15. Five Nights at Freddy’s Security Breach – Year Released 2021 (PC / PS4 / PS5 / XBO / XSX)
Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach is the ninth main installment in the FNAF franchise. The game features free-roam gameplay where the player takes control of a young boy named Gregory who needs to evade hostile animatronic characters and a female night guard inside a large shopping mall. With the help of Glamrock Freddy, Gregory aims to escape from the Pizzaplex.
The game offers a new approach to the FNAF franchise. For the first time, the animatronic is on your side (well, at least one of them). You will need to find batteries and upgrades for Freddy throughout the game to progress. You also have gadgets that can help you disable animatronics temporarily, so you don’t feel as helpless against them.
Choose this game if you like:
- Five Night at Freddy’s Franchise – this game offers the same feel with chase sequences and jumpscares to knock your socks off
- Open-world horror/puzzle-solving adventure
- Interesting story and minigames
Fun Factor: 75/100
Chica staring at you, the player
14. OMORI – Year Released 2020 (PC / PS4 / XBO / XSX / OSX / Switch)
OMORI Trailer
Omori is a role-playing game where the player controls a hikikomori teenage boy named Sunny and his dream world avatar, Omori. You explore both the real world and dream world and have options to overcome or suppress fears. The game covers themes of anxiety, depression, guilt, mental illness, psychological trauma, and suicide, which provides a unique experience.
The game has a turn-based battle system with status effects based on the character's emotions. As you play through the game, you can reconnect with friends and make choices in the story that affect the ending of the game. The game is crafted in a stylish, artistic manner, featuring mature, dark themes. If you enjoy a setting where you explore the inner workings of a teenage boy with a depressing, reclusive personality, this game may be a great fit.
Choose this game if you like:
- Games with a unique art style
- Games which give you the option to choose your own ending, and a story that covers dark themes.
- Turn-based games
Fun Factor: 85/100
Omori and friends in a combat with a wormhole
13. Bastion – Year Released 2011 (PC / PS4 / PS Vita / XBOX 360 / XBO / Linux / OSX / Switch)
Bastion is an action role-playing game developed by Supergiant Games. The player controls "The Kid" in a post-apocalyptic fantasy-themed world with floating environments. The protagonist sets off on a journey to collect shards of rock that power the bastion with the goal of restoring the world.
The game features action-packed combat with a reactive narration based on your actions. Stunning hand-painted artwork and visuals with critically acclaimed original music scores Featuring over 10+ upgradeable weapons, structure upgrades, and New Game+ for replayability.
Choose this game if you like:
- Fast and fluid action combat keeping tensions high!
- A beautifully crafted fantasy world with a narration designed to react to your actions
- A unique soundtrack that perfectly complements this game!
Fun Factor: 88/100
“The Kid” traversing through one of the floating islands in Bastion
12. Amnesia: The Dark Descent – Year Released 2010 (PC / PS4 / XBO / Linux / OSX / Switch / Android)
Amnesia: The Dark Descent is a survival horror game featuring Daniel and his adventure through a castle called Brennenburg, where he fights to retain his life and sanity. As the game title may imply, Daniel is amnesic; hoping to find out where and who he was, he sets off to explore the castle and encounters Lovecraftian horrors during his adventures.
The game features monsters that hunt Daniel as well as a sanity mechanic that affects his psychological state based on how long he spends in the dark and around monsters. Players are tasked with striking a balance between maintaining Daniel’s sanity and his light sources while evading monsters, which provides a scary and tense experience that all horror fans will enjoy!
Choose this game if you like:
- Dark, tense atmospheric games
- Solving puzzles and exploring the unknown
- Chased by scary monsters without any means of combating it – your only choice is to RUN!
Fun Factor: 85/100
Daniel is a few seconds away from death
11. Firewatch – Year Released 2016 (PC / PS4 / XBO / Linux / OSX / Switch)
This game features a unique setting and experience. It is a storytelling game about two park rangers who find comfort and companionship in the wilderness. The game gives you the perspective of a lone forest ranger in his tower, isolated from people, and his only interaction with another person is through a walkie-talkie.
Choose this game if you like:
- A unique storytelling experience (like an audiobook) but playable/interactable
- Having a deeper understanding of the life of a Forest Ranger
- Want to enjoy someone else's story from a unique perspective
- Want a taste of nature without going out physically
Fun Factor: 80/100
Henry referencing his map trying to figure out where he is at
10. This War of Mine – Year Released 2014 (PC / PS4 / PS5 / XBO / XSX / Linux / OSX / Switch / iOS / Android)
This War of Mine is a survival-themed strategy game inspired by the events of the Siege of Sarajevo. You play as a group of civilian survivors struggling to survive in the besieged fictional city of Pogoren, Graznavia. The game focuses on the civilian experience instead of frontline combat, so characters must make many tough decisions to survive.
The game features a survival mechanic where you need to balance your necessities (food, water, and medicine) to survive. During the day, you work on improving your living quarters by building farms, water filters, beds, cooking equipment, and such. By night, you are an explorer, thief, looter, or even a killer—doing whatever it takes to get the resources needed to ensure your group survives. Each character has their own stats—some excel at cooking, some work faster. It is a difficult but unique game about a sensitive subject and provides an in-depth look and experience; a game worth trying!
Choose this game if you like:
- Survival strategy games where you need to manage your resources
- A unique setting where you have a unique perspective on the inner workings of a war-torn society
- A game where your actions have consequences, be it killing or stealing from others to ensure your own survival
Fun Factor: 80/100
The player managing his home but the character voices his complaint
9. Outlast 2 – Year Released 2017 (PC / PS4 / XBO / Switch)
Outlast is a psychological horror survival video game. The game features a journalist named Blake Langermann and his wife Lynn roaming the Arizona desert to explore the murder of a pregnant woman known as Jane Doe. They are separated in a helicopter crash, and Blake sets off to find his wife, where he stumbles into a village inhabited by a deranged sect.
The game is about running from the enemy, who is usually psychotic and out to kill you. The player can run, jump, walk, vault, slide, and climb, and has a camcorder that has night vision, a zoom function, and a microphone so you can hear enemies closer. In the game, you can pick up spare batteries for the camcorder and Medkits to heal, and keeping track of your resources is key to ensuring your chances of survival. This is a horror game where you have no means to fight back; it is about running and hiding from your enemies while figuring out the mystery of this crazy town!
Choose this game if you like:
- Games with a chase sequence – tense moments throughout the entire game
- Dark and gloomy horror games with a mystery to uncover
- Close-up sequences and jump scares & close moments where you are barely escaping from the grasp of death
Fun Factor: 78/100
The player narrowly escapes from being captured by an enemy
8. Kingdom Come: Deliverance – Year Released 2018 (PC / PS4 / XBO / Switch)
Kingdom Come: Deliverance is an action role-playing game set in the medieval Kingdom of Bohemia, which is an imperial state of the Holy Roman Empire. The player controls Henry, one of the survivors of the massacre in the mining village of Skalitz. In a quest for revenge, Henry joins the service of Lord Radzig Kobyla to try and restore Bohemia’s rightful king, Wenceslaus IV, to the throne.
The game features an open-world game with an emphasis on realism and being historically accurate to ensure immersion. The game is known for its story, attention to detail, and realism. The game features a detailed clothing system where you can wear multiple layers and clothes can become progressively worn and dirty over time. There is also a variety of weapons and features real-life necessities like eating and sleeping to stay healthy. If you ever want to role-play as a grunt soldier in medieval times during a war, this is the perfect simulation, and it is fun to boot!
Choose this game if you like:
- Realistic and immersive open world simulator
- Medieval setting
- Directional combat system – similar to games like For Honor, and Mordhau
Fun Factor: 76/100
Two soldiers training how to fight
7. Ori and the Blind Forest – Year Released 2015 (PC / XBO / Switch)
Ori and the Blind Forest is a platform-adventure Metroidvania game. Players control Ori, a small white spirit, and Sein, the "light and eyes" of the forest’s spirit tree. The game features a save system and an upgrade system that give players the ability to strengthen Ori’s abilities.
The game is mostly a platformer, but there are upgrades in different areas that you must unlock before you can access new areas (that is the Metroidvania portion). There are combat elements, but they are not the emphasis. The game is praised for its outstanding visuals, featuring beautiful, vibrant environmental design, and soundtrack.
Choose this game if you like:
- Stylish, unique platformers with pleasing visuals
- Vast variety of landscapes always giving a fresh experience while exploring
- Metrodvania – it is a niche category of game, you either love it or hate it because of the backtracking nature of this genre
Fun Factor: 90/100
Ori speeding through one of the areas in the game
6. Celeste – Year Released 2018 (PC / PS4 / XBO / Linux / OSX / Switch)
Celeste is a platform game where players control the character Madeline. During the climb, she encounters multiple characters, including a personification, a "shadow" version of herself called "Badeline," who attempts to stop her from climbing the mountain.
The game features simple but fun gameplay. It is by no means easy, but the controls are simple. As you progress through the mountain, you unlock new abilities and mechanics, so there is a progression to the mechanics that keeps the game entertaining. There are also optional collectibles that unlock a harder version of the main level. If you enjoy platformers, Celeste is one of the best ones to play!
Choose this game if you like:
- Games that have a message and story that discusses accepting who you are, and depression
- Games with stylish visuals and catchy soundtrack
- Platformers that require precise movements but are also fair with checkpoints
Fun Factor: 92/100
Madeline maneuvers carefully through a stage full of spikes
5. Black Mesa – Year Released 2020 (PC / Linux)
Black Mesa is a fan-made remake of the first-person shooter game Half-Life: Source (2004). The player controls Gordon Freedom, who is a theoretical physicist working at the Black Mesa research facility. Following an accident with an alien sample, a rift to an alien dimension called Xen was opened. The goal of the game is to close the rift.
The game is not an exact remake of the original game; there are numerous improvements to the AI, visuals, and mechanics of the game. While staying true to the original storyline, it is an overall revamped experience. If you enjoyed the original Half-Life, then you will enjoy a remastered version of it, and that is what Black Mesa is.
Choose this game if you like:
- Half-Life 1 Remastered with more modern mechanics
- A beloved classic FPS game with an in-depth story and world building
- First-person shooters in general - don’t expect modern gaming features like double jump or abilities like grappling hook because it won’t be here. This game plays closer to Counter-Strike but with a storyline in a sci-fi setting
Fun Factor: 86/100
The player faces off against a head crab
4. Hollow Knight – Year Released 2017 (PC / PS4 / XBO / Linux / OSX / Switch)
Hollow Knight is a 2D metroidvania action game. The player controls a silent, nameless knight who wields a sword called a nail. The Hallownest is a kingdom that fell to infection. The knight's mission is to kill three bugs called the "Dreamers," who seal a temple door that houses the source of the infection.
The game features an action-packed combat system with numerous upgrades. Typical of metroidvanias, there is backtracking to older regions once you unlock mobility upgrades. Luckily, Hollow Knight offers a fast travel system, so it doesn’t feel too repetitive. With top-notch gameplay and appealing visuals, Hollow Knight is one of the best indie 2D metroidvanias on the market!
Choose this game if you like:
- Fast-paced action combat
- Unique visuals in an insect-related environment
- Well-designed Metroidvania with dozens of hours of content!
Fun Factor: 87/100
The knight stands, getting ready to move
3. Chained Echoes – Year Released 2022 (PC / PS4 / PS5 / XBO / XSX / Linux / OSX / Switch)
Chained Echoes is a role-playing game influenced by classic JRPGs such as Breath of fire, Secret of Mana, Xenogears, The Legend of Dragoon, and Final Fantasy VI. While the game is inspired by classic JRPGS it features modern features such as visible enemies that you can run into on the world map. It’s a modernized throwback!
The game features 8 playable characters with an overdrive system where you balance the usage of your skills to maximize efficiency. Enemy encounters happen on the screen – like Chrono Trigger. There are also unlockable an airship and mechs – essentially an amalgam of all your favourite features from different RPGs put into one!
Choose this game if you like:
- 16-bit SNES Style graphics & Classic JRPGs with a modern take
- Story-centric game with beautifully drawn visuals
- Equipment system, skill level-up system, crafting system, and a throwback to PSX Rpg music
The party is facing off against a group of enemies
2. Disco Elysium – Year Released 2019 (PC / PS4 / PS5 / XBO / XSX / Linux / OSX / Switch)
Disco Elysium is a role-playing game that takes place in a fictional city recovering from a siege that occurred decades before the start of the game. The players play an amnesiac detective who has been tasked with solving a murder mystery. The game is a non-traditional RPG featuring no combat but instead a dialogue tree with options based on the protagonist's attributes such as his perception and pain threshold.
The game is known for its rich storytelling, in-depth character building, unique setting, and unique gameplay mechanics. Turning abilities learned into thoughts in the protagonist's head and a free-flowing storyline for your own picking It’s a story-based game that is driven by your hands—no guidelines or tracks with a one-directional story.
Choose this game if you like:
- Complex character development in a “different” kind of story game
- In-depth world-building – you can really dig into the history as there is a lot of lore to cover
- A weirdly unique game that has its own personal charm (in both how it tells the story, and the art style)
Fun Factor: 95/100
The player interacting with the local authorities
1. Hades – Year Released 2020 (PC / PS4 / PS5 / XBO / XSX / OSX / Switch)
Hades is a roguelike game where the player controls Zagreus, the son of Hades. Zagreus wishes to escape from the underworld to reach Mount Olympus, and he receives help from other Olympians in order to achieve this.
The game offers a fast-paced hack-and-slash experience. Unlike most roguelike games, Hades offers a progressive upgrade system so you gain small perks that help make random odds in your favor. Featuring multiple weapons and multiple weapon upgrades, Hades is a game designed to keep you entertained for many hours and playthroughs.
Choose this game if you like:
- Isometric fast-paced hack & slash combat – imagine Diablo’s monk class but with more customization
- Appealing visual representation
- Roguelike enjoyer – Roguelike games aren’t for everyone, it’s a niche category but Hades is one of the best one’s out there
Fun Factor: 93/100
The player is destroying the Minotaur
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