Feel free to list a few video games from different genres. Best is definitely subjective and I’m sure there are many “Best” games for various categories.
Half Life: Alyx for example is widely considered the “Best” VR game. Many would agree it’s the best Action VR game, but it wouldn’t be the “Best” for puzzles.
To make it easier I’ll list the types of Genres for Video Games from Wikipedia. Please do give suggestions for some of the highest quality games you’ve played from various categories:
- Action: Platform games, shooter, fighting, survival, etc
- Action-Adventure: Survival horror
- Adventure: Interactive, real time, 3d, text adventures, etc
- Puzzle: Exploration, trial and error, breakout, logical games, etc
- Role-playing: Action RPG, MMORPG, tactical, sandbox, etc
- Simulation: Management, life simulation, vehicle simulation, etc
- Strategy: Real time, turn based, wargame, grand strategy, etc
- Sports: Racing, competitive, sports games, etc
- MMO: Massively multiplayer online game
- Openworld: Sandbox, creative, open world, etc
Note: Non-exhaustive category list. There are more such as card games, board games, etc. Please check the wiki link above for more categories to get ideas for the “best” games.
I personally would recommend Subnautica (Open World), Half Life: Alyx (VR Action-Adventure), The Witcher 3 (Role-playing), Black Mesa (Action), Titanfall 2 (Action), Portal 2 (Puzzle), Battlebit (MMO/Action), and Half Life 3 (Fictional Game).
Half-Life was a game changer when it came out.
First-person shooters in those days were basically just spawning in a level, shooting generic bad guys and picking up loot. Half-Life had this insane story and they didn’t use any cutscenes or take away control from the player except to load the map, the whole story was told through the environment you explored and the characters you interacted with.
Even 20 years later, people are still having discussions about who the G-Man works for, or whether Dr. Breen (HL2) was a good guy.
I know right? Valve keeps raising the bar so high you wonder how it can be topped. I can’t wait for Half Life 3!
What passed for AI was amazing as well. Found a sweet spot in an elevator shaft where I could patiently pick off soldiers.
“Got you dumb bots now!”
(incoming grenades)
“Well. Shit.”
They realized they were stuck, so they flushed me out! Up till then, enemies engaged on sight, suicidal, wouldn’t stop. These animals would hang back, wait for you to return.
There’s a great map, very small, like a small 2-story office building. Just you vs. the soldiers. The enemy “smarts” makes it infinitely replayable. Sometimes they really get you sweating as they coordinate against you.
All old news now, but that was amazing in the day. Also, you could play HL on about any old crap computer. Used to LAN party with my kids and his friends using junkers I’d cobbled out of spare parts. HL2 was famous for that as well. About any hardware specs at the time would at least get you in the game.
Absolutely was.
At day 1 of release on a celery 300A overclocked to 450Mhz with SBLive EAX 3D audio played in the dark.
Remember being very impressed with the story, sound, atmosphere and AI brains increase.