Those all sound incredible. Except Mission Critical maybe. A FMV game? System Shock with the monsters removed?
I put the steam games on my wishlist, and found out that besides the free Super Crate Box, I already own Nightsky and Vessel, so I installed those two. (How does that happen? I’m assuming game bundles).
Both of those infocom games sound incredible, I might have to track those down sometime. The nice thing about text games is that the graphics don’t age.
Edit: Thanks so much for taking the time on this btw. Your elevator pitch descriptions all make the games sound incredible, so the actual games are likely disappointing in comparison to what I’m imagining. On the other hand, they are in your top 100 games of all time, so maybe not.
I hope you like them! Many of them are older, so that can make them harder to get into, of course. And as you can imagine, there’s a lot of nostalgia wrapped up in many of them, too. But I think you’ll find NightSky an easy game to enjoy, and I expect Vessel will hook you. (I need to get back and finish that game.)
Also, I started replaying Candy Box again thanks to your question. Definitely give that a try, just because it’s one of the weirdest games ever, and kind of brilliant. Just don’t give up on it too early.
I did play that at work today, between tasks. It’s kind of perfect for that. By the time I left work, I’d almost stormed the castle entrance, but didn’t quite make it. Hopefully by the time I get into work tomorrow, I’ll have enough to buy some health potions and try again.
Oh! And I forgot to say about Mission Critical: There’s not a lot of FMV, and what’s there isn’t as bad as you would expect. What’s great about it, I think, is that the puzzles generally are not contrived, but they spin directly out of logical problems happening on the ship. And (this was the point of the SS comparison) the ship makes sense as a real-feeling place. Also, I believe Mission Critical gets the @BrianRubin stamp of approval, so what more could you ask for a space game??
I loved this! Such a beautifully understated game with really tight controls if I remember rightly.
The suicide weapon makes a comeback in Nuclear Throne too! :-D
I really enjoyed this back in the day. I remember the game releasing around the time of the BP oil spill and there being some backlash about its subject matter. Very unfortunate timing. Thankfully the dev stuck with the concept but tied it all up in running a food joint and Cook, Serve, Delicious is now a hugely successful franchise! The colour palette and presentation of The Oil Blue make it look so calming but it’s pure plate-spinning panic.
This is an overlooked gem. Super satisfying fluid physics combined with some very clever puzzling involving seeds, automatons and different kinds of liquid effects. I liked the art direction too. You recall correctly: the music is great, so much so I’ve been a fan of Jon Hopkins ever since, seen him live a couple of times in the last two years, and his albums are excellent. The music in the game wasn’t composed for it specifically but the sound engine layers it up based on your progress with each puzzle. It’s a lovely effect. Now I’m familiar with the originals it’d be fascinating to hear the tracks broken down into layers again. A few of his recent tracks FYE (for your ears) ;-)
You’re so right. I think the color palette and stately art are some of the things that drew me to the game, but you’re right that they clash with the frantic nature of the game once it gets going. I’m really glad he’s been so successful with CSD, which probably is a better and more appealing theme for this kind of game!
Ah, right! That’s why I associate it with great music. As I recall, they do some sort of dynamic music in the game, too.
BTW, the music of Jon Hopkins that I love most–although it’s not for everyone–is his collaborative album with King Creosote:
Exactly. It made a big difference with the delivery of the music and the general ambience of the game. The Low Places is so good.
I have listened to some King Creosote in the past, but not nearly enough! I should get on that. That’s a lovely video too.
King Creosote/Kenny Anderson is the brother of Gordon Anderson who co-founded The Beta Band (and The Aliens) and worked on their early stuff including Dry The Rain.
Been thinking about going back to my list for some time, but since recently I’ve played some games that I feel very strongly deserve a spot, I’m ready to actually go back and update. That kind of violates a rule that I held in making the list in the first place, that a game probably needs time to age and grow into a classic. But then again, sometimes a game makes such a huge first impression and then manages to maintain and finish strong that it’s hard to imagine that game wouldn’t end up on the list. So with that said, here’s where I stand right now:
1 Starflight
2 Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
3 Planetfall
4 Super Metroid
5 X-Wing
6 Mass Effect
7 Psychonauts
8 Outer Wilds
9 Bulletstorm
10 Red Dead Redemption
11 Magic Candle
12 Plants vs Zombies
13 Gradius V
14 Grand Theft Auto 3
15 The Witcher 2
16 Adventure (Atari)
17 Day of the Tentacle
18 Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction
19 M.U.L.E.
20 Galaga
21 Dragon Quest VIII
22 Gabriel Knight Sins of the Fathers
23 Mario Golf Advance Tour
24 A Mind Forever Voyaging
25 Skies of Arcadia
26 Starcraft
27 Choplifter
28 Doom (2016)
29 Portal 2
30 Fallout New Vegas
31 Defender
32 Brutal Legend
33 Planescape: Torment
34 Forza Horizon
35 Hardball
36 Picross 3D
37 Interstate 76
38 Tomb Raider (2013)
39 Shadow Complex
40 Crimson Skies
41 The Mark of Kri
42 Diablo 3
43 Silent Hill 2
44 The Longest Journey
45 Crackdown
46 Civilization 2
47 Einhander
48 Ultima V
49 Loderunner
50 Rez
51 Okami
52 Bully
53 Advance Wars
54 Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood
55 Katamari Damacy
56 Deus Ex: Human Revolution
57 Rock Band
58 Street Fighter 2
59 Wasteland
60 Mirror’s Edge
61 VVVVVV
62 Return of the Obra Dinn
63 In the Hunt
64 Sam and Max Hit the Road
65 Castlevania Symphony of the Night
66 Dead Space
67 Ghostbusters (2009)
68 Halo Reach
69 Final Fantasy III
70 System Shock 2
71 Pitfall 2
72 Donkey Kong (Game Boy)
73 Crusader: No Remorse
74 Autoduel
75 Star Control 2
76 Zuma’s Revenge
77 Blue Max
78 Defender
79 Fallen London
80 Prof Layton and the Unwound Future
81 Timesplitters Future Perfect
82 Dishonored
83 Knights of the Old Republic 2
84 Ancient Domains of Mystery
85 Mark of the Ninja
86 Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando
87 Battlezone
88 Batman Arkham Asylum
89 Raid on Bungeling Bay
90 Space Pirates and Zombies
91 Bard’s Tale (not that one)
92 R-Type Final
93 Voodoo Vince
94 Fez
95 Burnout Paradise
96 Super Mario World
97 SSX Tricky
98 Panzer General
99 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
100 Parappa the Rapper
So, what got added? I put in Outer Wilds at number 8 and Return of the Obra Dinn at 62. Also decided that on reflection, Batman Arkham Knight really should be Arkham Asylum, as I feel more likely to replay that one. What got bumped? Had to lose Driver: San Francisco and Star Trek Online. And I think I’m ok with that.
Reading back through the list, some of my decisions surprise me as far as placement and I’m always thinking about things that maybe should be on the list. But I’m fighting that temptation until I feel strongly enough to find a place for it. At least until my next review.
Yeah, these lists are cool. I don’t know if my memory is good enough to go back and consider whether a game like King’s Quest, which I loved at the time, should be on my list when those types of adventure games have fallen out of favor with me.
Do people generally try to organize their lists based on how much impact a game had on them at the time of originally playing it?
Yep. If my memory of playing it is really strong, and it made a big impact on me at the time, then that’s what matters to me when making the list, not how I would feel if I replayed the game now.
My list goes by overall impact. That’s why I have some older games that ranked very highly - I might not really want to go back and play them today, but they were very important to me at the time. For me, I think that deserves recognition. Others may set their lists up differently.
edit: I really need to find a place for Alien: Isolation. Man, the list never ends.
For me I didn’t enjoy the gameplay that much because it felt arbitrary whether the alien would look in the locker I was in, or the mechanic to stay hidden felt finicky to me (maybe I just sucked). But man, did it really get the sense of fear when I knew the alien was close, or panic when I was detected. Creeping around the ship was great too, and I’m not even a fan of the movies.
I would absolutely put it on my top 100 list. Mostly for atmosphere, sure, but I really love the fact that as a game designed to evoke dread and fear, it totally nails that as well. Doesn’t matter a bit to me that folks have managed to trivialize the alien AI, it still works for me.
