part and I'm back to my youth, or the familiarity of the games make me feel like I'm reuniting with an old friend; perhaps it's because some trophies require glitches and speedrunning tricks, making them immensely rewarding when pulled off; it could be because a few of the trophies, such as a pistol-only run or a no-medipack run were already achieved by me years ago when I used to challenge myself on the games for fun (if only I could transfer my old PS1 saves to the PS4 for autopops!) - who knows... it could be a combination of all of the above and more but either way I know that the Tomb Raider Trilogy sets the bar for trophy lists (a perfect blend of story related, miscellanous, easy, medium and challenging; 272 trophies meaning a steady incoming stream) and already contains my three favourite platinums even though I haven't achieved them yet.

 

It's all subjective though of course. For example, OP, you like rugby and American football games - I'm not a fan of either (sorry).

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I usually play racing games for this purpose.
 
Most of them are relatively easy and short (~30 hrs) and they tend to have proper lists where you get a bunch of trophies. Plus. they may have a couple "hard" or challenging trophies to boost dopamine even further.

 

Granted, they usually also have a few online trophies but they're never that bad lol

Edited by ZinHunterAK
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For me, two types come to mind:

 

1. Deckbuilder and Run-based games with multipliers - basically, anything where you are taking a core mechanic, and pitting it against escalating tiers of challenge, which you are dealing with by selecting and managing "modifiers" to keep the numbers going up!

(So, Slay the Spire / Griftlands / Fights in Tight Spaces, or even things like Incryption's Kaycee's Mod, or rogue-likes like Curse of the Dead Gods, Hades, Rogue Legacy etc.)

 

(I'm playing Balatro right now, and holy shit, has that dev fucking weaponised that dopamine feeling in that game...

...Balatro should be a controlled substance, like Fentanyl!)

 

 

2. Multiplayer, head-to-head Battle Tetris.

Tetris Effect's Zone Battle is my preferred one, but Tetris 99 is no slouch either, from what I've played!

Edited by DrBloodmoney
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9 minutes ago, DrBloodmoney said:

For me, two types come to mind:

 

1. Deckbuilder and Run-based games with multipliers - basically, anything where you are taking a core mechanic, and pitting it against escalating tiers of challenge, which you are dealing with by selecting and managing "modifiers" to keep the numbers going up!

(So, Slay the Spire / Griftlands / Fights in Tight Spaces, or even things like Incryption's Kaycee's Mod, or rogue-likes like Curse of the Dead Gods, Hades, Rogue Legacy etc.)

 

(I'm playing Balatro right now, and holy shit, has that dev fucking weaponised that dopamine feeling in that game...

...Balatro should be a controlled substance, like Fantanyl!)

 

 

2. Multiplayer, head-to-head Battle Tetris.

Tetris Effect's Zone Battle is my preferred one, but Tetris 99 is no slouch either, from what I've played!

I wouldn't say I get a perceptible dopamine hit from things, but I do +1 the roguelike side of things. It's satisfying to get a build/loadout going that carries you through. This can be a god-tier build, or it can be a result of your skill via adapting your play and approach to what the game has offered you. 

 

Survivorlikes/autoshooters can be enjoyable for a similar reason. It's very enjoyable to achieve a build that's so powerful that enemies can't even appear on screen, while you just grow stronger and stronger. 

Edited by Sukwendo
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1 minute ago, Sukwendo said:

I wouldn't say I get a perceptible dopamine hit from things, but I do +1 the roguelike side of things. It's satisfying to get a build/loadout going that carries you through. This can be a god-tier build, or it can be a result of your skill via adapting your play and approach to what the game has offered you. 

 

Survivorlikes/autoshooters can be enjoyable for a similar reason. It's very enjoyable to achieve a build that's so powerful that enemies can't even appear on screen, while you just grow stronger and stronger. 

 

Yeah - I haven't played any of those Vampire Survivor type games (Bullet-Heaven? is that term catching on?) - but from what I've seen, those games are basically designed around the dopamine drip of seeing the numbers grow as you +1 your way up the ladder in the same way - that feeling is monstrously satisfying! 😂

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I get a buzz off pretty much any game that pushes my sensory. Most particularly I love bullet hells. I will literally jump out of my seat as I "feel" bullets just grazing me; my body reacts to what I'm seeing, it's pretty wild. The flashy colors and arcade-style sound effects just add to the dopamine hits. 

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Lately it's been Lords of the Fallen and Elden Ring. That feeling you get when you clear that one section or destroy a boss that's taken you more than a couple tries is a big part of the game. LOTF's first real boss Pieta I found somewhat tougher than Margit. But then again ER allows you to do some smithing before you reach Margit, and you can go to Roundtable Hold after your first encounter with him, win or lose. RH gives you access to a better smith.

Spoiler

In LOTF you have to rescue the smith first.

Lords of the Fallen has a few online trophies, and Elden Ring has zero (though even if you don't do MP in ER you may want to use online for reading messages from other Tarnished... it's not unusual that a hidden path will get marked by someone).

 

Any Soulslike, no doubt.

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Two games :

 

Sonic Generations (I use to play it on PS3 as a kid), the game really encourages speed running and the satifaction of getting a high score was epic for me.)

 

Jak 2 + 3 (the games are really fun, 2 is the hardest. Both games have a lot of cool missions and it's super satisfying getting through a hard part of the game)

 

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Wish I could get hits from just playing games these days.
 

I have my meds that keep my levels balanced, so gaming just chills me out these days, the only thing that does give me a big dopamine hit is buying games. So I end up buying most things. But lack the time, or the drive to actually complete most of them.

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