disco elysium

You play as an amnesiac detective solving two mysteries in Martinaise, a district in the city Revachol -- the lynching of a man behind the town's hotel, and your own forgotten past.

Usually with games I recommend, I recognise that some people shouldn't play them. Not every game I like is everyone's style, that's fine and normal -- that's why I'm writing these big long descriptions so you can judge if the game is right for you! This is not true for Disco Elysium. I think everyone on the planet should play Disco Elysium. Stop reading right now, and go download Disco Elysium.

You rebellious stinker, you. Alright.

Disco Elysium is a genuine masterpiece. It is one of the most beautiful, hopeful things I have ever experienced. The whole story almost feels like a response to Robert Kurvitz's - lead writer and designer - earlier, nihilstic work. Disco Elysium looks at a cruel, ugly society, in a crumbling city stuck in the dull silence between a century-defining war and the literal end of the world, through the eyes on a man who has lost everything and everyone, and dares to say "what if this is still beautiful? What if this is still worth fighting for? What if there is still hope."

As for gameplay, Disco Elysium is built around extensive dialogue trees and skill checks. Despite your dialogue choices, what sidequests you do, all that classic RPG stuff, not necessarily dictating which ending you get, there is not a single moment where it feels like your choices don't matter. Rather than having your eyes on the ending, Disco Elysium makes you think about *now*. You end up worrying about who you are and if *you're* happy with what you're doing, instead of if the game decided that you're "winning" or not.

Kim Kitsuragi, your detective partner, is also the best character in anything ever.

Because of shareholder-fuckery, the original creators of Disco Elysium got axed from the company that legally owns it: ZA/UM. So basically, if you want to play it, don't give ZA/UM your money, join me on the seven seas....

pathologic 2

In a reimagining of the original Pathologic, you play as Artemy Burakh, a doctor who has just returned to his hometown in the Russian Steppe to discover his father has been murdered and plague is on the horizon.

Pathologic 2 is a horrible experience, and only gets worse the longer you play. It is a nightmare which I cannot wake up from. As I lay down in bed and try to sleep, I am haunted by my choices and what I could have done differently. I cannot play this game for too long in one sitting because the stress invariably gives me a migraine.

Pathologic 2 is fucking incredible, I could not recommend it more. I'd seen Hbomberguy's video on the original, I though I knew what I was getting myself into. But the thing is, it is impossible to fully grock what it's actually like to play Pathologic without playing it yourself. No review can do it justice.

This game isn't fun, but it is never *boring*. You're always doing something, because you always need to be in two places at once. There simply isn't enough time and resources to everything, save everyone -- it takes all your effort just to do anything and save anyone. You have to be strategic with what you want to do and what you want to ignore, and it hurts every time.

Pathologic 2 is a game that Hates You Personally. Every time you get into a comfortable rhythm, the difficulty spikes tenfold. Whenever a mugger or a cloud of the plague is placed right in the quickest shortcut out of an area, you can hear the developers laughing at you. And every time you die (which you will be doing a Lot), you're given a new handicap -- like lowering your max health -- because everything is designed in expert detail to maximise your suffering.

ultrakill

You play as V1, a robot fueled by blood murdering its way through Hell to survive.

The fact it took me so long to play this is a crime, robots and blood are all I live for. Ultrakill is exhilarating. Its super-fast pace leads to some of the most fun combat I've ever experienced in a game (shoutout to my darlings the Marksman Revolver and Sawed-On Shotgun, best weapons in any game ever.) Because you use blood to heal, you often end up having to get right up in enemies' faces. There is *no* playing it safe. The style points mechanic especially makes being Good at the game really rewarding, I love it. Little meter on the side of the screen telling me I'm doing a good job :]

While Ultrakill's story can easily be ignored if you're not paying attention or aren't interested, it's really gripped me. The characters you meet descending through Hell, chief among them being my beautiful wife Gabriel, are terrific. I especially love the characterisation of V2. Despite it never saying a word, you get a brilliant sense of its personality. The various books littered throughout Hell, as well as the Terminal entries for every enemy you encounter, are all phenomenally-written too. There's some lines that are just permanently burned into my brain now.

Also there's a dating sim secret level.

As of writing this, the first eight layers are out, with the final one still in development.

faith: the unholy trinity

You play as Father John Ward, a Catholic priest trying to survive in a world of demons and cultists.

There was not a single solitary second playing Faith where I did not feel *terrified*. This game's atmosphere is like no other. Just walking through a room has me so stressed.

The 80s-inspired graphics really heighten the tension, with demons looking extra unnatural and monstrous compared to the simple, blocky shapes of the rest of the world. Your only defense against them is your crucifix, which you cannot hold up and walk at the same time. You're always left balancing doing damage, which leaves you vulnerable, and running.

I really love the distorted, grating, synthesised sound of all the speech, which makes even the safety of cutscenes feel uncomfortable.

The game is split into three chapters, with a fourth currently in development.

ghost trick

You play as Sissel, a ghost trying to solve the mystery of his own murder, while using powers of possession and time travel to prevent the deaths of those helping him.

There's a running joke with Ghost Trick fans that, when recommending the game, you can't say anything other than "dude trust me, play Ghost Trick", because the very twisty story, mixed with the game going hour-by-hour, leads to every single plot point being a spoiler. So this one's going to be difficult.

The main mechanic of Ghost Trick is, as its title so kindly suggests, "ghost tricks", which is the ability to possess and move objects. The gameplay puts you in these elaborate Rube Goldberg machines, where you must move the correct objects in the correct way to prevent a terrible outcome (usually a character's death.) It's a really unique type of puzzle, and *immensely* satisfying to figure out.

It's impossible to talk about Ghost Trick without mentioning its fantastic art direction. The style is full of bright, high-contrast colours, sharp angles and thick lineart, and extremely polished animations for a DS game. This game is stunning.

the great ace attorney chronicles

In this prequel duology to the Ace Attorney series set in the late 19th century, you play as Ryunosuke Naruhodo (ancestor to Phoenix Wright), who travels to Britain to work as a lawyer.

As far as I'm concerned, The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles are the literal *perfect* Ace Attorney games, and easily the best in the series. Not only do they understand exactly what makes an Ace Attorney game work, they take the tropes you've come to expect from this series and subvert them in really interesting, fresh ways.

Ryunosuke is such a refreshing Ace Attorney protagonist, and his friendship with Susato, his assistant, is a nice reversal of the usual 'trained lawyer and weird little girl' duo we've come to expect from these games. Ryunosuke has never been to law school, he stumbled into being a lawyer through blind chance, something which he had zero desire to do before this. He is surrounded by people who know far more than him about his job -- one of those being Susato, an actual, trained judicial assistant, who often acts as straight man to Ryunosuke (the actual Weird Little Girl.)

The supporting cast are also completely unforgettable. As for your expected secondary characters, I think both these games a record for the Amount of Ace Attorney Detectives In One Game - a whopping four! One of those, of course, being Herlock Sholmes (yes they actually called him that.) He's eccentric, he's teetering on the edge of being a mad scientist, and it's always vague how much he's Actually Like This and how much he's in on the joke.

And how could I possibly ignore the main prosecutor - Lord Barok van Zieks! The absolute pinnacle of drama, he really is the Most of Everything. Where his predecessors have had perfect records of dubiously-obtained guilty verdicts, all of van Ziek's innocent-declared defendants straight up just die shortly after being acquitted. He's a *complete* asshole with one of my favourite character designs in the series.

Being a spin-off series, The Great Ace Attorney can also deal with much heavier themes than the main series. It takes a much more serious look at the purpose of lawyers, their place in relation to the government, corruption, and its real consequences.

I do think these games are better if you've played at least the original Phoenix Wright trilogy, but it is by no means necessary to understand the plot.

slay the princess

You play a hero whose job is to slay a princess in a cabin in the woods, or she will end the world. At least, that's what the Narrator claims.

Slay The Princess reaches the absolute apex of replayability -- every single choice you make leads you on a different route, and there are a lotta choices. You can just feel the love and passion behind the game every second you play, in it's full, skillful voice acting and gorgeously grim, hand-drawn art. I *definitely* think it's best played blind.

The characters of Slay The Princess -- the player (and the various voices in your head), the Princess, and the Narrator -- are rich and deep, with expertly-written, very philosophical dialogue. However, the highlight of the game is absolutely its horror. It leans heavily into eldritch aesthetics and body horror, which give it a wonderfully memorable/scarring look.

portal 2

You play as Chell, a test subject of Aperture Science, trying to escape. You solve puzzles using portals, between which you can teleport.

Solving test chambers in Portal 2 is some of the most fun I've ever had in a puzzle game. If Portal 2 was the Only video game, I don't think I'd ever get bored. Each puzzle is just so perfectly designed. There are very few feelings in the world better than, after turning the gears in your brain trying to figure test chamber, that "Aha!" moment when you finally do.

Not only is Portal 2 full of ingenious puzzles, the dialogue is also superb. I really didn't expect the comedy to hold up as well as it still does, this game has me constantly cackling at every line. It's absolutely hilarious, in a way that makes it impossible not to love the characters -- even when they're designing tests to kill you.

If GLaDOS trapped me in Aperture Laboratories to be a test subject for the rest of my life, I would thank her.

You don't need to have played Portal 1 to understand this game's plot, though it does build on its events.

half-life

You play as Gordon Freeman, a scientist at Black Mesa. After an experiment goes wrong, you must fight off hordes of aliens teleporting in from another dimension as you try to escape.

Despite being over 25 years old, Half-Life holds up so well. It is a *masterclass* in subtle storytelling, managing to effectivly communicate precisely how the situation at Black Mesa evolves through genius level design, enemies, and very sparse dialogue.

Half-Life's combat, rather than being a test of strength and reaction speed, is very focussed on *strategy*. Gordon Freeman isn't a soldier, he's going up against people infinitely stronger than he is -- he needs to rely on his cunning. This is perfectly demonstrated in the gameplay. Going into combat guns-blazing is a guaranteed way to Die Immediately. This focus on outsmarting you enemy is really engrossing, especially for me, who isn't typically a fan of shooters.

I'd also highly recommend the two expansions on Steam, Opposing Force and Blue Shift. Opposing Force has you playing as Adrian Shephard, one of the US Marines sent in to "help" Black Mesa, while Blue Shift has you play as Barney Calhoun, a security guard at Black Mesa who, like Gordon Freeman, is trying to escape. They're both excellent additions to the base game, Opposing Force especially having a lot of fun new mechanics.

hades

You play as Zagreus, son of Hades, battling his way out of the underworld to meet his mother, Persephone.

Full of fast-paced action, Hades is exhilarating. It perfectly balances the satisfaction of effortlessly plowing through hordes of enemies, and challenging boss fights which you just have to keep trying again, and again, and again.

What drew me to the game initially, however, was its story -- especially its rich, fantastically written and voice acted characters. As you make more and more attempts at escape, you'll meet new characters and get chances to grow closer with them. You can be in a throuple with Thanatos and the fury Megara. The longer you play, the more alive the underworld seems.

professor layton and the lost(/unwound) future

In the third game of the original Professor Layton trilogy, Professor Layton meets an older version of his apprentice Luke, who enlists his and young-Luke's help to save the future.

Like the other Professor Layton games, Lost Future (or Unwound Future if you're American) is Insane. Lost Future, however, takes the cake for batshit wild solutions to its mysteries -- which is why it's the best in the original trilogy.

Lost Future's story is absolutely the most impactful in the trilogy, examining Layton's past and his relationship with Luke. A plot so personal to our protagonists is the absolute perfect way to end the trilogy, remembering the final cutscene still gets me emotional.

Future-Luke is an excellent character, one of my favourites in the whole series. He has an excellent dynamic with young-Luke and Layton, and fits in perfectly.

If you've never played a Professor Layton game, the gameplay is... a bit odd. Unlike a traditional puzzle game, where the puzzles are a physical part of the world, Professor Layton games are mostly adventure game/visual novels. But, every now and again, someone will say "oh gee, that reminds me of a great puzzle I heard," and then you will have to solve a riddle, or sliding puzzle, or maths problem, usually completely unrelated to anything. This is how this world functions. Professor Layton is a world-renowed puzzle-solver. It's delightful.

ib

You play as Ib, a young girl trying to escape a surreal, nightmarish art gallery.

An absolute classic of early 2010s RPGMaker horror games, Ib is endlessly charming. Though rather short, it has so much atmosphere and character. The simple puzzles make way for a lot of really great scares -- and I especially love all the chase sequences. Ib is fantastic at making you feel powerless in a world you can't understand.

Ib's story is heart-wrenching. It's easily the saddest of the iconic, old RPGMaker horror games. There are multiple endings, none of which are without pain.

The version on Steam is an official remake with some new features, and I haven't actually played it. The original 2012 game is still available and free.

oneshot

You control Niko, who wakes up in an unfamiliar, collapsing world, and acquires its sun. Your goal is to return the sun, saving the world, and guide Niko home. Also, the story knows you exist.

Oneshot is a fantastically meta game, and a shining example of how fun a story can be when you start messing with the fourth wall. The puzzles are all so clever -- one, for example, changes your desktop background to the solution. There are moments where you get to interace with Niko themself, which are definitely some of the most charming bits of dialogue in the game.

It's name is accurate too: you only get one shot to beat the game, and then your save is corrupted. You have to live with your choices.

omori

You play as Sunny, a teenage boy, and Omori, Sunny's persona in his surreal dream world, as he grapples with his past trauma and repressed memories.

Omori's story is a wonderfully gradual thing. It's a slowest of slow burns -- which is why it's best to go in spoiler free. I still remember the chills I got towards the end of the game when I started piecing what had actually happened.

Going in prepared for psychological horror, I was very surprised by how fun Omori is as an RPG. Battles use a really unique system of emotions -- where happy beats angry, angry beats sad, and sad beats happy -- which lends itself to great strategising.