Persona 4 Golden may have Teddie and Chie, but beside that is an absolute fantastic game and a perfect example as to why the Persona series has as much acclaim as it does.

Persona 4 mechanically plays like a standard JRPG but it has two things to set it apart from the rest and propel itself to greatness: a Shoji Meguro scored OST and a story filled with (mostly) enjoyable characters. You experience the life of a transfer student as Yasogami high who soon (along with his newfound friends) discover a paranormal killing spree occurring at midnight after a rainy day. This investigation will lead you and your friends on a dark path where you all discover your inner selves and the sinister threat facing humanity.

The day to day life cycle/pacing and overall plot is good enough to keep people hooked for an >eighty hour experience and is surely something nobody should miss now that it is on PC.

John Marston's life as a cowboy is one filled with tragedy and sadness, yet the experience the player has riding through the southwestern United States and northern Mexico is one filled with great excitement and joy. I played RDR when it first came out so I cannot speak on current visuals/gameplay but at the time it was an absolutely fantastic journey to experience, something I surely had never done before.

Rockstar in both RDR and RDR2 show that even though the story of cowboy's is nothing new, that an original story filled with fantastic writing can rejuvinate the genre and make you laugh and cry. John Marston is a tortured soul who is prodded by the government of the United States to turn his guns on those who he used to call brothers, why does he do it? He has no choice in the kill or be killed wild west.

The music and setting carefully crafted by Rockstar makes you feel like you're really a cowboy riding the deserts and forests of the west in search of a brighter future, whatever that may entail for the damned.

I really hate horror, but man am I finding out I absolutely love Resident Evil.

RE2 is a great experience from top to bottom, feeling like a movie more than a video game due to its absolutely BEAUTIFUL graphic engine and smooth gameplay. Puzzles were simple yet not too easy that I felt insulted, pacing was perfect and the game did not last too long, and the lore and mystery was very easy to get invested in. I never played the original RE2 but coming into the series with the remasters has been very enjoyable. Old favorites like Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield are re-imagined and look like real people you could meet. Growing up playing games from the 90's and early 2000's and thinking of the early 3D days where "human" characters looked like clay slapped together had me in awe everytime I saw a character in RE2, it's seriously impressive.

The best game in the storied 4X genre that implores you to learn more about the history and cultures of mankind. Civ V can be played at a very difficult level for those looking for a extremely long challenge, or by those looking for a mild gaming experience where they can chill out and experience the allure of "one more turn."

There are multiple win conditions in Civ V that are all fun to explore in their own right, which in addition to the long game length make for a seemless and enjoyable gaming experience. I love playing this game late at night or on lowkey days where I can relax and enjoy building a civilization from the ground up.

Super Mario Galaxy is another classic 3D Mario experience. Finding yourself jumping from planet to planet across a galaxy filled with colorful creatures and funky denizens you experience the same Mario gameplay loop that has remained thankfully unchanged since SM64.

What sets this apart from its predecessors is the beautiful world around you and the top tier orchestrated soundtrack. Everything from Rosalina's hub world to the Gusty Gardens to fighting Bowser is filled with rich and exciting melodies that makes you never want to put it down.

Brawl is a flawed game in retrospect, but as someone who has played every Smash game for countless hours, its release year is one of the best experiences I've ever had in gaming. Small in comparison to ultimate, the roster and representatives of Brawl was absolutely jaw dropping in 2008, being able to play as Solid Snake and Sonic for example was crazy after the small roster of SSBM.

Though mechanically it is not too strong (lol tripping,) it was still comperable and fun enough to play casually and competitively. It was much slower than SSBM but also much more interesting due to the addition of new characters and upgraded mechanics.

Subspsace Emissary is part of the legend of SSBB, coming from the minds of Masahiro Sakurai as well as the team behind Final Fantasy VII. It is incredible how entertaining of a story that Subspace was, and the cutscenes included in which we saw characters we never could have imagined meeting being at odds and in conflict were awesome at the time. Seeing Captain Falcon and Olimar interact felt like something out of a "WHO WOULD WIN" fan-made youtube video from back in the day. This campaign was the first and last in Smash Bros history to be fun, and I imagine most fans in the FGC would agree its one of, if not the, best to have existed.

Came for the Tetris, stayed for the therapy.

For those who see TE:C and all the fanfare associated and are a little confused, Tetris Effect is far more than the simple teromino dropping loop that has reamained a mainstay in gaming for decades. It is a visual and musical blanket that wraps around you in which you don't want to let go. In the game's campaign (Journey Mode) you drop pieces across various biomes and backgrounds that all have unique musical accompaniments and sound cues associated with the dropping pieces. This game is truly something wonderful, and as a fan of artistic games as well as Tetris in general, I found myself in love.

Undertale has gotten a lot of hype in the general gaming world since its release, and rightfully so. Within the world of Undertale you will experience moments that make you laugh, encounters that will make you cry, and a world of some very colorful characters. Mechanically it's a top down RPG in the same vein of the Mother series (in which the influence is draped on its sleeve) with combat mechanics that are unique and far more entertaining than most other RPG's on the market.

The designed pixel world is beautiful, the characters are extremely entertaining to talk to, and the story will move in some very distressful ways very quickly. I only completed the pascifist route but I very much enjoyed my time with the game and after reaching the end, wished it was never over. I've typed all this so far without mentioning the soundtrack which is without a shadow of a doubt one of the best OST's to ever grace a video game. There's much more than Megalovania (which is great in its own right,) which is probably why I hold it in such high regard.

Unreal Tournament was one of my favorite games to play when it first came out, it was the absolute peak of FPS' from the 90's in terms of fluidity, map design, and general game mechanics. The issue with reviewing games of my youth or games that came out long ago is they are susceptible to nostalgia goggles, however I replayed UT earlier this year and it felt just as good if not better than it did before.

UT does absolutely everything right: from the legendary D&B based soundtrack (which was typical for games of this time,) to having tons and tons of interesting levels across various game modes (that were quite large and in depth.) The famed announcements upon killstreaks and multi-kills added to the games flare, hearing "M M M M MONSTER KILL KILL" makes you excessively hype and in the groove of the games fast paced jumping arena combat. There's never a dull moment in UT, whether you're fighting on a smaller 1v1 DM map or one of the larger objectivve based maps.

FFXIV is the greatest MMO on the market and has been for some time due in part to its fantastic (redone) starting sequences, aka "A Realm Reborn." ARR sees players jump into the land of Eorzea and assume the title Warrior of Light. This will take them and the entire future of the world in exciting and exhillirating directions. The Garlean empire poses a threat and will take the player for a ride accompanied by some amazing dungeons, fights, and raids. ARR is easy to get sucked into, and rightfully so.

Directed by the ever so loveable Naoki Yoshida and scored by Masayoshi Soken, FFXIV is a must play MMO and video game for all.