4 – Elder Scrolls: Oblivion
It’s way more common to see the latest of The Elder Scrolls, in the form of Skyrim, occupying top spots on lists, with The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion often being relegated to second best. Well, I think Oblivion is the better game. Not by any objective measure, but just because Oblivion was my first true role-playing game (RPG) I have ever played, and when your first experience of an RPG is stepping out of the sewers and into the sun-drenched forests of Cyrodiil for the first time and seing a massive world of opportunities, adventures and high-fantasy, that becomes a moment of pure magic, which has seldomly being replicated since. Add to that the idea that you, the player, dictate the pace of the story in one of the most complex open-world games at the time of its release, with beautiful graphics, and you have an experience like any other.
Had I not played Oblivion first, I think Skyrim would have had that impression on me as well, as it had on many others. And had I played Morrowind, the game that preceded Oblivion, maybe Morrowind would be in here instead.
3 – Dark Souls: Remastered
This is the game that you will often find occupying the number one spot in many people’s lists. While many remember Dark Souls: Remastered and subsequent titles for their meme-worthy punishing difficulty, I remember it for the incredible sense of wonder it gave me while exploring its intricate map, and for the sense of being a “game”, a feeling that’s way too hard to put into words, but let me try. For years, it seems like games have gone in the direction of attempting to become more like reality. Not realistic, per se, but reality, grounded, plausible, serious. Games also became more about following dots on a map and lost all sense of exploration and wonder. Dark Souls felt like it didn’t care for any of that. The game’s story and lore aren’t shoved in your face; you can play as you want, and there’s little to no hand-holding, and it’s up to you to figure out what you need to do, in what way you see fit.
The game allows you to make mistakes, punishes them, but also rewards those who dare and succeed. The game doesn’t bend its rules for the player, but allows the player to use and manipulate the world’s rules. It’s just fun to engage with Dark Souls, and the game draws you in like very few manage to. I’m not a big fan of soulslike apart from the first Dark Souls and Fallen Order, but as a game, very few games even come close to feeling as rewarding and as full of wonder as Dark Souls does.
2 – Medal of Honor: Allied Assault
If this list had been made some 5 to 10 years ago, I think that Medal of Honor: Allied Assault would occupy the number one spot. You see, this wasn’t just the game that redefined the World War 2 shooter genre, it was the game that made the behemoth it became and paved the way for modern first-person shooters (FPS). Released in 2002, Medal of Honor: Allied Assault was riding high on the tail of the success of Saving Private Ryan, the amount of World War 2 documentaries and books from the late 90s and early 2000s, and a popular ressurgence of interest in the conflict, at a time where World War 2 veterans were still relatively young and eager to talk about their experiences.
I loved Medal of Honor from the moment I played, and I cannot tell you how much of an impact that iconic D-Day Omaha Beach mission had on younger me, so much so that it alone influenced my life’s path, leading me to study History and wanting to become a historian for the longest time. The game also set a new standard for narrative-driven FPS titles, and the team that worked on it went on to become the core group of people responsible for Call of Duty. Medal of Honor: Allied Assault walked, so that Call of Duty could run (away with your money every year).
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