Excellent platformer moveset that is routinely explored in unique ways. The ideal of masocore rendered accessible to all. Very satisfying story too.

Okay sure, this is more cohesively excellent than Dark Souls. Still won't put it at the top, since I found it a little too easy till the DLC and its aesthetic wore thin after a while.

Definitely overrating this, but it provided one of the most memorable experiences I've had in gaming.

It's Doom Part 2... An excellent example of an action FPS with great enemy design and a maximalist director at the helm.

It's Doom... More broadly the mapping community that came out from it. Might be cheating, but you give me an FPS whose vanilla material is still explored 20 years later.

A haunting experience in a dying world as you steadily destroy the last remaining forms of life. Solid mechanically and excellent aesthetically.

Still one of my favorite short stories. A delightful exploration of a collapsing family and a self-propagating belief in a curse. Still need a better narrative sequence than the daydream.

One of the most relaxing games I've played. Absolutely love the aesthetic. Somewhat overlong tho.

A perfect translation of 2D Beat 'em Up stylizations into a 3D space, with incredible difficulty and design. The only character action game worth the hype it receives.

Every time I think about playing this, my total playtime somehow increases by 30 hours. Near perfect factory-sim and management game with solid tower-defense ideas.

A blend of a solid world and supported by the most technical movement mechanics and best boss roster of basically anything. Also bnuuy.

Addresses the information and progression limitations of the metroidvania genre in ingenious ways, on top of excelling on a mechanical and aesthetic level.

Read my review, you rascal! An endlessly fascinating and deep spiral of optimization. Always revealing new tricks and new secrets. Infinity harnessed well.

Paradox time! Miserable DLC practices plague modern Paradox, but here's their last good game! An insane economy engine that's either a work of a fool or a genius. Sphere's of Influence a bit rough around the edges, however.

Favorite RTS and (probably) my earliest game. Takes ideas from Civilization and emphasizes macro. Soft tech resets at points in the game creates a series of escalations that culminate in a hectic scramble during the modern era.

Best Sokoban-like. Stephen Lavelle (Increpare) emphasizes spartan information provision resulting in a deeply elegant, but ruthless puzzle experience.

The essence of coding and problem-solving abstracted to a point of spartan brutality. The only game I fear.