100. Mass Effect 3 (2012)

I was one of the Mass Effect diehards that were up in arms over the absolute garbage ending to Mass Effect 3 — and apparently, I’m still not 100 percent over it. However, the game plays better than either of its predecessors by a wide margin and still has plenty of amazing story beats to enjoy. Plus, I put well over 400 hours into the co-op multiplayer and loved every second of it.

99. Super Mario Bros. 2 (1988)

Super Mario Bros. 2 is my least favorite of the original classic Mario games, but it’s hard to ignore how well the platforming still holds up to this day. The game’s origins as a non-Mario game are clear, and it’s just a little too weird and out of the box for my tastes. But any “best games ever” list that doesn’t include the first four Mario games is a bad list, so here we are.

98. Guacamelee! 2 (2018)

Guacamelee 2 isn’t quite as good as the first game, but it slightly adjusts the difficulty to make bosses less punishing and the game overall more intense with its dimension-altering mechanic. This manifests most in some downright diabolical platforming sections that had me banging my head on the coffee table. Doubling down on the chicken form for combat and exploration was fun, as well.

97. Xenosaga (2003)

A lot of people sleep on Xenosaga, but I think it’s one of the better JRPGs from the PS2 era. Final Fantasy definitely got me into the genre, but Xenosaga opened my eyes to the more sci-fi and horror tropes of that style of game. The combat is super deep, with an overwhelming amount of systems at play. And to this day, I still have a weird thing for KOS-MOS.

96. The Banner Saga (2014)

The Banner Saga went under the radar a bit when it first released, but I’m still struck by the classic animated style to the visuals and the combination of Oregon Trail and Game of Thrones in its story, world, and gameplay. The actual combat is fairly straightforward (though improved in the second game), but the atmosphere creates a true sense of place. The third and final entry is also a fantastic culmination of the story that came before it, but I still prefer the first game for introducing me to this world worth saving.

95. Pokemon Snap (1999)

When it comes to just straight up fun, few games can match Pokemon Snap. Tons of time was killed with friends trying to find hidden Pokemon and get the perfect picture. I actually remember going on a fishing trip with some friends while in high school, and I wanted to stay at the cabin playing Pokemon Snap more than I wanted to go out on the boat. I guess that shouldn’t be all that surprising.

94. Limbo (2010)

One of the early Xbox Live Arcade indie darlings, Limbo was a game I sadly missed out on at first release. I didn’t own an Xbox 360 until a few years later, but Limbo was one of the first games I prioritized playing. It seems like such a simple puzzle platformer, but its style and tone are much darker and more brutal than you’d expect. To this day, there’s still nothing else that looks quite like it.

93. Metroid Prime (2002)

I do think there are a fair amount of people that look back on Metroid Prime through rose-tinted glasses, but I still consider it a strong entry on this list. The first-person aiming is downright terrible at times, but being able to play as Samus in 3D more than makes up for that fact. The game is more about exploring than shooting, anyway.

92. Spider-Man 2 (2004)

Spider-Man 2 was the best Spider-Man game before Insomniac’s recent releases. It successfully captured that feeling of web-swinging over New York City in a way no other Spidey game had been able to nail. And for the time, the world was absolutely huge and looked great with tons of side activities. Not all of them were awesome, but the writing was at least fun.

91. Dark Cloud 2 (2003)

Another underrated JRPG from the PS2 era, Dark Cloud 2 made significant changes from its predecessor — probably because the games are connected only in name and some basic gameplay features. The combat is fairly simple, but being able to play as both Max and Monica helps keep things fresh. I also greatly enjoyed the city building components and the additions they brought to the world.

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