UA Twitch has a lot of groups associated with it. Twitch is commonly associated with gaming, but would you believe that the gaming group is one of the smallest in our class? Our group consists of just two people: Me (Sam) and Kostantinos. We thought of this idea to give you a better idea of who we are and what our tastes are, since we are a smaller group. Over the course of the semester, we may continue this Split Screen series with other topics, but we thought just starting with our own personal top 10 video games would be an effective opener! Who doesn’t love a top 10 list? I have been gaming since I was old enough to hold a controller, so my list may run back quite a few years, but we will see! I have not sat down and thought this list out, so we will see what pops up in what order. What better way to determine favoritism than mental prioritization!
1: XCOM 2
I got my first taste of XCOM when the original (I know there are some much older versions of this franchise, but I mean the original for Xbox systems) became free to play with Xbox Live Gold. I downloaded it because I was like 13 and had no source of income, so any game with a price of free felt like I struck digital gold. The game was a little too challenging for a child of my age, but I loved the tactical sci-fi vibe of it. XCOM 2 came out my freshman year of high school, and I thought I would give it a shot. It was very challenging, but I loved it. The campaign took me a solid chunk of time to beat (on the easiest difficulty) but it was a test that I thoroughly enjoyed. A few years later, the War of the Chosen DLC came out and it completely restructured the game in such a way, that I was hooked. It made the game harder, which I did not know was possible. To this day I still have not completed this version of the game, but I love starting up new campaigns and seeing how far I can get until everything crumples in my fingertips.
2: Overwatch
Every single Overwatch player probably shares the exact same feelings about this game that I have. That is, a love-hate relationship with this dumpster fire of a game and community. When the beta for this game came out, I was instantly hooked. I have sunk an ungodly amount of time into this game, that it would have been a lie if I did not have it in my top 3 at least. As embarrassing as it is to say, the gameplay loop is just very addictive to me, and I cannot get enough of it. I really do enjoy the current state of the game with Overwatch 2, despite the very public outcry of disapproval. I will say one last thing about it, and this is only for Overwatch fans, I am a Cassidy and Lucio main.
3: Risk of Rain 2
I am glad that this game has reached the level of public enjoyment that it has, because it is just so dang fun. It has THE most addictive gameplay loop ever made in my opinion. Roguelikes are one of my favorite game genres, and this game does it in a way that is like no other. Getting a good run in ROR2 is one of the best power trips you could feel. You get to a point where the game practically plays for you, and you feel like you are cheating. The gunplay is very satisfying, and all the characters feel unique. I could do loop after loop in this game all day and never get bored of it. Keeping with the theme from the number 2 spot, I am a Railgunner and Commando main.
4: Enter the Gungeon
This game falls into the roguelike category as well. In fact, I believe it was the first game that I ever played of the genre. The sheer number of options with weapons and items that can show up in every run is staggering. I am a big D&D fan as well, so I love all of the nods to traditional TTRPG games. This game is full of references to other games, shows, and movies so it is always very fun to pick up an item and recognize exactly what it is from. The bullet hell nature of the games combat is very chaotic, yet very manageable given the access to super strong items that level the playing field. I think that the only reason this game did not beat Risk of Rain 2 might be recency bias. What an incredible game.
5: Pokémon: White
Growing up with a Nintendo DS as my main source of entertainment, I played Pokémon like it was nobody’s business. Out of all of them that I played, White stuck with me the most. I just loved the soundtrack and the scenery of the game. I believe that a remake got announced recently, so I might have to pick that up and play it. There was not a moment where I was playing it which I felt bored, but that could just be childhood nostalgia setting in. My favorite starter was Oshawott!
6: Pneuma: Breath of Life
This is a very strange pick, I know. I doubt many of you will know what this game is at all, but PLEASE go play it. It is a unique and challenging puzzle game with a strangely poetic narrative about humanity and higher powers. I do not want to say much more because it will spoil it, but please go try it.
7: Borderlands 2
In middle school, this game seemed like it was the funniest thing ever made. The crude humor made me roll on the floor in tears. Claptrap was my idol. The humor has not aged super well in my opinion, and that kind of showed in Borderlands 3, but I can still appreciate it for what it was. Me and my friends played through this game more time than I can count. We barely even touched the end-game difficulty stuff like OP modes. The excitement of an enemy dropping a legendary weapon was like getting a new bike for Christmas. They really made that a very satisfying game mechanic. I was a Gaige main.
8: Kid Icarus Uprising
I truly do not remember much about this game, but I remember it being the coolest thing ever when I played it. The different weapons you could use reminded me of the Ratchet and Clank Games (which I also love). The story was super fun, and the level variety kept it super fresh the whole way through. I am also a Pit main in Smash Bros, but I had zero clue what series he was from until I saw this game as a kid. I would love to buy a DS just to play this game again and remember what it was like more clearly.
9: Minecraft
I would be stupid not to put this on my list. This game had such an influence on nearly every single kid in my age group. I was fully invested in everything Minecraft: youtubers, toys, parodies. All of it. Some of my favorite gaming memories were made on online multiplayer servers with my childhood best friend. We would do everything you could think of in that game. We did faction wars, creative servers, build battles, bed wars, survival games, skyblock, anything we could find really. I wish that games now could fill with the childlike sense of wonder that this game did for our generation. Truly a groundbreaking piece of entertainment. I wish the developers could be a little better at keeping it alive though.
10: The Banner Saga
There are so many things to rave about in this game. The 2D art is jaw dropping. I want to put some of the scenery from this game up on my wall as decoration. I would consider this my favorite game visually. It has a perfect fantasy art style. The soundtrack captures the vibe of the story perfectly at every moment. It makes the stakes of every battle seem significant, it makes the quiet moments feel impactful, and it elevates the story and characters in a meaningful way. The tactical, turn-based combat is very deep and fulfilling once you start to get the hang of it. The way that choices and characters carry over between the three titles is extremely well done and it makes you feel like everything that you do matters. The only reason why it is not higher is because I have had a hard time going back and replaying it, but on the first run through it was mind-blowing.
Honorable Mention: Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
I am legally obligated to put this on my list as well. I would be cheating my 6th grade self out of his livelihood if I did not. Playing zombies in this game was truly one of the defining experiences of that age for me. Every day after school I would sprint to my Xbox 360 so excited to play it. With every DLC that came out, it felt like the game got an entirely new breath of life. I played a lot of the multiplayer as well, but most of my time was put into Zombies. Sadly, none of the other iterations of the zombies mode really lived up to this for me.
That is my OFFICIAL top 10 games list. I do not know when, but at some point we will have one for Kostantinos as well! Stay tuned.
