Hey I need someone to guess it every year, so you're helping out, don't feel bad

Dropping another two hints, the end nears--

#15 - 10 years on from its release, this is still the latest game in its series, much to the outrage of a certain VGC user...
#14 - The latest game in a franchise the developers of the above game ^ are currently working on.

Tropical Freeze and Metroid Dread? (in that order)

20) I AM THE LAW

• Disco, communism, apocalyptic, trainwreck... which kind of cop are you?
• Disco greek afterlife

19) To the top of the island

• You can collect golden feathers
• An indie game about hiking though there's really more flying

17) To the top of the mountain

• You can collect strawberries
• A really tough 2D platformer

16) Looks can be decieving and this little white cat has got moves like a Smash Bros. figther

• Though it's not really in Smash Bros and not really a cat. It does fight a big bird at the end though
• Second of two metroidvanias

15) Blue hair anime chain gang

• Anime cop and his space pet
• Platinum

13) An Earthbound-like with black and white horror elements

• 5 letters, starts with an O. Yeah you're gonna need a hint that big
• OM_RI

12) Color Your Night

• The Meaning of Armbands
• Gun to the head, pull the trigger, summong your _______

Last call for number 30 - tweaked the clues for that one a bit. It's a really well known franchise.

Current list - https://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/thread/248646/post-only-once-the-official-thread-the-15th-annual-greatest-games-event/4/#4

30 - Tomb Raider III
- Unlike the previous titles in this series, you get to pick the order you complete some of the levels in this globe trotting adventure.
- A remaster of this game was released on the heroine’s birthday this year, in a collection with two other games in the series. The heroine in question is one of gaming’s most well known characters.
- The next three games in this series will be getting the same treatment, with their release due at the same time next year.

23
- One of the titular characters in this game first appeared in another game of a different genre.
- This character can take flight in both this game and the other game mentioned above, although the method in which he does so is different.
- Both of the titular characters are named after musical instruments.

22
- The name of the NTSC version of this game is surely a reference to a legendary heavy metal album.
- I mean, after all, both this game and the front cover of that album are based on Ancient Egypt.
- A ‘90s first person shooter in which you collect artifacts that enable you to reach previously inaccessible areas and level exits.

21
- You can see the site of the final conflict draw closer and closer with each world you complete.
- Takes place on an island shaped like the head of the titular character.
- A reptilian foe has stolen the hero’s hoard of favourite fruit.

20 - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Duplication glitches are handy for those who don’t have the time or patience to grind for resources.
- We can now go above and below this familiar land.

18 - Resident Evil 4
- A game that was responsible for shaking up one of the biggest game franchises and steering it in a different direction.
- More focused on action than before.

18. Super Mario Bros 3

Masterpiece that never gets old, could easily be released today with just graphical changes and would be heralded as the best 2d Mario to date. 

17. Metal Gear Solid 

Masterpiece that still holds up in modern day. Aged incredibly well. I played this game at least 40 times before MGS2 released and a few times since. It ushered in gaming cinematics as we know them and changed the industry entirely. 

16. Monster Hunter World/Iceborne

A game that has such a wide breath of content you can loose hundreds of hours and it's so good you'll likely not get bored. I'd rate this game higjer if it was more tuned for solo pkay because the internet issues really hurt the game and they've never beem fixed, that said playing with randoms is a joy also and having the option to go in solo then SOS if you're in trouble saves it in this regard. Weak story but this game is all about the gameplay and it's just phenomenal gameplay once you find the weapon that suits you best. As an Insect Glaive main, this game is very fast action for me and if it were not for the Insect glaive this game would fall a few pegs down the list.  

15. Stellar Blade  

I never would have thought this would come anywhere close to being this high on my list and I suspect after another playthrough down the road it'll climb higher. Not quite the height of the genre but so very close. Amazing experience and a fun Platinum to boot. It ties with Neir Automata almost but I have to rate it lower cause there just hasn't been enough time for me to gauge it yet. Both games fail in the areas that the other succeeds and they almost compliment each other, same genre but two masters of exactly opposite areas of design. And that goes for my next entry, a phenomenal character action game but an even better narrative driven title which is so good it holds many of the games lesser parts up and uses genre bending gamrplay to keep things interesting...

14. Neir Automata

What a ride this game is from beginning to end. The genre bending aspects and narrative are so good that it is still a masterpiece despite some weaker areas like side questing, exploration and traversal. I would love to see the team behind this and Shift Up, the team behind Stellar Blade get together to create a game and bring the parts they excel in, to one title wether that be Neir 3, Stellar Blade 2 or a new IP, it would be phenomenal.

19: A Short Hike

17: Celeste

#15

• MINERVA
• AETHER
• DEMETER

#14 Final Fantasy VIII

• This game has a very obscure sidequest involving a black shadow in a lake, a talking monkey, strange clues all over the world, and colored rocks that point you towards treasure.

#13 The Last of Us

• This game's adaptation followed the plot quite accurately, while changing some key details, such as the story of Bill and Frank

#12 Dark Souls III

• The lords were summoned to fulfill their duty, but only one answered the call

#11 The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky

• Bracers in Liberl - part 1

Both correct!

Since #15 wasn't 7, maybe FF6?

#17

Change YoY: +1   My Rating: 9.4 / 10

For quite a few years after its release, Horizon Zero Dawn was my favourite open world game ever by quite a significant distance. From the moment I first played it, I absolutely loved just about everything it had to offer. The world was intriguing and beautiful, constantly pushing me to find the next secret or new location beyond the map's edge, the characters, Aloy especially, quickly hooked me with their stories, and the audiovisual side was absolutely fantastic. The score by Joris de Man, The Flight, and a few others is exceptional, and visually the game remains one of the most beautiful open world titles I've ever played thanks to its brilliant art direction. More than a few times I found myself simply stopping to admire the game's gorgeous locations and just taking everything in. I must also commend the voice acting, especially by Ashly Burch as Aloy, though the rest of the cast is great as well.

I also found the gameplay a lot of fun, as the game made me feel like I was constantly improving alongside Aloy, and over time toppling more and more dangerous robots that had earlier felt like insurmountable threats. Each encounter with a new enemy felt dangerous and tense, but as I learned more about the various robots, fighting them became almost second nature as their attacks and various tells became almost second nature, just like what Aloy goes through in the story. The expansion to the main game, The Frozen Wilds, is also one of the best DLC releases ever in my opinion, as it expands the world, the story, and the gameplay of the base game without ever feeling tacked on. In general, I loved discovering more about this world that Guerrilla Games had created.

There are, naturally, some issues with the game as well. In the main game, the conversation animation never quite works right, the characters' mouth movements very often feeling unnatural and stilted. Fortunately, they improved the system a lot in the DLC. I also often found myself running out of inventory space, even with full upgrades, leading to quite a lot of annoying fiddling throughout the game. All of that is ultimately insignificant, though. The story, setting, the mystery surrounding the past, the characters, music, visuals, and gameplay are all wonderful, and though it's no longer my favourite open world game thanks to a pair of titles that were released in 2022, it remains not only the best game of its release year, but one of the best games of its entire generation.

It's too late now but Rebirth will be making it into next year's list. I'm only 18 hours in doing all side content but I'm wow'd, what a game. People complaining about all these mini games but I've never seen it done like this before, woven into the story and then the mini games themselves have stories attached to them. Wonderful.