First Person Shooter




Ultrakill Box Art

My absolute favorite singleplayer first person shooter!
It's some of the best action in any game and even it's narrative is incredibly strong which, for this kind of game, is not only a rarity, but I'd say unheard of!

Oh! And by the way, the game isn't even finished yet! Currently in Early Access and only getting better every update!



Team Fortress 2 Box Art

My absolute favorite multiplayer first person shooter!
4000 hours total since 2012, I grew up along with it through years of changes and evolution and I've still not grown tired of this game.

A true masterpiece



Half-Life 2 Box Art

It's still unbelievable that this came out in 2004

While age has made Half-Life 2 often feel gimmicky, if you keep in mind that this was the first time that physics objects and environmental interaction worked really well and actually served for gameplay mechanics and progression, along with the fact that character face animation actually looked good, you'll realize that this is still one of the best

Also it's fairly short so replaying it isn't too much of a hassle



Portal 2 Box Art

Probably the closest a game has come to being perfect

Everything about it works the fullest extent and not a single idea, mechanic or story beat ever overstays it's welcome nor does it ever feel like it wasn't explored far enough, all this and a co-op campaign that has that exact same excellence

And workshop support? What else could you possible ask of one game?



Quake Box Art

Whenever I play Doom I can definitely see how it was the blueprint for almost every first person shooter after it, but it's Quake that fully realized the modern shooter experience

Quake still feels surprisingly modern, it's mechanics and quirks are felt across such a myriad of games that, once you return to it, it feels just like all the games it's influenced

Couple that with just an incredibly solid campaign and you've got an all-timer!




Platformers




Celeste Box Art

Celeste is one of the best games ever, it's tight difficult gameplay is like no other, and it's story is perfectly resonant with the gameplay

Even in a category mired with excellence, it's my favorite platformer of all time



Pizza Tower Box Art

Absolutely insane game, fast precision platforming distilled to the most perfect extent, animation perfectly compliments all of it

Pizza Tower just barely gets second banana to Celeste, but on some days I'd say that this too is my favorite platformer of all time



Metroid 2 Art

May be my favorite of the 2D titles, and it's also here as a representative of them

It's still the Metroid game to have had the biggest impact on me, it's insane how they were able to create what is, effectively, an amazing survival horror experience and Metroidvania within the limits of the toaster that was the GameBoy

(And this was original green GameBoy, NOT the GameBoy Color)



Shovel Knight: King of Cards Box Art

Extremely tight, beautiful looking game, I'd call it the epitome of the Shovel Knight quadrology, playing as King Knight is immensely fun

It also has a neat little story that is, strangely, really tragic



Super Mario 64 Box Art

There's not a single thing I can say about this game that hasn't already been said
It has remained one of my favorite 3D platformers of all time with very few other games ever reaching the sheer enjoyment I get from just moving in this game



A Hat in Time Box Art

This game perfectly captures all the best bits of 3D platforming and collectathon gameplay into one tight package, it also just looks adorable with a really silly plotline

And while the base game already was an incredible package, through updates it's also gotten a lot more levels and challenges, the Nyakuza Metro being a particular standout




Fighting games




Guilty Gear Strive

Presently my favorite fighting game

It introduced me to the genre and created a great jumping off point to plenty of other games, not to say that, mechanically, this game isn't ALSO my favorite of course
Roman Cancels are at their most fun in this game, I love this game's standardized gatling system and it has the exact right speed and complexity for me as opposed to prior entries

Certainly helps that it also has Strive Potemkin, my favorite fighting game character



Vampire Savior

I've technically been a fan of Darkstalkers long before I ever actually played it, Hsien-Ko was, and still is, the exact kind of character design for me to become obsessed with and, funnily enough, she also turned out to be my favorite to play in Vsav

I kind of love this game for how simple it is, despite the lack of input buffer and wacky pushblock controls. It's combos are fast and short, it's movement is incredibly fluid and acessible and it's just downright fun

Also, if you couldn't tell, I find this game gorgeous and used many of it's backgrounds for this very website




Role-Playing Games




Mother 3 Box Art

My favorite RPG of all time, there is no other game quite like it
Go get the fan translation, don't wait for Nintendo to do something, just go play it



Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Box Art

This game is so anime I love it so much, despite it all the plot and characters are my favorites of the series, it also sports the best gameplay even if it's, initially, pretty weird and confusing, cause not only is it not taught well, it takes time to get used to



Yakuza: Like a Dragon Box Art

Ichiban might just be the best protagonist in any piece of fiction ever I love him so much

This game is carried by the plot since the gameplay is... fine, it's a VERY standard RPG on that front, but the world and characters are such a joy I don't even mind



Dragon Quest V Box Art

It's here as a representative of the series, but it's also my favorite

There isn't a lot for me to say about Dragon Quest, it's RPG excellence through and through, I can't really say that one entry is THAT much better than the other
Dragon Quest V is mostly my favorite because of the PS2 version which is, in my opinion, the best looking, or at least most aesthetically pleasing, Dragon Quest to date

(It was a Japan exclusive though, but there is a fan translation online)




Miscelaneous




Majora's Mask Japanese Box Art

I didn't even grow up with this game and yet I feel nostalgia blinded by it, my favorite of the whole series and it's not even close
Everything from the vibes, to the themes, to the gameplay struck such a chord with me that made it an unforgettable experience




Chibi-Robo Box Art

Any piece of media where a little guy has to traverse a normal space is amazing and Chibi-Robo is one of the best video games to ever do it
It purposely makes traversal and gameplay kind of clunky to capture just how cute and out of his depth Chibi-Robo is, and it just makes me love it even more

Chibi-Robo: Clean Sweep is the only true sequel to this game




Metal Gear Solid 4 Box Art

Not my actual favorite of the series, it's here as a representative of the franchise

The distilled essence of what Metal Gear is, all of the awful parts and yet all the best parts, the strangest and yet best most heart rending conclusion to Solid Snake's saga