“1000 Games You Must Play Before Game Over” [800 – 701]

Your future hasn’t been written yet, no one’s has. Your future is whatever you make it.
-Doc Brown, Back To The Future III

“This match will get red hot!”

Time to grease up your keyboard and fly through another one-hundred games! Hey, how many of these have you played, anyways?

#0800. Tomb Raider (2013)
Tomb Raider (2013) manages what few franchises have been able to pull off: create a successful reboot of an iconic series. The game rethinks everything, taking nothing for granted, resulting in a bold and fresh experience.
-The Timely Mage

#0799. LEGO Batman: The Videogame
I always enjoy a good Lego game! The humor is so great! My favorite thing about this particular game? Robin’s vacuum suit. So satisfying for the OCD in us all.
-The White Out Mage

#0798. Duke Nukem
I think this list needs a good dash of DOS. Duke Nukem is a personal entry for me since it represented a whole new interest in gaming when I was very young, before I had any systems I called my own, plus it is the ultimate bad dude stereotype, which we all know gaming history is founded on.
-The Well-Red Mage

#0797. Cuphead
Old-school style run-and-gun platformer with tremendous artwork that’s meticulously crafted to emulate 30’s hand-drawn animation. Unique and amazing visuals, perfect controls and gameplay, with a just-right stroke of serious challenge here.
-The Slipstream Mage

#0796. Faxanadu
A Great NES Platforming RPG with surprisingly catchy music, an easy to use inventory menu, and a decent assortment of items, equipment, and spells.
-The Indecisive Night Mage

#0795. Mega Man X2
Expanded on the great things that X brought to the series. Also has awesome wireframe boss fights.
-The New Age Retro Mage

#0794. Advance Wars: Dual Strike
A tactical game with a crazy amount of depth, I’m pretty sure this game was jammed into my Nintendo DS as a kid. I adore long, challenging games, and this one kept me on my toes forever.
-The Normal Mage

#0793. Minit
What other game makes you play it one minute at a time? None, that’s what.
-The Wandering Mage

#0792. The Lost Vikings
Simple concept: three characters with unique abilities must help each other to reach the end of each stage. With thought-provoking puzzles in cleverly designed levels, The Lost Vikings is an absolute must!
-The Regional Exclusive Mage

#0791. Timesplitters 2
To some Timesplitters 2 is one of, if not the best example of how a first-person shooter should be done. With a cracking cast and an often hilarious script to boot, it’s a must play!
-The Off-Centered Earth Mage

#0790. Earthlock: Festival of Magic
An enjoyable turn-based RPG with cool characters and an interesting companion system.
-The Kingly Yellow Mage

#0789. Last Day of June
An adventure puzzle game that follows a man–mourning the death of his wife–as he explores his memories and attempts to change the past. With no dialogue, this game is told predominantly through visuals and sound, and it’s devastatingly beautiful. It’s even better if you’re a fan of musician, Steven Wilson, who provided the soundtrack.
-The Blood-Stained Metal Mage

#0788. Resident Evil REmake
-The Silver Sentinel Mage

#0787. Virtue’s Last Reward
Engrossing story involving branching decisions and parallel worlds.
-The Bookwarm Mage

#0786. Killzone 3
A wonderful ending to a great trilogy, along with a possible challenger to Modern Warfare 2‘s multiplayer gameplay. Great story, great play!
-The Keeper of The Darkness Flame Mage

#0785. Killer Instinct (2013)
Reboots don’t always work, but Double Helix Games and Iron Galaxy have certainly given Killer Instinct fans something to be proud of on PC and Xbox One.
-The Middle-aged Horror Mage

#0784. Worms 3D
Madcap turn-based shooting with ridiculous weapons, air-drop cows, and hilarious banter. Be careful not to blow yourself off the map.
-The Ink-Stained Mage

#0783. Medal of Honor: Underground
Join Manon, of the French resistance, as she shoots Nazis aplenty.
-The Bizzaro Mage

#0782. Punch-Out!! [Arcade]
The arcade game that was the predecessor to Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!. This game pits you the green wireframe fighter against pugalists from all over the world. Lots of fun to play but hard to master. Great digitized voice lets you know how you’re doing. Just like in MTPO, if you learn the patterns you can win the day.
-The Beer Mage

#0781. Counter-Strike
Mods and homebrews have always been a component of PC gaming since the early days of DEC VAX mainframe computers of the 1970s. Valve was quick to realize that the community which had sprung up around Half-Life and their GoldSrc engine were doing big things, and the modders behind Counter-Strike were quickly hired by Valve to polish and release a commercial version. In its most recent iteration, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive remains relatively unchanged from the core concepts and mechanics which made it so successful. It remains one of the top eSports franchises in the world, enjoying concurrent player counts of over a half-million people each day.
-The Optimistically Sentimental Alabaster Mage

#0780. The House of the Dead
ZOMBIES!
-The Blue Moon Mage

#0779. Star Wars: Battlefront II (2005)
Shooting stuff as a trooper/droid (and occasionally entering the fray as a Jedi or Sith) was pretty fun, but the best part of this game is its space battles, in which you can run through your own cruiser, pick whatever ship you like, fly it over to the enemy cruiser, get onboard and blow up all their systems from the inside.
-The Sometimes Vaguely Philosophical Mage

#0778. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six
Tactical shooter that requires careful planning and execution. Wide variety of levels revolving around hostage situations in which every bullet makes a difference.
-The ABXY Mage

#0777. The World Ends With You
This unique Square-Enix action-RPG has an interesting premise: all playable characters are dead and they have to play and win a Game within 7 days. Success brings you back to life but failure kills you permanently!. It also features a wild control style, where the stylus-controlled the main characters powers and the d-pad controlled your partners attacks, making battles so frantic and fun!
-The Hyperactive Coffee Mage

#0776. Little Big Planet 3
Little Big Planet is a creative wonderland that is defined as much by its tools as it is the community around it. Also, Sackboy and all his costumes are the literal best.
-The Mail Order Ninja Mage

#0775. Monster Hunter Tri
One of the best RPGs on the Switch featured great single-player offline and multiplayer online modes, underwater battles, and more dino-themed equipment than you can shake a pointy stick at.
-The Well-Red Mage

#0774. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
One of the most widely played hardcore RPGs played by non-hardcore RPG fans. The sheer breadth of the gameworld, and the truly astounding attention to detail, will take your breath away.
-The Badly Backlogged Mage

#0773. Fire Emblem: Awakening
This was originally planned to be the series’ “last hurrah” (as some have been heard saying it), but it seemingly gave the series another chance with its success. As a good sequel after a bad remake, this is a fantastic example of what more original ideas can do for a series.
-The Valiant Vision Mage

#0772. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Sekiro’s spin on Sengoku-period history and Japanese mythology creates a breathtaking world. The highlight of the game is its unparalleled gameplay, demanding the player to master its mechanics and to remain determined through a countless number of failures.
-The Iron Mage

#0771. FarmVille
FarmVille transformed Facebook games from time-passing gimmicks into a legitimate industry and proved that the microtransaction was a valid–if controversial–future for gaming.
-The Purple Prose Mage

#0770. Retro City Rampage
An affectionate parody of video game culture set inside a mock-GTA 8-bit city. Might be a little ‘dated’ already, but still a fun play. I got to walk down a city street in a sombrero strumming a guitar as a tank rolled after me firing rockets and hitting every living person on the sidewalk except me.
-The Dapper Zaffre Mage

#0769. Rolling Thunder 2
A great game with a brutal challenge and the best password system ever.
-The Hopeful Sega Mage

#0768. Ken’s Labyrinth
A first-person shooter released on DOS that is an absolute blast. It’s the only first person shooter that I have really loved and sometimes when I close my eyes I still think of the little dog! Play it for the dog.
-The Final Fourteenth Mage

#0767. SteamWorld Heist
The SteamWorld Dig games may be fantastic, but Image & Form’s 2015 turn-based strategy shooter is also magnificent. With its steampunk setting, you star as Captain Piper Faraday as you loot spaceships and skill up your ship and weaponry. Very engaging, indeed.
-The Moronic Cheese Mage

#0766. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater
The first game to show how much fun you can have pretending to skateboard in a video game.
-The Midnight Mystic Mage

#0765. Nintendo Pocket Football Club
A masterpiece in simplicity, and also incredibly addictive.
-The Red Hot Chili Mage

#0764. Dragon Ball FighterZ
Awesome DBZ fighting game. You can land strong small combos or destroy your opponent with 40-hit combos.
-The Shamrock Show Mage

#0763. Seaman
-The Green Screen Mage

#0762. Battlefield 4
Battlefield is known for its large scale battles, vehicles, and class system, but Battlefield 4 also introduces a whole new level of destructibility with a dramatic map-changing event that can occur in the middle of the already frantic battlefield.
-The Timely Mage

#0761. Exodus: Journey to the Promised Land
Moses can shoot out Ws! I can still hear Red’s joke in my head about the Ws being “Wumbos” (Spongebob reference), but in fact, they represent the Word of God.
-The White Out Mage

#0760. Breath of Fire II
Capcom’s answer to Square’s Final Fantasy series was short-lived by comparison, but the second entry delved deep into some dark and serious issues and crafted a memorable fantasy realm with a profound history. It also happened to be a game firmly set on the JRPG traditions when it came to combat and gameplay.
-The Well-Red Mage

#0759. Shenmue
An early walking-simulator with a story of revenge, marital arts, and self-discovery. Mundane activities made interesting by the sheer ambition of this game, and one of the first games to throw QTEs at the player.
-The Slipstream Mage

#0758. Ys III: Wanderers from Ys
Combined platforming, roleplaying, and decent storytelling, with high-quality SNES artwork. Well designed levels, backgrounds, art that often reminded me of Faxanadu for the NES, I really loved that one too.
-The Indecisive Night Mage

#0757. Virtua Cop 2
An improved experience on the original, and also some of the best light gun arcade action.
-The New Age Retro Mage

#0756. The Legend of Starfy
I am flummoxed that more Starfy games haven’t had a worldwide release. That’s okay though, this game is a brilliant platformer and ridiculously cute. By merit of cuteness, I dub it a must-play.
-The Normal Mage

#0755. Zork: Grand Inquisitor
Take Zork, add graphics, make it a point-and-click adventure with live acting, boost up the silliness, shake, and serve as one of the greatest adventure games ever.
-The Wandering Mage

#0754. Nocturne
Part of the survival-horror boom in the late 1990s, Nocturne was a classy journey through four distinct adventures starring the enigmatic Stranger as he protected the world from darkness. A true hidden gem.
-The Regional Exclusive Mage

#0753. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
Depending on who you ask, one of the best or worst movie tie-in games. Expertly shows the nothing-is-off-limits attitude of PlayStation. But, for anyone into Harry Potter at the time (which was everyone), what an amazing experience this was!
-The Off-Centered Earth Mage

#0752. FreezeME
What you get when someone brings Super Mario 64 into the modern age: better graphics and controls, just not enough Italian plumber.
-The Kingly Yellow Mage

#0751. Dino Crisis
It’s Resident Evil with dinosaurs. What else could you possibly need?
-The Blood-Stained Metal Mage

#0750. Super Mario Sluggers
-The Silver Sentinel Mage

#0749. Frequency
The ultimate rhythm game; immersive and synesthetic, if a little tunnel-vision inducing.
-The Bookwarm Mage

#0748. Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening
Yes, this was the third game in the series, but it was actually a prequel. After the lackluster success of DMC2, this game took players back to how fun Dante was to play with in DMC1. It also gave Dante more weapons and styles to play with which made this probably one of the most enjoyable in the series.
-The Keeper of The Darkness Flame Mage

#0747. Claire: Extended Cut
If you like your horror pixely and smothered in creepy atmosphere, Claire is a must-play. There’s multiple endings to unlock, Silent Hill-style puzzles to solve, monsters to avoid, and the amount of love that went into the importance of sound and music really helps elevate the experience.
-The Middle-aged Horror Mage

#0746. Microsoft Flight Simulator
One of the most realistic simulators ever created, it helped create the market for sim games, one of the most voracious communities in gaming.
-The Ink-Stained Mage

#0745. Rock & Roll Racing
Chiptune classic rock backed space racer, what could be better?
-The Bizzaro Mage

#0744. Super R Type
A tough as nails side-scrolling shooter that challenges you to memorize and execute on pinpoint accurate maneuvers as you traverse. Great music, great visuals, and memorable boss fights. Start on novice and work your way up, if you beat the game is repeats on the next hardest level.
-The Beer Mage

#0743. Eye of the Beholder
After SSI’s success with the “Gold Box” D&D games (patterned after the successful Ultima franchise), Westwood Studios (then known as Westwood Associates) was let loose to developer a dungeon crawler in the same vein as the popular Wizardry games. Having the ability to set their first foray of epic fantasy in the wildly unforgettable Forgotten Realms campaign setting yielded one of the best western RPG experiences on PC at the time… Only to have the crown stolen by Bethesda five years later with their release of The Elder Scrolls Chapter II: Daggerfall.
-The Optimistically Sentimental Alabaster Mage

#0742. Area 51
The pizza parlor staple.
-The Blue Moon Mage

#0741. Recettear: An Item Shop’s Tale
There’s so much depth to this adorable game about a young girl running an item shop. It’s endlessly fun while having its fair share of both hilarious and emotional moments.
-The Sometimes Vaguely Philosophical Mage

#0740. Contra
Seminal game in the run-and-gun genre. Combined sidescrolling with 3D-esque third-person levels, co-op multiplayer, and a variety of powerups.
-The ABXY Mage

#0739. Metal Gear Solid [GBC]
A Metal Gear Solid that occurs in an alternate universe. Playing this game, you could hardly believe that this was made on a portable 8-bit system as there is an incredible level of depth, from the stealth mechanics to the boss fights and even to the story itself.
-The Hyperactive Coffee Mage

#0738. Resogun
This game launched the PS4 and it helped solidify Sony’s early lead in the market as the indie machine. One of the most well-developed shooters since Gradius.
-The Mail Order Ninja Mage

#0737. Primal Rage
In an era when fighting games were pretty much dominated by gimmicks as original as “Oh hey in *this* one, everybody knows martial arts!”, there was Primal Rage. Who didn’t love dinosaurs when they were kids, thanks in no small part to Jurassic Park? Well, this 90’s kid sure did.
-The Well-Red Mage

#0736. NBA 2K17
You can’t call yourself a “hardcore gamer” if you insist on avoiding entire genres. NBA 2K17 is one of the most successful entries in one of the most successful sporting franchises. Play it and find out why.
-The Badly Backlogged Mage

#0735. Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
Have you ever wondered what a bad remake looks like? This is not generally a game to play for fun, at least compared to the other Englush games in the series.
-The Valiant Vision Mage

#0734. Monster Hunter Generations
A sort of “best of” compilation of the series, it brings together many of the monsters that we’ve come to love, but adds a plethora of new mechanics, as well as a new focus on verticality and speed.
-The Iron Mage

#0733. Dune II: Battle for Arrakis
The game which introduced the staples of the real-time strategy genre, Dune II established the mechanics which are now used by its successors regularly.
-The Purple Prose Mage

#0732. G Darius
Taito’s Darius series making the leap to 3D. Gorgeous to look at and actually a fun play, it hits a sweet middle spot of difficulty in relation to the rest of the series.
-The Dapper Zaffre Mage

#0731. Hotline Miami
I feel wrong for recommending this one as it’s completely twisted, but it’s unlike anything I’ve played before. Combines violence, action, strategy and addictive ‘one more go’ gameplay perfectly.
-The Hopeful Sega Mage

#0730. Mutant Space Bats of Doom
Lovingly referred to as just “Bats” in my household. It’s an amazing and colourful shoot-em-up for the DOS!
-The Final Fourteenth Mage

#0729. Diablo II
Something of a PC masterpiece from 2000, Blizzard’s epic little grindfest still holds up well today. Very much of its era, if you love hack-and-slash role-playing titles then this is a riveting experience–get your mouse-clicking finger ready.
-The Moronic Cheese Mage

#0728. Fight Night Round 2
One of the most addicting sports games to ever grace a console.
-The Midnight Mystic Mage

#0727. Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3
The king of the anime games, and a bombastic, ridiculous time.
-The Red Hot Chili Mage

#0726. Mortal Kombat 3
Brutally annihilate your opponents in retro graphics. You can also unlock “Smoke”.
-The Shamrock Show Mage

#0725. Chuchu Rocket
-The Green Screen Mage

#0724. Tales of the Abyss
‘Tales of’ games are always a treat and Abyss is one of the most memorable. You play a selfish, spoiled brat but if you can make it to the midgame plot twist it’ll blow you away.
-The Timely Mage

#0723. Just Dance 4
Man, there are some good songs on this one! Some of my favs are “We No Speak Americano”, “Idealistic”, and “Never Gonna Give You Up”.
-The White Out Mage

#0722. Zombies Ate My Neighbors
This love-letter to B-movie monsters is a fun but excruciating two-player co-op run-and-gun which ramps up the difficulty across it’s 50+ levels. But hey, what other game lets you brandish a super soaker against zombies, vampires, werewolves, martians, mermen, blobs, clones, frankensteins, mummies, mad scientists, and giant babies?
-The Well-Red Mage

#0721. Rez
An on-rails shooter that perfectly blends audio cues and music with onscreen action that builds in intensity and fullness as you progress. A trippy journey through techno and trance.
-The Slipstream Mage

#0720. TMNT Fall of the Foot Clan
As far as Game Boy’s cartoon-to-videogame adaptations go, this was probably one of the more impressive/accurate transitions, especially in terms of art. The music was great, and the challenge was fair. Not gonna lie, it was a really short game, but I enjoyed it on repeat until I could beat it without dying.
-The Indecisive Night Mage

#0719. Virtua Cop 1
One of the best on-rails shooting experiences.
-The New Age Retro Mage

#0718. Dynamite Headdy
This game has the best graphics on the Genesis, full stop. It is also a terrible game. You should play it because of two important lessons. First, graphics aren’t everything. Second, over-ambition can easily get the best of you.
-The Normal Mage

#0717. Dropsy
A unique point-and-click with no text, just pictures, and the world’s oddest, but most lovable clown
-The Wandering Mage

#0716. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
This is Castlevania at its purest: levels upon levels of straight-up minimal-nonsense monster-slaying action. With top quality voice acting and some amazing combat mechanics, this game is a real blockbuster.
-The Regional Exclusive Mage

#0715. MadWorld
Nifty little title here. For me, this is a must play because it did something utterly unique when it was released inasmuch as it was practically a playable comic done in an action style of gameplay. Something I think every gamer should at least see.
-The Off-Centered Earth Mage

#0714. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
A tactical class-based first-person shooter where cooperation is key if your team wishes to become the victor. Frequent updates allow prevents the game from becoming stale while introducing new characters and mechanics.
-The Kingly Yellow Mage

#0713. Still Life
Playing as an FBI agent attempting to catch a serial killer, this game mixes interesting puzzles with captivating storytelling that flows through present-day Chicago and 1920s Prague. A sequel to Post Mortem, which I also recommend.
-The Blood-Stained Metal Mage

#0712. Mario Strikers Charged
-The Silver Sentinel Mage

#0711. Golden Axe
Classic side-scroller: chop and magick the enemy hordes
-The Bookwarm Mage

#0710. Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy
Instead of thinking with your trigger finger, you had to use your mind. This game forces you to think outside of the box to complete objectives and engage in combat. It was something different in the world of first-person shooters, and it’s well worth the play.
-The Keeper of The Darkness Flame Mage

#0709. Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP
Part-pixely adventure game, part concept album, Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP is unique, imaginative, and surreal.
-The Middle-aged Horror Mage

#0708. Zoo Tycoon
A new take on the Tycoon franchise had better graphics, and you could release lions, tigers, and dinosaurs on unsuspecting patrons.
-The Ink-Stained Mage

#0707. Age of Empires II
A satisfyingly deep and fun strategy title with a great level editor.
-The Bizzaro Mage

#0706. Thunder Force IV
Also known as Lightening (yes that’s how its spelled) Force on the Genesis. An exciting action-packed side-scrolling space shooter that packs fun and toe-tapping music into a perfect package. The use of parallax scrolling in the game adds to the visual appeal and makes the game seem more expansive. If you like shooters whatsoever you’ll love this game.
-The Beer Mage

#0705. Wing Commander
Chris Robert is probably most known these days for taking in boatloads of cash for the kick-started development of “Star Citizen” (a game which may never actually see a 1.0 release to the general public), but back in the day he was the genius developer behind the Wing Commander space flight sim games. The first in the series is most notable for its treatment of the story, utilizing branching paths and permadeath for the wingmen (and women) that accompany you on your journey and rise to fame as the star fighter pilot against the Kilrathi.
-The Optimistically Sentimental Alabaster Mage

#0704. Toejam and Earl
90s-licious.
-The Blue Moon Mage

#0703. Mirror’s Edge
Rarely will you feel so free as when stringing together series of movements into a single graceful sequence in Mirror’s Edge. This game encourages you to perfect its mechanics, and when you do, you’ll feel like you really are a parkour master.
-The Sometimes Vaguely Philosophical Mage

#0702. Gravity Rush
You’re a mysterious, superhero that can manipulate gravity in a cel-shaded, steampunk future, and you get your powers from a stray cat you find. Need I say more?
-The ABXY Mage

#0701. Super C
This game brings me back to my childhood when I used to play it with my best friend. An insanely difficult side-scrolling run-and-gun featuring two dudes taking on an alien force with tons of cool weapons like lasers and spreader guns!
-The Hyperactive Coffee Mage

Red formerly ran The Well-Red Mage and now serves The Pixels as founder, writer, editor, and podcaster. He has undertaken a seemingly endless crusade to talk about the games themselves in the midst of a culture obsessed with the latest controversy, scandal, and news cycle about harassment, toxicity, and negativity. Pick out his feathered cap on Twitter @thewellredmage, Mage Cast, or Story Mode.