I've been reflecting recently about my interest in video games. I have, and always have to varying degrees, enjoyed video games. For me, video games live in the intersection of story telling, technology, and entertainment that make them an evergreen area of interest to me. Much of this self reflection is perhaps due to my recent reading of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Or maybe it is due to my following of the recent drama regarding Unity's pricing model.
Unrelated to video games, I have been inspired by this article by Whiona that perhaps my blog should be a bit less professionally focused.
So today I am going to publish my top nine favorite video games of all time as of today! Here are some notes and caveats on how I created this list:
Faster Than Light (FTL) is one of the first rogue-like games I ever played and I loved it instantly. For me the procedurally generated routes felt like magic and provided me with fun and endless exploration. Controlling the ship with the iPad's touchscreen feels fun and unique.
I wanted to be sure to include a Japanese RPG on the list, and for me it had to be Final Fantasy 12. FF12 is the one that 'just clicked' with me. I loved the gambit combat style, it felt like a mini coding exercise, and I felt the landscape was beautiful and interesting. The optional hunts were both rewarding and well organized.
Firewatch is a story-focused atmospheric game that utilizes a cell-shaded art style. Playing this game the first time felt like drinking a healing glass of crisp water. I recommend this game to virtually everyone as evidence on just how inclusive and beautiful the video game medium can be.
Hollow Knight is a soul-like metroidvania that is a masterclass in game design. The game is the correct level of difficult and interesting and I wish I was able to play it through again for the first time.
Horizon Zero Dawn is an action game released on the PlayStation 4. I thought this game was magnificent: the game is beautiful and had awesome world building. It felt like the pinnacle of the last generations of great adventure games that were waypoint focused.
Killer Queen is a 5v5 arcade cabinet that can be found at some of the best arcades in the country. It takes inspiration from all the classic arcade games but does a great job of building on those and making it a fun activity with for lots of people. I was part of a killer queen community in San Francisco, and it is special for me to look back on the friends I made during that time.
Lumines is a puzzle game in the same style of Tetris, with an amazing soundtrack and interesting graphics. This is my favorite portable game of all time, and I have fond memories of playing this game on the road and at swim meets as a child. I still find time to play a few rounds on the Playstation on nights where I can't sleep. I find the game challenging but rewarding to master.
Mass Effect is an American style RPG set in a space traveling society. The lore and world building is incredible and I'd put it against Star Wars or Star Trek any day. I found the combat to be interesting, but it really is the codex that carries this series.
Warcraft 3 is the only real-time strategy game to grace this list. I found the storyline to be interesting and the game was goofy enough that it was not ruined by micro-managing your actions-per-minute. I loved the use of heroes, and the community constructed levels were literally industry changing: they gave us the tower defense series as well as the entire MOBA genre. I'm happy I got to come up playing this historical game as a child.