Hi all!
Okay, I’m not sure if you know this about me, but I am a massive nerd and avid gamer. I have been all of my life! I own a vast collection of games on my Steam Account (Handle: Blue Mercury – add me!) and I love the RPG, Action/Adventure & Story Rich genres. Today, I’m going to list my top 15 favourite video games of all time. I hope you enjoy this post and it provides you with suggestions for really good games to play!
1.) THE MONKEY ISLAND SERIES BY LUCAS ARTS
Monkey Island was a game I discovered when I was a child playing on the school computer. I didn’t realise at the time it would become my favourite video game of all time. The stories revolve around the clumsy yet comical Guybrush Threepwood and his desire to become a swashbuckling pirate. Instead of fighting with violence, he uses insults to bring down his opponents and is forever dodging his sworn enemy, the demon pirate LeChuck. In each game (there are 5 in total), it features the same quirky characters and hilarious jokes. These games will have you in fits of laughter so get ready for monkeys…lots & lots of monkeys!!
2.) INDIANA JONES & THE INFERNAL MACHINE BY LUCAS ARTS
I remember playing this game with my father when I was a child. If you were to examine the graphics now, you would laugh at the blocky design but at the time, it was pure wonderment. Indiana Jones travels the globe searching for the supernatural parts that make up an Infernal Machine (a means to opening up an ethereal world) whilst constantly running into the Russian military who wish to control it for their own means. My favourite level is when Indy arrives at the ziggurat in Olmec Valley and has to climb to the top only to discover a hidden chamber within. I wish I could play this game again but it’s much too old for my laptop now despite trying several times.
3.) THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: OCARINA OF TIME BY NINTENDO
The Legend of Zelda is iconic to gamers everywhere. For most of us, it is the first game we ever played and loved. I was so delighted when Ocarina of Time came to Nintendo 3DS and finished it in a matter of days. With all good heroes, there is a princess worth saving and the goal of the game. For those of you who don’t know, Zelda is not the name of the main character (his name is Link) but rather the name of the princess that requires rescuing from the evil Ganondorf. Link travels through elemental dungeons (earth, fire, water, sand…) searching for sages that will lead him to his one true love. My favourite part of Zelda is when he meets the Deku Tree for the first time and is tasked with saving it from nasty creatures within. It’s a beautiful game and one that is still well-known today.
4.) VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE – BLOODLINES BY ACTIVISION
This game is sassy and sexy as hell! I had a pretty normal obsession with vampires when I was a teenager and this game fed my addiction nicely. Bloodlines is an RPG (role-playing game) where you get to choose your character, your strengths/weaknesses, dialogue and even how it ends! As a fully-fledged vampire, you get to travel through dirty Downtown LA, Hollywood, Chinatown & Santa Monica completing quests, feeding on humans and choosing which faction to ultimately side with. It’s quite a difficult and scary game but so much fun. Jeanette is my favourite. She’s a sultry schoolgirl vampire with schizophrenia that tries to seduce you at a nightclub. You end up learning just how crazy she is and get to choose whether she lives or dies. Play this game if you haven’t already!
5.) LIFE IS STRANGE BY SQUARE ENIX
I’ve raved about this game in my May Favourites 2016! post and it really is one of the best games I’ve ever played. The story is incredible and will really touch your heart. It’s no secret that I’m a massive fan of time-travel and this game actually allows you to turn back time whenever you wish and change your mind about your actions. This feature gives you the option to save people that are about to die, make a different a decision and go down an alternate path. The plot revolves around talented photographer Max who witnesses her best friend being killed and in a fit of panic, discovers the ability to reverse time and prevent it from happening. From this one moment, the world rapidly begins to end and Max soon learns that fate is unavoidable and when your time is up, it’s up. You will be blown away by the emotion & ending. Do yourself a favour and play it!
6.) MURDERED: SOUL SUSPECT BY SQUARE ENIX
Wow, it’s not often that I play an entire game twice but Murdered: Soul Suspect had me so hooked I had to relive every moment. The story is set in present-day Salem where Detective Ronan O’Connor is tasked with solving the murder mystery of the Bell Killer. However, as soon as the game begins, he is murdered by the cloaked killer and his ghost remains. You play the entire story in the form of a spectre with unfinished business. It’s a horror game so prepared to be a little bit scared but the visuals and twist ending is incredible. I’ve always been fascinated by the Salem witch trials and this game provides lots of factual history regarding that period in time. Prepare to be on the edge of your seat as the mystery unravels!
7.) BIOSHOCK INFINITE BY IRRATIONAL GAMES
I already swooned over this game in my October Favourites 2016! so it’s no surprise it made the list. Bioshock Infinite is visually stunning, story rich and in-depth. The ending is so thought-provoking, it will stay with you for a few days afterwards. Bioshock is set in 1912 in the fictional ‘steampunk’ world of Columbia. The majority of the realm features suspended buildings & statues. To travel, you need to hook onto zip lines and soar through the skies as if on a roller-coaster. You play as Booker DeWitt, a tormented man in a lot of debt, tasked with finding a paranormal girl named Elizabeth. Along the way, Booker is given unique abilities to battle his foes. You can shoot hordes of killer crows from your hands, turn evil robots into friends, make enemies fly & electrocute them. I’m currently playing the early Bioshock games but Infinite is exceptionally better!
8.) POKEMON BLUE BY NINTENDO
I couldn’t write a post like this and not add Pokemon…it would be a crime! The first ever Red, Blue & Yellow Versions were released in 1996 on Gameboy Colour when I was 7 years old. I remember sneaking under my covers, forever changing batteries and playing it all night long. The story is based on the TV series, however you don’t play as Ash but rather whoever you wish to be (you get to name yourself and your rival) and choose which Pokemon out of Bulbasaur, Squirtle & Charmander to start with. If you play Yellow Version, you get Pikachu as your starter. I had Blue Version & always started with the water type: Squirtle. You get to travel across the land of Kanto, catching wild Pokemon & defeating gym leaders for badges. Watch out for the diabolical Team Rocket along the way! The original game only features the initial 150 Pokemon which in my opinion were the best. These really were the best times. Tell me you’ve played Pokemon at least once in your life!
9.) THE WOLF AMONG US BY TELLTALE GAMES
The best way to describe this game is: R-Rated Fairy-Tales. Yes that’s right. All your favourites: Snow White, Beauty & The Beast, The Little Mermaid & more are all dark, sexy and corrupt characters. Set in Fabletown, protagonist Bigby Wolf (formerly The Big Bad Wolf) is tasked with solving the murder of innocent girls from an evil shadowy figure, ‘The Crooked Man.’ As with all Telltale Games, it’s primarily point & click, however you get to engage in battles & make important decisions that impact the story. You play this game in chapters and at the end of each one, you can review the other player’s experiences depending on their choices. Why do I love it? Well, I’m obsessed with fairy-tales & a good murder mystery. Combine them together and you’ve got a solid game!
10.) BROTHERS: A TALE OF TWO SONS BY STARBREEZE STUDIOS
There is a reason this game won Best XBox Game in 2013. It is beyond visually stunning & truly, emotionally captivating. Entirely in Swedish, the plot revolves around two brothers who set out on a quest together to recover waters from The Tree of Life in order to save their sick father. Their journey takes them through hills, mountains, waterfalls and glades filled with magical creatures both good and bad. What makes this game so unique is the movement. You have to control both brothers and work as a team to progress. For example, you need to use one brother to distract a foe, whilst the other one sneaks past. Also, one brother is stronger so he can lift the younger brother onto a higher platform and that brother can then help him up. Without giving anything away, the ending is so touching it actually bought tears to my eyes. Play it and see what I mean!
11.) PORTAL 1 & 2 BY VALVE CORPORATION
I first played Portal 1 & 2 with Francis a few years ago and fell in love with the concept. As you can see by the picture, you are given a portal gun that shoots one blue & one orange portal wherever you wish. Using this weapon, you are thrust into Aperture Laboratories and need to solve puzzles with portals in order to progress. It sounds like a simple problem-solving game but there is actually an intriguing storyline thrown into the mix involving the head of Aperture; the robot Glados. I can’t say which Portal game is better, I love them both and find the dialogue equally witty. Be prepared to enter a world where the impossible becomes possible…
12.) NO ONE LIVES FOREVER 2 BY MONOLITH PRODUCTIONS
I never played the first No One Lives Forever sadly and I can’t seem to find it anywhere but the second one was played multiple times throughout my childhood. The protagonist, Cate Archer, is essentially a female James Bond. She is a spy who works for an organisation named UNITY and is given a mission to investigate an evil corporation named HARM. What I love about this game is how it promotes a strong, bad-ass woman fighting crime and saving lives. She has a lot of unique and cool spy equipment that despite looking girly, are actually deadly. Her ladybugs serve as electronic bugs used to spy on conversations. She has a hairspray welder, nail clipper lock-pick, lipstick camera, eye shadow taser & compact code breaker. This game is so much fun and really interactive. I would not advise playing it however if you dislike mimes. They are the main villains!
13.) BUGS BUNNY LOST IN TIME BY BEHAVIOUR INTERACTIVE
I think my sister would agree with me that this is a super fun game. We played it a lot as kids & I still think of it fondly. Another game that involves time travel; Bugs Bunny is given a mission to explore different eras (The Stone Age, Medieval Period, the 1930s, Pirate Years etc) & collect time clocks that will allow him to return to the present. Each era has its own villain such as Elmer Fudd, Marvin the Martian, Yosemite Sam, Witch Hazel, Daffy Duck & more. The graphics are definitely low quality now but back then, it really felt like you were travelling through time with Bugs & exploring new lands! My favourite era was The Stone Age where you had to jump on dinosaur’s heads to get from cliff to cliff.
14.) TOMB RAIDER: THE LAST REVELATION BY EIDOS INTERACTIVE
Confession: I have literally played every Tomb Raider game ever made including the latest one that was released earlier this year. However, out of all the games (aside from the spin-offs) Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation (Number 4) is my favourite. Why? Well for starters, it has the longest game-play and spans many Egyptian locations. In this edition, Lara Croft is searching for the Tomb of Seth but ends up being deceived by her guide and mentor, Werner Von Croy who wants the Amulet of Horus for himself. In order to get it back, Lara has to explore pyramids, temples, solve puzzles & battle mummies to reach Van Croy before he releases an indestructible power. This game can be quite challenging so watch your step and avoid the many booby traps laid out for you. You will have an absolute blast from start to finish I assure you.
15.) THIEF BY SQUARE ENIX
To be honest, I didn’t enjoy the earlier Thief Games but the latest one was fantastic and I blew through it so quickly! The entire game is set in ‘The City’ inspired by a Victorian/Gothic aesthetic and follows master thief, Garrett whose main objective is to steal from the rich. This game is super fun. You can play the entire thing without being detected once but that requires a lot of time and patience. The storyline is a bit dull but the game-play itself more than makes up for it. Garrett can use the dark to hide himself, lock-pick chests for treasure, grapple ledges for scaling and even slow down time so he isn’t caught whilst looting. My favourite part in the game is when Garrett enters an abandoned insane asylum on a dreary island. There are so many jump-scares but the most terrifying moment is when he discovers a group of mannequins in the dining hall, turns around to grab a key and when he turns back again, they are right behind him staring motionless. CREEPY!
I really hope you enjoyed this quite different blog post and it inspired you to play some cool, fun games. Gaming is something I love doing. It’s relaxing but also coaxes me to use my brain & figure out strategies to move forward. I’m most likely going to be that future mother who plays games with her kids. I can’t imagine ever stopping and wouldn’t want to! What are some of your favourite games? Which console do you enjoy using most? I’m a PC gamer all the way!
Peace & Love xoxo
Disclaimer: This post contains links to my Amazon Affiliate which helps fund my blog, I am not being paid or sponsored for this post/products – all my thoughts/opinions are my own
Ocarina of Time for me! I’m a Nintendo fan, and handheld has always been what I love. I like console too, but I find it so hard to tear myself away from the TV screen 😂 I also like Mario and Final Fantasy. Donkey Kong. Sonic. Mortal Combat. I notice you like a lot of Square Enix games 😍
Thanks Mabel! I thought you might put Ocarina haha and I enjoy handheld too! You like all the Nintendo Classics – I wanted to put those as well but the list was so long haha. Yes Square Enix are fantastic! Hope to see you soon! Xx