Top 10 Video Games
Written on November 6th, 2025 by Dr Hobo
These are the games that have stuck with me - the ones I return to, the ones that changed how I see gaming, and the ones I can’t stop recommending. No ranking, just ten games worth your time. As of November 2025.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Platform: Nintendo 64
Developer: Nintendo
Year: 1998
This is the game that defined what 3D adventure games could be. A technical achievement that was also a utterly captvating experiece. So many moments blew my mind as a kid. The transition from child to adult Link, the dungeons that felt like elaborate puzzles, riding a horse, and the ocarina songs became part of gaming culture. Some call it the greatest game ever made, and honestly, I’m not going to argue. In fact, its top of my list.
🎮 Favorite Moment
Seeing the sunset over hyrule castle and having night fall....the realisation that this game had a dynamic day and night system had me in wonder; I also remember feeling immensly proud of myself when, at about 12 years old, I finished the final ganon fight
Half-Life
Platform: PC
Developer: Valve
Year: 1998
Half-Life changed everything about how we tell stories in first-person shooters. No cutscenes, no pulling control away from the player - just you, Gordon Freeman, living through a disaster in real-time. Indeed, that opening tram ride through Black Mesa is still one of gaming’s best introductions. At the time too, AI was genuinely threatening, with marines flanking you and working as squads. Every chapter felt different, from the claustrophobic tunnels to the alien world of Xen. Revolutionary doesn’t even begin to cover it.
🎮 Favorite Moment
"Forget about Freeman!" The moment when you realize the military isn't there to rescue you - they're there to silence everyone, including you. That shift from "we're saved" to "we're being hunted" was chilling. Also, that tentacle sound based monster forcing you creep around! A shout out to the expansions too, loved 'Opposing Force'
GoldenEye 007
Platform: Nintendo 64
Developer: Rare
Year: 1997
Simply iconic. Rare took a movie license - something usually synonymous with disaster - and created one of the N64’s defining experiences. The campaign was brilliant, with multiple objectives depending on difficulty and levels that encouraged exploration and stealth. But the multiplayer? That’s where friendships died. Four-player split-screen battles with proximity mines in the Facility, Slappers Only in the Complex, License to Kill mode making everyone a glass cannon - these became the stuff of legend. Oddjob was banned in my house for being too short. It’s the game that made local multiplayer FPS a thing.
🎮 Favorite Moment
The first time I saw a guard on the opening level actually react to where you shot them as a 10 year old is forever etched into my mind. I could not beleive that realism could exist in a video game -a few years later, when i was allowed to actually play the game, I used to love the 2nd level 'Facility', sneaking through the ventilation system above the bathroom stalls, dropping down behind an unsuspecting guard...
The Last of Us
Platform: PlayStation 3
Developer: Naughty Dog
Year: 2013
The Last of Us hit differently. Joel and Ellie’s journey across a ruined America was emotionally devastating in ways few games achieve. But what really struck me was the weight of the gameplay. There was real heft to the violence, a desperation that matched the narrative. The way you interacted with the environment, scavenging for supplies, crafting makeshift weapons - everything reinforced the sense of survival. The ending too, remains one of gaming’s most morally complex and unforgettable moments.
🎮 Favorite Moment
Two moments define this game for me: First, that initial stealth kill where you grab someone and brutally smash their head into the scenery - the visceral impact, the sound design, the weight of it made me go "wow, this is a serious game." Second, the giraffes in Salt Lake City. After hours of violence and darkness, just standing there watching them peacefully graze among the ruins, nature recaliming the world humanity destroyed- breathtaking.
Final Fantasy IV
Platform: Super Nintendo
Developer: Square
Year: 1991
Final Fantasy IV is really the first JRPG that knew what is was doing. It realised that for a JRPG to be successful, a robust battle system in a cool setting wasn’t enougth, the crucial ingrediant is story. And FF4 told one with real emotional weight - betrayal, redemption, sacrifice. Indeed, Cecil’s journey from Dark Knight to Paladin wasn’t just a gameplay gimmick; it was character development that meant something. The cast rotated in and out, which was devastating when characters you’d grown attached to left. Tellah’s revenge, Palom and Porom’s sacrifice (made me cry), the trip to the moon. Not to mention the stunning soundtrack.
🎮 Favorite Moment
It has to be Palom and Porom's sacrifice - still not got over it 20 years later
FTL: Faster Than Light
Platform: PC
Developer: Subset Games
Year: 2012
FTL is brutal, unforgiving, and absolutely brilliant. It’s a roguelike space strategy game that creates emergent stories through its systems. Every run is different, every decision matters, and you will fail - repeatedly. But those failures create the best stories. Your Mantis boarding party gets stuck on an enemy ship as it explodes. Your weapons malfunction during a crucial battle. A solar flare kills half your crew. The game’s genius is in how it makes you care about your randomly generated crew members within minutes, then rips them away. The pause-and-plan combat is tense, the ship customisation is deep, and the soundtrack is hauntingly perfect. It’s “just one more run” incarnate.
🎮 Favorite Moment
Finally reaching the final boss flagship after dozens of failed runs, with a ship barely holding together and a skeleton crew. Every system is damaged, you're out of missiles, and your shield is down to one layer. But somehow, through desperate micro-management and sheer luck, you win. The relief is overwhelming
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Platform: Xbox
Developer: BioWare
Year: 2003
BioWare took Star Wars to a place the movies never could - 4,000 years before the films, where they had freedom to tell their own story. And what a story. KOTOR delivered one of gaming’s best plot twists, created memorable companions (HK-47’s homicidal commentary alone is worth the price), and let you genuinely role-play as Jedi or Sith. The morality system had weight, the lightsaber combat felt powerful despite the D&D-style mechanics underneath, and exploring the Star Wars universe without movie constraints was liberating. It’s the best Star Wars story outside the original trilogy.
🎮 Favorite Moment
The reveal on the Leviathan - that moment when everything clicks into place and you realize what you are. The game had been dropping hints throughout, but actually experiencing that twist was staggering. It recontextualized the entire journey and made you question every choice you'd made. Brilliant narrative design that only works in an interactive medium.
Grim Fandango
Platform: PC
Developer: LucasArts
Year: 1998
A film noir detective story set in the Land of the Dead with Mexican Day of the Dead aesthetics and Art Deco design. It shouldn’t work, but it’s one of gaming’s most original and memorable experiences. Manny Calavera’s four-year journey through the underworld is gripping. The writing is razor-sharp, with intriguing world-building. Whilst the puzzles were sometimes annoyingly obtuse (I hated looking up the guide), the atmosphere, story, and sheer creativity made it essential. It was criminally underappreciated at launch, but history has rightfully recognised it as one of the greatest adventure games ever made.
🎮 Favorite Moment
The seconed Casino chapter really stands out in my mind to this day - the syle and maturity of themes, the swelling jazz music, and how the narrative threads developed and came together. Probably the the first game that me realise that 'video games' were an art form on the level of film and books.
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Platform: GameCube
Developer: HAL Laboratory
Year: 2001
Melee was lightning in a bottle - a party game that accidentally became one of the most technical fighting games ever made. Nintendo’s all-stars brawling on increasingly chaotic stages was fun enough, but the advanced techniques (wavedashing, L-canceling, directional influence) created a skill ceiling so high that people are still mastering it twenty years later. The roster was perfect, the stages were memorable, and the speed was just right - faster and tighter than the original, with more weight than later entries. It dominated competitive gaming for decades and still has a passionate scene. Four-player free-for-alls with items on high were chaos. One-on-one Fox dittos on Final Destination were intense technical showcases. Melee accommodated both and excelled at everything. It should be a Switch 2 remaster…..yet Nintendo seems to despise it?
🎮 Favorite Moment
Landing a fully charged Falcon Punch in a heated four-player match - the slow wind-up, the desperate hope that it connects, the explosive "YES!" when it sends someone flying off the screen. Or unlocking Mewtwo after hours of gameplay and discovering this floaty, weird, powerful character. I remember every unlock feeling like a Christmas morning.
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2
Platform: PC
Developer: Westwood Studios
Year: 2000
Red Alert 2 is the most fun I’ve ever had with an RTS. Westwood fully embraced the camp: Soviet invasion of America with psychic commanders, Tesla coils, and Kirov airships; and created something gloriously absurd yet mechanically solid. The two campaigns were both ridiculous and engaging, with live-action cutscenes that knew exactly how silly they were. The Yuri’s Revenge expansion made it even better. It was accessible enough for casual players but deep enough for competitive play. Peak RTS design wrapped in Cold War absurdity.
🎮 Favorite Moment
The Soviet campaign mission where you use mind-controlled squids to ruin the allied forces navy. It perfectly encapsulated Red Alert's joyous absurdity - historically themed strategy married to complete B-movie madness. The opening cut scene too, with Soviet's premier gleeful "why Mr President, whatever do you mean...?" followed by that pumping soundtrack
Honorable Mentions
These almost made the list, and on another day, some of them might have:
- Total War: Rome - Creative Assembly, PC, 2004
- Half-Life 2 - Valve, PC, 2004
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - CD Projekt Red, PC, 2015
- Super Mario 64 - Nintendo, N64, 1996
- Persona 5 - Atlus, PS4, 2016
- The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker - Nintendo, GameCube, 2002
- The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask - Nintendo, N64, 2000
- Slay the Spire - MegaCrit, PC, 2019
- Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem - Silicon Knights, GameCube, 2002
- Skies of Arcadia - Overworks, Dreamcast, 2000
- Golden Sun - Camelot Software Planning, GBA, 2001
- Metroid Prime - Retro Studios, GameCube, 2002
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - Sandfall Interactive, PC, 2025
- Age of Empires II - Ensemble Studios, PC, 1999
- Aliens vs Predator - Rebellion, PC, 1999
- Red Dead Redemption - Rockstar San Diego, PS3/Xbox 360, 2010
- Final Fantasy VII - Square, PlayStation, 1997
- Portal 2 - Valve, PC, 2011
- XCOM 2 - Firaxis Games, PC, 2016
- The Secret of Monkey Island - Lucasfilm Games, PC, 1990
- Grand Theft Auto: Vice City - Rockstar North, PS2, 2002
- Perfect Dark - Rare, N64, 2000
- Max Payne - Remedy Entertainment, PC, 2001
- Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast - Raven Software, PC, 2002
- Advance Wars - Intelligent Systems, GBA, 2001
What are your top games? Disagree with my picks? Drop a comment and let me know what I’m missing!
