Game Recommendations!

Jan 6, 2023 - Published

I thought it'd be fun to lay out a list of my best video game recommendations! This might also highlight some of my influences and where I want to bring both my art and game design. The order of the ranked games below is based on how much I recommend them rather than where they actually place as my favorites:

I generally have trouble playing favorites, but the Ori games are just the best games I've ever played. As someone who's soured on Metroidvanias, Ori has made itself so seamless between the combat, platforming, and exploration of an impossibly beautiful, hand-crafted world. The art is immaculate, the game mechanics are super fun, and the second game just cranks everything up to 11 in a way that makes your jaw drop. If I had to convince anyone to play a single game, it would be Ori and the Blind Forest. If it were two games, I would include the sequel.

Listening to Chicory music was actually the reason I wanted to make this list! It's an incredibly underrated game that's beautiful, touching, and in my opinion, the piece of media that absolutely best defines who an artist is. Whether or not you believe yourself to be an artist, it will give you a paintbrush, put you in the shoes of an artist, and make you walk a mile in them. It's one of those few stories that can ONLY work in the medium of games, and I recommend playing this game and supporting the developers wholeheartedly.

OneShot is one of those games where if you haven't played it, it has this mysterious aura around it where nobody will really talk about it, but everyone who has played it absolutely loved it. After playing it, you understand why. Haunting, beautiful, it sucks you in from the first moment and doesn't let go until the very end. This game was made in RPGMaker, yet it has 0 combat, and has told one of the most immersive and gripping stories I have ever seen in a video game. Please play OneShot.

While Spyro was a part of my childhood, I had played the original trilogy rather late, and the graphics had aged considerably. However, even before the remaster, I can say with good confidence that the original trilogy was near perfect. The animations were full of charm, the gameplay was smooth and constantly surprised you with fun new mechanics, and the characters were immensely charming. While I've only played the first game in the Reignited Trilogy, it was done so unbelievably faithfully that I don't hesitate in recommending the entire remaster, which all looks incredibly beautiful. If you want to play a 3D platformer, or just want a game where you get to play as a dragon, please consider playing Spyro!

Anyone who's seen my art may be surprised that I enjoy a "realistic" fighter like Tekken, but anyone who's talked to me will have 0 surprise. Tekken is a super well-designed and consistent fighting game franchise! It has almost infinite depth and has gained a reputation as one of the hardest fighting games on the market, yet it has a MASSIVE casual fanbase who enjoys its surprisingly goofy story and exploring the huge movesets. Tekken 7 is generally agreed to be the best entry into the franchise (despite the lack of in-game tutorials, which Youtube at least has it covered), so if you're interested and have a nice group of friends, I recommend hopping in! You don't have to fight at the highest levels of ranked due to the serviceable single-player, and we can all be hype for Tekken 8 together!

Oh, what are my personal favorites? I can talk about those for a bit...

• The Ori games are still my favorite games of all time. They're just too perfect.

• Spyro is such a cute, goofy, charming game that really encompasses the experience of playing games as a kid to me

• Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Sky / Super hold a special place in my heart

• Tekken is one of the few series that has really grown up with me from childhood to adulthood, and is something I expect to play for a long time

I love all the games on this page for different reasons, but these are the ones I love the most.

Thank you very much for reading! I hope I convince someone to play one or two of these.

• Vecderg