We often see lists of books we just need to read, cities and attractions we need to visit, and so on. They're well-meaning and informative, if they're the kinds of things you're looking for, but there are often some pretentious choices and it's just impossible to meet everyone's tastes.
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In the world of video games, it's a similar case, but there are still some bona fide classics that it would be a terrible shame to miss out on. They elevate their genres, they're a blast to play, and most importantly, their plots are full of all manner of drama. They're the equivalent of essential reading if you haven't played them yet.
10 The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time
A Timeless Classic
1998 saw a lot of fantastic releases, but The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time may be the greatest of all. The expansive, liberating stretch of Hyrule Field has been far surpassed by Breath of the Wild, but at the time, it was a revolution. At the time, it was difficult to tell how a beloved series would translate to 3D, but Ocarina didn't just pass the test, it absolutely aced it.
A largely workable camera was enough of an achievement in itself back then, but the narrative really takes center stage from the off. Opening with Navi's frantic search for Link, a Shakespearean monologue from the Great Deku Tree and fleeting glimpses of Ganondorf and his evil, Link's quest begins. In its day, it felt like a truly grand adventure, with cavernous dungeons (including the dreaded Water Temple), unforgettable setpieces like Epona's leap for freedom and Zelda's desperate passing of the Ocarina to Link as Ganondorf rides away, a time travel mechanic that added so much weight and grandeur to the world. Everyone has their personal ranking of Zelda games, but this one is typically right around the top.
9 Life Is Strange
A Story Well Worth Telling
We all have those moments when we reflect on a life decision we've made and wonder what would have happened if we'd done things differently. This is what makes the narrative-driven Life Is Strange so very compelling: Protagonist Max Caulfield is able to rewind time, which is something of a cheat code in a title that revolves largely around the player's decisions and their consequences. It works fantastically, though, incorporated in such a way that you're constantly second-guessing whether, having gone back to make a different choice, this timeline will ultimately be better or worse.
Based around the harrowing events in the town of Arcadia Bay, Life Is Strange has a cast of interesting and unique characters, and you're sure to grow to care for them. This is the tricky part, because the slightest decision during a conversation can change things for the worst for them, and in ways you might not have even conceived. A successful series grew out of the 2015 original, which is a testament to the storytelling and unique charm of the experience. Make sure you're prepared to make the hardest choices.
8 That Dragon, Cancer
An Emotional And Heart-Wrenching Story
That Dragon, Cancer, a 2016 Numinous Games release , joins Life Is Strange in exploring some of the most affecting, emotionally devastating themes that we can face in our lives. In this case, it's an exploration of a family's experiences after their young son, Joel, is diagnosed with cancer. It's divided up in an episodic manner, each presenting a memory from a time the family shared with Joel. They're each very different in aesthetic, and in gameplay too: One sees the player blowing bubbles at a picnic for instance.
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Unlike many titles on this list, this title is not full of dramatic setpieces and boss battles. Instead, it's drama of a raw, human kind, and is utterly affecting as a result of it. The fact that it's based on a real account of the makers' experiences with their son only makes it all the more impactful. It's absolutely full of emotion, with a tone that's at once somber and brighter, more colorful; mourning and honoring Joel at the same time as it celebrates his short life.
7 Final Fantasy 7
A True Classic For A Reason
If we're really talking about must-plays, it's sometimes important to go back through the archives. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is a classic that really should be experienced at least once in its original form (dusty and dated as it may be), and so is Final Fantasy 7. Here, too, is a game that starts with a bang, and a literal one, as we leap from a train and dash straight into the mission to destroy a Mako reactor.
The game seems to keep up that pace throughout, with the party pursuing Sephiroth around much of the known world. Longer RPGs can have their pacing issues at times, and while Final Fantasy 7 isn't perfect in that regard, it does a stellar job of keeping the player moving on towards the next objective. This is harder to maintain as access to the world opens up, but coupled with iconic story beats like that death, the Weapons' attacks (plural), the showdown with Hojo and the revelations in the Lifestream, this one's compelling from start to finish and can still be a blast to play, if you don't mind its age.
6 Hades 2
Drama Above And Below The Surface
In Supergiant Games' stellar Hades, poor old Zagreus was placed right in the middle between his father and his Olympian relatives. There was eventually something of a reconciliation, and his mother Percephone is able to return to the House of Hades, but the bitter retorts and snarkiness in the meantime (and indeed afterwards) from Hades was difficult to bear. In the sequel, Melinoe effectively has twice the drama to deal with.
Chronos, the Titan of Time, has usurped the House of Hades and captured Melinoe's family, making her mission to descend there to defeat him (rather than up and out) paramount. Several runs in, though, we also discover a potential route up from The Crossroads, where the Olympians are embroiled in a conflict on the Surface too. This allows for some variation in runs and, indeed, requires it, because there are some unique resources both above and below. Just like the first game, though, this is a very unique roguelike in that it's very story-heavy, which is a huge part of its broad appeal.
5 Disco Elysium
You Never Quite Know What'll Happen Next
No game quite fits the bill for being full of surprises like RPG Disco Elysium. You're a detective out to solve a killing in a strange town, but outside of that, what happens is absolutely up to you. You might walk into a shop hoping to buy some new gear, only to be drawn into a whole new subplot involving the mysterious creature that's believed to be lurking somewhere in a mysterious passage to the back. At the same time, the tie you're wearing could well be telling you to just jump in there and fight. Or perhaps you've upset your partner in this case, Lieutenant Kim Kitsuragi, by talking of your next wacky plan while he was still in earshot.
In Disco Elysium, players make the drama for themselves, often through ill-advised choices. The wonderfully-written dialogue seems to react to everything you do, and when given choices for an action to take, there's often at least one that's so clearly out there and silly that you've got to pick it just to see what happens. Falling a skill check, too, can have hilarious or devastating consequences, some of which you absolutely couldn't have predicted. Because of all this, Disco Elysium is an essential, unpredictable play, with experimental storytelling in a league of its own.
4 NieR: Automata
A Deeper And More Affecting Tale Than Some May Have Thought
PlatinumGames, creators of the Bayonetta series, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, and more, are well known for their high-octane, theatrical and exciting action games. They're all about gradually mastering the intricacies, learning enemy attack patterns, getting timings down, and replaying stages watching your scores soar as you improve. There are typically layers of depth to the gameplay in these titles. Nier: Automata presents a bitter conflict against a range of machines, waged by Androids. There's a sort of simple elegance to the combat, in which attack chains can be augmented by skills from your Pod and the various effects of your chosen Plug-In Chips.
Unusually for such an action-oriented experience, it's the plot of Nier: Automata that shines brightest. With repeat playthroughs, new perspectives on the characters' struggles are revealed and more is gleaned about their place in the conflict. It's a game that rewards the time you spend within it, always switches up mechanics, and will truly make you feel for the plight of its core group of characters who struggle to understand the notion of humanity.
3 Metal Gear Solid
An Intriguing Tale Well Ahead Of Its Time
The Metal Gear games have taken all kinds of incredible turns since 1998's Metal Gear Solid, but the game remains an absolute masterpiece. With a sophisticated, 'grown up' narrative that absolutely shone on the original PlayStation, it could well be the most impressive game in the system's broad library. Solid Snake's legendary infiltration of the facility on Shadow Moses Island is characterized by inventive, challenging boss fights (who could ever forget the bout against Psycho Mantis), an ever-twisting and turning narrative and, of course, excessively long Codex calls for context and exposition.
The drama in this classic is, again, in the encounters and the setpieces. The final hour or so alone consists of a huge boss fight, a devastating cutscene revelation and the second phase of that boss fight, the reveal that the capture Meryl is rigged to an explosive, a hand-to-hand boss fight, a high-speed chase through a tunnel, a crash, and the antagonist's eventual death. This is followed by a credits scene and post-credits scene that make us ponder huge issues like the reality of nuclear weapons and the extent to which fate controls our lives. There's no experience quite like this one.
2 Bayonetta
Another PlatinumGames Masterpiece
Bravado and drama are at the core of Bayonetta's DNA as a character. An Umbra Witch revived after a long slumber, she has lost her memories, but swiftly learns one thing: The angels of Paradiso are none too pleased with her. Fortunately, she has all the agility, firepower, and magical abilities she needs to strike down all who oppose her, angel or demon alike. Chock-full of PlatinumGames' trademark style and fast, reactive action, 2009's Bayonetta takes a more fantastical direction than Nier: Automata, with a plot focusing on two mysterious relics, the Eyes of the World, and the significance they may hold.
There's the timey-wimey confusion of Bayonetta traveling with her own younger self, Cereza. The celestial melodrama of Jubileus, former ruler of Paradiso, devoring Bayonetta's Lumen Sage father, Balder, by whose efforts he returned in the first place. Setpieces are marked by non-stop action, but also by some comic relief among the chaos that keeps the tone varied and gives the games a vibe all their own. Later installments would vary Bayonetta's arsenal and see her tangle more with the demonic residents of Inferno too, but the 2009 original broke new ground.
1 Resident Evil 4
An Unpredictable Thrill Ride
The Resident Evil series' broader storyline has become something of a convoluted, tangled web. No more so than several other franchises, but still. In terms of the games as separate entities, 2005's Resident Evil 4 is one of the wilder installments for taking twists and turns and landing Leon Kennedy in all kinds of ludicrous situations.
B-movie cheese and radio exchanges with enemies ("Saddler, you're small time") define the tone of this one, as does the three-act format of the village, castle, and island that Leon infiltrates. Along the way, melodramatic setpieces constantly ensue, from the battle with Chief Mendez in the village to the big drawbridge-raising chase and the obligatory mine kart ride. The game is renowned for revamping the series' controls and giving it more of an action focus, and has become one of the most beloved titles ever. It's also an absolutely unpredictable and always-exciting ride. Who saw the section with Ashley driving the bulldozer coming?
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