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This was a tough one, but I think I've finally settled on Super Mario Kart.
It's not the best game in the franchise, but I think it's still my favourite, and the game I still have the most hours put into ever.
It's been 30 years of play now, and ongoing.
I wouldn't live where I live if it weren't for Team Fortress 2. So I'll have to say that.
Command and Conquer, it's one of the few things I can remember fondly sharing with my dad growing up. Also it has such a great soundtrack.
Half Life 1. That game was so ground-breaking, so atmospheric, so interesting in its puzzles and its combat that it just blew my mind and made me a forever fan.
Deus Ex on PC, from the year 2000.
This game made me rethink what a game could even be. Whenever I thought of what a great game would be I'd think "It's like Deus Ex but..."
Planescape: Torment.
It had a great story that questioned good and evil (rare for a DnD style game). The graphics were great at the time. The soundtrack was (and still is) phenominal and the characters were actual characters.
The thing that made me fall in love with classic video games: SMB3 (NES)
Favorite game that got me into the next iteration: Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. With a nice helping of a Perfect Dark as a palette cleanser.
More modern: I've got about 1000 hours into Skyrim and have played Diablo 3 more than I'd like to admit.
I'm massively looking forward to Starfield.
Age Of Empires. I still play to this day!
You mean AoE 2 right?
Disco Elysium
Unreal Tournament '99.
I spent hours playing on instagib servers and also replaying the 'campaign' as a kid. It was the first game I likely logged over 100 hours on.
Left 4 Dead 2. It's not my favorite game, or what I think is the best game of all time, but it's definitely my most played by more than 1k hours. The game hits a sweet spot in terms of tactical gameplay that's almost chess-like in its level of complexity, balance, and replay-ability. The fact that it was released 14 years ago and still has a massive modding community and playerbase speaks to its quality. It's also on sale on Steam right now for $.99, and as it uses the Source engine, runs well on the most basic of potatoes.
Mine are purely sentimental and I don’t expect anyone to agree, but the original monkey island, the original fallout or Baldurs Gate 1. They all have arguably better sequels but playing those games for the first time was something else.
I started playing in 2013 when it went open beta. I've had a couple breaks from it during the last 10 years and every time I come back its like a whole new game. At this point its like 10 different games wearing a trench coat lmao.
Mario Kart 64
Freespace 2 (I’m old). Still one of the most compelling story’s I’ve enjoyed in a video game to date.
Burnout 3: Takedown
considers
I think that it'd have to be something with a lot of replayability, which doesn't lose value to me after one playthrough.
Also, it can't be a genre where the game was limited by technology. I mean, I remember Wolfenstein 3D being amazing when it came out relative to other games of the time -- walking around in a 3D world was so mind-blowing -- but the novelty of that technology has long-since worn off, and there are many more-impressive 3D games today.
I guess roguelikes are probably about the top of the heap there, and my favorite is probably Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead. I still regularly play that, which seems to me to be a good test of whether it's still at the top of my list.
I can't really name a single one that would be THE one. But the one I returned to the most over the years was the original Dragon Quest Monsters.
I had it on my Game Boy since I was in elementary school and even then played through it multiple times. Later I played through it multiple times on emulators. I just love this game so much.
It has a lot of flaws, starting with the limitations of a Game Boy game, but later games and other monster collectors never captured my heart like this one did.
Probably Dark Souls for me, the replay value and the many different ways to take on challenges in the game haven't really been replicated, even after many attempt. If not that, then Alpha Protocol. I think they did choice and consequences the best in a game. I'll also throw Dwarf fortress in there too, since people need to play it.
Outer Wilds.
If you haven't played it, don't read anything about it, just go in blind. It's an amazing experience that I wish I could play again for the first time.
Some other favorites worth mentioning:
Minecraft
Celeste
Doom 2016
What Remains of Edith Finch
Titanfall 2
I second outer wilds, one of the best if not the best gaming experiences I've ever had.
probably Forza horizon 5. closing in in 500 hours
best memories are from Minecraft for sure tho
This is a hard call, and after a lot of self-deliberation...It must be Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, the updated 3DS version. It's a moody, dark, and interesting title within the Zelda game series! The deadline before the world ends pushes the player to figure out the most efficient way to make progress to save the world. The updated Bomber Journal makes this experience so tight and compelling!
Interesting. No love for city builders and strategy games (RTS and TBS). Here are several, in no particular order:
The list can go on, and there were so many fantastic strategy games over the years...
@GeekFTW Duck Hunt and Zelda A Link to the Past on SNES. Core childhood memories with family.
Duke Nukem 3D
Team Fortress Classic. The game was fun but the modding community really took it to the next level.
The original Legend of Zelda on the NES. It fully captivated me as a child. I remember taking the game map to school with me and my friends would circle trees that could be burned or rocks that could be bombed. Such fond memories.
Asteroids. I shudder to think how many quarters I spent playing that game. Sometime I’ll have to see if there is some retro arcade out there where I could go play it again.
Bloodborne for playing, Drakengard 3 for the characters and music, Tactics Ogre for the story.
System Shock 2
Many games come close for me... Mass Effect, Zelda Link to the Past,, Factorio and Homeworld would round out my top 5 for instance. But System Shock 2 was my first immersive sim game. It started a love affair with the genre that I'm still trying to scratch 25 years later.
There were many spiritual successors, with Arkane's Prey being the closest approximation I've found. Nightdive just released the original System Shock's remake a month back, so the wait for them to announce they're giving SS2 the remake treatment is torture.
Final Fantasy II (which we later learned was IV) was my first "real" video game. It holds a special place in my heart because my Dad had me play it when I was learning to read, and he had me read all the lines and dialogue out loud.
For years I thought the opening screed read that Cecil and Kain were "swallowed by a deep frog." Imagine my surprise reading it years later to read fog. Hey, when the text scrolls by and you don't control the speed, it can lead to some misunderstandings!
Seeing Rydia chastise an adult was also very empowering for me, as a girl of similar age. When she came back later as a day-saving badass, it made me want to grow up to be a day-saving badass, too.
Jet Set Radio Future on the original Xbox.
I just love everything about it.
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
This was just a groundbreaking game. I know the graphics aren't as nice as Skyrim, but the world has more depth and the guilds are all full games in themselves.
Such a big open world, fully populated with flora and mystical fauna (Minotaurs and unicorns), an endless supply of side-quests.
Oblivion destroys Skyrim in the following places:
I still open up Oblivion here and there and play for a little bit, it never really gets old to me. My last major playthrough was in 2018, I want to start up a new one.
Super Mario 64!
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion or GTA 4. 100% nostalgia picks since these are the games that I played endlessly as a preteen into high school. I would maybe throw Pokemon R/B/Y in there too since those were the games I played endlessly until I was old enough to start detasseling and buy myself GTA 4, Oblivion, and an Xbox 360
