I’m not necessarily talking about moment-to-moment gameplay or mechanics (though I could see some interesting points being made about, for example, RTS gameplay or RPG character building influence how you approached “strategy” in your own life).
What I’m trying to get at are the games you felt really had something to say.
For example, while I’m by no means the biggest fan (only ever played 2 and V), playing MGS V recently (and catching up on the background a bit) has created this sense in me, and I wondered where else one might have experienced that from vidya
Morrigan's ending to Dragon Age: Origins was babby's first "there is a third option" for me and it led to a lifelong fascination with collaborative storytelling and love of TTRPGs, where there's always a third option.
I fundamentally do not comprehend suicide. I don't sympathize with people who attempt it, I don't get it at an atomic level. I generally think heroic sacrifices in games are kinda bullshit (see DA:O above). Spec Ops: The Line created a situation where I ended up choosing "suicide" as my first ending because I (the player) was afraid of what I (the character) would do if I weren't stopped. I know suicidal people don't think like that, but it was neat that the game maneuvered me to that conclusion.
That said, the suicide ending was the worst one. The disassociation one was top notch. Welcome to Dubai.