50 - Joe & Mac
49 - Pokemon Sword/Shield
48 - Minecraft
47 - Guitar Hero II
46 - New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe
45 - Portal
44 - Rock Band 2
43 - Red Dead Redemption
42 - Mega Man X4
41 - Resident Evil 4

40 - The Messenger
39 - Axiom Verge
38 - Terraria
37 - Demon's Souls Remastered
36 - Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
35 - Final Fantasy IX
34 - Pokemon Red/Blue
33 - Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
32 - Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal
31 - Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

30 - The best game on a new console. Also, don't look up rule 34 of the female lead, you'll find a lot of admittedly sexy art. 
29 - This RPG has You getting a salary instead of getting money from killing enemies. 
28 - Now a bonafide classic, this game was hated by casual audiences upon its release for its art direction. we as a community know better now.
27 - Butt Crack Puns and furries. 
26 - Pokemon Black/White
25 - The original forgot to have any frames, which the remaster corrected. I liked the original, but I didn't fall in love until playing the remaster in 2018
24 - Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
23 - The main villain turns out to be...An Alien! don't worry, you're not in Kansas anymore. 
22 - Donkey Kong Country
21 - God of War (2018)
20 - While it's not all a dream, it wasn't real...or is it? A performance, but maybe more. 

19 - I go after The sponge before the Gator so I can get a more powerful gun early. 
18 - Final Fantasy XII
17 - Trust me, you don't wanna get the chip sets, because you can only have one at a time, but if you wait until the final levels you can have all four.
16 - Final Fantasy X
15 - The bears in this game were clearly the inspiration for the developer's next big open-world platformer on the N64. 
14 - Was originally the 4th in the series but got a subtitle instead. also, the open-world map allowed for more versatility in its levels. 
13 - Off Course this game got a remake, but it's such a huge game that only act 1 is in the remake. 
12 - You're not undead, you're Ashen.
11 - Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

10 - This game also features almost all the content and DLC from its previous three iterations, making it a definitive edition of sorts
09 - You can't play this game on your fridge's LCD but if you could I'd absolutely buy it. 10 years later and I'm still not sick of this game.
08 - The polar opposite of the last game in the franchise, which was linear and heavily story-based. this one is open and exploration-based.
07 - The horse balls shrink in the cold. that's not why it's #7 on my list, but it's a fun fact! the platinum is my 2nd most prestigious win, next only to the platinum trophy for #10 on this list, which I also have. 
06 - While I do think #3 of the trilogy has better gameplay, the art direction, sound design, and score on this game are all better. 
05 - This game is the reason I got into the Dark Souls franchise, despite not liking it all that much the first time I played it, and it not being a Souls game. 
04 - I've always loved this game, but Sequelitis made me realize just how amazing this game actually is from a design perspective. 
03 - Two worlds, linked by one Chris Houlihan
02 - The Villain wins. The first half is a linear RPG, the second half after the world is torn asunder is a nonlinear open-world RPG. 
01 - I'd not have gotten into the RPG genre if not for this game, which blended Platforming and RPGs. I also beat the optional, ultimate super boss at level 17. 

I want it to be known that #1 and #2 are interchangeable, I swapped them this year because I've recently gone back and played #1 a few times because the game grumps did a playthrough this year and reminded me how delightful the game is. 

13 - Final Fantasy VII?

08 - Breath of the Wild?

02 - Final Fantasy VI?

01 - Super Mario RPG?

#7: Metroid Dread

I expected to love Metroid Dread, but not this much. Some games just grab me and won't let me go and I just can't stop playing them. I ended up playing through Dread 6 times in a row. I usually don't do that. I played Super Metroid and Metroid: Samus Returns before. Both great games but they both can't compare to how fluid and smooth Dread plays.

With excellent level design that guides you through the game often without you realizing it and awesome cinematics this game was exactly what I wanted it to be. The EMMI are scary (the yellow one still makes me shit myself with it's speed) and the design of the other enemies is great with the X-parasite versions of many looking very cool. The bosses are puzzles that ar first are very hard, seemingly impossible, but then turn out to be pretty easy and when you obliterate them you feel like the ultimate badass. Samus body language and facial expressions seal the deal on that. Everything is greatly animated and the sound design is superb. Especially in the EMMI zones and with the EMMI themselves. The Experiment Nr. Z-57 is my favorite boss with how epic the fight is and for me it was the hardest too.

The story is surprisingly well told with a great twist at the end, unless you paid attention and noticed that it wasn't Adam giving xou instructions anymore. I didn't realize and was blown away followed by being blown away by one of the best final boss fights I've ever experienced. A fight truely worthy of Raven Beak. He is an excellent main antagonist. He has like Samus a bunch of his own power ups and attacks that he makes full use of. After seeing him rip his second wing of while keeping eye contact with Samus I think he's at least as badass as Samus herself. A worthy oponent. Samus turning into a Metroid is awesome and the way she grabs Raven Beak and drains the entire ship of it's energy is fantastic.

Samus' portrayal in Metroid Dread is perfect. Strong, badass and tired of this shit. The only scene in which she speaks it's in Chozo.

Metroid Dread is a masterpiece in game design, my favorite metroidvania and my favorite game of 2021.

29: Final Fantasy VIII

27: Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time, or Rift Apart.

25: Dark Souls

23: Earthbound?

12: Dark Souls III

#6: Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana

Didn't expect to love Ys VIII as much as I ended up doing. Same as with Metroid Dread, this game instantly gripped me and wouldn't let me go until the enfing credits during which I cried, not only because of how wonderful the story was but also because a journey unlike any other I experienced was over. Ultimately you shouldn't be sad that it's over, but happy that it happened and I am. Ys VIII has great gameplay, boss battles, dungeons, a setting that I simply love and the best soundtrack in the entire Ys franchise but what really pulled me in was the story. It may not be the best story in gaming but it certainly is my favorite. The characters are great with some wonderful character development, the writing is fantastic. The story offers so much intrigue, so much mystery, so many twists. A slow build up in the first part of the game leads into an amazing middle section with the perspective changes between present and past and then goes into a very sad and emotional final section where you whitness the slow death if Eternia. The ending is the best part, simply incredible.

Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana features a wonderful story that I fell in love with and that left me in tears in the end. It instantly made me a fan of Falcom.

I did that with a few other games too.

Guessed by The_Liquid_Laser

After the Switch release, this game has gotten a bit more credit, but I'd still say 'The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening' is vastly underrated. This is in fact, with ease, the greatest handheld game ever made. At least, one that was originally made for a handheld. Often, it stands in the shadow of its big console brother 'A Link to the Past' (#27), to which this is a sequel, and while that game is obviously also pretty darn great, it just isn't Link's Awakening. The console game gets the credit for shaping Zelda, but Link's Awakening actually started a lot of the series' mainstays like musical instruments (an Ocarina even) that play different songs for different effects, mini-bosses, overworld bosses, a guide character, both the trading and collecting side-quests, the fishing mini-game and the photos, though not taken by yourself. The game, a GameBoy game no less, even has cutscenes. A Link to the Past doesn't have that!

This game has the distinction of being bought the most amount of times by me over the years. I have bought this game a total of five times. Once on GameBoy, twice on GameBoy Color, a digital rerelease on Nintendo 3DS and the remake on Nintendo Switch. Why two times on GameBoy Color, well, that's also a story I've told before, but long story short my dog ate my first copy. I still have this first purchase's box and manual as well, lonely without a cartridge next to my complete version, as a silent reminder of that fact. When's the next version coming out?

7 - Correct! 

3 - Also Correct! 

2 - close but nope! 

13 - Absolutely! The remake will be on my list once I finish it, too! 

08 - Yup! I didn't care much for Skyward Sword (Giving it another chance), but the vast difference between them show my personal tastes well.

02 - Yup! What a great game. Was my #1 every other year but 1 and 2 are so close it's hardly worth differentiating.

01 - Also correct! Just did a few speedruns. Beat it in under 8 hours. NOT an impressive run (the record is like 2:42 or something) but good for me! 

29 - Absolutely! Underrated, if you ask me. 

27 - A Crack in Time is Correct. Hint: Rift apart is also on my list.

25 - Yeah, Blighttown had no frames, but once that was fixed and the quality of life improvements happened, I LOVED it. 

23 - Nope! I probably should play this game, though. 

12 - Yep! What a great game. I also lump in the DLC, because it's all so goddamn good. 

So, well, I guess that's it. With the previous games guessed only the #1 remains. This shouldn't be a difficult guess for most people, but here's the hint anyways.

#1: This game was initially supposed to only take place in one building.

#13

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (PS4)

YoY: -1

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End is a fitting send-off to Nathan Drake. It features the best story, most interesting character interactions, and the best gameplay in the series up to that point, and while there aren't any single set piece moments to rival the train level in Uncharted 2 or the sinking ship in Uncharted 3, the general quality is higher than in any other game in the series. The game wraps up Nathan's story neatly, showing his life beyond his adventures and also has him realize what truly matters in the end. 

I don't really have much more to say about this. Uncharted 4 is basically the culmination of Naughty Dog's attempts at creating the ultimate cinematic video game experience, and genuinely shows just how far they've gotten since Uncharted 1.