At a glance, Scorched Earth isn't much to look at - a game with tiny sprites and simplistic VGA graphics where tanks shoot missiles and try to blow each other up. But then you take a closer look and find that this game is steeped in clever mechanics and surprisingly deep tactics. From MIRVs to Funky Bombs to Sandhogs, the game has a variety of interesting weapons to utilize, some of which can devastate everything on the screen (even their user) in short order. Further adding to the fun are defensive items like shields and options like having shots wrap around to the other side of the screen, bounce off the ceiling or radically shifting winds making aiming shots more difficult. In short, it's a game with a lot of options and endless replayability, especially in multi-player combat. The only real crime is that it never got an online play option.
89. I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream (CyberDreams, 1995)
If you're of a certain age you probably remember playing this one in your school days, mostly because it's one of those rare educational games that was actually fun. In fact, it was actually rather like a roguelike in many respects - you picked one of three career paths (determining your starting money and score multiplier at the end), dealt with a lot of randomized hazards and splitting paths, and tried to reach Oregon with as many resources intact and people still alive as you could. There were legions of updates, remakes and rereleases over the years (still continuing to this day), but the fact that this game still remains popular despite having iterations going all the way back to 1971 speaks to its timeless charm. It it's got tons of depth and timeless design, and that's enough to make it an immortal classic.
85. Rise of the Triad: Dark War (Apogee Software, 1995)
An action-puzzle game with nicely detailed isometric graphics and smooth controls, D/Generation also had atmosphere in spades thanks to its tense horror/cyberpunk setting, a surprisingly deep storyline (revealed through NPC dialog and computer files) and a huge variety of traps waiting to nail you. At first they're relatively self-explanatory - electrified floor tiles, turrets, land mines, et cetera, but they quickly get more and more devious as you go. Probably the worst are the shapeshifting enemies, which can disguise themselves as hostages or even mundane objects in the environment, quickly ramping up the paranoia. One can also find the occasional bomb to blow down doors and skip some puzzles, though as these tend to be rare, they should be used sparingly. The game never got a lot of attention in its day, though it has acquired enough of a cult following over the years to get a re-release on the Nintendo Switch (as well as a 3D remake, released at nearly the same time). No matter what platform you visit it on, though, D/Generation is a game worth your while.
83. Myst (Cyan Studios, 1993/2000/2014/2021)
82. Riven (Cyan, 2024)
The followup to the 2021 remake of Myst, once again keeping the design of the original largely intact while taking advantage of modern technology to immerse the player in a 3D world. Like the rest of the series it's a rather minimalistic adventure title - there are very few inventory items and puzzles largely consist of trial-and-error using various visual and audio cues, but the imaginative steam-powered technology, gorgeous sights and subtle storytelling (as well as remixed puzzles from the original release) keep it an engaging and immersive adventure. Seeing it redone in full 3D is quite a treat too, as it makes the experience more gorgeous than ever.
