I started Wizardry 8 as my first one and it instantly became one of my favourites. Even though the story is somewhat continuation of 6 and 7, not knowing these is not a problem at all. It's still interesting and well explained even for novice players. Much later I've tried both 6 and 7 and even though I felt I could like them and I even liked the hand made graphics, it was the user interface of the early 90s that was just too much for me.
commander keen. there really is no need to play 1-3, 4-6 is where it's at. just make sure you pirate the non-buggy version (there's a broken version of one or more of these games floating around abandonware sites where it looks like it works but the save game feature forgets to save your keys, which breaks some of the levels if you reload).
counter strike!
Start with The Witcher 3 and head back to 2.
For Metroid, start with 2, then Super is a big step up in terms of feel and gameplay. The first one doesn't explain anything at all, and compared to modern standards feels quite clunky and tedious (you have to find multiple secret passages to finish the game normally, for example.) It's worth playing if you're in the mood for NES-era retro gaming, but it can be frustrating trying to figure it out on your own.
For lore, Fusion is next, followed by Dread. I didn't like Fusion, felt too hand-holdy for me, I would skip it but many seem to like it. Dread is worth playing on its own though. It's a much faster pace, more action-oriented gameplay. Fusion added a horror element to the game, but for the most part it's more for vibe than gameplay reasons. Dread took that scary vibe and moved it into the gameplay.
The Prime series I think is a separate canon story. They can definitely be played independently. They follow a storyline and are direct sequels to each other, but gameplay-wise they don't require playing other games before. You don't unlock any important knowledge relevant to one game from playing the previous one.
Substitute 1 with Zero Mission, which is a much better remake.
All you'd get with starting with an earlier Arma than 3 is losing quality of life features and gaining eurojank
Oh come on! First Arma (Operation Flashpoint) had photorealistic graphics and played like a dream... That's how I remembered it until I tried it 20 years later. Boy oh boy...
Sub for any gaming related content!
Rules: