7) Skyrim? 

6. Hollow Knight

Breath of the Wild

8) Horizon: Zero Dawn

This was the first PS4 game I ever bought - indeed, it's the game that tipped me over into buying one - but it remains one of my absolute favourites. It looks incredible and runs just as well. The landscapes are hauntingly beautiful. The story (and particularly backstory) are genuinely moving and incredibly well-told. Horizon is a particularly stunning example of the post-apocalyptic subgenre that has been tried so many times, because it doesn't shy away from fully immersing you in both the new and the old worlds. The highlight of the gameplay for me was always creating and executing a plan to defeat the larger hostile machines, but to a surprising extent I also enjoyed the anti-human combat with its greater focus on stealth and crowd control. But part of the magic is how well the whole game is integrated together - your side quests feel like part of a living world rather than tacked-on fetch quests; even the crafting system works well and never becomes tedious. Forbidden West is probably my single most anticipated game right now, and I really hope it lives up to its predecessor.

7) God of War (PS4)

This game dethroned Horizon as my favourite PS4 exclusive, and withstood a tough challenge by TLOU2 to stay there. I have always loved this series - all of the original trilogy have already featured on my list - but ultimately at their core they felt like somewhat juvenile power fantasies, excepting perhaps the final 20 minutes of God of War III. I think the real hallmark of this generation has been a much more mature approach to storytelling, and God of War is a shining example of that shift. Atreus does a lot to humanise his father and provide a foil to his enduring grumpiness. Other side characters like Brok, Sindri and Freya actually come into their own and have their own personalities and objectives rather than just being bullied or slaughtered by Kratos. I love the switch to an open-world hub concept, and particularly how seamlessly Santa Monica managed to implement it. I was initially sceptical about the switch to over the shoulder combat in such an action heavy game, but it felt like second nature almost immediately, and the entire game is masterfully designed around it. God of War took a series that I adore and filled in gaps that I didn't even know existed to create hands-down one of the best action games ever made.

6) BioShock

Mature storytelling is not, of course, exclusive to the 8th generation. BioShock has long been recognised, and deservedly so, as a pioneer of worldbuilding and storytelling in video games. Rapture is equal parts inspiring and horrifying: a monument to human ingenuity and dedication twisted into a demented hellscape filled with deranged mutants. Andrew Ryan remains one of the greatest antagonists in history; the Big Daddies among the most iconic enemies; the twist at the end one of the most shocking and yet perfectly thematically integrated into the rest of the game. The atmosphere and soundtrack are incredible even if the graphical fidelity was a little below the other top games of its era. The weapons are varied and pack a punch, but the real highlight of the combat is the use of Plasmids, and particularly combinations of those plasmids, your weapons and the environment to take down even the most determined or most numerous enemies. All of this takes place in one of gaming's most fascinating settings, slowly revealed to you through exploration, audio diaries and conversations with the game's many insane characters. I haven't played BioShock in over a decade, but I can still visualise individual scenes and combat sequences. This game is just absolutely unforgettable. 

#8 - Pokemon X-Y

#5 - Ori and the Will of the Wisps

My #1 game was guessed instantly, but the rest of my top 5 still remains.

#5

-The small principality in the middle of Europa is rich in natural resources, prompting an invasion by the neighboring empire to fuel their war effort

-One of the main characters turns out to be a descendant of an ancient race of warriors wielding a lance and a shield

#4

-A sacrifice of soul postponed the end of the current age long ago

-The ancient home of the gods is an illusion kept in place by the last remaining deity

#3

-32 years after the Great War the destroyers from the first game, the Shivans, return

-The game's final mission sees the destruction of an entire star system when the Shivans cause the Capella star to go supernova

#2

-Every 108 years the soul of the god of destruction possesses a child in an attempt to return to its body

-And every 108 years for the last 10,000 years a winged black monster has appeared to kill the child to prevent the resurrection of the god of destruction

5) Valkyria Chronicles

5) BioShock Infinite

As you've seen, BioShock is my sixth favourite game of all time. Back when Infinite came out, it was #3. As a result I couldn't possibly have had higher hopes for it, and despite that level of hype I was completely blown away. Unlike BioShock 2, which was a solid game but nothing exceptional, Infinite feels like a worthy successor. Much about it feels familiar - the mysterious quest, the secluded ideological city, the general thrust of the combat - and yet so much is different that it manages to be its own game. Infinite is an absolute blast to play, tying together fast-paced combat segments with far greater mobility than BioShock ever called for with calm, reflective segments that allow you to just relax and take in the beauty of the setting. Also unlike BioShock, you actually get to see the pinnacle of the city's existence and witness for yourself as it crumbles around you, leading to a greater variety of tones and moods. Yet despite Infinite's undoubted success as a gaming experience, the real draw is the story: every bit as horrifying and mind-bending as that of BioShock, and just that much greater for the masterful way that it intertwines its own story with that of its predecessor, and with the style of its gameplay. 

Final set of hints!

3) A lot of this game's fun comes from its factions; one new introduction here is a faction of wandering musicians.

2) You and your party are powerful sorcerers, but the game spells that word differently.

1) A protagonist who frequently moans about how much he hates getting involved in human affairs spends half his time doing exactly that, while looking for his daughter.

4) Tokyo Mirage Sessions?