[[Blogroll]] [[Writing About My Favorite Games]] ## Pyre This is the best one that Supergiant Games made, even if it's the one no one knows about. And that's not the hipster in me talking, I legitimately think this game is peak. It's one of the few that has made me gasp aloud and feel awful about a decision I've made.[^1] The sheer breadth of choice and consequence is super impressive too. Plus it's just one of those things that's never been done before. "Oregon Trail x NBA Jam" is a genre that I'm pretty sure didn't exist before **Pyre** came out, and I'll respect it forever for that exact reason. ## Bloodborne It's the only Souls game I like besides **Demon Souls**. Moving on. ## Deus Ex This one is important to me because it introduced me to immersive sims. I remember when Denton's brother tells him to run away from his apartment before assassins showed up to kill him on my first playthrough, which I did do. On the repeat however, I thought "well, what if I don't?" *And the game accommodated for that*. **Deus Ex** is a game that rewarded me for being curious. I legitimately believe it got me to be a better, more critical thinker as a kid. ## Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising I have always loved fighting games despite being terrible at them. I'd argue that **GBVS:R** isn't my favorite fighting game, but I owe it for being the one to let me learn how to play them. By providing shortcuts to the special moves, I was able to focus on the thing that *actually* matters in fighting games: the flow of a match, neutral, combo theory, mix-ups, etc. etc. It's also just an easy game to get back to even if I haven't played it in a while, which is nice because fighting games demand a level of consistency if you want to stay good at them. But most importantly, I love **GBVS:R** because it let my friends get into fighting games too thanks to having such a low skill floor. That's awesome. ## Nier This game is similar to another we're going to get to in that it showcased to me how powerful games can be when they're made with artistic intent. It's also the game that made me realize that maybe reviews aren't always right[^2], and to focus on being a critic on my own. So much of **Nier**'s emotional core remains embedded deeply into my prefrontal cortex, along with its incredible score. The combat was kind of trash, the quest system was archaic, the fishing was the fishing, but none of that mattered because by golly it had gumption, and that's the kind of thing I chase after in games to this day. [^1]: If you've played it, you know the one, it's near the end lol [^2]: Sorry Sterling