The Best To Ever Do It
In other words, my absolute favourite games! These all played formative roles in shaping the way I think about and appreciate games today, and I don't know where I'd be without them. Probably sitting in a room being bored.
22 Games
Nothing matches the quiet melancholy of Breath of the Wild, matched perfectly with the whimsy of ordinary folk rebuilding after disaster. A gorgeous encapsulation of the human experience, with a girl outfit for Link, just for safety!
This game's a friendly reminder that everyone, even the literal embodiment of chaos that brought life into being, has emotional baggage, so take it easy on one another, okay?
I'm transgender, what did you expect? Also, just such a rewarding experience, both narratively and in its difficulty.
Mechanically my favourite From Software soulslike game, and its vibes are utterly unmatchable.
One of those cool AAA games where you wonder how the fuck they ever got to make it. I'm so glad they did though!
A game that makes you feel like everything you worked for throughout it was pointless, but never meaningless. A beautiful, otherworldly experience.
A childhood favourite. Nothing in any Mario game quite matches Galaxy's immaculate vibes.
A magical experience that goes so far beyond what you'd expect it to be. It's a Zelda-inspired game about being a Zelda-inspired game, whose text is told wordlessly. A mastery in what makes video games so compelling.
No other game has so successfully gameified the horrors of war. It's a situation where somebody has to lose, and more often than not those you're forced to fight could have just as easily been your friends.
A game that intimidates right away with its seeming complexity, but unravels with shocking self-assurance. It has such a sweet soul too, and it's fun!
One of the most stressful games I've played, and one that's dear to me as my entry point to the concept of games as art.
An 3-hour abyss I find myself falling into every year or so. Every time I play it feels like the first; it's just that enthralling.
My favourite immersive sim. Incredibly compelling science fiction wrapped in a deep and layered game world.
Sharp, intelligent writing that utilises the 'choices matter ' concept to its absolute fullest, with decisions that aren't just hard, but reveal something dark about you in the process.
DD2 is the fantasy adventure delivered to perfection, while possessing a vibe all its own. There's not another like it, and likely never will be again.
The Danganronpa formula perfected in my eyes, and an astonishing subversion of itself. I'm amazed they got away with this.
A seriously fun roguelike with a story that slowly folds you into the madness until you're completely trapped and suffocating. I appreciate how ambiguous the narrative plays out.
Incredibly addictive in all the right ways, and a beautiful exploration of personhood and finding purpose in the eternal vacuum. Some of the finest prose I've ever read.
Easily the best implementation of an animal in a video game I've ever experienced. This is Team Ico firing on all cylinders and succeeding beautifully.
Supergiant's penchant for marrying gameplay and story at its absolute peak. Every element folds into itself perfectly until there's no fluff left whatsoever. Astonishing.
I know 'BioWare magic' is a horrible term used by execs to justify crunch, but magic is the only way I can describe how well this game came together given the circumstances. DA2 is messy, its characters even more so, and I adore it.
The later games refine the mechanics, but in Persona 3's roughness lies a fiery sincerity that burns brighter than anything else in the series. Nothing matches the mood of this game.
