What is your favorite video game? That’s a normally very tough question for gamers, particularly if they’ve been gaming for a number of years. Someone’s favorite game(s) could be very different now from a few years earlier. Of course, other gamers could have a couple of games they love that stand the test of time and remain their favorite games throughout their entire “gaming career”. And some games age better than others. There are a lot of factors that can affect how a person chooses their favorite games, with the main factor, I think, being that it’s exceptionally difficult to choose just one favorite game, especially if you have several that are all so close in terms of quality and fun factor. A few of us Gaming Respawners have done a fair bit of soul-searching and gathered up our top five favorite games/series since, quite frankly, we didn’t want to spend the considerable time and effort it would likely take to narrow down all our choices to just one. As most of my fellow associates on this site would say: “We couldn’t be ‘arsed’.” Join us and see our choices on “Gaming Respawn’s Favorite Games/Series 2024”.
Peter Keen
The way I am going to answer this is, if there was a game released tomorrow of a franchise that I love, would I instantly go out and get the deluxe version of it without even thinking about it? The reason I mention this is because some franchises started off well but have fallen by the wayside or are going in a direction that I don’t like. For example, the game that I have played the most from start to finish (6 times through) is Devil May Cry. However, I hated the reboot of the series with Devil May Cry 5, so I wouldn’t jump to buy the next iteration. With that in mind, here are my top 5 games/franchises.
1 – Without question, God of War! Each game in the series has been a belter. I even enjoyed Ascension. If ever a series epitomizes how fun and thrilling games can be, this franchise is it. From top to bottom, I feel these games are part of the greatest series of all time.
2 – Uncharted. Again, I feel these games are masterpieces. I’ve even enjoyed the PS Vita Golden Abyss game too. For me, these games are showpieces that blur the lines of where a video game crosses into an interactive blockbuster movie.
3 – Alpine Ski Racing. This series was last seen in 2007. There were three Alpine Ski Racing games that came out in 2005, 2006 and 2007, all on the PS2. If I could have been anything in life, I personally would want to be a downhill ski racer to experience the thrill of an Alpine ski season. These games still, to this day, let me live that dream. Seeing as there has been every other random sport given a modern game for it, I still hold out hope that one of the most popular winter sports will get another game made for it soon.
4 – Battlefield. No matter how much I try to enjoy other FPS shooting games, the one that draws me back to it time and time again is Battlefield. The reason is you don’t get anything so fun in any other FPS series like you do here. They call them “Battlefield Moments”. Gaming is supposed to be a fun pastime, and I’ve lost count of some of the ridiculous things I’ve seen and done in a Battlefield game.
5 – This last spot is tricky. I nearly put the Yakuza series as I cried like a baby at the end of The Man Who Erased His Name. I could also have put Tomb Raider, Splinter Cell, Killzone, or the visual novel series Steins;Gate. However, I’m going to go with an actual franchise in which there is an upcoming game due at any moment, that being the James Bond franchise. If the pre-orders for IOInteractive’s upcoming game Project 007 appeared tomorrow, I’d be buying the most expensive collectible version of the game I could. The reason for this is that the Bond games (and this is a common theme in my list) know what it is to have fun. The range of things you get to do in one solitary game is always diverse and at time hilarious! The last true Bond game, as I view it, was Blood Stone. I rinsed that game in both the single and multiplayer for all it was worth on both the PS3 and the Xbox 360!
Honorable mentions go to – Fight Night, Muramasa: Rebirth, The Last of Us Part 1, Hatsune Miku, Gran Turismo, Stellar Blade and Astro Bot
Will Worrall
It’s always a tough choice to boil down your gaming taste to a small array of 5 games or series, but I feel like these five reflect me pretty well. I’ve been in love with the Legacy of Kain series since I was a child, and I first clapped my eyes on Soul Reaver at a friend’s house. I’ve been obsessed ever since (even obsessed enough to play Nosgoth a chunk) and am titanically happy to hear about the new remasters.
Dark Souls has also had a strong place in my heart ever since I figured out that weight affected your rolling ability in the first game. While I may be burnt out slightly on the series, I know I’ll continue to return to the games I already love from the series for the rest of my life. This is also true of Crash Bandicoot, but that’s where the similarities between the two series’ end, and don’t let anyone tell you different.
Dishonored takes up the slot for a stealth game because it was a toss-up between this and Metal Gear Solid, and I feel like the latter gets enough praise as it is. Dishonored combines some of my favourite stuff: stealth, RPG elements, a steampunk (whale-punk?) fantasy universe and a ton of OP magical abilities. Honestly, I also just find the world the team built fun to be in, stupid binary morality system be damned!!
Lastly, I have Loom. If you’ve not heard of it, it’s the LucasArts game from the 90s that no one ever talks about. It’s also a beautifully realized and incredibly unique point-and-click adventure game that operates without any verbiage or inventory, instead relying on a series of musical patterns to solve all of the game’s puzzles. While the other two games in the series never materialized, the game itself and the surrounding audio drama will always be worth checking out.
Honourable Mention: Final Fantasy X
Daniel Garcia-Montes
I’ve played so many games over the years, with my favorite genres being open-world action games and action-RPGs, though I also fancy third-person shooters (and the occasional FPS games) and stealth games. But for a series of games to make it to my list of all-time favorites, they have to be exceptional and truly appeal to me. My personal prerequisites for what make a game exceptional include fun gameplay that remains enjoyable even after a lengthy playthrough and a well written and engaging story that keeps me immersed. Replayability is also important to me, and while I greatly enjoyed titles like Red Dead Redemption, Ghost of Tsushima, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, those are beefy titles that don’t lend themselves well to multiple playthroughs. I will play them again eventually, but I keep these replays far apart.
Number one on my list is Metal Gear Solid. I grew up on these games, they’re the reason I grew to develop a better sense of appreciation for stories in not just games but also movies, shows, and even books/comics. The MGS 1-4 games are basically half story, half gameplay. You can seriously watch a good 10 minutes or more of cutscenes in these games before going back to gameplay, and you could play for a mere 20 minutes or less before another lengthy cutscene takes over. I didn’t mind this though since the cutscenes and stories for these games are just superb, and even when replaying these games, I never skipped cutscenes (would you skip scenes in a movie you enjoy?).
It also doesn’t hurt that the MGS games, even MGS 1, have fun gameplay that stands the test of time. Even the later games, namely Peace Walker, The Phantom Pain, and the Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance spin-off, while different and not as story-heavy as the older games, are all fun as hell; not a bad game in the series (Metal Gear Survive doesn’t count). And, of course, Solid Snake is the coolest, most badass video game protagonist ever created. And anyone who doesn’t agree…you are objectively wrong.
Number two is God of War. Another series that doesn’t feature a single bad game, God of War has become a juggernaut in the gaming scene. The original series was a hack ‘n slash gorefest with platforming and puzzle elements set in the epic backdrop of the ancient Greek myths. The last game in the PS2/PS3 era, the prequel game Ascension, was my least favorite game in the series, but it was still good. However, it proved that the GoW series needed to change things up a bit so as not to fall into a rut. Santa Monica Studios did, indeed, change things up…a lot.
The GoW series was essentially rebooted from a bombastic hack ‘n slash series with a good yet more straightforward narrative to a series with more precise, deliberate, and deeper gameplay combined with a more grounded and personal form of storytelling. It was quite the tonal shift, but the developers made it work fantastically. Kratos himself was also far more developed and relatable in this newer iteration of the series, whereas in the older games, as impressively powerful and unstoppable as Kratos was, it was damn hard to root for him at times since he was also a ruthless, murdering psychopath. This level of growth and change makes Kratos easily my second favorite video game character (you already know who my top favorite is).
Number three goes to Mass Effect. What can I say about Mass Effect? I love the ME Trilogy. The role-playing elements that let you shape Commander Shepard into the space hero or anti-hero that you want was exceptionally well done and very cinematic to boot. The gameplay also improved with each entry, so yeah, great series (except Andromeda, which was…serviceable but far from great).
Devil May Cry comes in at number four. It doesn’t quite excite me as it used to (getting old, I guess), but the DMC series is still a lot of fun, and during the PS2/PS3 era, I lived and breathed these games. Their stories are nothing to write home about, honestly, but they work, and there’s definitely some great lore behind them. But the action is where it’s at. The combat in these games is more fast-paced and fun than just about any other action game out there, and while most of the DMC titles are challenging, they weren’t as ridiculously brutal as something like Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice or the first Ninja Gaiden (though my first playthrough of DMC 3 was…memorable in its brutality). Overall, this series is awesome, with the obvious exception of DMC 2, which was mediocre but not BAD either. And Dante comes up as my third favorite video game character, so that’s another plus for this series.
Number five goes to my favorite superhero, Spider-Man. This character has been the star of many games over the years made by many developers and gone through even more iterations. Spidey has had games based off his appearances in comics and movies, as well as wholly original titles that take the best aspects of said comics, movies, and tv shows and create something wholly unique. There are way too many Spidey games for me to go through (some of which I never even played), but suffice it to say, that the majority of the ones I played ranged from decent to good, to out-freaking-standing. My personal favorite Spider-Man titles would be Spider-Man 2 (the movie tie-in of the Tobey Maguire film), Spider-Man: Web of Shadows, and Insomniac’s Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2.
Honorable Mentions: Crash Bandicoot, Onimusha, Prince of Persia, Jak and Daxter, Tenchu, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor/War, Batman: Arkham, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Ghost of Tsushima
Tasha Quinn
Whenever I’m asked about my favourite video games, Kingdom Hearts is always at the top of my list. Though the series can be convoluted with its complex lore and numerous entries, it’s dear to my heart and is probably the franchise that truly introduced me to gaming.
I have fond memories of playing the first game as a child (or watching my dad play for me). We made it right to the save point before the final boss, but I accidentally overwrote our progress by restarting to play on Destiny Islands. Despite that frustration, I eventually completed the first and subsequent games and have been a fan ever since.
As a fan of Kingdom Hearts, it’s no surprise that I also love its spiritual predecessor, the Final Fantasy series. My favourite, despite its flaws, is Final Fantasy XV. It’s the game that introduced me to the series, and I adored the bond between the main characters and the road trip vibe the early game captures. I’ve also really enjoyed XVI and the VII compilation, and I’m looking to play through some of the older entries.
There’s something magical about the Persona games. They’re stylish, fun, and packed with character. Persona 5 Royal is easily one of the best games I’ve ever played. From the music to the palace design, it’s a masterpiece. While Persona 3 and 4 are fantastic too, Persona 5 really set the bar high, and I’m excited to see what Atlus does with Persona 6.
I originally played the Mass Effect Trilogy years ago and eagerly awaited a remaster. When the Legendary Edition came out, it reminded me how much I love the series. The way your choices carry through all three games, shaping your version of Commander Shepard, is incredible. Sadly, Andromeda didn’t quite hit the mark for me, but the others were phenomenal.
The Plague Tale games are perhaps an outlier on this list because they’re more stealth-based than the others, but I have to include them because they’re fantastic games. The ending of A Plague Tale: Requiem hit me harder than any game I’ve ever played. The relationship between Amicia and her little brother, Hugo, and the journey they take together is one I won’t forget any time soon.
