-1984
10 Solar Fox (Arkad)
9 Excite Bike
8 Millipede/Centipede
7 Boulder Dash
6 Galaxian
5 Pac Man
4 Hitchhikers
Guide to the Galaxy
1985
Close calls
Boulder Dash 2:
Rockford's Revenge
10 Balance of
Power
9 Bomberman
8 A Mind Forever
Voyaging
7 Binary Land
6 Gradius
5 Space Harrier
4 Field Combat
3 Ice Climbers
2 Battle City
1986
Close Calls
Alex
Kidd in Miracle World
10 Solomon’s
Key
9 Alter
Ego (Peter J. Favaro)
8 Zanac
7 Adventure
Island
6 Paper Boy
5 Bubble Bobble
4 Metroid
3 Balloon Fight
2 Super Mario
Bros 2
1 Legend of
Zelda
1987
Close Calls
Rainbow Islands
8 Bureaucracy
7 Nord and Bert
Couldn't Make Head or Tail of It
6 Metal Gear
5 Maniac Mansion
4 Castlevania
1 Dungeon
Master
1988
10 Snatcher
9 Hidden Agenda
(Jim Gasperini)
8 Space Harrier 2
7 Ghouls n’
Ghosts
6 Arkanoid
4 Ninja Gaiden
3 Mega Man 2
1989
9 Twin Bee 3
7 Cobra Triangle
6 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
4 Prince of
Persia
1990
Honorable
Mentions
ActRaiser
Ducktales
Metal
Gear 2: Solid Snake
Lost Patrol
Eye of the
Beholder
Smash TV
10 Chip n’
Dale: Rescue Rangers
9 Castlevania 3:
Dracula’s Curse
8 Super Contra
7 Ninja Gaiden 2
6 F-Zero
5 Mega Man 3
4 Loom
1991
8 Sonic the Hedgehog
7 Super Ghouls n’
Ghosts
5 Monkey
Island 2: Lechuck’s Revenge
4 Area 88/UN
Squadron
2 Super
Castlevania IV
1992
Honorable
Mentions
Mega Man 5
Spider-Man/X-Men:
Arcade's Revenge
The Legend of Zelda: Third
Quest
10 Street Fighter
2 Turbo
9 Puyo Puyo
8 Pocky and Rocky
7 Sonic the Hedgehog 2
6 Jezzball/Maxwell's
Maniac (Marjacq Micro/Dima Pavlovsky)
1993
Close Calls
Jurassic Park
Mega Man X
World Heroes
9 Shadowrun
8 Gunstar Heroes
6 Doom
5 E.V.O: Search
for Eden
4 Castlevania:
Rondo of Blood
3 Sam & Max
Hit The Road
2 The
Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
1 Day
of the Tentacle
1994
Honorable
Mentions
Donkey Kong
Country
Jazz Jackrabbit
Mega Man X2
Close Calls
Micro Machines
Streets of Rage 3
8 Contra: Hard
Corps
7 The
Great Circus Mystery: Starring Mickey and Minnie
5 Beneath a Steel
Sky
4 Uni
Rally/Uniracers
3 Lode Runner:
The Legend Returns
1995
Honorable
Mentions
Diddy's Kong
Quest/Donkey Kong Country 2
Twisted
Metal
Warcraft 2
Zoop
Close Calls
Mega
Man 7/Mega Man X3
Micro
Machines 2: Special
10 Heroes
of Might & Magic
9 Full Throttle
8 Jumping Flash
6 The Dark Eye
5 Alien Soldier
4 Gunbird
1 Super Mario
World 2: Yoshi's Island
1996
Honorable
Mentions
Dixie Kong's
Double Trouble/Donkey Kong Country 3
Donpachi
Pandemonium
Quake
Sengoku Ace
Episode II/Sengoku Blaede/Tengai
Twisted Metal 2
Close Calls
C-Dogs (Cyberdogs
2)
Death Rally
Mega Man 8
Samurai Shodown
4: Yamakuzas Revenge
10 Resident Evil
8 Leisure Suit
Larry: Love For Sail
6 Tapestry (Daniel Ravipinto)
5 Nights: Into Dreams
4 Mario Kart 64
3 Diablo
2 Soul Blade
1997
Honorable
Mentions
Blood
Duckman
House of the Dead
Mega
Man X4
Nightmare
Creatures
Shadow
Warrior
Close Calls
Diddy Kong Racing
Dungeon Keeper
In the Changing
Room (Jackie Craven)
Need for Speed II
10 Blade Runner
9 Worms 2
8 Fallout
7 Croc: The
Legend of Gobbos
4 Strikers 1945:
Part 2
3 Starcraft
1 Final
Fantasy VII
1998
Honorable
Mentions
Banjo
Kazooie
F-Zero
X
Gunbird
2
LSD:
Dream Emulator
Medievil
Rockman
& Forte
Sanitarium
Space
Bomber
Close Calls
Carmageddon II:
Carpocalypse Now
Micro Machines V3
NHL 1999
Photopia (Adam
Cadre)
10 Liero (Joosa
Riekkinen)
9 Fallout 2
8 Dink Smallwood
7 Commandos:
Behind Enemy Lines
6 Hexplore
5 Starcraft:
Broodwars
4 Grim
Fandango
3 Baldur’s
Gate
1 Metal
Gear Solid
1999
Honorable
Mentions
Aisle (Sam
Barlow)
Darkstone
Grandia
Guwange
Heroes
of Might and Magic 3
Legacy
of Kain: Soul Reaver
Metal
Slug X NHL 2000
Resident
Evil 3: Nemesis
Roller Coaster Tycoon
Soul Calibur
Vib Ribbon
Close Calls
Commandos:
Beyond the Call of Duty
Fight of the Sumo Hoppers
(Tuomas Korppi)
Super
Smash Bros
Worms
Armageddon
10 Silent Hill
9 Exhibition
(Ian Finley)
8 Baldur's
Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast
7 Castlevania/Legacy
of Darkness
6 Final
Fantasy VIII
5 System Shock 2
4 Unreal
Tournament
3 Street Fighter
3: Third Strike
2 The Longest
Journey
2000
Honorable
Mentions
Banjo Tooie
Diablo 2
DX-Ball 2
Dragon Blaze
Marvel vs Capcom
2: New Age of Heroes
Metal Gear: Ghost
Babel
NHL 2001
Resident Evil
Code: Veronica
Space Channel 5
Close Calls
Ricochet
(Counter-Strike)
10 Shade (Andrew
Plotkin)
9 Galatea (Emily
Short)
8 Escape from
Monkey Island
7 Tony
Hawk's Pro Skater 2
5 Shrapnel/9:05
(Adam Cadre)
4 Deux Ex
3 Elasto Mania
(Balázs Rózsa)
2 Baldur's
Gate: Shadows of Amn
1 The Legend
of Zelda: Majoras Mask
2001
Honorable
Mention
Conkers Bad Fur
Day
Cyberd
Deadline, or, Being Douglas
Adams (Gunter Schmidl)
Diablo II: Lord
of Destruction
Final Fantasy X
Freak
Out!/Stretch Panic
Gothic
IF Arcade
Kingdom Hearts
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2Mario Kart: Super Circuit
Pleurghburg: The
Dark Age (Chrille Blomqvist)
Project
Zero/Fatal Frame
Resident Evil
Remake/Resident Evil Zero
Serious Sam
Super Monkey Ball
Zone of the
Enders
Close Calls
Devil
May Cry
Frequency
Jak
& Daxter
Maximo:
Ghosts to Glory
Ribbons
(J.D Berry)
10 Super Smash
Bros Melee
9 Rez
8
Luigis Mansion
7
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
5 Max
Payne
4 Shadow of
Memories/Shadow of Destiny
3 Baldur's
Gate II: Throne of Bhaal/Ascension
2 Silent
Hill 2
1 Metal Gear
Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
2002
Honorable
Mentions
Ketsui
Mad MaestroRatchet & Clank
Sly Raccoon
Super Monkey Ball
2
The Trials of
Odysseus Kent (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)
Close Calls
Castlevania: Harmony of
Dissonance
The Embodiment of
Scarlet Devil (Zun/Team Shanghai Alice)
Eternal
Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
10 Hobo Soccer
(Magic Whisper)
9 Psyvariar: Revision/Psyvariar: Medium Unit
8 Pop
n’ Music 8
7 Guilty Gear XX
6 Super Mario
Sunshine
5 Ikaruga
4 Noiz2sa (Kenta
Cho)
3 Tony Hawk's Pro
Skater 3
2 Metroid
Prime
2003
Honorable
Mentions
Espgaluda
Kya: Dark Lineage
Narcolepsy (Adam
Cadre)
Soul Calibur 2
The Legend of
Zelda: Ocarina of Time/Master Quest
Warioware Inc:
Minigame Mania
Yume Nikki
(KIKIYAMA)
Zone of the
Enders: 2nd Runner
Close Calls
Amplitude
The Apprentice
(Herculean Effort Productions)
Castlevania: Aria
of Sorrow
Dance
Dance Revolution Extreme
Prince
of Persia: The Sands of Time
Samorost
(Amanita Design)
Tony
Hawk Pro Skater 4
10 Seiklus
(cly5m)
8 5
Days a Stranger (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)
6 dodonpachi
DAI-OU-JOU
5 Silent Hill
3
4 Star
Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
3 The
Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
2 Max
Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
2004
Honorable
Mentions
A Case of the
Crabs (Pinhead Games)
Beatmania IIDX 8th Style
Glass Rose
Imperishable
Night (Zun/Team Shanghai Alice)
Metal
Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
Metroid Prime 2:
Echoes
Polarium
Thief: Deadly Shadows
Tuboflex
(Molleindustria)
Tumiki Fighters
(Kenta Cho)
Close Calls
Go go roppongi
Stick!
Psyvariar 2:
Ultimate Final
Tontie (Eyesmaze)
10 Levers
(Patrick Smith)
9 Blue Chairs
(Chris Klimas)
8 Cirque
de Zale (Rebecca Clements)
7 Katamari
Damacy
5 7
Days a Skeptic (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)
4 The Apprentice II: Knights Move (Herculean Effort Productions
3 Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines
2 Metal Gear
Solid 3: Snake Eater
2005
Honorable
Mentions
Anna (Vince
Twelve/xiigames)
Cave Story
(Daisuke Amaya)
Cedric and the
Revolution (Bernie)
Conker: Live and
Reloaded
Donkey Kong:
Jungle Beat
Electroplankton
Espgaluda 2
Facade
Guilty Gear XX
Slash
Gunroar/Val
& Rick (Kenta Cho)
Haunting
Ground
Ossu! Tatakae!
Ouendan!
Soul Calibur 3
Close Calls
The Apprentice
Deluxe (Herculean Effort Productions)
Beatmania IIDX
9th Style/Beatmania IIDX 10th Style
Blue
Wish (x.x)
Pop
n' Music 11
Resident
Evil 4
10 We
Love Katamari
9 Killer 7
8 Soviet
Unterzögersdorf (Monochrom)
7 Geometry Wars:
Retro Evolved
6 Psychonauts
5 Experimental
Gaming: Tower of Goo, On a Rainy Day, The
Crowd, Gravity Head, Square Off, Attack of
the Killer Swarm, Riff, Attack of the Killer Swarm, Darwin Hill (Kyle
Gabler)
3 Whom
the Telling Changed (Aaron
A Reed)
2 Metal Gear
Solid 3: Subsistence
1 Pathologic
2006
Honorable
Mentions
Automaton (Mr
Colossal)
Hallway of
Adventures (Mordalles)
Metal Gear Solid:
Portable Ops
Mushihime-sama
Futari
New Super Mario
Bros
Torus
Trooper/Titanion (Kenta Cho)
Beatmania IIDX
11: IIDX RED
Blue Wish
Resurrection/Eden's Edge (x.x)
La La Land 5/La
La Land 4/La La Land 3/La La Land 2/La La Land (TheAnemic)
Merry
Gear Solid (Arthur Mr. Podunkian Lee)
Museum of Broken
Dreams (Jonas Kyratzes)
The
Shivah/Blackwell Legacy (Dave Gilbert)
9 Pop n' Music 12
7 WarioWare: Smooth Moves
6 Sam & Max Episode 1: Culture Shock
5 De Baron (Victor Gijsbers)
4 Guilty Gear XX Accent Core
3 Spooks
(Lively Ivy/Erin Robinson)
2 The
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
1 Trilby's
Notes (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)
2007
Honorable
Mentions
Beatmania IIDX
13: DistorteD
Blackwell
Unbound (Dave Gilbert)
Chalk (Joakim
Sandberg)
Contra 4
Feed the Head
(Patrick Smith)
Frozzd (Jesse
Venbrux)
Hyperbound
(Michael Iantorno)
La Croix
Pan (TheJBurger)
Mountain of Faith (Zun/Team Shanghai Alice)
Pacman
Championship Edition
Sumotori
Dreams (Péter Soltész)Rorschach (Collecting Smiles)
Samorost 2
(Amanita Design)
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.:
Shadow of Chernobyl
Trilby: The
Art Of Theft (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)
Close
Calls
Game, game, game
and again game (Jason Nelson)
Garden
of Coloured Lights/Excellent Bifurcation (Linley Henzell)
Knytt
Stories/Knytt (Nifflas)
Murder In A
Wheel (Renzo “Eshaktaar” Thönen)
Nelly
Cootalot (Alasdair Beckett)
Super
Stardust HD
10 Immortal
Defense (Radical Poesis Games)
9 Sam & Max
Season 1: Cont’
8 Mass Effect
7 Mondo
Agency/Mondo Medicals/Clean Asia (Cactusquid)
6 Super
Mario Galaxy
5 The Witcher
4 Bioshock
3 Portal
2 Passage (Jason
Rohrer)
1 6
Days A Sacrifice (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)
2008
Honorable
Mentions
Achievement Unlocked
Des Rêves
Élastiques Avec Mille Insectes Nommés Georges (Deirdra Kiai)
Do-Don-Pachi
Dai-Fukkatsu
Fallout 3
Geometry Wars
Evolved 2
How Many…
Tension/The Void
Virtual
Silence/Seven Minutes (Tuukka Virtanen)
Close Calls
Blue Wish
Resurrection Plus (x.x)
Free Culture
Game/Queer Power/Oiligarchy (Molleindustria)
Little Girl In
Underland (Lively Ivy/Erin Robinson?)
Psychosomnium/Seizuredome
(Cactusquid)
Rescue: The
Beagles (Nenad Jalsovec)
Self-destruct/Xoldiers
(Terry Cavanagh)
The Witcher:
Enhanced Edition
10 A Second Face
(Jospin Le Woltaire)
9 Gateway II
(Anders Gustafsson)
8 Nanobots
(Lively Ivy/Erin Robinson)
7 Aether (Edmund
McMillen)
6 Karoshi
2.0/Execution/Pazzon/Torque/Karoshi/Karoshi Factory/Karoshi: Suicide
Salaryman (Jesse Venbrux)
5 Gravitation/Police
Brutality/Between/Perfectionism (Jason Rohrer)
4 Dear Esther
(thechineseroom/Dan Pinchbeck)
3 World Of Goo
(2d Boy)
2 Metal Gear
Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot
1 Braid (Jonathan
Blow)
Honorable Mentions
!, Robot/Shifters Box (Ben304)
4 Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness (Petri/Kloonigames)
Alabaster (Emily Short)
And Yet It Moves (Broken Rules)
Backup/Bars Of
Black And White (Gregory Weir)
Blue
Lacuna (Aaron A Reed)
Chaser (Connor
Carpenter/shadestorm)
Devils Tuning
Fork (DePaul Game Elites)
Play: Free Will - The Game
(raitendo)Gray (aeiowu/fucrate)
Korsakovia
(thechineseroom/Dan Pinchbeck)
Harpooned
(Conor O’Kane)
Nestlings (Lewis
Denby)
The Path (Tale of
Tales)
Small Worlds
(David Shute)
Takishawa
Is Dead! (Andrew
Brophy)
The Endling
Archive (Kazuki Mishima)
The Secret of
Monkey Island: Special Edition
Ulitsa Dimitrova
(Lea Schönfelder & Gerard Delmás
Walker &
Silhouette (C.E.J. Pacian)
Close Calls
Au Sable/All Our
Friends Are Dead (Amon26)
Eden’s Aegis
(x.x)
Evidence of Everything
Exploding (Jason Nelson)Flower (thatgamecompany)
Garou: Mark of
the Wolves
Gravity Bone
(Brendon Chung/Blendo Games)
lose/lose (Zach
Gage)
Mental Repair Inc
(Renzo “Eshaktaar” Thönen)
Merry
Gear Solid 2: Ghosts of Christmas Past (Arthur Mr. Podunkian Lee)
New Super Mario
Bros Wii
Repent (Aaron
Oldenburg)
Spectre (Vaguely Spectacular)
Super
Karoshi/Focus (Jesse Venbrux)
Tales
of Monkey Island
Today
I Die (Daniel Benmergui)
We the Giants
(Peter Groeneweg)
White Butterfly
(Linley Henzell)
Windosill
(Patrick Smith)
10
The Company of Myself (Eli Pülonen)
9 Time
Fcuk (Edmund McMillen, William Good & Justin Karpel)
8 The
Marionette (Team Effigy/Auriond)
7 Batman: Arkham
Asylum
6 Judith/Don’t
Look Back/Pathways (Terry Cavanagh)
5 Radiator
1-2: Handle With Care/Radiator 1-1: Polaris (Robert Yang)
4 Silent Hill:
Shattered Memories
3 Dragon Age:
Origins
2 Everyday The
Same Dream (Molleindustria)
1 Opera
Omnia/Home/Therapy Game/Mirror Stage/The Black Yeti/Signifier
(Stephen Lavelle/increpare)
2010
Missed
Out On
Metro
Honorable Mentions
Alan
Wake
Amnesia:
The Dark Descent
Beautiful Escape: Dungeoneer
(Nicolau/calunio)Being There (Jordan Magnuson)
Blades of Passion (Drew Wellman)
Crimzon Clover (Yotsubane)
Conquer the Shadow World/Lackadaisium (Ultimate Walrus)
Cow Clicker (Ian Bogost)
Depict1 (Retro Affect)
Digital: A Love Story (Christine Love)
Dual Transform (Andrew Plotkin)
Eternally Us (Ben304)
Fallout: New Vegas
Feign (Ian Snyder)
Flaws (Jon Ingold)
Frenzy Defense (Jan Willem Nijman)
Hero Core (Daniel Remar)
ir/rational (Tom Jubert)
Limbo (Playdead)
My First Quantum Translocator
Pac-Man Championship Edition DX
P0nd (Peanut Gallery)
Puji (Alexander Jhin, Matt McKnett, and Pat Kemp)
Puzzlebots (Lively Ivy/Erin Robinson)
QWOP (Bennett Fodd)
Sand-dancer (Aaron A Reed & Alexei Othenin-Girard)
Super Crate Box (Vlambeer)
Super Street Fighter IV
Symon (Singapore MIT Gambi Game Lab)
Technobabylon – Part II/Technobabylon – Part 1 (James Dearden)
Tedium (EddieC)
The
Dream Machine Chaper 1 & 2 (Erik Zaring & Anders Gustafsson)
Tower of Heaven (askiisoft)Which (Mike Inel)
Close Calls
...But That Was [Yesterday]/Together (Michael Molinari)
A
House in California/Hummingbird Mind (Jake Elliott & friends)
The
Arm/Refus Q. Jibberjabber's Day Out/Flin McGraw's Last Day (tipp)
Covetous/Good Fortune (Austin
Breed)Dragon Age: Awakening
Howard Glitch Game (Robert Allmand)
Loneliness (Jordan Magnuson)
Loved (Alexander Ocias)
Norrland/Gamma4 (Cactusquid)
Octodad (DGE2)
One Chance (AwkwardSilenceGames)
Super Meat Boy (Team Meat)
suteF (Ted Lauterbach)
10 After (Aaron Oldenburg)
9 Memory Reloaded/Leaky Worlds: A Playable Theory (Molleindustria)
8 The Journey Down: Over The Edge (Theodor Waern)
7 VVVVV/Phobiaphobiaphobia (Terry Cavanagh)
6 Super
Mario Galaxy 2
5 Mass
Effect 2/Mass Effect 2: Lair of the Shadowbroker
4 Life Flashes By (Deirdra Kia)
3 Snakes of Avalon (Igor Hardy/Ascovel & Alex Van Wijst/Baron)
2 Looming/The
Day/Narthex (Gregory Weir)
1 Treatise/Hush/Modernauts/Primitive Pattern/Starfeld/100 Names/Queue/The Terrible Whiteness of Appalachian Nights/The Rose Garden/Catalan/Cascode (Stephen Lavelle/increpare)
2011
Missed
Out On, Want To Play
Alice:
Madness Returns
Outland
Super
Mario 3D Land
A Mother's Inferno (Dadiu/David Adler)
Animal Puncher/A Mother in Festerwood (Austin Breed)
American Dream (Stephen Lavelle, Terry Cavanagh, Jasper Byrne and Tom Morgan-Jones)
Apollo 2 (Robert Yang)
At A Distance (Terry Cavanagh)
Batman: Arkham City
Cat and the Coup (Peter Brinson/Kurosh ValaNejad)
Chainworld (Jason Rohrer)
Crime Zone (thecatamites)
Encyclopedia Fuckme and the Case of the Vanishing Entree (Anna Anthopy)
Fotonica
Freedom Bridge
Glitchhiker (vlambeer)
Gyossait (Amon26)
Hot Throttle (Cacusquid)
NightSky
(Nicalis/Nifflas)
No
Longer Subject to Judicial Review (NiallM)
Not
Tetris 2 (Maurice Guégan)
Raccord
Sniper (Nicolai Troshinsky)
Soul
Brother (Jasper
Byrne)
Spent
(McKinney)
Suction
Co-op (Gustav Dahl)
Technobabylon
Part III (James Dearden)
The
Dream Machine: Chapter 3 (Erik Zaring & Anders Gustafsson)
The
Play (Deirdra Kiai)
To
the Moon (Kan Gao)
Trine
2
Wither
(Rastek)
Wunderputt
(dampgnat)
You
Shall Know The Truth/The
Book of Living Magic
(Jonas Kyratzes)
Labyrinths
(György Dudas)
Rebirth
(Daniel-D. "Guert" Guertin)
The
Stanley Parable (Cakebread)
The
End of Us (Chelsea Howe & Michael Molinari)
These
Robotic Hearts of Mine (Alan Hazelden/Draknet)
10 Trauma
(Krystian Majewski)
9 Jamestown:
Legend of the Lost Colony (Final Form)
8 Negative
Spacecraft (Chris Cornell)
6 Rayman
Origins
5 Balloon-Diaspora/Ruins
(Jake Elliott)
4 Bla
Bla (Vincent Morisset)
3 Maybe
Make Some Change (Aaron A Reed)
2 Bastion
1 Portal
2
2012
Missed
Out On, Want To Play
The
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
Honorable
Mentions
.heartbeats
(Sebastian Trelles)
As
Slow As Possible (György Dudas)
Baldur's
Gate: Enhanced Edition
Drawception
Home
(Benjamin Rivers)
Howling
Dogs (porpentine)
Intake/Ten/Fall/Closet
(Maddox Pratt)
ir/rational
Redux (Tom Jubert)
It's
all Fun and Games Until Someone Blows Their Brains Out (Mikael
Vesavuori)
Kairo
(Perrin)
Knytt
Underground (Nifflas)
Lim/Brace/A
Synchronous Ritual/Terf War (Meritt Kopas)
Lone
Survivor (Jasper Byrne)
The
Love Letter (axcho and knivel)
Mari0/Not
Pacman (Maurice Guégan)
Middens
(John Clowder)
Mirrormoon
(Team Focaccia)
Nuign
Specter (Jake Clover)
Or,
What Is It Like To Be A Thing? (Cameron Kunzelman)
Otherworld:
Spring of Shadows
Resonance
(Vincent XII)
Slender:
The Eight Pages (Mark J. Hadley)
Spec
Ops: The Line
Super
Hexagon (Terry Cavanagh)
Tales
of the Minus Lab (Alex Beachum)
Timebomb
(Kenta Cho)
The
Republia Times/6 Degrees of Sabotage (Lucas Pope)
To
What End (Chelsea Howe, Michael Molinari)
Close
Calls
Anestesia
(Pedro Paiva)
dys4ia
(Anna Anthropy)
First
Draft of the Revolution/Bee (Emily Short)
Hotline
Miami
I
Remember the Rain (Jordan Browne)
Journey
Down: Over the Edge HD (Theodor Waern)
Katawa
Shoujo
Laza
Knitez! (Team Buttfighters)
Perspective
(nfyre)
Remembered/Syncope/The
Question Unquestioned (Chris Klimas)
Slave
of God/Promises/Sickness/The Good Sister/RAPIDFIE (increpare/Stephen
Lavelle)
The
Colder Light/Intercept (Jon Ingold)
The
Dark Room (ThatsMrRobinson)
Thomas
Was Alone (Mike Bithell)
Vidiot
Game
10 Unfinished
Swan
9 Almost
Goodbye/Prom Week (Aaron A Reed)
8 March/Connections/Get
Closer/The Path Taken/Exhaust (mindful xp)
7 Journey (thatgamecompany)
6 Unmanned
(molleindustria)
5 Metal
Gear Solid: Peace Walker HD
4 Mass
Effect 3/Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut
3 Thirty
Flights of Loving (Brendon Chung)
2 The
Walking Dead
1 Dear
Esther
2013
Missed
Out On, Want To Play
A Slow YearDEVICE 6
Dishonored
Doki-Doki Universe
Dust: An Elysian Tail
F J O R D S
Guacamelee!
Kentucky Route Zero
Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon
Mass Effect 3: Citadel
Metro: Last Light
New Super Mario Bros. U
Puppeteer
Richard
& Alice
Resogun
Risk
of Rain
Saints
Row IV
Sonic Lost World
Starseed Pilgrim
Super Mario 3D World
Tearaway
Teleglitch: Die More Edition
The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
The Novelist
Tomb Raider
X-com: Enemy Within
Year Walk
ZiGGURAT
Honorable
Mentions
7
Days (RevoLab)
Anodyne
(Analgesic Productions LLC)
Antichamber
At
the Bonfire (finny)
Auti-sim
Autumn's
Daughter (Ali Sajid Imami & Shumaila Hashmi)
Bioshock
Infinite
Black
Crown
Coloratura
(Lynnea Glasser)
Contrast
Divekick
Dominique
Pamplemousse (Deirdra Kiai)
Drop
A Beat, Giuseppe! (Major Bueno)
Dysphoria
City (Spanglypants)
Even
Cowgirls Bleed (Christine Love)
Experiment
12 (Various)
Fragments
of Him (Matazone & Sassybot: Mata Haggis, Tino van der Kraan,
Elwin Verploegen, Henriette Sande)
Home
Again (Chris Klimas)
I'm
Frontline (Kenta Cho)
Inner
Vision (Sunil Rao)
Jostle
Bastard (Pippin Barr)
Kim's
Story (Kim Moss)
Mass
Effect 3: Leviathan
Monaco:
What's Yours Is Mine
Naya's
Quest (Terry Cavanagh)
Negative
Space (Maddox Pratt)
Papers,
Please (Lucas Pope)
Perspective
(Pohung)
Problem
Attic (Liz Ryerson)
Proteus
(Ed Key & David Kanaga)Save the Date (Paper Dino Software)
Slavoj Žižek Makes A Twine Game (Cameron Kunzelman)
Slender: The Arrival
Sluggish
Morss/Sluggish Morss: A Delicate Time in Space (Jake Clover &
Jack King-Spooner)
The
Bridge (Case Western)
The
Impostor (Deirdra Kiai)
The
Last Door (Chapter 1 & 2)
The
Last of Us
The Raven – Legacy of a Master ThiefThe Whispering Thing (Gregory Avery-Weir)
Zero
(Arturs Grebstelis)
Close
Calls
Amnesia:
A Machine For Pigs
Castles
in the Sky (The Tall Trees)
Catachresis
(Cameron Kunzelman)
Choice
of the Deathless (Max Gladstone)
Depression
Quest (Zoe Quinn, Patrick Lindsey & Isaac Schankler)
No-one
Has To Die (StuStutheBloo)
one-two
(一-二)
Rayman
Legends
Reset
(Autumn Nicole Bradley)
The
Swapper
To
My First Born Son/Sleeping Scared/Ollam House (increpare)
10 The
Wolf Among Us: Episode 1 – Faith
9 Brothers:
A Tale of Two Sons
8 Knock
Knock (Ice-Pick Lodge)
7 Ossuary
(Future Proof Games/Gregory Weir)
6 The
Walking Dead: 400 Days/The Walking Dead: Season 2, Episode 1 – All
That Remains
5 Outer
Wilds (Alex Beachum)
4 The
Stanley Parable HD Remix/The Stanley Parable Demo (Galactic
Café/Davey Wreden)
3 18
Cadence (Aaron A. Reed)
2 Metal
Gear Solid: Revengeance
1 Gone
Home
My inner childs favorite games
My inner (dualistically oriented) grown-ups favorite games
These are my favorite games as deemed so by the intellectual within me, by the person within who does not wish to play games only for the sake of playing them or having fun or getting better at it or appreciating the aesthetics, and so on. These games are games that transcend the time which I spend with them and contribute to the dialogue I have with myself and others concerning matters of what a good life is, what justice can be, if love is possible, and other questions of prime importance. There are a number of games that fit neither here or in ”the list of my inner child”, which are those games that gameplay-wise are very good, yet I discovered them as an adolescent (or later), and the games which have adult themes and are very well-executed, yet do not seem to have themes which I necessarily think I can incorporate into my daily living, themes that do not make me remember the game in other contexts than that of nostalgia or video game criticism.First stage
Baldur's Gate: Shadows of Amn
Bioshock
Deus Ex
Jade Empire
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
Portal
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
System Shock 2
Second stage
Grim Fandango
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot
Opera Omnia
Portal 2
Silent Hill 3
Shadows of Memories
The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
The Longest Journey
World Of Goo (2d Boy)
Third (and final?) stage
Braid (Jonathan Blow)
Dear Esther (thechineseroom/Dan Pinchbeck)
Final Fantasy VII
Metal Gear Solid
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Pathologic
Planescape Torment
Silent Hill 2
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords
The Legend of Zelda: Majoras Mask
Sequelitis
A videogame sequel begins with most vital questions already answered. Who am I? Where can I go? What can I do? How does the world work? What are the limits? Instead, I only ask: What's different this time? Is it better than the last one? Can I dual- wield? Videogame sequels traffic in features and upgrades, keeping pace with the times, meeting fan expectations. Their logic is that of the genre novel, of repetition with variation. Their pleasures are those of the tweak, the nuance. They reward the discerning palate with shades of difference. It is the death of mystery by a thousand refinements.1In a business where sequels abound and the question of ”why” seems to get it's most clear answer in fiscal numbers or notions of ”improvement” (of game mechanics and graphics, mainly), I have great respect and derive chunky joy from sequels which make their point of departure meaningful, and also have producers who are gutsy enough to support that willing departure from established sequel-conventions of ”bigger and higher”. And sometimes, that damn sequel with improved interface and graphics, or with more nuanced game mechanics, makes me question why I was skeptical to the ”now made perfect” sequel in the first place.
Third place,
first outing
Castlevania:
Symphony of the Night/Super Castlevania IV
Dodonpachi
Geometry
Wars: Retro Evolved
Klonoa
2: Lunatea's Veil
Legacy
of Kain: Soul Reaver 2
Mario
Kart 64
Mass
Effect 2/Mass Effect 3
Sonic
the Hedgehog 2
System
Shock 2
Super
Probotector: Alien Rebels/Contra 3: Alien Wars '
Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time
Tony
Hawk's Pro Skater 2/3/4
Second best,
nigh the top stop
Fallout
2
Guilty
Gear XX/Accent Core
Ikaruga
Lode
Runner: The Legend Returns
Max
Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
Metroid
Prime/Super Metroid/Metroid Fusion
Portal
2
Star
Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords
Super
Mario World/Yoshi's Island/Super Mario 64/Super Mario Galaxy
First place,
second row
Baldur's
Gate 2: Shadows of Amn
Metal
Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty/Guns of the Patriot/Snake Eater
Silent
Hill 2/Shattered Memories/Silent Hill 3
Street
Fighter 2: World Warrior/Third Strike
The
Legend of Zelda: Majoras Mask/A Link to the Past/Ocarina of Time/Wind
Waker
Trilby's
Notes/6 Days A Sacrifice (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)
RPG's
1 RPG'sBaldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast
Dragon Age: Awakening
Fallout
Fallout 2
Final Fantasy VIII
Mass Effect
Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines
2 RPG's
Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal/Ascension
Dragon Age: Origins
Jade Empire
Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 3
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
The
Witcher
3 RPG's
Baldur’s Gate
Baldur's Gate: Shadows of Amn
Final Fantasy VII
Planescape Torment
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords
Mods
Since
mods often are community efforts, endlessly bettered and updated as a
living ofganism, attributing them dates or specific authors can be
hard. Sometimes it's possible, but for the sake of laziness I'll skip
that part completely and just go ahead and tell you about the game
modifications which have greatly contributed to my enjoyment of these
(RPG) games.
Baldur’s
Gate
Baldur's Gate:
Shadows of Amn
Baldur's Gate
II: Throne of Bhaal
Planescape
Torment
The Bigg's Widescreen
mod/Ghostdog's incredible UI mod
Qwinn's Planescape: Torment Tweaks
Planescape: Torment Ultimate WeiDU Fixpack
Planescape
Torment: Unfinished Business
Star Wars:
Knights of the Old Republic
Star
Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords
TSL
Restored Content Mod
Shmups
Boy
did I used to love these. For the last five years or so, instead I've
dropped out of sight, seeing how what is produced these days is very
inspired by the Japanese arcade tradition. All right, so I used to
love that tradition – these days I do not, but my taste for
procedurally generated content and the opposite of punishing gameplay
is still strong, even if it doesn't take much to put me off.
Insert Credit
Blue Wish
Resurrection (x.x)
Cyberd (?)
Dragon Blaze
Eden's Aegis (x.x)
Eden's Edge (x.x)
Cyberd (?)
Dragon Blaze
Eden's Aegis (x.x)
Eden's Edge (x.x)
The Embodiment of
Scarlet Devil (Zun/Team
Shanghai Alice)
ESPgaluda
Garden
of Coloured Lights (Linley Henzell)
Gunbird
2
Jamestown:
Legend of the Lost Colony (Final Form)
Negative
Spacecraft (Chris Cornell)
Imperishable
Night (Zun/Team
Shanghai Alice)
Psyvariar
Psyvariar 2
Tumiki Fighters
Ultimate Stage (?)
Psyvariar
Psyvariar 2
Tumiki Fighters
Ultimate Stage (?)
White
Butterfly (Linley Henzell)
1CC
Geometry
Wars: Retro Evolved
Gunbird
Ikaruga
Mushihimesama
Noiz2sa
(Kenta Cho)
Perfect Cherry Blossom (Zun/Team Shanghai Alice)
Self-destruct (Terry Cavanagh)
Perfect Cherry Blossom (Zun/Team Shanghai Alice)
Self-destruct (Terry Cavanagh)
Strikers 1945
1LC
Area 88/UN Squadron
dodonpachi DAI-OU-JOU
Area 88/UN Squadron
dodonpachi DAI-OU-JOU
Dodonpachi
Parsec47
(Kenta Cho)
rRootage
(Kenta Cho)
Strikers 1945:
Part II
Independent
Point & Clicks
High
nostalgia factor for me, almost from the get-go, for some reason,
even though I didn't exactly ”grow up” with SCUMM and LucasArts.
I've clicked a lot in my life, and in games made in Adventure Game
Studios especially, but I'm out of the loop also in this area. The
genre needs less weird puzzles and, brace yourself, ”meaningful
choices”. Or non-choices. But things that evoke some sense of
purpose and has life-affirming qualities beyond the isolation of a
puzzle.
2 Clicks Away
From Total Awesomeness
Anna (Vince
Twelve/xiigames)
Blackwell
Legacy (Dave Gilbert)
Blackwell
Unbound (Dave Gilbert)
Little
Girl In Underland (Lively Ivy/Erin Robinson)
Mental
Repair Inc (Renzo “Eshaktaar” Thönen)
Nelly
Cootalot (Alasdair Beckett)
Rorschach
(Collecting Smiles)
Technobabylon
Part 1, 2, 3 (James Dearden)
The
Dream Machine (Erik Zaring & Anders Gustafsson)
The
Shivah (Dave Gilbert)
The Trials of
Odysseus Kent (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)
1 Click Away
From Total Awesomeness
5
Days A Stranger (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)
7
Days a Skeptic (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)
A
House in California (Jake Elliott & friends)
A
Second Face (Jospin Le Woltaire)
Cirque
de Zale (Rebecca Clements)
Gateway
II (Anders Gustafsson)
Murder
In A Wheel (Renzo “Eshaktaar” Thönen)
The
Apprentice Deluxe (Herculean Effort Productions)
The
Clique
6
Days A Sacrifice (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)
Snakes
of Avalon (Igor Hardy/Ascovel & Baron/Alex
Van Wijst)
Spooks
(Lively Ivy/Erin Robinson)
Soviet
Unterzögersdorf (Monochrom)
The
Apprentice II: Knights Move (Herculean Effort Productions)
The
Journey Down: Over The Edge (Theodor Waern)
The
Marionette (Team Effigy/Auriond)
Trilby's
Notes (Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw)
Interactive Fiction
A
genre wish I have held the highest hopes for, for many years now.
Mostly I get frustrated over the interface problems and prefer ”less
interaction” and more meaningful choices, which reflects what game
I've put on this list too. And although also this is a genre I am
utterly tired of right now, I have high hopes for what the future
will bring.
Close
Calls
Deadline,
or, Being Douglas Adams (Gunther Schmidl)
Intake
(Maddox Pratt)
The
Play (Deirdra Kiai)
Sickness
(increpare)
X
9:05
(Adam Cadre)
Aisle
(Sam Barlow)
Alabaster
(Emily Short)
Being
There (Jordan Magnuson)
Choice
of the Deathless (Max Gladstone)
Dual
Transform (Andrew Plotkin)
Hitchhiker's
Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas
Adams/Steve Meretzky)
In
the Changing Room (Jackie Craven)
Narcolepsy
(Adam Cadre)
The
Colder Light (Jon Ingold)
Xyz
Blue
Chairs (Chris Klimas)
Blue
Lacuna (Aaron A Reed)
De
Baron (Victor Gijsbers)
Depression
Quest (Zoe Quinn, Patrick Lindsey & Isaac Schankler)
First
Draft of the Revolution (Emily Short)
Galatea
(Emily Short)
Remembered
(Chris Klimas)
Ribbons
(J.D Berry)
Shade
(Andrew Plotkin)
Tapestry
(Daniel Ravipinto)
Xyzzy
18
Cadence (Aaron A. Reed)
Almost
Goodbye (Aaron A Reed)
Exhibition
(Ian Finley)
maybe
make some change (Aaron A Reed)
Photopia
(Adam Cadre)
Rameses
(Stephen Bond)
Shrapnel
(Adam Cadre)
Whom
the Telling Changed (Aaron
A Reed)
Multiplayer (3+) Games
Games to play with cherished friends, or games through which one makes new friends (and enemies). Get your ass over into the couch/in front of the keyboard and let's boot this shit and a couple of beers up!Multi Tap
Bomberman
(different versions)
Drawception
Glitchhiker
New
Super Mario Bros Wii
Rayman
Legends/Rayman Origins
We
the Giants (Peter Groeneweg)
Laza
Knitez! (Team Buttfighters)
Micro
Machines V3
Ricochet
(Counter-Strike)
Super
Monkey Ball/Super Monkey Ball 2
WarioWare:
Smooth Moves
Mario Kart 64
Super Smash Bros/Super Smash Bros Melee
Unreal Tournament
Worms 2/Worms Armageddon/Worms
Co-op Games
We VS the World
Balloon Fight
Cyberdogs/C-Dogs (Cyberdogs 2)
Diablo 2/Diablo
House of the Dead
Ice Climbers
Journey
Metal Slug/Metal Slug X
New Super Mario Bros Wii
Smash TV
Streets of Rage 3
We VS We
Battle City
Elasto Mania (Balázs Rózsa)
Pocky and Rocky
Portal 2
Super Double Dragon
We Are One
Lode Runner: The Legend Returns
Rayman Legends/Rayman Origins
Super Probotector: Alien
Rebels/Contra 3: Alien Wars/Contra/Contra: Hard Corps
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV:
Turtles in Time
Three Dirty Dwarves
VS Games
Puji (Alexander Jhin, Matt McKnett, and Pat Kemp)Super Mario Kart/Mario Kart 64
F-Zero
Street Fighter 2: World Warrior/Street Fighter 3: Third Strike/Super Street Fighter IV
Soul Blade/Soul Calibur
Diddy Kong Racing
Micro Machines V3/Micro Machines
Liero (Joosa Riekkinen)
Hobo Soccer (Magic Whisper)
Puzzle Bobble
Worms 2/Worms Armageddon/WormsSpy vs Spy
Fight of the Sumo Hoppers (Tuomas Korppi)
Ricochet (Counter-Strike)
Elasto Mania (Balázs Rózsa)
Super Monkey Ball/Super Monkey Ball 2
Super Smash Bros/Super Smash Bros Melee
Guilty Gear XX Accent Core /Guilty Gear XX
Unreal Tournament
Posts
