Top Ten Favourite Video Games

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Voros

Voros

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So don't believe we have a thread on this topic. I've chosen Top 10 so we don't end up with endlessly long lists where you don't actually have to put any effort into choosing. My eyes also start to glaze over any list longer than 10.

Although we can all cheat with some honourable mentions.

I've tried to select a few to reflect my love of different kinds of games (arcade, crpg, text).

In no particular order:

1. Tempest
2. Shadow of the Colossus
3. Demon's Souls
4. Ico
5. Journey
6. A Mind Forever Voyaging
7. Another World
8. Last of Us
9. Limbo
10. Fez

Honourable mentions: Doom; Sorcery!; Year Walk; Road Not Taken; Downwell; Super Hexagon; Zelda; Trinity; Bloodborne; Don't Starve!; King of Dragon Pass

Should probably have at least one roguelike but not sure which one to choose from, either Hoplite or Enter the Gungeon?

A few I really like but want more time to ruminate on: Elden Ring; Sekiro; XCOM; Wolfenstein The New Order; Stalker; Pathologic
 
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Mine would have to spread out over the years

'80s - Planetoid, Elite
'90s - Doom, Descent, Warcraft, Lemmings, Tetris, Nethack
'00s - Freeciv
'10s-'20s - Warzone 2100, Star Control II - The Ur-Quan masters (although both games were somewhat older)
 
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1. Mass Effect trilogy
2. Deus Ex (the original is still the best)
3. DOOM
4. Tetris
5. Dark Mod
6. FreeSpace 2 (inc. awesome mods like Blue Planet)
7. Super Mario 3
8. System Shock 2
9. StarCraft (explicitly excluding Starcraft 2)
10. Ultima VI

edit: honourable mention to Sokoban
 
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First off, this is incredibly hard for me. I work in the video game industry, and play a LOT of games. And I've been playing video games for as long as I've been playing tabletop RPGs (about 32ish years for both). Also, unlike a lot of people my age I actually think that modern games are actually, for the most part, better on average than "classic" games. I still love a lot of them, but from a perspective of like "Pick up and play right now" I just have to admit that some of them just kind of pale compared to modern games. There are some exceptions though. I literally had to make a list of about 20 games and then try to put it in order.
  1. Nier: Replicant ver.1.22474487139...: While I like the original EN release of Nier: Gestalt better as I prefer Father Nier to Brother Nier, the enhancements to the gameplay from ver.1.22474487139... undeniably improve the game tremendously. This game is depressing and beautifully written and told with incredibly characters.
  2. Nier: Automata: The sequel to Gestalt/Replicant continue to prove that Yoko Taro is a mad genius. Again depressing and beautifully written with amazing characters... though this one gets to have an actual hopeful ending.
  3. Final Fantasy Tactics: This game's plot is fantastic. But what I really love about it is the amazing character customization. Granted, it is super easy to break the system, but it is great "sandbox" fun in how you build your characters' abilities up.
  4. Metal Gear Solid 2: The best written Metal Gear game. This game is way ahead of it's time. The plot is very much about basically using the internet to control information as a way of controlling the populace, and by extension the world. It was released in 2001... kind of more relevant now than it even was then.
  5. Dragon Quest IX: The best Dragon Quest game from a mechanical perspective. Also the vignettes were very well done.
  6. Xenogears: What a goddamn mess this game is. It is the perfect JRPG through the first disc, then budget and time issues settled in and the second disc is a clusterfuck. That said, the story is still fantastic and it is fun to play.
  7. Marvel's Spider-Man: The best Spider-Man story outside of the comic books. Also just damn fun to play. You really feel like Spidey.
  8. Skyrim: Without mods this would be much lower. I like it a lot, but I probably would have played it like, 2-3 times at most. With mods it is my most played game of the last decade by far.
  9. Knights of the Old Republic II: My favorite Star Wars story. It deals a lot with the philosophy of the Force and has a complex not black and white approach to the mythology.
  10. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE: This is the perfect game to pop in when I just want to have a good time and improve my mood. It is about Japanese idols (Singers, actors, and more) who also use the power of their performance to bond with shades from mysterious alternate realm and save the world. It is goofy, it is wholesome, it is fun. Also the mechanics are really good.
Honorable mentions:
  • Borderlands 3: I know many people like 2 more than 3, but for playing 3 is still better. 2 has a shitty endgame and horrible bullet sponge problems at high levels/OP levels that make it just unfun to play even if the story is better.
  • XCOM 2: My favorite non-rpg strategy game. Especially with War of the Chosen.
  • Deus Ex: Human Revolution: Especially after the Director's Cut came out and fixed the issues of how to fight the bosses when you were going for noncombat builds.
  • Persona 4 Golden: The best of SMT to me outside of TMS#FE (which is technically an SMT/Fire Emblem crossover). While the overall story of P3 is better, the mechanical improvements of 4, better pacing and better characters, I just don't enjoy going back to 3. 5 on the other hand doesn't have as charming of a cast (outside of Ryuji), and has terrible pacing near the end where it long overstays its welcome.
  • Resident Evil 2 Remake: My favorite Resident Evil. 2 was my introduction to the series on the PSX. I played the hell out of it. The remake is a vast improvement on everything other than the lack of the A and B routes working together. It's a blast to play.
  • Astral Chain: This game is straight up bullshit anime, and I don't care. It is super fun mechanically, and even though the anime bullshit is 100% predictable weaboo tropes, it still makes me smile. It also doesn't overstay its welcome. I'm really hoping this gets a sequel.
  • Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous: Man, I hate 3.x and PF1e as tabletop rpgs, but that doesn't mean they can't be fantastic for a CRPG (though I wish we would get a turn based 4e D&D or PF2e video game more)... and especially when you get PF1e Mythic Ranks reworked for a video game and get to have some straight up super broken ass powers.
  • Middle Earth: Shadow of War: I really actually love how this game plays with the lore of Middle Earth. If you are a purist you will absolutely hate it, but I don't give a fuck and it is probably my favorite Middle Earth piece of media. Also, the whole thing of the sandbox nature of brainwashing and strengthening your own army of orcs with procedurally generated commanders and stuff to put up against Sauron's army and try to fight it from the inside is very fun.
  • Grim Dawn: My favorite ARPG. I don't even know what else to say about it. I've just put a ton of time into playing it. The lore of the world is also really great and I'd love to see it written up as a Tabletop RPG setting.
  • Dragon Quest IV: This was the hardest one not to put in the top 10. This is the game that made video game RPGs my favorite genre. I had played DQ1-3 before this, and enjoyed them, but this one just blew me away. It has a lot of nostalgic meaning to me. I used to play it through once a year every year. But in the end, even though I love it, I haven't played it in a decade or so, and haven't really had the urge to. It still means a lot to me though.
There are probably games I'm forgetting at the moment. I'm sure I'll go "holy hell how did I forget X" 10 minutes from now, but yeah.
 
Middle Earth: Shadow of War is a blast to play.
 
In no particular order, and trying to stick with games I've actually spent significant time playing:

Super Mario Brothers 3
Super Mario 64
Age of Empires 2
Star Trek: Armada
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Bioshock
Back to the Future: The Game
 
Starlight (80s)
Battlefield 2(2000s)
Starcraft 1&2
Ultima 3 or 4.
Paradroid
Adventure Construction Set
 
This is difficult for me as I play A LOT of video games and feel like games are best judged in their respective categories. This list is not complete- there are a lot of excellent games out there that I simply haven't gotten around to playing.

RPG
  1. Elden Ring
  2. Prey
  3. Fallout 4
RPG, Action-Adventure (like Zelda)
  1. Songbringer
  2. Hyper Light Drifter

Strategy, Squad Based
  1. Phoenix Point
  2. Into the Breach
  3. Pathfinder: Kingmaker
  4. Star Renegades
  5. The Wind and Wilting Blossom
  6. Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark
Strategy, Roguelike
  1. FTL: Faster than Life
  2. Dungeon of the Endless
  3. Slay the Spire
  4. Convoy

Multiplayer, Survival
  1. Conan Exiles
  2. Valheim
  3. Don't Starve

Multiplayer, Pick Up N' Play
  1. HELLDIVERS
  2. Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime
  3. Crawl
  4. Mother Russia Bleeds

MMO
  1. GTA V
  2. Red Dead Redemption 2
  3. WildStar (RIP)

ARPG
  1. Grim Dawn

Dungeon Crawler
  1. Darkest Dungeon
  2. Deep Sky Derelicts
  3. DUNGEON ENCOUNTERS

Shooter
  1. DOOM Eternal

Metroidvania
  1. Hollow Knight
  2. Death's Door
  3. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
  4. Tails of Iron
  5. Axiom Verge

Old School 2d Sidescrollers (difficult)
  1. Valfaris
  2. Age of Barbarian
  3. Slain: Back from Hell

Miscellaneous
  1. L.A. Noire
  2. WORLD OF HORROR
  3. Brigador: Up-Armored Edition
 
10. Team Fortress 2: I don't mind the cosmetics and seasonal events, but it's easy to forget how beautiful this game was as originally released.
9. Wasteland: 14-year-old me wanted a Mad Max inspired game. Also, Angela Deth.
8. EVE Online: Dove into this great sandbox game with a buddy, was scammed out of my first 600 million isk, got a BLOPs killmail in a Drake, ran a T2 munitions and module manufacturing corporation, got lost in dozens of wormholes, and flew a Chimera carrier for a couple of Nullsec alliances. Though the game has devolved into a stagnant mess, I'm grateful for several years of unique entertainment.
7. Mass Effect: A cinematic plot wedded to world building via exploration and research.
6. Ultima V: The best Ultima game in my opinion. It featured polished gameplay from the fourth installment, which I also adore, a nonlinear story, and the most engaging version of Garriott's Britannia.
5. Deep Rock Galactic: Squats! Flexible four player co-op that encourages creativity as well as teamwork. Nothing like hissing "Swing those pickaxes you bastards" after the driller has run out of gas 20 meters short of the Drop Pod.
4. Left 4 Dead: The original game had the perfect tone. Everything from the design of the four survivors, musical and sound cues, lighting effects, infected models, and even the movie posters that introduced each campaign added to the drama of trying to fight your way to the next safe room with three of your friends.
3. Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines: I understand that this game was a buggy mess as released; however, I played it for the first and only time years later with the Plus patch. Against a friend's advice that I choose another clan for my first playthrough, I jumped in sight unseen with a Malkavian and spent the next sixty hours attempting to interpret my character's dialogue options and occasional hallucinations while running around Troika's goofy midnight version of Los Angeles. Troika worked overtime by rewriting every line of dialogue as something of a riddle for Malkavian players, and the astute may pick up on a portent or two here and there scattered among the nonsense. Even the clan's bizarre armor upgrades foreshadow upcoming portions of the game's chapters. Yeah, you might not be sporting a silk shirt or intimidating hoodie, but there will be at least a moment in the next section of the game where the Malkavian will be the only character dressed to fit the scene.
2. Disco Elysium: You're piecing together a story, and it's so much more than a lonely corpse in the cafeteria's backyard.
1. Fallout: New Vegas: They could release annual expansions or procedurally generated regions and I'd still be wandering the Mojave.

Honorable mentions-

Fallout 1 & 2: See Wasteland and New Vegas above.
The Witcher 3: I love open ended RPGs. This one is exceptional.
Valheim: Though still in early access, I've logged over a thousand hours in Valheim with friends and family on several different world seeds. The combat, crafting, exploration, and construction are entertaining, especially with a team, and Irongate creates gorgeous visuals with simple textures and creative lighting techniques. I think a combination of the procedural world generation of Valheim with prewritten encounters and settlements like the original Fallout games would be a license to print money.
Portal & Portal 2: Puzzle games that I enjoy despite disliking puzzle games.
Vermintide 1 & 2: I have a thing for four player co-op games.
Battletech (Harebrained Schemes): Reminded me why I loved the original setting.
 
Man, that’s a tough one.

Oldest game that really hooked me that I can remember was R-Type for the Sega Master System. After that, Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the SNES.

When I first got a PC it was the original X-Wing game that really blew my socks off (and makes me want to get Star Wars: Squadrons for the PC).

I spent the 2000s neck deep in study and escaping only for tabletop gaming. Except for a short stint with Neverwinter Nights (the 2002 one), Age of Empires 3 and Quake 3 of all things (yay Kevin Long art!).

It was after marriage (!) that I got back into PC gaming with World of Warcraft (Cataclysm at the time) and then Borderlands 2, followed by Borderlands: the Pre-Sequel, then Borderlands 3 and now Vermintide 2 owns my soul.

Shout-out to my retro homies Broforce (played a ton), Castle Crashers (ditto) and Legend of Grimrock (didn’t get to play half as much as I’d like)

Tried Skyrim and was awed by it but not being co-op is a dealbreaker for me these days. I hoped Elder Scrolls Online might bridge the gap but it’s just not the same.

Bought Fallout (1-3 and New Vegas) and The Witcher (1 and 2) on Steam sales, but never did get around to playing either.

Warframe was fun, played a few hours. but Mrs. The Butcher never did warm up to it.

I guess that’s my video/PC gaming history in a nutshell.
 
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I am not that much of a videogame player, or at least not any more as my list will demonstrate.

My top "evergreen" games I'd say are:
City Of Heroes (so happy it's back) & Warlords 2 Deluxe. They both pretty easy games that allow plenty customisation.

Historically, I logged a huge amount of hours on Anarchy Online & Forgotten Realms Unlimited Adventures (the "Goldbox" D&D creator kit).

Over the lockdown period, I kind of rediscovered computer games and enjoyed Shadowrun Returns & Wastelands 2 enough to complete them. Too soon to say if they will qualify as all time favourites.
 
Rather than try to decide between all the arcade, home computer and console games I've ever played, I'm going to focus on my fondly remembered youth. Sitting in the gloom, TV flickering, games loading up with the sound of a hundred screeching cats. Yes... These are my favourite ZX Spectrum games!

1. Auf Wiedersehen Monty (1987) - Ah... Monty Mole. He wasn't cute, stylish or 'in your face' enough to be more than the forgotten 8-bit mascot. But he had a lot of games in the eighties and Auf Wiedersehen Monty is the best of them. It looks and sounds good, and it isn't as unfair as many platform games of the era, so it's more often a joy to play than it is frustrating.
monty 4.png

2. Chaos: the Battle of Wizards (1985) - A Games Workshop license, it answers the question of what happens when you lock six angry wizards in a confined space. Another turn-based tactical game, this time with summoned creatures and buff/debuff spells rather than constant blasting. Giggle in amusement as you unleash the ever-spreading gooey blob into the confined arena, then duck into your magical castle to wait out the ensuing madness.
chaos11.png

3. Fantasy World Dizzy (1989) - Dizzy, the slightly more memorable mascot. He also had a lot of games across many genres and gaming platforms. But it was the puzzle platformers on the Speccy I remember most fondly. I probably put more time into it's predecessor, Treasure Island Dizzy, but must grudgingly admit that Fantasy World Dizzy is a more fun experience. Though I never cared for the world building that began here, it's a challenging and rewarding game to play.
fantasy dizzy 1 res.png

4. Gauntlet (1987) - It's Gauntlet. Gauntlet is great. It's on the Spectrum. It's surprisingly good. Adapting the classic arcade game, this is a pretty damn faithful version and it plays well.
gauntlet 1.png

5. Laser Squad (1988) - The high bar to which all turn-based tactical games would be compared, Laser Squad was surprisingly deep and a lot of fun. It had a series of challenging missions, one of the first instances of an expansion pack to add more, and a multiplayer mode so you could gloat over your friends as you caught his squad in a crossfire.
laser.png

6. Myth: History in the Making (1989) - Ahead of it's time in so many ways, Myth was an astounding game for the Speccy. Lovely animation, responsive controls, compelling platform/action/puzzle play over distinct eras. It's 16-bit updates actually pale in comparison.
myth 3.png

7. Rainbow Islands (1990) - The conversion of the sorta-sequel to Bubble Bobble, Rainbow Islands was a great game and a surprisingly complete game on the Spectrum. Colour clash might have been the Speccy's curse, but having a lot of bright colours on screen never was. So this vertical race-the-clock platformer really worked.
Rainbow 1.png

8. Renegade (1986) - The European adaptation of Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun made for a very different beat 'em up. Gone are the cartoony school rivalries, replaced with the desperate struggle of a guy just trying to get across the city and every thug along the way wants to curb stomp him. Challenging, but bloody satisfying to complete.
Renegade 3.png

9. Robocop (1988) - Not exactly an adaption of the arcade game, the Spectrum Robocop set the standard for movie tie-ins, and also unfortunately became the model nearly all the rest would copy. Still, it's a tough challenge and a fun game that combines precision action and simple puzzle sections to good effect.
robocop1.png

10. R-Type (1988) - Look, it's R-Type, and that was huge! And we got it on the Spectrum... At all. And it was complete. Even the giant mothership level.
r0type 1.png

Honourable Mention... Trap Door (1986) - An astonishly good license adaption for a beloved stop-motion television show. Play as the lowly servant of the unseen and grouchy castle lord, you must serve him his desired meals as fast as you can. Only, the ingredients are living and dangerous creatures found beneath the castle's trapdoor... Fun, infuriating, but fun.
 
I'm going to include 'all' of a title for favorite
1. Armored Core (All)
2. Freedom Force/FF vs The Third Reich.
3. Shadowrun Returns/Dragonsfall/Hong Kong
4. TES: Arena/TES: Daggerfall/Morrowind/Skyrim (The latter was described as the RPG of High Valor and it's close, except my dragons are nastier)
5. Fallout 3/Fallout 4/New Vegas
6. Mass Effect Series
7. City of Heroes
8. Star Trek Online
9. Baldur's Gate I/II: Shadows of Amn
10. Star wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

Honorable Old Mentions:
Space Harrier
Magic Sword
D&D: Mystara
Eternal Champions
Marvel Avengers/X-men (multiplayer beat-em ups not fighting games.)
 
In no particular order:
  • The Last Sovereign (NSFW)
  • Jupiter Hell
  • Paper Mario: the Thousand Year Door (or PM64, or even SMRPG, if you prefer)
  • Bug Fables
  • Final Fantasy Tactics
  • Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle
  • Phantasy Star
  • Planescape: Torment
  • Ultra Street Fighter IV
 
I just did the ones that influenced me the most so they're in no particular order:

Dwarf Fortress
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
Roller Coaster Tycoon
Civilization 4 (Specifically the in-game Civilopedia)
Hearts of Iron 4
Sim City 3000 & 4
The Sims 2
Evil Genius
Fallout: New Vegas (Particularly the Old World Blues and Honest Hearts DLC)
Dishonored 1 & 2

Honorable Mentions:
Wolfenstein: The New Order and Doom, for being the only FPS's that sparked my interest.
ULarn, for getting my hooked on this RPG stuff.
 
1 Deus ex original.

Others.
Independence war 2 , BioShock, hostile Waters antaeus rising, mass effect series, starcraft, dark Reign, return to castle wolfenstein, crysis series, prey.
 
1. Total War series, of which Warhammer TW 2 Mortal Empires is the best option IMHO. I have, and have played all of them.
2. Imperialism 2 - brilliantly designed game where every resource decision is crucial.
3. Civ - Civ 4 probably my most played, but have played all from 2 on
4. Alpha Centauri - begging for an updated UI and graphics - just amazing immersion
5. Neverwinter Nights - my most played RPG, so much brilliant 3rd party content (prefer 1 over 2)
6. Baldurs Gate 2 - epic game, best treatment of this structure for RPGs (isometric)
7. Master of Orion 2 - best 4X ever made. Still.
8. Skyrim - still the best open world RPG for my money
9. Hearts of Iron 2 - for when you absolutely have to defeat the Nazi's across the whole world accept no substitutes
10. Aliens v Predator - I am rubbish at FPS, but when I want to scratch that itch, this is where I go.
 
Nobby-W said:
Mine would have to spread out over the years

'80s - Planetoid, Elite
'90s - Doom, Descent, Warcraft, Lemmings, Tetris, Nethack
'00s - Freeciv
'10s-'20s - Warzone 2100, Star Control II - The Ur-Quan masters (although both games were somewhat older)
Click to expand...

I'll add one more to the '10s-'20s - Kerbal Space Program.
 
In no particular order:
  • Jupiter Hell
  • The Last Sovereign (do not Google this at work, but do Google this)
  • Final Fantasy Tactics
  • Mario + Rabbids
  • Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
  • GemCraft: Chasing Shadows
  • DOOM and DOOM 2 and all of their associated games
  • Hades
  • StarCraft and StarCraft: Brood War
  • Street Fighter Alpha 3
Two of the games on this list have made me openly weep with joy.
 
I was finally able to pare my list down to a top ten.

  • Phoenix Point
  • Doom Eternal
  • Into the Breach
  • Elden Ring
  • Dungeon of the Endless
  • FTL: Faster than Life
  • Songbringer
  • Prey
  • Darkest Dungeon
  • Hollow Knight
 
My favorites in no particular order based on my playtime…

Pacman
The Slugger
Tecmo Bowl II
Call of Duty: World at War
Out of the Park Baseball (several)
Diablo I & II
Starcraft
Guitar Hero (several)
Rock Band (several)
Grand Theft Auto V
Red Dead Redemption
 
In no particular order...
  • Elite - The BBC Micro version, not a fan of the new one.
  • Civilization 2 - I only stopped playing as I couldnt get it to run on Windows 7. I still miss the Heralds, ThankYouVerryMuch...
  • Civilization 5 - At first because Civ2 wouldnt run, but now my Civ of choice. I got Civ6 free from Epic last year and dont like it. Didnt like the cartoon graphics and city placement was way too micromanagey...
  • Wolfenstein 3d - Still my favourite gatling gun sound. Mein Leiben!
  • Team Fortress Classic / Day of Defeat - Pulled a few all nighters with this game back in my youth. Even had it running with bots so I could solo just for some blasting fun.
  • Audiosurf - Sort of a dodge/collect the bricks game where the track and bricks are determined by music - which you can feed in from your own collection. If ever you needed an excuse to listen to your favourite song twenty times in a row, this is it.
  • XCom Enemy Unknown (aka XCom UFO Defense) - The original one. There's a fan made port that runs on modern OS's but for some reason the difficulty seems too high. Getting TPK'd and mind controlled on the first mission seemed a little unfair to me.
  • Skyrim - Played vanilla. Played with DLC. Played modded till it crashed. The first game where I wanted a better graphics card to ramp up the details rather than the FPS.
  • Interstate 76 - The cars. The soundtrack. The polygon graphics...One day I will get off my ass and find a away to play it on PC again.
  • Star Trek Online - I have a love/hate relationship with this game. As a Trekkie, its the only game in town. The graphics aren't bad and some of the ships are gorgeous, but the gameplay is full of bugs, the missions repetative and samey and the current writers keep putting cinematic cutscenes right in the middle of a feckin' battle usually just as I've teed up a capital ship for a spread of torpedoes, and the failure to cap DPS in PvE from the start has done irreperable damage, but I'm in sunk cost (time and effort) fallacy with this game and as its free, I just keep on playing.
Honourable mentions :
  • Team Fortress 2 - Used to play a lot but never liked it as much as Classic. Sadly its more of a hat wearing simulator these days.
  • Star Trek Birth of the Federation - Played it a hell of a lot but rarely completed or won the game.
  • Fallout 4 - Honestly it was tight between this and Skyrim. Now if only Skyrim had settlement building..
  • Diablo 2 - Similar to ST:BOTF, played it a lot but never ever completed it.
  • Midtown Madness 2 - Loved the game, sadly never been able to get it to run reliably on a modern OS.
 
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