My favorites
assorted list of games that mean a great deal to me for things I feel they do correctly. These could be my favorite entries in a particular series, games that hold high personal value to me, the only true commonality is that it touched me. For series, I tried to avoid overlap of games that have the same core appeal to avoid a wall of Zelda- if its on here, I think it does something unique compared to its peers. A small note on why each game is here is included for all entries.
22 Games
My favorite of all time and the game that showed me that games are art.
Incredibly ahead of its time with themes I think on often
Incredible swordplay and my favorite incarnation of Link
Super Goddamn Metroid
Peak fangame
My first pokemon game, highly nostalgic
Solid and underrated story with a unique moral for its target audience. Also highly nostalgic.
The best region/map design in the series complemented by one of the best level curves and engaging lore.
Emotionally invested in the story, characters, and world years later. Also helped crack my egg.
Very good worldbuilding and the best vocal performances I've seen in a video game. If you asked me what the best FE was "objectively" I'd probably say this one.
Incredible platforming with an immense amount of heart
More Incredible platforming with a darker side to its tone and narrative
Changed how I view turn based combat and silent protagonists forever.
A shining example of adaptation. My favorite incarnation of Spidey.
Dominated my life for a good portion of high school, incredible achievement in building hype
Where classic sonic found its footing. A special game, especially for when it came out.
The game that cemented my status as a Sonic fan, with great speed platforming and its larger than life characters
Sometimes, the style IS the substance
I played this in one sitting in the middle of the night and had an incredible amount of fun. To this day, I remain ignorant on if the game is actually good.
Peak level design with highly evocative use of callbacks.
Brings my favorite parts of the adventure era into the modern day. A great example of how to recover goodwill in a series that's been narratively lost for a long time.
The most fun feeling controls you can get out of a 3d platformer and proof that a story doesn't need to be complex to work, it just needs heart.
