favourite video games

half-life (1998)

• first proper video game i ever played.
• holds up to this day. almost a comfort game for me.
• essentially set the baseline for my expectations and tastes for games.
• favourite sections: questionable ethics & lambda core

disco elysium (2019)

• literally the game of all time.
• incredible aesthetic and writing.
• articulates so much about the post-soviet experience.
• so glad they made this a video game because it would not have worked nearly as well as just a book.
• that said hope they don't make another unless it's the original creators of the setting working on it lol.
• favourite section: communist political vision quest

team fortress 2 (2007)

• i have spent thousands of hours playing modded tf2 servers.
• many more hours were spent making ocs and other fan content.
• i would not be where i am now if i had not been involved in tf2 rp circles in the 2010s.
• favourite section: parkour fortress mod

dishonored (2012)

• very strong art direction.
• open level design with good replayability.
• took a lot of aesthetic inclinations from this game.
• favourite section: knife of dunwall dlc

portal 2 (2011)

• best valve game ever released.
• hl:a tops it in terms of technological achievement, but in terms of overall game structure this is peak valve.
• nothing in this game really overstays its welcome.
• this game could not be made in the current year. the market has completely shifted.
• favourite section: old aperture science

talos principle (2014)

• the best portal copycat puzzle game.
• makes good use of the /you're doing puzzles and there's one voice telling you what to do and another urging you to disobey/ format.
• the philosophy in this can be a little 101 sometimes. i probably would have enjoyed it even more had i played it earlier than i did.
• favourite section: world c

mirror's edge (2009)

• another game on this list with a strong visual style.
• one of the few purely parkour based fps games to this day.
• the gameplay is a little janky sometimes, but still broadly enjoyable.
• favourite section: chapter 8

fallout: new vegas (2010)

• great classic rpg. i feel like replaying this every year.
• old world blues still one of the best dlcs ever made for any game.
• favourite section: old world blues dialogue