Board 8 > Board 8's Top 20 PS4 Games - The Results

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Total Stats: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18sFKVDrf_ePBTV8Y9T8-J7PPUc_yBV4NhgRLPK0JbbE/edit?usp=sharing
All Writeups: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1k9N7e0gcJspBy1g1moqlsy0EvQGtF6tCbHMDi2Df3hg/edit?usp=sharing

Much appreciated to everyone who voted and provided write-ups! The structure of the list is a ranking with the same variables as before taking importance in order:

• Total Points
• Total Appearances
• First-Place Points

#20 TIE. Dark Souls III (2016)
Total Points: 13
List Appearances: 6
First Place Votes: 0
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/d/d988f0af.jpg

Writeup provided by tazzyboyishere
I came into the Souls fandom a bit late. I didn't start playing them until early 2015, so I missed the initial boat on the first three. Similarly, I didnt have a PS4 until around Christmas of that same year, so I was ever so slightly late to Bloodborne. But after plenty of plays and replays, I was officially locked into the franchise, and, for the first time, I was ready to experience a new release with the rest of the country. The results were everything I had hoped for and more. Its easy to look at Dark Souls III and see where it falters in relation to its siblings. In the same way Dark Souls II did its own thing for better or worse, Dark Souls III gleefully acknowledges itself as a sequel for better or worse. But that experience of playing it for the first time, discovering the ins and outs of the world design, combat, and lore was truly mesmerizing.

The core premise follows the same general trend as the past games. Four gatekeepers of sorts hold the key to you taking out some entity well past their prime in order to bring about change to the world, either by prolonging the status quo or by destroying what has been to make way for something new. This is an oversimplification of the narratives, but each game follows this trend while introducing new ways of relaying the concepts. While each game takes place in a lonely, broken kingdom, it is more evident than ever you are in the end times this time around. Each area feels grim, with few signs of life to grasp onto. Whereas previous games had hub areas like Majula or the Firelink Shrine, both of which felt like remnants of a world worth saving, DS3s hub is a shrine lost to time, so close to the heart of the land, yet forgotten in the midst of its slow death. Demonkind, a race so critical within the history of this world, has all but withered away, with only small remnants of their force wandering about, weaker than ever. Once grand civilizations like the city of Irithyll are haunted by shades and infested with disturbing abominations of the Deep, a concept I could try to explain, but I dont have ten hours to spare. So many concepts explored within this game are depressing as hell, but it manages to be so fascinating through all of it.

The main claim to fame these games have is their memorable boss fights. While Ive always cared more about world and individual level design, and those parts of the game are incredible, the boss fights are equally impressive. It is getting rarer and rarer for me to deal with the type of difficulty these types of games advertise, and I fully expect, had I played this game for the first time today, I would have been exhausted by what I faced, but holy hell, pretty much all of these are bangers. You have a few weak gimmick bosses like the Greatwood or the Deacons, but otherwise, every fight is highly memorable, and most are incredibly fun to learn. The prior games have quite a few terrible boss fights (Dragon God, Moonlight Butterfly, Bed of Chaos, Ancient Dragon, Gank Squad, Royal Rat Authority, these are all just ones I thought of off the top of my head). But DS3? There really arent any, and most of them are so fucking good. Like, I could even get into games like Bloodborne and Elden Ring and name off a few boss fights I think suck ass, but I cant really do that with DS3.

Much of this is owed to the highly improved control and flow. Both DS 1 and 2 are pretty tough to go back to, but DS3 brings a lot of the smoothness felt from Bloodbornes movement into the more methodical pace of Dark Souls. The result is mildly controversial depending on who you talk to, but the jank you feel when going back to one of the earlier games simply isnt there with 3. It allowed them to get a lot more creative with encounter design, with tons of really cool battles and setpieces that make the adventure feel sufficiently epic. While it does have the side effect of making this the easiest game in the series, at least to me, the game is plenty challenging regardless, so I dont personally see it as a fault, especially given how hard its firing on all cylinders.

Unfortunately, a lot of my praise gets lost in the first DLC, Ashes of Ariandel, a dull, meandering effort to recapture magic from two incredible snow levels From had already made for us, ending with an overdesigned boss that feels ripped straight out of Elden Ring. I, uh, dont wanna talk about that. BUT, I want to make my opinion there known simply so I can ensure everyone who may be reading this, and hasnt played the game, that The Ringed City offers one of the greatest conclusions to a franchise you could ever see. So rarely do endings manage to fully connect all the themes of a story together in a powerful way, but holy shit, they fucking did it. The ending to Dark Souls III is the encapsulation of three dense, medium-defining legacies, and it really is a magical experience. Like, my eyes are welling up just thinking about how great it is. Any ending that can make me look at my favorite franchise and think, I hope they dont make another one of these is fucking magical.

#20 TIE. Life Is Strange (2015)
Total Points: 13
List Appearances: 6
First Place Votes: 0
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/c/ccd0528e.jpg

Writeup provided by ctesjbuvf
Life is Strange is an adventure game that is all about the story, the characters and the choices you make and not so much about the gameplay itself. It is set in what appears to be a realistic setting of Black Academy in Acadia Bay. You play as Max Claufield, who has lived in the city previously but just came back after some years. One day in photography class she has visions of a tornado hitting Acadia Bay and discovers an ability to rewind briefly back in time, which allows her to change the life choices she makes.

Thats one of the primary appeals of the game. It is made perfectly clear when you are making decisions that affect the direction of the game and when your directions are not. You can rewind back and watch them all and see which one you like the most. The game is even clear about when it is a big decision and when it is not. It doesnt drastically change the course of the game, but they do make differences.

The game was released in 5 episodes over the course of a couple of years. I played them all in one setting after the full game came out so I wont comment too much on this release strategy, but at the end of each chapter you are told what percentage of players made which choices. You can see this for both your friends and all users. Its quite fun, in particular because you will occasionally notice options that you didnt know you had. Either because you didnt trigger the event or because you didnt say or do something that allowed all options for you.

The other main appeal I would say are the characters. You grow very attached to Max, Chloe, Kate etc. while you uncover the mysteries of Acadia Bay. I am not gonna do a write-up that spoils a lot, but the games way of making you attached to the characters make a lot of the scenes extremely effective in touching your feelings and keeping you hooked.

Id say the second and third episodes are the best part. The cliffhangers are insane and you are extremely hooked. I have issues with how the game wraps up that doesnt feel entirely satisfying. The first chapter is fine, it mostly just introduces things. Regardless, Ive actually played the game quite a few times, which is very rare for me to do with any game released since I finished school. Its fun to play with friends (you dont really play, its more like an interactive movie) and see their reactions. Ive done this with at least four people, so I have very fond memories of it!

taggin'

tazzyboyishere posted...

The game was released in 5 episodes over the course of a couple of years

Just a quick correction but this game was released all in the same year usually with 1-2 month gaps.

I wish I could like LIS more than I did. It's very good at times, and I'm a weirdo who thinks the "Sacrifice Chloe" ending was perfect, but so much of the game is just really boring to me.

I absolutely love the game, but to me it has that Walking Dead S1 problem, where it's close to a 10/10 experience first time through, undeniably, but then you realize how little you do matters outside of the moment-to-moment stuff. I still think though the characters, atmosphere, music, and time travel power are top notch.

#19. Kingdom Hearts III (2019)
Total Points: 13
List Appearances: 6
First Place Votes: 1
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/e/e1c2ce5d.jpg

Writeup provided by StifledSilence
Do people like this game? Is it remembered fondly like 1 and 2? Ikind of dont think it is. I mean like, ok, it made this list, so some people clearly like it. But I dont think I have ever had a conversation about this game with ANYONE outside of my wife and son who watched me play it. Technically my daughter saw it too, but she was just born at the time. But you know what? I thought it was pretty great. It had some hiccups, sure. I thought the opening song was weird as hell and didnt fit the tone of what felt at the time like it was going to be a conclusion to the story. Some of the levels were noticeablysabotaged by Disney. Some of the story beats were sugar high dopamine rushes that made no sense whatsoever but I cried anyway so dont you dare judge me! But other than that? It was super fun! Lets discuss!

Pirate ships! I REALLY liked the pirate ship level. It was so fun having battles on the high seas! It made me think of this game that had a massive AAA budget and was supposed to be a big ship combat type of thing. The name escapes me, but I remember people said it utterly failed at doing what it set out to do. And here we are with a single level in Kingdom Hearts 3 knocking it out of the park! Good for you, Squeenix. I thought the Toy Story level was pretty great too. It had giant robots that you could control! I appreciated the unique little bonus play styles tossed in to mix things up.

And the combat! I loved the combat! The combos feel so good to control. Everything felt fairly fast and fluid. And Id be willing to bet some probably didnt like this, but I LOVED the ridiculous things that happened when you pushed a prompted triangle button. I dunno about you, but pushing a button to do an absolutely bonkers 200 hit combo with a god damn ride from Disney World is PEAK flashy nonsense to me. It never got old. Anytime I saw that triangle button prompt appear, I mashed that bad boy as fast as I could. Some fights became a ton of flashy, campy chaos happening all around Sora and it was incredible.

The big thing the entire Kingdom Hearts series has done well and continues to do here is the anticipation. They give you delicious morsels of plot at the beginning, leave you completely and utterly confused, and then slowly build up the tension to the reveal throughout the rest of the game. Playing through each one, I was always on the edge of my seat anticipating what would happen with the story next. Every Disney level would sprinkle in little bits of plot but they were never satisfying enough. But the tease was always just enough to make me keep pushing forward. With the added feeling that this may be the storys conclusion, that anticipation was as present as ever in KH3, which I was glad for.

My favorite thing about the game though? Watching my son get AMPED UP every time enemies appeared on the screen. He would jump out of his seat and start swinging a foam sword around, pretending to be Sora. He was fighting heartless right alongside me! Anytime I think back to my time with Kingdom Hearts 3, this is the first thing I think of. He also did this with Final Fantasy 7 Remake where he pretended to be Cloud, but Sora gets credit for doing it first. My wife would also drop in when she had time to watch where the story went. She had played through the first two games when she was younger but didnt want to play this one. Shes not as into video games as she used to be. But there are a few games I have good memories of her watching and commenting while I played. Life is Strange was another good example of that. But Kingdom Hearts 3 will always be a game that gives me the warm and fuzzies because above all else, it was a nice family memory for me.

#18. Horizon Zero Dawn (2017)
Total Points: 13
List Appearances: 7
First Place Votes: 0
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/c/cb044b39.jpg

Writeup provided by MacArrowny
This game is good. I liked just about everything about it. It took a while for me to get used to get used to the combat, but once I figured out more of my options I enjoyed it a good amount. Using traps is pretty fun, and the different arrow types are neat to use for various scenarios. I also realized that rapid-firing arrows did more damage than pulling back and aiming, but unfortunately you get bows that do more damage when you pull back and aim in Frozen Wilds, so that kinda backfired on me eventually <_<. Exploring is always enjoyable, though I feel like there wasn't that much motivation to go out on my own? Not a ton of stuff to find. More the game mechanics around it that feel good. Everything about the game is just extremely polished and feels good. I think the thing I'd want most gameplay-wise for a sequel (which I got) is some sorta new movement mechanic. Something like a double jump, or flying, or a jetpack, or a glider. Mounts are cool, but this would be cooler. Overriding enemies to fight for you is probably the best/most unique mechanic in the game, and it's great.

Story-wise, learning about what happened in the past is the highlight. Everything that happened in the past was super compelling, and it was fun to learn about that gradually all throughout the game. There was a neat cast of past characters, and pretty much everything made sense. The present-day story wasn't as exciting, but it was still enjoyable, and the ways it tied in to the past story were cool too.

Finally, I don't think Frozen Wilds is as good. I'd give it more like a 7 or 7.5. The story's still cool, but it's not quite as compelling overall. There's a lot more creativity in the enemy design and the puzzles and exploration, but the execution isn't nearly as good IMO. I found myself getting lost or frustrated or just plain not having fun a lot more often. I appreciated that it felt like a full expansion instead of some cheap DLC, but it's a shame it didn't have the same polish as the main game.

#17. The Last of Us Part II (2020)
Total Points: 14
List Appearances: 6
First Place Votes: 0
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/8/816e195a.jpg

Writeup provided by Snake5555555555
As the sequel to one of the most critically acclaimed games of all time, The Last of Us Part II is one of the most ambitious, divisive, and emotionally grueling video games of the decade. Where the original balanced grounded, intimate drama with action, stealth, & survival horror, the sequel expands into an operatic exploration of violence, vengeance, trauma, and the cyclical nature of hate. It deserves all the praise in the world for its technical mastery, deep & detailed gameplay, and bold narrative risks, but is the backlash from fans who expected a more conventional continuation of Joel and Ellies story warranted?

One could argue, yes, that it reflects a genuine disconnect between audience expectations and developer intent. Many players formed a deep, personal bond with Joel and Ellie in the first game, and Part II deliberately fractures that bond in its opening hours, setting the stage for a story about grief rather than companionship. But on another level, the outrage arguably proves the games success. It demonstrates how deeply fans were invested in these characters, and how provocative the sequels narrative decisions were in challenging the mediums status quo. Its divisive reception is rather an essential part of its identity: the game was never designed to please everyone, but to unsettle and provoke reflection.

In this sense, I personally view this game as a flawed masterpiece. Its tendency to repeat ideas that the player has already internalized long before the story moves on is a problem. The game is probably just a few hours too long. At times, the narrative risks feeling more punishing than enlightening, dragging the player through tests of patience rather than deepening their understanding. Yet because of the sheer audacity of its vision, the depth of its world-building, the staggering performances, and its willingness to strip away the protective veil of escapism that most blockbuster games cling to.

And heres the thing: for all its heaviness, The Last of Us Part II is simply a joy to play. Naughty Dog refined and expanded every element of the originals gameplay. The sheer detail in the animations makes every action feel grounded and tactile. Combat is vicious and visceral, and smooth as butter. Switching seamlessly between open firefights and tense sneaking, the game constantly tests the players adaptability. Almost every enemy encounter you can feel is entirely handcrafted, with smart AI that hunts you, flanks you, and communicates with chilling realism, even shouting the names of fallen comrades for a personal, horrific touch. The ability to go prone, crawl through grass, squeeze under vehicles, or into tight corners makes sneaking more dynamic than in the first game. The line of sight feels more natural, and the way enemies realistically sweep areas forces you to stay on the move rather than camp in one spot. Dogs add another terrifying wrinkle, tracking you by scent and flushing you out of hiding places.

When stealth fails, and it often does, the transition into open combat is seamless. Firefights are fast, chaotic, and brutal, yet never sloppy. Every weapon feels distinct: the shotgun hits with bone-crunching impact, the bow offers quiet precision, and the revolver delivers weighty stopping power. Ammunition is scarce enough to make each shot meaningful, and the crafting system encourages creativity under pressure. A Molotov cocktail tossed into a group, a quickly assembled silencer, or a hastily wrapped medkit can turn the tide of a fight in an instant. No two encounters, even the same one played over, ever turn out the same way, and even small skirmishes feel cinematic because of how fluidly the systems interlock.

The infected also shine in this sequel, elevated far beyond their role as simple horror obstacles. Stalkers, in particular, stand out as being much improved from the original game, ACTUALLY stalking you now, in the shadows, ambushing you when least expected, and leaning into full-on horror more than ever before. The new Shamblers enemy also adds some much-needed chaos with noxious clouds of acid impeding you always when its least convenient, and so these, combined with the returning classic runners and Clickers, really add some satisfying depth to the survival horror side of The Last of Us. And if that wasnt enough, the Rat King should be nuff said.

I would also say exploration often feels just as rewarding as combat, thanks to the increased abundance of environmental storytelling and hidden details. Optional safes, notes, and small vignettes of lives cut short deepen immersion. Background stories like Ish in the sewers from the original game were some of the most memorable parts, easily, and overall added so much horror and drama to the already bleak game. One such story that rivals that is the story of Hillcrest and their de facto leader, Boris, a story so twisting and dark it could honestly make for a whole compelling game in itself.

Of course, though, we must return to the central story of Ellie and Abby, where those same themes explode on the largest possible stage. Part IIs structure mirrors its micro-narratives, just as the notes and vignettes force you to consider the lives of nameless NPCs, the shift to Abbys perspective forces you to reconsider your entire view of the enemy. The game makes you suddenly empathize with the faceless, almost demanding you do so with someone you once were taught to hate. Joels death is the inciting trauma, and his murder reframes Ellies journey entirely, shifting it from the bittersweet, turned twisted, coming-of-age companionship of the first game to something more corrosive, a descent into vengeance that gradually erodes her humanity. The flashbacks with Joel, sweet, beautifully acted, what people probably wanted, only serve to deepen the sting, and they typically end on a dark or unresolved note, as though they exist less to console and more to hint to Ellie and remind the player of the consequences of Joels past choices.

Meanwhile, Abbys half of the story destabilizes the narrative daringly. Where Ellies arc is fueled by vengeance and trauma, Abbys is about the possibility of breaking free from it. Her bond with Lev parallels Joels bond with Ellie from the first game, highlighting the cyclical nature of these surrogate family dynamics. By forcing players to inhabit Abbys life, The Last of Us Part II challenges us to accept the uncomfortable truth that in a world built on survival and revenge, everyone is both a hero and a villain; it just depends on your limited perspective. To Ellie, Abby is the monster who murdered her father figure. To Abby, Joel was the monster who murdered her father. The game thrives in that dissonance, using its dual structure to highlight how deeply entrenched and irreconcilable these perspectives truly are.

In the end, The Last of Us Part II is messy, painful, and often exhausting, but thats precisely why it lingers long after the credits roll. By dismantling its own heroes, forcing players into uncomfortable perspectives, and refusing to offer neat catharsis, it pushes the medium into rare emotional territory. Whether you walk away angry, devastated, or awestruck, you walk away changed, and you have to feel SOMETHING. I genuinely believe that. The Last of Us Part II IS one of the most important and unforgettable games of its generation. Few games have ever asked so much of their audience in terms of emotion, morals, and psychological impact, and fewer still have left such a lasting cultural impact, for better or worse. And thats why The Last of Us Part II will always be one of my favorite, if flawed, games of all time.

#16. Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age (2017)
Total Points: 15
List Appearances: 7
First Place Votes: 1
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/2/2313760e.jpg

Writeup provided by Zylothewolf
I didn't discover the DQ series until like 2007, even if I have never had a problem with really oldschool RPGs. I beat the first six games in like a year, but then I stopped early in Dragon Quest 7 and never wanted to try any others since I wanted to finish them in order. Thankfully I changed my mind when I found DQ11 really cheap and returned to the series after 10 years.

The first thing that really surprised me was the moment I saw the main character, he looks like a Toriyama character but more like a friend the main characters, since this time he doesn't have Black or Blue hair!!! Thankfully we will quickly meet the thief Eric who looks just like a a bluehaired Saiyan. I'm not going to lie, I LOVE Akira Toriyama's style. And we get to see a lot of monsters and characters that looks almost the same as in the other games in the series.

The gameplay is still that simple gameplay as you can expect, with just some small twists that makes it a little bit unique to the other games, but that's something you should expect. There are plenty of other games out there if you want something different. Getting EXP and Gold by killing monsters is how you become stronger here, not by doing others stuff like talking to people and the magically learn new commands (well except during some side quests).

The Hero is the typical Hero who is good at everything, Eric the Thief is the hit quick guy, Serena is the Priest who is best at healing, Veronica is the Mage has the most powerfull spells etc. Unlike many other RPGs nowadays there is no way that you can mess up a character by not giving them the correct boosts. Everything reminds you about more simple times.

So what makes me love this game more than most JRPGs when this write up makes it sound very generic? Well it has one of the best casts in any JRPG (How can you not love the difference between The Great Sylvando and Eight (Lets call the eight character to join Eight because it's a massive spoiler), or how it really shows in their conversations that Veronica and Serena are siblings? And lets not forget that each of the three acts feels 3 games in 1.

It took me over 100 hours to finish and I just want to forget a little more about this masterpiece so I can play through it all again but this time in 2D with the S: Echoes of an Elusive Age version. I had a 10 year break from this series and just felt that playing this was like when to meet an old friend you haven't seen for ages, and then you still have a great time! I might even place this game above the mighty Chrono Trigger as the best game with Akira Toriyama characters!

Agreed on how good Zero Dawn's writing in the "past" sequences is. Some of those voice recordings were as well written and delivered as anything I've seen in a game.

TLOU2 is something else, and could definitely have done with some editing. An utterly relentless and exhausting game (Silksong is a walk in the park in comparison). Some of the best encounter design ever.

Kotetsu534 posted...

Silksong is a walk in the park in comparison

No. Just no.

Yeah The Last of Us Part II has about 80% of an amazing story. The stealth action gameplay is vying with MGSV for the greatest of all time. If only it had ended at the farm!

Maybe I will get to KH3 someday...

#15. Tales of Berseria (2016)
Total Points: 15
List Appearances: 8
First Place Votes: 0
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/0/05ccd0ba.jpg

Writeup provided by tazzyboyishere
FYI I wrote this 8 years ago. I tried cleaning it up a little, but it may not be great.

So one of my biggest gripes with the Tales series is how they've handled their stories since Abyss. I'm not gonna try and make a convincing argument about how the stories in Phantasia, Destiny, Eternia, Symphonia, and Abyss were good, but dammit, they had heart! Ever since, we've just gotten stories that range from disappointing, to dull, to downright dreadful. But Berseria opens up with a unique perspective, putting the player into the role of what the world views as evil. And you really do feel evil at first. One of the first things you do is burn a village in order to escape capture. I was honestly a bit worried after this though, assuming it would focus too much on this dark, brooding cast that seeks to end the plans of the good for the sole sake of revenge.

But those worries were put to rest pretty quickly with the introduction of Laphicet. Suddenly, it becomes a story of love. Familial love, but love nonetheless. It's pretty slow at first, as we only see bits of Velvet's softer side brought out, typically when Laphicet's in danger. This slow development shows the weakness in Velvet, though her resolve is still at the forefront. But showing these small instances of weakness is important. After a while, the story starts to drag. There's progress, but ultimately it just feels like the plot going through the motions. Then you sail to Taliesin, and things take off again. I'm not gonna spoil anything because the last 10 or so hours of the game are brilliant (at least until the last 5 or so) and should be experienced by anyone who enjoys storytelling in video games, no joke. It's among the best tales of revenge I've ever witnessed, showing how it affects the psyche of the avenger, and how easily will can be broken. It is unfortunately bogged down by a finality which goes against what every part of the story seemed to be trying to relay, but sometimes the journey is more important than how it eventually ends, especially when the ending boils down to, Shit, I guess we need to have a final boss for our video game though.

Part of why I was hoping someone would take this is because I didnt really jive with the games combat. The combat has basically been the only thing in the series that has kept me coming back, because it's always been fun. Even Zestiria, which this game borrows combat elements from, was fun. But here, it's just not very good. Maybe it's because I played Velvet exclusively, but it gets dull and repetitive after so many hours. There's a huge focus on elemental weaknesses, so you find yourself sticking to attacks that have the element an enemy is weak to. But since each arte is linked to a single button press, and you can have 4 different artes assigned to one button to form a combo, I just slapped four artes of one element to a single button. This makes comboing enemies become literal button mashing, because it's the most effective way to win out. Even worse, when you perform a limit break, it just decides the special move for you at the end based on the type of enemy you're facing. I ramped the difficulty up to Hard and still found it pretty mindnumbing (Insane or whatever kicked my ass though, so that wasn't for me). After a certain fight against two people, I just knocked the difficulty down to simple and avoided fights as much as I could. Partially because I hated fighting, and partially because I was so enthralled with the story, that I didn't feel I could find any engagement in the combat that only further prolonged my enjoyment of said story. I guess that speaks volumes to both good and bad, but whatever.

Kingdom Hearts III has several serious and obvious flaws, but fans are so happy that the game exists that they just accept them.

My experience with the combat of Berseria does not match the writeup.

#14. Marvels Spider-Man (2018)
Total Points: 16
List Appearances: 9
First Place Votes: 0
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/7/711f841a.jpg

Writeup provided by Fluttershy_Pony
Probably the best Spider-Man game ever created and one of my favorite games of the generation. Insomniac's title (henceforth abbreviated to SM) is a true love letter to the franchise; the number of unlockable costumes alone is incredible. From the well-known suits that you'd expect (Iron Spider, 2099), to "Spirit Spider" (seemingly based on Ghost Spider) with his flaming skull, to all-new costumes created just for the game, there's a lot of fun to be had just unlocking all of the outfits.

(On a related note, J. Jonah Jameson's reaction to you putting on the Spider-Punk outfit is A+)

Fortunately, there's actually a great game here besides nostalgic dress up hour. They perfectly nailed the web-slinging, making it feel incredibly satisfying to traverse the city. Zipping around, flipping through the air, running along walls... it's all perfect & I would argue considerably better than even the game's sequel--I did not enjoy gliding around in SM2, but I digress.

Combat is also speedy & enjoyable. It's rather Arkham inspired, easily letting you evade attacks & take enemies down with a variety of gadgets, but Spider-Man is a far more agile and aerial fighter than Batman. Once you get the hang of things, you'll constantly be bouncing between targets, launching people through the air, and constantly staying airborne as you zip around the battlefield. It's neat & it nails the feeling of Spider-Man's abilities. (Perhaps a bit more gadget focused than most incarnations of Spider-Man, but they offer a fun variety to combat, so I'm not going to complain).

Likewise, the stealth mechanics are fun and easy. I'm terrible at stealth games, but the game makes it simple to track all targets in the area and lets you know when you can instantly take out a foe without being spotted. It makes the stealth sequences into simple puzzles where you have all the information you need; and if you botch things, well, I just said the combat was fun. Punching everyone in the face typically works too.

And while I don't have the time, nor space, to go into the story in this write-up... I'd say this is easily the best story in any Spider-Man game. While you can certainly find better stories in the comics or other media, SM manages to do a fine job developing its main villains & they even find room for some downtime to showcase Peter's civilian friends and family. While those sections may have been criticized for lacking action, I think spending a bit more time focusing on Peter's regular life helps ground the character and story in ways that are needed.

That's not even getting into all the little side collectibles, randomly spawning crimes to stop, hideouts to find & trash.... there's quite a lot to do in the game, but I never found it overwhelming. The collectibles aren't too numerous, have little bits of story attached to them, and are easy to find, preventing the usual "scan every single inch of this map to find 200 pointless trinkets" that typically ruin open world title. Random crimes are quick and easy to resolve, giving some easy points. Systematically eliminating every enemy in a hideout is some of the most fun in the entire game. Honestly, I think I enjoyed every aspect of this title, which is pretty impressive.

SM set a high mark for Spider-Man titles. Perhaps too high as I don't think Insomniac quite lived up to things with the sequel... but that's a write up for another day.

I havent played the Insomniac Spider-Man games, but I still remember Spider-Man 2, the game based around the second Tobey Maguire movie, very well. The one based around the first movie was pretty fun, but the second one was really great stuff. Id be curious to know from people whove played both if they have any specific preference.

The Spider-Man 2 movie game is pretty dated at this point, Insomniac Spider-Man is pretty much better in every regard.

#13. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (2015)
Total Points: 16
List Appearances: 10
First Place Votes: 0
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/2/292963d7.jpg

Writeup provided by ctesjbuvf
This was probably one of the best games Ive ever played. I understand the criticism, but man did I have a blast. Total playtime ended up being 198 hours before the platinum trophy popped. There are a few things keeping it from the greatest game ever, most appear to be a direct result of development time, but it had all the potential to be the best. Ending up writing a lot, so I tried to slit it into some sections.

Gameplay
Theres pretty much nothing to hold against it in this regard. Its as smooth as it gets. While you can play through in pretty much any style, but the game rewards you for being as stealthy as possible with the being taking out enemies in CQC and extracting them because theyll never start having measures against that. They start getting night vision googles if you always infiltrate at night, theyll get helmets if you manage to headshot a lot and theyll get wear mask if you use sleeping gas often.
They open world aspect works very well. Playing through the missions, youll almost always have a very linear path ahead of you, but the places are then connected, and you can roam freely outside of them. The size is also good, its not too overwhelming. Peace Walker began using the structure of the game by selecting missions and side-ops while youre choosing what to develop yourself, but it was in this game that they nailed the aspect. I dont care for online play, but its cool that its there.

Pacing and presentation
I have little to criticize in the actual story, which is probably quite controversial, its more the presentation that has issues in my opinion. There are several storylines to follow, while its mostly all great, the pacing is off sometimes. Most missions arent that important for the storyline and the objectives are often a bit out of the blue with the weve found out this person is important, go extract him seeming like filler. Some of the side-ops are more important for the story, not just the ones that are marked as being that. Its great that side-ops dont have ranking though.

I dont mind repeat missions conceptually, from a gameplay perspective theyre fine, its just an extra challenge to get the broken late game equipment. They do however damage the pacing as well and it seems clear that theyre in place of other parts, which they should not be. You could skip them of course, but you cant just play the primary missions since some of them wont show before youve completed a number of other missions, forcing you to do the repeats (or actually repeating earlier missions).
The other issue is the overuse of cassette tapes. Theyre cool sometimes if you find some important recording and of course finding songs from the time is a cool collectible, but way too much important information is given this way and its the biggest flaw in the game. If they had only had the time to animate all those scenes, I would probably put all the other issues behind it, it hurts the presentation a lot to sit and listen to those things instead. Particularly in the beginning endgame where you get a load of reveals at once and might not even realize youre not getting the information otherwise. Graphics are otherwise so beautiful. When I started Ground Zeroes in 2021 I was blown away about how great that was looking and its literally from 2014.

Story

For the actual story parts, Ground Zeroes was a great setup to the story, very cool set piece and should have just been part of the actual game instead. Everyone should play that first, it leaves a very strong impression. Heres to You is s strong theme, great that Kojima could use it properly after changing his MGS4 ending idea where it had made perfect sense. Nothing to put against this part.

I love the whole Venom Snake thing. Its cool that it fixes the issue of how Big Boss survives the original metal gear, even if its still weird he survives the second, but its the psychological aspect of it that really hooked me. Im assuming most players figured out that they werent playing as Big Boss pretty quickly. First part that made me consider it was the Big Boss doesnt have a horn, though that ended up being symbolic more than anything. Then theres some of the dialogue, in particular with Ocelot, that seems off. He feels different. When Eli comes along and DNS tests dont match, its basically confirmed because you know its Liquid, but there are still many questions. What I did not figure out was that it was the medic from Ground Zeroes and it made the obvious reveal have the intended cool affect after all. All those little details of it. You think youre designing your character in the beginning and what youre actually doing is deciding how you used to look. The side story with phantom Paz is a lot stronger because its actually the medic fighting that he failed to save her by only finding one bomb. The realization that Venom Snake was actually a decent man and great soldier being corrupted by a nine-year long coma and then basically hypnotized into believing he was someone else. The whole endgame presentation is so strong and sets up the Solid Snake era very nicely. The Man Who Sold The World is perfect for the story and I love that Kojima incorporated it as well as he did. Big Boss really is a villain and not a hero, the story cements that greatly.

The Quiet story also ends up being great, even if she seems like a very weird character at first. It helps that there ends up being an actual explanation for her design, even if it seems likely that they chose her design first and then they figured out a way to cover that. I enjoyed the paradise chord plotlines a lot, they also helped making some of the missions seem less like filler. It was fun trying to figure this out and helped the story not being too stale. The mission where a second outbreak comes and youre going into the quarantine zone is possibly the best in the game, in particular for the scene where you shooting your infecting comraded that are accepting their fate. That was a top tier gaming moment.

The Huey storyline is also really great, because even after playing the game, hes still a mystery. Hes seemingly insane and you cant really defend him for his actions against Strangelove, but honestly, Miller might be blaming him for some of his own failures when working with Cipher as well. The final scene where he was exiled is also very strong, in particular because youre not certain if he actually deserved everything he was exiled for. Also because Christopher Randolph, the only OG voice actor left, does such a great job.
A better conclusion to the Liquid and Psycho Mantis stuff would have been nice and it seems like that was planned as an ending at some point too. I love the ending the game has, its cool as an ending, but the other part could have still been there. Skull Face is not Metal Gears finest villain, hes not that interesting and his motives for the damage hes done seems slightly underwhelming, but I dont mind him much either. Man on Fire is a bit of a weird concept mostly seems to be there to get the action into the prologue. Perhaps if Mantis had a more conclusive story, Man on Fire would feel less weird too.

Overall (tl;dr)
I was hooked the whole way through, tension is there when it needs to be, and I never grew the slightest bit tired of the gameplay in the 198 hours I played. The flaws are obvious and frustrating, but the expectations were through the roof, this was still an absolute blast to play through. If this game just had more development time, so it could have more scenes instead of too many cassette tapes, proper conclusions to some character arcs and better flow using new missions instead of repeats - perhaps the missing conclusions could be instead of the repeat missions for a proper flow - then this game would be in serious contention for the greatest game ever made and its hard to forgive Konami from seemingly standing in the way of that. Ultimately, the game ends up as a solid 9/10, but obviously cant be called perfect.

I love the other Metal Gear entries with high passion too. I have a very hard time ranking them. Other than that MGS3 is on top, I might rank them differently from day to day. MGSV will be the same, its not better than MGS3, but other than that it could rank anywhere. Gameplay is probably best, but its also the most difficult to compare to the others. Glad to finally have had the experience.

Snake5555555555 posted...

The Spider-Man 2 movie game is pretty dated at this point, Insomniac Spider-Man is pretty much better in every regard.

Dated how? Mind you, I havent played it in ages, so it isnt exactly fresh in my memory. Gameplay-wise, though, I feel like it ought to still be enjoyable.

https://youtu.be/DELvF8KTfFg?si=0vsKOIUc8t6QvGpQ

I meanmy memory of the game may not be fresh, but I do remember well enough that it was never laggy like shown in that video. Maybe it was a console thing, I played it on the Xbox.

Yeah I also played on Xbox and never had lag issues (iirc)

Best part of the game was just swinging and zipping around the city.

I played it on Game Cube and don't remember any issues.

Okay, but why are we trying to argue that saying a PS2 game is "dated" is some controversial opinion

colliding posted...

Okay, but why are we trying to argue that saying a PS2 game is "dated" is some controversial opinion

I didnt mean to imply any kind of controversy, Im sorry if it seemed that way. I was just genuinely asking in what ways the game may be perceived to have aged poorly.

Graphics? Okay sure, but thats true of any game after a while. Space Invaders is still considered a classic, and obviously its graphics are even more dated, so my supposition is that were talking about more than graphics here. So what else?

Gameplay? The gameplay I remember would still be a lot of fun today. You can see in the video above that its got the whole GTA sandbox thing going on, and thats still quite popular these days. Its cool if others disagree, though.

Story? Dated story usually seems to be what people say if the social zeitgeist had changed. Homophobia, for example, might not have raised many eyebrows years ago, but it would raise some today. But I cant recall anything that would fall under that kind of heading in the video game based on the movie Spider-Man 2.

So I just meant to ask for a bit more specificity.

Definitely talking about the gameplay in regards to Spider-Man 2, the web slinging was great for the time but is very clunky now.

#12. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015)
Total Points: 17
List Appearances: 7
First Place Votes: 1
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/0/00bc4b97.jpg

Writeup provided by tazzyboyishere
I wasnt really sure about this game at first. I loved the story and exploration, but kinda hated the gameplay a lot. I ended up turning the difficulty down to the lowest option in hopes that it could sustain my interest through the other aspects alone, and about 150 hours later, I was able to put the game down and feel plenty satisfied. The Witcher 3 is a massive project, with some of the most intricate writing seen in the medium, still arguably being unsurpassed in that department.

While I only played a small bit of the first Witcher game a long while back, and never even touched the second game (nor did I read any of the novels these games are based on, for that matter), it was not difficult to become immediately engrossed in what The Witcher 3 offers. The main plot is, oddly enough, not all that interesting until you get to the late-game, but you are exposed to a ton of sidequests which let you take in the incredible world they have on display. The game has a knack for connecting a lot of these quests together, and a decision you make at one point can have ramifications on another questline you see dozens of hours down the road.

Perhaps even more impressive are the DLC additions, with Blood and Wine legitimately hving a claim to being an entirely new game in and of itself. I remember hitting the final scenes of it and just feeling a bit sad that I had finished this mammoth of a game, even if I didnt gel with some big parts of it.

Should also mention Gwent, the in-universe card game invented for this game, with its own massive quests tied to it. I dont ever really care about card games in most games Ive played, but Gwent really opened my eyes to how fun they can be. There are so many fun strategies and metas you can try out, and the game is usually pretty good about keeping things fairly casual through it. Im sure if I actually played someone good at it, I would get my ass kicked, but I definitely spent 20-25 hours in Gwent games alone.

VectorAgent posted...

I meanmy memory of the game may not be fresh, but I do remember well enough that it was never laggy like shown in that video. Maybe it was a console thing, I played it on the Xbox.

You know that video is intentionally slowed down....
It looks like some meme video of Spider-Man delivering pizza.

Though clicking on the game category did bring up this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v28iD_m398Q

tazzyboyishere posted...

I'm not gonna spoil anything because the last 10 or so hours of the game are brilliant (at least until the last 5 or so) and should be experienced by anyone who enjoys storytelling in video games, no joke. It's among the best tales of revenge I've ever witnessed, showing how it affects the psyche of the avenger, and how easily will can be broken. It is unfortunately bogged down by a finality which goes against what every part of the story seemed to be trying to relay, but sometimes the journey is more important than how it eventually ends, especially when the ending boils down to, s***, I guess we need to have a final boss for our video game though.

Would love to hear more detailed thoughts on this. Though it's been 7 years since I played the game, I remember loving the final hours of Berseria, particularly the final moments between Velvet and her corrupted brother. I saw it as climatic moment where Velvet makes peace with her pain and ultimately surrenders her desire for revenge in order end worldwide suffering. I might be misremembering details, but the ending hit me as hard as any game ending outside of MGS3 and TLOU1.

#11. Yakuza 0 (2015)
Total Points: 17
List Appearances: 9
First Place Votes: 1
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/4/45d1105a.jpg

Writeup provided by OrangeCrush980
The Yakuza series in general is very good. The games know how to blend accessible beat-em-up combat, small scale open world exploration, a serious main story, and goofy side-quests into a wonderful 20-40-hour package. But oftentimes the games settle with good enough and stop there. Yakuza 6 didnt implement all of Kamurocho and has a janky engine, Yakuza 5 has too much filler, Yakuza 3s combat is just broken, and so on.

Yakuza 0 turns all of that around and is just an amazing, polished game from beginning to end. It showcases the full potential of the series formula, and the end result is a game thats somewhere in the running for best game of all time. And its my favorite game out of the games released in the last 10 years.

Yakuza 0 takes place in Japan in the late 80s. This puts it in the middle of Japans bubble economy, which was a time of great economic growth and some people becoming very rich. The developers loved to weave this into the games style. For example, when beating up enemies, oftentimes the reward money for beating them will be falling off of them throughout the battle. And the playable characters have a field ability where they can throw money to distract people who might otherwise fight them.

Yakuza 0 features two playable characters: Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Majima. The story alternates between the two every two chapters. Each of them has 4 fighting styles which you can switch between mid-battle. While Kiryus styles are maybe a little samey, Majimas 4 styles are amazing and are a large part of why I feel this game has the best combat in the series.

Yakuza 0s story is also very strong. I wouldnt call it the best story ever or anything, but its exceptionally well-paced for a 30-hour game. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is the only other game I can think of thats around the same length and kept me on the edge of my seat so consistently (though for different reasons than having a zillion plot twists). And if you ever want a break from the mostly serious main story, theres a 100 goofy side-quests to explore as well.

Another goofy thing I really love about the game are the parts where youre running through somewhere (often a building) consistently in combat mode. Every Yakuza game has these, but Yakuza 0 does them 10 times better. Kiryu and Majima are ready and willing to do all sorts of goofy things to get to the areas boss as quickly as possible. This is another area where you can tell the developers really werent holding back and wanted to make as great of a game as possible.

That covers the main core of what makes Yakuza 0 so special to me. Im sure theres a ton more that could be written about its mini-games, its characters, and so on since the game does pretty much everything very well.

tazzyboyishere posted...

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is the only other game I can think of thats around the same length and kept me on the edge of my seat so consistently (though for different reasons than having a zillion plot twists).

I botched my wording there. I meant to say that 13 Sentinels is the game that has a zillion plot twists.

I'd also add Xenosaga Episode III to that list in retrospect, though seeing how polarizing that game is perhaps it's best I didn't.

#10. Red Dead Redemption II (2018)
Total Points: 18
List Appearances: 6
First Place Votes: 1
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Writeup provided by LightningStrikes
Overall, I am not a huge Rockstar fan. The hugely popular GTA games are fine but I never really connected with them. The first Red Dead Redemption was definitely better but not at that all-time level for me. So to my surprise Red Dead Redemption II wound up being not only Rockstars best, it is also one of the greatest games ever made. This games open world is really only rivalled by Breath of the Wilds (and later Tears of the Kingdoms). The level of interactivity with the world is on another level to nearly everything else. Arthur is affected by the passage of time, what he eats, how he interacts with other characters. You need to eat food and can purchase it or hunt for it. Not to mention systems involving sleeping and hygiene. Some things even change permanently in the world over time, like the manor slowly burning down until you get to explore the charred ruins. To top it off the way you can interact with characters in the world such as the various random strangers you find is incredible. Aside from that this world is full of interesting things to find, not only the variety of side quests but also bizarre easter eggs such as the Witchs Hut, the robot and the UFOs. As an open world game this is one of the very best.

Even more than that though, the big draw here is the main story. It is not just the straightforward western tale of the first game. This game uses its western trappings to tell the story of somebody coming to grips with their own mortality while they slowly die of Tuberculosis. It is enormously weighty and personal and represents a huge step up from Rockstars typical ambitions of nothing more than simple satire and pastiches of certain genres. Arthur Morgan is an exceptionally well realised character, probably the best drawn video game protagonist ever. In addition to this you have the story of the gang Arthur is in along with John and Dutch from the first game which is a cautionary tale about the toxic effects of a personality cult and the charismatic leader. This is a game with a lot on its mind and possibly still the best story yet told in a AAA game. There are some minor technical issues, the controls can be fiddly at times and there are a few cases where the mission design is too limiting. Even with that, this is an enormously impressive feat of game design and storytelling.

Oh whoops, I didn't participate this time and the PS4 is one of my favorite consoles!

Dark Souls III - good time, enjoyed it more than the other Souls games but probably lesss than the rest of the FromSoft titles

Life is Strange - an all-time favorite; using a rewind power to mess with the choice-based formula of games like Telltale is such a fresh take and the story/characters/script/world-building are all so good

Kingdom Hearts III - I liked it a lot more than a lot of fans of the series did, and I'm surprised it ranked here. Excellent game, though some levels (Frozen and Winnie the Pooh in particular) were a pretty big disappointment.

Horizon: Zero Dawn - came for big robot dinosaurs, but stayed because the game was a surprisingly well-told apocalypse story and one of the more refreshing new Sony IPs of recent years

The Last of Us Part II - another all-timer for me, I was consistently just blown away by
1. how visually impressive it was; it seemed like it was on a different level from everything else on the PS4
2. how satisfying the combat was and how it made the world feel alive; enemies calling out for their dead friends and reacting realistically to the actions you take, again just felt way ahead of its time
3. how much more I was drawn into the story and characters of 2 compared to the first game (which had good characterization, for sure, but not to this emotionally raw extent)

Spider-Man - just an absolute blast to play, one of the most "fun" games of recent years

Metal Gear Solid V - played some but didn't get very far into it; I hadn't played another MGS game, and felt a little lost in the story and not quite hooked on how the gameplay worked

Witcher III - couldn't get into it

Red Dead II - tapping X to gallop gets pretty exhausting after 100+ hours but otherwise phenomenal game

#9. Hollow Knight (2017)
Total Points: 18
List Appearances: 8
First Place Votes: 1
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/6/66dcaccd.jpg

Writeup taken from PC (2010s) list and provided by azuarc
Sometimes, you play a game because everyone is raving about it and youre not quite sure what yourself getting into, but you feel obligated to find out what you're missing, and then it turns out you dont actually like the game and it becomes a massive letdown. I had this experience with Outer Wilds. I was worried Id have it with Clair Obscur. But before either of those, there was a game I gave a shot to because it literally had six digits worth of Steam reviews and still maintained an overwhelmingly positive rating. Y'know, some random indie game about a bunch of bugs.

There was just one problem...I had never really played a metroidvania. Oh, Id played a bit of Super Metroid back in the day, but beyond that? Not so much. So when I say I didnt know what I was getting myself in for, I *really* didnt know what I was getting myself in for.

And I bailed on it.

Oh, I was enjoying the experience. I didnt really mind the weird mapping mechanics. Wandering around The Forgotten Crossroads wasnt bad, either. But it definitely took me a bit to get up to speed, and then after finally beating the first real boss, and getting into the second area, I just...stopped. I missed a room exit and got lost, and just decided I wasnt interested enough to go back and find it.

But in that year 2020 I was playing a lot of different games partially with the intent to do a ranking of all of them at the end of the year. And while there were a lot of games I bailed on, I went back for a second chance on a few. And I knew one of them had to be Hollow Knight.

Still, for a couple hours, it was more of the same. A game with good art and movement, but nothing that truly stunned me. I beat Hornet, went into Fungal Wastes, got frustrated a bit, grabbed the Mantis Claw, (completely missed the Mantis Lords fight,) and worked my way into City of Tears. And a funny thing happened it clicked. This game wasnt just good. It was *really* good.

Oh, I still got frustrated a ton. I got held up at the Soul Sanctuary for a bit. Then I got lost in Deepnest. Turns out, I was really bad at finding things and made pretty slow progress, but I loved the game except maybe when I was dying thirty times in a row to Watcher Knights.

For someone who, at the time, hadnt played a metroidvania, it took a huge attitude adjustment. I was just wandering around hoping to stumble into something rather than reading the clues. Why do the enemies all have orange eyes and give off orange goop? I dunno. Cuz. If that guy in the statue is "the Hollow Knight," then who the heck am I? *shrug* It took a while just to appreciate the existence of map pins so I would know where to go back and check.

After some forty hours, I finally stumbled and staggered my way to the finish line, only to realize there was still so much more to do. Multiple endings, tons of side content, achievements for speedrunning the game. It just kept giving. By that time, I was hooked.

Upon "completing" Hollow Knight, I needed more. I sought out other metroidvanias Ive played at least thirty since. But none of them hit the same. Some are as good in one or two specific ways, but none are good across the board. Everything in Hollow Knight is a master class. Literally everything. The art. The aesthetics. The world design. The tight controls. The simple, fluid combat. The music. The sense of exploration. The characterization. The polish. The organic way in which the player gradually discovers Hallownests secrets and feels a thrill every time they explore a new screen, pick up a new charm, or locate a new bench. "Hollow Knight does everything that Super Metroid does, and does it better." Thats what I wrote during my end-of-year ranking write-up.

The end-of-year ranking in which it took first place. Over Hades. Over Danganronpa 3. I played Trails of Cold Steel that year. Dishonored 2. A Plague Tale. A bunch of personal favorites like A Hat in Time, Borderlands 3, and Lennas Inception. I even put it ahead of the recently-released Genshin Impact, which earned a 12/10 in one category and an almost impossible overall score to beat. Yet not even that could touch Hollow Knight. Even now, knowing that I cant ever have that first playthrough back, I seek out Youtubers who start playing and track their progress. Its such a thrill to see the joy on their face, and also experience how differently they traverse the game due to how open-ended the exploration is. It's because of Hollow Knight that I've become something of a "metroidvania guy," and I still come back for a playthrough on occasion. There aren't many games I would give a 10/10 to -- there's always something I would ding them for if I'm being fair. But not Hollow Knight.

Interesting that HK made it. First game on the list that didn't launch on PS4, so I don't really think about it as a PS4 game...

#8. Celeste (2018)
Total Points: 21
List Appearances: 7
First Place Votes: 2
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/0/00129ef6.jpg

Writeup taken from PC (2010s) list and provided by Sheep007
incredible music by Lena Raine (composer for at least one other game that Im sure will make this list), being great for speedrunning, and being a difficult game. The last one is maybe a bit overblown its hard in the same way Souls games are. Youll die a lot, and you need a lot of technical ability, but the average person who enjoys the genre (action RPG and 2D platformer) will finish it given a reasonable length of time. Its also very accessible you can remap buttons and even make a button do multiple inputs, turn off vibration and screenshake, you can turn game speed down, pause when dashing, and a few other things that are basically easy mode. The story isnt special enough (at least in my opinion) that theres a big draw to the game for anything other than the technical execution and challenge, but its certainly better to have these options than not.

I think what really draws people to the game is the movement. The main gimmick of Celeste is the dash every time you touch the ground, you get a single dash, which you need to use to kind of solve a platforming puzzle before you can next touch the ground. Once you figure out how to route that, you need to execute, which is often quite tight! It doesnt typically get too frustrating, as the checkpoints are very generous, but the technical ability required gets greater and greater the further you go through the game.

This is compounded by the games physics: the dash gives you momentum, it doesnt just move you a set number of frames in one given direction, so if you hit the ground at the right angle by dashing down diagonally, you can jump to gain a LOT of speed. It's fun before you figure this out, but once you do, it becomes clear just how fast and how precisely you can play through this.

Celeste is ultimately about mastery. Youre taught the mechanics of the game, and given increasingly difficult challenges to test whether youre capable enough. And it keeps going: I have hundreds of hours in this game, and Im not even remotely close to mastering it. Speedruns are so fun, and its pretty easy to get good enough to make them VERY fast (I barely attempted serious runs, but I did learn enough that I could finish a game thats probably at least 7-8 hours on a first playthrough in about 40 minutes, consistently). Once you beat every part of the main game, youre introduced to Golden Strawberries, which challenge you to complete each level deathless. Some of them are very doable most people will finish the early levels deathless naturally, just by playing a few times. Others are nightmarish the final DLC level took me about seven hours on my first attempt, with a death count well into the thousands, and only a small handful of people have ever beaten it deathless. Nobody is doing that without making it one of the most important life goals.

It's very hard to describe Celeste to anyone who hasnt played it, because it's all in the feeling: it's just so *correct* to control. Madelines movement options are incredibly precise, with little floatiness or sliding, and you can even control things like fall speed (and the game does a great job of feeding back to you). Its pure platforming fun, one of the most fundamentally perfect video game experiences out there. I think its the best 2D platforming experience of all time by a long way, and one of the most flawless games ever made theres so little that I would change about the game, even if I could. If I had to pick, theres a really obtuse puzzle that comes up a few times for unlocks, that you kind of need to look up? But that takes at most, ten minutes of gameplay. Other than that, perfect, even the bits that I hated on my first playthrough because damn is it satisfying to clear them in seconds nowadays.

HK and Celeste are both "Switch games" in my mind

Played them both on PS4 so voted them both here. Celeste was even my +5 in this insanely tough field. That write-up explains it well,

tazzyboyishere posted...

it's all in the feeling: it's just so *correct* to control

It's perhaps the most satisfying game I've ever played.

It's so good - gave it my first place vote. Though was happy enough to beat every level and get a couple of Golden Strawberries. If you have any interest in challenging 2D platforming you need to give it a try.

And yeah I think with modern gaming there are fewer and fewer games that are clearly tied to one platform over another (i.e. in earlier generations there were not only more exclusives, but more multiplats that were clearly identified with one platform above others). HK is a bit of an odd case in that clearly the PS4 was its last major platform but it was kind of a slow burn of a hit so it didn't feel too late.

I also guess that now that consoles (+ high end PC equipment) remain so expensive there are fewer people that own everything - back in the day it was easy to pick up a cheap late gen Wii (e.g.) for almost nothing.

#7. Uncharted 4: A Thiefs End (2016)
Total Points: 23
List Appearances: 11
First Place Votes: 0
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/9/92b98c5c.jpg

Writeup provided by Snake5555555555
The spectacular pulpy conclusion (as of writing) to Nathan Drakes premier adventure series, Uncharted 4 collides with the realities of responsibility, aging, and commitment, whilst also providing one of the most immersive, set-piece driven, and balls-to-the-wall experiences you can ever have in a video game.

The central tension of Uncharted 4 revolves around Nathan Drakes struggle between his past and his present. Retirement with Elena has given him stability and a chance at a normal life, but the reappearance of his long-lost brother, Sam, drags him back into the world of danger and obsession. Sam still embodies everything Nate used to be at this point in the series: reckless, hungry for adventure, and willing to risk everything for glory. Their dynamic forces Nate to confront whether his treasure-hunting identity is a calling or an addiction, and if a boring life at home after everything hes been through is even possible anymore. Sam brings the treasure of Henry Averys fortune to the forefront here, THE grand prize of grand prizes, but Avery and his pirate colony serve as a dark mirror to Nate and Sam: men who may let greed consume them, no matter the cost. The message is clear: that chasing legacy can devour the very things that make life worth living. Even the main antagonist, Rafe Adler, plays into the theme of obsession. Unlike Nate, who ultimately learns to let go, Rafe cannot. His downfall in the burning shipwreck is a dramatic spectacle and the culmination of a man consumed by pride and greed.

This was an incredible continuation of the themes explored in Uncharted 3 (*cough*thebestone*cough*) and wouldnt be half as impactful without the undeniably best mechanics of the entire franchise. Uncharted 4 refines the series signature blend of traversal, gunfights, and puzzles. The addition of the grappling hook and more open environments gives encounters a newfound dynamism, encouraging creativity in movement and combat. Adding even further to this dynamic gameplay are open world jeep sequences, allowing the player for the first time to really take in their environment and actually feel like youre EXPLORING and not just being guided on rails, and just driving around bantering with your buddy Sully and brother Sam never really gets old thanks to the wealth of unique dialogue and as always excellent vocal performances.

And of course, if traversal is the beating heart of Uncharted 4 and indeed the series at large, the gunplay is its pulse. The gunplay is faster, heavier, and far more tactile than before; each weapon feels more distinct, and enemy encounters are structured to encourage mobility, making players weave between cover, scale ledges, and swing with the grappling hook to flank or ambush enemies. One of the biggest improvements comes in the expansion of stealth as well, with more bushes, tall grass, and vertical layouts letting Nate thin out enemy groups before unleashing chaos more effectively. This makes encounters more varied, less predictable, and highly replayable. Yet when firefights do break out, enemies are aggressive, pushing you out of cover and forcing improvisation, while the environments are deliberately layered to support multiple approaches. Firefights escalate, shift terrain, and climax in moments that feel choreographed without ever losing player agency. Its pure action-adventure brilliance.

At its core, Uncharted 4 is about growth, letting go, and finally finding peace in the mundane after a lifetime of chasing the extraordinary. It delivers on every front expected of the franchise, pulse-pounding set pieces, witty camaraderie, and stunning vistas, while daring to slow down and ask deeper questions about legacy, family, and what truly matters when the adventure ends. Its both a love letter to the pulp roots of the series and a bold maturation of its themes, crafting a finale that feels as earned emotionally as it is spectacular mechanically. The game gives Nathan Drake something far rarer in gaming than even treasure: closure. And for me, it cements Uncharted 4, maybe not as subjectively my favorite of the series, but as the highest objective water mark of the franchise and easily as one of the defining action-adventure experiences of the medium.

colliding posted...

HK and Celeste are both "Switch games" in my mind

Def agree with this.

And I just played Uncharted 4 for the first time seeing it would show up in the ranking. It's good but I just feel like Uncharted games are not for me. I did prefer Uncharted 2 (partially because of the characters it features I guess)

Nintendo consoles are for exclusives only to me

also great uncharted 4 writeup, game blew me away even as a fan already

#6. God of War (2018)
Total Points: 25
List Appearances: 14
First Place Votes: 0
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/e/ed81017a.jpg

Writeup provided by ctesjbuvf
After a few years with nothing new in the franchise, it returned stronger than ever with what is easily its best entry yet. While there are references to the previous games it also serves as a reboot. Kratos has tried to settle down with his son, Atreus, in the cold and ancient Scandinavia after spending the original trilogy killing basically every single Greek god. This is at least 150 after the previous installments. Kratos divine origin and hardcore past is kept a secret from Atreus. The initial story is that Kratos and Atreus go on a journey to fulfil Kratos late wife and Atreus late mother, Fayes wish of having her ashes spread from the tallest peak of the nine realms while they come into conflict with the Norse gods.

The story is milestones ahead of its predecessors and Kratos characterization has much more depth. In the first game his appeal was being cool and badass and getting women and those things, but he was also rather simple. There is a lot of focus on Kratos fatherhood and trying to put his past behind him while he feels hunted by Athenas spirit in particular. Kratos is much more mature and you get to care for him in a whole new way. The story constantly draws you in through cliffhangers and systems that make you want to advance it while keeping it fresh the whole time.

Story and characterization aside, the game is still one of the best games of the generation. The gameplay is the absolute best the hack and slash genre has ever offered. The gameplay is more strategic while still being fast-paced and addictive. There are various endgame challenges that require different strategies and where it is crucial to perfect blocking and dodging. The Leviathan Axe is incredibly fun to use and comes with lots of utility. The skill tree is rewarding and satisfying to complete. You never grow tired of using it. Then later in the game you do end up having to use the Blades of Chaos which also work perfectly with the much improved gameplay and upgrade system.

The world and its graphics are beautiful, the best we had ever seen and still looks beautiful 7 years later. The attention to detail is incredible and no annoying part of the world map exists. Every corner is exciting and fun to explore. The Nordic landscapes support this very well. As someone who knows a lot about Nordic Mythology (I dont know if thats because Im Danish but were taught about it), the lore is incredibly interesting and incorporating Kratos into it is pretty cleverly done.

Its one of the best games ever made and I have quite possibly never anticipated a sequel more than I did with this. As soon as the game ended, I eagerly wanted to know what would come next and started digging into theories. Its not often I do that!

Shit, was in a hurry, so hopefully nobody saw that spoiler I forgot to mark lol

"Athena... get out of my head." is legit my favorite line delivery in a video game. Such an incredible scene.

pjbasis posted...

also great uncharted 4 writeup, game blew me away even as a fan already

Thank you!