My personal top ten (no particular order):
1.
Starcraft/Starcraft: Brood War. One of the games that really started it all for me. This is the game that got me into RTS games. This is the game that got me into working on computers and inspired me to learn more about map creation modding - and in that way, it helped shape the person I've become today, as I am now a security engineer working at one of the world's largest software companies. The sequel and its expansions are also among some of the best RTS games out there.
2.
Half-Life/Half-Life 2. Another early, influential game for me. I had played other PC shooters before this - Doom, Wolfenstein, Duke Nukem, and Quake all come to mind - but this was the one that I spent the most time with. It was revolutionary for its time, with its 3D environments, full range of motion, tight controls, enemy design, atmosphere... everything. Half-Life 2 took a perfect game and somehow made it even better. I am among the millions of gamers that laments the fact that we've never gotten Half-Life 3 (although I hear the recent VR game that came out was quite good).
3.
Halo. I mowed plenty of lawns and scrimped and saved every penny I possibly could as a kid until I could go to Toys-R-Us and purchase my first Xbox and a copy of Halo. What can be said about this game that hasn't already been said? This game revolutionized the first person shooter genre. Master Chief has become one of the most iconic characters in the history of video games. The gameplay, the sprawling world design, the music, the graphics, the story were all incredible for their time. I spent untold amounts of time on split screen multiplayer with my buddies, fragging each other on Blood Gulch and desperately trying to escape the Library with the Flood hot on our heels.
4.
Super Mario Bros. 3. One of a few NES games that I could pick up and lose myself in for hours today. As a kid, I've got plenty of fond, fuzzy memories of this game. Beautiful graphics, addicting gameplay, and tough platforming make this an all-time classic.
5.
Mass Effect (the original trilogy). In my mind, one of the greatest sci-fi franchises in any medium. Sadly, BioWare just doesn't make them like this anymore, as evidenced by 2017's incredibly disappointing Mass Effect: Andromeda. This will probably be a controversial choice for some, given that opinions are pretty split between how the original trilogy ultimately ended. If I had to pick a favorite in the series, it would probably be Mass Effect 2 - it takes the deep, compelling story of the first game and gives us a much-needed improvement to gameplay and controls. The graphics, atmosphere, gameplay, voice acting, and story of this trilogy are among the best in games. The emotional weight of character development and what ultimately can happen to those characters is something that stays with me, even years after finishing ME3 for the first time.
6.
Pokemon Red/Blue. Two of the games that got me into handheld gaming as a kid, and by far the ones I spent the most amount of time with. I couldn't tell you how many Pokemon there are today, but you better believe I caught all original 151. Anyone remember the Missing No. glitch where you could infinitely clone your items? Fun times.
7.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Similar to how Halo revolutionized first person shooters and multiplayer as we know it, COD4 further continued that trend, as their online multiplayer became the basis for what we have seen out of so many other online shooters today. Sadly, the series has largely gone downhill since this game was released (with the exception of World at War and Modern Warfare 2) and is nothing more than a glitch-ridden mess filled to the brim with microtransactions. Getting away from the commentary on the current state of affairs in the series, however, this game had it all. The campaign is one of the best for an FPS, in my opinion - it was gritty, detailed, and compelling. It was emotional and at times gut-wrenching, with twists that you would never see coming. The Chernobyl mission is one of the single best levels for any game, anywhere. My only complaint about the campaign is that it was too short.
8.
The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt. I was a fan of the series well before this game was released (both the games and the books), so this was a highly anticipated title for me - and boy, let me tell you, it did not disappoint. One of the greatest RPGs of all time, this game has a massive world to explore, rife with secrets, lore, and side activities. Its two expansions, Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine, are so good that they could have easily been released as standalone games. This game has more memorable subplots (Bloody Baron, anyone?) than some games do entire storylines. The music in this game sets the tone so well - there's nothing quite like riding around on Roach, listening to Fields of Ard Skellig for the first time while the sun bathes the snow-covered mountains around you. The story is compelling and emotional. It has a minigame that was so popular that CDPR released it as a standalone game. A full playthrough of this game in which you try to uncover everything you possibly can could easily take over 100 hours. This is one of the very few games that I have played where I felt a profound sense of sadness when I finished, both because it was over and because I realized that I could never again experience it for the first time.
9.
The Last of Us. One of the most emotionally gripping media experiences that I have ever had, this was the game that convinced me to finally purchase a PS4. I've not played the remake, but I have heard that it does the original proud. It's a game that straddles the line between action and horror, and it does it so well. It's a game that gives you precious little supplies and ammo, forcing you to do something other than go into an encounter with guns blazing where you might be better off just sneaking past. It's a game that causes you to consider the needs of the few versus the needs of many, and there are plenty of touching moments and hard-hitting tragedies. I'll be interested to see the show.
10.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I would be remiss if I didn't include arguably the greatest video game of all time on my list, from arguably the greatest video game series of all time. Ocarina of Time introduced several gameplay features that have since become industry standards. In fact, there are multiple games on the rest of this list that have borrowed elements that first appeared in this game. Everything from Dark Souls to GTA to The Witcher has cited this game as a major source of inspiration. It has aged comparatively well to other titles that were released during this era. For its time, it was truly a flawless game - visuals, audio, gameplay, music, and story were all perfect. It truly is the benchmark against which all other action and adventure games are measured, and it belongs in any "all time" pantheon.
Honorable Mentions
- Resident Evil 4
- Advance Wars
- Animal Crossing
- Soul Calibur II
- Donkey Kong Country
- Mario 64
- God of War
- The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
- The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
- Uncharted 4
- Metroid Prime
- Warcraft 3/The Frozen Throne
- Persona 5
- Skyrim
- Portal
- Jade Empire
- Literally any Soulsborne game, to include Sekiro and Elden Ring
- ETA:
@foucault87 reminded me of the Golden Sun series.