I don't think I've ever seen Okami featured in one of these lists. Just to be sure I looked up some of Polygon's and even in their Top 500, its not there, which is kinda depressing?

I'm not a fan of Zelda games - or most Nintendo games - but I do love when people take inspiration from them and make their own thing - Tchia, Darksiders, Oceanhorn, Tunic, and Ittle Dew all come to mind just as Zelda 'clones' - and I think there's no higher example of that than Okami, a game that takes its inspiration and surpasses it in every way. The graphics were at the time mindblowing(frankly, still are), with its japanese classic art style cel shading, the soundtrack is phenomenal and Amaterasu has an excellent mobility, zipping across battlefields or simply open areas with easy and fluidity. The paintbrush is a stellar tool, both to use in puzzles and in combat, and the game boasts a charming cast of characters and engaging story. Probably the saddest tidbit about it is that it was also Clover's farewell game, after its previous, unfairly lambasted, gem God Hand and two attempts at the beat'em up Viewtiful Joe series.

Nowadays the Zelda series has gotten a whole different kickstart with its open-world entries, burying these inspirations even further, but I still believe Okami easily stands atop most entries of that series, and on its own as well.

Where are my Outer Wilds boys at?

Don't get me wrong, I also like TotK and BG3 and just replayed Outer Worlds (Fallout in spaaaace) and love me some "mainstream" games. But I think people unfairly exclude many genres when making these sorts of lists. E.g.: The Sims, Civ5, Minecraft, Pokemon, and many others that sold like hotcakes and have been extremely good games.

Personally, I'm always biased towards 4X, RTS, and similar, and find it strange they're always overlooked. Europa Universalis 4 is ten years old and still getting DLC and updates -- how many people must have played that game over ten years for the studio to justify that continued investment?

Dwarf Fortress deserves a mention for sheer audacity and scope.

Morrowind and Oblivion both have a massive fan following but I think always get unfairly overlooked for Skyrim.

The best games of all time are: Go, Soccer, Chess, Poker, Tetris... they've stood the proof of time over and over again (respectively: 4000, 2300, 1400, 200, 40 years).

A honorable mention should go to Doom, as in the "can it run Doom?" meme, but it's anyone's guess whether it will stand for another 30 years.

All the likes of Zelda, Mario, Halo, Pokemon, etc. are going to get forgotten as soon as the last generation playing the last re-release as a kid, grows out of time to play it actively, and as servers for the multiplayer versions get shut down.

Basically everything old. There's such massive recency bias in game discussions. It's very much an explicit marketing strategy to promote the new thing as more everything but somehow it's infected almost all discussions.

Sure ok, playing an old game requires a bit more investment and effort than watching an old film or even reading an old book but mostly it's just about lack of familiarity. Especially outside of fps style games where I'll admit prior to halo 1 things were pretty all over the shop many older games are still approachable.

Coupled with the general dismissal of strategy and simulation genres (which were comparatively bigger in the past) and many things get forgotten outside of cult classic status.

It's kinda insane how much people dismiss "System Shock." It's a serious bedrock of a title, so much of what we take as a given of games was really pioneered by LookingGlass. I think a big chunk of that was due to the gameplay not really holding up to modern times, but hopefully now that Nightdive's remaster is out, more people can experience it and realize just how much of the game holds up.

Probably a close second is the original "Half-Life", in terms of really cementing the story-based first person shooter, but I don't think anyone is going to call Half-Life snubbed.

Sonic 3 & Knuckles and Kirby Planet Robobot for the same reason: while not the most innovative games and not necessarily my favorites in their respective franchises, they represent nearly flawless implementations of their respective franchise's ideas.

Sometimes I feel like Mario and a couple popular indie games are the only platformers that get taken seriously honestly.

I feel like these conversations get dominated by games with the fewest explicit flaws rather than the ones that have the most to offer but it's my firm belief that no piece of art can be truly great which is not also kind of annoying. Not because annoyingness is inherent to greatness but because greatness and annoyingness are both the products of an underlying willingness to take creative risks.

So in that spirit, my answer is Steambot Chronicles.

MS Solitaire, Space Pinball, and Minesweeper come to mind. They were not my favorites, but I know a few people who have a few hundred hours on one or more of those.

For me it's C&C Generals Zero Hour. I have had a copy since it released in 2003, it still works, and I still play it in single player mode at least once a week. It's great because it does not require a huge time commitment and campaign missions take about an hour or less to complete. To me it's one of the best RTS style games out there. My second favorite? C&C Red Alert 2 and Yuri's Revenge.

I have also very much enjoyed the Assassin's Creed series up to AC Odyssey.

Journey redefined how I look at video games and the world, and honestly changed the course of my life for the better.

TUNIC may truly be the best game of all time

Outer Wilds shares the top spot with TUNIC

Celeste is the best precision platformer, and easily in the top 5 games of all time, though I suppose it is, much like Outer Wilds, quite highly regarded game among people who know it exists

Citizen Sleeper is unparalleled, I can wholeheartedly say more people need to know about this gem

There's a whole generation of players now who never got to experience Soul Reaver. Brilliant writing by Amy Henning, amazing voice cast.

People lauding Lords of the Fallen dual world forgot that Soul Reaver did it first.

At this point the closest thing would be a Zelda/ Dark Souls hybrid which we haven't seen?

Battlefield 1942. Vehicle combat, area-control mechanics, "realistic" shooter gameplay (before that term became an obscene word), and class-based team mechanics had all been invented before, but the way it brought them together and the degree to which it polished them to arrive at something fun as hell was nothing less than revolutionary at the time. It was so groundbreaking that (for better or worse) it basically spawned the "AAA WW2 game" genre that then lasted for decades.

Then, the sequels were so consistently mediocre that the original was more or less erased from history.

IMO, it's hard to claim best game of all time unless it ages well, and not just some unique gimmick the game provided at the time.

Ie, I don't like Tetris but for sure it is one of the best game of all time.

However, if what you mean is good games that somewhat get outshined by others or lacks media attentions, then I agree. There are plenty of other games, and I think people would have bias toward their favorite genre/type.

One title that comes to mind is Anachronox. A western rpg with a really good story, interesting characters (one of your companions is an entire planet shrinked down to human size), fun humor and a cliffhanger that never got resolved.

I really wish they made a part 2 but I know it will never happen.

ooblets and fire watch are not difficult or lengthy games, but both were so enjoyable. i think casual games often get the short end of the stick unless there’s some online element a la animal crossing.

Portal, Minecraft, Stardew Valley are just some you haven't mentioned.

When it comes to arcade racers people seem to either forget or just don't know about trackmania games. They aren't perfect by any means but id certainly consider them among the best

I think for best games of all time i think fallout new vegas. Its super well regarded amongst bethesda fans but i dont hear it listed as one of the greatest in general and i think i definitely deserves to be up there. The size of the world, the zaney humor, the amount of quests, weapons, amd your effect on the world. There's just so much to this game

I searched this thread for Gothic II and it was nowhere to be found. This brilliant masterpiece is even getting snubbed from lists of games getting snubbed. It really should be more known. This is a game that makes (no offense) OP's Fable look like baby's first RPG. Incredible world building, expert progression, meaningful choices, an entirely skill-based combat system that is basically a proto Dark Souls, so many clever touches everywhere. It's so well designed, it's one of few RPGs that credibly crosses into immersive sim territory - that's how well its systems are connected.

Master of Magic. I know strategy isn't everyone's thing and turn based isn't either and high fantasy isn't usually strategy staple, but it's damn near perfect in execution. There are some minor nitpicks, but the game is definitely a 9/10*s. None of the spiritual successors have ever been so well executed. They always fall flat somewhere.

Marathon Infinity - The whole Marathon trilogy did a lot for defining the story-driven FPS (as did System Shock), but since the first and last title were Mac only for years, they didn’t get the credit they deserved among the pantheon of FPS greats.

Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP - For years, whenever someone asked me what the must-have game was for iOS, this was always my answer. It shows up on a fair number of iOS lists, but doesn’t get the same level of recognition on PC. One of the most well-crafted experiences ever.

Clash at Demonhead - Despite having an Easter egg in Scott Pilgrim, this NES game is largely forgotten. It was one of my favorites in my youth and I am always surprised by how few people have played it, let alone finished it.