Both correct!

Well at long last, I finally have everything ready to start posting!

This year, I made a bit of a change to my list - instead of making a Top 50 with some honorable mentions at the end, I decided I wanted it to be a Top 40, with the last ten entries serving as "official" honorable mentions so to speak. Most of these games are here for nostalgic value or how they impacted me at different points of my life, rather than how I currently feel about them. As such, they'll all be listed together in this one big post before we get to the list proper.

     Guessed by @Salnax
Possibly my first ever favorite game (or maybe just my first game in general), Sonic 2 was a staple of my earliest years, though I only managed to finish when returning to it as a teenager. I've probably gone more than a decade now without playing it, but its impact on me is undeniable.

     Guessed by @Salnax
I played this for hundreds upon hundreds of hours back in 2014, and even after I moved on to spend most of my time with other games, it remained a staple of gaming nights with friends for many years. It's been left in my past now, but I still cherish those times.

     Guessed by @UnderwaterFunktown
I've mixed feelings on Death's Door. On the one hand, it's one of the best indie Zelda-likes I've ever played. On the other, I kinda wish it wasn't a Zelda-like, as it had so much potential to be a darker and more original game. Still, even if its impact on me is waning, I do think it was a great game.

     Guessed by @UnderwaterFunktown
My least favorite of the good Metroid games. I've replayed Zero Mission many times, and for as fun as it remained and still remains, I do find it a bit shallow both mechanically and aesthetically. I suppose it's only fair, seeing as how it's a portable remake of the very first entry in the series. Let's just say I'd rather play this over Metroid 1 any day.

     Guessed by @Bofferbrauer2
So, ten whole years after I started making these lists here, Minecraft finally shows itself! It's not exactly a "New" entry, because I've played it long before even joining VGC, but it is its first time on my list and that's because, this year, I got into a community server and played a bunch on it. Building things together with friends was super fun, we made really cool stuff, and it helped me cope through some of my toughest times. So yeah, this means a lot more to me now than it used to.

     Guessed by @Salnax
I've played many Football Manager games, but this was the one I put endless hours into when I bought it on a shared account with a friend. We each created our own clubs and moved up the divisions, creating super memorable stories along the way. I posted the full story of my club, Wepkeer, back in 2020 when I first listed this game, but that post no longer exists because of you-know-what. Oh well.

     Guessed by @Salnax
Rock Band 3 here is a stand-in for all games in its series and Guitar Hero, as it was my favorite of all of them and gave me the most awesome memories. These games were my whole life in the late 2000s, and honestly? I miss those times.

     Guessed by @UnderwaterFunktown
Man, I still remember how awesome it felt when Samus returned. It had been some dark years to be a Metroid fan up until this came out. Admittedly I feel like the game gets a bit too caught up in that feeling too, forcing some Metroid staples for no reason, but it's still a great game I've replayed a few times.

     Guessed by @Mnementh
Another year goes by without me getting through the Mass Effect trilogy. I don't know what it is with those sequels man, they just never clicked with me. I still want them to. But for the time being, I'll continue listing the first game here as it's genuinely amazing.

     Guessed by @Mnementh
I feel like my second playthrough of Cyberpunk 2077 is coming up sometime soon and like it'll skyrocket up my list when that happens. It hasn't happened yet, though. I've only played this in the glitchy launch version everyone hated, yet it's still here because, well, it's awesome. I still remember the impactful bad ending I got (the one with a Rubik's cube, if you know you know), I need to make that right someday!

Anyways, that's it for my "honorable mentions". Looking forward to the first entry of the "real" list, thanks for bearing with me on this big post!

FULL LIST >>

#42 - Sonic and the Black Knight (Wii)

Some say this is a terrible game. I disagree. Sonic and the Black Knight has an gorgeous fantasy setting with beautiful lakes, forests, caves, towns... Actually, it might be one of the best-looking Wii games. And the soundtrack... Well, Sonic games usually have very good music, but this one stands out. I'll never forget the final boss theme on this game. Amazing!

Whew, so. Guess I retconned the last 10 entries out of the "real" list or whatever. Anyways, hoping someone will show up to guess tomorrow's entry - I know this is less about my hints being too hard and more about the fact that there's not a lot of movement in the thread right now, but, here's some more hints.

#40 - I GOT NIGHTMARE EYES!!!!!
Hint 2 - The protagonist's best friend is in the most wholesome gay relationship ever

#39 - What is a rival?

(Bonus: both of these are indie games)

Is 40 Night in the Woods? The first clue feels like something the main character would have said, and the second would definitely fit that game.

Yeah. I always found that quote super memorable, it still comes to my mind years on from playing the game, so I assumed most people remembered it too. Guess not

50) God of War 3?

That’s right!

Number 40. Final Fantasy 14 Online 

The first 4 expansions at least. I have to refuse to play further expansion because this game gets very addictive and not in a good way, too addictive that it'll cause problems away from keeping gaming as a hobby. I thought very hard should it be in this list at all considering it's a game that you pay for the right to grind and basically pay to have a second job.... but, the story as long and convoluted as it is and the shear breath of content and memorable moments allow it into this list. It provided a lot of top teir gaming over the years and as hard as it is to pull away from an end game cucycle of grinding for ridiculously little reward even that end game content gave many moments I'll always remember. I've read that the expansions after Shadowbringers are less refined and a step back but the first four expansions gave me 2.5k hours of gaming (probably minus 500 hours afk) and the game is by far the best MMO I've played. As I think back on it now, the game doesn't deserve to be on this list so high but I'm not going to edit it. As much fun as it has given me it has taken equal amounts in time I'll never get back doing useless things. It's a 10/10 but with a lot of negative foot notes attached to that score. 

Guessed by @Darashiva

So, opening this year's real list, and back from being completely out of it last time, is Night in the Woods. Normally when a game comes back into my list it's because I've either replayed it or watched someone play through it, but neither is the case here. No, I haven't touched Night in the Woods since finishing it over four years ago. My main contact with it this year, as in every year prior, was just listening to its soundtrack a couple times. So after years of dwindling, why did my opinion of it improve so suddenly?

Well... Life happened.

I've made no secret to anyone that I've been depressed, sometimes badly so. The past 15 months of my life have been an insane rollercoaster of ups and downs, until it crashed and burned. And since that crash, I've come face to face with the reality of it all, which is that nothing I've ever tried to do amounted to anything. I've failed at everything, and have nothing to show for it. I'm right back where I started. Just like Mae Borowski coming back to her parents as a college dropout.

I feel like an outcast everywhere I go. More than just feel, I have quite undeniably been an outcast my whole life. I've tried to be someone in so many places, but even on the rare occasion that my presence is noticed within a community, it rarely leads to any friendships. And even in the rare times where I formed a real connection with someone, I always end up hurting them. I say mean things, do stupid things. I feel like even the few close friends I have are always one misstep away from leaving me behind, even though they've stuck with me through thick and thin. I feel like a monster. Like Mae, with her nightmare eyes.

I think my brain was completely unprepared for the ridiculous influx of emotions that came along with my gay awakening. The longing for someone to be there by my side. To share in everything we love and everything we are. But there's no "we". Just me, on my own. Like I've always been, only now it hurts to be this way. It's like coming out just unlocked all these new feelings. Loneliness. Depression. Meaninglessness. Worthlessness. And then when I think of Night in the Woods, the very thought of Gregg and Angus makes me break down in tears. I just wish I had what they have. I hope they know how special that is. I hope they never take each other for granted.

I've felt depressed and alone for more than half a year now. The longer this continues, the less I remain hopeful about the future. The less I believe that things will ever get better, that any of this is leading up to anything. I'm growing bitter... kinda like Bea, I suppose. But unlike Bea, I haven't grown up. I don't have that pragmatism she has, that willpower to do what's needed, and to call others out on their bullshit. Maybe I need a Bea in my life, like Mae does. But I don't.

I barely have anyone anymore. I barely have anything at all. Just lingering hopes and dreams on the edge of fizzling out entirely. Feeling like life doesn't have a future in store for me. Just a sad story with a nothing ending.

I just wanted to have something special. Someone special. To build a life with. I just want a future shaped by myself, instead of shaped for me. I don't wanna stand still forever, I can't stand it here anymore. It's been too fucking long.

I just wanna die anywhere else.

So when I think back to Night in the Woods, as I have these past few days when working on my list, well... It hit me really hard. Too hard. In this moment I feel like I could rank it anywhere on this list, never mind as "low" as #40. But I don't know what to think. Thinking of Mae, Bea, Gregg and Angus has me properly distraught. I wanna have friends like that. Different people who want to be there for you no matter what. To do fun things with. Crazy things with. Chill things with. And everything else. They might just be characters from a game I played many years ago, but they've impacted me deeply. If I don't have anything to hold on to, I might as well hold onto them.

FULL LIST >>