40. 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.

39. 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.

38. 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!

37. 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.

36. 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.

35. Fallout 3 (2008)

To me, Fallout 3 is the best Fallout game with a bullet, but this might also be because it was my first Fallout game. That’s usually the way it works. The game has such great side quests, which more than make up for the somewhat lackluster and rushed main storyline — a common problem with Bethesda games. “Those!” is still one of my favorite questlines in any Fallout game, and the Brotherhood of Steel stuff is great as well. The shooting mechanics have aged really poorly but the zany style has not.

34. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (2003)

My second favorite Star Wars game, the first Knights of the Old Republic introduces such a badass (though sometimes overly ambitious) world to play around in. HK-47, Mission, and Bastila are just a few of the great party members, and the game is smart in showcasing familiar and brand new locations. Replaying this recently. it’s also cool to see how KOTOR set the foundation for Bioware’s excellent Mass Effect series. I don’t know how a Star Wars RPG will ever top this one. But I hope one does someday.

33. 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.

32. 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.

31. 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.

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