As the thread title says, in celebration of the gen coming to a close, I want to hear about the titles that defined the gen for you. Games you enjoyed most, that you played most because you got addicted to them, those that put a happy smile on your face as you played, that impacted you emotionally the most, that impressed you most because of their ideas, visuals, or any other technical merit, and the likes... 

I consider the Wii U and Switch to be both part of gen 8, along with the obvious PS4 and XBox One and their revisions/mid gen refreshes. This thread isn’t about whether or not the Switch belongs to Gen 9. It will most likely straddle both gens, but this isn’t the thread to debate this, so please refrain from derailing the topic by doing so.

It would be nice if you’d give an explanation for why you selected your games as well. But you may also simply highlight certain titles for which you have a particular anecdote to tell. It can be any number of games. This isn’t a top 10 or 20 of your favourite games, so there is no need to put them in any particular order.

[Will edit this out later]: Right now, the site is being capricious for me and loads slow as hell, so I will post my list of games, and slowly add comments for them as the site becomes more stable.

- Uncharted 4: A Thieve’s End : One of my favourite 7th gen franchise finally concluded in what is still to this day one of the most visually amazing game on the PS4. Managed to tie with Uncharted 2 Among Thieves as best in the franchise for me. Which is no small feat.

- Horizon: Zero Dawn : Great setting, intriguing story, I played this game to completion and was left asking for more. An original take on a post apocalyptic setting in which I got lost for countless hours trying to unravel its mysteries.

- Final Fantasy XV : While far from among the best FF games, it was an addictive experience for me, and I enjoyed exploring its world quite a lot. It was notoriously plagued by questioning gaming design and DLC implementation. But it had heart and finally put back exploration as a feature in the series, which had been mostly lost since X. I can’t wait to play it enhanced on PS5.

- Batman: Arkham Knight : One of my earliest game this gen. A great send off my Rocksteady to one of the best new gaming franchises in the last two generations. It is amazing what the studio managed to create with this older version of Unreal Engine. While I think too much focus was put on the Batmobile, what it presented on every gameplay front felt polished and the story elements taken from decades of comics was put together in a very cohesive and organic manner. There is so much content! This is the definitive Batman gaming experience, even if I prefer the more “metroidvania” focused Arkham Asylum.
- Ratchet & Clank
- Driveclub VR
- Skyrim VR
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Super Mario 3D World
- Astro Bot: Rescue Mission
- Resident Evil VII (especially in VR)
- Hollow Knight
- God of War
- inFamous: Second Son
- Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age
- Marvel’s Spider-Man
- Mario Kart 8
- Ori and the Blind Forest
- Detroit: Become Human
- Life is Strange
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- Resident Evil 2
- Tetris Effect
- Bloodstraine: Ritual of the Blood
- Shenmue 3
- Final Fantasy VII Remake
- Dragon Ball FighterZ
- Dragon Ball Z Kakarot
- Streets of Rage 4
- The Last of Us Part 2
- Ghost of Tsushima
- The Messenger
- The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening

-Super Mario Odissey

-Zelda Breath of the Wild

-Dragon Ball FigtherZ

-God of War

-Ghost of Tsushima

-Dragon Quest XI

-Xenoblade Chronicles 2

-Animal Crossing New Horizonts

-Pokémon Shield/Sword

-Yakuza kiwami 2/ Yakuza 6/ Yakuza Like a Dragon

-Hokuto no Ken: Lost Paradise

-Metal Gear Solid V

-Death Stranding

-Red Dead Redemption 2

-Fallout 4

There is a lot of games that I enjoy, but few I will sing high praise. To me there are only two games that really defined gaming this generation, most everything else were games I've already played but prettier (which is fine and to be expected).

Nier Automata: I consider this self explanatory for anybody who played it. But seamlessly switches gameplay genres (yes genres), has incredible art style, and tells a story in a unique way. And the story is superb. Love the music as well. There just isn't anything like Neir Automata (at least not that I've played).

Breath of the Wild: It redefined open world games, and just took the genre to a new level. Which is astounding given it was Nintendo's first. For starters most open world games are loaded with silly collectibles in attempt to make the game larger and longer than it is. I'll pick on my GotY Ghost of Tsushima. Collect headbands and scabbards... why? because reasons. BotW everything matters. Weapons break, making enemy camps important (for new weapons) and korok seeds to expand inventory. Enemies are tough, shrines are important. The world requires climbing (e.g. stamina), so again shrines are important. Food can be collected to replenish hearts, status effects or sold. Fairly Fountains upgrade armor, which is expensive, using the world to make money is important. Everything in BotW was well thought and didn't fall into the traditional camp of mindless filler. It felt like Nintendo consider every placement within the world of Hyrule and didn't just create an empty void.  And I could write a book on the physics engine and how there are so many different ways to play the game. I'll just leave my favorite, tossing a metal sword in an enemy camp during a lighting storm.

Super Mario Odyssey, God Of War, The Witcher 3, Breath of the Wild.And a little bit of Control

Bloodborne, but that's because its my first Souls game,Final fantasy XV beautiful, big but still left you with the feeling it wasn't entirely complete even after the DLC. Super mario 3d world, because it looks amazing to this day and was one of the rare showcases where Nintendo showed what the Wii U could do. Horizon zero dawn, because damn that game was beautiful and amazing. God of War, pretty much because of the same reasons as Horizon.The Witcher 3, best Western RPGNier Automata, best Eastern RPGFinal fantasy 7 remake, best remake

To participate on this thread is essentially to give away some of my picks in the 50 games list thread. *shrugs* Oh well. This has been the best gaming generation to date in my opinion, so I've gotta chime in with some of my favorites.

Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor

This is basically a simulation of working class existence if you were an alien, which is pretty much what my life feels like. You find yourself cursed near the beginning of the game for trying to go on an adventure like everyone else does (the curse being essentially a metaphor for depression and other mental illnesses) and spend the rest of the game simply trying to make ends meet. No matter what you do, it always feels like you're doing something wrong; like there's something about the world you're just not getting that others do; some secret to success others know and you just don't. Every time you seem to be getting ahead, disaster strikes and you lose everything.

Diaries isn't a "sadness porn" game though. On the contrary, the game's world is bright and colorful and there's lots of humor to it, including lots of satire of real life. Like the role religion plays. You have to pray routinely for better luck and it has an actual impact...until you've done so for long enough and then your prayers become less effective until you switch to worshiping another deity. You have to go through this process many times. Or take the role of gender. You play as a female beast character, but at the spaceport where you live and work, your character's sex has been rendered impertinent next to something immaterial called "gender" that has to be regularly bought lest you fall into a state of blindness. (There are many to choose from on the market.) You'll sometimes find a delicious meal on the cheap. You can celebrate holidays with music and eventually overcome the curse (again, essentially mental illness) even though doing so doesn't actually improve your station in life. Little victories and amusements like these make the game worth playing to me. Spiritually, I'd call it ToeJam & Earl as a poverty simulation. It's basically a reminder to appreciate the little joys of life and that life is still worth living.

Gone Home, Butterfly Soup, and The Last of Us Part II

There are many different reasons why I appreciate each of these games, but there's one thing they all have in common: these have been the three first video games (outside the "yuri" genre that is) I'm aware of to center lesbian protagonists; two being smaller indie games and one being obviously a AAA release. To me anyway, that's not a small development. It has made a significant difference to even just occasionally feel seen in this medium. Like I'm not used to that; to any real acknowledgment of the validity of my sexuality. This last generation or so has seen that start change across a whole swath of media really and, as a result, I feel more attached thereto, including to this medium, than I ever have in the past. Just the occasional acknowledgment that, ya know, that aspect of my life matters and isn't wrong and such, makes me feel much more like there's a place in the world for me. Maybe not a prominent or popular one, but a place. Anyway, that's a significant factor in my appreciation of these three games.

Spiritfarer and Celeste

These are just wonderfully enjoyable games narratively centering on navigating depression, anxiety, and loss respectively and on the challenge of self-acceptance and self-love. I dunno, they're just the right combination of fun to play, charming, and personal. Video games have rarely touched on topics like these seriously before this last decade or so, and more particularly recent years.

Crypt of the NecroDancer

This is like the ultimate casual game in my mind! You don't necessarily want to play it in long sieges, but in the right dosage it can be downright euphoric, at least for me! The dungeon-crawling rhythm game format really stands out as unique and, while very challenging, is also absolutely transporting to master. This is one of very few games that can actually cause me to feel like I've escaped the reality of my life for a while. Crypt of the NecroDancer's soundtrack is also the best soundtrack in this medium as far as I'm concerned. I often listen to the OST with or without playing the game.

There are a TON of others I could mention here that have meant something to me, like...

Kentucky Route Zero
Death Stranding
What Remains of Edith Finch
Uncharted 4 and The Lost Legacy both
A Plague Tale: Innocence
A Short Hike
Return of the Obra Dinn
Night in the Woods
Donut County

...and others that have just made me laugh, like Untitled Goose Game and Gato Roboto and others, but it would be entirely too much work to lay out the reasons for each of these. I mean I wouldn't say that any of my picks here have particularly changed the overall landscape or trajectory of gaming as a medium, but they've all been really valuable to me. It's been the best gaming generation for me so far and, whether others are or not, I'm actually quite looking forward to the rest of this new, 9th generation too!

In no particular order...

Breath of the Wild- This game captured a magical feeling I had not experienced since I was 10 years old.  It was revolutionary as an open world adventure game, not because it introduced some super new concept...because ot didn't.  But it blended aspects of other open world games in a way that we have never seen before.  Oh and the physics were a blast to mess around with!

God of War- Easily my GotY 2018, everything about this game was great.  The lore, combat, and visuals were all too notch.  This game also reinvented itself as an IP, and for the better in most cases.

Witcher 3- Starting to see a theme here...another open world masterpiece!  At this point in time, I believe this title speaks for itself.  It doesn't drive the hype for Cyberpunk for no reason afterall.

Persona 5- Most fun I have had in a JRPG in a long time.  Also as my first Persona game, the twists and moral compass of the game felt fresh to me.  Loved every minute of it!

Horizon Zero Dawn- Sony made a very interesting post apocalyptic world IMO.  Can't wait to see where the next one goes.

Fire Emblem Three Houses- My first Fire Emblem game, and I loved it.  I don't play many tactics style games, but I do enjoy them.  I actually liked the Persona like aspects added to the game as well.

Astral Chain- Fantastic hack and slash game with some new twists to make ot unique.  Found some of the detective sequences a bit long and jarring to the pace of the game, but great overall.

Devil May Cry V- I have waited for a return to true DMC since the PS3, when DmC dashed my hopes of it ever returning.  This game was a return to form that I dedicated an entire weekend of play and finished my first run in a single playthrough.  Given my available free time, that says something.

Animal Crossing New Horizons- I have no idea why.  It is charming and I put an insane amount of hours into it.  It is just a fun and enjoyable experience for reasons I cannot explain.

Destiny- Hold on, put down the pitch forks!  Look I enjoyed the hell out of this game and played from launch through the Taken King expansion.  I played with a group of friends I knew from high school the entire time, and it was just an incredible experience.  The game is not perfect (far from it) and maybe misery just likes company, but this game was such a big part of the first half of gen 8 for me, that I couldn't keep it off the list.

And there you have it.  No particular order, my top 10 with a small summary of my feeling about each game.  It was a good run, and I cannot wait to see where the XSX, PS5, and future Switch games take me moving forward.

-mgs ground zeroes, what can I say, a metal gear game by kojima, a fun toybox, technical marvel-

mgs5- the best metal gear gameplay, the best stealth game ever made.-evil within 1- great horror and action, that kept going and going

Ratchet clank- like a pixar movie at times-

destiny1- don't usually play fps, but this one had me hooked.

-bloodborne, took me back to demons souls vibes, since I didn't play any darksouls games

-life is strange- great experience, escape from the usual AAA stuff

-uncharted 4, best action adventure hollywood type game

-the last guardian- breath taking, beautiful, technical masterpiece,

-shadow of colossus remake, immersive and awesome game, one in a million, in a league of it's own

-yakuza 0- those cutscenes graphics and the deep raw story. Who would have thought a yakuza game could get me teary and emotional

-yakuza 6- kiryu, I love you, but not in that way

- no mans sky- gave me goosbumps at times. Why do I look forward to new consoles, it's because of the new and unique experiences they bring

Gt sport- real life driving simulator

-shenmue collection, I swear to God I felt like I was in japan/china , living the whole game

-dayzgone , most under rated game this gen, and one of the best, the game that keeps on giving, I hope they make a sequel

-dragon quest 11, probably the best jrpg ever made, and one of the best games ever made

-spiderman , first time web swinging in the city gave me a smile /happiness while gaming not had since playing flower /journey on ps3

-God of war, probably most epic game this gen, best boss battle

- death stranding- best graphics, environments, acting, controls, and set a new standard and genre of gameplay, fresh and exciting that kept evolving as you played, many accomplishments and feelings of satisfaction working out how to get to your goals and succeeding. Action, adventure, drama, driving, horror, puzzle/stategy game all in one. Most immersive game I have played, infact It never felt like a game, felt like a real life journey I was transported to. Last game that did that was either shadow of colossus remake /shemue, or demon souls on ps3. Thank you kojima, norman reedus

-zelda botw, amazing game, a joy in gaming. Bought a switch just for that game alone.

-rdr2, stunning open world and engaging story

-horizon zero dawn, the best open world adventure game. Game was amazing playing on hard mode and maxing out all weapons and upgrades. Gorgeous game.

Fallout 4- it had it's good moments, but thinking back, maybe I was caught up in the hype?. The game needs a big overhaul.

Tlou2- one of my all time faves. So much reflection to be had on the story and elements, and tying everything together, and discovering more, I can write essays on it. Sets a new bar in this genre of gaming, and takes it to a new level in almost every way. Hollywood level acting, directing, Best audio, graphics, evolution in AI, physics, damage models, environment detail etc, don't know how some if it was possible on ps4 12 year old specs. Love Abby by the way, one of the best characters ever conceived.

Shadow of mordor ( the first game, didn't play the second),- this was the first next gen game in my opinion. I remember being chased on a ship and looking back and seeing 50/100 creature things looking all real and chasing after me. Was terrified and at awe at the same time

Pt- horror at it's finest

Games yet to play/finish but have

Nier automataC ontrolPersona 5 Ghost of tsushima Kingdom heart 3 Miles morales Yakuza 7 Spyro MedievalJudgement Ff7 remake

Nintendo Land
Pikmin 3
Super Mario 3D World
Mario Kart 8
Hyrule Warriors
Game & Wario
Splatoon
TLoZ Breath of the Wild