Celeste. Great fun Mario-level game, but with a deeper story in both game and in development.
I love Celeste so much, the writing was way better than I anticipated a platformer game to have.
I also love some of the easter eggs they put in, like the white block in one of the earlier stages, where you will fall “behind” the block if you crouch on it for a few seconds; a nod to hidden mechanic in Super Mario Bros 3.
Chess
Dev didn’t updated their game for 1000 years.
It have so much hacker.
Not Recommended by me.
Katana Zero: Just try it. It’s a 2D action platformer with good story.
Hollowknight my beloved
Half life, all of them, in order
Subnautica
If I had my way every domicile in human history would have one of these and a pair of decks.
Cyberpunk 2077. I’ve been known to simp pretty hard for this game, but I do consider it to be one of the best games ever made. The story, the music, the acting, the gameplay, the visuals… Every single part of the game is just masterfully done. I feel it’s one of those games that everybody should play; a sort of “milestone” game like Ocarina of Time or Skyrim. Even if you’re not a fan of FPS or RPGs, it’s worth turning down the difficulty and playing just to experience the best story ever told through a video game, in my opinion.
Outer Wilds.
If you like space games and puzzle games (in the sense that you need to piece together the situation you’re in), this is a great choice.
Highly recommend not looking anything up before you play.
If you like good storytelling, worldbuilding, complex flawed characters and/or deep interactive internal monologues, Disco Elysium is unsurpassed.
The classic Doom collection, classic Doom has a massive modding scene and you can put the wads into a source port like GZDoom.
Valheim
For me: Easily Portal 2.
A deeply rich story, funny dialogue, and great puzzles that will truly make your brain think. The story is very rich and spans across several different eras of Aperture history, going as far back as the 50s. The dialogue is funny and some of the lines are the most memorable in all of gaming (like the Cave Johnson lemon rant). And last but not least, the puzzles are great. They start off pretty simple, but as you progress further in the story, they get more and more complicated, especially when you get the repulsion gel and proposion gel. I feel like Portal 2 is the Gold Standard for puzzle games that every game that comes after it will be judged on.
Also, if you don’t own Portal 2 yet, now is a fantastic time to get it - it’s on sale for $1 on Steam, same with Portal 1. And if you want both games, the bundle containing both games is $1.50. Do not miss out on this offer, it’s so worth it.
Oh man, Portal 1 was amazing. Amazing offer!
I did not play Portal 1, but directly went with the second part. Easily the best game. I’ve also played the precursor to the Portal series, called the Narbacular Drop. Also a nice toy project.
Okay you do some good advertising I’m considering the purchase
If you already have beaten Portal 2 you should check out Portal Revolution. Free mod with voice acting and a lot of new puzzles.
Hades
What platform? I can think of multiple must buys, but it really depends on the system.
