1. Minecraft

Minecraft is my number one favorite game of all time.

I've been playing Minecraft on and off since the Pocket Edition alpha days. I even remember version 1.6.2 being the first version I played when I got the game for PC. This game was a huge part of childhood: it's what made most of my conversations with friends, I grew up obsessed with Minecraft videos, and I simply played the game a lot. Whether I was playing in one of my many worlds or on popular minigame servers, Minecraft was always on my mind.

Entering high school, Minecraft still stuck with me. I got my own laptop, which rekindled my interest for the game. Apart from having more time to play on my own, I also started experimenting with modpacks, which changed the gameplay so drastically it could be considered another game. I also started playing in private servers with friends–something I wanted to do for a long time—which was a brand new and exciting experience for me. Alongside the game's best and biggest updates (such as 1.13 to 1.16) releasing during this time, it's needless to say that these years were my peak moments with Minecraft.

Even though I don't play the game as much as I once did, I still love Minecraft. It's a game I know I can always come back to and have a great time with. Minecraft is a special game that has been by my side basically throughout my whole life and formed some really fun memories. With its large amount of content, infinite number of things to do, constant updates that breathe new life into the game, and a really popular modding scene that can always add new experiences whenever, I see myself playing Minecraft till the end of time. I seriously don't think any other video game could ever take the number one spot in this list.

2. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild & Tears of the Kingdom

(Yes, I'm putting these two together in the same spot)

I actually got Breath of the Wild on launch day for the Wii U, though this was before I played games seriously, so I didn't play much of it. It wasn't until 2020, when I made a fresh new save file and gave it a second shot, that it all clicked, and I instantly fell in love with the game. So much about this game was amazing. I had so much fun exploring the large world and being rewarded for my curiosity. Diving head first to combat situations was exciting, figuring out the solutions to puzzles felt amazing, and messing around with the tools the game provides you was great. It's simply one of the best adventures I've ever been on. Three hundred hours later, I got the game again for the Switch, and another three hundred hours later I 100% completed the game. To this day I'd say that's one of my greatest gaming achievements. Breath of the Wild is an amazing game that did a lot of things right. It opened my eyes and gave me a new perspective on what video games can be.

Tears of the Kingdom was an equally amazing game that did so much more than I expected, maybe way too much. I'll preface this by saying the wait for this game was unbearable (maybe having a piece of paper on my wall counting down 100 days leading to the game's launch contributed to my insanity). Thankfully, the game delivered. I'll always remember that first day, May 12th of 2023, and how excited I was every time I discovered something new (sometimes being more shocked than excited!). The game constantly impressed me with new findings and features and all the stuff this game could do. It was like my experience with BotW but at an even larger scale. The 130 hours leading to me beating the game was some of the best fun I've had with gaming in recent memory. It was such a breath of fresh air and I hope to continue enjoying TotK for as long as I can. I've yet to 100% complete this game, but I intend to, just like its older sibling. I even have a big table with all the stuff I need to do to complete it! Really excited to make this my next big achievement in gaming; I hope the journey is as fun as the destination.

Do I prefer one over the other? I don't know. TotK is probably the better game, but BotW was the first of its kind, y'know? At the end of the day, I love both games a lot and I don't think that will change anytime soon.

3. Splatoon

If I had to pick one: Splatoon 3

While I played Splatoon 1 as a dumb kid, Splatoon 2 was my proper introduction to the series. I regained interest with the "special demo 2020", and even though that meant I got the game way after content was finished, I quickly fell in love with the game. The multiplayer was addicting, Salmon Run was a nice change of pace, and Octo Expansion is one of the greatest singleplayer campaigns I've ever played. I played on and off and liked it casually, in spite of its issues. All of that changed when Splatoon 3 released.

What I thought would be just another Splatoon game, instead skyrocketed my love for the series. The amount of changes, tweaks and fine tuning nearly perfected the gameplay formula. I played it every day since launch for about a month or two straight, and I loved everything about the game. Matches were a lot of fun, trying out new weapons and learning new strategies. I even started to take the game a bit more seriously, playing ranked more often, improving with a specific weapon, paying attention to my gear builds and so on. I started to become "good" at Splatoon and that climb in skill felt really good. I'm not the best player by a long shot but I've become quite knowledgeable about various aspects of the game.

The gameplay is just one of many things I love about Splatoon, because I love everything else! I really like the atmosphere and fresh vibes. I like the story, characters, themes, and lore. The soundtrack is one of my favorites of all time (one of the few that I still listen to regularly). My admiration for Splatoon goes even beyond the game itself! I love watching videos analyzing and discussing the game, I love spectating top level competitive gameplay, I appreciate a lot of fan art from many artists, my social media feeds are filled with Splatoon talk, and so much more. I've even bought Splatoon merchandise, something I've never really done with other games! Part of that merchandise contributes to my ever-growing collection Splatoon plushes and amiibos.

All that's to say is that Splatoon is something I really enjoy, and I hope the games and the community surrounding is something I can continue enjoying. Splatoon 3 may have flaws, but it's still a fantastic video game that I wish to keep playing. And while it is not my favorite video game, Splatoon as a whole is definitely my favorite thing, absolutely no doubts. I love Splatoon very much.

4. Stardew Valley

I've played a whole lot of Stardew Valley. It's such an easy game to lose yourself to, as there's so much stuff to do that there's always something to spend your time with. I have two save files that I consider significant to my experience. The first of those was actually my second time playing (I didn't play much of the first file), and I played it super casually. I took the game each day at a time and didn't worry too much about any goals. I played this in my early teens during a very stressful period of my life, and this game brought me the comfort I needed. Many years later, I revisited the game in a new save file. This time I had a different personality when it came to games, and so I took a more advanced, objective-oriented approach. I had the goal to actually follow the game's normal "progression" (such as completing the community center), as well as just running a successful farm that had a little bit of everything. I loved carefully planning my farm layout, spending the whole day working on various activities, being rewarded with massive profits, and overall becoming a master of every aspect of the game. I eventually reached perfection on that save file, which was a satisfying conclusion to everything I achieved on it.

I had a good time with both of my save files, and they highlight one of the strengths of this game: and that is the amount of freedom you have in how you play this game. If you wanna play this as a relaxing game and take it slowly, you can. If you wanna play strategically and maximize every second for big rewards, you can do that too. The community center is entirely optional, and you can take as much time as you want with it. You can do a little bit of everything or just stick to one activity like farming. You can focus on building a social life, or just decorating your home. All of these are valid playstyles, and the game enables you to enjoy it the way you want. There's absolutely no wrong way to play Stardew Valley, and that's what makes it so special. It's not just the fact that there's a massive amount of content, it's that you can freely choose which content to engage with. Stardew Valley is an achievement of a game for being a life simulator where you can truly live the life you want, and no matter which path you choose, the content you experience will be plentiful and of high quality.

5. Tetris

If I had to pick one: Tetris Effect Connected

Tetris is a game that has stuck with me for a long time. I remember my first introduction to the game was the mobile app, which a friend recommended to me. I was terrible at it, but something about it was very enticing. I kept playing for weeks, slowly getting better at fitting the pieces together, and learning easy strategies like keeping a gap for the I-tetrimino. Competing with my friend over high scores drove me to get better at the game, and after a couple of month I was pretty good at it, even at higher speeds. This was only the beginning of how deep I'd get into this game.

I soon discovered Tetris Friends, and when I tried the keyboard controls, I knew I couldn't look back. With how much fun I was having, I had to play a proper, full Tetris game. I got Puyo Puyo Tetris and... the game just clicked with me. The 1v1 battles gave me an experience that Marathon mode didn't. This was the start of a turning point, where I would get deeper and deeper into Tetris as a whole. I kept getting better at the game, learning new techniques such as the T-spin, and defeating tougher and tougher CPUs in 1v1 battles. I went on YouTube to learn new things and watch pros play against each other. Playing hours and hours of this game is what really cemented my love for Tetris. Since then, I've played many Tetris games and enjoyed their new takes on the formula, such as Tetris 99's battle royale gameplay and Tetris Effect's immersive audiovisual experience.

It's no surprise why Tetris is as big and beloved as it is. Its design is universally appealing, the gameplay is simple and easy to understand but it's complex enough to have a high skill ceiling. The fact that a game whose core gameplay mechanics have not changed in decades has not not gotten stale speaks to how much depth there is to this game and how many ways there are to express yourself through the tetriminos. Every time I play any Tetris game I get something out of it, whether it's learning a new thing or just the joy of stacking tetriminos.

6. Mario Kart

If I had to pick one: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

I don't think I need to explain why Mario Kart is so good. I've playing this game ever since I could play video games. My childhood entries were Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart DS, and I played them a lot either solo or with friends and family. The design of the game is so simple to understand that even younger me, who could barely operate a controller, could play and enjoy the game. As I grew, I would keep playing Mario Kart and try out the newer games

With Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, now that I was more competent with video games in general, I found myself getting really good at this game. I started learning the course layouts, how to drift efficiently and how to better manage items. These improvements led me to win a 3-star gold trophy on every Grand Prix cup, all the way to 200cc! Armed with this skill, I decided to take on online races. I curbed-stomped everyone until I reached 6000 points, at which point the real challenge began. It took about 2 years, but after fighting blood, sweat and tears, I reached 10,000 VR points! Needless to say, I consider myself pretty good at Mario Kart.

Mario Kart for me has been a whole journey, from being a staple of my childhood, to growing up with the different games across consoles, to being a really skilled player nowadays. I'll still be playing Mario Kart every once in a while, and you bet I will hop on the new entry whenever it comes.

7. Cuphead

Cuphead is important to me in way that is very different from the other games on this list. You see, this game completely changed my perspective on video games forever. Before this game, I played games very differently, mostly just for the immediate enjoyment. The games I played the most were pick-up-and-play games, like Minecraft, Mario Kart, mobile games, and the like. I never really paid attention to "progression", and thus I basically never finished games that featured campaigns, a story, or any sort of progress. There are a few exceptions, there were about 3 or 4 games I liked so much I carried it through the credits, but overall I had way too many games where I would play for a few hours before dropping. All of that changed when I played Cuphead.

I remember watching videos on the game and being enthralled by the outstanding animation, it was nothing like anything I'd seen before. I knew I had to try it, and try it I did. I managed to beat the whole game in one week. Something about the game felt different... and it sparked something in me. Cuphead was the first game that demanded more than I could handle; it was the first game I played that was designed to be highly difficult. Despite its challenge, my admiration for the game gave me the determination to sharpen my skills and keep pushing. My triumph in beating this game awoke something deep within me: my ability to be good at video games. That moment would forever change my life. No longer was I playing games for the immediate satisfaction, I was playing them to be good at them, which made me enjoy them so much more. I played games to beat them, to enjoy their stories, to develop strategies, to immerse myself, to learn and improve. This game singlehandedly shaped the way I play video games nowadays, and I credit it for being the reason I'm good at video games as a whole.

8. Rhythm Heaven

If I had to pick one: Rhythm Heaven Fever

If I had to mention my favorite niche series, it would be Rhythm Heaven. I fell in love with the concept before even playing it: I heard one of the songs in the background of a video and it caught my attention, so I looked it up and it brought me to a gameplay video. That video instantly hooked me on the game. So, I started out with Rhythm Heaven Megamix on the 3DS since it was the most accessible one and had a demo. I adored it, it was exactly how I had imagined it, it was everything I could've ever wanted. I played that game to death as a kid, and I enjoyed every second of it. I was so into it that I even got involved in the series' YouTube community, watching stuff like Rhythm Heaven memes and fan-made custom remixes. Later down the line I would get Rhythm Heaven Fever for the Wii, and Rhythm Heaven for the DS. Both followed the same story: I got them, I beat them, and I played them over and over again.

This hidden gem of a series has too many things I love. Having a rhythm game based on audio cues instead of visual cues is genius. The music is genuinely amazing and it's one of my favorite soundtracks (especially Fever's!). Each song compliments each minigame so well. The games are brimming with charm in every aspect from the characters, to the settings, to the minigame concepts in general, and all the hilarious, ridiculous nonsense. Rhythm Heaven is one of my earliest passions that I still hold dear to my heart today. It makes me sad that the series has been dormant for so long, because a new game would be amazing. If a new entry ever becomes real, I will be there day 1 and relive what I enjoy so much about this series all over again.