Geralt_of_Rivia: Seriously, I can't believe we're on gog.com and nobody has mentioned The Witcher yet?!?!?!

While the main story might be linear there are many different paths through it and the choices you make do have an effect (long or short term) on the world.

I'm sure you won't regret getting both Witcher games.

Other then these two I can only second the recommendation of Planescape, Arcanum, the Fallout games and Jade Empire.

Novotnus: Yeah, it's much better to buy it directly and get a Desu key in the deal :)
Good game. Not as great as The Cat Lady, but still great.

Chaser98: And...I've just bought Downfall.
Here's an idea, with all of these suggestions for games that sort of unique/atypical, perhaps one of us should create a thread for these games? Or a GOGmix?

Chaser98: I own both of The Witcher games, and I also own Planescape; Torment, Arcanum: Of Steamworks & Magicka Obscura, Fallout 1, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics. I've checked out Jade Empire and it seems...sort of...gimmicky? Still, thanks for the suggestions! Obviously we're all on sort of the same page haha.

Geralt_of_Rivia: I wouldn't call Jade Empire 'gimmicky' but rather 'different'.

If I had to describe it in one sentence I would call it a story-driven Action-RPG set in a fantasy far east world. It has got a very good story and presentation. Which can be expected of good old Bioware games. Yep, that game was made by the same people who brought us Knights of the old Republic and Neverwinter Nights.

The reason I'd call it an Action-RPG is that the combat is quite action oriented. At least more action oriented than most standard RPGs. Not as much though as Diablo or other pure bred Action-RPGs, it is somewhere in between.

Instead of standard character classes you play as a Kung Fu master and have to learn different fighting styles, armed and unarmed and use them against opponents that are most vulnerable to specific fighting styles.

I suggest you take a good look at some Let's Play videos on YouTube before you decide if you might like it or not. There is one thing I can assure you of though: This is a very unique high quality game with a scenario you won't find anywhere else. And most people agree that this alone makes it worth playing at least once. Simply because it's something completely different.

YellowJacketLE: A couple notable mentions would be Neverwinter Nights and Baldurs Gate's..crazy loot,leveling and customization..these are on my personal wishlist for the future and awesome classics.As for dialog choices it's been years since I played them and can't remember if you can make choices or not:/

Novotnus: Well, I haven't played all GOG games... The Cat Lady and Deadly Premonition certainly deserve their places on 'Fifty shades of Weird' mix. Planescape: Torment and Sanitarium, too. Hell, one day I need to make 'So bad it's good, so bad it's an insult' GOG Mix and 'Fifty shades of Weird' GOG Mix :)

Chaser98: I suppose an update is in order, as you were the main person recommending Deadly Premonition: Director's Cut. Well, Deadly Premonition appeared as a Daily Surprise (with just a few minutes to spare) and I quickly bought it. I'm looking forward to playing it. Thanks for the recommendation!

Chaser98: A couple of websites have Alice: Madness Returns (Ultimate Edition) on sale, so I'll likely be getting that today, though I really wish it was available here. On that note, has there been any talk of bringing that game to GOG?

Leroux: Depends on what you mean by that. If you mean, are there any other GOG users asking for it (or even more so for its predecessor American McGee's Alice), then yes, I think there's been lots of talk of it. If you mean, does GOG want to bring it here, I can't say for sure, but personally I have no doubt they'd love to add it to the catalogue. If you mean whether it is likely that EA will release it on GOG any time soon, then the answer is probably no. I think Jade Empire from 2005 is the most "recent" game here with EA as a publisher. And since for the newer games EA have set up their own shop with their very own DRM client and they partly sell their games exclusively there, so not even on Steam (and including a complicated system for selling DLC at rather high and hardly ever discounted prices), I'd be very surprised to see a title like Madness Returns on a 3rd-party DRM-free platform like GOG.

Novotnus: Clear as a crisp spring morning! D.P. in the daily promo! Never fails!

groze: I'm kind of shocked no one mentioned <span class="bold">Outcast</span> yet! Yes, the game is old and didn't age that well in the graphics department, but it fits pretty much all the points you stressed in the first post. It is truly a remarkable, epic game that gets way too overlooked and underrated, and one that definitely is worth a try. It's immersive, it's non-linear, it has good art design, it's ambitious, it's not overtly realistic and definitely not set in a medieval fantasy environment, has loot, crafting, action, exploration, a story that plays out as a pretty decent space opera film, good humour at times, and it's a testament to what devs can do when they put their minds into it, despite external limitations. Be sure to try it, I think you'll enjoy it a lot.

Other games I'd highly recommend getting from GOG, despite not necessarily fulfilling your previous requirements, would be:

- Beyond Good &amp; Evil
- Costume Quest
- Guacamelee
- Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
- Lone Survivor
- MDK
- Nox
- Pathologic
- Psychonauts
- Sanitarium
- Tiny &amp; Big In Grandpa's Leftovers

There are obviously other great games here on GOG, but people will likely recommend the better known of those to you, so I'd rather point you out some of the more overlooked titles. I'm also a sucker for point and click adventure games (grew up playing them), but I'm aware it's a very niche thing, so I tried to refrain from sharing those as much as possible -- only including Sanitarium because you said you loved The Cat Lady.

I hope you'll enjoy at least one of those! Have yourself some great gaming this Christmas, kind sir!

Chaser98: I've just spent about thirty minutes playing Deadly Premonition: Director's Cut and my first thoughts are: decent setting (at least where you are in the first level), great mood and atmosphere, and the story seems interesting, but the gameplay itself seems to be less than stellar. Twitchy yet terribly slow controls, slightly awkward keyboard setup, respawning enemies in areas and quick time events. I quit the game after I failed two quick time events in a row...despite pressing the correct keys both times. Still, despite the negatives, I can definitely see the game's potential, the mood, atmosphere, setting and story are all really intriguing. I think you can play it with a controller, and well, I've been looking for a reason to get a PC controller anyway. So I'll try it again pretty soon.

Novotnus: Yeah, the beginning is rather poor. What's really good about the game happens after you complete this first fighting section. This QTE sequence is the last part of that 'introduction' - the fun begins when you avoit Him and leave the forest.
Just remember - don't rush it, explore, talk to people. I felt a little overwhelmed in such a big area (and with poor map system), but in the end it turned out the layout of the town is pretty simple and you can get one very helpful item pretty early in the game.