Slowly adding notes to these to explain why they're on the list as I get the time.

Just a list of games I've played that remind me why I love video games. Every game on this whether a masterpiece or simply just ok explores concepts that can only be explored within video games. This includes games with interesting aesthetics that are worth exploring in the medium of video games, games that say something interesting about video games, games that let you explore an interesting environment in a way that other art forms wouldn't allow, games that do something I have never seen before, to games that simply have a few interesting scenes or techniques that could only exist in a video game. These aren't my favourite games just the ones that make me excited about gaming as an art form.

These games also have to be interesting from a modern-day perspective. I want someone to be able to pick up any of these games and experience something unique. That wouldn't happen if this list was filled with influential games that shaped video games, yes, but without the context of when they came out wouldn't seem that unique.