As a PC-only gamer, the best games I've ever played, the chosen few that are leagues above anything else (in my book):
Half-Life
Deus Ex
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series
The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt
Red Dead Redemption 2 (playing it currently, on chapter 6)
Sid Meier's Civilization V
Batman Arkham Knight
Dark Souls series
Note: Elden Ring is still in my backlog and I'll probably play it soon.
Quake
The Neverhood Chronicles
Warcraft II
Quake II
Starcraft: Brood War (campaign)
Worms: Armageddon (multi)
Puzzle Fighter (multi)
GTA: Vice City
Half-Life 2
Samorost 2
Prey (2006)
Gears of War
Machinarium <3
Dawn of War
Singularity
Metro 2033
Kingdom Rush (flash)
Starcraft II WoL (campaign)
Defense Grid
Crysis (when my PC could run it)
Spec Ops: The Line
Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 3 + 1
Alien: Isolation
Tiny Echo
Ancient Planet
XCOM: Enemy Unknown
The Witcher 3 (incl DLCs)
Starcraft II LoTV (multi) ~
Samorost 3
Event [0]
Cyberpunk 2077 (incl PL)
Death Stranding (incl DC)
Fallout: New Vegas (incl 2022 patches + DLCs)
Baldur's Gate 3
Divinity: Original Sin 2
EDIT: ~forgot one life ruiner alright
Last edited by jackbomb on Tue, 15th Oct 2024 04:17; edited 7 times in total
If a sequel or prequel isn't mentioned, I didn't like it, or didn't play it. I didn't list action games, simulations and shooters. I played a lot of them, but they're not my favourite genre.
Adventure:
Spoiler:
Little Big Adventure 2
Catherine
AI: Somnium Files 1-2
Gabriel Knight 1-2-3 — classical point and click adventure, fmv point and click adventure, early 3d point and click adventure with convoluted camera and controls. All tied by intriguing storytelling.
Gray Matter
Fahrenheit
Heavy Rain
Life is Strange 1
The Longest Journey — probably the best game I've ever played
Grim Fandango
Broken Sword 1
The Case of the Golden Idol — a bit of a Return of the Obra Dinn copycat, but I really prefer it over it
Danganronpa
Hypnospace Outlaw — unique way to implement original music
Unavowed
RPGS:
Spoiler:
BG1
BG2
BG3 — i had no hope at all for it, nor was I a fan of Larian games, but I really liked it
Fallout 2
Witcher 1-3 — not a fan of second one, the other two are fantastic
Gothic 2
Risen 1-2-3
Morrowind
Skyrim
Kotor 1
Mass Effect 1-2-3 — conclusion is proof that they made no plans regarding story progression, but even the last one is still a memorable game
Dragon Age: Origins
Chrono Trigger
Betrayal at Krondor — great story and setting, but you need to stomach extremely dated visuals. It made me look up the author of Krondor books and read a few, but they're in completely different taste. It turns out that it was an adaptation by a writer that was only vaguely familiar with source material. One of the rare cases where this turned out for the better.
Persona 4
Persona 5
Pokemon — three different games, I got tired of the format and never touched another one, but I have fond memories playing them
Disco Elysium
Dragon Quest IX
Deus Ex 1
Deus Ex Human Revolution
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Strategy:
Spoiler:
Civ IV
Warhammer 40,000: Gladius — best combat in 4x game
Europa Universalis 4 — at the time I played it, not a fan of latest changes
FTL
Slay the Spire
MTG: Forge
HoMM3
Homeworld
Westwood RTS
1.Vampire The Masquarade Bloodlines
2.Knights of the Old Republic
3.Knights of the Old Republic 2
6.Fallout New Vegas
Fallout
Fallout 2
7.Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect
9.Elder Scrolls Morrowind
13.Dragon Age Origins
18.Shadowrun Dragonfall
20.Anachronox
Arcanum
Underrail
Alpha Protocol
Neverwinter Nights 2 + Mask of the Betrayer
Neverwinter Nights - For the mods and maybe the 3rd expansion
Jade Empire
Mount & Blade Warband
Cyberpunk 2077
Gothic 2
The Age of Decadence
The Bard’s Tale
The Elder Scrolls 4 Oblivion
Fallout 3
Planescape: Torment
Torment: Tides of Numenera
Adventure aka point and click and the like
Spoiler:
16.The Walking Dead season 1
Broken Sword The Shadow of the Templars
Broken Sword The Smoking Mirror
Broken Sword The Sleeping Dragon
Wolf Among Us season 1
The Longest Journey
Grim Fandango
Sam & Max the episodic Telltale
Tales from the Borderlands season 1
Fahrenheit
Repella Fella
The Moment of Silence
Action/Adventure/Hodgepodge of games including hack and slash and many more...
Spoiler:
5.Prince of Persia The Sands of Time
Prince of Persia Warrior Within
Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
8.Red Dead Redemption 2
12.Giants: Citizen Kabuto
10.Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
14.Beyond Good and Evil
15.GTA Vice City
GTA 4
GTA San Andreas
Tomb Raider 2013
Portal
Psychonauts
Hades
Star Wars Jedi Knight 2 Jedi Outcast
Max Payne 2
Freedom Fighters
Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow
No one Lives Forever 2
Diablo 2
Dungeon Siege 2
LA Noir
Prince of Persia 2008
Mirror’s Edge
Control
Spec Ops: The Line
Dark Souls 3
Dark Souls 2
Dark Souls
Ghost of Tsushima
Sekiro
FPS
Spoiler:
17.Stalker Call of Pripyat
Stalker Shadow of Chernobyl
Stalker Clear Skies
19.Half Life 2 + episodes
Far Cry
Far Cry 3
FEAR
SWAT 4
Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare
Rainbow Six 3 Raven Shield
Delta Force Black Hawk Down
Star Trek Elite Force 2
No one Lives Forever 2
No one Lives Forever
Brothers in Arms Road to Hill 30
Star Wars Republic Commando
Rainbow Six Vegas 2
Metro Last Light
Metro 2033
Bioshock
Strategy
Spoiler:
11.Ground Control II: Operation Exodus
Civilization 3
Civilization 4
Red Alert 2
Crusader Kings 2
X-COM UFO Defense
The Movies - yeah can't be bothered to put it somewhere else
Warcraft 3 + Frozen Throne
Starcraft + Broodwar
Starcraft 2 + Expansions
Rome Total War
Black & White
Supreme Commander
Galactic Civilizations 2
Medieval Total War
Shogun Total War
Space games - mostly cause it's not about sim, and let's face it, this only exists here cause Freelancer is my 4th favorite game ever
Spoiler:
4.Freelancer
Star Trek Bridge Commander
X2
Horror - really should have just put them in action adventure since I don't much care for horror and only like a few
Spoiler:
Dead Space
Dead Space 2
Alan Wake
Alan Wake 2 - Yeah, it pains me to put it here since it's a bad game with many issues but there's a lot I liked about it as an experience, in spite of its flaws
Cold Fear
Silent Hill 4 The room
Only PC (also no recent ports of old games like P3 and P4, since I enjoyed them back in the day on the ps2, so it hardly counts just cause they're now on PC) and there's most likely some I've forgotten for various reasons... but where they ever amongst my favorites if I forgot them?
Mass Effect Trilogy
Dragon Age 1
Final Fantasy 6,7,8,9,10
Witcher 3
Cyberpunk 2077 (+ DLC)
Kotor 1&2
Max Payne 1&2
Half-Life Series
Monkey Island 1 & 2
GTA 4
Fallout 3 & NV
Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim
Deus Ex Series
Disco Elysium
Ocarina of Time
Super Mario World
Metal Gear Solid Series
Death Stranding
Dark Souls 1 (plus DLC)
Undertale
Sonic 3 & Knuckles
Detroit Become Human
I finally found some time to write The List(tm) of games dear to me, which ended up being way more humongous than necessary. And yet I could probably write another couple of similar lists with all the titles I left out or accidentally forgot about that I'd still recommend checking, so make of it what you will
- Single-player-focused (also: no roguelikes and no weeaboo-y stuff)
- PC (I never owned a console)
The old classics listed are fully nostalgia goggles-free since I've replayed all of them over the past few years and was entertained like the first time (minus the original giggity effect from the various technological advancements of their era, of course). The games with * are the ones that I haven't finished yet, plus some potential entries are still sitting in the backlog (Rogue Trader, DCS World, X4 Foundations, Battletech, Spellforce 3, King Arthur etc.)
RPGs
Spoiler:
- Deus Ex and Human Revolution / Mankind Divided / [Jensen part III missing] (with the adventures of JC Denton being my #1 game of all time, especially with the GMDX mod)
- Fallout 1, Fallout 2 and New Vegas (a.k.a. the real Fallout 3 - though after Fallout 4 and 76, I definitely look at Bethesdout 3 more fondly than I used to)
- The Witcher (all of them, I love Geraldo)
- Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines (clunky, yet skilfully written and brimming with top-notch atmosphere)
- Planescape: Torment (memorable and engrossing, including the signature walls of text)
- Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate 2 (my favourite of the "trilogy") and Bal...Divinity: Original Gate 3* (it's the special Bear-obsessed child, which however does several things right - helped by our abysmal 202X standards)
- Disco Elysium (how to catch lightning in ̶a̶ ̶b̶o̶t̶t̶l̶e̶ an Ushanka)
- Arcanum (Troika at their finest unfiltered cRPG-ness, wildly unbalanced builds and all)
- Pillars of Eternity and Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire (both competent in their own way, with Yarrfire being my favourite thanks to its exploration and nicely crafted environments)
- Wasteland 2 DC and Wasteland 3 (not the deepest combat, but they're both rock-solid cRPGs in my post-apocalyptic book)
- Shadowrun: Dragonfall DC (it takes the first bare-bones proto-game and augments it in every way)
- Underrail* (old-school subterranean Fallout with special flavours, the good stuff)
- Gothic 2 (Piranha's masterpiece, though the first one deserves an honourable mention, too)
- Risen 1 (close to Gothic in many ways, at least until the unhinged final third hits)
- ELEX 1 (perhaps too ambitious, but still cohesive and with Piranha's adventurous spirit almost intact)
- Kingdom Come: Deliverance (Vavra's Do Prdele Simulator in all its janky immersive glory, god be praised!)
- System Shock 2 and System Shock / Remake (both timeless in terms of atmosphere and intricate multi-layered level design)
- Prey 2017 (the System Shock 3 that we never had, Arkane died for this)
- Cyberpunk 2077 and Phantom Liberty* (on the shallow side, but it's still a remarkable kurwa experience that deserves a place here)
- Mass Effect 1 (I dislike cover-based shooters too much to list Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 3's ending is still a negative core memory)
- KOTOR and KOTOR 2 (mechanically similar yet different in their approach to the lore, back when Star Wars games weren't made for children)
- Dragon Age: Origins (there are no sequels)
- The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind (no markers, no arrows in the knee, just a hostile world to fully explore and mysterious characters to interact with)
- Enderal: Forgotten Stories SE (it takes Skyrim's place thanks to its finely crafted world and story. You wish you made this, Todd!)
- Dark Souls (all of them)/Sekiro/Elden Ring (three shades of From with their many pros and some sins from the Couchroot Basin)
- The Surge 2 (souls-like done properly with its precise identity and direction, not a common sight)
- Alpha Protocol (way too ingenious to stay out, consolitis and daft AI notwithstanding [cocky Thorton intensifies])
- The Age of Decadence (a.k.a. Choice & Consequence: The Game)
- ATOM RPG and Trudograd (the blyat Fallout, a tad too silly but it manages to replicate the formula without bastardizing it)
- Expeditions: Viking and Expeditions: Rome* (classic cRPG-ing with meaningful C&C, solid turn-based combat and some management for good measure)
- Pathfinder: Kingmaker and Wrath of the Righteous* (Owlcat definitely know how to make deep and rewarding cRPGs, albeit they could benefit from some additional trimming and QA)
- Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of The Betrayer (it replaces the main game, with a much higher dosage of Avellone)
- The Bard's Tale IV DC (RPG-puzzle hybrid that sets itself apart from other similar entries in the genre, despite the jankiness)
- Arx Fatalis (fully immersive and mechanically ahead of its time)
- Tyranny (not the most remarkable gameplay, but surprisingly interesting from a narrative standpoint)
- Dex (low-budget Cyber-side-scroller with engaging designs, some warts and a good heart)
FPS/Tactical/TPS/Stealth/Action Platformers
Spoiler:
- STALKER Shadow of Chernobyl, Clear Sky, Pripyat (the holy cheeki trinity) and Anomaly modception (for the infinite sandbox experience)
- Half Life (all of them, including Black Mesa)
- Doom, Doom 2 (with the obligatory Brutal mod) and DOOM 2016 (a respectable entry that keeps the fluorescent Dorito piñata in check, unlike its not-so-Eternal sibling)
- Blood (there is no sequel)
- FEAR (timeless and as compelling as it was back in the day, both mechanically and AI-wise. Too bad it had no sequels)
- Crysis and Warhead (see above)
- Duke Nukem 3D (Nobody steals our chicks..and lives!)
- Quake 1 (especially with the Arcane Dimensions mod)
- Metro 2033, Last Light and Exodus (cinehurrmatic Stalker done right)
- Unreal (even better with the Unreal Evolution mod - also there is no sequel)
- Return to Castle Wolfenstein and Wolfenstein: The New Order/ The Old Blood (vastly different from RTCW but nicely crafted, despite their consolitis and not-so-mega idTech-y limitations)
- Shadow Warrior Classic (You no mess with Lo Wang! - better than its 2013 reincarnation in terms of level design and pacing)
- Condemned: Criminal Origins (it should be in the horror section, its relentless tension and visceral combat were and still are that effective)
- Dark Messiah of Might and Magic (perhaps the best semi-sandbox-y melee combat ever, with that pinch of classic Havok-ian madness)
- Soldier of Fortune and Soldier of Fortune 2 (the Ghoul System is perennial - also there is no third game)
- Bioshock 1 (with Infinite deserving of an honourable telegram for you, sir! despite being an impostor)
- No One Lives Forever and No One Lives Forever 2 (Cate Archer's witty humour and the games' bizarre situations will always be entertaining)
- Aliens vs Predator 2 (three rock-solid campaigns and a thick atmosphere - AvP1 deserves a sulfuric cookie, too)
- Far Cry 1 (more than a benchmark, the game was/is good ol' hardcore fun. Including the derpy mutants)
- Vietcong (clunky and with special AI companions, but also incredibly immersive, authentic and unfiltered. Back when games could afford that)
- Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (iconic missions, pristine music and sound effects, solid gameplay. The whole linear FPS pack)
- Project IGI 2 (not everything works as intended, but the game oozes charisma and makes you feel like a kickass panther 007)
- The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay (I liked it more than Doom 3 at the time, perhaps one of the most pleasant surprises ever)
- Dying Light and The Following (Dead Island more mature and improved)
- Singularity (consolized to hell and back and a tad gimmicky, but it's unadulterated fun)
- Prey 2006 (clever and very immersive, despite the lack of challenge)
- Kingpin (You fucking want some of this, fuck? Supermax would be proud)
- Descent and Descent 2 (the grandads of 6DOF shooting - honourable mention to Forsaken and the underlooked modern reincarnation Overload)
- Cryostasis (unique, slow-paced, atmospheric. And with PhsyX more demanding than the cold itself)
- Ion Fury (Build Engine goodness rev. 2019, with complex levels and zero hand-holding)
- Prodeus (not the best maps, but the extra-meaty gunplay makes up for it)
- Cultic (another competent retro-shooter, capable of evoking groovy vibes)
- Ghostrunner (stylish, novel and tough as nails)
- Turbo Overkill (complete insanity, and better than it has any right to be)
- SWAT 4 (legendary, more so with the obligatory Elite Force mod - honourable mention to SWAT 3 for implementing the base mechanics and to Ready or Not for successfully reviving the genre after decades of failures)
- Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield (the greatest R6, especially with the many mods available, before the wave of green couch-friendly streamlining got in the way)
- Operation: Flashpoint with Resistance (the best campaigns by far, they blew my mind back then), ARMA 1 (if you're lucky enough not to encounter any bugs, the campaign is also good) and ARMA 3 (primarily for the modded sandbox-y possibilities, as the campaign is on the gimped side)
- Ghost Recon (which gives its old-school best with the Heroes Unleashed mod)
- Hidden and Dangerous 2 (an improvement over the original in every way, and still a WWII tactical first-person milestone)
- Mafia 1 (an absolute classic that hasn't lost an ounce of its charm. Mafia 2 deserves an honourable mention, despite the consolitis. There is no third game unfortunately)
- Max Payne and Max Payne 2 (I like Bald Payne 3 too, at least when the cutscenes don't keep you hostage)
- Dead Space and Dead Space 2 (although the first one is my favourite, the sequel plays around with the setting in creative ways. Before the third entry arrived and shat on the access corridor)
- Resident Evil, RE2 and RE3 (all Remakes included), RE4 Remake, RE7 and RE Village
- The Evil Within and The Evil Within 2 (conceptually different from each other, yet equally as entertaining)
- Severance: Blade of Darkness (before Dark Souls there was the limb-slicing simulator deluxe in all its immersive jankiness)
- Batman: Arkham Asylum, Arkham City and Arkham Knight (my favourite Bats)
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (peak Rockstar in terms of attention to detail, immersion and mature writing. If only it allowed for more leeway when playing the actual missions)
- GTA IV The Lost and Damned / The Ballad of Gay Tony (they replace the main game) and GTA V (a missed opportunity when it comes to the story, but still mechanically sound, Rockstar mission design notwithstanding - honourable mention to Vice City for its vibe and the memorable characters)
- Sleeping Dogs (the arcade GTA Hong Kong that we deserved. Pork buns for everyone!)
- Darksiders 2 (my favourite of the trilogy - hack 'n slashy but with exploration, puzzles and Death himself as the protagonist)
- Ghost of a Tale (unique and incredibly charming rodent fetch quest simulator)
- Death Stranding (when the post-goocalypse inevitably hits the planet, this game will prove itself useful)
- Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (top-shelf Raven classic with complex level design, great atmosphere and PC-centric controls. We'll never have that ever again)
- American McGee's Alice (its atmosphere is still intact, back when action games weren't necessarily made for consoles)
- Drakan: Order of the Flame (clunky old-school goodness where you go from murdering orcs to mounting fire-spitting dragons)
- Giants: Citizen Kabuto (humorous, visually cutting-edge for the time, and still fun)
- The Saboteur (part WWII GTA and part AssCreed, with more charisma, banter, and tits!)
- Splinter Cell, Pandora Tomorrow and Chaos Theory (Sam at his very best)
- Thief, Thief 2 and The Dark Mod (thanks to their communities, the stealth genre is alive despite being clinically dead)
- Hitman Agent 47 (for the novelty of the concept, brilliant but still not fully developed), Hitman 2, Contracts (with the grittiest atmosphere), Blood Money (Agent 47 at his very best) and nuTrilogy (entertaining albeit marred by limitations and silly designs)
- Death to Spies (hardcore WWII Hitman that involves trial & error sessions, better with the Enhancement Addon)
- Dishonored and Dishonored 2 (not exactly challenging, but the inspired art direction and verticality coupled with the memorable level design form a winning combo - especially in the second game)
- Styx: Master of Shadows and Styx: Shards of Darkness (Goblin Cell, with a focus on complex multi-layered levels and pear-free stealth)
- Mark of the Ninja (2D panthering with style and substance)
- Tomb Raider 1,2,3,4 (peak ̶T̶o̶m̶b̶ Tank Raider, when Lara had to fight for every inch and would get lost with ease. Of the second streamlined wave I like Underworld the most. Alas, the franchise ended there)
- Mirror's Edge (though despite everything, Catalyst is capable of replicating some of the highs of the original game)
- Ori and the Will of the Wisps and Ori and The Blind Forest (impeccable art style and metro-exploring with the right amount of challenge)
- Hollow Knight (the game that single-handedly contributed to making many other metroidvanias feel obsolete)
- Salt & Sanctuary (the best 2D Souls-like out there, despite the turtle faces)
- GRIME (it borrows a proven formula and adds its unique flavour to it)
- Katana Zero (ninja time-warping Hotline Miami with banging synth music)
- Transistor (my favourite Supergiant game, before roguelikes came and ruined the party)
- Hyper Light Drifter (mysterious, rewarding and heavily exploration-based, it drifts through the right boxes)
- Psychonauts and Psychonauts 2 (highly imaginative, with the second game managing to meet the high expectations despite the exceptionally bad omens. Not all the budget was spent on hookers after all!)
- Soul Reaver and Soul Reaver 2 (atmospheric, well-written, and free from hand-holding - honourable mention to Blood Omen 2 for its improved gameplay)
- Rayman Origins and Rayman Legends (when Ubisoft used to make quality games)
- Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (see above)
- INSIDE (my favourite in the physics-based side-scrolling genre, grim and intense)
- Valfaris (gory heavy-metal plat-shooter hell yeah!)
- Unravel 1 (charming, cozy and capable of dispensing clever set-pieces)
- HoB (a little explorative gem that went under the radar)
- Blasphemous 1 (gritty and rewarding, despite the signature backtracking and a few cumbersome sins - which the sequel unfortunately amplifies)
- Yoku's Island Express (rock-solid feelgood metro-pinball-dvania, a concept that works much better than one would expect)
Strategy
Spoiler:
- Anno 1404, 2070 and 1800 (a.k.a. time-sinking simulators, each one of them playing on the strengths of their setting)
- Commandos 2 (the best Commandos and the ultimate benchmark of the genre, allowing for multiple approaches unlike its predecessors)
- Desperados: Wanted Dead or Alive (hardcore gringommandos, though Mimimi's Desperados 3 is a great example of how to tastefully revive an old franchise)
- Jagged Alliance 2 (with the iconic 1.13 patch it's the most thorough turn-based tactical squad-based game - honourable mention to Jagged Alliance 3 for being a surprisingly competent modern entry, against all odds)
- Silent Storm (satisfying turn-based tactics and fully destructible environments ahoy!)
- Men of War (I like it more than Company of Heroes, thanks to its pseudo-simulative approach)
- Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 (unit ready. Spread the doom! - honourable mentions to Tiberian Sun and the extra-cheesy Red Alert 3)
- Starcraft and Starcraft 2 (timeless and unmatched)
- Age of Empires 2 ([wololo intensifies] - honourable mention to Age of Mythology)
- Homeworld, Cataclysm, Homeworld 2 and Deserts of Kharak (more akin to a lite spin-off-ian prequel, but still worth playing)
- Dungeon Keeper and Dungeon Keeper 2 (good ol' Bullfrog nailed the mix of humour and strategy, unsurpassed after three decades)
- Supreme Commander (there is no sequel)
- World in Conflict (excellent blending of visual prowess, cinematic storytelling solid RTS mechanics, back when UbiMassive made good games)
- Heroes of Might and Magic 3: Complete (the old king of the genre)
- Black & White (a tad too ambitious for its own good, but very mesmerizing and inventive)
- Rome: Total War, Medieval 2 and Shogun 2 (classic Total War is the best Total War)
- Act of War: Direct Action (I like it more than Generals, including its cheesy pseudo-TomClancy-ian B-rated story)
- Syndicate (cutting-edge for the time and still unparalleled, it's also the first mass murder simulator)
- Civilization IV and V ("This is the last turn, I swear!" multiplied by ∞)
- Sins of a Solar Empire (RTS4X goodness, improved by the many mods)
- Crusader Kings 2 (especially for the hundreds of mods/TCs available)
- SimCity 4 (still very much alive thanks to its numerous mods - the series ended there)
- The Sims 3 (peak Sims in terms of content and mechanics, lag notwithstanding)
- Stronghold and Stronghold Crusader (my castle is sturdier than yours, ha!)
- Frostpunk 1 (relentlessly bleak and demanding, a unique combo that the sequel couldn't quite replicate)
- IXION (like Frostpunk, but in space and with less dread involved)
- XCOM 2: War of The Chosen (it doesn't provide old-school mechanics like UFO Defense does, but it's still a competent and complete package with lots of pros. [Hit 99%][Missed!])
- Hard West 2 (an improvement over the original in almost every way, only partially marred by the so-so QA)
- Partisans 1941 (a couple of patches short from being complete, but still a remarkable entry in the genre thanks to its freedom of movement and action)
Adventure & Puzzle/Horror/Survival
Spoiler:
- Primordia (hilarious, atmospheric and with logical puzzles, Wadjet's greatest in my scrapped book)
- Monkey Island, Monkey Island 2 and The Curse of Monkey Island (legendary and timeless. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?)
- Machinarium (Amanita's finest masterpiece)
- Samorost 3 (my favourite of the trilogy, with its bizarre and utterly charming aura)
- Botanicula (an amusing, heartfelt celebration of the natural world)
- The Longest Journey (thoughtful environments and well-written characters that feel alive, though not as great as Dustborn)
- Gemini Rue (cyberpunk dramatic detective-ing done correctly)
- Grim Fandango (some of its puzzles objectively defy logic, but the game's charisma is nothing short of brilliant)
- The Neverhood (claymation adventure at its finest, unfortunately not quite replicated by its spiritual successor)
- Valiant Hearts: The Great War (back when Ubisoft used to make great games: part XXXVII)
- LA Noire (the city itself may be useless, but it's an instantly recognizable and technically competent investigative adventure [frowning intensifies])
- INFRA (perhaps the most underrated title in the list, a fascinating exploration-based puzzle game set in decaying suburban environments)
- Papers, Please (novel concept, flawless execution. Glory to Arstotzka!)
- Portal and Portal 2 (back when Valve were doing quality Valve things)
- Myst and Riven (so many ̶h̶o̶u̶r̶s̶ days lost on these)
- The Witness (unforgettable and deeper than it looks, it's also the only game in this list that I'd never replay)
- The Talos Principle (the best Serious Sam game by far)
- Antichamber (mind-bending drugs-fueled puzzle-o-rama)
- Life is Strange 1 (American Teenager Simulator 2015: hella shaka brah edition, surprisingly well-written and not excessively cringey - unlike its sequels)
- The Stanley Parable (ingenious, more than just yet another walking sim)
- Alien: Isolation (the most terrifying game of the list with top-notch direction that nails the subject matter and knows no age)
- SOMA (how to catch lightning in a ̶b̶o̶t̶t̶l̶e̶ PATHOS Warden Unit)
- Amnesia: The Dark Descent (Frictional's peak hide 'n seek horror, with interesting mods/TCs too)
- Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth (part survival-horror and part FPS, a consolized yet gripping journey into the fishfolk)
- STASIS (traditional point 'n click horror is rarely effective, but this game is the exception)
- Outlast and Whistleblower (a fine member of the hide 'n seek guild)
- Subnautica (greatest survival experience in my water-proof ledge, mysterious, subtle and gloomy - unlike Below Zero)
- The Forest (Subnautica's cousin in the woods with more jank, friendly cannibals and cute multi-legged animals)
- Pathologic 2 (an exercise in frustration, but with customizable sliders and an unmatched deviant atmosphere)
- Green Hell (Bear Grylls: The Game, accompanied by a surprisingly thoughtful story)
Space/Driving/Flight
Spoiler:
- Freespace 2 (still the most satisfying space combat system ever designed, with lots of mods available - including the Wing Commander Saga)
- X3: Terran War Pack (nearly everything that you can do in space: The Game)
- Freelancer (Chris Roberts back when he made actual games and hadn't figured out how to con gullible nerds yet)
- Independence War 2: Edge of Chaos (if you're lucky enough to get it running without issues, it's a master class in immersion with Newtonian physics and all)
- Assetto Corsa (not exactly memorable in its vanilla form, but the thousands of mods/cars/tracks come to the rescue)
- Automobilista 2 (it replaces Project CARS 2 thanks to the improved physics at the cost of losing some licenses)
- GTR 2 (peak SimBin - honourable mention to Kunos' Competizione, the competent spiritual successor)
- Richard Burns Rally (the most hardcore physics, vastly expanded by the Rallysimfans plugin)
- Dirt Rally 2.0 (believable handling and immersive graphics, a solid package despite some questionable limitations)
- Grand Prix 4 (simulative and with advanced AI, cheers Geoff!)
- Carmageddon 2 (with unsurpassed damage systems and physics, it's my go-to arcade game when I feel the need to cause a ruckus whilst running over people)
- Wreckfest (not the greatest career, but it's exhilarating and infuriating at the same time)
- Silent Hunter 3 and Silent Hunter 4 (the legendary sub sims, massively improved by mods)
- IL-2 Sturmovik 1946 (good ol' WWII flight sim goodness)
- Falcon 4.0 (ahead of its time, and playable today thanks to the BMS mod which adds even more depth to it)
- Ace Combat 7 (the complete opposite of a sim, but surprisingly fun despite the underlying jap melodrama)
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