#49 - Ori and the Will of the Wisps (PC - GamePass)

Ori and the Blind Forest was a great Metroidvania, featuring a compelling story, beautiful environments and tight platforming. It was lacking in the combat department which is why the "boss fight" were actually platforming challenges. With Will of the Wisps, Moon Studios keeps the strengths of the original but vastly improves on the combat, taking some inspiration from Hollow Knight with the spirit shard system. The result is a customizable set of skills that allow you to tackle enemies according to your playstyle. With this addition comes actual boss fights that are really well executed and thrilling.

The game did have framerate issues at launch when I played it and it's also rather short (a curse most Metroidvanias suffer from) but other than that, it's a fantastic ride! 

Fanart credit: https://twitter.com/SamFodenArt

#50 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Leading off my top 50 is Super Smash Bros. Ultimate? Yeah, that's right. That's how stacked this list is becoming. Anyway, Super Smash Bros. has always been a unique type of game. In most fighting games you have to bash people's health bars down. In Smash you bash their health bar up, and the higher their health bar the further you can send them flying. The goal is to send your opponent flying out of the stage. Add in 4 player free for all, plus items raining down from the sky, and you have pure chaos. The controls for Smash are remarkably simple for a fighting game, but also hard to master. Anybody can pick up a character and know that they have a series of special moves to do with the B button. Moves like shielding, up-smashing and dodging are also universal. But learning how to spike people without falling off the level takes some serious skill. So does juggling, and perfect blocking. This combination of easy to learn, hard to master controls are part of a recipe that just works. Smash Ultimate comes with a whopping 69 characters before DLC. This is in an era where most fighting games will lock 1/3rd of their roster behind content carving. At $6 a pop the remaining fighters are pretty cheap to pick up too. With characters from damned near every big franchise in gaming Smash has become a love letter to video games. This truly is the ultimate edition of Smash Bros. Sakurai left nothing out. This wound up at the #50 spot in combination of the sheer competitiveness of my list, and the fact that Nintendo's online still needs huge amounts of work.

#48 - Resident Evil 5 (PS3)

This game has to be one of my favorite co-op games. The game is enjoyable when playing by yourself but it comes with some annoyances like inventory management and a poor AI partner. When playing with someone else all of these problems go away and it elevates the experience. Even the side mode Mercenaries is much more enjoyable in co-op. Story wise Wesker is always an entertaining villain and the dynamic between Sheva and Chris brings something new to the Resident Evil experience.

Fanart credit: https://www.deviantart.com/mkage/art/Chris-Redfield-122850095

#49 Tales of Symphonia