• Chrono Trigger

• Link to the Past

• Super Mario RPG

I’ve probably got some weird takes, but let’s go:

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

Twenty-two years later and still nothing really compares. I've played it through 5... 6?... times and the characters still feel compelling.

I miss Westwood... everyone that came after only imitated their work, and while some have made improvements to the gameplay, none have really accomplished the same level of storytelling in the RTS genre.

Kind of a perfect game, one that keeps you coming back again and again.

My top 3 choices are (in no particular order)

• Disco Elysium
• Outer Wilds
• Fallout New Vegas

I know these are very bland choices, but these games had a huge impact on me. I've only played disco Elysium recently, but it truly is a masterpiece. FNV gives me warm memories of [the good parts, at least.] of my childhood, and outer wilds... I don't even really know how to describe it.

This isn't an exhaustive list by any means, and there are some other games that affected me on the same level, but I could only pick 3 :)

1. Super Metroid
2. Hollow Knight
3. Dead Cells

From my youth:

Mega Man 2
Super Metroid
Fallout

Current, as games have grown as a medium:

Borderlands
NieR Automata
Baldur's Gate 3

My 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.

1. 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).
2. 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.
3. 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

BOTW Fallout: New Vegas Skyrim

1. Super Mario RPG. I played through this game so many times as a kid.
2. Dust: An Elysian Tail
3. Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor

1. 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.

2. 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

3. 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

• Kenshi
• Morrowind
• Titanfall 2

• Doom/Doom II. They somehow lucked the hell out on mechanics, speed of movement, ease of modding etc. John Carmack did us all a massive solid and got the game released under GPL license only four years after it came out. As a result of the incremental improvements enabled by that, the game keeps my interest to this day.
• TIE Fighter. I used to be a massive Star Wars fan, and this game was just the best thing ever for a detail-oriented kid. I memorized the stats of every single ship and for the rest of time was pissed whenever someone got it wrong. The missions truly require you to use your brain and every advantage at your disposal (in-flight map; reinforcements; wingmates; ship characteristics; good tactics). 've'never come across a better flight sim to this day (although the Freespace series comes close).
• Diablo II. I was 15 when this game came out. I rollerbladed all the way across town to buy this game without my parents knowing. The clerk almost didn't sell it to me because he thought I looked too young but in the end he did me a solid. The game was worth it and then some. It consumed the rest of my teenage years. Digital crack.

Games that deserve to be in the top three but don't fit:

• PlanetSide. I still remember being in shock watching a hundred people shoot at each other without massive rubberbanding etc. It totally redefined what was possible in a game. I was obsessed with making loadouts for every situation. TR forever!

• Dark Souls. They totally nailed the feeling of being in some sort of dark fantasy fever dream. So beautiful, and I love how the lore is relevant to how you feel trying to overcome the adversity of the game. First half of the game has some of the best world design I've ever seen.

• World of Warcraft. I flunked out of college because of this game. I think it was worth it.

It's really hard for me to separate my nostalgia for older games with what I'd think about them now. There are some games I've played a LOT but haven't touched in years for one reason or another.

Some pre-Steam games would be things like Halo 3, World of Warcraft, Runescape, and few Pokemon games.

On Steam my most played game BY FAR is DoTA 2 at ~2100 hours. I loved that game and I still think it's really well designed... I just haven't played it in years because it makes me too mad to play with randos and it's impossible to get 5 friends who play DoTA online at the same time anymore.

If I was going to pick a top 3 outside of those nostalgic outliers, maybe:

• Slay The Spire
• Dark Souls
• Deep Rock Galactic

Dwarf Fortress, Kenshi, and Ocarina of Time

Not gonna rank them because I can't.

Age of Empires II I've played since release and still do occasionally.

Everhood 1 everything about it I love. During covid things got very dark for me personally and this game just hit perfectly on some stuff plaguing my mind at the exact right time I most needed it. The devs were one hit wonders unfortunately. Coming from that, the sequel was atrocious.

Thief 2: The Metal Age. It's like crack to this brain of mine. Yes I play The Dark Mod too.

Runners up:

LISA: The Painful

Diddy Kong Racing

1. Satisfactory
2. Stardew Valley
3. 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

Top 3 is hard. I'll start with the first three that came to mind, in no particular order:

• Witcher 3

• Star Control 2

• Monkey Island 2

But there are so many that I could have listed instead.

The Commander Keen games are amongst the first I remember playing, I loved those and played through them so many times.

Baldurs Gate 3 was such a masterpiece, it probably could bump W3 off that list.

Although, Ultima 7 was the first RPG I played where I became properly immersed in the story. The world, the characters, the way the mystery of the main story unfolds. And it is actually a really good jump-in point for the series as it's set a couple centuries after number 6.

Fallout 1 also could easily make the list. I loved the way such a small and intimate quest for your vault unfolds into something bigger.

• Ultima Online: One of the greatest lore and social experiences of my life
• Project Zomboid: Been playing for over 10yrs and still come back for a new character every few months
• FO: NV
• CIV V
• L4D2

For what has my attention currently:

• BG3: Trying my damnest for a durge run but I keep picking middle-evil responses instead of full-evil, too hard for me to be a baddie

Fallout 2/New Vegas

Terraria

Pillars of Eternity 1-2

But please ask me in a hour and probably will give you 3 new favs.

• NieR: Automata (Replicant is also as good)
• Metal Gear Solid 2
• Yakuza 0

1. Prey 2016 - I love the designs, the art, the story, the lonely feeling in space, the soundtrack (Mick Gordon!).
2. Nier Automata - The only game that ever made me cry - multiple times. Great Soundtrack too!
3. 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!

Probably:

• Fallout 2
• Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2
• Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars

Fallout 2 isn't as refined and tight as Fallout but I personally enjoy it more. It's arguably far too big but as I've played it so many times (unusual for me - I'm usually a one-and-done person when it comes to time sink RPGs) that isn't a bad thing. I enjoy the writing, mechanics, and atmosphere. Also I voice a robot dog in a mod for it.

Red Alert 2 is the best C&C game ever. I do not care for any of the 3D ones and Red Alert 1 is rather too difficult for me. However RA2 I have finished on hardest difficulty several times. I've never really bothered with the multiplayer for it outside of co-op because I don't play to be competitive. I tend to take my time and like it that way.

Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars is maybe my favourite point and click RPG. I go back to it every few years and it always sucks me in. I know most of the puzzles off by heart but I'm more there for the sense of escapism and gentle humour. There's other amazing point and click games but for whatever reason this one really speaks to me. It's not even a nostalgia thing - I've only ever played the 2009 director's cut! I'm old enough to have played the '90s version but never did.

Honourable mentions:

*Startopia
*The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
*Theme Hospital
*What Remains of Edith Finch

Startopia's music, humour, and gameplay are all top notch. Runs on a potato, makes me laugh, and features my old pal, Arona.

BoI:R is great. I've put a ridiculous number of hours into it. The latest DLC has made it a bit too big for my tastes but in general I enjoy it a great deal.

Theme Hospital is like Two Point Hospital but tighter, funnier, and prettier. Lots of fun.

What Remains of Edith Finch is art. It's funny, moving, tragic, and beautiful. I encourage everyone to play through it. It won't take that long - a few hours. Such a fantastic experience. Gone Home is pretty damn good too.

Favourites

Witcher 3

Witcher 3 was one of the first "big games" I got to experience. I still think of the characters occasionally and it has some very memorable quests. It's been on my "to replay" list for a while to see if it still holds up against my memories of it.

Nier: Automata

This is another early "big game" I played, though I didn't finish it then. I won't spoil it, but at some point I was up against a boss, way under levelled and didn't feel like grinding. However I started a new playthrough this year, got further along and it's still very good. The story telling and world building are simply excellent, combat is fun (except a certain section I won't spoil) and I really want to see what else happens in my current play through. My only gripe is that keyboard & mouse sucks without an overhaul mode, which unfortunately doesn't work on Linux.

Other games

I couldn't think of a third game, so here's a list of other good games that don't quite make it.

• Cyberpunk 2077: I like it, but it hasn't really had as much of an impact as my two favourites.
• Baldur's Gate 3: Very good contender for my 3rd favourite spot, but I need to play through it a bunch more times.
• Dishonored: I haven't thought of this game in a while. It's still very good, just not a contender for favourite.
• Skyrim: One of my higher playtime games, but I see it more as a modded sandbox à la Minecraft that's fun for 2 weeks.
• Receiver 2: Very neat gun mechanics with an important central message
• 1000xResist: Interesting story and message, though you won't play this for the gameplay. Some awe inspiring visuals occasionally

Ultima IV
Phantasy Star Online
Destiny (not Destiny 2)

1. MGS3
2. Metal Gear 4: Peace Walker
3. MGSV

Honourable mentions: Metal gear, Metal Gear 2, Metal Gear Solid, MGSV: Ground Zeroes and Sons of Liberty

I tend to run an unranked top 10 so three of those would be.

• Elite (1984). Very cool graphics engine, combat and gameplay.
• The Chaos Engine (1993) IMO The best bitmap brothers games when they were kings of the 16 bit era.
• Metroid Prime (2002) Great environments, design and soundtrack.

Going by favourite as "Left the most lasting impression on me" it would have to be:

1. Monster Hunter World

2. Crosscode

3. Outer Wilds

• The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
• Super Smash Bros. Melee
• Phantasy Star Online: Episodes I & II

Minecraft and Factorio are definitely my top 2, after that it gets difficult. Probably Mario Kart (not necessarily a specific one, but if you'd ask me to nail it down it'd be Double Dash (for the nostalgia) and 8 Deluxe (currently best imo) at the top).

These are the only games I have consistently played for over a decade and that I keep coming back to in one way or another because I enjoy them so much. And that to me is the most important aspect of a game: my actual enjoyment of it

Edit: Honorable Mentions:

• Chants of Senaar
• Opus Magnum
• Sea of Thieves
• Supreme Commander
• The Settlers Series (preferably 3-4)