Twenty-two years later and still nothing really compares. I’ve played it through 5… 6?.. times and the characters still feel compelling.

I miss Westwood… everyone that came after only imitated their work, and while some have made improvements to the gameplay, none have really accomplished the same level of storytelling in the RTS genre.

Kind of a perfect game, one that keeps you coming back again and again.

1. RimWorld - I don’t think I’ve ever seen a game care so much about making the player feel like part of the story; just all around amazing. Damn near everything is configurable and for anything that isn’t the modding community probably has a fix for (and then some).
2. Terraria - Certainly has its quirks and annoyances, but I like that it has sandbox elements to be creative and do whatever, but also always feels like the game has an objective to work towards. I’ve probably played though at least half a dozen times between solo runs and multiplayer games with friends/ family and I just keep coming back to it.
3. Stardew valley - it’s just cozy with a slight hit of nostalgia. I have childhood memories of staying up entirely too late monopolizing the TV/ GameCube playing Harvest Moon and this scratches the same itch. Beyond that you can feel the love and attention to detail that the dev has poured into the game. Plus the skill ceiling is pretty low, so even my non-gamer friends/ family can play and have a good time.

Honorable mentions:

• Factorio
• Slay the Spire
• FTL

1. Chrono Trigger
2. Final Fantasy 7
3. Expedition 33

Call me Nostradamus 'cause it’s Silksong.

Forever stuck in mid to late 90s JRPGs, if I had to pick 3

Final Fantasy VI Final Fantasy Tactics Suikoden II

I’ve probably got some weird takes, but let’s go:

1. Chrono Trigger is at the way top. The greatest game of all time hasn’t been bested in 30 years. Telling the best narrative I’ve heard in my life, and packing it into 20 short hours, with timeless art and amazing music, and into FOUR GODDAMN MEGABYTES, this is one many try to beat, and none have succeeded. Not even Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

2. CrossCode comes right behind it. This game is much longer, but that’s okay. It’s essentially a single-player MMO with all the trappings of life within. A wonderfully smooth action combat system, more amazing music, and some of the most memorable facial expressions I’ve seen. It’s also written in freakin’ HTML5.

3. Zachtronics Solitaire Collection. Going purely by hours played and wins scored, this is on my favorites whether I like it or not. Every solitaire game from every Zachtronics title, right there. Special shout-out to Fortune’s Foundation.

Honorable mentions: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 for the worldbuilding and music, Final Fantasy XIII for exactly the same reasons, The Talos Principle 2 for simply giving its NPCs the agency to say “nah, I don’t wanna go back, I’m staying home,” and Chaos Rings 2 for creating one of the most high-stakes yet viscerally unpleasant stories I’ve witnessed, wherein to proceed through the game, the protagonist ritually sacrifices his ever-shrinking party of people.

• Chrono Trigger

• Link to the Past

• Super Mario RPG

1. Oldschool Runescape
2. Halo 2
3. GoldenEye 007

• Oldschool RuneScape
• Factorio
• Baldur’s gate 3

1. Super Metroid
2. Hollow Knight
3. Dead Cells