ok guys so initially i was gonna reply to every person that posted in this thread but as people kept posting i realized that would be extremely obnoxious so i chose not to

thanks to everyone who explained why they like what they like -- im pretty sure that i read all posts. its weird to single someone out but shoutout nitrate because disco elysium is fucking legendary and a fascinating, true rpg experience. some of the most clever and compelling writing ive ever come across in a game. i hope we get some sequels

i noticed that a lot of people's top picks are directly attached to nostalgia, which i kinda didn't expect at first, but i can totally see why that happens. i guess it caught me off-guard bc i beat most of the games that i consider absolute favorites in the past 2 years or so

anyways here r my favorites since i never posted them

silent hill 2 - i would have to write a fucking essay to explain why this is the absolute peak of the silent hill franchise, there are way too many things about it that i love. just rest assured that nothing could come close to it, team silent knocked nearly everything out of the park with this one.

the other two games from the silent hill trilogy were good but campy. they had the aesthetics down, the atmosphere, the horror... but, as dark as these stories could get, the themes were always a bit silly (i dont wanna spoil so i wont explain why). silent hill 2 is the exception in the series. the story, the themes and the characters are so complex, with each piece of them contributing to the worldbuilding as a whole. they really managed to create these people and dive into their minds while presenting all of that to the players through character designs, environmental storytelling, level design etc. while making a genuinely enjoyable, scary as fuck game. it's probably the best example of how to tell a great story through interactive media

but there are two problems: the voice acting sucks. sucks ass. really. some people like it because it's uncanny and fits the general mood of the game but.. god. and a lot of the dialogue is kinda funny as well, it often feels like something is off. it could be a big translation issue, since this is a japanese game, but iunno. its nice though its kinda the goat to me so id recommend it to anyone who likes horror or that would want to give it a shot perhaps

bloodborne - the dark souls formula but with very fast, very aggressive gameplay and a lot less tryhard bullshit. the controls are so responsive and feel perfect. most bosses are good or great; settings, designs and music are all top-notch; nobody really knows what the true lore is, but, from what the community has managed to piece together, it's super interesting. the old hunters dlc has the best content that this game could ever offer with some of the most intense boss fights ive ever played. it was my first soulslike, so id consider it pretty accessible for people that wanna get into these games. definitely more accessible than dark souls 1 too and fun from the beginning to the very end..unlike dark souls 1..haha..

yakuza 0 - it wasnt in my top 3 when i posted this thread, but i beat this game last week and holy fucking shit it's so much fun. everything is so over the top and the main story is so fucking compelling with a cast of extremely charismatic characters and a ton of unexpected plot twists. there's also a LOT of content: bizarre sidequests (some of them co-starring michael jackson), multiple pastime activities (shoutout karaoke), an addicting business management minigame... i think i got around 70h in so far and i still havent had enough

honorable mention: persona 5, it got knocked out of the top 3 bc of yakuza but its a really fun really immersive jrpg, i love it a lot
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this post wasnt meant to be this long