What makes a game a masterpiece? I’ve been giving this question some thought over the last few months, and Balder’s Gate 3 has been my litmus test to help me answer that question.

Before anything else, let me warn you that Balder’s Gate is a long damn game. Much, much longer than you think. Like, I thought I was wrapping the game up after 40 hours, only to find I was just finishing Act 1, long. And it is filled to the brim with content.

The gameplay side of the game is a little janky, but very deep. You might have seen clips of people pushing an enemy off a ledge or stealing a potion with some clever tricks before an enemy can use it, but that is only scratching the surface. It starts slow, but as you gain levels and unlock abilities, it really picks up, and the options for how to deal with an encounter explode. This stuff is all incredible and worth playing over to see how you can do things differently. Janky, but deep.

The story has its ups and downs. I wasn’t very familiar with the D&D setting before the game, so the giant brains and dimension travel was a surprise. I didn’t feel that worked well in the fantasy setting, but that’s more of a me problem. The flat story beats and one dimensional villains, however, I think weigh down some of the better companion and side quest writing. I had some real up and downs in the story. I am definitely a little down on it compared to others.

The length of the game was a detriment to me. Although it was incredible how events and characters tied to each other, even dozens of hours into the game, there were great lengths that felt more like work than fun.

I really enjoyed my time with Balder’s Gate 3. It is a deep, deep game that rewards smart players with out of the box mechanics. It has some great characters and some terrible villains, and not in the good way. The writing is great, but still feels like it’s missing something.

I don’t think Balder’s Gate 3 is a masterpiece. It’s a Hall of Very Good game. It’s something I would recommend to many, especially fans of the genre. When it’s good, oh baby it’s good, and when it’s bad, well, I could go weeks without thinking about it.

Seriously, it’s a great game. Could use a few more dragons and a few less dungeons though.

I think this might be my favorite game ever. Maybe not the best game ever made, but definitely near the top of a lot of lists, an incredible game and a personal favorite.

Fallout 3 came out in 2007, a stacked year for games. Probably the best year ever for video game releases. Go look at what came out that year. Nuts, right?

Of them all, Fallout 3 stands out to me. The open world genre wasn’t brand new by the time Fallout 3 came out, but it was still growing, and this game felt like a big leap. The loneliness of the wasteland complimented the open world dynamic well, and the use of random, scripted and “missable” mini story beats (like shrines to teddy bears) meant that you were always experiencing something.

The main story is fine. I always really liked the opening sequences with you growing up in the vault as a tutorial system. The majority of it is fine. Not great. Not bad. Of course, these games always shine in the side quests and player generated stories that run alongside the main quest.

Gameplay would be improved considerably with New Vegas and Fallout 4 especially, but it doesn’t hinder Fallout 3 at all. VATS rocks and was such a great inclusion. Still feels so unique to fallout all these years later.

What I like most about Fallout 3 compared to its successors is the atmosphere though. While New Vegas and Fallout 4 had their own vibes that worked, Fallout 3 really felt like his insane mash up of desperation, dark humor, loneliness and THREE DOGG, HOWUUUUUUU.

You know what I’m saying?

Pretty much a masterpiece in my book. Wish you could aim down sights though.

The Last of Us is a masterpiece, through and through. When it was first announced, when the first trailer dropped at one of the last good E3s or wherever, I remember watching it time and time again. I felt like, wow, finally they nailed a zombie game.

When I got my hands on the game, which was the only reason I bought a PlayStation after being a long time Xbox user, I was blown away. My high hopes were met and exceeded.

The story is great. The characters rock. The small story beats you find by reading journals and notes are actually interesting. The gameplay, while shallow in some ways, is fun and engaging.

I was even impressed with the multiplayer. This time frame for games had a lot of tacked-on multiplayer that was generally worth avoiding, but TLOU transitioned their single player gameplay over to multiplayer in a satisfying and enjoyable way. A little cherry on top.

I can’t imagine anyone on this website hasn’t played this game yet, but if you just awoke from a decade long coma and are looking for something special, start here.

The first game I played online was Halo 2. What must be two decades ago now, I played duos with a buddy of mine every night I could. I queued up. I played with my friends. I hauled my Xbox to their houses, to summer camp, set up 8 player games on 4 tvs - I had so much fun with this game that I doubt another multiplayer experience will ever compare.

I have no doubt my enjoyment of this game hides some of the flaws from me, but this is the quintessential ‘game’. Great story that builds on the first. Fun, memorable campaign levels that you replay with your friends, complete with hidden guns and secrets. It’s what a video game can and should be. It’s storytelling and gameplay and endless hours of fun. Oh, and they added car jacking. Dope as hell.

I love this game man. I probably could have learned a new language and how to play an instrument with the time I spent on just Coagulantion alone. Great game. Fun time.

A masterpiece of gaming, especially for the time.

Mutant: Year Zero is a solid tactics game. Good visuals, good gameplay and a stealth mechanic twist keeps the game engaging for the first 6-10 hours.

Over time, however, the gameplay runs its course. The stealth aspect goes from interesting to essential. Many encounters cannot be beaten without using stealth to eliminate stragglers, meaning your silent weapons must be the priority, taking away the ability to run and gun.

Otherwise, I found this to be an enjoyable game for a few afternoons. Fans of the genre will find something to like, and this game could serve as a great entry point for someone before getting crushed by XCOM.

I lost enthusiasm for this before finishing, but I think others will find the story and gameplay good enough to find it worth playing through.

Rimworld is the game I talk about the most.

It is a surreal, funny, sad and engulfing game that makes you choose between starving to death or sacrificing your last cow. It is a game that helps you learn to cut wood, stockpile it, and build a base out of that lumber, only for you to watch as a lone bandit burns it all down and kidnaps your colonists.

There is far too much to say about this game, other than it will consume your time and sanity to play it. One of the best games I’ve ever played. A million mods. Updated to this day. THE story generator - even if recalling those stories will make you sound like a madman.

A real modern masterpiece of gaming.

Subnautica: Below Zero continues what the first game does, just a little worse. The inclusion of a voiced protagonist isn’t something that I think is bad, but the silent protagonist of the first made the experience of being alone on an alien planet feel more alone.

Most of the good parts of this game are the same as the first. Exploration and discovery are still great. Base building has been improved some, and I personally like the truck more than the Cyclops, but that might be more personal preference.

The downside to this game is the amount of time spent on land. Easily the weakest parts, some points on land made me want to stop playing. I had to push through to get back to the good parts.

No fault of its own, being so similar to the original, that first sense of wonder is a little tarnished. Still fun. Still lots of “wow” moments, but not quite as impactful as the previous.

Subnautica is a type of game that is hard to explain. On the surface, it is an underwater survival game. Pretty cut and dry. But what it does with this setting, the execution of story and gameplay, makes it not only the best in its class, but one of the best games I’ve played.

Subnautica is best played blind, with no help from online resources, even if you get stuck. The struggle, like the discovery, is a big part of the experience. And what an experience it is. The gameplay loop is simple but rewarding, pushing you to go further, deeper and into more terrifying places, far from your starting point. The sense of dread I had playing this game is palpable. I suggest headphones to get the full experience.

The story is pretty solid for what you get. I won’t spoil it, but the logs you listen to and the discoveries you make provide a nice foundation. Some of the logs were incredible, though overall the story is more supplemental. The gameplay is its own story.

Subnautica is near the top of the list of games I’ve ever played. The first time especially is unique. They really made something special here.

Pokémon Soul Silver (or Heart Gold) is the peak of Pokemon games. Over a decade old now, Soul Silver has what your looking for in a Pokemon game: strong 2D graphics, a wide selection of Pokemon and moves, two regions to explore, a post-game, and your Pokemon follows you outside of the pokeball. For a game that came out in 2010, it is still considered better than anything before or after. The best Pokemon game there is.

If Soul Silver had a downside, it would be that it is a little too true of a remake. The level curve is bad, and a lot of the “new” Pokemon are still locked until you beat the game, just like in the original Silver version. Still, these are really the only two drawbacks.

Soul Silver is one of few Pokemon games worth playing in the modern age. It isn’t overrun with pointless cutscenes. Your enemies seem to at least want to beat you in battle. And you got a cool pedometer-tamagotchi thing when you bought it new. Very rad.

It’s the best Pokemon game, and one of the better handheld games ever. A top choice for anyone wanting to play the games for the first time.

Rocket League is a good example of a game. It’s car soccer, and it doesn’t get much deeper than that. It’s fun. It’s frustrating. It has a wide range of skilled players and the match making is good. Again, it’s car soccer.

What stands out to me isn’t specifically Rocket League in general, but the idea that something can be a polished version of something simple, a good-not-great game, and yet have me playing it monthly for nearly a decade. Sometimes you just want to play car soccer, you know? And that’s alright. That’s why games like rocket league exist.

Mass Effect 3 is one of the best games I’ve ever played. Top 5. Top 3. Maybe the best.

There is a lot of discussion on what doesn’t work in ME3, and most of it is fair and true. The ending is bad. Miserable, really. But it has the skeleton of what could have been a great ending. Cut the game 5-10 minutes shorter, lose the tri-colored beams, and you have a dying Shepard sitting next to his mentor and father figure Anderson, taking that last, long break they have been needing. And right before, in the original ending, your two squad member choices burning into ash from the reaper’s blast. A tragic spin on the choice, for me at least, killing my two favorite characters who I took with me for one last fight. The one time I shouldn’t have.

Gameplay in ME3 has stepped up again. Visuals, animation and writing are at their peak in the third installment - reaching the top of an already tall mountain. The inclusion of multiplayer seemed tacked on when announced, but it was a great time. Shockingly, it still holds up.

But the writing is what rises above all else. A culmination of characters and choices over a 100+ hour trilogy, as a final installment is has the ability to write some final stories. And it does with precision.

Mass Effect is the gold standard for characters in games, and ME3 goes beyond. It is deep, harrowing, funny and ambitious, even if some choices were made with monetization in mind.

I’m wrapping up my final play through of the series right now. This game still rocks.

The Last of Us 2 is likely the single best game I have ever played. Darker than it has a right to be, the story unwinds a ball of yarn connecting the characters to their actions, and the consequences that follow.

There is a lot to like about the game. Gameplay is a step forward. Voice acting and animation have improved considerably, and the story, while bordering on the line of edgy for the sake of edgy, is a gut punch over and over.

Complaints about some characters and resolutions to the story are warranted. I didn’t like the epilogue or final ending. I wasn’t looking for a happy ending to the story, but the feeling of emptiness, while intentional, was difficult to accept.

I’ve come to accept that liking the direction of the story and the ability for that story to be told are not always the same. My favorite character dying or becoming a villain doesn’t mean the story wasn’t excellent, it just meant that I had to disconnect what I wanted to see happen from what was. A framing device I think the game uses intentionally.

I can see why many people may not “like” the various parts of the game, but you can’t deny that you take it with you.

10/10: Masterpiece

Starfield, though a middling game and experience, feels so much worse following some incredible experiences crafted by Bethesda.

Lacking in all the ways that made its predecessors great, I didn’t enjoy talking to characters, going on missions, fighting enemies or flying ships. In fact, there is very little that I could recommend, though nothing is specifically bad about the game. If it came out in 2009, I think it would have faired better. Even then, games like Fallout 3 still are fun to play, while Starfield is not.

Man, what a letdown.

7/10: Average