The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is like a lecture on open-world design. It impressively shows that you don’t have to fill an open game world with a thousand markers and flashing objects to keep the player engaged.
Link’s adventure is full of secrets, puzzles, and challenges. Even after more than 50 hours of play, we deciphered new mysteries in the vastness of Hyrule. The puzzle dungeons are full of fascinating moments that we won’t soon forget.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was released on March 3, 2017, for the Nintendo Switch and Wii U.
Grand Theft Auto V
Every GTA release represents a major cultural event, and Grand Theft Auto V truly eclipsed everything. Rockstar Games’ gangster epic broke all boundaries and displayed a complexity that almost seems absurd.
The attention to detail has overwhelmed us time and again. Moreover, Trevor Philips, one of the coolest anti-heroes in video game history was born. We’d be overjoyed if GTA 6 even comes close to matching the genius of its predecessor.
Over 115 million copies of Grand Theft Auto V have been sold so far and over six billion US dollars have been poured into the coffers – the success of GTA5 makes even cinema blockbusters like Avengers: Endgame turn green with envy.
Grand Theft Auto V was released for PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
Super Mario Odyssey
2017 was a great gaming year and Nintendo in particular scored with several titles. Among others, with our number 3: Super Mario Odyssey.
The cuddly jump-‘n’-run action adventure game meets the highest standards and is bursting with wit and creativity. We still regularly take Mario for a spin in order to grab the last few power moons.
Within the first three days, Super Mario Odyssey sold an impressive two million copies, and the outstanding Metascore of 97 is more than deserved.
Super Mario Odyssey was released for the Nintendo Switch on October 27, 2017.
The Last of Us
Developers Naughty Dog took inspiration from post-apocalyptic genre highlights like The Road, The Walking Dead, and 28 Days Later, and borrowed mechanics from the best games (Batman: Arkham Asylum, Fallout, Uncharted).
The result is an atmospherically dense survival horror game, with a sweeping narrative of uncompromising violence and outstanding gameplay. The expansion Left Behind also kept us glued to the controller until the very last second.
The Last of Us was released for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4.
Portal 2
It might sound silly, but we regret having already played Portal 2. After all, if we hadn’t played it yet, we could enjoy the groundbreaking puzzles with fresh eyes and once again experience that indescribable feeling when we enter a new puzzle room for the first time.
There’s simply nothing better than mastering challenges that seem impossible at first glance. Thanks to Portal 2, we were able to feel like intelligent masterminds, and that really doesn’t happen often.
Portal 2 was released for PlayStation 3, PC, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
Red Dead Redemption
RDR2 was really great, but honestly, we thought the first installment was significantly better. Part 1 is like Red Dead Redemption 2 without any annoying components. It is one of the deepest and most beautiful games of all time.
Just like GTA 5, it offers attention to detail rarely experienced in such expansive game worlds. The groundbreaking Western epic presented a story full of moving moments and surprises. In short, Red Dead Redemption is a unique experience.
Red Dead Redemption was released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
We’ve played through The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on really every system, including the atmospherically unique VR versions. Bethesda’s role-playing game is packed with exciting challenges and fascinating stories.
Again and again, you stumble upon unexplored dungeons, new skills, even better equipment, and valuable loot. It’s a milestone of the genre that surprises us again and again and hasn’t lost any of its fascinations thanks to countless fan mods.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has been released for HTC Vive, Nintendo Switch, Oculus Rift, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation VR, Windows Mixed Reality, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
StarCraft II
It is one of the defining games of the RTS genre, and the add-ons have also given us many entertaining hours. StarCraft II is also one of the oldest games on our list. It’s hard to believe that it will celebrate its 10th anniversary in the summer of 2020. Where is the third part?
StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty was released on July 27, 2010, for PC.
The Witcher 3
Adult role-playing entertainment without compromise? Keep it coming! In the spring 2015, the action role-playing game with an outstanding open world was released. It still holds a Metascore of 93 to this day, and we loved Geralt’s adventure so much – we even recently replayed it in the slimmed-down form on Nintendo’s Switch!
Like its predecessors, The Witcher 3 is based on the Polish novel series, which is currently also being filmed by the streaming service Netflix. The first season of the TV adaptation, which is worth watching, was released in December 2019.
The Witcher 3 was released for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Dead Space 2
Visceral Games has done the impossible with Dead Space 2. It completely eclipsed its predecessor and redefined the survival horror genre. The torments that our protagonist Isaac Clarke has to go through in this game are creepy, frightening, and unprecedented. Each of his gruesome on-screen deaths shocked us and took us away mentally.
The design of the game world and the monstrosities that populate it can only be described as eerily beautiful. The fact that Dead Space 3 couldn’t even come close to keeping up in terms of quality made us all the sadder.
Dead Space 2 was released on February 24, 2011, for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.