Still debating the order of this list, but there is so much to love about these games, whether it's their varied stories or wildly different styles of gameplay... There is a lot happening in each of these games, making them all great in their own way.
That world. Those characters. That ending. Everything about The Last of Us made me clench to what was dear to me as though I was about to lose everything. I didn't know those characters, yet I felt deeply for them. The gameplay was hit and miss a few times, but mostly the "stealth puzzles" were enjoyable. Ellie and Joel are the most unlikely duo, but they really work well together, which makes it all the more enjoyable.
Gone Home... You've awakened such feelings in me. I've been playing video games for a long time, and every time it's mostly to put myself into the shoes of someone I could never dream to be. However, Gone Home took that feeling, and made it all the more relevant to me. So much so that I felt a deep connection to Kaitlin, with whom I had nothing in common, but even moreso to Samantha. I am nothing like these two women (mostly because I'm not a woman) yet I felt connected to them. I felt like I was rediscovering myself in a weird way. Kind of a journey of awakening.
This game is so stupid. I mean it in the best of ways, but it is sooo goddamn stupid. From the plot, to the outrageous way you move through the environments, everything Saints Row IV does is over-the-top and just downright insane. It's great, because it also knows it's dumb like that, and plays it off really well. While not as novel as I'd have liked, it's still an incredible blast all the way through.
I'm a sucker for tactical games. I never have the guts to go fully with it and enjoy one fully, but I always have a blast, no matter how long I spend in that world. Fire Emblem takes what I have enjoyed from the two Game Boy Advance games and takes it up to the next level. It has a quirky story, for sure, but the gameplay is airtight. Playing in Classic mode is incredibly frustrating, enough that I had to just put down the 3DS and walk away for fear of breaking the machine (or someone's arms.) Even the characters are all great to discover and learn about. The numerous possibilities in interactions are all the more fun. Now if only the "support/marriage" mechanic wasn't so geared towards min-maxing, I could get my favourite characters to hook up...
