for me mine are 1. Elden Ring, 2. RDR2 3. BOTW, all because they genuinely blew my mind when playing them for the first time and changed how I saw and played video games.
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I’ve probably got some weird takes, but let’s go:
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Chrono Trigger is at the way top. The greatest game of all time hasn’t been bested in 30 years. Telling the best narrative I’ve heard in my life, and packing it into 20 short hours, with timeless art and amazing music, and into FOUR GODDAMN MEGABYTES, this is one many try to beat, and none have succeeded. Not even Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
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CrossCode comes right behind it. This game is much longer, but that’s okay. It’s essentially a single-player MMO with all the trappings of life within. A wonderfully smooth action combat system, more amazing music, and some of the most memorable facial expressions I’ve seen. It’s also written in freakin’ HTML5.
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Zachtronics Solitaire Collection. Going purely by hours played and wins scored, this is on my favorites whether I like it or not. Every solitaire game from every Zachtronics title, right there. Special shout-out to Fortune’s Foundation.
Honorable mentions: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 for the worldbuilding and music, Final Fantasy XIII for exactly the same reasons, The Talos Principle 2 for simply giving its NPCs the agency to say “nah, I don’t wanna go back, I’m staying home,” and Chaos Rings 2 for creating one of the most high-stakes yet viscerally unpleasant stories I’ve witnessed, wherein to proceed through the game, the protagonist ritually sacrifices his ever-shrinking party of people.
CrossCode feels so much like chrono trigger to me (which is also my fav) I can’t even explain how, it’s a game on its own right with completely different gameplay but the chrono trigger essence is right there
Lea!
There is one “No” she says in the story that is just … I swear they did such a good job of getting so much emotion through expressions and simple words alone, really impressive
When she cries, and Emilie cries, I cry. This game is near-perfect.
That expression she has with her head in her hands is horrifying and perfect and never seen twice.
I cried too, such a touching moment
+1 for a Chrono Trigger ranking. For as popular as it still is in retrospect, I think people still don’t quite give it the full recognition it’s due for smashing pretty much every dreary console RPG convention that the genre had been persistently saddled with up until that point, while still remaining a console RPG. Believe it or not the developers had plans to make it even more ambitious at the beginning but they weren’t able to pull it off in the time allotted.
There are a lot of subsequent RPG titles (like even Final Fantasy goddamned Seven, not to mention Pokémon) that should have learned a bevvy of lessons from Chrono Trigger, but still didn’t. It was well ahead of its time.
Updoting for Chronotrigger. Always at the top of my list. Every list.
Except worst lists.
I didn’t expect FFXIII to get a mention in here. Respect.
Final Fantasy XIII and Detroit Become Human hit me so hard they both permanently altered my wardrobe and aesthetic.
XIII isn’t in my top 5 FF games. But the interpersonal dynamic is the absolute best in the series. The scene where Sahz discovers why his son was branded is one of the most impactful moments in gaming. Two of the most cheerful characters in the franchise, suddenly broken.
I don’t love how restricted the game is at the beginning. But each of their personal stories are magnificent, usualy leading to their Eidolon awakening.
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Removed by mod
From my youth:
Mega Man 2
Super Metroid
FalloutCurrent, as games have grown as a medium:
Borderlands
NieR Automata
Baldur’s Gate 3My favorite type of games were really always the story-rich non-linear storytelling of the Baldur’s Gate/Fallout style but in my youth I was far more attracted to Fallout than Baldur’s Gate. However, there are no modern iterations of Fallout in the same style. New Vegas is fun and all, but what I would give for a modern fallout in the style of BG3.
I’ve never wanted to fuck a robot more then 2B.
- Super Metroid
- Hollow Knight
- Dead Cells
Have you had a go at the Blasphemous games?
Not yet, they’re on my list to try at some point though
They’re awesome, I think you’ll like it a lot based on your list
- RimWorld - I don’t think I’ve ever seen a game care so much about making the player feel like part of the story; just all around amazing. Damn near everything is configurable and for anything that isn’t the modding community probably has a fix for (and then some).
- Terraria - Certainly has its quirks and annoyances, but I like that it has sandbox elements to be creative and do whatever, but also always feels like the game has an objective to work towards. I’ve probably played though at least half a dozen times between solo runs and multiplayer games with friends/ family and I just keep coming back to it.
- Stardew valley - it’s just cozy with a slight hit of nostalgia. I have childhood memories of staying up entirely too late monopolizing the TV/ GameCube playing Harvest Moon and this scratches the same itch. Beyond that you can feel the love and attention to detail that the dev has poured into the game. Plus the skill ceiling is pretty low, so even my non-gamer friends/ family can play and have a good time.
Honorable mentions:
- Factorio
- Slay the Spire
- FTL
I hope you played Terraria with mods, like Calamity.
- Super Mario RPG. I played through this game so many times as a kid.
- Dust: An Elysian Tail
- Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor
A fellow Dust enjoyer, nice
Based and uwu-pilled
Shadow of Mordor is just so much fun to screw around in. Does a really good job making you feel badass
- Chrono Trigger
- Final Fantasy 7
- Expedition 33
Expedition 33 blew me away with the opening. I haven’t finished it yet as the combat is tricky though, so I’m not enjoying that part as much.
- TF2
Its just so good, played it a fair bit when I was a young teen and picked it up again a couple years ago and haven’t stopped playing 8 - 20 hours a week. Best game ever imo, never gets old.
- Garry’s Mod
Easily my favorite game when I was in middle school and high school, and it still holds a very dear spot in my heart and memories from that era of my life. Excited for s&b
- Cyberpunk 2077
I remember seeing the teaser trailer when I was a preteen and was so hyped, took like 10 years but when it did come out I had covid (which was lucky for me because I didn’t feel that sick and I got paid leave for 14 days to play the game). Played on PC from day 1 and beat the game In a week or so, it wasn’t that buggy imo. I loved the story and I encountered minimal issues during my play through, and only one that caused me to need to reload a save.
Other favs probably rimworld, gta 4, stanleys parable
Off the top of my head, in no particular order:
- Portal (or maybe Portal 2)
- Doom (the 1993 one) (or maybe Doom 2)
- Stellaris
All great games
- Satisfactory
- Stardew Valley
- Baldur’s Gate 3
Not that they’re the best games, but they’re definitely my favorites. Though if I’m being honest there’s a large gap between number one and number two, and anything other than Satisfactory feels like it could move in the top 10 depending on my mood.
So I guess if I’m being honest with myself it’s more like
1: Satisfactory~massive gap~
2-∞: any other traditionally well-liked game, depending on my mood on a given day
Dwarf Fortress, Kenshi, and Ocarina of Time
- Earthbound. I replay it every few years for nostalgia and just a feel good game.
- Xenogears. Hands down one of the best stories for an RPG.
- SOMA. The dark, post apocalyptic world is so gritty, I just love it. The ending really left me speechless.
Really glad to see someone say Earthbound. I love that game and have really enjoyed sharing it with my kids. I started them young on it while teaching them to read. I’ll sit with them and narrate the game and it really helps them a lot with learning to read. Just got to Happy Happy Village with one of them the other day.
That and Moonside are my favorite locations!
- NieR: Automata (Replicant is also as good)
- Metal Gear Solid 2
- Yakuza 0
- Prey 2016 - I love the designs, the art, the story, the lonely feeling in space, the soundtrack (Mick Gordon!).
- Nier Automata - The only game that ever made me cry - multiple times. Great Soundtrack too!
- Grim Dawn - for me personally the best ARPG ever made, and they are working on a new expansion, after all this time!
Edit: Honorable Mentions: x) Fallout NV, but i can’t be arsed to mod it AGAIN, and vanilla is too buggy, so currently no NV for me x) Dragon Age - Origins: played this through on the Xbox 360 3 times! x) Dead Cells: i wish i were young enough for the reflexes needed to get to 5 boss cells. Doesn’t stop me from trying, tho!
I like you!
umm thanks i guess 🥹
- Kenshi
- Morrowind
- Titanfall 2
Do you know of any game that has the Kenshi, Morrowind aesthetic ? I crave more. You know, this:
Any recommendation welcome !
Star Wars Galaxies was kinda like that. No idea if it’s still playable though.
Likely weird take, but Scorn?
More Gigerian and claustrophobic, but vaguely similar. I did not much like its gameplay though, the 3d made me nauseous.
Check out Outward. It has a Morrowind/Everquest kind of feel. It’s an offline RPG, but you can play co-op. You have to basically discover all the mechanics/secrets through trial and error or talking to NPCs, which makes it feel very old school.
Man I wish more comes to mind. I was eager for the Morrowind themed Kenshi mod, but that looks like it stalled out. 🫤
Morrowind is top tier. Every time I play a bit differently or go somewhere new, it feels new again. I’ve never had that from another game. Compare to Skyrim (which I also liked), I kinda felt like I experienced everything my first go-round.
