My Favourite Video Games
It wasn't until I turned 6 that my mum brought home a Playstation 1. I would sit in silence and watch her play for hours on end. Games like Crash Bandicoot, Worms, Resident Evil and Silent Hill. (Don't worry, they didn't really scare me because I didn't understand, but I vividly remember those damn nurses 😷)
It wasn't until a couple of years later, (once I was old enough to play them properly) that I moved the Playstation to my bedroom. I don't even wanna think about how many hours I spent playing Spyro 2, Pandemonium and Tekken 3. (To be fair, I was an only child with no mates so when I wasn't watching repeats of The Simpsons there wasn't much else for me to do).
I would lose myself in the game-play, my heart racing as I got ready to blast some baddies in Tomb Raider 2, getting insanely angry because I lost to the computer on Tekken 3, and rushing home from school so I could obsessively design my own levels on Worms Armageddon.
So, here's a list of my ultimate favourite video games that I've loved playing as an adult. Games that I've easily lost myself in, and that I would like to recommend to you, whether you're a gamer or not. 🎮
CONTAINS SPOILERS!
Little Nightmares
I'm gonna start off with the game that I've played the most this year. I love this game so much that I've already completed it 5 times from beginning to end, collecting all of the collectables and obtaining 100% trophies. Dressed in a bright yellow raincoat, you start as a small girl named 'Six' who's just awoken from a nightmare about a mysterious Geisha. What follows is a puzzle/horror platformer adventure through the terrifying 'Maw', an enormous prison-like ship with a terrible secret.
This game will have you on the edge of your seat, as you dodge some of the most horrific monsters imaginable, including cannibalistic guests who chase you and blood sucking leeches.
It's like Limbo and Silent Hill mixed in one, with beautifully melancholic level designs and a soundtrack that will fill you with dread. Even if you're not into horror games, I would 100% recommend this game!
Grand Theft Auto V
If you haven't heard of or played this game franchise, then I'm sorry to say you've probably been living under a rock. It's been almost 4 years since this particular instalment was released, and to this day I still have so much fun playing it, whether I'm blowing up buses, or terrorising sunbathers on Vespucci beach, or actually being sensible and re-playing the story line missions. (It's still so much fun to play the missions, especially the heists).
Grand Theft Auto V is an action adventure video game that lets you explore their open world version of present day Los Angeles. You control the three lead protagonists Michael, Trevor and Franklin throughout single-player, and switch between them both during and outside missions. This is what makes this game so unique and so much fun, as all three characters are complete opposites, and the main thing they have in common is the lust for debauchery. (My personal favourite character is Michael De Santa as he is the video game embodiment of Tony Soprano).
I've spent hours upon hours exploring in this open world as all three of them, delighting in the beautiful sunsets, blowing shit up with a rocket launcher, taking selfies with the strippers at the strip club, or getting stupidly excited because I've finally found Bigfoot, after spending an entire day running around in a thunderstorm looking for him. I purposefully haven't gone into too much depth about the story line, or the other insanely fun things you can do in this game. I might make that a different list for another time. But for anyone who hasn't played this game, just do it already.
Life is Strange
I went into this game not knowing a thing about it. I'd never heard of it, or heard of anyone playing it, which is surprising to me now considering its popularity and enormous fan base. The game is split into 5 episodes; 'Chrysalis', 'Out of time', 'Chaos Theory', 'Dark Room' and 'Polarized'. At the time of the game's release, players would have to wait months for the next episodes, (which makes me glad and slightly smug that I managed to bag the entire game for free on Playstation Plus 😏)
Immediately I fell in love with the art design, the characters and the wonderfully unique open world of Arcadia Bay. The game begins with Maxine (or Max as she prefers to be called) daydreaming in one of her photography classes. Throughout the day, you discover that she can actually time travel, and saves someone's life with her powers. It turns out that the girl she saved was Chloe, an old friend who she lost contact with after moving house. Chloe and Max team up together to try and find out what has happened to a local missing girl named Rachel Amber.
This game takes so many twists and turns, from interrogating suspicious students, to preventing a suicide, to escaping from a serial killer, all with on the spot decision making and the ability to time travel, this tale unravels into one of the most shocking story lines I've ever played. Littered with beautifully poignant moments between Max and Chloe, interesting characters and a gorgeous grunge-y soundtrack, I couldn't tear myself away from this game until I'd finished it. And what makes all of this even better, is the sequel has just been released.
Silent Hill 2
The first time I played Silent Hill 2 was back in 2008. It's been almost ten years and still to this day, I am in LOVE with everything about this game. It was the most intense, emotional and scary as f*** two weeks of my life, but once I finished it, I just wanted to start it all over again.
Silent Hill 2 is not a direct sequel to the first Silent Hill game. Instead, you play as James Sunderland, a widowed man who has just received a letter from his deceased wife Mary. She claims to be waiting for him in their 'special' place; Silent Hill. So, of course you head off to go and find her (a terrible idea by the way James 👻).
On your way, you meet a variety of messed up and mysterious characters, namely Maria who has a creepy resemblance to James' dead wife. She joins you on your search through the haunting demon infested town, as you outwit puzzles, run from acid spewing monsters and pick up clues along the way as to Mary's whereabouts. Among the locations you find yourself in are a terrifying hospital, an abandoned hotel, an underground prison and a labyrinth, where the infamous Pyramid Head chases you. I remember physically shaking with adrenaline the first time he chased me down the most narrow corridor imaginable. (If you suffer from a heart condition, I really don't recommend this game).
Towards the end, I found myself mentally exhausted regarding everything that the game puts you through. Some of the puzzles are pretty tough to decipher, and although you have maps to guide you, it's easy to get lost. But wandering around aimlessly in the fog was worth it. If anything, exploring this town without following the game objective is intriguing in itself, and gives you so much to look at (and recoil from). So if you're after the most perfect horror survival game that will give you nightmares for weeks, look no further. This is the game for you. 😱
The Tomb Raider Franchise
There is so much I love about all of the Tomb Raider games, too much in fact for me to list here. And out of all 11 instalments that have been released spanning two decades, only 5 of them are my ultimate favourites. But that's another list for another time, so I'm gonna try and briefly cover everything I love about the Tomb Raiders and the most bad ass archaeologist bitch on Earth.
I'll start from the beginning of how and why I became so enamoured with this game: I think whenever you're exposed to something as unique and thrilling at such a young age - whether it's an album, a movie or a game - it's almost inevitable that it will leave an impression on you for years to come. Whenever us 80's and 90's kids see the PS1 gen games, we instantly feel nostalgic. (The opening theme song to Metal Gear Solid 2 can literally take me back in time).
So it's no wonder that I still keep going back to this game. I feel a kind of attachment to Lara Croft and want to follow her adventures around the world for as long as the game developers allow (I'm aware of how creepy that may sound to a none-gamer). But she's been in my life since I was a kid, and I love her regardless of the fact she's fictional. Once you become so encapsulated in something, (say for example you read the Harry Potter books as a child), you're gonna take them into your adult life. They'll always hold some kind of magic for you, no matter how much time passes. For me, that was playing around in Lara's mansion, trying to escape the maze, and re-doing the assault course until I got a perfect time. Or running around Venice, blowing up bad guys with a grenade launcher before they caught sight of me, or swimming around for hours in the turquoise oceans of the pacific in Tomb Raider 3.
Not only that, but the game play in almost every single game is outstanding. The pacing is spot on, the action and puzzle solving are balanced out well and Lara herself is one of the most unforgettable and enticing video game characters ever created.
TR has also been a great comfort to me. Whenever I've been ill and bed bound, one of the first things I do is start up Tomb Raider 2, 3 or 5 and just play around on them for hours. Sometimes I try and do the levels, sometimes I just run around in her mansion and shoot at the butler until he falls over. (Again, no regrets, especially when it came to f***ing around with Winston).
So what about the newest Tomb Raiders? Do they hold such a special place in my gamer heart as the first gen? Some of them do. Angel of Darkness...don't even get me started. Legend and Anniversary were okay, but it was Underworld on PS3 that made me fall in love again. The opening to Underworld is arguably the best of all Tomb Raider's. I won't give any of the story line away, but you follow Lara to some of the most amazing locations; from deep sea diving in the Mediterranean, to fighting a Kraken (because again, she's a God damn bad ass) to puzzle solving in the jungles of Thailand, to smashing up monsters with Thor's hammer in Helheim.
I was blown away by the level designs and the combat itself was brilliant. I felt like this instalment had everything that Legend and Anniversary lacked, and is therefore an honourable mention from me.
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Rise of the Tomb Raider is the latest TR instalment that also impressed me to no end. After the disaster that was self titled 'Tomb Raider' released back in 2013, I had no high hopes that Rise of TR was going to be any good. And thank GOD I was wrong. I played this obsessively for about two weeks before completing it, (with still a lot of side missions to complete and collectables to collect).
Overall, I was stunned with how well this game was constructed. The script was great, and the combat missions again were balanced just right alongside the exploration and puzzle solving. Lara herself felt more fierce and defiant than ever before, and the vast open world for her to explore felt like a refreshing break from all the combat scenes.
The 'Baba Yaga' sub plot in this game also blew me away. For the first time in a long time, the developers brought in a supernatural element to the game, forcing Lara to track down and fight a witch that had been terrorising the village she lived in. (I hadn't been that freaked out by TR since the haunted island level in Tomb Raider 5, where you play as a 16 year old Lara who faces demons, a headless horseman and a sea hag).
I really could go on to write another essay about why I love TR so much but I feel this blog post has already been a bit too lengthy. 😉 Overall I've had a blast playing as Lara for the past 20 years, and I hope I'm still playing in another 20 years time.
Violet x
More Honourable mentions:
Overcooked
The Sims
Crash Bandicoot
Crash Bandicoot
Outlast
Hotline Miami
Tekken Tag Tournament 2
The Last of Us
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