Lurker > transience

25.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDOYIUnbR-Q

2008
Wii, PS3, 360 + anything Legacy Collection 2 is on

Mega Man 9 was an absolutely amazing return to form after a decade away. 9 is pretty clearly the best made game in the classic Mega Man series. It has weapons that are useful, diverse and most importantly fun. The levels are really varied and theyre all pretty enjoyable. The minibosses are enough of a challenge that hitting the halfway point of a stage feels rewarding. This game is challenging. It has great replay value too, with additional modes like time attack that can be pretty addicting given how great the weapon design is.

The one downside to MM9 is that theres so much instant death placed all over the stages, especially towards the end. This has always been prevalent in Mega Man but it feels especially notable here given how fun the rest of the game can be. Some jumps can be pretty tight and the game can feel like it requires muscle memory since the punishment is to have to run through half the level again. It feels like outdated game design in the age of hard games that instaspawn you right back where you were. If theres one thing Id complain about with classic Mega Man, its that it still has the concept of lives and game overs that make you rerun the whole level, especially when you go into a stage with 0 lives because it took everything you had to beat the last level.

Anyway. I love classic Mega Man to death and MM9 might be the purest distillation thats ever been made.

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xyzzy

I wouldn't think it would be your cup of tea

anyway, top 25 time. I'm trying to get this done by Wednesday because I'm going out of town Thursday afternoon for the weekend and I hate leaving things hanging

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xyzzy

26.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOsyTBhp4Hs

2011
Xbox 360, PS3, PC

Outland turns Ikaruga into a platformer and the results are kind of wild. Its slow to roll out abilities, but once you get going, this is a visual assault on the eyes as youre trying to juggle bullets, enemies and your own polarity all at once.

Outland wouldnt work unless it challenged you, and it brings the perfect level of difficulty: not *super* hard, but hard enough that its truly thrilling. Its fun to stare at a section and just go, is there really a way to do this? The game slowly adds on difficulty and lets you grasp the movement and the polarity shifting on a very smooth curve. Eventually you get so natural at it that is there really a way to do this? turns into my hands just did that and I am not at all sure how.

Sometimes you want to pause during a particularly dazzling bullet pattern, grab someone and say, check this shit out. Its slightly derivative, but there really isnt a polarity switching platformer out there so it still manages to feel unique.

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xyzzy

yeah, I wasn't mocking people who wanted that. I truly meant that some people need that slower movement in order to feel immersed.

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xyzzy

yeah, I like the movement better too. some people need that slow run in their RPGs though.

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xyzzy

27.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N40uY51s5Z0

2012
Lots of platforms

Theres no other game with a tone quite like TWD. Theres a desperation to the characters that makes it must-watch even when you want to look away.

This game wouldnt work at all without the relationship of Lee and Clementine. The other characters are all differing levels of bad depending on the situation and their desperation levels, but Lee and Clem are an all-time pairing that honestly cant be touched.

That relationship makes the end of this game absolutely soar in a way that most other games cant touch. Im not sure if any game higher on this list left a mark quite like the final minutes of TWD Season 1. I was shellshocked for days after that one and Ive played my share of rough games before. I actually never want to play this game again because it was so impactful that Id hate to ruin any memory of it. Keep that hair short, Clem.


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xyzzy

yeah I didn't talk about how much better P3P is than the others. there's an argument that FES is better atmospherically with the cutscenes and direct movement, but nope, not playing that one unless there's a mod that adds the P3P stuff into it.

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xyzzy

28.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T85-Obx9iE8

2010
PSP

I love Personas systems. Persona 3 is the only game that really lets the system be the focus of the game. Other games largely focus on the relationships between the main characters and the main narrative. Persona 3 Im not convinced it really has a core narrative until you get about 4 months into the school year, and I like that a whole lot more.

This narrative space allowed by the game lets the game flourish through its basic dungeon crawling and its social links. I love just getting sucked into the black hole that is watching the numbers go up as I get more social links and better stats.

It also lets the games tone shine through a little bit more. Persona 3s tone is brilliant and it becomes the star of the game in the absence of a lingering plot thread. The drums of Tartarus and the dorm song gives this game a mood that I just really enjoy. Its also my first Persona game which I think helps a lot - I think the first one you play sticks with you in a lot of RPG series, and Persona fits that bill.

And yet, despite Persona 3 not really having a standout story for the first half of the game, the story comes on in the last few months and actually shines. Persona 3 is the only game of the three that actually ends strong. Both 4 and 5 drop the ball, but 3 actually soars during its climactic ending and exhilarating (and exhausting) final boss. I like Persona 4 and 5, but I really adore Persona 3 and come back to it all the damn time.

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xyzzy

anyway, it's just two games this topic but that's another tier finished

100. hacknet
99. braid
98. batman: arkham asylum
97. super meat boy
96. portal
95. world of goo
94. hollow knight
93. super mario world
92. mega man maker
91. ace attorney 2
90. zelda: majora's mask
89. xenoblade chronicles x

88. monument valley
87. dragon warrior
86. mega man 3
85. castlevania: dawn of sorrow
84. nier: automata
83. we love katamari
82. zelda: link to the past
81. lethal league
80. half-minute hero 2
79. mike tyson's punch out!!
78. god of war 2
77. wolfenstein 2: the new colossus
76. super smash bros ultimate

75. binding of isaac
74. final fantasy 7
73. super hexagon
72. crystalis
71. suikoden
70. ace attorney 5
69. etrian odyssey 5
68. dragon warrior monsters 2
67. crypt of the necrodancer
66. dragon quest 3
65. final fantasy 4
64. actraiser
63. shadow hearts 2

62. persona 4 golden
61. metroid fusion
60. mega man 11
59. castle crashers
58. ace attorney investigations 2
57. street fighter 2
56. shadow complex
55. persona 5
54. zelda 1
53. holedown

52. final fantasy 9
51. final fantasy 6
50. castlevania: portrait of ruin
49. final fantasy 10
48. bleed
47. brothers: a tale of two sons
46. geometry wars 2
45. inside

44. slay the spire
43. super mario odyssey
42. street fighter 4
41. ace attorney 6
40. life is strange
39. tales of maj'eyal
38. etrian odyssey 4
37. dicey dungeons
36. the messenger

35. ace attorney
34. banished
33. tactics ogre: let us cling together
32. bleed 2
31. shadow hearts
30. dragon quest 11
29. ikaruga


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xyzzy

that's okay, there's nothing wrong with enjoying a popular game

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xyzzy

it's because of the polarity switching which has uses outside of that genre. that's what makes this game, not the shooting or the bullet patterns or the chaining or any of that

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xyzzy

29.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2W4KK994WA

2001
Arcade + many consoles

Look, Im not good at Ikaruga despite my best honest effort. Im good at a few different types of games but shmups are not one of them. A good run for me is getting to level 3, and level 4 just seems literally impossible without pure memorization of every second. I feel the same way about trying to play a piano masterpiece - yeah, maybe I could do it with a gargantuan effort, but I would need to memorize every note and how my hands would move to them individually, almost like muscle memory in a mega hard platformer or something. My pattern recognition just isnt what it needs to be to succeed in a thing like Ikaruga.

But man, I love the visual stimulation that Ikaruga offers in every fleeting second. Changing polarity is legitimately genre-changing. Every second of this gem feels important because the full game is like 24 minutes long. Ikaruga packs so much feeling into those 1500 killer seconds.

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xyzzy

I mean, 3 is the best of the classic ones and that seems to fit mobile better, but I can't speak to the mobile version specifically. however, 9 is like a bad version of 3, so if you actively disliked 9 you might not like 3.

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xyzzy

next topic here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/78293456


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xyzzy

30.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg0oBJ9cXYM

2018
PS4, PC, Switch

Once DQ11 gets going, its as good as any RPG this decade. The first few hours are feeling the game out, but once you assemble a decent party and start exploring the world proper, this game really soars.

The most underrated part of it is, weirdly, the loot system. DQ8 has this too, but 11s crafting system encourages exploration and unlocks a whole new meta layer of trying to get the best stuff. DQ11 is never close to hard but getting the best gear and forging +3 items never gets old. Its the best DQ mechanically by a good bit.

Its not perfect by any stretch: the towns can be cumbersome to explore and the quest system can feel exhausting if youre wandering around a maze-y town and talking to those awful accents all day. The music doesnt pop like most top tier RPGs. People complain about the sound quality but its not that. Theyre just uninspired songs written by a guy whos almost 90 years old and has an iron grip on the franchise through a combination of nostalgia and copyrights.

But DQ11 is still a great, great game. Without going into too much detail, this game has a structure that leaves you revisiting areas that make it feel lived in. There are some moments in DQ11 that are jaw-dropping for this series as the game can get dark in ways that DQ usually doesnt. They dont make complete JRPGs like this very often anymore, ones that feel so fulfilling and exciting to just exist inside. DQ11s final moments really feel like it closes out the series with absolute class.

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xyzzy

the list so far:

100. hacknet
99. braid
98. batman: arkham asylum
97. super meat boy
96. portal
95. world of goo
94. hollow knight
93. super mario world
92. mega man maker
91. ace attorney 2
90. zelda: majora's mask
89. xenoblade chronicles x

88. monument valley
87. dragon warrior
86. mega man 3
85. castlevania: dawn of sorrow
84. nier: automata
83. we love katamari
82. zelda: link to the past
81. lethal league
80. half-minute hero 2
79. mike tyson's punch out!!
78. god of war 2
77. wolfenstein 2: the new colossus
76. super smash bros ultimate

75. binding of isaac
74. final fantasy 7
73. super hexagon
72. crystalis
71. suikoden
70. ace attorney 5
69. etrian odyssey 5
68. dragon warrior monsters 2
67. crypt of the necrodancer
66. dragon quest 3
65. final fantasy 4
64. actraiser
63. shadow hearts 2

62. persona 4 golden
61. metroid fusion
60. mega man 11
59. castle crashers
58. ace attorney investigations 2
57. street fighter 2
56. shadow complex
55. persona 5
54. zelda 1
53. holedown

52. final fantasy 9
51. final fantasy 6
50. castlevania: portrait of ruin
49. final fantasy 10
48. bleed
47. brothers: a tale of two sons
46. geometry wars 2
45. inside

44. slay the spire
43. super mario odyssey
42. street fighter 4
41. ace attorney 6
40. life is strange
39. tales of maj'eyal
38. etrian odyssey 4
37. dicey dungeons
36. the messenger

35. ace attorney
34. banished
33. tactics ogre: let us cling together
32. bleed 2
31. shadow hearts

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xyzzy

top 30 time. feel free to spend the rest of the topic predicting or complaining or whatever and I'll make a new one for the top 30.

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xyzzy

31.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pak00-dkrrY

PS2
2001

Im not sure how, exactly, but SH1 totally holds up. I mean, dont get me wrong, it was dated even when it came out in 2001. It came out on the PS2 but it feels more suited to the PS1. The pre-rendered environments feel like theyre from that golden era and the fact that this games awkward dialogue isnt voiced over is a blessing in disguise. (And before you ask, Sea Mama is just a weird blessing from the gods.)

SH2 has a great soundtrack but it doesnt get the chance to shine because all the biggest scenes have mediocre voice acting drowning out the mood. This is a general complaint I have of most games that came out in the 2000s: their soundtracks just arent as memorable, something thats continued into the 2010s where soundtracks can start to resemble movie soundtracks due to the subject matter becoming so much more cinematic. But SH1? Its basically a 90s game transported to 2001 and that soundtrack is killer. The first half of this game takes place in Asia and the soundtrack makes you feel it, and when you get to Europe, you get much moodier, atmospheric pieces. This games sound really sells it, not just the music but the sound design too.

SH1s gameplay is really simple and unrefined. The battles go by really quick though and the dungeon designs are really straightforward and fun. This game isnt trying to be overly smart with puzzles. It just lets you walk straight through and experience the atmosphere. Atmosphere is what SH1 does really well and it still plays today, thanks in large part to that soundtrack.

The dialogue here can be awkward as hell, especially in the early goings where Yuri is a straight up creeper that would totally not play if it came out today. But once you get going, the story is really enjoyable and the three main characters work together really well. I really like this cast and the overall story that it tells. Of course, its more about atmosphere than story, but those two things play together really well. This game has a vibe to it that makes it feel really special.

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xyzzy

32.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUloJK7nw7g

2017
PC, Switch, PS4, XB1

The bullet parry changes everything. Bleed was already super good but the core gameplay is more fun with the ability to shoot shots back at enemies. It adds a dimension to your arsenal that the original lacked. Before, you were just dodging everything but now you can fight back.

Bleed 1 was focused. It has no fluff. But compared to Bleed 2? Bleed 2 has something like 25 bosses in the span of an hour. It's crazy. Some are reused from the original but those dudes are still fun to fight.

This game cant go more than one minute without throwing a really fun boss fight at you. There's so much to take in on a second by second basis that it might even be too much. Bleed 2 trumps Bleed 1 in every way to the point that it kinda feels obsolete despite being a completely different game. Bleed 2 is a lot of fun to go back to and I throw it on all the time to try to beat my best runs or just to cruise through it in a quick sitting.


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xyzzy

I was thinking more about PC. seems like you could do a lot with modding that version given how much fans have done to the ps1 version

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xyzzy

that's a real good port but I can't play it without buttons. I just need my menuing to be a lot faster than a touch screen can give me. I wish they'd put it on other platforms - they've done that with every other game of theirs.

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xyzzy

yeah, the ace attorney trilogy is self contained and tells a very complete story. you can think of it like the original star wars trilogy: you might see those characters in the other movies but their story is really contained to those three movies. if you've played the first AA and it doesn't appeal then yeah, skip the rest cause they're not going to bring anything to the table that will really change your mind.

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xyzzy

33.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB7p8O2_mz8

1995, 2011
SNES/PSP

Ive been a big fan of Let Us Cling Together since the 90s. (Its one of only 12 games that have made every top xx games list of mine since I started tracking them in, lets see, early 2004.) At this point I only play the remake, but I do have a ton of affection for the original.

Tactics Ogre is FFTs daddy, and there are some things that it does straight up better than FFT. Its branching story is super fun and really forward thinking given when it came out. Its really fascinating to watch the whole story play out differently when you change up a few choices.

The characters arent as good here as they are in FFT, but its mostly because everyone in this game is a gigantic dick. LUCTs world is super harsh and that carries over to a really brutal atmosphere. The PSP version of LUCT also has a fantastic translation, much better than any of the versions that FFT got. That translation really lets the dicks shine.

Battles are also on FFTs level, if not above them. You get a bigger army in LUCT and the quality of life tweaks in the PSP version make battling a lot more fun. There are a ton of named characters that join your party and theyre a lot of fun to use. Youre looking for every advantage you can get in this game because some of the content can be pretty rough to deal with, especially the optional content.

Unfortunately, they somehow screwed up the progression in LUCT. Without going too into the weeds, classes level up, not characters, which means that any new class that you unlock is largely useless unless you spend hours and hours dragging those classes along until theyre finally on a competent level to be able to help your party. The end result is that you basically never change class, so while there is a job system at play here and you use all sorts of different classes, youre never going to be bouncing your characters from class to class to mix and match skills. That just doesnt exist, and its really too bad because its all there to be leveraged. The game just doesnt allow it with how its designed.

The gameplay is awesome, and theres tons of optional/postgame content, but oh my god does it grindy in the postgame. You can beat this game in 50 hours and feel satisfied, but youll be putting in like 500 hours if you actually want to get 100%. It sucks because the gameplay here is so good, but they basically force you to run maps over and over in the hopes of getting random drops so you can continue on. LUCT is awesome but theres just enough questionable stuff in the remake to keep it a clear tier below FFT.

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xyzzy

34.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBGX0dl5Ziw

2014
PC

I like city builders, but one thing I cant handle is too much complexity. Thats kind of the genre though. I want to like Cities: Skylines but I open it up and am greeted with a thousand different icons and menus and its super overwhelming. Ive tried 3 or 4 times and have anxiously walked away from it very quickly each time.

Banished, on the other hand, is a village builder, one that focuses more on surviving the winter than just building stuff. The end result feels more organic as you spend more time on resource management and micromanagement than trying to build a megalopolis.

You might go a year in the game and only build a single house, and maybe not even that if you want to focus on just clearing trees or collecting stones. Banished is the definition of a slow burn, but that buildup feels really authentic as you go from 20 named people to maybe 100 people over the course of many hours. You likely will never hit 1000 even in the best conditions. Its small enough that the game notifies you when a single person grows to be an adult and when they die.

It also has a really nice back woods tone that I really like. The quiet ambiance of a village -- the music helps here -- feels all the more impactful when things happen, positive or negative. This game feels lived in and real, unlike the other city builders that Ive played where they feel magnanimous and booming at the macro level. This one has quiet moments that can feel absolutely deadly on a personal level when your town gets wiped out because the winter was particularly harsh and there isnt enough food or warm coats to survive it.

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xyzzy

35.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zf_Q0lIcJK4

2005
DS

AA1 is a simple game compared to where the series would end up going, but man, you cant mess with the origin story. Phoenix Wrights development is largely isolated to this game: theres some in AA2s final case, but other than that, hes more or less the same guy just trying to figure out what the f is going on. Miles Edgeworth gets the same treatment as he goes from phenom to good guy to defendant all within one game. All the important stuff happens here.

Each case, even the mediocre ones, have weight to them because its all part of the core series. Later games have filler cases that dont really impact the broader narrative, but not AA1. The only exception is the bonus case, 1-5, and that case has the length and complexity of other games finales. This game is lucky enough to basically have two endings, and while 1-5 has some issues (that goddamn vase augh), its still 100% worth playing.

I cant talk about Ace Attorney without mentioning case 4 which honestly makes the whole series. That case has so many good moments but the way it concludes instantly cements the game as having one of the most memorable stories around. They probably dont make a sequel if the first games final case didnt feel so damn brilliant.

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xyzzy

another tier down.

100. hacknet
99. braid
98. batman: arkham asylum
97. super meat boy
96. portal
95. world of goo
94. hollow knight
93. super mario world
92. mega man maker
91. ace attorney 2
90. zelda: majora's mask
89. xenoblade chronicles x

88. monument valley
87. dragon warrior
86. mega man 3
85. castlevania: dawn of sorrow
84. nier: automata
83. we love katamari
82. zelda: link to the past
81. lethal league
80. half-minute hero 2
79. mike tyson's punch out!!
78. god of war 2
77. wolfenstein 2: the new colossus
76. super smash bros ultimate

75. binding of isaac
74. final fantasy 7
73. super hexagon
72. crystalis
71. suikoden
70. ace attorney 5
69. etrian odyssey 5
68. dragon warrior monsters 2
67. crypt of the necrodancer
66. dragon quest 3
65. final fantasy 4
64. actraiser
63. shadow hearts 2

62. persona 4 golden
61. metroid fusion
60. mega man 11
59. castle crashers
58. ace attorney investigations 2
57. street fighter 2
56. shadow complex
55. persona 5
54. zelda 1
53. holedown

52. final fantasy 9
51. final fantasy 6
50. castlevania: portrait of ruin
49. final fantasy 10
48. bleed
47. brothers: a tale of two sons
46. geometry wars 2
45. inside

44. slay the spire
43. super mario odyssey
42. street fighter 4
41. ace attorney 6
40. life is strange
39. tales of maj'eyal
38. etrian odyssey 4
37. dicey dungeons
36. the messenger

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xyzzy

36.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8dGyXzqtCo

2018
Switch, PC, PS4

This game just flows. All told, The Messengers gameplay is pretty straightforward 2d action stuff, swinging a sword, throwing a dart and dodging a lot of enemy attacks. But in motion, it becomes a lot more.

The Messengers big mechanic, the Cloudstep, gives you an additional jump when you hit an enemy or a candle. The result is you just effortlessly flying through the level without touching the ground. Its so much fun. This games movement is super tight and the level design encourages you to get really good at it. Theres a flow to Messenger that really elevates it over its base mechanics taken separately, and like most games that I adore, the game has a high enough difficulty to force you to get good at that stuff. That challenge level makes it feel really good.

The game also completely changes on you at least twice as you move from 8 bit to 16 bit and, later, from a level based sidescroller to a true metroidvania. That stuff is awesome, but really, the games flow and level design soar regardless of the genre changes.

Oh, and the musics pretty great, too, especially with two different versions of each track, an 8 bit and 16 bit version.

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xyzzy

I think it'll be better on mobile than Switch

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xyzzy

37.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2AdLWsRuHg

2019
PC (Switch and Mobile in 2020)

Dicey Dungeons is just so cozy. Everything is aggressively friendly and the game is super inviting. This is a game you can pick up and play anytime and it has the flattest learning curve ever. That doesnt mean there isnt any depth though. Its just immediately apparent how to do everything and doesnt take indepth knowledge of the mechanics in order to pull off some cool stuff.

DD has hundreds of unique cards that all have really interesting mechanics. Some require even dice, some split one large dice into two smaller ones, some require two dice and have multipliers attached to the cards. Theres so many options. Slay the Spire relies on random drops while DD uses the dice themselves as the random factor. The dice rolls end up working out like an RPG attack would and rarely are the reason that you might lose a fight. This isnt randomness screwing you over, it's your decisions and your knowledge of how everything works in concert with each other.

Each class is surprisingly unique with completely different mechanics and limit breaks. On top of that, the different challenge modes really offer a lot: its surprising just how many different kinds of runs you can have in a game that are just dice and cards. DD doesnt go out of its way to have a bonkers postgame like Slay the Spire, but it does beat it out when it comes to gameplay variety.

DD also has great mod support and can make the game feel endlessly fresh if youre willing to dig in. Ill be playing this one on and off for years.

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xyzzy

yeah, I trust your feeling on the SF scene much more than mine since you're so much deeper into it. to be honest, even if 4 was still going, my life situation suggests that I would have naturally walked away from competitive online games anyway because I'm not going to play them enough to stay at any kind of level. I'm impressed that you've managed to stay plugged in with your girl! I guess it's easier to have 1 than 2, but still.

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xyzzy

imkindafunny posted...

Wow.

Wowowow.

I've been teetering on buying this one for years, and I think you just sold me.

give it a shot! there's a few of us around these parts who have Maj'eyal and I think we all like it a bunch. I think there's a free version too if you don't buy it on Steam.

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xyzzy

38.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vC5YzZ394bg

2013
3DS

When it comes to Etrian Odyssey, 4s a clear tier above the rest for me. The games main gimmick is that you can explore a proper overworld in a balloon. Exploring the overworld is a fun diversion as you explore your way to new areas. You find so many different themed dungeons along the way. Instead of the standard EO formula of breaking a big dungeon into themed blocks, 4 mixes it up and lets you play a lot of simpler dungeons. There are bigger main dungeons too for when you want to get back on the main quest and dungeon crawl the classic way.

But none of this works without the characters. Not their personalities, of course. The character builds in EO4 are crazy fun and the different classes synergize together so well. My playthrough had a Dancer, Landschneckt and Runemaster that could chain upwards of 20 attacks per turn with how their abilities matched up. There are other builds with the other classes that can also exploit the games mechanics and let you mess enemies up.

EO4 isnt as hard as other games in the series so you arent struggling to advance quite as hard, but thats a good thing because the games open design encourages you to explore. Youre constantly making progress in EO4 when compared to other EO games. This is the only EO game that I went all in on and did even the postgame material. Id play this game right now if I had a working 3DS. It sucks that this series is likely over because we no longer have dual screen platforms to sell them on.


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xyzzy

39.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nMIPHuI8J4

2013
PC

My most played game on Steam is this graphical capital-r Roguelike. Its the one roguelike Ive been able to grasp and it gets its hooks in me real deep.

Its a traditional roguelike but plays more like a super deep version of Diablo or Torchlight. Its a game whose core loop is diving down a dungeon, finding loot with tons of effects, evaluating them carefully and trying my hardest not to die. Not that different to a standard dungeon crawler, but its like randomizing a full game as opposed to just a dungeon. There are eight trillion ways for things to go in TOME. Because of that, once I start a run, I cannot stop playing until it ends. I get so addicted to these kinds of games that it can feel a little unhealthy as I have to see how it ends.

I also really like how friendly this game is to new players. A lot of roguelikes punch you in the face for not knowing the intricacies of the game/genre but Majeyal lets you take it however you want it, giving you extra lives or even turning off permadeath if youre so inclined. (I dont do this, but I like that its not strict about it.)

This game isnt Dwarf Fortress levels of complicated but its certainly not Final Fantasy either. This is a game with different stats for defense and attack and about a hundred different types of ailments. You can look at an item description for 2 minutes trying to understand all the features of it. You have to be on top of things or you will die real quick, and the possibility of having your whole game reset actually adds to the thrill. (You can turn that off if youre not a fan, but I like it.)

I have 53/1746 achievements unlocked after 123 hours of gameplay. I could go deep on this game for a full year and not play anything else, and still only learn half of what I would need to know to truly thrive in this deep game.

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xyzzy

it might be too morose for your tastes. one thing I've learned about you over the years is that you need a hero to latch onto.

edit: oh, and life is strange is in that style too, in case that wasn't clear. (I know you didn't love it)

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xyzzy

the only ones I struggle with are the Telltale style of adventure games because the choice of those games feels so permanent. I don't really want to overwrite my memories by making a different choice.

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xyzzy

I think that's true too - but that kinda rolls into how much I want to play it. I'm always chasing reliving that memory.

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xyzzy

40.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AURVxvIZrmU

2015
Lots of platforms

This game has an incredible sense of place, especially for an indie kid like me. It transports me back to my adolescence with a nostalgia that I shouldnt have for a time and place Ive never been. Its the way the game lets you meander on a moment that just fits so well with the themes of the game. Sometimes you just want to sit for a minute and let the indie folk music wash over you.

The characters of LIS are fine, but its the setting and sense of mystery that elevated this game. Life is Strange focused on the mystery of Maxs powers and the ripple effects that they caused, and those powers led to a lot of theorycrafting that worked great thanks to the games episodic release. It felt like a weekly TV show and made the game feel like more than it was. Obviously none of that matters now that its been out for years, but that really enhanced my feelings on this game, even now.

There are a few moments that really hit like a truck, especially in the later episodes. This game is nothing if not wistful, and those moments work super well on me.

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xyzzy

41.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2L9Os_2nnEY

2016
3DS, Mobile

Ace Attorney 6s storyline and atmosphere hit some of the highest highs in the series. The different setting really helps to turn the page on some series staples and that change freshens things up considerably. The music takes on a different tone as AA6 goes much more mystical than its predecessors. Theyre all welcome changes.

In particular, the Khurain revolution plotline is smartly written and has layers that unfold across several cases and dozens of hours. AA6 is much longer than other games in the series and stretches across two countries, eventually culminating in a monster final case thats bigger in scope than any case in series history. That final case truly changes the direction the series will go in the future for the first time since the tragedy that is AA4.

And yet, half of the game feels largely throwaway as a way to keep all of the previously established main characters involved. The Khurain arc is the core of the game and the other cases just dont feel as consequential as a result. These two isolated halves are hard to reconcile and ultimately keep this game from sitting near the top of my AA rankings.


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xyzzy

42.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAMq3RaUNrg

2009
PS3, 360, PC, PS4

Street Fighter 4 was a damn revelation when it came out. 4 isnt *that* fundamentally different from SF2, and that familiarity is what made 4 such a huge hit. However, they came out in totally different gaming environments. SF2 hit and caused a full-on arcade boom whereas SF4 hit right when online multiplayer was cresting.
I can remember watching high level SF4 arcade videos in 2008 and it blew my mind. Livestreaming was just starting to hit in 2009, the days of ustream and justin.tv. The convergence of online multiplayer, youtube and live streaming made SF4 an absolute juggernaut.

I bring all of this up because SF4 just isnt what it used to be because the game is old news. SF4 died the day SF5 hit and that sucks because SF5 kinda sucks.

I really loved SF4 from 2009-2015 or so and a lot of that was its online presence, following the scene and trying (and failing) to live up to what pros could do. Playing this game online with friends was a real joy because so many people came up with SF2 and this felt like a great way to socialize and try to measure up. The game got consistent updates that largely worked. It felt like the glory days of Street Fighter, and honestly fighting games in general.

I went along with that big-time - this is one of only five games that have topped my games lists over the last 15 years. I would happily play this game with friends if people still played it, though theres a skill barrier that you have to push through and I simply dont have the dedication or time to grind like Id need to in order to get the right amount of satisfaction out of SF4. Id much rather play lots of different games than be monogamous with one ultra-competitive game. But when all that competitive and social capital built up by SF4 up and disappears as people move on to the next big fighting game (or, more accurately, just away from fighting games completely), whats actually left to enjoy?

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xyzzy

43.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGQHQc_3ycE

2017
Switch

This game is just pure unadulterated joy. Its so colorful and happy and feels like magic. I wish this game came out when I was a kid because wow. My kids take to this game like moths to a flame. I always watch their reactions to Odyssey and imagine what I was like as a wide-eyed child who was just introduced to what would go on to be my first favourite games, because that's what this will be to them.

Each monster that you can capture adds a new wrinkle to the gameplay. You could do a whole ranking of the Odyssey captures because each one brings so much new to the world. My favourites, without putting a ton of thought into this, are the leggy dudes from the Wooded Kingdom and the Goomba just because stacking a crapload of goombas on top of each other is always amazing. The unique worlds are really unique and add a lot too.

3d Mario isnt typically my thing -- Mario 64 singlehandedly turned me off to the n64 -- because Im only so-so at 3d platforming. Odyssey, though, feels more like an open world adventure game with how much fun it is to explore the areas and see all the secrets they shoved into every corner. If you poke at the edges of this game world, youll find things that feel rewarding all over the place. Each world is bursting with hundreds of secrets. Sometimes you get a moon, sometimes you find some purple coins and sometimes its nothing. What a cool game this is.

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xyzzy

well, I played all of 'em this year so it's just how much I like each at this point in time. I try not to make it too complicated. I do think replayability is a big factor since what's the point of thinking highly of a game if it's not fun to pick up and play again? I don't worry about objective quality that much.

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xyzzy

ha, unexpected! I guess you're not on team Final Fantasy these days!

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xyzzy

44.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SZUtyYSOjQ

2019
PC, Switch, PS4, XB1

Slay the Spire is ostensibly a deck builder but it ends up feeling more like Binding of Isaac thanks to the seemingly infinite number of possible builds. Youre collecting randomized cards and building a deck but youre also collecting randomized relics that modify your character abilities in a hundred different ways. This game is all about taking in a ton of information and figuring out how to use those variables to their maximum advantage.

For example, you might be playing the Silent, a rogue/mage hybrid class that really thrives on poison damage and damage multipliers. Halfway through the run, though, you might gain some relics that do extra damage when you throw daggers at the enemy, forcing you to course correct your build to focus on a different kind of card. Your ability to be flexible and adjust on the fly is key to being good at this game. Its so easy to get bogged down trying to build one specific way and getting screwed in the process.

There are so many cool deck combinations in this game. Its kind of like Etrian Odyssey, where your class gets a handful of ability options and your job is to figure out how to synergize them together. There are three classes in STS (soon to be 4) and each of them has multiple reliable builds that you can aim for depending on what you get. Each run gets more and more addicting until youve suddenly lost 10 hours screwing around trying to get the perfect run.

And every time that finish a well-played or lucky run, the game ups the difficulty the next time out and screws with you just a little bit more. Bosses get more HP, you get less potion slots, you start with less than max HP, etc. Theres no beating Slay the Spire without a ton of struggle, and when you do it just gets worse. You can lose yourself playing this dumb little deck game and its super fun doing so.

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xyzzy

another tier down. I'm super high on everything from here on, to the point that I feel like the next 25ish games belong in the 20s.

100. hacknet
99. braid
98. batman: arkham asylum
97. super meat boy
96. portal
95. world of goo
94. hollow knight
93. super mario world
92. mega man maker
91. ace attorney 2
90. zelda: majora's mask
89. xenoblade chronicles x

88. monument valley
87. dragon warrior
86. mega man 3
85. castlevania: dawn of sorrow
84. nier: automata
83. we love katamari
82. zelda: link to the past
81. lethal league
80. half-minute hero 2
79. mike tyson's punch out!!
78. god of war 2
77. wolfenstein 2: the new colossus
76. super smash bros ultimate

75. binding of isaac
74. final fantasy 7
73. super hexagon
72. crystalis
71. suikoden
70. ace attorney 5
69. etrian odyssey 5
68. dragon warrior monsters 2
67. crypt of the necrodancer
66. dragon quest 3
65. final fantasy 4
64. actraiser
63. shadow hearts 2

62. persona 4 golden
61. metroid fusion
60. mega man 11
59. castle crashers
58. ace attorney investigations 2
57. street fighter 2
56. shadow complex
55. persona 5
54. zelda 1
53. holedown

52. final fantasy 9
51. final fantasy 6
50. castlevania: portrait of ruin
49. final fantasy 10
48. bleed
47. brothers: a tale of two sons
46. geometry wars 2
45. inside

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xyzzy

45.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jp4W5iyRAQA

2016
PC, PS4, XB1, Switch

Inside is fucking terrifying. Everything about this game is so supremely uncomfortable. This feels like a silent horror movie as everything just feels so dreadful. It's not a game about jump scares or anything like that, but you won't feel at ease playing it.

The puzzles that you solve are equally offputting, like pulling tails off of pigs so they stop chasing you which allows you to drag their lifeless bodies around. This lets you use them as a platform to get to a mind control device that attaches to your head and lets you control some lifeless zombies that can open doors and gates for you. Nothing in this game makes sense or feels good or feels right. Everyone is trying to kill you. Theyre not just trying to stop you or capture you. Theyre trying to squeeze the life from your lifeless child body.

Theres no real explanation or point to anything that happens in Inside, just a sequence of increasingly uncomfortable situations that make you feel on edge and wonder just what the heck is going on. You craft narratives in your head because the feelings that the game gives you are so intriguing.

And then, when you finally go inside, everything changes and you will never forget the next fifteen minutes for the rest of your life.

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xyzzy

I didn't know about that, that's awful

I hope Fortnite gets an ingame event about Kate Marsh's suicide jump

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xyzzy

yeah, you're not wrong

except about brothers

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xyzzy

yeah. I'm actually a little worried about gamers that there's such a market for these? I'm obviously supportive of these kinds of things, as I know you are, but it feels so incredibly prevalent that I feel weird about it. I'm starting to appreciate games like Bleed that can have a killer gameplay experience without any kind of message, weird as that is to say.

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xyzzy

there's so many depression games now that I actually feel less impacted by them? not talking about edith finch or brothers, just all these one hour long grief simulators that seem around every corner.

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xyzzy

46.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpce6dPZnJU

2008
Xbox 360

This would have been a killer arcade game back in the day. Geometry Wars 2 is a dual-stick high score chaser that gets your pulse up because so much is going on and youre probably going to die very quickly.

Its six unique game modes all play very differently and are addictive in their own ways. Some are timed and some come at you fast. Some are slower paced and strategic (but still killing you very fast). The game lets you change up the pace so you dont get bored grinding on the same high score run, and it works really well.

The real secret of this game is that it is an audiovisual delight. Things are exploding all over the screen and the sound effects of each shape coming after you are clues on what you need to be ready for.

This game is frustrating because you almost always feel like you shouldnt have died on what you did - not that you died unnecessarily, but that you should have done better. That frustration makes you slam the button and play another run, and before you know it an hour has passed. The one more run feeling is what really sells this game.

I wish this game would come to other consoles. Its probably playable on the Xbox One through back compat, but literally every other XBLA game of note has come to a plethora of other platforms and this is the only one still trapped on the dated service.

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xyzzy