30. Unreal Tournament 2004 (Epic Games, 2004)
Unreal made a big splash in the 90s with its polished engine and stunning 3D visuals, and its spinoff franchise, Unreal Tournament, only continued its legacy with its fast-paced gameplay, a ton of crazy weapons to use and clever game modes like Capture the Flag, Mutant and Domination. UT2004 continues the trend but adds vehicles and gun turrets into the chaos, building a new layer onto the gameplay without disrupting its balance. All of that, plus modding support that allowed players to create custom weapons, maps, models and even game modes and basically tweak almost every aspect of the game to their own liking, make this an excellent experience both in multiplayer and solo play that's still fun today. Sadly Epic now subscribes to the harebrained theory of "well if people can't play our old good games then they'll have to buy our new not-so-good ones lol" so it was pulled from all digital storefronts and their matchfinding server was shut down in 2023; thankfully there are ways around this though.
The original Fallout was a standout title for its time, introducing a heavy, well, role-playing element back into roleplaying games instead of just being an endless monster-squashing simulator; nearly every quest and scenario could be handled in a variety of different ways, and it was even possible to win without witnessing a single death or firing a single shot at an enemy. Fallout 2, while it doesn't have the same amount of polish, makes up for it in its sheer amount of content, expanding the world and questlines tenfold and tweaking its gameplay to add conveniences like a car (which cuts down travel time and adds extra storage) and making recruitable NPCs programmable to a degree and much more useful in a fight. All of this, compounded with a sharp wit and a prevalent sense of humor, make Fallout 2 an engrossing experience you can easily get caught playing for hours.
28. Mega Man X (Capcom, 1994)
Mega Man was a huge hit on the NES, spawning six sequels before the platform was finally retired at the end of 1994. The franchise then made the leap to the Super Nintendo, and once again, the result was brilliant. Bringing with it a reimagined protagonist and a much darker atmosphere, as well as high-res visuals, fluid animations and amazing music that took full advantage of the Super Nintendo's hardware, Mega Man X was a top contender in its own right. Of course, it also introduced Mega Man X's sidekick Zero, who would eclipse X himself in popularity to the point of upstaging him in later games and even getting his own spinoff series (which even the game's producer admits was intentional). The X series may have declined sharply in quality over the years, but there's no denying that the first two games were fantastic.
27. Super Mario 64 (Nintendo, 1996)
Mario's been the undisputed king of platforming for three decades, and even his leap to 3D didn't do anything to slow him down, which is more than can be said for most prominent 2D franchises from the '80s and '90s. It really showed off what the Nintendo 64 could do with its smooth graphics, polished controls and physics and the same platforming joy that made Mario an unstoppable juggernaut in the first place. Sure, you fight with the camera in some spots and the level design is occasionally a pain in the ass as a result, but that in no way made it less fun. It's only grown in popularity since, with countless fan-made mods, remakes and even a fully functional, 100% unauthorized port to the PC which has gotten plenty of custom mods and upgrades in its own right. Mario 64, like its NES and SNES brethren, is an immortal classic.
26. Half-Life 2 (Valve, 2004)
While I'm generally not a big first person shooter guy, Half-Life 2 is one I'm glad to pick up and play whenever the opportunity presents itself. The game was downright jaw-dropping for its time in 2004 and remains so today, presenting some innovative mechanics (like the Gravity Gun), creative puzzle solving, a bleak atmosphere, intense combat, plenty of variety and a strong narrative despite the fact that Gordon Freeman never utters a single word throughout the whole thing. That it's also inspired numerous incredible mods and spinoffs that have become timeless classics in their own right speaks to its quality, and Valve neglecting this franchise for so long since is downright criminal. Bring on Half-Life 3 already; we're all waiting!
While I'm generally not a big first person shooter guy, Half-Life 2 is one I'm glad to pick up and play whenever the opportunity presents itself. The game was downright jaw-dropping for its time in 2004 and remains so today, presenting some innovative mechanics (like the Gravity Gun), creative puzzle solving, a bleak atmosphere, intense combat, plenty of variety and a strong narrative despite the fact that Gordon Freeman never utters a single word throughout the whole thing. That it's also inspired numerous incredible mods and spinoffs that have become timeless classics in their own right speaks to its quality, and Valve neglecting this franchise for so long since is downright criminal. Bring on Half-Life 3 already; we're all waiting!
25. Duke Nukem 3D (3D Realms, 1996)
If Doom introduced the idea of realistic environments that still retained elements of strong gameplay, Duke Nukem 3D took it to perfection. Not content to take place in sterile military bases and stone buildings, Duke Nukem has you walking down city streets, entering realistic locales like supermarkets and football stadiums, and blasting aliens all the while with a plethora of clever weapons. From pipe bombs to "freeze throwers" to laser-activated mines to machine guns. Other inventive powerups include jetpacks, portable medkits and speed/melee damage boosting steroids. It's still steeped in brutal violence, cheesecake and cheesy action movie one-liners, of course, but that's all part of the charm.
24. Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny (Origin Systems, 1988)
The last of the "classic" style Ultimas and undeniably the best of them in terms of gameplay, putting the player through a lengthy ordeal of difficult battles, challenging dungeon puzzles and the Ultima staple of lots of traveling, note-taking and problem-solving in order to gather all the needed items and complete the game. Even towns aren't safe, as the guards are now corrupt pawns of a world-spanning dictatorship and try to shake you down or harass you, and the three Shadowlords roam the world, corrupting peoples' minds and proving to be extremely dangerous foes who can easily wipe out your entire party unless you know exactly how to deal with them. Ultima V is a challenge for sure, but its dark atmosphere, well-realized game environment and brilliant writing shine through, creating one of the greatest CRPGs of all time.
23. Simcity 2000 (Maxis, 1995)
I'm not terribly fond of simulation games as a whole, but Simcity 2000 managed to win me over in a big way back in the mid-90s, providing just enough depth and complexity to be challenging but not enough to make the whole thing seem like a chore. It was also just fun for the sheer amount of freedom you're given - you can design every city to the last detail, and the lack of any concrete end goal means you can create anything from a utopian metropolis to a destitute island city plagued by UFO attacks and firestorms. Of course, those with a more goal-oriented mindset can also take on the Scenarios, which include things like dealing with widespread boredom to cleaning up the aftermath from giant floods, volcanoes and even a nuclear attack by terrorists. Really enjoyable stuff, and still a game I occasionally dust off and play to this day.
22. Planescape: Torment (Black Isle, 1999)
Black Isle were practically synonymous with quality CRPGs during their short existence, bringing us top-notch titles like Icewind Dale and Fallout 2. Planescape: Torment is seen by many as their crowning achievement, combining the gameplay of Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale with an incredibly well-defined, dark world replete with bizarre sights and colorful characters. Your main character is no different in that regard, being effectively immortal and attempting to regain his lost memories through all sorts of ordeals. Your immortality also factors into the gameplay, allowing you to do really strange things like swap out your own eyeballs and reattach severed fingers onto yourself, among other bizarre (and often unsettling) feats. Its gameplay is much less focused on combat and much more on dialog, but you honestly don't mind that much when the narrative is so dense (comprising over one million written words) and such a captivating read that you stay glued throughout every word.
I'm not terribly fond of simulation games as a whole, but Simcity 2000 managed to win me over in a big way back in the mid-90s, providing just enough depth and complexity to be challenging but not enough to make the whole thing seem like a chore. It was also just fun for the sheer amount of freedom you're given - you can design every city to the last detail, and the lack of any concrete end goal means you can create anything from a utopian metropolis to a destitute island city plagued by UFO attacks and firestorms. Of course, those with a more goal-oriented mindset can also take on the Scenarios, which include things like dealing with widespread boredom to cleaning up the aftermath from giant floods, volcanoes and even a nuclear attack by terrorists. Really enjoyable stuff, and still a game I occasionally dust off and play to this day.
22. Planescape: Torment (Black Isle, 1999)
Black Isle were practically synonymous with quality CRPGs during their short existence, bringing us top-notch titles like Icewind Dale and Fallout 2. Planescape: Torment is seen by many as their crowning achievement, combining the gameplay of Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale with an incredibly well-defined, dark world replete with bizarre sights and colorful characters. Your main character is no different in that regard, being effectively immortal and attempting to regain his lost memories through all sorts of ordeals. Your immortality also factors into the gameplay, allowing you to do really strange things like swap out your own eyeballs and reattach severed fingers onto yourself, among other bizarre (and often unsettling) feats. Its gameplay is much less focused on combat and much more on dialog, but you honestly don't mind that much when the narrative is so dense (comprising over one million written words) and such a captivating read that you stay glued throughout every word.
21. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo, 2006/2016)
One of Nintendo's famous "remake sequels", simultaneously continuing the story of a franchise while remaking and expanding upon one of its older games. In this case, Twilight Princess serves as a more polished reimagining of Ocarina of Time, a game which always belt a bit lacking to me (particularly in its bland overworld design and comparatively generic dungeons and items). Twilight Princess, on the other hand, feels impeccably well-crafted by comparison - the combat is much more refined and even includes horseback battles, the dungeon designs are absolutely impeccable (with the water dungeon in particular going from one of the worst to one of my favorites) and the story is also surprisingly good, with lavishly-produced animation and expressive characters despite the lack of voiced dialog. It's also just a gorgeous game all around, providing a strangely beautiful and alien aesthetic in spite of its subdued color palette.
One of Nintendo's famous "remake sequels", simultaneously continuing the story of a franchise while remaking and expanding upon one of its older games. In this case, Twilight Princess serves as a more polished reimagining of Ocarina of Time, a game which always belt a bit lacking to me (particularly in its bland overworld design and comparatively generic dungeons and items). Twilight Princess, on the other hand, feels impeccably well-crafted by comparison - the combat is much more refined and even includes horseback battles, the dungeon designs are absolutely impeccable (with the water dungeon in particular going from one of the worst to one of my favorites) and the story is also surprisingly good, with lavishly-produced animation and expressive characters despite the lack of voiced dialog. It's also just a gorgeous game all around, providing a strangely beautiful and alien aesthetic in spite of its subdued color palette.