But now it’s time for the big 50, going all the way to our collective number one.
And I’ll tell you now, it’s not the same as last year.
The RPS 100
I always love putting together big team lists like this.
They’re just at #101.
I swear to Horace.
For now, though, here is Part Two of this year’s RPS 100.
Its an incredibly stylish and dialogue-heavy game thats part detective murder mystery, part psychodrama.
And it’s all told through a wonderful vomit of verbiage.
An incredible detective RPG, that will forever occupy your mind after finishing it.RW
49.
Rocket League
Rocket Leagueis still, in my opinion, the best competitive game ever made.
It’s genuinely flawless.OT
48.
And we might haveTitanfall3.JA
47.
I binged it earlier this year and it broke me.
It hooked me, and I had to stop playing lest it consumed me entirely.
Maybe I should redownload it to play another match…HH
46. that it became instantly clear to me that we actually all just like Dragon Age II.
Of the three current entries into BioWare’s big epic fantasy RPG (with elves!
DAII is trying the most different things, and I think it’s all the better for it.
That’s a very cool choice!
It’s actually really bloody good, when you think about it…AB
44.
Your first descent into the inky black depths is genuinely terrifying and thrilling in equal measure.
What will your beam of light reveal?
What new materials might you discover?Whatwas that noise?ET
43.
Then all of a sudden you’ll engage in some top down puzzler.
Then a 2D platformer.
Oh and the story?
Factorio
The factory must grow.
To the detriment of the alien landscape, its inhabitants, and your free time.
Factorio is the founder (and best) of a glorious strategy sub-genre called the factory sim.
But with a cannibalistic masked creature that follows you through the unlit streets of a maze-like town.
Firewatch
Few games convey longing quite as effectively as Firewatch.
A longing for solitude.
Accompanying him is as much a journey of self-discovery as anything else.
Then there’s Delilah, Henry’s supervisor who only ever communicates with him via radio.
Their relationship is complicated, beautiful and raw.
Firewatch is very special indeed.LR
38.
That’s always fun.
Project Zomboid
Im a zombie nerd, and I have often dreamed about living in the zombie apocalypse.
Real life The Walking Dead!
Project Zomboid is perhaps the closest to that dream that Ill ever get.
To some, thatll prove overwhelmingly complex, and understandably so!
Team Fortress 2
The gold standard for class-based shooters, and despite regular doomsaying, one with proven timelessness.
But it simply couldn’t exist anywhere else.
A shame.LR
34.
It’s a damning and devastating portrait of the US from the perspective of small-town folk.
Infra
Infra is the only game I know to open with a PowerPoint presentation.
Half-Life 2 meets Myst?
Deus Ex but a day job?
Fascinating.AOC
32.
Said facility has been taken over by a rogue AI, and isn’t that just always the way?
At its best, Skyrim takes that curiosity-piquing Whats over there?
What a wonderful world to explore, even with the bugs.JA
30.
Bioshock
Ah, BioShock, the face that launched a thousand takes.
As was the level design!
If you like steampunk alt-history, shootin' stuff, and ethics 101 then BioShock is inescapable.
See, jokes again.AB
28.
Hardspace: Shipbreaker
Take derelict spaceships to pieces for fun and profit in this first-person salvager.
Cool.AOC
27.
Pentiment
Pentiment is the game that made me immediately go out and buy The Name Of The Rose.
It’s a medieval murder mystery with monks and manuscripts, and aman called AndreasMaler, and… And more over successive decades, as you investigate and decide who the culprit was each time.
It’s truly a lovely game to behold.AB
26.
Into The Breach
Do you know where the word ‘quintessential’ comes from?
Pure bottled brilliance.KC
25.
Love it.JA
24.
Developers Supergiant Games nail the most important rule of any roguelike - make failure fun.
Learning the juicy histories and family dramas of the Greek Gods, that’s what.
Also, all the characters are super hot, so there’s that.RW
23.
And for good reason.
Happy accidents, as Bob Ross would say.ET
22.
Also, play the Prepare To Die Edition, I beg of you.
Trust me on this one.ET
20.
Look around and you might just find a way to overcome his fickle games.
Listen to the babble of your cards.
Tear them apart with a pair of scissors.
Race little cars, run a hostess bar, have a chicken run your real estate business.
All of them somehow offering life lessons amidst the laughter.ET
18.
Deus Ex
Every conspiracy theory of the late 90s collides in this seminal cyberpunk immersive sim.
You’re thinking about replaying it right now, aren’t you?AOC
17.
Outer Wilds
Detective games often thrive on small canvases.
Spread your mystery too thin, and you initiate the risk of losing its threads altogether.
), and the incredibly well-balanced roster of Legends.
So you do the math(s).
Plus, if it were possibly, it really raises the stakes vis.
Heaven’s Vault
Heaven’s Vault is one of those games that defies easy categorisation.
PowerWash Simulator
clickclickclickbrrrrrrrrrrshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhskkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkrrrrrrrrrshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhskkkkkkspppppppppshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhDINGhhhhhhhhhhskkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkrrrrrrrrrshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhskkkkkksppppppDINGkkkkkkkkkkrrrrrrrrrshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhskkkkkkspppppp…AB
11.
Playing as Lady Love Dies, you oughta investigate a homicide case on the beautiful vaporwave Paradise Island.
This spiritual successor to Harvest Moon has been the go-to game for life sim and farming fans.
Is this the definitive Souls experience?
But my word, is it an adventure for ardent fans and greenest of newcomers.ET
7.
Minecraft
What even is Minecraft?
It’s brilliant in every sense of the word, and a true masterpiece.KC
4.
A masterclass in game building with care, thought, and intent behind every square inch.JA
2.
Portal 2
Remember Portal?
Valve done did it again.
That’s how fun Portal 2 is: it will ruin your life.
In an extremely localised and inconsequential fashion.AB
That’s it for this year’s edition of The RPS 100!
We hope you enjoyed picking through this year’s rankings, but the fun isn’t over yet.
