90. Abuse (Crack dot Com, 1996)
A run-and-gun shooter that plays like one part Contra, one part Doom and one part Smash TV, Abuse was like nothing else on PC at the time. Basically a 2D platformer with 360-degree movement and aiming via the mouse, the game took advantage by having enemies be fast and ruthless and come at you from every angle, quickly overwhelming you if you weren't careful. Of course, it also took cues from games like Doom with multiple hidden secrets and powerups to find in each stage and even a few alternate pathways to discover. Its source code has also been released, allowing it to get ports to multiple platforms, so there's no excuse to not check out Abuse.
89. Horizon's Gate (Rad Codex, 2020)
A game that has been described by many as "Final Fantasy Tactics by way of Uncharted Waters", and upon playing it, I can certainly confirm that is indeed the case. You build a character, take part in turn-based battles both on foot and by sea, unlock new classes as the game progresses, and can basically explore, trade or become a privateer at your leisure, taking part in ship battles or legitimate business to earn loot for later upgrades. Inventory management and item manipulation is simple as can be too, using a keyboard-and-mouse interface that reminds me more than a bit of the classic Ultimas. It's certainly not the deepest example of anything it attempts to be, but it is a lot of fun, and really, that's what I come to a game for anyway. Sacrilege, I know.
88. Freedom Planet (GalaxyTrail, 2014)
Beginning life as a Sonic the Hedgehog fangame, Freedom Planet quickly turned into something grander - an homage to Sega Genesis era action games in general, working in elements of games like Rocket Knight Adventures and a dash of Treasure style action as well. There are three playable characters - Sash Lilac (who has a speed dash and a spinning cyclone), Carol Tea (who fights with short-ranged claw swipes and can ride a motorcycle that both makes her faster and gives her stronger attacks) and Milla Basset (who can hover for short distances as well as summon magical barriers and cubes, which serve as both projectiles and a short-ranged but powerful burst attack). The fast-paced action and fluid animation also fit the aesthetic perfectly, creating a game that's flashy and intense and whose puzzles don't intrude on the fast pace.
87. I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream (CyberDreams, 1995)
A point-and-click adventure based on the Harlan Ellison story, which sparked quite a lot of controversy for its twisted themes that depicted all the worst elements of humanity. While the protagonists are far from innocent (one notably being a Nazi doctor with a story set in a death camp), its themes of redemption and overcoming failure won out, turning it into a very compelling story even if its puzzles were not always the best and the voice acting was, as per the period, mediocre (save for AM, voiced by Ellison himself, who is clearly having a lot of fun with the role). It's recently gotten a number of modern ports thanks to Nightdive, and the original is playable in both DOSBox and ScummVM, so it's well worth a look for fans of good stories.
86. Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale (EasyGameStation, 2010)
About as unlikely a success story as they come, Recettear is a small Japanese indie title localized by a two-man team, became the first Japanese-style RPG released on Steam and ended up being a surprise hit there, helping to reignite interest in the genre at a time when its popularity was in decline (for comparison, the biggest name released the same year was
Final Fantasy XIII... blech). It's also a fairly unique take on the format - rather than playing as a world-saving hero, you take the role of said hero's daughter who is saddled with his enormous debt, running an item store in order to raise money and avoid foreclosure on your house. It's not all buying low and selling high, though - you also meet adventurers and aid them in their dungeon crawling endeavors, acquiring new items to sell and craft. It's also got a pretty spot-on sense of humor, poking fun at genre clichés and having a lot of off-the-wall dialog between Recette and Tear, making it a consistently amusing experience.
85. Diablo (Blizzard Entertainment, 1996)
Warcraft and Lost Vikings were fairly popular games in their time, but Diablo is the game that really put Blizzard on the map. Taking the concept of games like Rogue, adding an action bent and dousing the whole thing in a heavy grim atmosphere, it definitely awed people at a glance. It only became more immersive thanks to its fantastic soundtrack and a surprisingly good story with some high quality voice over, and the fact that you got a random shuffle of quests, items and spells each time you played lent it quite a bit of replay value. It had an official (though non-canon) expansion in Hellfire as well, adding in several new quests and three new playable classes (though you do have to do some file-editing to make them all accessible). While largely overshadowed by its sequel these days, Diablo is still a very worthy game that is not to be missed.
84. Epic Pinball (Digital Extremes, 1993)
While I'm not really a big fan of video pinball games, a few have managed to grab my attention over the years due to their brilliant execution. Epic Pinball is definitely one of them; a huge mainstay on shareware discs and even having limited versions included with some OEM computers back in the day, it certainly impressed me with its high-fidelity and colorful graphics, fantastic music and the sheer variety it brings to the proceedings; the CD version of the game includes a whopping 13 tables to play on. They also match a variety of themes, from race cars to futuristic androids to a bizarre, threadbare table called the "Enigma" that awards bonuses based on a cryptic set of conditions. Good stuff all around, whether you're a pinball fanatic or not.
83. Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom (Origin Systems, 1996)
Wing Commander III brought FMV and big-name actors to the series, but Wing Commander IV went even further with it, telling a high-stakes story about a rogue militia carrying out indiscriminate attacks on random Confederation ships, a new war building and a sinister conspiracy behind it all, spread out across a whopping 6 CDs, no less. The game was also among the earliest to adopt DVD technology, with an enhanced version of the game sporting high-quality cutscenes being included with many hardware decoder cards, which just made it look even nicer. Pretty wild stuff for 1997, and proof that Origin was on the cutting edge for pretty much their entire existence. Shame they couldn't quite make it up in profits, though...
82. Riven (Cyan, 2024)
The followup to the 2014 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.
81. Jazz Jackrabbit (Epic MegaGames, 1994)
Probably the first PC game I can remember really being blown away by, proving that computers could have games that were just as fast-paced, colorful and smooth-playing as anything on a console. Jazz Jackrabbit obviously draws a lot of inspiration from Sonic with its colorful environments, mazelike levels and fast paced design (even utilizing similar 3D bonus stages to Sonic CD), though it works in a touch of run-and-gun shooting action too, giving you a number of different weapons and powerups to utilize and plenty of enemies to blow away with them. Cap that off with a fantastic soundtrack and you've got a genuine shareware action classic that gave the major consoles of the time a run for their money.
