40. Control (2019)

I said it back in my 2019 Game of the Year post, and it still holds true: Control might have the most well-realized setting in any game I’ve ever played. I was dying to get to the next story beat or conversation to learn more about The Oldest House, and all of the notes you find along the way are delightfully weird and full of mystery. The combat overstays its welcome a little bit but it’s still dynamic in all the right ways.

39. Fallout: New Vegas (2010)

Compared to Fallout 3 and 4, New Vegas definitely feels like a different kind of Fallout game. I love the Vegas setting and the more sarcastic tone of the narrative, but the world doesn’t feel as expansive as the other Fallout games I’ve played. The shooting overall is better than in Fallout 3, but I personally don’t like the changes to the V.A.T.S. system. Gambling is pretty damn fun, though. Moreso than in real life, at least!

38. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (2003)

Oh, how time makes fools of us all. To be honest, I’ve never been the biggest Zelda fan, finding some of the “classics” to be merely good and some others to be actually bad, but I really enjoyed Wind Waker when it came out. And I was not in the majority with that opinion. But, plenty of people have rewritten history to claim they’ve always been big fans. At least they’re on the right side of history now.

37. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (2017)

The Lost Legacy’s early open area and the fantastic relationship between Chloe and Nadine that changes drastically over time make this game memorable as more than just the DLC-sized adventure that it was initially said to be. I can’t believe I’m saying it, but I didn’t miss Nathan Drake once.

36. Portal (2007)

The cake is a lie. It’s a sentence I heard dozens of times before I even got the chance to play Portal a few years after it released. What a quirky, challenging, bizarre, hilarious game Portal is. It starts out as a straightforward — though admittedly solid — puzzle game, but there’s oh so much more to discover there. GLaDOS remains one of the best villains in video game history.

35. God of War (2018)

2018’s God of War was such a pleasant surprise, adding actual character depth and nuance to Kratos, a hero historically known only for his guttural voice and body count left behind. The combat ties back to the violence of the original games but with way more special moves and armor benefits. The story in this game was the greatest surprise, with some excellent father/son moments that spoke to me as a fellow dad.

34. Borderlands 2 (2012)

Borderlands is a series that I could see continuing on forever. The Pre-Sequel wasn’t great and Borderlands 3 was just ok, but we don’t need to talk about those here. Borderlands 2 is an absolute blast when playing with friends and surprisingly fun when playing solo. I’ve started five different characters on three different systems, and I’ve only beaten the game once. There’s just so much damn content.

33. The Walking Dead: Season One (2012)

For all of the game’s bugginess, I still can’t get over how much the story of Telltale’s The Walking Dead affected and has stayed with me. If it wasn’t for the framerate drops and freezes during cutscenes, this would be a strong contender for top 10. Ok, the shooting sequences are also pretty terrible. But! The characters and writing are so well done, and that’s really the point of the game. The final moment between Lee and Clementine will stick with me forever.

32. Super Mario Bros. 3 (1989)

Can you believe that Super Mario Bros 3 is only the fourth best Mario game on my list? What an impressive series. This game was a return to form after the weird departure of Super Mario Bros. 2, but did include several new features. You could pick up and throw blocks, and climb vines! Raccoon or Tanooki Mario could also float around the level, which added an interesting layer of timing strategy. Trade-off multiplayer was also a fun addition.

31. Hades (2021)

I’m not a rogue-like or rogue-lite person (and I don’t even really know the difference between the two), so take it with a grain of salt when I say that Hades is the best “one of those” that I’ve ever played. The combat is engaging and every run truly requires adapting to the RNG of your power and weapon upgrades — in a super fun way. But what sets Hades apart is the narrative that builds even if (and especially when) you have a failed run. You’re always getting a drip feed of story or character development to keep you invested.

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