You Should Play

Here is an ongoing list of all the games I’ve listed as “You Should Play” on the blog. I hope you find something in here that you like! They are ranked in order of date of posting, not in terms of how good each game is. You might find the best games somewhere in the middle of the list, perhaps!

#1: E.Y.E.: Divine Cybermancy (sci-fi RPG in the vein of Deus Ex and Warhammer / drug induced madness)
#2: The Age of Decadence (isometric post-apocalyptic Roman RPG with incredible writing)
#3: The Silent Age (classic adventure game puzzler)
#4: Fallout: New Vegas – Dead Money (survival horror DLC for everyone’s favourite western post-apocalypse)
#5: Alien Caseno (short, funny experience about how ridiculous human society can be)
#6: Night Shift (a short and sweet horror experience from Puppet Combo, masters of the jumpscare)
#7: P.T. / Silent Hills (the teaser that Konami insanely cancelled. One of the scariest video games ever created, and heir to the legendary Silent Hill legacy)
#8: Perfect Vermin (a powerfully emotional short free horror experience about meaning and purpose)
#9: NO THING (a brutally difficult runner game set in a dystopic 1980s retrofuture)
#10: Way of the Samurai 3 (a choice-filled consequence-laden samurai adventure)
#11: Silent Hill 2 (one of the greatest horror game of all time, for good reason.)
#12: CONCLUSE (a haunting journey to a surreal horrorscape called Hell. Also a lot like Silent Hill.)
#13: Darkest Dungeon (a difficult journey into the Lovecraftian nightmares of fate and chance)
#14: Marvel Ultimate Alliance (a genuinely fun action-RPG romp through the four corners of the pre-MCU Marvel Universe)
#15: Nehrim: At Fate’s Edge (a total conversion mod for Oblivion that is really a whole new game, that improves the RPG mechanics and world design)
#16: Resident Evil 7 (a stupendous modern survival horror game, well worth a play by any horror fan – especially in VR)
#17: Assassin’s Creed (the semi-hollow shell of an open world that allows for an interesting exploration of historical sites and fun assassinations)
#18: Rome: Total War (a fantastic strategy game that still holds up to this day)
#19: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II (a retro FPS that captures the essence of adventure Star Wars is so well known for)
#20: Sanitarium (a point & click horror adventure with a potent imagination)
#21: The Dream Machine (a point & click game with great heart, horror and intelligence. Video games as art.)
#22: Crusader Kings III (a dynastic role-playing game with grand strategic leanings)
#23: Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time (a tough-as-nails platformer with heart and charm forever)
#24: Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (a psychological analysis dressed up as a horror game. Not Silent Hill’s best, but still great.)
#25: Silent Hill 3 (a truly gripping horror game that retains its power and effectiveness even today. Fabulously rich and detailed.)

#26: Tekken Tag Tournament (a still fun and fascinating fighting game, well worth engaging with)
#27: Bugsnax (a lovingly crafted game with imagination bursting at the seams. Both comfortable and uncomfortable at the same time)
#28: The Medium (an exploratory horror/puzzle game in the style of old classics with great visual and audio design, as well as a fantastic story)
#29: Outer Wilds (one of my favourite games, a celebration of exploration and the video game medium itself)
#30: Gothic (a classic Eurojank RPG with compelling exploration and meaningful interaction with the world itself)
#31: Silent Hill 4: The Room (an innovative attempt to revitalize Silent Hill before it was crushed into formula – still terrifying today)
#32: Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (a defining game in my life, and one of my favourite 3D platformers ever)
#33: Love, Sam (a horror game based entirely around a journal. Frightening and compelling in one fantastic bundle)
#34: Forbidden Siren (the hardest survival horror ever made(?) for good and bad reasons. Potent atmosphere & scary mechanics make it worth playing)
#35: Jet Set Radio (a kickass anarchic platformer with style to spare)
#36: Haunting Ground (you play as a girl evading creepy stalkers in an abandoned castle. But you have a dog. Scary and atmospheric all the way through)
#37: Four Last Things (a satire of adventure game tropes viewed through the lens of Medieval Catholicsm. Monty-Python-esque, very funny)
#38: Crash Bandicoot (an early but still magnificent 3D platformer. Challenging, gorgeous and rewarding.)
#39: Lugaru HD (a bunny martial arts game that proves it is more than just a thrilling action simulator. Surreal and strange)
#40: Critters for Sale (a boundary pushing point & click horror game. Genuinely unsettling at times)
#41: Lost in Vivo (one of the few horror titles I find actually hard to play due to how claustrophobic it is. Fantastic and frightening)
#42: Nightmare of Decay (a derivative but well-crafted love-letter to horror games of yore – mainly RE1. Great fun.)
#43: Blasphemous (a gothic-horror Metroidvania with a relentless sense of style and grim, crushing fun. Sublime.)
#44: Pathologic Classic HD (on most days, this is the game I will tell you is my favourite of all time. A marvelous, crushing, revelatory experience that changed how I look at video games. Can’t recommend it more highly.)
#45: Dead End Road (an addictive horror driving game that has a crushing difficulty but an intoxicating atmosphere. Wonderful.)
#46: Life is Strange (a revelatory point-and-click adventure with themes that contributed to me becoming who I am today. A landmark in my life.)
#47: Isolomus (a bizarre, surreal, haunting game made entirely using plasticine. Gorgeous and confronting, even if it is quite short)
#48: Stay Out of the House (a frightening horror “immersive-sim-lite” that is tense, beautifully designed, and almost essential playing for survival horror enthusiasts)
#49: Sly Raccoon (a terrific 3D platformer. For me, basically timeless and endlessly replayable. One of my favourites.)
#50: Nun Massacre (a blisteringly frightening experience. One of the scariest games I have ever played)

#51: Yakuza 0 (a fantastically human game. Great practically from top to bottom.)
#52: Knights of the Old Republic II (intelligent and thought-provoking. Deconstructs the Star Wars galaxy and then has the strength to suggest new things to take its place.)
#53: Sly 2: Band of Thieves (An engaging romp and a perfect sequel that defines Sly as a franchise. Almost impossible to beat as a narratively-driven 3D platformer.)
#54: The Dream Machine (again! It’s a fantastic adventure game that is painfully undervalued.)
#54: Legie (a weird, lost RPG/adventure game/dungeon crawler hybrid. Its atmosphere is the main reason for its charm.)
#55: