My Top 25 - In Order
My top 25 games of all time, excluding online/multiplayer-only games. This is obviously my complete subjective opinion, and my opinion largely revolves around the impact the games had on me at the time I played them, even though certain titles may not necessarily hold up super well to today's standards.
25 Games
The love and nostalgia I have for this game is unwavering. It was the perfect storm at the perfect time in my life. A coming of age game as I was just becoming a teenager. It was the very first 'large-scale' game that I had ever finished, and it seemed so thematically fitting to be the first of that kind. I can't imagine that I will ever love a game as much as I do this one, simply because of how closely my experience with this game has stuck with me over the years.
1
The near flawless game design in ToTK left my jaw on the floor. The fact that a game of this magnitude and scale plays as well as this game does while offering an insane level of creative freedom is still mind blowing to me. An absolute masterclass in game design that elevated an already-great game in BoTW to a whole new level. Moreover, the bond my oldest son and I share over this game will forever keep it in a strong place inside of my heart.
2
The obsession I had with FFX at the time it released was unrivaled by any other single-player game to that point, other than Ocarina of Time. This was one of the very few games that drew me away from my EverQuest addiction at the time, and it was one of the very first games where I wanted to complete nearly everything I possibly could in the game. I remember the only thing that held me back from 100-percenting this game was the damn Chocobo race for Tidus' ultimate weapon, which still haunts me to this day.
3
Mass Effect 2 was the peak perfection of BioWare RPGs, which I had grown to adore throughout the 2000s. The first Mass Effect had already captivated me with its incredible character and world building, and Mass Effect 2 did everything right that the first game had, while smoothing out any rough edges, to create what I believe to be the best RPG, if not the best game of the seventh generation of consoles.
4
One of the most brilliantly-designed games I have ever played. The level design in Bloodborne is absolutely enthralling, and it took everything that I had loved about Dark Souls and polished it to near perfection. It's such a viscerally satisfying game to play from start to finish, and it's easily one of the best games I've played in the last decade.
5
While I think Shenmue is sort of a zeitgeist of the gaming landscape in the early 2000s, it still left a profound impact on me that sticks with me to this day. It's really difficult for me to put into words how incredible the experience was to play this game in 2001, but I haven't really experienced anything quite like Shenmue in the years since. At the time, I genuinely felt transported into the shoes of Ryu Hazuki, and I loved feeling this sense of existence within 1980s Yokosuka, Japan -- a truly immersive experience. This game alone made me happy to own a Dreamcast.
6
This was the game that I can attribute as the start of my love for gaming. While it wasn't the first game that I ever played, it was the first game that really established gaming as a hobby for me. In 1991, I had never played anything that gripped me in the way that Super Mario 3 did. Moreover, the fact that this still holds up over 30 YEARS later is truly a marvel within itself.
7
If not for it's successor sequel, the first Mass Effect would have been, in my opinion, the definitive RPG of the 7th generation of consoles. This is the framework for one of the greatest gaming trilogies of all time, and it was unbelievably impressive to play when it first released.
8
I can accredit FF:VIII as the game that got me into RPGs. Up until 1999, I didn't really understand RPGs -- I had played several, but I always bounced off of them because I just didn't get it. But when I got my hands on FF:VIII, everything just started to click, and I absolutely fell in love with these characters, the gameplay, and the masterful soundtrack.
9
While it has its flaws, Skyrim is still a breathtaking gaming experience that transcended gaming as a whole, and it's hard not to recognize it as the cultural phenomenon that it was and still is in many ways. A truly immersive experience that can suck you in in so many different ways. I really felt like it was the culmination of everything that worked so incredibly well in Morrowind and Oblivion, while also making it incredibly accessible to a wide audience. Not to mention it has undoubtedly one of the most amazing soundtracks of all time throughout any musical medium.
10
Even though it took me over a decade to finally give in and try the Souls series, I still ended up loving the game just as much as I believe I would have had I played it sooner. Every ounce of doubt and anxiety I had going into this game series was washed away, and I thoroughly grasped what made these games so special. The game design is nothing short of brilliant.
11
This game made me fall in love with the Zelda franchise all over again, and it was worth owning a Switch simply to play this gorgeous game. Moreover, it's one of the very first games that my oldest son and I bonded over, and this game turned into an obsession for him.
12
D2 encompasses the greatness of Blizzard in the late 90s and 00s: A magnificent gaming experience that exuded passion from the developers who created it in nearly every aspect. No microtransactions, no bullshit systems that are nefariously designed to keep you engaged for their metrics -- just a game that kept you coming back because you wanted to; because it was just pure unadulterated fun.
13
Regrettably, having not owned a SNES and being a Genesis kid, this was easily the best game I played in that generation of consoles. It basically took everything the first Sonic did right and amplified it, as well as improved upon several flaws within the first game. It still holds up very well today, and it's easily one of the best platformers to ever release. A true timeless classic, and what I believe to be the definitive Sonic game.
14
Warcraft III introduced me to one of the greatest fantasy worlds to ever be created - Azeroth. The story was amazing, the art-style is timeless, and it was one of the most accessible RTS games that I had ever played. The Frozen Throne was also one of the best expansion packs to ever get released. Moreover, it spawned -- at the time -- the greatest MMO ever released. Unfortunately, Blizzard-Activision has mostly tainted this IP, but I still have beloved memories of this franchise through the 00s.
15
This is the master class when it comes to remakes. Even though the original was already a classic, it improved upon the it in nearly every single aspect. I was absolutely stunned at the quality of this game from start to finish.
16
One of the most incredible games to ever get released. Just pure quality in every department. It had such a unique setting, and it blended the RPG and FPS together seamlessly in a way that I had never seen before.
17
Resident Evil 4 completely revolutionized not only the Resident Evil franchise, but the third-person genre as a whole. The behind the shoulder view-point had never been done so well as this game had, and even to this day, you can accredit almost every single third-person action game in the 7th, 8th, and 9th generations to this game. Not only that, it was just an incredibly well-made game that breathed fresh life into a franchise that was starting to wear thin with the previous formula.
18
This was, and still is in many ways, the definitive Star Wars gaming experience. Never had I played an RPG where I felt like my choices mattered as much as they did in this game. Furthermore, this laid the groundwork for so many amazing Bioware RPGs in the 2000s, including one of my most beloved franchises - Mass Effect.
19
This game just oozes quality from every crevice. The combat is exhilarating, the visuals are stunning, and the story is incredibly captivating and touching, especially being able to relate to it as a dad myself. Moreover, it is the definitive reboot to an already classic series. It was certainly a risk for Santa Monica studios to completely rebuild the framework of this franchise, but they absolutely blew it out of the water.
20
One of the definitive open-world experiences. The game is gorgeous, it plays incredibly well, and I just never got sick of playing it. Without question, it's my favorite open-world game on the PS4.
21
The sense of wonder when entering Morrowind for the first time back in 2001/2002 was essentially unprecedented at the time. The level of freedom that this game allowed was astonishing, and I had never experienced anything like it. While I struggled to figure out how to properly play the game at the time of release, I was still bewildered by this breathtaking world, and I can still remember that amazing feeling all of these years later.
22
This is one of the most revolutionary games to ever get released. As gaming was just scratching the surface of the 3D landscape, Mario 64 came out guns blazing, and created what was the definitive 3D gaming experience at the time, and it still holds up today. Mario 64 paved the way for so many games, and the gaming industry as a whole was greatly influenced by this game. Before Ocarina of Time, Mario 64 was the reason to own an N64.
23
This was one of the very first games I owned on my Dreamcast, and I did not expect it to end up being one of the best games I ended up playing on the system. I'm not very good at fighting games at all, and I often would become frustrated with them in my youth. But Soul Calibur was so much more accessible in a way that I had never experienced before. It was so satisfying to play, whether you were brand new or an experienced player, and it always kept me coming back for more, even years after its release.
24
Gears of War took what Resident Evil 4 had laid the groundwork for in the third-person action genre, and essentially perfected it. This game was just pure adrenaline-pumping fun, and it controlled so satisfyingly well. It has influenced so many games since and still does to this very day.
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