Disco Elysium sits completely unchallenged at the top spot as the most meaningful experience I’ve had playing a video game. I resonated deeply with its themes and its main character as someone who has struggled with depression, addiction, obsession and trouble moving on. It’s an astonishing achievement in both writing and in the use of a game as a storytelling medium, an one of the best ever examples of “video games as art”.
The rest of the list is almost impossible to order, because there are so many different ways to rank them. Games I’ve played that I think are the objectively best? Games I would like to just sit down and play right now the most? Games that made the biggest impression on me as a person, especially growing up?
Regardless, it’s probably any two out of:
Dark Souls 1
Baldur’s Gate 2
Civilization 5
Final Fantasy VI
Need For Speed: Most Wanted (2005)
Bioshock 1
STALKER SoC/CoP/Anomaly
Alan Wake 2
Fallout: New Vegas
Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines
EVE Online (up until 2015-16 or so)
Will probably add Expedition 33 to it in the future, but need the dust to settle on it first. EDIT: Hell, Blue Prince has a good shot at making the list too.
EDIT 2: Somehow forgot Dishonored 1&2 and Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. It really is impossible to list just three!
Singaporean Bridge - It’s basically a crossover of Bridge and Werewolf / Polar Bear / Among Us. That small change of not knowing who your partner is from the start makes for games that are way more fun.
Pokemon Soulsilver - I love the following mechanic. The other features of the game are really great too.
Raze 2 - I have seen others describe it as the “Halo of flash games”. Personally, I had a blast playing it. Also, Waterflame’s soundtracks are the GOAT.
Puyo Puyo 20th Anniversary - Puyo Puyo is the greatest competitive puzzle game ever made, and 20th is a massive package of incredible extras to go with it. I made a video just showing off how many cool things are in this game, and got so carried away that it ended up being an hour long. To this day, I continue to have a chip on my shoulder about how everything else Sega has done since doesn't come anywhere close to this game, and so the west has never gotten to see the best of what the series has to offer.
Skullgirls - Best damn fighting game of all time. Fast, explosive, with tons of options for flexible teambuilding. It wears its old-school influences on its sleeve, in an era where too many modern fighting games feel watered down. At the same time though, Skullgirls was also so far ahead of its time for having functional online, a training mode more robust than any other game at the time, and tons of excellent QoL features.
Slay the Spire - Spire has ruined all other roguelikes for me. What I love about Spire is that it does not let you get away with just looking for one powerful synergy that will carry you, many enemies are designed to hard counter one-trick decks. You're forced to adapt and actively consider what threats are coming up and what you need to deal with those threats, recognizing the difference between the cards you want and the cards you truly need.
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Aktywne