Someone hurry up with another vote for hollow knight. D2 can drop

Needs to get its arse on switch first

May as well update, since the thread's here.

In summary: it's really fucking hard picking between games that push things forward and games that do things really well. Hell, it's even harder when you start to measure up what you've enjoyed more against what is technically better. For instance, HZD is pretty much only in here because I know I would have fucking loved it in the past; I just don't have the patience to go through the same RPG blocks I have a million times before, but I feel it deserves recognition for doing what it does so well. Likewise, I have much fonder feelings for Edith and June than Mario, but everything Mario does is so fucking spot on.

1. Super Mario Odyssey
2. What Remains of Edith Finch
3. Last Day of June
4. Horizon Zero Dawn
5. Rime

Damn, my old list looked so much edgier than this one. Maybe, after some more play, Snake Pass will get in there.

10. Horizon: Zero Dawn [PS4]
A cracking world, a brilliant idea, I’m just not good enough at it to achieve the battles I hoped I would before it came out. Slidey-pokey-pin-point-shooty is just beyond my grasp. And the less said about the conversations, the better...

9. Agents of Mayhem [PS4]
I really like this. It has its faults; the Saturday morning cartoon vibe is very occasionally undermined by vulgarity (it is set, loosely, in the Saints Row universe) and there needs to be more life on the streets, but even sticking to the same characters, there’s seemingly constant weapons upgrades and variations. It’s not the Crackdown-like experience I was hoping for when I first saw it, but it’s still a blast.

8. Hidden Folks [iOS]
Essentially a Where’s Wally game, but you’re looking for scene-specific characters in each level, rather than always looking for the same thing. This means that, rather than looking for a distinctive pattern, you’re really scrutinising each picture. And what pictures they are: busy black and white line drawings, with some animation and interactivity, full of character and life. No complex gameplay, no compelling narrative, just a cheerful thing to behold.

7. Floor Kids [NS]
Love this. Love the art style, love the music, love creating little ditties in the menu screen, love love love nailing a track.

6. Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice [PS4]
Full disclosure; I haven’t actually finished this. (I haven’t ‘completed’ any of the games in 6-10, tbh, although I have seen everything in Floor Kids but it feels more pertinent here.) But, in terms of atmosphere, and in particular the audio, I’ve really enjoyed what I have played. The difficulty is that I keep wanting to do it over a few consecutive nights, and then leaving it too long before I go back, so I’ve played the first bit a few times.

5. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy [PS4]
Same gripes I always have with Uncharted; too many gunfights, not enough puzzling, but this game has some really good puzzles, and some rip-roaring set-pieces. The two leads are great company, and I’d happily spend more time with them.

4. ARMS [NS]
Oooooohhhhhhh, ooooooooohhhhhh!
Oooooohhhhhhh, ooooooooohhhhhh!

3. Super Mario Odyssey [NS]
I’ve had a few Mario games before, but this is the first one I’ve spent so many hours with. I cannot, for the life of me, perfect (or even routinely pull off) the button sequences to get those long chains of jumps, but that didn’t stop me having a lot of fun with it. The only thing is that I now find it very hard to get back into it, but that doesn’t take away from the experience at the time. Even my mum commented on how much it had gripped me.

2. 1-2 Switch [NS]
For a long time, I had this in my number 1 slot. Games are about having fun. I haven’t played as much 1-2 Switch as I have Mario, but for shear, unadulterated joy, this tops it. It’s too easy to be cynical and snort at this because you saw the advert and didn’t understand how it would work. Even disregarding the hours of fun it gave us, this game was a contender for the moment alone when my dad and I did our best catwalk strutting while my nieces literally rolled on the floor laughing. “It should’ve been bundled in.” “It should’ve been cheaper.” Maybe, if you’ve totally failed to understand the value in the package. Or you think that a lack of technical wizardry on screen somehow negates the amount of work that has gone into coming up with the ideas, and then honing them to perfection. Sure, not everyone likes every single game in there, but everyone I’ve played with has loved several of them. In the end, though, I relented and, of course, gave the top spot to...

1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild [NS]
This was my first real Zelda experience. I very, very briefly played one of them on 3DS, but we’re talking minutes rather than hours. I have owned a fair few Nintendo handhelds, but Zelda never appealed. BotW was different, though. The first time I saw gameplay footage, it looked like my kind of game. Similarly, I had been paying little to no attention to Nintendo’s new console, until the launch video. What resulted was probably a perfect storm. I happened to be on annual leave when they were released, and immediately lost hours and hours to it. I understand I’ll have a bit of a wait, but I’m looking forward to what they do with this franchise next.

Just realised I haven't updated list since 'nana posted his!  A few changes, then.

And Hollow Knight moves up 2 places to 6th!
Destiny 2 drops to 10th!

OP currently being updated...

I gave Agents of Mayhem a quick go after you recommended it Andy.

It was alright, there is something in there but not enough to take me away from other games, given it is an open world time eater.

I think it's a real shame they put in adult humour. It isn't all that funny for a start but mainly it means the game misses out on what could be it's primary market.
The Saturday morning cartoon vibes are great, excellent cut scenes. The gameplay is fairly straight forward and chunky. If it wasn't for the vulgure humour it would be a perfect game for kids.
Really poor market awareness there and a rare example where some bean counting publisher interference would have helped.

Wasn't around for this so il add mine now.

1.
Yakuza 0.
The best yakuza most proboubly and a better Shenmue than Shenmue.
Has one of the best characters in gaming ever too.

2.
Persona 5.
A brilliant jrpg with some real social elements to its gameplay and lots of quirk but fun side stuff.
The art style and music in this is stupidly great.

3.
Horizon zero dawn.
Though it starts out a bit samey it soon becomes so much more than it should and is beautiful to witness.

4.
Dirt 4.
This is a huge undertaking and a really great game that is improved no end by playing with a wheel and pedals, huge amount of content too.

5.
South park: the fractured but whole.
Plays really diffrent in combat to the stick of truth with its grid based tactics.
Is still as funny as ever and I'm not even done with it yet.