Top lists are fun (and great for engagement), so when Emory mentioned writing his top 100 games in this format, I tagged Glen so we could all jump in! That means, after you read mine, you really should go and read theirs too, I am sure we do not align on games.

I will preface this with the fact that I made this list in a pretty mundane fashion, and positions could be malleable depending on the day.

With that being said, let’s get into my top 100 games!

The Games

100. Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2

Starting at #100, Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 barely squeaked its way into my list. I played far too much of this, as it was one of the only single-player friendly Dragon Ball games that actually felt fun. Creating my own characters was super cool, and the progression was really interesting as a Dragon Ball fan.

The game has you taking the role in the “Time Patrol” where you have to intercede on Dragon Ball Z’s canon events and prevent them from being sullied by other time traveling ne’er-do-wells. It’s a lame excuse to let you play through the series’ highlights, but it is a blast nonetheless. My OC beating up Frieza with Goku because some time traveling idiot powered up Frieza 10x? 10/10, no notes. Or, #100 on my top 100 games.

99. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

I will hold true to my belief that Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is the best action-oriented Star Wars game ever released. They got the power fantasy of being a dark Jedi on lock, you feel incredibly powerful against regular enemies, but can still find a challenge against bosses and the like.

The opening sequence is iconic, because you don’t start off as Starkiller. You begin the game as Darth Vader, massacring Wookies on Kashyyyk, until you find the Jedi you are hunting down. But, spoilers, he is protecting an incredibly force sensitive child, who Vader kidnaps. I don’t want to spoil any more of the story, but it is something to behold, you play as Starkiller (the child from before) who has become Vader’s apprentice, kept secret from the Emperor. I wish that Disney left this canon, as Starkiller is one of the most interesting characters in the franchise, and an incredibly powerful force user in his own right.

98. Chivalry 2

I don’t think many competitive multiplayer games made it into my top 100, but Chivalry 2 managed it.

Honestly I don’t have too much to say about this game, other than the fact that running around chopping heads off of people with a giant sword is a lot of fun. The game looks great, and was an excellent evolution from Chivalry: Medieval Warfare. It has its share of problems though, that prevent it from being higher on this list.

Like most multiplayer games, hit detection delays due to ping are an issue, but because of the up-close and personal nature of Chivalry 2, it feels significantly more frustrating. You’ll find yourself missing a perfectly times parry or strike, simply due to a minor amount of network delay. The game also has some issues with cheating online, and poor matchmaking.

Outside of those issues, Chivalry 2 is a fun, dumb time, with a lot of progression options to keep you coming back.

97. Alan Wake

I am surprised Alan Wake didn’t make it higher onto the list, but I suppose this list is fairly stacked. Alan Wake is a mediocre third person shooter, with a few ambitious mechanics, and an incredible story tying it all together.

You play as the titular Alan Wake, a famous horror author, and you are on a trip with your wife to a remote town in the Pacific Northwest, inspired heavily by Twin Peaks, where Alan intends to get out of his writer’s block. Unfortunately, his wife is abducted, and it is your job to get her back. The story goes all kinds of places, and I recommend watching a YouTube video about it if you have no intention of playing the game yourself. It ties in incredibly to Control, one of Remedy’s other games.

Mechanically, Alan Wake has you exploring levels with fairly narrow corridors, shooting enemies that can only be hurt if they are in the light, and surprise surprise, the game takes at night or in the dark. The flare gun is fun and satisfying to use, but the shooting overall doesn’t feel great.

Alan Wake’s American Nightmare is a “standalone” game, which is a direct sequel, and I am sort of lumping into this entry. It is very important to the story of Control and Alan Wake II, so I would recommend playing it.

Alan Wake II has unfortunately sat on my shelf for a long while, I hope to get to it soon.

96. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

Morrowind is not the only Elder Scrolls game on the list, but it certainly deserves a spot. Foundational to what Bethesda’s formula would become, it is only held back by combat that seems like it should be physics based, but unfortunately relies on hidden dice rolls.

These issues are fixed by mods, and if I were including this game with mods it would be significantly higher on the list. However, I am not, so here it sits at #96.

Now, Morrowind’s world, atmosphere, and story are incredible. It is the Elder Scrolls game that gives the player the most freedom to change the story and the world. It takes place on Vvardenfell, an island inside of the country of Morrowind, and it gets into the lore of the gods of the Dunmer, their society, and interactions with other races from across Tamriel.

If you haven’t played Morrowind but you’ve enjoyed Oblivion or Skyrim, you’re missing out. Just, maybe add some mods to smooth things out a bit.

95. Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga

Some would say that placing this above the prior games on the list is a sin, and to that I say, call me a sinner because Lego Star Wars is sick as hell. I love Star Wars, and being able to play through the original and prequel trilogies is a great experience.

One of the things I prefer about this era of Lego games is that they do not rely on voice acted cut-scenes, instead the characters mime everything out. I think the later Lego games feel significantly less charming due to the existence of voice acting.

Free Play is where the game really shines, exploring levels with a plethora of different Star Wars characters, and using their unique abilities to find collectables. Add in full co-op support, and you get to have an incredible time. Did you ever want to fight Darth Maul as Darth Vader? Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga lets you do just that.

94. Persona 3: Portable

A lot of people will say that your first game in a franchise is usually your favorite, and this holds true for Persona 3: Portable. Although it is the only Persona game I’ve ever finished, it managed to find its way into my list.

One of the reasons I feel like Persona 3 grabbed me when others didn’t, was the time period I was playing in. I was a suicidal edgy high schooler, and I got to play as an edgy, yet sociable, high school student who got to fight monsters in their spare time.

Mechanically I found Persona 3 to be fairly difficult, however I didn’t let that stop me. I’ve always been bad at monster fusion, and unfortunately that is the main key to success in Persona.

Musically Persona 3 stands out, I still get tracks from it stuck in my head. What I’ve heard of the soundtrack from Reload is also excellent. I’m still upset Reload didn’t include the female main character from Persona 3 Portable, but I would recommend it over Portable if it is your first time playing, especially if you’re coming to it after Persona 5.

93. Darksiders

I love this era of Character Action games, and Darksiders is no exception. A goofy story about the Apocalypse has you playing as War, of the four horsemen, as you try to track down the villain who started Apocalypse ahead of schedule. I’m not a Christian, so I do not know how biblically accurate this is, but I assume the bible did not include throwing cars at angels.

A lot of the action in Darksiders is over the top, very much wanting to be Devil May Cry. I saw a lot of comparisons to God of War upon release, but it has never felt much like God of War to me. The puzzles are very reminiscent of Zelda, but turned down to the lowest difficulty.

Darksiders isn’t a perfect game, but I like it significantly more than it’s sequel, and would definitely recommend playing the “Warmastered Edition” if you were to pick it up.

92. Hotline Miami

Wow, what to say about Hotline Miami? An absolute hair puller, it is both tense and incredibly cathartic once you figure it out. You play as a masked hitman, entering buildings to slaughter everyone inside. The kicker is: everyone, including you, dies in one hit. One bullet, one swing of the crowbar, or one knife to the face. While it may look like an action game, Hotline Miami is very much a fast paced puzzler, don’t let it deceive you.

While the gameplay is fun, Hotline Miami really makes this list due to its unique music and aesthetic. I owned the soundtrack on Google Play Music (rest in peace sweet prince), and it is full of synth electronic bangers. They hype you up during the levels, and really add to the game’s frenetic vibe.

Visually, it’s a fever dream. The grotesque horror of human slaughter is framed in an almost psychadelic fashion, so intriguing while also disgusting.

I wouldn’t recommend Hotline Miami 2, as it felt worse to me in every way, but if you haven’t played Hotline Miami, I think it is worth trying.

91. Castle Crashers

One of the first Xbox Live Arcade games I sunk my life into, Castle Crashers is full of “flash game charm” from The Behemoth, at this time of Alien Hominid fame.

A 2-D side scrolling beat-em-up at its core, it contains plenty of RPG elements and dozens of characters to unlock with varying magical abilities. I have such a soft spot in my heart for Castle Crashers. I spent dozens if not hundreds of hours re-playing the game with new characters, with friends on Xbox Live.

The humor probably hasn’t aged will, filled with dated internet references and “potty jokes” but honestly I don’t care. I love Castle Crashers, and always will. And I think you would too.

I’ll leave this brief as we have 90 more games to cover next week, so check back in for Episode II, one week from today. Thank you to all of my friends for reading, and I am excited to see how and handle their first 10 games!

If you like my work, please consider joining my Discord to have a chat! Emory and Glen are in there too!

Discord

You all know the drill by now! If you don’t, read Episode I here before jumping into the sequel. Or don’t, I’m not your mom.

The Games

90. Slay The Spire

This game kicked off my love of “Deckbuilding Roguelites”, and for that it will always have a special place in my heart.

You pick one of three (or four now?) classes and get a standard deck for that class. You proceed up the titular Spire, and through battles and random events, build your deck and passive trinkets, in order to try to climb to the top.

The game gets deeper every run you succeed, and I had plenty of fun in Early Access with this game. Unfortunately, I’ve never played much of the full release. I am waiting for Slay The Spire 2’s full release to dive into that one, so I do not make the same mistake.

89. Fable

As a kid I didn’t get to hear any of Peter Molyneux’s infamous false-promises, and when I was gifted Fable for Christmas 2004, I fell in love.

The breadth of the world of Fable was awe inspiring, the world reacted to my choices in a way that I had never experienced prior. NPCs would comment on my (mis)deeds as I walked by, I could flirt with and marry any citizens, I had the ability to choose the outcome of peoples’ fates by taking different quests! My character growing or shrinking based on my stat distribution and how healthy he ate was novel in retrospect, but I was astonished that my character got fat.

You play as a Hero, starting as a child and growing while you learn the ways of Heroism from the Hero’s guild. Being a Hero doesn’t solely mean being good, however. Many of the Heroes introduced in the game are morally evil. The RPG elements were genuinely fun, although there was no true way to specialize, by the end you were a master of all.

I know Fable was sold on a pile of lies, but I still loved the hell out of it. I am excited for the new game, which was recently revealed to be releasing in February of 2027. But, as you’ll see further down the list, I did enjoy another Fable game more.

88. Devil May Cry 3

One of the defining games of the character action genre, Devil May Cry 3 perfected the combat formula that Devil May Cry introduced, and Devil May Cry 2 failed at. We don’t talk about DMC 2, it’s just not a good game.

In this prequel, you play as Dante, son of the Demon Lord Sparda. He runs a demon slaying, bounty hunting shop, which would eventually become known as Devil May Cry (and eventually Devil Never Cry but god what a piss-poor rebrand). After his shop gets attacked, he travels to a tower which contains the sealed portal to the Demon World, and has to try to stop his brother Vergil (one of the coolest characters in fiction) from re-opening it and unleashing havoc upon the world.

An excellent story, with incredibly stylish and fun gameplay, I would whole-heartedly recommend Devil May Cry 3 to anyone interested in the series or genre.

87. Path of Exile

You won’t find any Diablo games on this list, however I’ve had a long-standing love for Path of Exile despite never really enjoying Diablo.

The systems in POE feel unique, starting with the currency system. POE lacks a standard currency system like gold, and instead opts for an ever-more convoluted series of consumable items. The economy is balanced around the desire to use them to augment your equipment, and the ability to trade them to NPCs or other players for different goodies.

This economy is an incredible part of the magic, simulating a barter economy. You can’t throw exorbitant amount of money at something, you need to find the materials that other people want, or the equipment that other people want, and make trades.

The gameplay is also fairly unique. Path of Exile has a sprawling skill tree for each of the seven classes, with further specializations within each one. This skill tree is generally passive, augmenting your stats and adding effects to your active skills. You gain active skills by socketing skill gems into pieces of equipment, that can have a number of slots, as well as linked slots that you can use to socket gems to augment your other active skills.

Path of Exile is a buffet of options, and finding and tuning a build you love playing is part of the joy. Almost every character can feel unique, and that is a massive selling point. I own Path of Exile 2, but have not comitted time to it yet, but I am excited to when I find the time.

86. Hearthstone

Another online competitve game has made the list, and Hearthstone is certainly special to me. Combining a franchise I love (Warcraft, as you will see later on this list) with a collectible card game really compelled me to try it.

The game started out fairly simply, and it was a very fun experience. You’d build your decks, play matches to level your classes and unlock cards, and do quests to gain gold to buy packs for even more cards. The dopamine rush in Hearthstone is real. The mechanics of the card game became more and more complex as years went on, and while it is still fun, it is a unrecognizable experience for players who tapped out early.

I don’t play Hearthstone anymore, and that’s not because I don’t love it, but because it is a gaping maw of time consumption. If I want to get anything done with my life, or play any other games, I need to ignore the existence of Hearthstone. Not to mention that as the years went by, the micro-transaction model for the game became far more hostile, and I am the sort of mark that falls for it, hook line and sinker.

I can’t recommend Hearthstone as anything more than a casual experience, and I lack the capability to keep it as a casual experience. But it is still one of my favorites despite our toxic relationship.

85. Journey

I can’t say too much about Journey, because it is all about the vibes. A multiplayer game that doesn’t even tell you that it’s multiplayer, you are traversing gorgeous stages, doing some light puzzle work, and finding out the story of the world you are inhabiting.

It’s a one-of-a-kind experience, and I can’t spoil it further. Everyone should play Journey at least once. Yes, that means you. Go play it, right now. I played it in one sitting.

84. Dead Space

Dead Space was the adrenaline shot in the arm that the survival horror genre needed in the late 2000’s, and what an incredible game it is.

You play as Isaac, an engineer aboard a deep space mining vessel. You arrive at a space station to find it abandoned, and filled with horrifying creatures, made from the twisted remains of the ship’s inhabitants, called Necromorphs. The gimmick is that unlike zombies, a la Resident Evil, you can’t kill them with headshots. Rather, you must use mining tools to rip their limbs apart.

The game is genuinely scary, and the 2023 remake does an incredible job.

83. Sonic Generations

It is a surprise to me that Sonic Generations made my list, because I am not a Sonic fan. I don’t particularly enjoy any of the other games in the franchise (Colors gets a nod on occasion) but something about Sonic Generations’ gameplay loop really appealed to me. Not to mention the fact that the soundtrack is an incredible list of Sonic’s best songs (and Sonic always has very good soundtracks, not even I can deny that) and you’ve got an experience that I somehow loved.

Sonic Generations has its problems, it is incredibly linear, many of the levels feel the same, and the boost mechanic in the Modern Sonic levels can be annoying sometimes. Not to mention the fact that the game decides to give Modern Sonic some side scrolling bits as well, which are infuriating.

As a non-Sonic fan (you could even call me a Sonic hater) Generations did something special, and I truly can’t put my finger on it.

82. Okami

Speaking of special games, Okami. What a visual delight. The atmosphere is top notch, and the story feels grand in a way that many others don’t. And don’t get me started on the hand-painted aesthetic.

Mechanically Okami is special because you have to draw in order to do special moves in combat, or solve puzzles in the open world. While this can get frustrating on a system that relies on the right thumb stick, it is such a fun experience to play on the Wii, where you are pointing at the screen to draw.

You play as the sun Amaterasu, embodying the form of a wolf, to help seal the evil Orochi. Amaterasu plays similarly to Wolf Link from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, except for the drawing mechanics.

A very excellent Zelda-like, it has enough flourishes that I think anyone who liked 3D Zelda games would love it.

81. Far Cry 3

Before Ubisoft repackaged the Far Cry formula to sell the same game year after year, Far Cry 3 felt like a fresh entry to the shooter genre. You play as Jason Brody, an annoying rich kid who is captured by criminals on the Pacific Rook islands, and you watch your military trained brother get killed in front of your eyes.

What set Far Cry 3 apart initially was its villain, Vaas. Vaas is cruel, and crazy, but in a way that makes your skin crawl because it is eerily realistic. After you free yourself from his clutches, you explore the Rook islands, taking down outposts, and gathering materials to improve your arsenal.

I know this formula is very overplayed now, but it was a ton of fun on release, and I wish Ubisoft hadn’t run it into the ground. If you aren’t turned off by the formula, I would definitely say you should see where it all started, Far Cry 3 is a master class in single player FPS design.

Also, shout out to the very linear, but very fun standalone expansion, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon

Outro

Well, that’s it! Next Friday night you’ll get to find out what beat out all of these games for slots #80-71! I hope you all enjoy, or hate me for my opinions, whatever floats your boat.

Join my Discord to yell at me about my taste in games!

Discord

The Games

10. Pokemon Pinball

Leaving out Pokemon Pinball for the Gameboy Color (and the below Pokemon TCG) were concious decisions on my part. I already had too many Pokemon games on the list. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t give them at least some love.

Pokemon Pinball is a fairly straight-forward Pinball game, with two boards, one for Pokemon Red and one for Pokemon Blue. You use the paddles to hit a Pokeball and try to catch Pokemon! It is a lot of fun! The Pokemon Sprites and music are also excellent.

The other interesting fact about Pokemon Pinball is the rumble motor! If you add a AAA battery to the cartridge, it rumbles as you play. It feels surprisingly good, even to this day.

If you’re a fan of Pokemon, and a fan of Pinball, this one is a no-brainer.

9. Koudelka

I really love the theme and atmosphere of Koudelka, but it simply didn’t make the list because it is so damned slow. It is the only game I’ve ever emulated and played primarily on fast-forward, I hate playing games with fast-forward.

The world, story, interesting combat mechanics, and even the cheesy 90’s voice acting, all make the game worth playing, however I can’t recommend it often due to the abysmally slow pacing in the combat.

You play as Koudelka Issant, a psychic woman who is exploring a monastery in order to find and quell a spirit. You get two party members, Edward Plunkett - a burglar, and James O’Flaherty - a Catholic Bishop. You get to build these characters with different (unfortunately destructible) weapons, and fight spooky monsters in a turn based battle system, with a grid.

I love Koudelka, but I just can’t re-play it. I am excited to eventually get to the sequel, Shadow Hearts.

8. Trip World

A short but memorable Japan-only Gameboy platformer that I somehow forgot about entirely when making my list. I don’t know if it would’ve made the top 100, but I should’ve at least considered it.

You play as a small bunny-like creature, and your goal is to collect a flower to solve the world’s problems. The game mostly plays as a standard sidescrolling platformer, with one caveat, you can transform! One form you can take is almost bat-like, and you can glide, the other being a water transformation that allows you to swim around.

Sometimes you find power-ups for other transformations, and it helps the game to feel fresh and unique.

I’d love to own a physical copy of this one some day, but I doubt I will find one at a reasonable price!

7. Pokemon Trading Card Game

I played Pokemon Trading Card Game for the first time on my Analogue Pocket this year, and I fell in love. It handles the mechanics of the physical trading card game so well, although the UI is hard to take in at first.

You play as a new Pokemon card battler, and have to travel between the different type gyms to collect badges and eventually take on the league. Sounds familiar, right? The game involves a lot of battling certain trainers repeatedly to get cards you want for decks. But once you have a deck or two that you enjoy, the battles are quick and fun.

Big recommend to this game, even if you don’t have any knowledge of the physical card game, it does a great job with onboarding.

6. Everquest

Everquest didn’t make the list because I already have plenty of MMOs on it, and I have more nostalgia for Everquest 2 and World of Warcraft. However, I have a lot of fond memories of Everquest, and it deserves a shout.

Truly creating the MMO genre, Everquest is a piece of beauty. You select a race, class, and stats to a character (D&D style, in fact the game was almost D&D licensed) and explore the world of Norrath. Compared to modern MMOs, Everquest is incredibly free-form.

Iconic music, an interesting world to explore, but horribly difficult mechanics to parse as a modern MMO player.

Everquest Legends is releasing soon, which is a re-imagined take on Everquest, which is releasing with the base game, and a lot of quality of life features. I will be playing Everquest Legends, I hope we can meet up in game!

5. Tetris

Is there anything I can say about Tetris that hasn’t already been said? Everyone’s played it, most people love it, and because of that it slipped my mind to add to the list.

In Tetris you move falling “Tetrominoes” to fit together into lines, to clear. That’s it. It sounds simple, and it is, but it is quite hard to master. You are trying to last as long as possible, and get as high of a score as possible.

I would recommend Tetris, but let’s be honest, you’ve played it already.

4. Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance

From the jump I can say that Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance should’ve made it onto my list, and I feel shame for leaving it off.

A Diablo-like, set in the world of Faerun, specifically the city of Baldur’s Gate (in chapter one anyway) you play as a Human Ranger, Dwarf Warrior, or Elf Sorceress, and descend into dungeons, initially to get revenge on a gang of thieves who attacked you when you arrived to the city. The plot goes much deeper, much like a D&D campaign.

This game originally released on consoles, however, and it translates the Diablo style gameplay into something a bit slower. As a huge bonus, it has couch co-op, which is excellent.

You should find a Playstation 2, and a copy of Dark Alliance, and have fun with a friend or significant other. It’s a blast.

3. Wetrix+

Wetrix+ for the Dreamcast sounds like a fever dream of a score-attack puzzler, and that’s because it is. It didn’t make my list, but I honestly can’t tell you why.

At the beginning you would assume the game is a 3D Tetris, placing falling blocks on a grid. However, you slowly realize that you are not clearing lines, in fact you are building terrain. As the game proceeds water will fill the board, and your goal is to contain as much of it as possible. You build terrain, make puddles/lakes, and try not to let it spill. Every few block are interrupted by meteors, however, which you place to destroy part of your terrain.

The stress of managing your ponds while also trying not to spill water when you destroy terrain makes the game frantic and unique. I would give it a few rounds, the mechanics are arcane at times, but my god does it feel FUCKING good to get into a flow-state once it all clicks.

2. Plants vs Zombies

Before EA decided to ruin the IP (and Popcap Games in general, RIP Peggle) Plants vs zombies was an innovative take on a tower defense game. It didn’t make the list purely due to EA’s fuckery, but I have a lot of fondness for the original release.

You play the game by clicking on falling suns to collect them, and spending those suns to plant… plants! Except these plants fight zombies! From the humble Peashooter, to the devastating Winter Melon, and the sacrificial Wall-nut, these plants all serve a unique purpose, and have charming personalities. You unlock more plants as you progress through the game, even getting unique plants for the different boards, Day, Night, Pool, etc.

If you haven’t played the original Plants vs Zombies, you absolutely should, just ignore the mess EA made of the IP after the original.

1. E.V.O. The Search for Eden

E.V.O. places you in the role of a creature, tasked with moving through time periods to ensure history happens properly by the deity Eden. She grants you the power to evolve into different creatures along the way to ensure you can keep up. It is a side-scrolling platformer, but the real charm is in the evolutions. Initially you are a fish, but as you eat food, you gain evolution points, and can really change it up! The first few stages are a bit limited, but eventually you get the chance to be dinosaurs, horses, birds, and even humans!

My last playthrough I comitted to staying a dinosaur until the end of the game, and it was fun (albeit a bit challenging, especially on the ice levels). I would recommend giving E.V.O. a shot, but be warned it can be fairly hard, and the platforming can be a bit… unforgiving at times.

Outro

Hi subscribers, this is my final Substack subscriber post! I am packing up and moving to a combination of Tuhat and Patreon. I will send you a message with that information when I am ready, but for now say goodbye Substack (aside from the article releasing Friday night)

Honestly do I need to write another intro? We’re here for part 3 of my top 100 games list! Let’s get into it!

The Games

80. Left 4 Dead 2

This one is kind of cheating, as I am rolling the first Left 4 Dead game in. Left 4 Dead (2) is an incredible co-operative zombie experience, and it set the bar moving forward. I have never had as much fun playing a Zombie Shooter as I did playing through the campaigns of Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2.

You play as one of four survivors, the others controlled by players or bots, and your goal is to move from safe-house to safe-house across a few levels across one longer campaign. On the last level of this campaign, you are trying to escape with as many survivors as possible. The levels feature many guns, melee weapons, and grenades, which you use to mow down hordes of regular zombies. Don’t be caught off guard though, the special infected level the playing field, often with ways to incapacitate one of your survivors, requiring the cooperation of the others to survive. When a hunter jumps on you, you better hope your friends are nearby to get him off, or you are dead.

This gameplay formula is replicated across multiple campaigns in both games, with the survivors from each interacting at some points. Left 4 Dead 2 had the entire story from Left 4 Dead imported via DLC eventually, so Left 4 Dead 2 is the definitive version.

If you haven’t enjoyed a 4 player game of Left 4 Dead, get on it! It’s a great, if maybe a bit dated feeling, experience. The asymmetrical multiplayer never appealed to me much, but being able to play as a Hunter or a Smoker were still fun in their own rights.

79. Everquest 2

The world of Norrath will always be nostalgic to me, and the post-shattering world in Everquest 2 felt magical and bizarre in a way that entranced me as a kid.

Everquest 2 is a tab targeting combat MMO with a focus on group content, that had a very ahead-of-its-time combat system. This combat system involved chaining together attacks and abilities with your group in order to add special effects, buffs, or debuffs to the encounter.

The game also featured a robust class system, wherein you would pick a starting archetype, and as you level you would define who your character was. I loved this system, and I am sad it was removed.

The music, world, and atmosphere still hold up, but I cannot recommend Everquest 2 in its modern form, it is just too bloated with microtransactions and mediocre content that it isn’t anywhere close to the experience I spent thousands of hours on.

78. The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth

In my mind, The Binding of Isaac was part of the birth of indie darlings, along with games like Super Meat Boy and Braid. Rebirth turned the flash, keyboard only game, into a substantially deeper and more fun experience that could be played across many consoles including the New3DS (one of the only New3DS exclusives) and the Vita.

You play as Isaac, a young child who has been forced by his very religious mother into his basement, and inside you shoot your tears at all sorts of monsters. Flies, spiders, other children, etc. The game plays similarly to a twin stick shooter, but you progress your character in a rogue-lite fashion, collecting power-ups to make the run possible, but also unlocking more power-ups and variations for the future runs.

If you haven’t played The Binding of Isaac, I would say you should. The game is dark, has a great sense of humor, and is very capable of being an infinite experience if it sucks you in.

77. Warframe

Gosh, another MMO on this list already? I spent a lot of years loving Warframe, and I am surprised it made the list above Everquest 2, but when I loved Warframe it was an intense one.

You play as a Tenno, ostensibly a robot space ninja, running, jumping, shooting, and slicing your way through alienoid enemies across a variety of levels. The movement system is perfect, with jumping and gliding and crouch jumping just feeling fast and fun. It takes learning to get good at, but it is worth it. You unlock more weapons and modifications and Warframes with new abilities, and you get to explore the star chart and complete stories as you go.

The biggest reason why Warframe isn’t closer to the top of this list is simply that it has been several different games over the past decade and a half, all wearing the same trenchcoat. Originally more akin to Diablo, with lobby based missions and 4 player capacity, the game has grown to have huge open world spaces with dozens of players all running around and completing quests and missions. I didn’t really stick with the game at that point. I yearn for the days of lobby based enjoyment.

However, I would recommend Warframe if you have unlimited time, it is an excellent experience, just don’t expect to ever be able to complete everything. It is free to play, and relies on microtransactions, the same model as Guild Wars 2, and you are able to grind for the currency and trade items with other players to make purchases.

76. Halo 2

Halo 2 was my first introduction to online shooters, and boy it was a good one. The campaign was excellent, the multiplayer was something unbelievable to me on the Xbox, and Spartans are just cool, man.

The story follows Master Chief after the events of Halo 1, starting at Earth with a Covenant (a collective of alien races) invasion. You also get to play as the Sangheili (Elite) alien titled Arbiter, which was new for the series. The story shifts between the two of them as they try to unravel the Covenants plots to set off another Halo. Oh, Halos? They’re massive discs capable of destroying worlds when activated, but they’re also essentially ring shaped planets in their own rights.

The ability to dual-wield different types of guns added a lot of variety to the campaign and multiplayer, and the gun-play of Halo 2 is still regarded as top in its class.

Halo 2 is great, and the Master Chief Collection version is very accessible. I’d give the whole collection a shot, don’t skip Halo 1 (even though it didn’t make this list, sorry Combat Evolved fans)

75. Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition

I’ve never been a big racing game fan, but Midnight Club 3 enraptured me. Driving around the open-world to different races, in different classes of cars was great, but being able to roam and race online with strangers was a really wild experience.

I don’t have many ways to describe Midnight Club 3’s racing, I could call it “arcadey” but as someone who doesn’t play a lot of racers, that term is almost meaningless. Rockstar did an incredible job integrating the races into realistic cities, with traffic and environmental hazards. The police make their presence known as well, although they’re never as dogged as a Grand Theft Auto title. The characters you meet aren’t anything to write home about either. The story takes you to several different cities in order to race and advance further.

Where Midnight Club 3 really got me was the progression and car customization. Do you want nitrous oxide? How about glowing lights under your car? Sick paint jobs? It felt like the game could do it all.

Having replayed a bunch of this game fairly recently, I can confidently that that I would recommend it. It’s not my favorite racing game, but it does its job very well. The licensed soundtrack is pretty good too.

74. Klonoa: Door to Phantomile

I originally played the Wii remake of Klonoa, and didn’t enjoy it much. The game didn’t “click” for me like I had hoped. So, when I started playing the Playstation version a couple of years ago, I never expected to finish it.

Boy was I wrong, Klonoa’s aesthetic on the Playstation really caught me, and I found the original story and voice acting a lot more charming. You play as a nondescript anthropomorphic animal (a bunny mixed with a wolf mixed with a fox maybe?) named Klonoa, with his Wind Ring, containing the spirit Huepow. Klonoa can jump, do a little hover, but can’t really make most of the jumps. Rather than using your Wing Ring to fight enemies directly, the main gameplay loop involves using the Wind Ring to grab enemies, and throw them around, either at other enemies or to double jump. The game never gets too challenging, but it’s an interesting premise, and one that I really enjoyed.

The ending of the game is a huge tonal shift, and a gut punch, and really why the game has been cemented in my top 100. I would recommend trying the game, but if you don’t like the gameplay, watch the cutscenes on YouTube, I cried so hard at the end.

73. Balatro

Another game that I feel like everyone has played, and certainly a modern example of the indie darling, Balatro’s poker gameplay and aesthetic took the world by storm.

Balatro is a poker rogue-lite, where you score poker hands to earn score and progress through the game, including “boss fights” where you need to both meet a certain score, and have limitations placed on you while you’re “fighting” them. During the run you collect power-ups for your poker hands, sculpt your deck, and collect Jokers (a huge part of the game’s marketing and aesthetic) which effect your score in wild ways. Combinations of jokers can get very out of hand, which is sort of the goal.

In standard roguelite fashion, every run you complete gets you closer to unlocking more things for further runs, and Balatro has that Skinner Box nailed down to a T. You should definitely play Balatro, just be prepared to lose many hours to it, and not even realize it until you put your device down.

72. Dark Souls 3

My first Dark Souls game to show up on this list (and certainly not the last), Dark Souls 3 is often lamented as the “easy one” or the “normie one”. While it is my least favorite in the Dark Souls series, it is still one of my favorite games of all time.

Dark Souls 3 is a bit gentler at the beginning than the rest of the series, but the game ramps up heavily. You play as a the Ashen One, or the Unkindled, and your goal is to re-light the First Flame to continue the cycle of the world. In the world of Souls, time isn’t strictly linear, and the world of 3 specifically is a combination of things from the first two entries.

The gameplay is… well… a Souls game. A third person action RPG with punishing combat that requires patience to learn, and then even more to master. Dark Souls 3 is the most linear of the three games, with a singular main path with few branches to follow off of it. But this linear design has a couple of advantages, one being encounter design, and the other being a more linear difficulty curve. The game uses linearity to its advantage to ensure that the scaling is a bit smoother than the previous two games, leading a lot of people to think the game is strictly easier. “Dark Souls for Babies” is what I’ve seen the game mischaracterized as, and I hate that.

Not to rant about people who think that these games are all about being as difficult as possible, and purposefully handicapping their experiences (no summoning, etc) and pushing others to, but they fucking suck, and I don’t think they’re the best the Souls community has to offer.

Souls games are a community based experience, filled with in-game asychronous multiplayer elements, as well as co-op, and the intention is to share hints and tips with each other. People who act like everything needs to be solo, and you can’t learn about anything, and can’t look anything up, are the worst.

Anyway, I would recommend playing the Dark Souls games in release order, so I would start with 1, but this one is definitely worth not skipping.

71. Control

My second Remedy game on this list, Control fixes most of the issues I had with Alan Wake, including a great third person shooter experience, and a story that impresses me time and time again.

You play as Jesse Faden, who enters the Federal Bureau of Control, seeking her missing brother. Once inside she meets an eldritch entity, who names her the new director of the FBC. With her new, very alien, modular, ammo-less “service weapon” she must fight off The Hiss to save the survivors inside the building, and look for her brother.

Control is a 10/10 recommend if you enjoy games that have deep plots and interesting settings. It also feels like the “critical nexus” for the lore in Remedy’s connected universe of games

Outro

Thank you all for being interested in my favorite games, the competition is still so tight. They’re all incredible. I can’t wait for next week’s list. As always please check out Emory’s article, and Glen’s article, as they have released at the same time! See you next week.

Next week will be switching to Tuhat, so goodbye Substack! I hope you all will follow me there, or stay in touch with me on my Discord!

Discord

Friends, gamers, countrymen, we're here for Episode IV of my top 100 games of all time! This is the first episode releasing exclusively on Tuhat, and I appreciate y'all following me here! Go take a look at Emory and Glen's articles going live on Substack right now as well!

The Games

70. Gone Home

This title's popularity was oddly contentious, because people want to shout that it's not a "real game" because you play as a woman, and there's no violence? Gamers are an odd bunch.

In Gone Home, you play as Katie, who has is returning to her family home after a stint abroad. She finds the home empty, and searches the home for clues as to why nobody is there. The gameplay consists of searching around the house finding assorted notes containing pieces of the story which led to Katie's family being gone.

The story you piece together is excellent, and more of the house opens up to explore as you find parts of the lore. There is a point where the story is mostly told, but when you play Gone Home, I encourage you to find the whole story, it is worth it!

69. Monster Hunter World

Monster Hunter World is the peak of the Monster Hunter series for me. All of the games preceding it were fun, as were the games following it, but World is the one that captured my heart.

Hunting monsters as never felt so good, and you create a character to explore the "New World," which is unfortunately written with an incredibly colonial mindset. There are people already living there. But, as this expeditionary hunter, you get to choose a weapon and start learning how to use it against monsters. The learning curve of Monster Hunter is steep, but once you bond with a weapon it begins to feel like second nature.

Monster Hunter World has a huge emphasis on online multiplayer, so I'd get some friends together and go for some hunts, it is an incredibly fun time.

68. SUPERHOT

Part first person shooter, part puzzle game, SUPERHOT is something unique. Time only moves when you do, allowing you to plan your attacks, and watch as bullets fly in slow motion. The VR version feels especially incredible, but does not have the breadth of the PC release.

It's hard to say much more about SUPERHOT without spoiling the story, which is exceptional albeit sparse, but it left me wanting more. Mind Control Delete is a fun roguelite follow up, but it does not compare to the original. Play SUPERHOT! It's short and cheap and an incredible work of art.

67. Mirror's Edge

Speaking of unique first person games, Mirror's Edge is a gorgeous game about parkour, family, and the criminal underworld.

The point of view character, Faith, is a part of an underground group called "runners" who are parkour specialists. In a "post crime" society, everything is a stark white. Objects highlight in bright colors when they can be interacted with, which adds a great contrast to the world.

An interesting story and great parkour mechanics make Mirror's Edge a great experience, worth playing. It only takes a few hours, but they're great hours. Except for the shooting sections, they certainly knocked the game a few pegs down on my list. Skip the sequel/reboot though...

66. Warcraft III

My introduction to the iconic world of Azeroth, Warcraft III is the only strategy game that you will find on my list. A fantastic and tragic story, especially when you add the Frozen Throne expansion, it compelled me to play a genre that I otherwise would not consider.

A real time strategy game that focuses on a smaller number of units, lead by a series of different "Hero Characters" it just felt easier for me to understand than any other strategy game I've ever tried. In the campaign, it plays more like a top-down RPG with base building, than something like Starcraft.

The RTS multiplayer never appealed to me, but the modding scene and custom games kept me playing for hours. DotA was a big one, I spent many hours playing that with friends. The "Reforged" remake didn't land properly, but it's still an incredible game worth playing! Especially if you're a World of Warcraft fan.

65. Resident Evil 4

Leon Kennedy's second game, but by far his most popular one, Resident Evil 4 just got everything right. I'll confess though, I enjoyed the Wii version the most. Something about pointing guns as Leon just felt right.

He has been tasked with finding Ashley Graham, the U.S. President's daughter, who has been abducted by the Ganados cult in a fictional region of Spain called Valdelobos. You quickly run into the cultists, and horror ensues. Leon starts shooting them in the head, but they sure don't stay down. Turns out being infected with a parasite makes you a bit tough to kill.

I haven't played the remake yet, but it is fairly high on my list. I had a playthrough of the VR version right before the remake came out. It wasn't my favorite way to play, but I enjoyed it a lot. If I were to play it for the first time today, I would probably play the remake, Ashley's AI has reportedly been significantly improved.

64. Limbo

Another indie darling, Limbo is haunting and beautiful. I've played through it at least 4 times over the years since its release (it's not particularly long).

A side scrolling horror themed puzzle-platformer, you take the role of a small boy, seemingly lost in the woods. The puzzles start fairly simple, and get significantly more devious in the second half of the game. The atmosphere really carries the game, though, as you really do feel the sense of melancholy and "Limbo" come through.

I don't want to spoil the game, as the atmosphere and story are the main selling points, but I will say that it was one of the most popular Xbox Live Arcade games for a reason.

63. Assassin's Creed II

People will be mad Assassin's Creed made it so high on this list, and they'll be even angrier that there's another one even higher up.

Assassin's Creed revolves around the idea that people can access their latent "genetic memory" and embody their ancestors in some form of virtual reality. The first 5 games in the series have you playing as Desmond, playing the role of all sorts of different ancestors. II is the first of three games in the "Ezio Saga" where you play as the initially lecherous yet charming Ezio.

Ezio travels around renaissance Italy, making friends (and enemies) with some of the era's most famous celebrities (Leonardo DaVinci is like, his BFF). Oh, and you kill people, and jump into haystacks.

I think Assassin's Creed II holds up today, but I understand that the Ubisoft Open World formula has been done to death. And if you were only going to play one Assassin's Creed game, I'd save it for the next one on this list. Anyone want to guess in the Discord? (hyperlink)

62. Vampire Survivors

My wife says Vampire Survivors is the best game in this set of 10, and while I love the next game, she may be objectively correct.

Vampire Survivors defined a new roguelite genre, you play as a variety of (clearly Castlevania inspired) characters, with all kinds of weapons and abilities (also clearly Castlevania inspired), and you attack automatically as you walk around. As you kill enemies you get experience, and unlock more weapons or abilities, or level up the ones you already have. It sounds simple, but it ramps up quickly, and is truly addicting.

This game launched a million clones, but the OG is still the one I would recommend most. But who am I kidding? You've definitely already played this one.

61. Bayonetta

I'm a big fan of the character action genre, and Bayonetta is something special. Stylish action has never looked this good.

Created by Hideki Kamiya, one of the creators of Devil May Cry, Bayonetta stars a tall witch, who is all legs, and has horrifying magical hair based powers. Her outfit? Hair. Her powers? Hair. And she kicks the heck out of demons and angels with these powers. The story is surprisingly compelling, and Bayonetta is genuinely one of the most fun games I've ever played. Getting a new weapon to mix and match around is fun every time.

If you're a Devil May Cry fan who has never tried Bayonetta, you owe it to yourself to try.

Outro

Another week down, I think we're getting into an excellent flow! It's a holiday weekend, so I appreciate you finding time to read this nonsense.

Over on the Lunar's Landing Discord, we're having a lot of fun chatting, as well as we've just started July's Lunar League games! Please join us in playing MegaMan X and Shadow Hearts for July!

As always, thank you for reading, if you want to support me I have a Patreon! All Patreon members get one exclusive article per month, and higher tiers come with a few other perks. But honestly, the biggest perk in my mind is just helping to support me, and I love you all for even considering it.