8. Demon's Souls
Just as i like Oblivion for it's sense of empowerment, I LOVE Demon's Souls for doing the opposite. All the games in my top ten have given me some sort of feeling... be it a sense of journey, a sense of awe, etc. Demon's Souls also gave me a sense of something... a sense of dread. But I mean that in the best way possible! Whatever that means... But yeah, I love demons souls and in more ways than one.
For starters, the art direction is wonderful. Castelvania LoS has recently been touted as having a great Gothic art direction... yeah, no it doesn't. Demon's Souls, now THAT is Gothic. I felt like a Knight going through a dark medieval world be it the gates of Castle Bolitaria or the Tower of Latria. It was pretty incredible for just that reason alone. But to further my point, the game has an assload of weapons/armor/loot all of which allows the player to tailor their playstyle. And these items are NOT handed out like candy! Something that most/all other RPGs do. Oneself has to work for armor/weapons be it changing world tendencies, fighting through terrible foes, or a combination of the two. Once these items have been won, there isn't even a guarantee you can use them effectively! If your stats aren't high enough, stuff can weigh you down and make you move slow and cumbersome. Or in short, they can hurt more than help. And if an item CAN be used effectively, the result is nothing short of feeling like a knight waving around a weapon in a medieval world... or in short, win.
Also: the bosses are fantastic, the online is innovative, and there's so much content here you're guaranteed to spend over 100 hours playing. I know I did! I even got the platinum trophy! (And yes it did take that long to get it :P)
I really should just wrap this thing up... so let me say one final thing. There's an abortion pit... I was really blown away by that. I hope I didn't spoil anything but damn, you even fight the demonized fetuses AND THEY'RE HARD!!! D:
