Feel free to list a few video games from different genres. Best is definitely subjective and I’m sure there are many “Best” games for various categories.
Half Life: Alyx for example is widely considered the “Best” VR game. Many would agree it’s the best Action VR game, but it wouldn’t be the “Best” for puzzles.
To make it easier I’ll list the types of Genres for Video Games from Wikipedia. Please do give suggestions for some of the highest quality games you’ve played from various categories:
- Action: Platform games, shooter, fighting, survival, etc
- Action-Adventure: Survival horror
- Adventure: Interactive, real time, 3d, text adventures, etc
- Puzzle: Exploration, trial and error, breakout, logical games, etc
- Role-playing: Action RPG, MMORPG, tactical, sandbox, etc
- Simulation: Management, life simulation, vehicle simulation, etc
- Strategy: Real time, turn based, wargame, grand strategy, etc
- Sports: Racing, competitive, sports games, etc
- MMO: Massively multiplayer online game
- Openworld: Sandbox, creative, open world, etc
Note: Non-exhaustive category list. There are more such as card games, board games, etc. Please check the wiki link above for more categories to get ideas for the “best” games.
I personally would recommend Subnautica (Open World), Half Life: Alyx (VR Action-Adventure), The Witcher 3 (Role-playing), Black Mesa (Action), Titanfall 2 (Action), Portal 2 (Puzzle), Battlebit (MMO/Action), and Half Life 3 (Fictional Game).
Outer Wilds
It’s both a piece of art and a thoroughly enjoyable piece of playable entertainment.
Just completed this one myself - and yeah, amazing. I am sooo happy I went in not knowing anything. Figuring out what needs figuring out is half the fun.
Chrono Trigger
The story is great. The music is timeless. The replay-ability of the game is off the charts. You can change the combat style to be time-based instead of turn-based.
Sekiro (RPG).
It’s not necessarily representative of RPGs as a whole, but man, I have never played a game that felt so polished. The combat is immaculate, the levels are beautiful, and more subtly, the power scaling is really well tuned. Because it’s not open world, they were able to hand tune the enemies’ difficulty more closely to match your own progression, and for me, it resulted in fights that always felt challenging but fair.
Its not an rpg
Its just an action game
Amazing combat and bosses though
Seconding this. It’s phenomenal.
I’ve never played a game that felt so challenging while still being fair all the way to the end.
Thirding
The best way to describe it is playing a rhythm game using swords. The swordplay really made you feel like a samurai.
I both love this game and hate that I could never beat the final boss. Even after defeating the “harder” optional stuff. My Dark Souls training is punished hard by the combat system. (I love to hate it though - just so satisfying.)
Hades is perfect. Every single pillar of that game supports each other.
It’s one of the few games I’ve sunk triple-digit hours into. Such a good game.
I had to stop playing it because of the faux “British” accent. It goes right through me. Feels like such a stupid thing to be put off by but it’s just so jarringly unnatural, it’s horribly off-putting.
The way he says “mate”… omg
I remember looking up who did the voice for Zagreus or whatever his name is, and the dude is clearly one of the big dicks at Supergiant. Think he played some major part in the sound design for Bastion or something. Can’t remember.
Anyway, I get the feeling he is senior enough when it comes to sound stuff that he was basically able to decide he would be the voice of the MC and then proceeded to go full Dick Van Dyke without people feeling able to criticize it.
Don’t know if it’s because I’m from the UK that I find it so uncanny and awful, or if it’s just me in particular but it’s probably the most random thing that’s ever completely ruined a (otherwise great) game for me
For me it’s Half Life 2 because I have such a specific and vivid memory of playing it the first time in my rainy London flat in 2004.
It was this exact moment when I had the experience, for the first time in my life, that:
I’m in this world, I am a part of the game.
Funny OP calls out Half Life: Alyx as one of the best VR games, when VR is all about being ‘immersive’.
But for me that moment 16 years earlier will always be the moment I first experienced being ‘immersed’ in a video game.
Half Life is awesome! If I had to choose from all the games I’ve played, the half life series has to be best in my opinion. There are so many small details and world building elements in each half life game that it really does make it feel like you are in the game. And then there is Half Life: Alyx…
It was so immersive, I smashed my head against the wall trying to run away from something lol
Warning Half Life: Alyx Spoilers. Do not read it unless you have played this game. It is a once in a lifetime experience.
I had that moment in Half Life Alyx: at Jeff. No game makes you feel genuine fear as that level did. You felt as you were there physically trying to escape from death. Best gaming experience ever!
For me, it was the first dark section of the game: using the little wrist flashlight, checking out every little noise, trying to keep the headcrabs visible so I could shoot them…
And then I had to reload, and as I reached the hand holding my light behind my head to get the magazine, I suddenly realized the cruelty of them putting the flashlight on your ammo hand.
Removed by mod
I would actually also put KotOR on this list. It was the first game that I can think of that had branching side quests for companions and a relationship system depending on their usage. It was basically the precursor to the Mass Effect system.
Good list. Some extra info on xcom, it is basically a remaster of an 80s 8bit game called Laser Squad.
Removed by mod
Bioshock is the answer.
All the Bioshock games, in my opinion
Has it aged? Yes. Is it still worth playing? Absolutely.
System Shock 2.
Half-Life was a game changer when it came out.
First-person shooters in those days were basically just spawning in a level, shooting generic bad guys and picking up loot. Half-Life had this insane story and they didn’t use any cutscenes or take away control from the player except to load the map, the whole story was told through the environment you explored and the characters you interacted with.
Even 20 years later, people are still having discussions about who the G-Man works for, or whether Dr. Breen (HL2) was a good guy.
What passed for AI was amazing as well. Found a sweet spot in an elevator shaft where I could patiently pick off soldiers.
“Got you dumb bots now!”
(incoming grenades)
“Well. Shit.”
They realized they were stuck, so they flushed me out! Up till then, enemies engaged on sight, suicidal, wouldn’t stop. These animals would hang back, wait for you to return.
There’s a great map, very small, like a small 2-story office building. Just you vs. the soldiers. The enemy “smarts” makes it infinitely replayable. Sometimes they really get you sweating as they coordinate against you.
All old news now, but that was amazing in the day. Also, you could play HL on about any old crap computer. Used to LAN party with my kids and his friends using junkers I’d cobbled out of spare parts. HL2 was famous for that as well. About any hardware specs at the time would at least get you in the game.
I know right? Valve keeps raising the bar so high you wonder how it can be topped. I can’t wait for Half Life 3!
Absolutely was.
At day 1 of release on a celery 300A overclocked to 450Mhz with SBLive EAX 3D audio played in the dark.
Remember being very impressed with the story, sound, atmosphere and AI brains increase.
deleted by creator
ET for the Atari walked so that Superman 64 could run. Never forget.
Because ET couldn’t run… at the end because of the bug right?
Idk what you mean. That game clearly didnt have any bugs. Anything that you think might be a bug is a feature.
I’m going to take it back to the SNES days
Chrono Trigger
Earthbound
Super Mario World
Super Metroid
Megaman X
Super Mario RPG
Zelda: A Link to the Past
The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse
Best modern games I have played:
Action: Risk of Rain 2 (Roguelite), Hades (Roguelite), Cuphead
Action-Adventure: Alien: Isolation (Stealth/Horror)
Adventure: Subnautica
FPS: Halo 1-Reach (Story), Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Competitive)
Puzzle: Portal 2
Role-playing: Divinity: Original Sin 2
Simulation: Rimworld (Colony), Stardew Valley (Farm/Life), Squad (Military), Cities: Skylines (Builder)
Strategy: Civilization 5 (4X), FTL: Faster Than Light (Roguelite), Stellaris (4X)
Sports: Forza Horizon 4
MMO: Old School RuneScape
Openworld: Minecraft
VR: Half-Life: AlyxSome random games I enjoyed and would recommend:
Prodeus - a retro DOOM-like FPS, really captures the DOOM essence
Tomb Raider reboot: casual action-adventure games, just chill to play through
PlateUp! - a cooking roguelite management game, kinda like Overcooked (which is also a blast)
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes - one person has a bomb, the other the manual to defuse, lots of fun
Planet Coaster - a really good modernisation of the classic Roller Coaster Tycoon games
Sea of Thieves - open world PvPvE pirate adventure game, great fun with friends, wish they had progression though
Satisfactory - a factory building game, like a 3D Factorio (also good), it just needs an ending
Until You Fall - a VR sword fighting roguelite, wish they would expand on it, good fun while your arms dont hurtThis is a good list! I wish we had a Reddit-like save feature so I could never see this comment against.
There is a save feature, at least on the instance I’m using. Press the three dots next to the comment, and then hit the star icon :)
Rdr2 deserves a mention
The Hitman trilogy has immersive world design and great replayability! One of my favourites.
Dishonored 2 is fantastic! I absolutely love everything about it. The graphics, world design, sounds, music, stealth gameplay, perks, story and etc. I’d live in Carnaca if it was possible! (I have to mention the world design again bc it is so good!!)
The level design of Dishonored 2 is also so good. So many memorable levels like the clockwork mansion. That shit was so cool and creative.
The Clockwork Mansion and A Crack in the Slab might be the coolest levels in any game I’ve ever played.
How do you classify best? Could a 16 bit be considered best if the mechanics and graphics are spot on? I’m thinking of Zelda ALTTP for instance. The game is just flawless in my opinion.
XCOM, XCOM 2 (Strategy)
The balancing of risk/reward, tactics, and roster management spawned a whole genre. The newer XCOMs (Enemy Unknown/Within and War of the Chosen) are still so much fun.
Also, plugging /c/XCOM while I’m here.
Removed by mod
Not to be confused with X.COM, a different series where an inept alien attempts to take over the world via shite grifting.
This is possibly my biggest gripe about that whole mess.
In almost 30 years I’ve yet to come across another game that captures the feeling of turning a corner and coming face to face with an alien when you’ve few movement points left
