Top 100 Games of All-Time: #76

God of War

Release Date: April 20, 2018

Platform Played On: PS4

2018 Placement: Unranked

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What It Is:

God of War was a series that took the video game universe by storm when the first game released on PS2. It’s a setpiece-filled action romp with tons of combos and cool weapons. I remember being utterly blown away and wowed by the hydra battle, which is basically the intro boss so there was so much more to come after it. However, as the series progressed the protagonist Kratos became more and more of an asshole, to the point that he was one of the most irredeemable figures in gaming because all he did was be angry and violent and murder in his quest for vengeance. God of War became not fun because the character was not remotely likeable or interesting anymore.

Queue the reboot in 2018 where Kratos is now older, wiser, and a father hiding out in Norse country. The character is the same and you can tell the rage is still there, but time has passed and suddenly he’s a worthwhile protagonist again mostly due to his relationship with his son, Atreus. Armed with the Leviathan Axe, one of the coolest weapons in all of gaming, you set out on a trek filled with action and adventure to spread Kratos’ recently deceased wife’s ashes – a very “small” story compared to the previous iterations of “kill God” as the main plot.

Why It’s Important To Me:

I’m a huge fan of mythology (Greek in particular) so the original God of War was one of my favorite games for a long time (before my distaste for Kratos as a character mildly ruined the series). I was so excited to see Greek myths and characters in 3D action. And while mythology has gotten a little more widespread in games now, I still have a special place in my heart for this series. This version moves on from Greek and started interweaving Norse mythology, which was pretty sparse in video games before this.

But really there’s so many things to love about this game: the story is top-tier and the interactions between Kratos and Atreus over 20 hours of gameplay are just phenomenal. The Leviathan Axe just feels amazing to use: it’s so satisfying to throw and recall and all of its attacks feel like a natural, fluid extension of Kratos. The game’s cinematography is also gorgeous: the entire game taking place in one long one-shot camera take which, while not as hard to do in a game as a movie, still makes the cinematic presentation of the game second to none. But most importantly: it took a character that everyone thought had nowhere else to go and gave him more depth that anyone thought possible. It’s just a damn fine video game that raises the bar both mechanically and artistically.

My Strongest Memory:

There are two: the first is meeting Jormungandr for the first time. Yes, it was in all the trailers and advertising material for the game but it was still such an impressive and wondrous moment to boat out onto the lake and have the giant world serpent rumble up and speak in a deep, untranslatable language. Just dwarfing Kratos and Atreus. I think that was when I was truly wowed by the game’s presentation and thought “oh this is going to be amazing, isn’t it?”

The second one is when the Blades of Chaos make their return. Kratos’ signature weapon from the first three games don’t appear until the second half of the game and the entire sequence leading up to him acquiring them again is just absolutely fantastic dramatic storytelling. It’s a moment that doesn’t exist without the previous God of War games that turned Kratos into a vile scourge. The game uses the distaste people had for Kratos’ actions so well in showing his development and change between the last time we saw him and now. It’s powerful and a testament that video game characters can be allowed growth if developers and writers don’t want to just iterate and make the same game over and over again.

Why It’s #76:

Again, we’re getting into the territory where every game I talk about I’m going to have nothing but glowing things to say. God of War is a masterpiece of video game storytelling and direction. It’s in the running for the overall best game of the last generation of consoles just by sheer quality. So why is it #76 and not #1? Well, it’s missing the personal connection for me. Playing God of War is like watching an Oscar-winning film, appreciating the cinematography and acting, and going “yeah, I get why that won awards.” But it’s missing the connection of the movies I’ve watched 50 times because they’re my comfort food, or trigger other memories in my life. That’s all.

Top 100 Games of All-Time: #77

Ace Attorney: Trials & Tribulations

Release Date: October 23, 2007 (NA)

Platform Played On: DS

2018 Placement: #83 (+6)

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What It Is:

The third in the Ace Attorney series and the end of the original Phoenix Wright trilogy, Trials & Tribulations is (in my humble opinion) the best game of the entire series. It has the best rival prosecutor (Godot), the second best villain (*spoiler*), and the best overall story arc through all five cases of the game. It runs as a perfect conclusion to the original trilogy because it has a very personal, satisfying case as its finale that really hits home. While it never quite hits the high of taking down Gant in the first game, it is by far the most solid overall entry of the series and extremely worthwhile.

If you’re not familiar with the Ace Attorney games, it’s a mostly visual novel style game where the actual gameplay is divided into two sections: investigation and court room battles. Investigations are similar to point-and-click adventures where you go around collecting evidence – but don’t worry, the game won’t let you miss any. You’ll always have whatever you’re supposed to going into the courtroom, where you use evidence to prove or disprove statements by witnesses until you corner the guilty party (to awesome, intense music). The satisfaction of nailing a villain to the wall with evidence is second-to-none in these games.

Why It’s Important To Me:

While Phoenix Wright is not a pure visual novel, I do credit the series as being my gateway drug to those types of games. Playing the Ace Attorney games on my DS back in the day was a thrill a minute. I would often accidentally stay up super late because a case was hitting a climax and I wanted to finish it out. Much like a good book where I just have to keep reading so I can see how the story ends, the Phoenix Wright cases pull you in and then amp you up with fantastic music as you unravel each villain’s story.

Trials and Tribulations I had the most emotional reaction to because of the final case. I don’t want to spoil anyone who hasn’t played it, but at a certain point you realize where the case is going and you hate it, but it’s also so goddamn compelling and Phoenix’s ultimate pursuit of the truth is infectious. This entire game is the gameplay of Phoenix Wright at its peak. Not too over-done, not too complicated. Just enough puzzles to make you really think about the evidence you have and how you’re supposed to take people down. And the humor is top-notch on top of it.

My Strongest Memory:

“Why don’t we go for the unlimited penalty?”

The final case of this game from top to bottom…is so good. The perfect story, the perfect villain, the perfect murderer, the perfect musical cues. I still get chills thinking about the final face-off. I’m not going to say anymore or spoil it if you haven’t played, but…it’s so worth it.

Why it’s #77:

It’s great, it’s amazing, it’s a top notch visual novel w/ detective gameplay. The music is glorious, the story and characters are engaging and wonderful. Honestly I will always speak high praise for the Phoenix Wright series and tell everyone that it’s a great starting point for these sorts of games since they keep you involved with what’s going on with the puzzles and not just a passive party. Anyway, Trials & Tribulations is a top-notch game and if you haven’t played it yet and have any interest in puzzles & visual novels, you really should.

Top 100 Games of All-Time: #79

Enter The Gungeon

Release Date: April 5, 2016

Platform Played On: PS4

2018 Placement: #62 (-17)

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What It Is:

Take bullet hell, smash it together with a roguelite, and slap a humorous, gun pun-filled coat of paint over top of it and you’ve got yourself Enter the Gungeon. You’re given four characters to choose from, each with their own gun-running abilities to help you navigate the Gungeon. Armed with a gun and a dodge roll, you aim to tackle all five floors and beat the final boss so you can acquire the Gun That Can Kill The Past. From the Fightsaber to the Gunbow, from the Origuni to the Excaliber – you are given an endless variety of guns and gun-related pop culture references that can make or break any given run.

It’s fast-paced and requires you to keep track of enemies and their attacks coming from all directions. The bosses get extremely complicated and crank up the reflex testing to 11. And yet because it’s a roguelite, each time you make it a little further you can add more guns and items to your arsenal, making the next run a little bit easier and a little bit smoother. And once you’ve gotten down the patterns of all the enemy and boss attacks, the game becomes a fun little dance as you navigate the treacherous Gungeon.

Just don’t ask me, I never got good at it.

Why It’s Important To Me:

Enter the Gungeon was the game that finally got the roguelike genre to click for me. I’d previously played other games – Binding of Isaac and Rogue Legacy as examples – but I still never really got the genre. But Gungeon bridged the gap for me and helped me understand how incremental progress was a feature in roguelites, not a bug. I’m not even a bullet hell type of person to begin with – it was just the game’s artstyle and gun humor that got me addicted in the first place.

It also has an extremely chaotic but fun co-op mode that I’ve played multiple times with friends. We aren’t very good and it usually ends up with us failing hilariously but it was great to experience nonetheless. A lot of roguelites focus on the single-player experience so this was nice to be able to jump into with a buddy. I also bought a copy of the Ammonomicon (the game’s in-game codex turned into an actual physical book) and have a little Bulletkin plushy on my shelf in my office. Sometimes you just fall in love with a game’s style even if it’s not normally your cup of tea, and Enter the Gungeon was like that for me.

My Strongest Memory:

I wish I could say beating it for the first time or some success story like that was my strongest memory. But I haven’t even beaten this game once (I should go back and try again sometime). I have gotten to the last world, but still have yet to reach the final boss. That doesn’t make me enjoy the trials of the game any less, though.

No, my strongest memory has to be the time I co-op’d this with HarveyZ. It was actually the first Let’s Play I ever published on my YouTube channel: see here. (You can also see proof in this video of how Not-A-Gamer Harvey was before I got to him. Also years of audio editing makes these videos hurt my ears.) It’s a nice memory because it was my start into attempting to create Let’s Plays and content for the internet – even though it wasn’t successful it led to a year of encapsulating wonderful memories playing games with all my friends.

Why It’s #79:

This game is unique because I haven’t beaten it but it still is important to me and I consider it a great game. I wish I was better at it and need to hone my skills, but it doesn’t take away from the magic of the game. It’s also great to watch runs by streamers online who are better at it than me. So Enter The Gungeon has earned itself a decent spot on my list but it can’t compete with greats that I have actually completed.

Top 100 Games of All-Time: #80

Wii Sports

Release Date: November 19, 2006

Platform Played On: Wii

2018 Placement: #72 (-8)

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What It Is:

Anyone who was even tangentially related to a gamer in the late 2000s knows what Wii Sports is. The game that got everyone off their ass and waggling a Wiimote. The scourge of televisions, lamps, and other breakable objects before the wrist strap was included. Bowling, tennis, baseball, boxing, and golf – all packaged with simple motion controls that were followed by adorable Miis you could model after yourselves.

It was the pack-in game that defined a generation and everyone (including Nintendo) tried to recapture this lightning in a bottle to various degrees of success – from Sony’s Move to Microsoft’s Kinect, everyone wanted in on motion controls thanks to friends and families who’d never touched a game in their life got interested in bowling a perfect game with their Wiimotes. It brought people together under the same roof in a way gaming hasn’t really seen since due to the increase in online gaming and streaming overtaking local gameplay.

Its simplistic nature was what grabbed everyone – and the fact that it was hella fun.

Why It’s Important To Me:

My parents and family were never truly into video games like I was. I would occasionally play Mario Bros or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with a cousin, or my dad would specifically play two games with me on the NES: Side Pocket and RBI Baseball 3, iterations on things he enjoyed in real life – pool and baseball. But for the majority of my life I was the gamer and had friends who were gamers, but that was it.

And then there was the fateful day in 2007 when I brought a Wii home and introduced Wii Sports to my family. My dad nearly broke the TV because he wouldn’t wear the wrist strap, but he was addicted to bowling and golf on the Wii. And when I visited my extended family, every aunt, uncle, and cousin wanted to make a Mii of themselves and participate in bowling or baseball or whatever game they felt like playing.

That doesn’t even take into account the amount of times me and my friends played this together, getting into drunken boxing matches at 3 in the morning or drunken golfing at 3 in the morning…there was a lot of drunken Wii Sports, let me tell you.

My Strongest Memory:

It’s all one big blurry motion controlled haze. There were too many joyous times messing around in the game to single out just one. There was a running contest between two friends where they would challenge each other to boxing and/or golf every time the option to play Wii Sports was given. There were the many, many attempts to throw a perfect game in bowling (and to figure out how to put just the right amount of spin on it).

But honestly how I felt about it was how it brought everyone into my sphere – even people who didn’t play games with me before. Wii Sports was the last time I played video games with my dad and the only time my mom got involved (other than Wii Fit, which doesn’t count as a game) in gaming. It was such a community building game that was unique and the perfect game for the perfect time.

Why It’s #80:

Since we’ve all been caught in a pandemic for a year and craving human contact, the spectre of Wii Sports really hangs over me right now. I’d give anything to bust out my Wii U (since I gave away my Wii), hook up the ol’ Wiimotes, have some friends over and do a good old-fashioned bowling tournament. There was just a sense of joy and camaraderie (and exercise!) that even community games like Jackbox and Among Us can’t quite replicate now. I miss those goofy Miis and those goofy times.

Top 100 Games of All-Time: #81

Age of Mythology

Release Date: October 30, 2002

Platform Played On: PC

2018 Placement: #64 (-17)

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What It Is:

A real-time strategy game made by the same people who created Age of Empires, but instead of civilizations with normal troops its different mythological pantheons with mythological troops. Greek vs. Egyptian vs. Norse (vs. Atlanteans in the expansion) leads to a pretty fun real-time brawl against computers and friends. Each race has different gods to choose from which extend into a tree of choices for powers. From harnessing Fimbulwinter to summoning the trees of the Hesperides, it’s a venerable cornucopia of mythological references wrapped up in a strategical package.

The game offers a single-player campaign through the mythologies much like Starcraft, Warcraft, Command & Conquer, and other RTSes from the same era. It’s also been updated for modern computers now and supports online multiplayer with your buddies if you’re into that. It’s a solid RTS that is sometimes overlooked in favor of the larger, heavy-hitters in the genre. And the Titans expansion adds a really neat fourth race and a cool mechanic with the Titans, giving each race a monstrous unit they can summon once to deal heaps of damage.

Why It’s Important To Me:

When I think of video games that defined my college experience, there are a few that come readily to mind and Age of Mythology is one of them. There were plenty of days my freshman year where a group of four of us would get together and play over the school’s network in either a 4-player brawl or a co-op match against computers.

Now the thing is, I’m not good at real-time strategy games. I’ve never been able to micromanage effectively or build efficiently. Every time I think I’ve got a good start, a computer will run in with an army three times the size of mine, or one of my friends will do the same, and I’d get flattened or be playing from behind the whole time. It got to the point where we had agreements to not seriously attack each other before a certain phase just to guarantee we all got to play and have fun, instead of knocking everyone out at the beginning and the game ending too fast. It was one of the several games I bonded with my freshman hallmates on and the friends I made were more important than the fact that it was in a genre I generally didn’t care for.

I’m also a huge mythology nut, so the subject matter made it way more appealing as well.

My Strongest Memory:

I remember we were all cheap college kids and we got around having all of us spend money by sharing one original Age of Mythology disc and each just getting the Titans expansion. That way we could all use the expansion disc but not have to worry about also buying the base game. It was an integral part of broke student gaming during the early 2000s PC era.

I remember one of my friends refused to lose outright, and would often send one unit to the corner of the map as he was getting massacred just so he could say he got second place once everyone else got wiped out. (I’m looking at you HarveyZ.) I also remember learning about the Greek hero Bellerophon through this game which would eventually lead me to naming all my smartphones a version of “Bellerophone” b/c I name all my electronics after different mythological heroes or creatures.

There isn’t one particular standout memory, but it does carry a fun nostalgia.

Why It’s #81:

Age of Mythology exists in the weird space of being a game in a genre I don’t particular care for, but still having strong emotional associations. It’s a tug-o-war between my brain and heart as to where I place it every time. Plus I just love all the different mythologies represented in one game like this. I don’t actually know where an RTS aficionado would rank it in terms of gameplay compared to other RTSes, but I do know it’s my favorite and the only one I really tolerate at all. I haven’t played this in years (despite having the remastered version sitting on my computer if my friends ever want to play it again) but would gladly summon some Atlanteans to mine gold if anybody asked.

Top 100 Games of All-Time: #82

Perfect Dark

Release Date: May 22, 2000

Platform Played On: N64

2018 Placement: #82 (=)

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What It Is:

Rare’s follow-up to the legendarily successful Goldeneye, Perfect Dark is a first-person shooter that puts you in the shoes of Joanna Dark. A completely original story that has her fight against a corporation called DataDyne against a backdrop of alien conspiracies and war. It’s a mechanically sound shooter that adds a bunch of cool weaponry to your arsenal – from my personal favorite Laptop Gun to the Callisto NTG (a funky alien machine gun) all the weapons are creative and fun to wield.

It also offers a truly amazing multiplayer mode that has loads of options for customization, with up to four players able to play locally – a must in the N64 days. So not only was the campaign very strong, but it gave you the ability to make your own fun which felt like it was only limited to our imagination at the time. In addition, it allowed you to make profiles which would save your data and statistics which was positively enthralling to the nerd side of me.

Why It’s Important To Me:

While I’m a little hazy on the entire plot of the campaign, that’s not why the game is particularly important to me. This is a game me and my friends played just as much (if not more than) Goldeneye when I had parties and sleepovers and get-togethers and everything else I did in high school instead of having sex. I had so much fun messing around in the multiplayer modes with my friends and building bonds and memories through this game that it has to have a place on my top 100.

There’s also…wait for it…alright you guessed it, the music. While the soundtrack isn’t entirely bangers, there are two stand-out tracks that I still remember to this day and will jam out to every now and then: the Pelagic 2 and the DataDyne Extraction. (If you give those a listen, please stick around to the end of them to also hear the intense/”oh shit action is happening” remixes that played organically in game.) Both of these songs were also turned into amazing remixes by Strike911 on OCRemix, unfortunately I can’t find them online anywhere but thankfully I still have them on my computer/phone. (Streaming music is bad kids, remember to keep actual copies of things you want to always be able to listen to!)

My Strongest Memory:

In the aforementioned multiplayer mode, you could set the AI to many different difficulty modes. The dumbest setting was “MeatSim” – basically a walking target who can’t hit the broadside of the barn. The hardest setting was “DarkSim” – they’re the opposite, insanely good and will hunt you to the ends of the earth. And they don’t miss.

My friends and I came up with a game in multiplayer we liked to call “Kill The President.” We (usually a group of 3 or 4) played against two AI – one MeatSim (the President, a dumbfuck) and one DarkSim (his Secret Service bodyguard, fantastic at his job and probably underpaid, we love him). Our objective was to get enough kills on the “President” while avoiding his bodyguard who would absolutely murder us on sight if he found us. It was the absolute highlight of all the dumb games we invented while playing Perfect Dark. It was a laugh riot combined with the existential dread of a horror movie. We screamed in terror, shouted plans and then altered them on the fly as they went to shit, and just in general had an absolute blast with the game.

Why It’s #82:

Perfect Dark is a solid game from my teenage years. My high school multiplayer experience was basically Perfect Dark and Super Smash Bros. It’s another game that will likely always get an inclusion on any top 100 list I ever make and where it lands will be dependent on how I feel at the time. If this one and the 2018 list are any indication, it’s got a perfect spot carved out just for it at #82.

Top 100 Games of All-Time: #83

F-Zero

Release Date: August 23, 1991 (NA)

Platform Played On: SNES

2018 Placement: #85 (+2)

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What It Is:

F-Zero is/was Nintendo’s arcade racer franchise. It had its humble start on the SNES and was pretty simple. You stayed away from the outside of the track because it hurts you, there’s other obstacles scattered around to damage or wreck your car if you’re not careful, and you’re racing against a bunch of other AI cars. It’s single-player only, with the objective to be above a certain place in the standings at the end of each lap.

Also it has a fantastic soundtrack (you better not be getting tired of me beating the soundtrack drum because it’s only gonna get more frequent the further into this list we go). Just listen to Death Wind. Or Mute City. Or Red Canyon. Or the GOAT, Big Blue. I will die on the hill that any racing game is only as good as its soundtrack because you HAVE to have good tunes pumping you up while you’re racing at high speeds. F-Zero hits that mark ten times over.

Why It’s Important To Me:

While Super Mario Kart brought the fun in a party aspect, F-Zero was the game that really got me into and made me love arcade racers. The thrill of trying to outmanuever AI never got old for me, especially while taking crazy hairpin turns at top speed like an idiot. The futuristic setting was just a bonus honestly.

Also, again, the music. I cannot stress this enough: good music is the quickest way to make a game important to me. I’m jamming along to the F-Zero soundtrack as I’m writing up this entry and I’m dancing in my chair and playing the air drums instead of typing. The thrill of high speed action with a jamming soundtrack behind it never gets old.

My Strongest Memory:

Funny enough, I never actually owned a copy of F-Zero as a kid. My parents would often go over to their friend’s house for a group gathering – usually to watch the Washington Football Team play against whoever their opponent was that weekend. I, a young child with no interest in football or nachos (yet, at any rate) would always look forward to these particular outings because I got to go down into their basement and play on their kids’ Super Nintendo. The children of my parents’ friends were just old enough (and just not into video games enough) to usually not care about me playing whatever I wanted on the SNES for three hours while socializing was happening. And as I got older, they got old enough to not even be around during these get-togethers so I was completely free.

I can remember the entire layout of that basement because I spent a good deal of time there playing two games: Street Fighter II and F-Zero. And while I sucked at SFII (I beat it once as Chun-Li! yay!) I loved F-Zero to death. I probably wasn’t much better at it, to be fair, but I got way less frustrated with it. Later in life I finally had the chance to buy it myself on Virtual Console and let me tell you, it still holds up. But I’ll never forget the place I originally played it as a child.

Why It’s #83:

It’s a fantastic game hampered pretty much only by the limits of the Super Nintendo system. It would absolutely be higher except there’s a later F-Zero game that’s even better and just takes everything I loved from this game and dialed it up to 11. We’ll get to it later. Just know the only reason F-Zero isn’t higher isn’t really its fault – you have to start somewhere and this was an excellent starting point for the franchise.

Top 100 Games of All-Time: #84

Shovel Knight

Release Date: June 26, 2014

Platform Played On: 3DS

2018 Placement: #68 (-16)

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What It Is:

Shovel Knight is the sensation of the 2010s. He’s a charming, bright blue knight that digs and digs and digs until he finds your heart and steals it away. Appearing as a guest in numerous other indie games (and as an assist trophy in Smash, for chrissake’s) Shovel Knight was the best thing since GFuel came up with gamer bread.

Oh, and I guess there was a game around him too.

Okay, I kid because I love. Shovel Knight is a fantastic game that plays very similar to old-school platformers and is a love letter to the genre. The mechanics are tight, the stages are creative, and the boss knights are so well designed they feel like missing Mega Man bosses. And not only is the base game fantastic, Yacht Club Games releases THREE more campaigns using three of the boss knights that are JUST as fantastic as the base game. And I also must inform you the music is awesome.

Why It’s Important To Me:

Of all the video games I’ve kickstarted, Shovel Knight is the only one where I feel like I got my money’s worth (sad but true – we don’t talk about Mighty No. 9 here – I have high hopes for Sea of Stars, though). I love the game so much that after all the extras were released I actually bought the full set of games again on the Switch just to support Yacht Club Games.

It was a nostalgia-induced fun-filled romp back in 2014 when the Kickstarter highs were still high. Yacht Club Games promised all sorts of extra rewards because of stretch goals and delivered on every one of them (even if it took them an extra five years of working on the same game). They even created a card mini-game just for the third expansion, King of Cards! And it was fun! I love this game and everything it represents: developers making a game for fans and then delivering everything they promised with the utmost quality.

My Strongest Memory:

The opening level. You drop into the intro stage, before you even get to choose a boss to go after – just like Mega Man X. And the first notes of Strike the Earth! start playing and I’m already sold on the game. I’m fucking off on an adventure and having the time of my life within 15 seconds of music. Like, just listen to the first 15 seconds. ARE YOU NOT PUMPED UP? ARE YOU READY TO FUCKING HIT THINGS WITH A SHOVEL? HELL YEAH LET’S GO.

I’ll add honorable mentions to all the added campaigns. Each of the three boss knight campaigns gives personality to their boss knights that are very memorable – especially Plague Knight who is just the cutest little dude in the history of pixelated dudes. Every time I look at just how much YCG accomplished with this game I’m amazed. What a talented crew, I can’t wait to see what they do next.

Why It’s #84:

Why IS this game #84? What could possibly be better than it? Hold on, let me check my list. Oh. Oh right, those games. Yeah, okay, I get it.

Look, Shovel Knight is a top-tier video game. But let’s face it, I have great taste and there are even more awesome games out there. If I’d just gotten off a playthrough of this I’d probably rank it higher to be honest. It’s another game that will always hang out in the top 100 even if its place wavers back and forth.

Top 100 Games of All-Time: #85

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis

Release Date: June 1992

Platform Played On: PC

2018 Placement: #78 (-7)

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What It Is:

The best Indiana Jones game.

It’s a point-and-click adventure game from the old-school LucasArts days that is as complicated as any of the other games from that era. It’s less difficult now with plenty of online access to walkthroughs but as a kid this was the peak of challenge.

The story is fantastic and really evokes the Indiana Jones atmosphere from the movies with an entirely new plot involving the city of Atlantis. It has humor and style and all the panache that those 90s LucasArts games had. Yeah, it’s a little obtuse in places and probably benefits from a walkthrough (or having played it twenty times over) for puzzles. But that was just part of the genre in its heyday – puzzles were supposed to take time and you were supposed to use your brain while play. The bottom line is it’s a faithful adaptation of Indiana Jones and a good game to boot.

Why It’s Important To Me:

I love movies, I love books, I love TV shows and other mediums where you get to enjoy stories. And one of my favorite experiences is when a game takes a character I love and lets me experience a story AS them. I grew up loving the Indiana Jones movies and the fact that I got to turn around and play as Indy in a very well-done video game was just flat out awesome. And I wasn’t just re-experiencing the same story I already knew – it was a brand new tale and that just added to the magic. I was getting to participate in a new Indy story.

I probably played the game through to the end at least five or six times growing up as a kid – and I wasn’t even a big PC person. I preferred my Nintendo consoles as a young’n, but this (and some of the other LucasArts point-and-click greats) always made me come back to the PC for more just because of how much I loved the genre and humor of each of them. It was a well-polished (but not infernal) machine.

My Strongest Memory:

The goddamn fez.

There’s a puzzle around the middle of the game where you go to Algiers and have to track a guy through a giant crowd of people. The solution to the puzzle is that there’s another guy in the city wearing a red fez. You have to get that guy to give you the fez, then get the guy you need to follow to wear it, so then when he goes to meet the person you’re trying to find you can follow him on the map screen because of the bright red fez moving through the crowds.

It’s a pretty brilliant puzzle with an interesting solution and I still remember it to this day because it took me GODDAMN AGES TO FIGURE OUT THE FEZ WAS THE KEY. I don’t know why it took me so long to put two and two together as a kid, but I spent so much wasted time watching that guy go through the crowd and always losing him: beating my head against a brick wall thinking I wasn’t fast enough or was just missing something until I ran around the city again and realized the fucking fez was the key.

Stupid fucking fez.

Why It’s #85:

Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade are two of my favorite pulp adventure movies and were up there as my favorite to watch and rewatch growing up. So Indy has a special place in my heart and there’s no way this game will ever fall out of the #100. It may ebb and flow, especially since I’ve unfortunately gotten less interested in point-and-click adventures as I’ve gotten older, but it will always be a staple because I love Indy and specifically this game.

Just not the fez.

Top 100 Games of All-Time: #86

Hollow Knight

Release Date: February 24, 2017

Platform Played On: Switch

2018 Placement: Unranked

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What It Is:

Hollow Knight is the perfect blend of a Metroidvania and Dark Souls, taking mechanics and inspiration from both but also creating its own thing and not being completely derivative. Its art style is fantastic and unique and all the different people, creatures, and areas are stunning and distinctive. The game takes place in Hallownest, a world of bugs, and gives you a giant map to explore with a unique way of mapping out where you’ve been.

It’s a fantastic game that is mechanically tight and brings out the best of all the genres it dips its toes into. The bosses are fun to fight with just the right amount of challenge (although I’ve heard some of the DLC bosses are quite frustrating but still fun). Each of the other friendly bugs you meet are oozing in personality and character, from Zote the Mighty being a blowhard to the cool Hornet (where is Silksong, please give Team Cherry). Hollow Knight just oozes style from the very beginning and holds its own as one of the best games in the last decade.

Why It’s Important To Me:

This is probably the hardest “why it’s important to me” section I’ve had to write so far because I can’t pinpoint one specific thing that really made me love this game. Instead, it’s a combination of everything it does as a whole that just rocketed it into my favorite games of all-time. There are so many little character moments with the NPCs you meet, so many great boss battles, so many neat areas to explore – and it all comes together so beautifully as a final package that you can’t ignore how great it is.

I’ve somehow bought this game on three systems – I have it on PC and got a cute little Grub plushie with that version. I bought it on Switch immediately and then also got the full game with DLC from PS+ on my PS4 (and where my next playthrough will be.) It’s one of those games that whenever I see somebody else playing it or somebody else talking about it I instantaneously get the itch to play it again. The fact that it enraptures me every time I see it is probably the biggest point in its favor. It’s also the first game where I watched someone play through it in its entirety and still felt compelled to play it all myself.

My Strongest Memory:

There’s two for this one: first is, of course, Deepnest. You would think a world of bugs would be spooky, scary, creepy, and crawly. But it’s not – it’s beautiful and wondrous and not very icky at all. But then you get to Deepnest and all that goes out the window. Especially because for 90% of players you unexpectedly drop into it with no obvious immediate way out. It’s dark, scary, and really pushes the creepy aspect of the bug atmosphere up to eleven. Oh, and the first time a bug crawled over the foreground of my screen I nearly jumped out of my skin. It’s insanely well done.

The second memory is basically the opposite of spooky: I’m talking about the Dung Defender. I’ve never fought a boss that sounded so happy to be fighting you. You can hear his calls as you approach his boss room and he does not sound threatening in the slightest. In fact, the Dung Defender sounds like a guy you want to grab a beer with. He was so enrapturing that I didn’t even want to beat him (and am secretly glad you don’t actually kill him when you win). It’s a boss that puts a smile on my face every time I see his gameplay – it also helps he has grand music playing in the background as you fight. If you want to see him in action, check this video out.

Why It’s #86:

Honestly I could probably make an argument with myself that Hollow Knight could be a lot higher than #86. There isn’t anything wrong with it in my opinion. Usually there’s a flaw of some sort I could pinpoint as to why I have it lower in my list. We’re starting to get into the games that I only have effusive praise for (yes, at #86 it’s already glowing recommendations, just you wait for the higher ones) so let’s just say Hollow Knight would probably be higher if I’d played it recently.