Favorite games

2025-05-01

I recently finished playing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. It was a game that I only found out about on its release day, so I had no anticipation for it. I didn’t have much idea of what the game was about either, beyond that it’s a turn-based RPG. Watching a minute of the trailer was enough to convince me to give the game a shot. I went into the game about as blind as one could be.

And oh what a delightful surprise it turned out to be.

I didn’t expect that it would shoot so quickly into my top 10 list of favorite games. It’s an absolutely brilliant piece of visual and audio storytelling. There have been few games I’ve played that evoked tears, but cry I did, when the credits rolled.

The game deserves its own post, so that’s not the purpose of this one. Finishing the game got me thinking: which exactly are my top games, ever? I’ve always had an inkling of which they were, but have never actually listed them down. So here it is. My favorite games.

Last updated 2025-05-01.

Top 10

1. Outer Wilds

Outer Wilds does exploration like no other game. It’s impressively tightly designed. The world they’ve built is evocative, awe-inspiring at times, and creepy and unnerving at others. It’s a wonder how Mobius Digital managed to craft a mystery game that gives the player so much agency, yet they never feel stuck. At least, I never felt so. There was always something to do, somewhere to explore, some new thread to tug on, to learn.

2. Persona 4 Golden

Found-family is a common theme in the sort of media I enjoy, and Persona 4 has this in spades. It’s such a cozy game. By the end of it I felt so attached to the characters that I felt something akin to a sense of loss, when the game ended. Grief, even. It’s like losing family, or a part of myself.

3. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

The storytelling in Clair Obscure is just phenomenal. Take the prologue for instance; it’s a masterful bit of visual and audio storytelling, using primarily cinematography and music to convey the premise of the game, barely any expositional dialogue required. The world design is beautiful, the soundtrack breathtaking, and the story captivating. There are some truly emotional moments in the story. I loved it.

4. DRAGON QUEST XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age

The sheer scope of this game is astounding. It just keeps going and going, with twists one after another. The story could be cliche at times, but I was kept engaged throughout. I enjoyed the humor in the game as well.

5. Persona 5 Royal

The Persona games have a soft spot in my heart. They ooze so much style. While I didn’t enjoy Person 5 as much as I did Persona 4, it still holds a very respectable place in my top 10 list.

6. Team Fortress 2

This is by far my most played game, at 3,375 hours. I don’t play TF2 anymore these days, but it still holds a special place in my heart. I’ve had uncountable great experiences in this game, so much laughter and joy, so many friends come and gone.

7. Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous

This game has an ambitiously large scope, slightly marred by jank. Thankfully, the jank doesn’t detract from the wonderful experience playing it.

8. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

I played Oblivion early in my gaming career, and it ended up being extremely influential to me. It set the bar to which I would compare all other open-world RPGs to. Few games manage to convey the same sense of exploratory wonder.

9. RimWorld

I adore RimWorld. At times I find it rather stressful to play, because I grow to love my characters so dearly and don’t want to lose them. It helps that I play strictly on Ironman mode. I don’t save-scum, because stories are more fun when there’s risk. Drama arises from conflict and loss.

10. Saints Row 2

I enjoyed Saints Row 2 far more than any of its sequels. I think it was the perfect balance of goofy and serious, and I’m somewhat bummed that later iterations leaned so heavily into silliness. Usually my memories of games played long ago become fuzzy, but even today there are still many scenes from Saints Row 2 I can recall vividly. The serious tone of Saints Row 2 gave its story weight, which makes it memorable.

Honorable mentions (in alphabetical order)