Globe - by all means gather the entries this far into a list, if that's what you wanna do. I just want to give you a heads up that I won't be adding it to the OP, though. My requirements and rules were non-existent, but I did say that I won't be adding the lists together to try to find a definitive best games ever list, as that's directly contrary to the point of this thread.

I can't, and don't want to, stop others doing what they wanna do - I'm just letting you know it'll be entirely under your own steam.

Which games are the most loved/popular is very well known already, I would be interested in counting the ones that only get one vote. May end up with a long list, but would probably be more interesting.

Thanks for the update, elf.

davyK wrote:

I'm gradually filling mine in with explanations.

I noticed some explanations- top work Davy.

RedDave2 wrote:

I'm gradually filling mine in with explanations.

Loving that davyk, you've got a great mix in there.

Naturally I have quite a few arcade games in there as the arcade was in its pomp in my formative years. The Atari 2600 had a huge influence on me too - more so than any console since.

ahead of my time perhaps.

I wanted more arcade games on my list, but in the end couldn't think of many that I really played that much. I loved going to arcades yet didn't often get the opportunities. Mostly, the best arcade games for me are connected to particular Summer holidays.

Update with Super Metroid so that should make:
78 so far. Making this list made me realize how little I’ve completed (loads on the list has never been finished) and that my memory is shit. Some games I can hardly remember what happened, but I know having fond memories of them so included them anyway.

Gaming really started for me when I was about 17 and could afford my own GBASP (was a student and needed to travel quite a bit) and soon after I talked my brother into getting a Gamecube with me. Was so happy when I found one with the Metroid cover discounted. This explains why there’s hardly any retro on the list, I do have most of the old consoles, but hardly having time to play current gen, the temptation to go back in time is hardly ever there. I did purchase Super Metroid and Link’s Awakening on 3DS virtual console, but I played bits of them before (the first one on the SNES when it was still at the end of my bed, not the best game to have a go at when waking up, the second one I’ve played quite a bit on the original GameBoy, but it was a German version so got stuck way too often).

Animal Crossing Wild World (DS)
First time going portable with Animal Crossing, Gamecube version had been played loads, but that was at my mom’s place at the time and I had to ask my brother to do the seasonal events for me. Portable Animal Crossing is just how it needs to be and loads of hours have been spent fishing

Batman Arkham Asylum (Xbox 360)
Punching villains felt really good, and Batman has always been my hero.

Battlefield Bad Company 2 (SP + MP) (Xbox 360)
Managed to scare myself while lying on a hill with a sniper. Nothing really happened, and once I was able to shoot someone, I jumped from the gun sound and missed. Medic was more my thing

Bayonetta (Xbox 360)
Sexy, smart and knows how to fight. I liked the designs from the start, and the game didn’t disappoint at all, credit song is the best

Bayonetta 2 (WiiU)
More sexy punching, it’s been a while

Bioshock (Xbox 360)
All that atmosphere, Rapture must have been a great place if you went along with all the weird stuff and ignored the craziness

Bioshock 2 (Xbox 360)
More and better Bioshock, with some amazing DLC

Box Boy (3DS)
Lovely simple puzzle game, they've managed to put quite a bit of character in such a simple design

Braid (Xbox 360)
One of those games I don’t really remember, but I must have enjoyed myself as I completed it

Castlevania Circle of the Moon (GBA)
First Castlevania I’ve played, loved everything about it, and was sold when I discovered the ball room. It’s still my favourite area in the Castlevania’s

Chrono Trigger (DS)
This was a hard one, I enjoyed all of it right until the end. Remember you needed to get something that you were supposed to get early in the game, and I just gave up. Still, all those hours before were amazing

Commander Keen (PC)
Every time I visited my niece I played this. I remember them having a pc that had a printer that uses the paper with the holes on the side, and they could play this. Amazing, I was hooked

Donkey Kong Jungle Beat (Gamecube)
Playing as the big ape while mashing the bongo’s and literally beating down your enemies felt good

Enslaved (PS3)
Loved the characters, completed it and rebought on PC with DLC, need to give that a go. This game had so much charm and it didn’t feel like it pretended to be more than it was

Fable 2 - 3 (Xbox 360)
I hardly remember what happened in these, but loved them at the time. Being able to do blacksmith stuff when irl being the daughter of one was good

Faster Than Light (PC)
Never got to the end, I wouldn’t be a good space pilot but enjoyed trying to get there. Blame the Mantis

Final Fantasy IX (PS1)
Played this years after release, when disc swapping was already a thing of the past. Quina will be in my heart forever

Final Fantasy XII (PS2)
Hunting for marks was a nice distraction, maybe a bit too much as I never completed the main game. Loved the battle mechanic

Flower (PS3)
Pretty and relaxing

From Dust (Xbox 360)
Playing around with digital sand, waiting for tsunamis to happen that could destroy all the lives you were trying to safe… Intense

God of War (PS2)
Impressive spectacle, throwing chains around while playing with the gods. Never have a problem with looking at a good set of muscles

Golden Sun (GBA)
I have both of them, but think I only played the first one. Must have enjoyed it at the time, but revisiting it at a later point didn’t spark the same charm. The Djinn were a nice mechanic

Half Life 2 + episodes (PC)
Had a bad experience trying to play it on 360, got motion sickness. Revisited it on PC and loved it. Probably one of the first FPS I tried

Heavy Rain (PS3)
This just clicked. Once it got going, I kept on going as well. Never cared for Jason, but I enjoyed the direct gameplay and how it influenced the story

Hotel Dusk (DS)
Already played and enjoyed Another Code, I got this one after. Liked it even more, good mix of puzzle and story

Ico (PS2)
Bas still yells “Ico” at me while holding out his hand when I’m staying behind a bit. Never imagined a game could be something like this

Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet (Xbox 360)
One of the few Metroidvania’s I’ve completed, loved the art style

Inside (PC)
Found it hard to choose between Inside and Limbo, as they're the same in some way, but quite different. Went for Inside, mainly because, there's more story to it. The simplicity of Limbo is great, but I love the visual style of Inside, and it plays with your emotions quite a bit more and in a better way than Limbo did.

Journey (PS3)
So simple in it’s looks, but perfectly executed. Really something special

Kid Icarus: Uprising (3DS)
The game I got the 3DS for. Kid’s a good guy with some great weapons. I even collected cards!

Killer 7 (PS2)
Full of good quotes, and I can’t remember any. Such a strange game, was hard to get a connection with the characters, but a strange curiousity made you come back. I never figured out what happened, started it a few times but never got to the end

Killzone 2 (PS3)
Forum multiplayer was nice, and being able to score attack levels after you completed the story was a smart move. Never really cared about the main story, but trying to perfect levels had me occupied for quite a while

Kirby’s Epic Yarn (Wii)
All the cuteness in one game, easy enough for me to complete and challenging enough to at least try and complete a couple of the extra’s. Need more Kirby in my life

The Last Guardian (PS4)
Borrowed a PS4 from someone and the game from another someone, meaning I only had about 3 days to finish. It was all worth it, turned out to be an emotional ride, some (technical) struggles along the road but we all overcame that, and were rewarded with a great ending. Loved every minute of this

The Last of Us (PS3)
Didn’t click with the gameplay, but the story had enough good moments that it can be on the list

Left 4 Dead (PC)
Played this in single player, online multiplayer and local multiplayer. Always had so much fun (if Zoey was still available)

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (GBA)
Second game I bought myself. My mom didn’t enjoy me coming home in the weekend and being curled up in a corner of the couch playing this game with headphones on, but I needed to find heart pieces

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch)
What can I say about this, 140 hours played and I'm still as amazed and surprised by this game then when I started. It's an amazing playground, but the game is put together so well, it teaches you everything you need to know early on, but going through the shrines might learn you more tricks. This is an experience that I want to be able to share with people, but it's so hard to explain how great this is if they haven't played it.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (Gamecube)
Must have played this not long after ALttP, only being able to have a go when at home in the weekends. Never been so jealous of my brother who could play this the whole week

Life is Strange (PC)
That soundtrack… That ending… It all fit together so well

Machinarium (PC)
Good puzzles, good soundtrack, pretty graphics

Mario Kart Double Dash (Gamecube)
Good memories of playing this with my brother. Again, only in the weekends for me, so he had all week to practice tracks. I was just a passenger with a banana

Mass Effect 2 (Xbox 360)
A real big space opera, the only one of the trilogy I’ve played, but I enjoyed my time. Won’t be going back for more

Metroid Fusion (GBA)
Spend so many hours fighting that spider, only to be beaten by my darker self later in the game. Never completed this, but played for many hours next to a campfire while staying in Finland in the middle of nowhere, only a lake and a log cabin near

Metroid Prime (Gamecube)
My first console game. So pretty, being a bounty hunter was a nice change in the daily routine. Even my dad tried it a couple of times, but couldn’t commit

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (3DS)
Still playing this, close to G3 rank after almost 300 hours. Still not encountered all the monsters

Monster Hunter Tri (Wii)
First Monster Hunter, played this online with my brother. My mom took advantage of WiiSpeak a lot, as I didn’t have time to call that often. There were monsters to hunt and swords to be made

Motorstorm Pacific Rift (PS3)
Being last isn’t really a problem when you’re having fun

Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan (DS)
Curiousity won and decided to import. Didn’t disappoint, those cheerleaders knew how to support you and make you feel good

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (Gamecube)
A Mario RPG. Fun gameplay full of small surprises. Simple and enjoyable mechanics

Persona 4 Golden (Vita)
Not finished this yet, but 65 hours in and can't get the crew and all their stories out of my head. So many amazing memories were made already, that even if for some reason it all goes downhill from here, it was worth it.
Finished, loved it, can't wait to go back and look at the story with the knowledge you have at the end of the game, but also getting to know different friends. Amazing game, so much to it.

Picross (DS / 3DS)
Played a couple of them, and they’re all good. Easy enough to figure out how to do, but hard enough to have to retry a couple of times on the bigger squares

Phoenix Wright (DS)
Always looking stylish while throwing those “Objectives” around, even when they were based on nothing

Pokemon Ruby (GBA)
First Pokemon, many followed and I still haven’t caught them all

Portal + Portal 2 (PC)
Amazing puzzle games with some smart humour thrown in

Rez HD (Xbox 360)
Couldn’t believe when I first saw and heard this game. Still listening to the soundtrack

Rhythm Paradise (3DS)
Not reached heaven yet as my rhythm sense isn’t all that great, but I’ll try my best to get Tibby there. Chopping woods with cats is great

Spec Ops: The Line (PS3)
Walking around those underground hallways, candles and graffiti everywhere and a good soundtrack. This game managed something special

Splatoon (WiiU) and Splatoon 2(Switch)
Such an easy concept and so much fun to play, splatting around a bit and being a bit sneaky by hiding never got old.
Nr 2 might have made it even better, and I'm taking this one further than I've ever done the first one. Ranked games have grabbed me, and I actually care about the abilities this time. Most important thing is to look fresh though, need to stay on top of that game.

Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)
Was sick when on holiday in Paris, we took the ps2 with us and got the game in Paris. It was just released and Bas played it on a tiny hotel television (CRT!) while I tried to get some sleep. Only listened to the soundtrack and played the actual game when back home. Good memories

Skies of Arcadia Legends (Gamecube)
Sky Pirate sounded as good as a job to me as Bounty Hunter

Super Metroid (virtual console, 3DS)
Played this for the first time properly more than 20 years after it's release but it's still one of the best games I've played. Can't even begin to imagine how much better this must have been without internet, which I have to admit I've made good use off in the last stretch. Wanted to get 100% items (and succeeded), but also got some things slightly spoiled that way. I've seen about every pixel on the map, some way more often that I'd prefer, but it's one of the best adventures I've had.

Super Mario 64 (DS)
The first time I played 64, on the first gen DS with that thumb-strap. Had to abandon the game when my screen got scratched from using the strap all the time, but I already put in some solid hours

Super Mario Advance 4 (Super Mario Bros. 3) (GBA)
The first time I played 3, still my favourite. Kept me entertained on the weekly train journey

Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
The first time I played a Mario platformer on release, so got to experience the magic at the same time as the rest of the world. First time running around a planet was amazing

Super Princess Peach (DS)
Super simple platformer, but full of girly charm, and I enjoyed an easy going game for a change

Tales of Symphonia (Gamecube)
A solid RPG, remember the gameplay being very smooth and the graphics as pretty

Team Fortress 2 (PC)
So many hours spent here, even when my stats got resetted a couple of times. Medic and Pyro are my heroes

Trials HD (Xbox 360)
First game I jumped into when arriving home after a long flight from Bonaire. My performance wasn’t all that, but the sound of engines was soothing

Unreal Tournament (PC)
Only played this years after release, it was the Friday afternoon game (along with Left 4 Dead) at my first job

Vanquish (PS3)
Slide and shoot, and being smooth in general, what’s not to like

Viewtiful Joe (Gamecube)
Henshin A Go-Go Baby! Just be ruthless with those punches

Virtue’s Last Reward (3DS)
Got all the endings, should have done that for 999 as well, but for some reason didn’t. Don’t mess with Zero

Virus Attack (Mega Duck)
My first own game. My parents didn’t have enough money for a real GameBoy (only memory of that is watching over my nephew’s shoulder while he played Mario. Not that you could see anything) so they got me a Mega Duck. Only a couple of games got released here, and I think I only got about 4 of them. This might have been my most played, and I’m still thankful that my parents did get me my own handheld

We Katamari (PS2)
Played the demo in a store, love the concept of right hand = right stick, left hand = left stick. “We are moved to tears by the size of this thing”

WipeOut HD (PS3)
Zone mode and a good glass of whiskey. Evening sorted

Zack and Wiki Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure (Wii)
Pirates have always been one of my weaknesses, and this one is just too cute. Some good puzzles to solve are welcome as well

Zone of the Enders 2 (PS2)
My favourite robot designs. Very satisfying to zoom around the sky and hack and slash your way through

Yeah I liked it better than the sequel's. I like how they play the original in the end credits.

LOL TINY HEID

I am now 3% through assigning a mini-write-up to each of my games.

Looking at Muzzy's Pile o' Shame reminded me of a game I really like - Aquaria. Updated to include it and removed Bully.

hylian_elf wrote:

Ooh I have that on iPad. That good? Gotta play it. (I actually have an iOS Pile too.)

It's actually really good. Bothered my old top 10 a ways back. A really well done metroidvania style game with a lovely soundtrack and SHMUP style bosses. Loved it.

Thanks a lot, Jon.

Also, sorry I missed it first time @Nina but your list has been added. Thanks a lot.

Also I've gone back through them to see updates and davyk's is absolutely immense now - I can't imagine the amount of work that must have gone into that.

Got bored in work between Christmas and New Year so started writing this up. Just finished it after managing to slot The Last Guardian in there, because duh. 

Edit: Fuck knows what happened with the formatting here but I can't be bothered changing it.

The best

Rez- Just about the only game that continues to instil a sense of childlike wonder in me, like I could sit cross-legged a little too close to the TV and just stare at it with my mouth hanging open. Properly transcendental.


Splatoon- Trust Nintendo to be the one company that’s ever managed to crack my distaste for online shooters. Just scrub the dictionary definitions under ‘fun’ and replace them with this. The second coolest game ever made.


Super Hexagon- Up there with Tetris as an example of ‘perfect’ game design. A twitchy, invigorating masterpiece. Fast forward twenty years and I’ll still be playing this, somehow.


Majora’s Mask- Each Zelda is special to me for different reasons, but I think this one left the most lasting impression. I let the world end once, and only once. Ocarina of Time knew how to be scary, but Majora’s Mask remains completely haunting.


Dark Souls- It took me years –years- to click with it, but once it happened there was no going back. Possibly the best world building, storytelling, and combat mechanics I’ve come across in a game. A bona-fide obsession. 
 

Perfect Dark- Goldeneye but better. To this day I’ve never been as excited for a game as I was for Perfect Dark, and it delivered ten-fold. So vast in its array of modes and details that I still can’t understand how they ever got it running on an N64.


Skies of Arcadia Legends- Quite simply one of the greatest JRPGs ever made. From the tone of its characters to the joys of assembling your crew and sailing the skies searching for discoveries, it’s a soaring adventure from start to finish.


Smash Bros Melee- Probably the game that I’ve poured more time into than any other. My friends and I became so good that we started entering local tournaments against semi-pros and real competitors. In today’s world of global tournaments and professional tier players it seems hopelessly quaint, but it was heady stuff at the time.


Killer 7- Obtuse, stylish, downright bizarre and utterly unique. Peak-Suda, and absolutely crying out for some form of re-release.


Pokemon Blue- It may no longer be the biggest, or even the best, but it remains the most beloved.

The rest


Mega Drive

Sonic 2- The best music, level design, and feel of any Sonic game. The special stages are still maddeningly addictive. I blame the incredible accompanying tune.

Adventures of Batman and Robin- Co-operative beat-em-up excellence. Perfectly nailed the visual tone of the cartoon and had an incredible electro soundtrack to boot.

Saturn

Virtual On- I never really clicked with Zone of the Enders, probably in part because I was so spoiled by this mech combat gem years earlier. I regret never getting the chance to play on an arcade stick, as it was meant to be played.

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3- Was the best thing ever when I was nine years old, which feels like enough of a justification for including it here.

N64

Goldeneye- Clunky as all hell nowadays, but a truly jaw-dropping piece of work at the time. Arguably more fun with cheats enabled than in its vanilla form.

Banjo Kazooie- Whisper it, but I preferred this to Mario 64. Surely there’s an expose to be done on whatever was going on at Rare in the N64 era. A truly bonkers level of quality and creativity packed into such a short time. What’s the game development equivalent of doping?

Ocarina of Time- Seminal. Took me seven years to complete initially, largely because I didn’t really want it to end.

Mario 64- A fabulous showcase for the N64, and 3D platforming in general. Completed it to 120 stars with my two brothers, which makes it a fond family memory as well. Bonus. 

Mario Kart 64- Before 8 came along and bettered it in almost every respect this was easily the
series highpoint. If only they would nick the proper battle mode as well.  

Lylat Wars- The future of the Starfox series should just be remakes of this with incrementally improved graphics and vocals/sound effects ripped wholesale. 

Wave Race- The first game I ever owned. I can switch on the title screen and let waves of nostalgia wash over me.  

1080 Snowboarding- Outshone by Wave Race, but stands tall as a great example of what the N64 was capable of at the time. Chunky, physical fun.

Blast Corps- I love everything about this, from the B-movie premise (A nuclear carrier is out of control! Destroy all the buildings in its way!) to the goofy toybox vehicles and ridiculous difficulty level. I’ve still never finished it.

F-Zero X- Face-meltingly fast in both gameplay and guitar shreds, even today.

Pilotwings- I had more fun taking the gyrocopter out for bombing runs than I did with most of the rest of the game, and that’s fine.

Diddy Kong Racing- Doesn’t quite measure up to Mario Kart in terms of racing chops, but with such an eye-watering amount of other stuff to do packed in it never really matters. More kart racers need adventure modes.


GBC

Pokemon Gold- Such a step up in terms of content from the first generation (the day/night cycle, the Pokemon breeding, the fact that you can return to Kanto and challenge all the gyms again) that I still can’t wrap my head around it.

Tetris- Mechanically perfect. I’ve never even been much good at it, but you can’t fault its influence.

Dreamcast

Phantasy Star Online- The kind of magic that only a 56k modem and a Dreamkey disc could provide. So addictive that I used to stay up until my parents were asleep so I could plug in the modem and play until I had to get up for school. No wonder my results were terrible.

Jet Set Radio- Easily the coolest game ever made.

Sonic Adventure 2- The only unironically acceptable face of 3D Sonic.

Confidential Mission- Overshadowed by Virtua Cop and House of the Dead, but this was a fun Bond-esque lightgun romp. Pity I never owned a lightgun.

Crazy Taxi- Arcade-perfect conversion, and solely to blame for my obsession with making keraaazzzy money.

Cannon Spike- A bit of a curio, but one of the last wee gems released for the Dreamcast and absolutely packed with Capcom fan service.

Chu Chu Rocket- One of the most frenetic and relentless multiplayer experiences I’ve ever had.

Shenmue II- I never even played the first, but it never felt as though it mattered when faced with such a beautiful and involving journey.  


PS2

Shadow of the Colossus- A staggering piece of work, tonally rich and beautifully realised in almost every detail.

Deus Ex- Videogaming for Generation X. Takes some time to click but once it does it plays like nothing else. Its conspiratorial nonsense becomes more believable with every passing day.  

DBZ Budokai 3- My pals and I were crazy for Dragonball in high school, and jumped on any of the games we could find. This one did the best job of balancing the spirit of the show with a decent (if mind-boggling) control scheme, a fantastically complicated fight engine, and a great adventure mode.

Gregory Horror Show- The kind of weird, low-budget, experimental, utterly unique little game that the PS2 seemed to specialise in. Easily missed but completely unforgettable.

Kessen 2- Consoles have rarely felt like a natural home for an RTS, but this off-the-wall number sticks out as one of the successes. Did a good job of bridging my affection for both Dynasty Warriors and RotTK.

Okami- Doesn’t quite out-Zelda Zelda, as many claim, but that doesn’t stop it from being its own beautiful, brilliant thing.

Hitman Blood Money- Overflowing with emergent fun, each level was a brilliant little puzzle box just waiting for you to arrive and shoot it up.

Dynasty Warriors 5- A high point for a series that’s often unfairly judged, this squeezes every ounce of juice out of the PS2. Compare it to (launch title) DW2 and it’s hard to believe they’re running on the same machine.

Way of the Samurai- a wandering ronin arrives in a small town, and suddenly I’m role-playing a hundred different classic samurai films. Bliss.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms VIII- Esoteric and inaccessible, but push through and it’s dizzyingly vast. A strategy game that’s limited only by your ambition, whether you’re leading a charge through China as a domineering warlord, or living out your days as a simple vassal in some rural backwater.

Tekken 5- Past of my holy trinity of fighting games. Tekken’s sweet spot, before it became an unwieldy mess of daft character plots and unbalanced mechanics.

Parappa the Rapper 2- Betters its iconic predecessor in terms of song selection and polish, with the added bonus of a plot that revolves around noodles. I can probably still recite most of the raps from memory.

Bully- Skool Daze for the 21^st century. Nobody was in it for the story, since skipping classes in favour of starting food-fights, beating up Jocks, and cycling to the fairground to snog girls was far more fun.

Metal Gear Solid 2- Found myself far more drawn to the story and action here, regardless of how nonsensical it all is, than I did with Snake Eater.


Gamecube

Burnout 2- The racing was brilliant, but the crash mode was what really stood out. All the better for lacking the layers of EA wank that eventually plagued the series. 

Super Mario Sunshine- Not the successor to Mario 64 that people had hoped for, but for me this is still a series highlight. Augmenting Mario was a brilliant one-off.

Animal Crossing- Changed my understanding of videogame pacing. Remains properly escapist in the most relaxing way.

Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life: Few games have been bold enough to tackle life and death in such a longform and emotive way. There could be no greater reward for the time spent here than to have your character die surrounded by friends and family, elderly and content.

Luigi’s Mansion- I still recall seeing the attract mode for this running at my local games shop and being completely dazzled. Ultimately short, but oh-so-sweet while it lasted.

Super Monkey Ball- Could have made the list for Monkey Target alone, cements its place for everything else around it.

Viewtiful Joe- To this day it boasts some of the most interesting fight mechanics in gaming, and all wrapped up in luscious cell-shading to boot.

Tony Hawks 3- Some great challenges, but the real fun was in exploring all the hidden elements in the levels. Plus, Horse remains a multiplayer classic.

Timesplitters 3- Beats T2 for having a comparable set of multiplayer options bolted onto a better engine, a tighter set of challenges, and a far superior campaign.

Fire Emblem Path of Radiance- May look limited when compared to its DS sequels, but as an access-point to the series this was a delight. The perma-death mechanic, before I’d mastered the tactical reload, was just about the most harrowing thing I’d encountered in an RPG.

Eternal Darkness- Did more interesting things within the boundaries of one survival horror game than many series have managed. Shame it was only a one-off, but it’s so much more memorable as a result.

Rogue Leader- Everyone will have their own favourite Star Wars game and this remains mine. Even the training missions, cruising through Tatooine bullseyeing womp rats as the time of day shifts along with the in-console clock, are still a treat.

Wave Race Blue Storm- The best water effects in gaming, like someone’s poured a crate of Evian in your TV. Still capable of making my jaw drop.

Soul Calibur II- Along with Melee and Tekken 5, another of my holy trinity of fighters. A high point for the series that found its natural home on the Gamecube, and I put more hours into mastering Kilik than I’d care to admit.

Wind Waker- The most gorgeous Zelda game. In my dreams I’m still charting that vast and beautiful ocean, finding forgotten islands to call my own.


GBA

Warioware Inc- There’s more creative thinking packed into a handful of its 5-second minigames than tens of big-budget console titles.

Advance Wars- This game alone made it worth owning a Gameboy Advance. Brilliantly balanced and endlessly replayable.

DS

Hotel Dusk/Last Window- A pair of wonderfully pulpy interactive novels that felt perfectly at home on the DS. An ideal rainy day treat, like a well-thumbed detective story. Kyle Hyde is my spirit dad.

Phoenix Wright- Totally over the top, and ridiculously fun as a result.

Wii

Wii Sports- Forget waggle, the real revolution here was the introduction of Miis and the daft emergent narratives that followed. I still miss my champion baseball team of school friends and monsters, and the Rocky-style odyssey that followed a boxing beatdown by my pal, with a months-long training montage that culminated in a championship re-match that had a whole room of pals screaming us on. Brilliant.

No More Heroes- Not as cool as it thinks it is, and can’t hold a candle to Killer 7, but bonkers and memorable enough that it leaves its own impression. And, after trying the PS3 port, a rare instance of waggle controls pissing all over a gamepad from a great height.

Twilight Princess- Almost nobody’s favourite, but this boasted some of the best dungeon design of the series, and definitely the best soundtrack. Deserves far more love than it gets.

PS3

Journey- Belongs in an exclusive set of titles that transcend the limitations of the medium to become something that feels like real magic, boxed up and piped through your TV.

Uncharted 2- Complete fluff, guilty of immersion-shattering dissonance and ridiculously out-of-place boss fights, but it’s also perhaps the closest gaming has come to capturing the adventurous spirit of swashbuckling cinema.  

Tokyo Jungle- A total curio, but who hasn’t wanted to take down a stray hippo with a pack of rabid Pomeranians on the rain-lashed streets of Tokyo? Oh, just me then.

Red Dead Redemption- Aside from Bully, this is the only Rockstar game I’ve ever felt compelled to finish. Far superior to most of what GTA has offered in almost every respect.

Mass Effect trilogy- I’m not going to get sucked in to arguments over which game stands as the best (*cough* it’s 2 *cough*) because the trilogy is just so wonderful whentaken as a whole.

The Walking Dead Season 1- A lot of what it does seems transparent now, but I can’t think of another Telltale adventure that does such a good job of selling the emotional weight behind each decision you make.  

Arkham City- I think Batman is fucking ridiculous, but I’ve probably come closest to feeling whatever it is that people see in him through this game. That I picked it up for nothing adds to its sense of value.

Skyrim- A game world so vast and beautiful that it began to infiltrate my dreams when I wasn’t playing. I’ll never come close to seeing everything that it has to offer.

Human Revolution- Beautiful to look at, fun to play, and nails a lot of what made the original Deus Ex special, right down to the conspiratorial bollocks and piss-poor voice acting.

Wii U

Mario Kart 8- When my older brother and I shared a flat last year we played this every night for a solid six months without ever getting bored. I once tried to calculate how many hours it all added up to, and gave up counting at somewhere around 400.


3DS

Fire Emblem Awakening- Nails the series’ specialised sense of danger with the best cast of characters, the most polished battles, a truly jaw-dropping amount of content, and reams of fan service to boot. Extraordinary.

iOS

80 Days- Narrative-led gaming done RIGHT.

Drop7- Though it’s underserving of the retrospective ‘10’ Edge dropped on it, it’s still one of the deepest and most cerebral puzzlers on iOS.

Groove Coaster- More style than substance, but a delightful slice of rhythmic fun for all that.

PC

Hotline Miami- A modern day videogame nasty. Fast, brutal, and fun as hell.

Peggle- The closest I’ve ever come to embracing the term ‘digital crack’.

Kerbal Space Program- I’m still yet to manage a successful orbit, but the legacy of my lost Kerbalnauts, disintegrated on the launch pad or overshot into the cold depths
of space to die cold and alone, is forever etched on my brain.

Papers, Please- Few games, regardless of how beautifully-realised their post-apocalyptic worlds might be, have ever captured ‘hopelessly bleak’ quite as well as this managed to.

FTL- The moment of realisation, where you can see that it’s too late to save your crew but you’re forced to watch them try their best to the very end, is as painful as anything I’ve experienced in gaming.

Minecraft- A game changer in every sense of the word. Its legacy will probably be immeasurable, but I’ll always remember the delightful shared sandbox of the Beta most fondly of all.

Frozen Synapse- One of the only times I’ve ever been able to claim to be half-decent at a competitive strategy game.Beautiful, bloody, balanced stuff.

Gone Home- A lovely, languid slice of interactive fiction. Like a well-worn paperback that’s there to be lifted off the shelf and curled up with on a rainy day.

Plants V Zombies- Just about the only tower defence game I’ve ever had time for. Excellently paced and presented. Very nearly rinsed it in a single sitting because I just couldn’t stop playing.

Football Manager 2008 - 2011- Depending on perspective, it’s either the series that kept me sane through university, or the reason I eventually settled for a 2:2.

Valkyria Chronicles Remastered- Harder than a set of diamond nails, but I’d have a tougher time naming a more beautiful and brilliant strategy RPG.


PS4

Dark Souls III- Falls short of its predecessor, but that doesn’t stop it from being one of the most bewitching, rewarding, fiendishly designed worlds out there. 

Life is Strange- Though the writing occasionally leaves a bit to be desired it’s still a zippy, compelling choose-your-own adventure yarn, with a great atmosphere and a loving eye for detail.

The Last Guardian- The most believable and emotional bond I’ve forged with an imaginary creature since I was five years old. Worth the ten-year wait, and then some.