Favorite games

The original Grim Fandango, despite being a commercial failure, has since become a cult classic thanks to its story, humour and endlessly fascinating setting, which draws from classic film noir and Aztec beliefs of the afterlife. This remastered version not only gives the modern generation the chance to experience it, but it's much more user-friendly to boot. In typical adventure game fashion, the puzzles often seem cryptic at first, but I appreciated the game all the more once I got used to them. It's hard to define what makes something "cool", but I can't think of any better word to sum up Grim Fandango.

I'm not a big fan of shooters, and that is this game's only drawback: it's too heavy on combat for my liking. But what won me over in spite of that is, once again, the sheer inventiveness of the setting. I love every component of the world it creates (the premise, the characters, the technology, the alien creatures – everything), and all the different environments you see as you go on your journey keep things fresh and captivating. The game's physics engine and use of scripted events instead of cutscenes must have been groundbreaking, and even by today's standards, the graphics still look gorgeous.

This is one of those indie games that's positively bursting with imagination, arguably even more so than big-budget titles. The premise is unbelievably inspired: I love the idea of saving the world through music. :-) The central mechanic is the "song wheel", where each of the eight coloured sections represents a note in an octave, and it's amazing how versatile the wheel proves to be. It also has a great sense of humour; I especially love the way it satirises the conventions of "saving the world" stories and the role of the hero. It's all topped off with delightfully charming visuals and a great ending.

Another indie game. :-) Its storytelling is absolutely stellar. It's about two doctors granting a dying man his wish to go to the moon, through a machine that can delve into his memories. Not only does the dream concept make it thematically rich and open to discussion, but it's superbly emotional too. Seriously, if you're not in tears by the end, then there is a big black gaping hole where your soul should be! I think the game's old-school, minimalist style plays a big part in that: the SNES-style graphics, the dialogue being in text, and on top of it all, the exceptional music.

When I was a teenager, this was probably the game you'd find me playing most often. I've always loved dinosaurs, but this is one of very few times when they've actually been scary! :-) The great thing about Dino Crisis is that the dinosaurs rarely appear, which really keeps you on edge, because you know there could be another one around any corner. That's what makes good horror. The story does get increasingly preposterous, but I'm willing to let it pass; I still get swept up in it. Plus, I dare you to ignore that cold shiver when the screen shakes as the T-rex gets closer!

I'm actually encompassing the entire Mario franchise here. Yeah, I couldn't pick just one game! :-) Every Nintendo console has its definitive Mario title, from Super Mario Bros. 3 on the NES to Super Mario Odyssey on the Switch. In any generation, the Mario franchise defines the word "fun". But then, the same can be said of Sonic the Hedgehog and Donkey Kong Country and many other old-school console games, which makes it hard not to fill the whole list with titles like that. But Mario still continues to reign supreme and mostly unblemished, so I'd say he's most deserving of a spot on the list.

I'm not talking about this game specifically; I'm using it to represent at least five Telltale games.

This may seem like cheating, but if I were to count all my favourite Telltale games individually, they'd take up half the list! :-) They're that good. Many of their early games, like Sam & Max and Strong Bad, are outstanding laugh riots. But it was The Walking Dead that put them on the map and set the standard for how storytelling and choice-based games should be done. With some exceptions, I can usually count on Telltale for quality stories populated with irresistible characters. Plus they almost always perfectly capture the spirit of the franchises they're adapting, to please both fans and newcomers alike.

This game is like a master class in wit and creativity. The eponymous Psychonauts are basically elite soldiers with enhanced mind powers, and you play a boy in a psychic summer camp. You occasionally go inside people's minds, and the visual representative worlds are pure genius – and usually lead to laugh-out-loud humour. True, the jumping controls can get really frustrating, and you may find it drags on a bit, with more false endings than Return of the King (yeah, no joke!), but it's still a ton of fun to play, and it's bursting with so many clever ideas that it never ceases to amaze.

This game is a Batman fan's dream come true! :-) Simply setting it in Arkham Asylum is the perfect excuse to throw in as many Batman villains as you want – but never to the point of insanity; they're all relevant to the story. I definitely don't consider combat my strong suit, so I'm glad the combat here is simplified to a few basic commands; you just tell Batman basically what to do and watch him do his thing. :-) Throw in the untouchable Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill, and the result is possibly my all-time favourite incarnation of Batman, right up there with the Animated Series.

I did not expect this game to completely blow me away like it did. The story is just fantastic: a psychological journey of a man finding his identity as a warrior. But the gameplay experience itself is so amazing that I just can't do it justice. The missions can be tailored to your preferred gaming style – which, for me, is stealth. I have fun just exploring the island; the tropical scenery is pure bliss to take in while searching for radio towers or enemy outposts. Combined with the absolutely top-notch graphics, it makes me feel like I really am walking among wild animals.

Since The Sims is a concept without an ending, it's more of a constant activity than a game. The countless ways in which The Sims 2 improved on the original Sims just blew my mind. You have access to just about everything you could ask for to make your Sims' home life complete. Since I don't tune into much TV, I sometimes use The Sims 2 as my alternative, a TV soap that I have complete control over! :-) I am interested in playing The Sims 3, so maybe that'll take 2's place on this list at some point in the future.

Fahrenheit, when I first came across it, was unlike anything I'd ever played before. It's a murder story in which you play both the murderer and the police on the case, both equally determined to find the truth. It starts out relatively slow and gradually pulls you in, so that before long, you're seized inescapably in the heart-stopping excitement of it all. The very user-friendly format of the quick time events (moments where you simply have to press the right button at the right time), which dictate the action scenes, certainly helps. Plus the characters are all memorable and the music is just fantastic.

Mass Effect, to me, is a top contender for the best trilogy in all of fiction! Although Mass Effect 2 is my favourite because its core focus is character development, I consider all three games one complete unit; you can't have any one without the other two. The trilogy became my new obsession from the moment I first played it. My main investment was in the romance I had going with the ever-adorable Tali; I came for the romance but stayed for everything else. The whole package is spellbinding: all the components of the Mass Effect universe, the story, but most of all, the characters.

Oh my God, I love this game! :-D I can't possibly praise it enough! The world of Hillys, combining humans and anthropomorphic animals, is probably my favourite fictional world ever. It has a brilliant storyline involving a rebel organisation exposing a deadly conspiracy concerning an alien menace. It's packed with stealth sections that truly get your heart pounding, but it also has intense combat scenes, flying scenes and even racing scenes – it has everything you could ask for. :-) And the music… the whole soundtrack is outstanding! Any way you look at it, Beyond Good & Evil is a masterpiece. I adore it to death.

Once again, this actually refers to the whole series – both games. Yeah, I just couldn't choose between the two! :-) They're basically puzzle games involving portals, but with a storyline that catapults them straight to elite status. Portal 1 stood solo at the top of my list for a long time, because it's the most perfect piece of entertainment I've ever seen in terms of atmosphere and story progression. I used to think Portal 2, though superior to the first one in many ways, somewhat spoilt the original by elaborating on a bit too much back-story. But it's grown on me, and now I just can't get enough of it. :-) Both have their own strengths: Portal 1 is much darker and grittier, providing a flawless sense of complete isolation, while Portal 2 offers a wider array of puzzle elements, and is a lot funnier than the original to boot – which is not to say for a second that the original was a comedic dud, but the sequel has more and usually better gags. In any event, either one on its own is easily the most fun I've ever had playing a game. Both of them are staggeringly creative, hilarious, gripping and, like I mentioned before, just all-around perfect.