So come on in and find out what’s made the cut.
Naturally, there will always be some omissions.
As is fast becoming tradition, we’ve once again split The RPS 100 across two articles this year.
It’s going to be an exciting week, so let’s get to it.
But it’s the where Torment goes from there that matters.
In this isometricRPG, finding the answers involves a little legwork through multiple dimensions.
But you aren’t even the best part of Torment.
It is getting on a bit, but the Enhanced Edition still makes this a brilliant outing even today.
Celeste
The phrase ‘peak platforming’ has never been more apt than with Celeste.
A true marvel if ever there was one.
With Those We Love Alive
It’s amazing what white text on a crimson background can do.
Her city is a labyrinth of “dream distilleries” and “sporeflesh” gardens.
You come away from this feeling scarred and changed.
Devil Daggers
Never stop shooting.
Horned beasts, floating skulls, boney leviathans, dark squid.
The flow of polygonal terrors is as constant as the daggers spewing from your fingertips.
you’ve got the option to fire them as a stream, or in a single shotgun-like blast.
Either way, you’ll need your wits as well as a whip-like wrist to survive for 30 seconds.
What more is there to do inDevil Daggers?
Well, you give a shot to survive for 31.
Make no mistake, this is still an MMO with plenty of rat-whacking.
Here, colour is provided as much by players as by the developers.
There are fashion contests, theatre troupes, even a full-blown housing crisis.
And, of course, enough lore to fill a small library.
Chicory: A Colorful Tale
Chicory is a truly special game.
Wildermyth
Play Wildermyth, you cowards.
No joke, this game is a genuine marvel.
Eliza
Eliza is one of those rare games that isn’t afraid to ask big tech questions.
Eliza is not only beautiful to look at, but it’s also compelling to play.
Is something better than nothing?
What, after all, do we owe to each other?
Invisible, Inc.
XCOM for stealthy hackers.
Shh, they don’t know you’re there… yet.
That’s pure danger in a game where, once spotted, there is no fighting back.
At some point, you’ve got to bug out.
Even if that last room has precious loot calling out to you.
But next time the “loot” might be one of your friends.
This here’s your top-downstealth gameset in Edo Japan, featuring the usual cast of seasoned killers.
Red Dead Redemption 2
Wanna get dead drunk?
How about Red Dead drunk?
Rockstar, the developers of this cowboy life simulator, did not hold back.
It is not precisely a world of “realism”.
You will kill hundreds of people and swallow enemy bullets like they are delicate pastries.
Everything is weighty, everything requires a bit of work.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is video games as wild man power fantasy.
But it is also your sit in a canoe and chill out fantasy.
Go fishing in the wild west fantasy.
Get eaten by a bear fantasy.
Drink too much whiskey and wake up in a canyon fantasy.
It’s a big world out there, and a man can only spit so far.
And what hands they are, too.
Is it worth buying an entire headset for?
Pure monster-romancin' bliss.
In other words, its nice horror.
I appreciate that a lot.
Subnautica
Survival gamesoften place you in a harsh environment, usually populated by monsters, zombies or other threats.
Subnautica puts you in a world that is only harsh because you don’t belong there.
There are no monsters here, only animals you haven’t seen before.
Other survival games would be content to leave it at this - a loop of crafting and getting by.
But here, the radio crackles.
Somebody else might still be alive!
This is how the subtle storytelling begins.
Off you go on one of the many exploratory dives through this massive, handmade seascape.
As a survival game, Subnautica is the best, with perhaps one blocky exception.
As a journey of discovery, it is incomparable.
There’s no relying on a constant stream of overwatch cones anymore.
There is a base-building overworld to think about.
Troopers to keep healthy.
Psychic supersoldiers to train.
You command a trio of mechs fighting off swarms of giganto-insects on a 8 x 8 board of tiles.
There’s nothing quite like it.
What does this society value?
What’s good and what’s bad?
How much do I need?
How can this be better than the situation we escaped?
The answer involves a lot of curiosity, trial and error, and discovering strange and terrible things.
How wonderful to feel this lost, confused, unease, threatened, and desperately unhappy.
The sky overhead was no longer a depthless abyss even in the outdoor sections.
Rounded edges were not unheard of.
Its a game about games.
A factorybuilding gamelike Factorio, set on an actual spherical planet?
Turns out, they completely and utterly nailed it.
It’s a truly special game.
It’s good, clean, alien-shootin' fun is what I’m saying.
Everything is laid out for you on a platter - objective, reward, bonuses.
As multiplayer games go, this is one of the cleanest and most approachable.
Until it’s time to do a raid, that is.
It’s a commitment, but one that Destopals often call a rewarding struggle.
Maybe two hours…
73.
But Tunic does so much more than merely paying lip service to what came before.
Don’t be fooled by its cute looks.
Tunic is a wily, cunning game that absolutely lives up to its vulpine namesake.
Grand Theft Auto 5
The online murder-frollicking by itself makes this third-person crime caper worth the price of admission.
But we all know what matters in a GTA game is chaos.
And chaos works best when you have a van full of friends to cause it with.
Like all good online games, it is a simply solid place to hang out with your pals.
Even if that sometimes gets interrupted by a harrier jet.
Your hero, Geralt of Rivia, is a sort of white-haired Wolverine of a parallel medieval era.
He slurps potions and solves crimes.
His occupation is “monster slayer” but he does a bit of world-saving on the side.
The Witcher 3 has long butchered and barbequed that sacred cow, becoming the fanciest third-person choose-your-own-adventure on PC.
Half-Life: Opposing Force
Ooh, Half-Life isnt on the list but Opposing Force is.
Unabashed, epic violence with the gang you just don’t get that anymore.
It’s an example of everything in adventure games done right.
That sounds pretty morbid, but thats because it is!
And it doesn’t always play out like you might expect, either.
Little Nightmares
Tarsier’s side-scrolling toybox of terrors is a great puzzle platformer, for sure.
But it’s also an exquisite little horror game.
And yeah, they’re very good.
But what you’ve really got to watch out for is the level and sound design.
Why… why are there so many shoes?
Why are they here?
Who decided to keep them?
And what, exactly, is chasing you through them…?
Hardspace: Shipbreaker
The life of a shipbreaker isnt easy.
One misplaced laser slice could result in a catastrophic explosion that atomises both them and their precious haul.
Still, despite the constant threat of death, shipbreaking doesnt seem so bad.
Methodically separating metal panels and disconnecting fuel lines is a fairly relaxing way to spend an afternoon.
Hardspace is mundane in that compelling way only the best games about work can be.
Pop on a podcast and get scrapping.
Hardspace: Shipbreaker is an absolute delight.
Stardew Valley
Stardew is a farming simulator with a whole life attached to it.
But you won’t.
You’ll go fishing on the pier for a whole week.
You’ll explore caves and meet some slimes.
it’s possible for you to rebuild a community centre with the help of some magical pipsqueaks.
you’ve got the option to start a one-person jam industry.
it’s possible for you to stick your nose in the dramas and problems of the villagers.
Stardew Valley offers its players low-key control over a small patch of land.
Hollow Knight sprawls out in every direction, a modern mash-up of Metroid and Dark Souls.
The insects of Hallownest are grim-faced, mysterious and adorable all at the same time.
Just look atthis map, and tell me you aren’t intrigued.
Heaven’s Vault
This adventure game will teach you how to read again.
This is no mere gimmick.
An entire language has been created especially for you to scratch your chin over.
If that sounds hard, don’t worry.
It doesn’t just make you feel clever, like when detective stories guide you to a solution.
It lets you really be clever.
There are so many other joyful discoveries.
Every compound word is made of smaller components that come together in their own logical way.
The word for “star” is literally “high bright light thing”.
Tenses have their own defining symbols.
Fallout: New Vegas
You’ve been shot in the head.
But when has that ever stopped you?
This makes it sound all action.
In reality, much of New Vegas is spent jabbering.
See for yourself, postie.
It’ll probably work out.
Then you’re able to steal the truck and drive it into the desert.
No, this has nothing to do with your mission.
You’re supposed to be infiltrating an outpost and bringing a hostage to safety.
But look at these idiots.
This is much more fun.
Terraria
Terraria is Minecraft without the fussy third dimension.
Oh, you’ll be going down there, make no mistake.
You didn’t think you’d be crafting without the mining, did you?
The randomly generated 2D world can be as forgiving or nasty as you want to set it.
Magic and technology are also incompatible, often misfiring or bricking around one another.
If Found… remains one of the best visual novels on PC.
Dreamfeels coming-of-age story follows Kasio, a young trans woman who is returning to her small Irish hometown 1993.
And that, my friends, is the honest to goddamn truth.
Dusk
Kill the intruder.
Dusk doesnt do anything by half-measures, and its introduction is no exception.
From there, Dusk just keeps escalating further.
Dilapidated farmhouses give way to decaying cities, haunted military bases and floating cathedrals to eldritchian deities.
Your journey is a rollercoaster of blood, bullets and nightmarish monsters.
Dusk is the game that influenced the current wave of retro-inspired FPS games, and for good reason.
Its still the best of the bunch.
The best thing about this stylish Norse-inspired survival game is exploring its procedurally generated worlds.
