After enjoying Until Dawn and hearing good things about this, I was excited for another cinematic horror experience. What I got was a good effort that felt a little underbaked. I believe the production of this game may have been stifled by the COVID pandemic, so I certainly understand that, but it does seem to lack a real conclusion. Also, it felt like some of the choices really forced the characters to do dumb things no matter what you did, which feels antithetical to the concept of the game. Enjoyable, but somewhat lackluster!

Without question, the very best of the 2D Sonic games. Everything culminated in this tour de force that featured three playable characters with unique mechanics, including the introduction of everyone's favorite punchy echidna. The level design is also much improved from Sonic's first outing, which is maybe best exemplified when comparing the games' respective water levels. There's also an abundance of mini games that are a significant step up from the special stages of previous games. As separate titles, Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles are quite good by themselves, but they really should be played as one game to get the most out of it. And I'd be remiss if I didn't cite yet another fantastic OST. Even the PC version has some interesting changes!

There is a lot of attention on Baldur's Gate 3 at the time of writing this, and rightfully so! But, it shouldn't overshadow what Larian accomplished with their previous game here. This is an excellent RPG that provides the player with a fair amount of flexibility in how to proceed through the game. All of the pre-made characters have interesting stories to follow, and you can choose to main them or create your own avatar for the experience. There's a pretty robust set of skills and abilities based on what your party members specialize in, and the combat allows for different strategies based on what you're armed with and what the environment gives you. The story also takes place in a vibrant world with lots of side content and people to interact with. It's absolutely worth checking out if you're into turn-based RPGs.

Easily my favorite platformer for the SNES, this was a major leap forward from an already fantastic game. Both Dixie Kong and the new animal friends add fun new gameplay elements, and the new worlds to explore are even more unique than those of the first game, with all kinds of new challenges to face. The bosses also allowed for a little more interesting movement thanks to setting-appropriate arenas (whereas it was all the same in DKC 1). Special recognition has to go to the music, where David Wise really brought the heat and made all kinds of new, memorable tracks. Who doesn't love Stickerbrush Symphony?

This is where Final Fantasy began to fall off for me a little. While this game had many of the familiar elements of the series, this is also where things took a much more linear turn. Not that the game is spent solely going in a straight line, but the nature of the map does leave a little less exploration at your whim compared to the previous era. I also think there was some awkwardness with this being the first FF game with voice acting. You can defend the laughing scene all you want, but it is absolutely cringe-inducing for me. I did like the sphere grid, and found that to be a compelling method of progression, and the new summons were cool! Overall, it's still a fun game, but more of a mixed bag that I'm not as eager to revisit compared to the older titles.

This game often comes up in conversations about "video games as art." I happen to think all games qualify, regardless of their quality, but I see why Shadow of the Colossus is one of the go-to examples. This game is truly an artistic endeavor, with a stunning, sparse world, incredible and cinematic encounters, and a thrilling and moving score. Now, let's talk about the gameplay. Honestly? It's clunky. They smoothed some things out with later re-releases, but playing this on the PS2 was a challenge for sometimes the wrong reasons. Granted, some of this could be intentional based on the protagonist's inexperience... but it made for occasional frustration in an otherwise very good game! Made today, it's probably a much cleaner experience. This is the one thing that keeps this game from a higher rating for me. Otherwise, it's phenomenal.

I don't love this game quite the way that diehard FF7 fans love it... but it's still a top 5 Final Fantasy game for me. This is the first one I ever caught a glimpse of, watching my stepbrother beat Sephiroth way back in 1997. You can imagine that this very quickly got me intrigued with the franchise. VII is a blast, and has many of the great all-time FF characters. It also has one of the best OSTs in the series, and Uematsu masterfully weaves his musical themes throughout. It definitely shows its age in some ways, and the side quests aren't as engaging for me as some of the other entries, but it is definitely deserving of many of its accolades.

One of the most revered RPGs and SNES games for a reason. Everything about Chrono Trigger works. The characters are fully realized individuals with unique abilities and benefits; the gameplay is clean and simple, with some twists on the formula; and the story is perfectly paced with the usual light-hearted shenanigans to open, hints at some greater mystery, huge developments late in the second act, and a finish that is entirely in the hands of the player, complete with multiple endings! And with New Game +, the game is perfectly replayable to do something new your next go around. I'll add that the game has excellent side quests without overloading the player with content. In fact, I kinda wish there was a little more to do in the late game! This will always be a favorite of mine.

I originally missed out on the first Assassin's Creed, so this was my introduction to the series. It hooked me very quickly! Traveling around Renaissance-era cities in Italy is a delight, and the controls feel very smooth, from stealth to climbing to combat. Ezio is an excellent protagonist, and the supporting cast are also great. Sure, there are plenty of artistic liberties with history, but it all feels like a great historical epic with some espionage thrown in. This is definitely the best of the early AC games, and it set the bar pretty high!

I'm lumping in the whole StarCraft experience here. I mean, what a masterwork! This is one of the most finely tuned RTS games ever. It has a phenomenal single player campaign, excellent online multiplayer, and even spawned an entire separate genre of games thanks to Aeon of Strife (which became DotA for you youngsters). This is a game you can spend hours in and never get bored of, and it has just enough going on to be challenging without the gameplay getting too overcomplicated. It was a defining moment for strategy games, and may very well be the best work Blizzard has done and will ever do.