Okay, so I'm going to comment on my top 10 favorite games here this year. I'll do a separate post for each one and link them all together as I go along. Let's get started.

Other entries in this series:

9. Perfect Tides
8. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
7. Chop Suey
6. Knights and Bikes
5. Super Metroid
4. Gone Home
3. Butterfly Soup
2. The Last of Us Part I
1. The Last of Us Part II

10. GIANA SISTERS: TWISTED DREAMS

There's no objective way to justify including this game in any top 10 list. Although quite well-made overall, it has certain clear shortcomings. Even in the superior Switch version of the game (the one I most recommend), there is, from time to time, a bit of choppy animation, and the enemy variety leaves much to be desired. The presentation is basic and the story is as simple as they come in games: Giana enters the Dream World to rescue her sister after she's taken there and promptly gobbled up by a dragon. How the hell does such a title fare this well in my book? More than anything else, it's the game's subtle sub-messaging that gets to me more than any present in most titles.

Twisted Dreams is a formal sequel to the 1987 Commodore 64 game The Great Giana Sisters, which was a platforming title intended to be an answer to still-new-and-fresh Super Mario Bros. The NES never really caught on in Europe like the Commodore 64, so for Europeans, this title was, contemporaneously at least, actually the defining platformer of the era. In this 2012 sequel, Giana is a teenager; a stage of life that's all about transformation, and to which end has learned to manipulate her dreams. She uses this newly-developed ability to jump between dreams and transform herself into Cute and Punk personas in order to deal with her inner conflict and fear while she searches for her sister.

In terms of game play, shifting between personas completely changes the appearance of the level you're playing: Cute Giana's version is always set at night, while Punk Giana's is set in the daytime. You can shift personas on the fly with the press of a button and doing so is necessary to change the levels in ways that allow you to progress. You advance from level to level by collecting enough gems to move on, which obviously motivates the player to explore rather than just focus on progressing to the end of the stage. Shifting personas also seamlessly changes the background music between a synth version of the stage's track (for Cute Giana) created by the first game's  composer, Chris Huelsbeck, and a heavy metal version of the same track (for Punk Giana) created by the Swedish band Machinae Supremacy and Fabian Del Priore, the latter of whom had worked on the Nintendo DS remake of the original game shortly before. It's a really clever play hook that firmly distinguishes Twisted Dreams from anything Mario, giving the franchise at long last exactly what Giana spends the game working out: a clear identity of its own.

Aesthetically, this game exists at the intersection of retro gamer geekdom and some cross between punk and metal attitude, replete with castles, demons, dragons, hair dye, spikes, flying pirate ships, angry birds, ghosts that look more like costumes than any persuasive conception of the real deal, and nods to classic chiptunes and Halloween, which is precisely the headspace that I live in. It's nothing less than a perfect match for my own personality. But deep down, this game is subtly, very subtly, about finding yourself, which is just something I never ever have truly felt like I've managed to do in life. It's perfect for teenagers and those of us living with BPD or other mental health struggles that just make it perpetually so difficult to place one's self in the world. Giana's volatile identity is closely bound up with her sister, Maria, and I can relate only too closely to finding my sense of self continuously in ties to others rather than autonomously. The way the game's visual and musical choices are deployed to convey those themes is nothing less than sublime magic to my soul. I'm known to shed tears sometimes during game play. I don't have a sister IRL, but Twisted Dreams has a way of very quietly making me feel like I need one. It won't reach everyone that way, I'm sure, but Twisted Dreams just feels so tailor made for someone like me.

That's correct. 

42 - Sleeping Dogs

Never heard of it before, but from the clues it sounds really cool and way ahead of its time.

looks like nobody has a clue without additional clues:

48: No transformations in this entry of the series despite it being a series staple

1. Hint: Instead, you use the equipment of a former enemy in this game.
2. Hint: The different levels are built in a Metroidvania style, and without having found all the aforementioned Equipments, you can't fully explore the levels.
3. Hint: You collect cute little somewhat Heart-shaped octopi and MELT! THEM! DOWN! to increase your max health.

47: This early 3D PC game is mostly an ego-shooter, but also an adventure game and has some strategy mixed into it.

1. Hint: As long as you have summoned a castle and it is still standing, getting killed will respawn you there, otherwise it's game over.
2. Hint: You're not firing weapons, but rather casting spells that you learn from scrolls you can find in the levels.
3. Hint: Some of the spells can later be upgraded, so a fireball can become a rapid fireball that you're shooting like a machinegun - as long as you have enough mana for it that is.

45: A game very similar to the Metroid series.

1. Hint: The original release was on the C64, though the best version is generally considered to be the Amiga version of this game.

44: Flak Monkey

Scoreboard:

Top 50 games list:

#46
- Challenging, highly regarded old school Zelda-like that was exclusive to one of Nintendo’s rivals.
- Based on previous guesses - it was released during a generation after Golden Axe Warrior, and before Okami.

#45
- If you fancy gifting something to one of the ladies you've met, you’ll have to make sure you get change from the owner when you get the chance. Who you'll be gifting it to will be dependent on if it's a new game or new game+.

My list

Beyond Oasis?

Second set of hints:

#45

-Gather the party one more time, in a different dimension called Phantasma

-The third game in this series of JRPGs

#44

-A thousand years of life can be a heavy burden, even for one without memories

-The main party of playable characters is a mix of immortals and normal humans

#43

-If she dies, you die (Enslaved: Odyssey to the West)

#42

-Travel to another world, to find the soulmate of your mother

-The soundtrack was composed by a famous anime film composer

#41

-The other half of the first game's villain leads XIII (Kingdom Hearts II)

Hmm, as it is you, it must be a Trails game (I think the series name is Legend of Heroes). Let's see Trails of the Sky... err 3.

Correct. Am I getting predictable?

Well, if you say JRPG, my mind goes to trails, as in past events you were the one holding the banner for the series :)