70. The Curse of Monkey Island (LucasArts, 1997)
The Monkey Island series is a beloved classic among adventure game fans; following the exploits of the bumbling wannabe-pirate Guybrush Threepwood, he seeks to win the affections of Elaine Marley and frequently clashes with his nemesis, the evil undead pirate LeChuck. Curse took the series in a bold new direction with a fresh visual style, plenty of animated cutscenes and perfectly cast voiceover complementing the humor throughout. The scenarios are as absurd as ever - this time with Guybrush trying to reverse a voodoo curse he's unintentionally afflicted Elaine with - and that of course lends itself to plenty of laughs. The interface was newly reworked too, using a simpler "verb coin" with three general commands instead of the array of commands from earlier SCUMM games. The puzzles definitely didn't suffer for it, though - you're still in for a challenge, especially in "Mega Monkey" mode.
69. Loom (LucasArts, 1990)
Another excellent point-and-click adventure from LucasArts, Loom takes the player on a trip through a wonderfully-realized dark fantasy world full of striking visuals, dense lore and an unforgettable cast of characters. Some surprisingly unique mechanics, too, as you don't really follow the usual pick-up-an-item-and-use-it-elsewhere format seen in most games of this type. Instead, you utilize Bobbin's distaff and play magical 'drafts' with a variety of effects; turning straw into gold, opening things, dyeing objects, and so forth, and often you can play them backwards to get the opposite effect (though some are palindromic and thus cannot be used this way). Some inspired voiceover and detailed VGA visuals (for the later versions) completed the package and made it a delightful experience.
68. Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition (Overhaul Games, 2012)
A remaster/remake of the original Baldur's Gate - a fine open-ended tactical RPG in its time, but definitely lacking in features and polish compared to its sequel. It was also pretty difficult to get running in an acceptable fashion on modern 4K machines, which definitely hampered its long-term appeal. This one updates it to use the same engine as 2, makes all of that game's new classes available as well as adding some new content - quests, characters and even a full-fledged interquel and expansion in Siege of Dragonspear, bridging the story gap between the two games. There's even cross-play compatibility with the later console and mobile ports, so it's still just as fun in multiplayer as ever.
67. Carmageddon (Stainless Games, 1997)
A game which blends all things late-90s together into one - charmingly blocky 3D engines (BRender, the same technology behind 3D Movie Maker), metal music, gratuitous violence and pure action. Case in point, Carmageddon is a combination of an arcade racer, an open-world game and a demolition derby with three win conditions - go through all the checkpoints before time expires, demolish all of your opponents' cars, or kill every pedestrian on the map. Impacts, checkpoints and dead pedestrians earn you extra time and points which can be used to unlock new vehicles and tracks, purchase upgrades or just repair damage to your car and get you back in the action mid-stage. You'll also find a variety of hazards and various power-ups and power-downs like Jelly Suspension, Blind Pedestrians, Solid Granite Cars, Damage Multipliers and Free Repairs, all of which only add more chaos to the proceedings. Gruesome, twisted and incredibly fun, Carmageddon is a blast. Just steer clear of that godawful Nintendo 64 version and you're golden.
66. Doom II (id Software, 1994)
Doom was an enormous game-changer and hugely successful when it was released in 1993, so of course sequels, engine licenses and countless copycats soon followed. Doom II was released less than a year after the original game, and while it doesn't change up the formula too greatly, does it need to? Not really. Just add in a new weapon (the Super Shotgun - quite deadly at close range but considerably less so at a distance), a few new enemy types and 32 new stages, and you've got another top selling game. There was also an official add-on called "Master Levels for Doom II" featuring several high quality user-created maps and a standalone expansion called "Final Doom" that added 64 new stages. The game also continues to get countless fan mods and addons even today, so it's proof positive of its timelessness.
65. Kingsway (Andrew Morrish, 2017)
Roguelikes are definitely a hallmark of PC gaming, bringing a unique brand of challenge and staggering replayability that few other genres can even hope to match. I'm not the biggest fan, that said - they generally have to have a pretty unique hook to hold my attention for very long. Kingsway is one that certainly has a unique presentation, putting you at the helm of a Windows-95-esque operating system to travel about the world, manage your inventory and stats, accept quests (via a messaging app) and even play background music on a Winamp look-alike. Combat similarly has enemies pop up in windows that constantly move about the screen, with you having to hit buttons to attack, defend and use abilities, as well as evade their attacks (in the form of a popup that flies across the screen or arcs, simulating things like firing arrows or thrown bombs). A clever idea that's executed well, and the end result is some good tongue-in-cheek entertainment.
64. Kingsvein (Rad Codex, 2024)
The fourth tactical RPG from the incredibly talented Rad Codex, and it changes up the format once again, becoming something slightly more akin to the Divinity games with a focus on exploring large maps in search of secrets. The setting is a distinct one too, taking place in a largely ruined city inhabited by hostile Wisps and stone-like humanoids called Diecasts. The combat remains clever and inventive, letting you turn various elements of the environment to your advantage - pushing over braziers to burn enemies, channeling electricity through spilled blood, knocking enemies down pits and so forth. A new mechanic comes in the form of Wyvern mounts, which grant their rider protection for as long as their mount stands or they dismount. Wyverns can become quite powerful in their own right too, of course, though they level up slowly and have considerably fewer options for development.
63. Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition (Black Isle/Beamdog Software, 2000/2014)
The less-popular cousin to Baldur's Gate, but those that gave it a chance found another worthy adventure set in the Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms universe. It's a substantially different core experience, as it doesn't revolve around a central "chosen one" story and is much more combat-focused. As a result you create a party of six characters to battle their way through hordes of critters, with semi-randomized loot and a greater focus on combat tactics. There's a hard level cap rather than an experience cap, so the metagaming element for creating powerful parties is substantially different here. There's also an expansion (Heart of Winter) that adds more challenging stages for high level players, and an extra difficulty level called "Heart of Fury" that makes enemies much more dangerous but also greatly increases the amount of experience they award. Some high-quality monster bashing fun.
62. Slay the Spire (Megacrit, 2019)
A relatively novel blend of elements, Slay the Spire is one part deck-building card game and one part roguelike, melded together quite expertly. Building your deck, thinning out your less-useful cards and acquiring various Relics to bolster your abilities (doing everything from restoring HP after battle to damaging enemies every few cards you play) become just as much of a focus as clearing out foes. As you proceed up floors, defeating progressively tougher enemies, you also get a slew of randomized events - campfires to rest and regain HP or upgrade a single card in your deck, shops, and all manner of random events that can help or hinder you. Tough and unpredictable as any good roguelike, but with enough of a strategic bent that encourages experimentation and gives it a ton of replayability.
61. Ion Fury (Voidpoint, 2019)The prequel to the 2016 flop "Bombshell" but thankfully it succeeds in every way its predecessor failed, bringing back the Build Engine with all the panache and clever design that made games like Duke Nukem and Blood great in the first place. Fast-paced action in surprisingly realistic environments (well, as much as a twenty-four year old engine can muster, at least) with a huge number of interactive objects, secrets to find, clever enemy designs, tons of references to old 3D Realms games and a cool wisecracking protagonist, as well as some new features for the engine like climbable ladders and alt-fire for almost every weapon. It may not be the modern era's prettiest shooter, but I was having too much fun with it to care. Ion Fury is the long-lost cousin of all the classic '90s shooters.
The prequel to the 2016 flop "Bombshell" but thankfully it succeeds in every way its predecessor failed, bringing back the Build Engine with all the panache and clever design that made games like Duke Nukem and Blood great in the first place. Fast-paced action in surprisingly realistic environments (well, as much as a twenty-four year old engine can muster, at least) with a huge number of interactive objects, secrets to find, clever enemy designs, tons of references to old 3D Realms games and a cool wisecracking protagonist, as well as some new features for the engine like climbable ladders and alt-fire for almost every weapon. It may not be the modern era's prettiest shooter, but I was having too much fun with it to care. Ion Fury is the long-lost cousin of all the classic '90s shooters.
