Nobody's 2025 Top 100 Games: 70-61

70: Prodigal

Prodigal is Link’s Awakening with some graphical influence from Pokemon Gold, some character influence from Stardew Valley, and a lot more focus on puzzles. There are only three active items in the game and all of them are acquired early on, but each dungeon and boss requires you to use them in new and creative ways to progress. The items also tie into optional content in the overworld, which itself ties into building your relationships with all of the many townspeople. Each of the major characters has their own subquest that can unlock content as significant as an entirely new dungeon if you choose their ending. None of its component pieces are very original on their own, but the sum total is something unique and the execution is difficult to criticize.

Previously: 75

69: Pokemon Crystal Clear

I said earlier that I’d played a lot of Pokemon romhacks in the last few years, and Crystal Clear was the impetus for that. It’s an open world reimagining of Crystal, which means that you’re free to take on all 16 gyms in whatever order you choose, can start in any town, and there are no story checks whatsoever on your progress. That’s a neat enough idea on its own, but it also adds plenty of quality-of-life fixes like the visible IVs in the screenshot above, vastly improved movepools for Pokemon that were screwed by their typing, and the ability to rematch every gym leader and trainer at a custom power level for each gym badge count. Ever wondered what Falkner could do if he was badge 16 or how Blue’s team looks when he has to go first? Crystal Clear can answer that, and it’s even fully compatible with actual GBC hardware if you’ve got a flash cart.

Previously: Unreleased

68: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

Much like Infinite Wealth earlier on the list, Rebirth is an uneven experience that is too long. If Square had cut down chapters 12 and 13 to a small fraction of their actual length and removed a few of the worst minigames, this could be a lot higher on the list. They didn’t, though, so it’s an amazing experience that needs some qualifiers. Queen’s Blood is a great card game that could work as its own release, but you also have to deal with Shinra Manor. Combat sings when you’re allowed to use your preferred team to their full potential, but the game too often forces you to use a specific build for no good reason. The story features some excellent character moments, but it’s sometimes hard to tell if a scene is incomprehensible because you didn’t play Dirge of Cerberus or because it’s meant to be that way. I can’t recommend this game at all if you’re someone who wants a consistent level of quality throughout your experience, but if you’re willing to suffer through some quality trenches in order to reach the best parts, it has that in spades.

Previously: Unreleased

67: The Pit

This block’s second Pokemon romhack is another one that’s out to answer a simple question: what if The Pit of 100 Trials from Thousand Year Door was in Emerald? You start out choosing a team of three Pokemon from 9 random options and then need to progress through 100 floors without wiping. Every 25th floor features a boss fight against a single powerful trainer, after which you’ll get to choose a new team member from an upgraded pool of Pokemon. The other floors have 1-3 opposing trainers and some number of helpful items, or are shop floors where you can heal and buy specific TMs or upgrades. Although this is a Gen III game, it features the full Pokedex as of SV and both Mega Evolutions and Z-Moves are present if you have the right Pokemon and items available. It’s similar to Pokerogue in a lot of ways, but this is a more manageable time commitment and the randomness is controlled enough that it always feels like you’ve at least got a chance.

Previously: Unreleased

66: Resident Evil 4

RE4 could have continue the streak of new entrants if I was referring to the remake, but since I still haven’t played much of that, this entry is for the original release. I’ve never had as much of a problem with tank controls as a lot of people, but there’s no denying that RE4’s jump to being a third person shooter is a huge usability improvement over earlier games. That transition could easily have wiped out any tension from combat, but restricted movement and limited resources ensure that you still feel vulnerable in every fight. And that’s great, but it actually makes the list because of its gloriously campy story. It fully embraces the silly nature of a series that gave us “Jill Sandwich” and drops zippy one liners or absurdly over the top villains at every opportunity. Somehow it never becomes too much and never comes at the expense of the gameplay, which remains strong throughout. Unfortunately, the series chose to become a jumpscare gorefest in later entries, but RE4 will always be here for those of us who’d prefer detachable left hands to just be a hilarious punch line.

Previously: 57

65: Europa Universalis IV

Europa Universalis IV is a game I think about a lot. The core premise of being able to choose any sovereign entity anywhere in the world at any point in history between the 15th and 19th centuries and play out a centuries-long campaign simulated day by day is incredible. Very few other games can deliver the satisfaction of finally taking down a larger rival after plotting and warring against them for 200 years. Very few other strategy games can deliver experiences as different as choosing to play as Portugal, Ethiopia, the Aztecs, or even a Japanese daimyo will be in EUIV. Unfortunately, very few other games will take as long to do that, either. Where a Civilization game might take 10-20 hours on the slowest settings and a long Total War campaign could be just a bit longer, EUIV can easily reach the 60 hour mark for seeing one 400 year simulation to completion. If I had infinite time to do whatever I want, I would probably have played dozens of games of this and it might make my top 10. But I don’t.

Previously: 32. I haven’t played it again in the last 5 years and it dropped because I probably won’t play it again in the next decade either.

64: Signalis

I have very little idea of what the story of Signalis is about. Parts of it make sense, but it’s interspersed with dreamlike cutscenes with no dialogue that seem to convey something important without actually clearly saying anything. If you like stories that can only be understood after reading a 30 page forum thread debating what it all meant, Signalis is for you. Luckily, it’s also for you if you’re content to just ride along with the story and experience an excellent modern reinterpretation of PS1 survival horror. It has all the familiar components and mechanical tropes of the golden age of the genre, but does it while adding the perfect amount of modern convenience. You really can’t go wrong here if you like this genre at all.

Previously: Unreleased

63: The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II

If CS1 was Falcom’s attempt to do Persona, CS2 is their attempt to do Mass Effect 2. It follows a very similar arc where you get separated from everyone, slowly bring them back together, and then go on one big over the top mission where everyone has a role. Like the last couple of big JRPGs on this list, it is too long, but unlike them, it is too long in a very specific way. It’s actually taking its cues from BioShock here: it is an exceptional experience almost straight through to what should be the ending, with the only problem being that it isn’t the ending. All the characters have had their plotlines resolved, you’ve had your big showdown against evil, and then the game keeps going for another 10 hours. My opinion of CS2 swings around a lot as a result. Is it a top tier experience because the first 50 hours are that good? Or does it have to take a big hit for tacking a mediocre game on to the end? At the moment, I’m closer to the first camp since you can always just choose to stop playing after what should be the ending. Fittingly, that turns out to be an important strategy for the Mass Effect series as well.

Previously: 48

62: Ghost of Tsushima

Ghost of Tsushima does almost nothing innovative at any point in its campaign. If you’ve played an open world game in the last ten years, you will almost certainly have seen everything it’s going to do before. But like Prodigal earlier on the list, this just executes better than almost any of the more original games that came before it. Other than its stunningly beautiful environments, there isn’t much that I can specifically point to in order to explain why it’s such a great experience. It’s easiest to just point to the result: This is the only open world game I’ve ever reached 100% completion in.

Previously: 41

61: Left 4 Dead 2

LD42 is really more like Left 4 Dead: Definitive Edition. It made minimal changes to the base game other than adding new levels and tightening up a few mechanisms, and all of the content from the first game was eventually patched in. The level design is top-notch throughout and it’s tremendously satisfying when you’re able to come together as a team and survive a finale that seemed like a lost cause.

Previously: 23. I said that it seemed too high at the time, but the real cause of the drop is a couple of other games that do similar ideas a little better.

Nobody’s 2025 Top 100 Games: 100-91

Nobody’s 2025 Top 100 Games: 90-81

Nobody’s 2025 Top 100 Games: 80-71

Nobody’s 2025 Top 100 Games: 70-61

Nobody’s 2025 Top 100 Games: 60-51

Nobody’s 2025 Top 100 Games: 50-41

Nobody’s 2025 Top 100 Games: 40-31

Nobody’s 2025 Top 100 Games: 30-21

Nobody’s 2025 Top 100 Games: 20-11

Nobody’s 2025 Top 100 Games: 10-1