Wanted to make a list of my favorite games of all time! Sorry for people who wanted actual goats for some sick reason. The opinions here are subjective and you may or may not agree with them. That's great! So let us begin! Hope you enjoy!
5. Final Fantasy VI
The primary reason why this game is on this list is because of the story. It was an epic, continent-spanning story about classic good vs evil. But what really sold me on the game were the individual back stories for different characters in the game. That tear-jerking story of the good-willed rogue, to the tale of loss and betrayal that the king suffered, that classic opera scene (who could forget that), the truth behind magic and technology, and many more.
One of my favorite moments was when the story basically split into three parts and you were given the choice to play any of the parts in any sequence. Honestly, I was never to fond of the actual gameplay when I played it initially (due to my lack of interest interest in JRPGs in general) but replaying it recently, I can appreciate what it did right. It is quite interesting that I never got into FF VII and as a result FFVI remains my favorite RPG and FF game of all time.
Fact: I hate that that the previous two games in the series received a 3D makeover but this didn't.
Similar Games: To the Moon, not in terms of gameplay but in terms of story and characters.
4. A Wolf Among Us
Developed by Telltale, based around the Fable comics, AWAU is the only point-and-click game that I have enjoyed. The star of the show is the setting no doubt. The fusion of classic fairy tale characters with the gritty real world and a story about a serial killer seems like the perfect combination.
This is an episodic game (5 in total) where you play as a detective investigating a series of gruesome murders, accompanied by no one other that Cinderella! The soundtrack perfectly fits the noir atmosphere and the decisions you made had lasting effects on the whole game. The story had perfect pacing and I completed the whole game in a 12 hour sitting. The cel-shaded visuals were just beautiful.
Similar: There is nothing like it that I have played honestly. The other Telltale games never intrigued me the same way this did.
3. Perfect Dark
Released in 1999 for the Nintendo 64, Perfect Dark was nothing short of a ground breaking title. It was the spiritual successor to GoldenEye (which is often lauded as the first great console multiplayer shooter). The game has a kick-ass female protagonist who gets caught in a plot that involves aliens, spies and your every day James Bond moments.
The game has so much content that it is staggering to think about how they even managed that in 1999 on a 30 MB cartridge. I will list some of them here:
Combat Sim: You had actual multiplayer bots (CPU players) that could be assigned different personalities and difficulties. There has never been anything else like it even since.
Setups: You had so many options in the multiplayer matches that you could even create a Zombie-like or a Matrix-like game!
Difficulty: The difficulty levels were actually different. On the higher ones you had different areas of levels unlocked and more objectives to complete.
In short, this game is spectacular and I used to play it regularly.
Fact: My most played game. It also has a abysmal sequel that you should avoid.
Similar Games: GoldenEye, Everything or Nothing for Nintendo 64.
2. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl
Made by a Russian developer GSC World, STALKER is the definitive post-apocalyptic RPG experience. It is one of the few games where the Open-World actually feels organic and has a purpose to it. The game has an atmosphere so thick that you could choke on it.
The game is primarily played in a First-Person perspective with a heavy focus on survival and exploration. The combat is gritty and raw, death comes quick, the world has tons of secret to discover and it actually feels like an apocalypse instead of an apocalypse themed picnic, cough*Fallout4*cough.
The game also has horror elements that typically happen in the underground locations. The guns degrade, the environment has hazards, the weather effects are spectacular, the enemies are varied, the AI system is capable of simulating a living-world where things happen without player interactions.
Similar Games: The STALKER series have two more games that are equally good if not better.
Fact: A proper sequel, STALKER 2 was actually in development for 1 year but was ultimately scrapped in the favor of an MMO-FPS Survanium.
1. Resident Evil 4
The first, the best and the most memorable game that I have ever played. The game took a big risk and deviated heavily from the previous games in an attempt to stay relevant in the PS2 era. The result was one of the most influential, well-paced and brilliant game of all time.
The game is placed often in the best game of all times list and many people have bought in 3-4 times on different platforms. The game is regarded as being the creator of the Over-the-shoulder 3rd person camera angle that has been used in countless other games (The Last of Us, Gears of War, Dead Space). This game has perfect pacing with so many memorable encounter ranging from:-
Fighting a zombie whale with harpoons, defending a small house from crazy villagers, fighting two 3 story tall Giants in a lava filled pool, killing mutating people while escaping in a mine cart, a one-on-one Jackie Chan like melee combat with a mini boss, Suplexing Goat Faced people into concrete, Running away from a said GOAT faced statue while trying to shoot a door open, etc.
This game has the best extras ever! The best horde mode, and even a full fledged, 4 hour long campaign unlocked AFTER you beat the game!
Get this game, go play this! Buy it even if it makes you homeless.
Similar Games: There is nothing like it honestly. The Evil Within and Resident Evil 5 are two games that tried to bring back the RE4 gameplay but failed miserable. The Last of Us has zero gameplay innovations and doesn't even comes close (it is better in the story department though).
That's all! All these game are available for PC (and some on consoles) if you want to try them out. What are your favorites?