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konakona

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Top 50 Games of All Time

I can list 50 games I love with no issue, but refining a list of my personal top 50 is much more complicated. Do modern-day masterpieces such as Red Dead Redemption II stand on equal ground to games I loved when I was younger like Fantastic Dizzy? I thought Mirror's Edge was amazing when I played it years ago but does it stand alongside games that defined my teenage years like Half-Life 2 and Team Fortress 2?

It's a struggle to find the balance between games that are truly amazing and those which are important to me for other reasons. Maybe I played a game for hundreds of hours with my best friends and as such find it deeply important to me, or maybe I played a game at the exact right time in my life where it truly resonated with me.

I think I've managed to do a decent enough job, though.

List items

  • I don't think anything like Guitar Hero or Rock Band will ever work again. Who is going to spend money on plastic drums and guitars in 2021 so that they can pretend to play rock music our dads could sing along to? It was awesome that it happened though.

    I remember feeling so cool when I'd play through Lay Down by Priestess or Knights of Cydonia by Muse. It was a 20-inch Fisherprice axe but in the middle of a song you were really shredding and practicing so that you wouldn't miss one note. The whole Guitar Hero franchise took me on a wild ride but the third had the songs I wanted to go back to. The addition of coop-play made it a great game to bust out with friends as well.

  • The best installment in an amazing series of games. Murder mystery meets CSI meets Law and Order, Ace Attorney stands alone in the "dramatic court drama" subgenre of games.

    In a game that's 99.9% scrolling text and cycling between 5 sprites, Phoenix Wright stands on its impeccable writing to entice players. You watch a several-second animated introduction to a case and then are thrown into the investigation. As any self-motivated defense lawyer would, you visit the crime scene yourself and perform illegal vigilantism in order to procure evidence and witness testimony. The result of this reaches its climax in the courtroom where you counter testimony with evidence and facts, while over the top characters crack whips or spit coffee at the stand. The music is beyond catchy, the twists are mind-boggling and the characters are ones you'll never forget. Phoenix Wright is so much fun to play through every time.

  • If I cry playing your game then it's impressive. I can probably count the amount on one hand. TWD was Telltale's magnum opus before eventually falling apart. They took a popular IP at the time and overlaid their completely original story inside the universe. Clem and Lee go from town to town trying to locate the girl's parents while Lee tries to repent from the troubled life he led before the outbreak. The game doesn't shy away from long dialogue and slower pacing and it's to its own strength, by the end of the game you deeply understand the main characters as well as key side characters before the end of the game.

    This also came out around the time that decision-making in videogames was a big deal and TWD delivered with different endings to scenarios as well as characters that would live or die depending on your decisions. Choices felt hard and intimidating, choosing to kill innocents or spare guilty with varying results.

    As a whole, TWD is some amazing character-driven story-telling that paved the way for games like The Last of Us and Detroit: Become Human.

  • The story of Solid Snake is long and convoluted: a soap opera taking place on the stealthy frontline of war. Metal Gear is such a very different game than anything else, and also stands amongst the best in the small genre of stealth-shooters. Still, the plot points we see are so over-the-top bombastic, yet still totally self-serious. I nominated to choose the HD collection rather than each one separately, each game is deeply important, different, and beautifully executed. Kojima-san is such an auteur and MGS is inarguably precisely where he hist his stride in his career.

    I will forever remember many key moments from this series. Its characters, one-liners, and over-the-top presentation leaves it immortal in the gaming world.

  • I would play BF: Vietnam all the time and I distinctly remember watching the launch trailer for BF2 and thinking that it was the greatest game I had ever seen. At the time the graphics were groundbreaking and the idea of using modern-day weaponry with fighter jets and laser-guided RPGs sounded like too much fun. 64 people to a server, huge variation in maps, more vehicles than ever. BF2 was probably the best the series ever got in my limited opinion.

    The greatest modern war game ever made. Fight me.

  • Sometimes I forget about how much I love Splinter Cell. I played each installment religiously but Chaos was the best. It adds more tools and abilities than ever before and really puts you in the middle of this tense story where you feel like it's down to the second and the fate of the world is riding on your shoulders. Sam Fisher is one of the gaming's most badass dudes. Clicking on those night vision goggles and tearing through a complex without anyone knowing was so much fun.

    The online was where I really spent my time, though. Spy vs Mercs was around in Pandora Tomorrow but was truly expanded upon in this installment. Mercs would protect precious information while the Spies would try to hack security systems and evacuate information. The highlight of the game was being able to whisper into a Merc's ear over your mic before you break his neck. It was thrilling to break into warehouses with several other ninja-spies as it was intense to patrol the halls and make sure your buddies didn't get put to sleep.

    It also had a coop campaign you could play through with your buddy with completely new characters and story that tied into the main campaign???????

    Chaos Theory is Splinter Cell at its finest, Double Agent and Conviction would go on to be great games, but CT was truly the greatest action spy game ever created.

  • My friend brought up this game he heard about in Japan that he had just imported, he said it was weird but amazing and I was beyond excited when From Software announced they were going to import it to North America. Demon's Souls came out and it was so immediately obvious that it was something like I had never seen before. The world it set you in was hopeless and defeated, you stood up against impossibly powerful. God-like creatures are both disgusting and beautiful. The complex and obtuse systems as well as it's online systems elevated it even more; people casting spells and swinging broadswords together or against each other in the middle of progressing game was so brilliant and something that would go on to define From Software and their design around games for years to come. Demon's Souls, as well as all the other From games, is something to return to; where the adventure goes on for as long as you want to put time into it.

  • I played Persona 3 and thought it was pretty good, the characters were the main draw and the gameplay was something to suffer through until the next cutscene. Persona 4 was so vivacious and bright, with pumped-up jazz music and a mystery to solve: it was an improvement in every way and something I couldn't put down.

    I've played the base game and Golden, as well as the Arena spinoff. The characters are so strong and their story really resonated with me. I rarely enjoy JRPG's but a story about a ragtag group of unlikely friends banding together to save the world was too much fun. Going from saving people's lives, to sitting in your room chatting with your friends, then going out at night to work your part-time job: it really felt like living another life filled with mystery and excitement.

    Persona 4 made me appreciate a genre I almost entirely dislike.

  • Dark Souls II was such a miss for me. It just didn't have the same feel as the first, it was clunky, less inspired, and obviously rushed. I enjoyed the sequel but always thought it was a shame the way things turned out: such a disappointing way to continue the series. The third installment, however, really goes back and rectifies any wrongdoings.

    Dark Souls III is much more of a sequel than the second game itself was. The same satisfying gameplay is back, faster, and more responsive than the second. The lore is rich and references back to locations, bosses, and characters from Dark Souls. It was really what the main fans had been waiting for, a Miyazaki-run installment in the series. A love letter to the fans and potentially a fantastic way to end the series.

  • Apex skins shouldn't be thirty dollars and I should have my heirloom by now.

    Other than that I think it's the best playing FPS I've ever touched and it's free to play? The game-feel is second to none, each gun is a pleasure to shoot, and sliding behind cover or Octane jumppadding onto people's heads with a Peacekeeper just feels so fast and fun. It's just one of those rare games where you find yourself doing badass gameplay trailer-type plays and I can't get enough of it. Legends are different enough that it takes time and skill to learn their nuances, yet they also play so similarly that the game feels very skill-based across the board.

    Updates are consistent enough, maps are constantly changing (be that for the good or bad), and new Legends are added at a good pace. Apex deserves much more recognition than it's afforded.

  • Overwatch filled a very specific hole that Team Fortress 2 left in my heart, but it also filled it completely and continues to be something I play at least once a week if not every day since first buying it. The characters are so diverse and fun to play, it's impossible to get bored. Playing as Mercy as compared to Ana or Zen or any other healer is such a different style of gameplay and takes practice to get better with. I don't see myself putting Overwatch away for something else aside for the sequel, there isn't a game as casual yet competitive as Overwatch, and I love the line it rides in that sense. Perfectly "not-too-sweaty" yet still being very "f**k you damage boosting pocket mercy widow the most unbalanced character in the game" amount of sweaty.

  • Every Star Wars fan wanted to be a Jedi, to get their own lightsaber and explore the fantastical worlds bringing peace to the galaxy as they went. It's awe-inspiring just how well Bioware realized that dream. To be young and running around with your squad of ne'er-do-wells flying from world to world meeting Sith Lords and Swoop Racing on backwater planets was a truly amazing time.

  • Each of these games would go on the list by themselves, simply listing the Orange Box keeps things a bit more organized. The Orange Box was some kind of miracle the likes of which I've never seen again. Valve came out with three games at the same time, in totally different genres, and each one was a masterpiece in its own right. Half-Life 2: Episode Two was such a great installment and was graphically superior to those before it. With amazing set pieces and that cliffhanger I've been thinking about for fourteen years, it's amazing.

    Portal ended up setting the world on fire with cake jokes, introducing portal-based games and mechanics to the scene which changed gaming forever and brought with it Glad0s, Valves' most memorable character. It was hilarious, smart as hell, and rewarded you for exploring and solving puzzles in ways the creators didn't expect. Truly my favourite puzzle game.

    Team Fortress 2 wasn't something I was as excited about, I played the games in the order I'm talking about them but was quickly impressed with this class-based approach to online PVP. It quickly became one of my most played games of all time, I was obsessed with getting cool hats and outfits and got pulled into the seedy world of trading. Team Fortress is endlessly fun and full of personality, it's the only game that I'll go back and watch the shorts from on a consistent enough basis.

    Orange Box was a once-in-a-lifetime release and I'm happy I got to experience it.

  • No one expected this. I had played some God of War when I was younger but hack-n-slash games weren't my cup of tea unless pizza was involved. God Of War came out and I eventually grabbed it despite not knowing much about it and was shocked to see how much love and attention was poured into this game. The evolution of "mash X to bang these naked babes" to "I just want to be a good father for my precious son" is enough to give you whiplash but I immediately cared so much about Kratos and Atreus and was in love with this beautiful world we were all thrust into together.

    God of War is a masterclass on game design. The acting is top tier, the gameplay is tight and rewarding, the cinematic moments get your blood pumping and you visit such a variety of different worlds. It's a game that comes to mind time and time again since I've finished it. I don't get pulled into games like I used to but I finished every challenge in the game, fought all the optional bosses, and crafted the best armor. I didn't want the experience to end and I will buy a PS5 exclusively to play the sequel.

  • Journey was such a flash in the pan. I knew very little about it, bought it when it came out, and was utterly speechless by the end of it. It lasts all of two hours and I can still vividly remember feeling something deep and profound when I ran into another robed figure like myself and realized that it was another real person. The limited chirping ability being the only way to communicate we scoured the desert together and completed our pilgrimage. I felt such a close connection to the person I was with, I wanted to stay alive so that I wouldn't lose them and potentially have to play the rest of the game on my own. Journey is truly art in as much as evoked real emotions out of me as well as how gorgeous it was as well. Sliding down the glistening sands while strange monuments lie in the distance, all while leaping alongside a stranger who shares your inevitable fate. It was really beautiful.

    I later realized I had played with 3 people by the end credits, but one of the people I did meet up with was Tim Schafer so that was pretty cool too.

  • Dead Space was so different than anything else I had played before. Armed with an arsenal of futuristic weaponry and a badass engineer suit you were shooting giant alien squids in the vacuum of space but also terrified of every elevator you stepped into, expecting some kind of terrifying monster to jump out and rip you into a vent. Isaac wasn't a very interesting character but the horrifying aliens, accompanying characters, and disturbing worlds you'd find yourself in were so fun to progress through, like a popcorn slasher in videogame form. The sequel took the fundamentals and refined them, bringing the series to its peak form. It's a real travesty what happened to the third but I'm so excited to play The Callisto Protocol when it eventually comes out.

  • Sekiro is such a special game. It exists and succeeds because of its predecessors and it's hard to truly see why it's so special unless you have a strong appreciation for the Souls series in my opinion. Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Demons' Souls will punish you if you don't learn their systems to a certain extent but you always have OP weapons, beefy armor, and summons to wiggle your way around uncomfortable moments but Sekiro truly hands you exactly what you need and waits for you to figure it out, otherwise, you're not going anywhere.

    Treating this game like anything from Soulsborne will end poorly for you, and it takes a while to understand the rock-paper-scissors simplicity of the game while also learning the rhythm heaven dueling aspect of the combat. When it clicks it's so much fun and being able to stand your ground against literally any enemy that comes at you by using the same easy-to-understand mechanics just demonstrates how brilliant From Software is. I would be excited to meet new enemies and bosses, because I could look at an attack and know exactly how to counter it. Every fight is its own little puzzle and it has that Fromsoft lore, design, characters...etc.

    It's one of the best games ever made.

  • Demons' Souls was awesome and I was excited for the spiritual successor to come out. It kicked my ass for a good while and I spent longer than I'd care to admit swearing at the screen until I re-rolled from Pyromancer to Knight and then I was like oh this is really fun actually.

    Dark Souls games are the best when they're just released. People don't have min-max builds designed to one-shot players and every area you step into feels like you're the first person to ever discover it. People were figuring out the obtuse mechanics of the game for months after the game came out; trying to understand what Firekeeper Souls did, wondering how that person cartwheeled up naked to them, and hitting every wall in the game hoping to be the first to discover a tucked-away illusory wall.

    I've never played a game where every enemy in the game has a reason to be where they are, how every NPC/weapon/spell has a backstory, and with such a complex online system with mysterious covenants to join. I learned something new every time I played it and 10 years later I still do. It's a game that had to have had so much love and attention poured into it to come out the way it did and it's still a masterpiece despite being entirely unrefined with a lack of instructions, broken mechanics, and unfinished content.

    Still, it's just that good.

  • I could never explain the strange relationship I have with this game. The game itself was probably the greatest gaming experience I've ever had. I was young and progressing from the strange array of PS2 games I had played and started messing with PC shooters like Halo, then I found Half-Life 2 and it blew my mind. I had never experienced something so cinematic and immersive before; the world was so interesting, the characters and their interactions with you and the world made it the most realistic and natural thing to watch, and having full camera control the entire time made it that much more personal. Half Life 3 never came out and I was one of the ones who foamed at the mouth for a decade over every possible comment from Gabe or some leaked file all because I so deeply wanted more and I wanted the resolution so terribly.

    Then the mods aspect of the game. With Source SKD being fully open-source coding the mod scene was alive in such interesting ways and my friends and I played through every single one for thousands of hours. GMod, Zombie Master, Age of Chivalry, Obsidian Conflict, Zombie Panic, GoldenEye: Source...etc. I truly grew up in the hallowed orange walls of Source deathmatch maps and watching flashing ERROR models fly across the screen. I wouldn't be who I am without Half Life 2, interestingly enough.
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