• Factorio (the factory must grow…)
• Soul Reaver & Legacy of Kain series
• Lufia 2 (SNES)
• Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES)
• Final Fantasy VI
• Diablo 2

Stardew valley. I stopped playing it earlier this year but picked it back up this week. I forgot I made a new game that went with joja instead of the community center and I feel disgusting playing it but I need to see how it shakes out lol

• Halo 2, I know most cutscene quotes by memory
• X3: Terran Conlict, huge time waster, janky, infuriating and I love it
• Chromehounds (not really, I lost the CD and my X360 is dead (Armored Core ain’t got shit on Chromehounds, fight me))
• Crysis 2, better looking graphics than all the AAA games *I* have seen in the past 3 years
• Terraria, it’s Terraria
• Starbound, it’s Terraria but in space
• Valheim, it’s Terraria but you’re a 3D lowres viking (it’s low resolution textures exhalt my love for normal mapping)

Starbound. They’ve had a couple of big story changes over it’s development and it’s not as big as terraria. But I enjoy the soundtrack and having a spaceship and just enjoying space travel (at the expense of stealing fuel from a ghost).

Hades

Into The Breaxh, Sekiro, Psychonaut 1&2.

They are so satisfying and not too long. Factorio is a bit too demanding.

Minecraft (modded and unmodded)

Creeper world games

Mindustry

Mod-friendly games with large mod communities like Skyrim or Mount and Blade 2. The ability to play a game like Skyrim in completely different ways keeps it fresh.

Single player nostalgia list:

• FPS:
  • Halo series (Reach, 1, 2, ODST, 3, 4)
• Strategic:
  • Homeworld
  • Supreme Commander
• Racing:
  • Trackmania Stadium
• Roguelike
  • FLT
• Survival:
  • Minecraft
  • Factorio
• Tactical:
  • Advance Wars 2
  • Battle for Wesnoth
• Other:
  • Thumper
  • Space Engine

Multiplayer nostalgia list:

• FPS:
  • Halo series (again, 90% of the time the custom game browser already has a game running that I want to join, and it’s still getting updates)
  • PUBG (how is this 6 years old already?)
• Party games:
  • Golf with Friends
  • Tabletop Simulator
  • Ultimate Chicken Horse

Games without frequent changing updates:

4X:

Civilisation V, Civilisation VI

CMS: Anno 1602 (1998), Factorio

Open world RPG: Oblivion, Skyrim, Fallout 4

RPG: Drakensang: The Dark Eye

Tycoon: OpenTTD (FOSS)

Farming Simulator (2009, too bland), 2011, 2013, 2015

Games with changing updates:

Roguelike: Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead (FOSS)

Sandbox: Minecraft, Minetest

Tetris GB

This game has occupied so many hours of my life. I play a ROMHack called “Rosy Retrospective,” where modern features have been added, like pressing up to drop and being able to save pieces. Probably don’t need to explain this game :D

Super Punch-Out!

Nostalgic pick because the SNES was my favorite system. I’m not really into boxing games, but this adds a puzzle element to it where you memorize patterns of ridiciulous over-the-top fighters (one of them kicks, so the boxing is loose here). I can easily pick this game up and play the time-attack mode to refight a boxer that I’ve defeated before. There is a lot of satisfaction completely owning a boxer. However, there are still boxers in this game that I can’t beat.

NYT Crosswords

Love doing a crossword with friends. I highly recommend their app screenshared to your TV; NYT has done a fantastic job optimizing the experience for screens. The grid and the clues are very visible, as if everyone was crowded around you on a table looking at the print version. NYT has quietly done a great job diversifying their games business. Spelling Bee and Werdle I don’t play as much, but I know a bunch of people who do. If you don’t have a sub, you can play on Downforacross with friends, the Google sheets of crosswords.

Solebon Solitaire (iOS)

An app that has many variants of single-player card games on there. My favorites include Klondike, Golf, Monte Carlo, Yukon, and La Belle Lucie, but FAR and away the game I play the most is FreeCell. There is a randomness to Solitare where some deals just aren’t winnable. However, with FreeCell, with the ability to have 4 reserve spaces to move cards around, the game is more forgiving and every deal is winnable.

868-HACK

A hacking roguelike on iOS. Love the graphics and concept. You play on a randomly generated grid of tiles and walls that you can hack. Hacking results in enemies appearing on the grid. You have to plan your way to the level exit, while also maximizing the rewards (abilities) you get from hacking.

Enyo (iOS)

A tactical roguelike on iOS. Grid based. You have to dispatch the enemies on the grid with your sword, hook, and shield. Enemies progressively have better abilities and become more numerous, so you really have to plan your route through the grid-based terrain. You can use your weapons in interesting ways, especially the hook and shield. The hook pulls most enemies toward you, so you can sometimes dispatch by pulling them into water. Other times you can swap places with them so you deploy your shield to push them.

Donkey Kong GB

Wonderful puzzle platformer originally released on the GameBoy. Nostalgic pick that I can easily pick up and play for a couple of minutes or a longer session if needed. Mario runs, jumps, and uses hammers to get through 50+ themed levels. Simple and very replayable. Very easy for kids to learn to play.

Hades

For longer sessions, Hades is my go-to roguelite. An isometric dungeon crawler that seemingly has almost endless replayability with your choices of random Greek god-powers and paths through the Underworld. All the things you dislike about roguelites are smartly dealt with. There is an actual storyline between deaths. I have never heard a single line of dialogue repeated. Ever. The game will give you options to make it easier if it notices you are dying a lot. So anybody can make it through this game and progress the story.

Bloodborne

The first FromSoftware game that clicked for me and forced me to ‘git gud.’ Something about the gothic horror environment and the weapon fighting is so satisfying to me. You can go through this game with different weapons and builds and have a completely different game experience (a staple of FromSsoftware games). I have this whole game memorized and have beaten it multiple times and yet, I can still get my ass kicked by a random enemy if I am not careful. Every March, a bunch of gamers on Reddit replay the game in celebration of it’s launch, but I like to play it around Halloween. Sounds like that is coming up soon!

The only 10+ years old game I still return to for significant lengths of time is Guild Wars 2. Yeah yeah I know, it’s not a single player game, but as far as I am concerned it might as well be. Also I return when there is new content, so I might be cheating there.

Every now and then I return to Magicka and then stop playing after enough crashes. Renegade Ops is also a favorite of mine (did a complete playthrough on Steam Deck last year). It’s been a while since my last run of Crysis but I really enjoy replaying it (just the first game though, the sequels did not do the same for me), spicing up the experience with a couple of mods.

Toy Story 2 for PS1, I’m willing to try the Dreamcast version, although I don’t think it is very different…

Super Mario Bros 64 DS, since it doesn’t bother me in the slightest the lack of the joystick this game is a gem with all the added content and portability (well portability was huge thing back in the days 😅).

New Super Mario Bros for DS, very easy to pick up and play, although I’m not a fan of not being able to save anywhere, if my flashcard supported save states I’d definitely use them with this.

Jackie Chan for PS1, I made like a weird tradition to re visit this game all the Decembers lol, don’t ask me why, I don’t even know it.

Slay the Spire. It’s so challenging that it’s always engaging when I play it.

I like to go back to crpg’s like the Pathfinder or Pillars of Eternity games.
I love trying out different story paths and finding the little things I’ve missed on previous play-throughs.