Matthew

One of the best Mario games. I had a lot of fun trying to 100% it.

Hands down, this is the best Super Smash Bros. Game ever. It's my favorite fighting game, despite my possible rose-tinted glasses seeing many hours hunting for new characters and stages. The single player Classic Mode is awesome, and there's tons of ways to play multiplayer. It's an insanely precise and easy to learn game! And it's fueled intense competition between the toughest of opponents for years since its release. This is a great game, and I'm proud to still have my original copy. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate comes close to Melee's perfection, but Melee came first and still stands the test of time.

Twilight Princess invoked a similar feeling that Ocarina of Time did for me, seeing a new fresh 3D world with modernized mechanics (at the time) for the Wii was awesome. Despite how linear this game feels, the sense of adventure is clearly present, and the shadowy features in this game make this one of the more interesting and darker installments in the Zelda franchise--- although, Majora's Mask is still by far the spookiest.

This installment of Legend of Zelda was long overdue; her name is in the title! Playing from the perspective of Zelda with the new echoes mechanic was more than a delight, I felt like I was cheating the whole time by coming up with crafty ways to move around the map. This game also references the classics like A Link to the Past in many ways and I love it for that.

I remember having so much faith in this game, and playing the earliest version of it, feeling somewhat dissatisfied yet accepted what it was. But then the creators of the game kept expanding it, refining it, reshaping it, knowing full well it was rushed out into existence. By 2024, it's realized its near-full potential, offering an incredible amount of places to be, things to collect and learn about. The only thing lacking is it's slightly lackluster combat, but it's not trying to be an action RPG, it's trying to be No Man's Sky, and it's very good at it. After playing Bethesda's Starfield, I couldn't help but keep thinking about No Man's Sky and how much better of an exploration game it is.

Kentucky Route Zero is an interactive fiction game featuring a magical realist story separated in five acts. Each act loosely connects to each other, but overall a tapestry of electronic music and bluegrass fused into haunting sceneries will leave you with a welcome emptiness. This game is more than just a game, it's a melancholic exploration of identity and existentialism.

This is one of the few games I've platinumed on PS4/5, and it's a badass adventure. It's a refreshing taking on fighting games with a surprising twist on combat. (No spoilers) The combat is simple at first, but quickly grows into a combination of defensive and offensive maneuvers that keeps you and your enemies sharp. The visual aesthetic is reminiscent of classic martial art films and expresses love for the genre it emulates.

Like Breath of the Wild, but BETTER! I don't know how they pulled it off, but the freedom in creating contraptions and the expansion of the world going from sky high to deep below the earth is liberating. The different locations to explore, and the interesting adventure puzzles in the way of getting to bosses is really fun. The creators of this game love The Legends of Zelda, and it shows. They created a memorable extension to the universe.

When I saw this first appear on Steam as a suggested game with the tags, "roguelike" and "deckbuilder," I had to give it a try. Oh whoops... I spent about a hundred hours on it in a couple of weeks. I think this game is addicting. Please send help. Big numbers get bigger.

Baldur's Gate 3 blew its predecessors out of the water with its in-depth world-building, characters, and and RPG mechanics. Every chapter of the game appears larger than the last, with the final act accumulating in one of the most busiest cities and quest-heavy moments of the game. The character arcs that extend from the first act into the third are so interesting that the game warrants multiple playthroughs in order to experience different parts of the game. I'm not normally into DnD style video games, but this one is exceptional, and my partner and I poured many hours into co-op.

I remember the hassle in gaming news surrounding the launch of this game, but despite all that: this game flourished into something outstanding. Night City and all surrounding areas are ripe with story and character. Side-quests carry the gameplay a long ways, and the character building is so unique that it stands out compared to other action RPGs. This game offers several different ways to play the game, and the writing is some of the coolest ever in a sci-fi setting. Cyberpunk is no longer a cheesy 80s concept, but a new age critique of industrializing megacorporations and artificial intelligence.

Dave the Diver threw me for a loop because for the first couple of hours playing it, I wasn't sure what game it wanted to be. But I quickly realized how seamless every part of the game flows into each other; an action-adventure diving game, foraging for materials to use later in a sea food restaurant management sim, with several other "mini-games" like growing crops, breeding fish, and betting on sea horse races. This game along with many other indie games released around this time showcase the reasons why indie games are far more memorable than AAA games.

Hades should go down as one of the best roguelike games ever. The gameplay is challenging enough to keep the blood pumping, but not so hard that it causes a rage quit. The story dives deep into connections between different figures of Greek mythology, and the characters each feel real enough to remember their personalities. The story never seems to end (in a good way). Even after beating the game, it still begs for more playthroughs and never grows stale.

Returnal is an insanely good roguelike shooter that can be devastating at times. The challenges in this game are thrilling and intense, and the story is abstract enough to make it engaging. The dreamlike sequences in between the gameplay add depth to the game, even if some of the twists are a bit on the nose or nonsensical. I appreciate what this game is trying to do, and it doesn't need any more than it offers.

When I played the beta, the unfinished art was fun to look at, but the gameplay was utterly addicting. Now it has a full release with a new character, and an interesting lore that's revealed through gameplay. This game was a bit hard to master at first, but it's replayability is so high that I always come back to it when I'm itching to play a roguelike deckbuilder again. The RNG and balance between the cards are so well done, I never felt cheated out of a run. I only saw ways to improve my style. One of the greatest indie games ever.

I met the artist at Emerald City Comic Con and he was really nice, he said the developers are really cool people, so kudos to such an awesome team! Can't wait to see what else they make.

Papers, Please is a strange point and click puzzle simulation game, where you play as a border inspector in a fictional communist state. There are many endings, and the game has a well-crafted universe with different factions to look out for. I was thoroughly surprised by this game, and it's worth playing at least once.

The Witcher 3 may be the best installment in The Witcher series. This game has the most side-quests I've experienced in an open-world RPG, and like Skyrim, I felt compelled to explore every corner of this world. The characters and dialogue choices are engaging and the magic system is wonderful. 100% looking forward to The Witcher 4, especially because of Ciri.

Bloodborne is an amazing creation from the same creators of the Dark Souls series. It's not like it's better, but Bloodborne stands strong as it's own game with an unforgettable gothic horrific world, amazing DLC, and satisfying upon completion. This game needs a remake for newer consoles and PC, ASAP.

Dark Souls 3 is the best ending to a series, and refines what the first game presented ten-fold. Similar to Dark Souls, this game had me reflecting on my approach to games and decision making. In a way, this game solidifies my desire to explore the unknown and offers a satisfying challenge to overcome.

Dark Souls 2 may not be a fan favorite, but it is still a fantastic game. The gameplay style is similar to the first one, but different enough so that it feels like a slightly different game. But the essence of lore building is the same, and great as ever.