Every genre has a few shining stars that stand above the rest, demonstrating a level of excellence that may never be reached again. Furthermore, in some cases, these incredible games are so much better and more engaging than their genre contemporaries that the rest of the space feels lackluster by comparison.
This phenomenon doesn’t happen with every 10/10 game, nor with every single player, but it certainly exists and can make certain games struggle to really stick the landing. That’s not to say that the other games are bad by any stretch; it just means that the bar set is so high that everything else around it feels like it is perpetually grasping at straws, trying to fight a simply unwinnable battle.
Hades
Roguelikes Have Never Felt The Same
- Fast combat with a distinctive art style.
- Many copycat games that don’t capture the same energy.
Hades has long reigned as the king of the roguelikes, and it has retained its throne through gameplay and visual design alone. You play as Zagreus, the son of Hades, and are thrown into the Underworld, tasked with charging head-on into everything from demons to demigods, all the way up until a final confrontation with your titular father.
I think the main reason other roguelikes similar to Hades struggle to live up to it is their lack of innovation and the sheer satisfaction the game offers. Every swing feels so smooth, and every blow lands with such weight that even the most well-polished games in the genre can barely hold a flame to the deity-infused action of Hades.
The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
Breaking The Biggest Genre Around
- Open-world exploration on another level.
- Makes other games feel too samey.
Breath of the Wild brought Zelda back in the most extravagant way possible and also fundamentally altered the course of the open-world genre forever. Hyrule is beautiful and awe-inspiring, with little to no limits on where you can go or how you explore it, meaning that distant landmarks and structures across the landscape become the main sources of guidance in your quest to stop Ganon.
The game’s blueprint has since been used to great effect by other industry titans like Elden Ring, but when compared to more old-fashioned open-world games, the excitement and joy are never as high. I have no problem playing a more laid-back game that isn’t as focused on this kind of organic style of gameplay, yet there is always a thought in the back of my mind that wishes I were back playing BotW for the very first time.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Melee Combat Perfected
- Fundamentally changed soulslike combat.
- Introduced a new a parry-focused approach.
Soulslike gameplay had already made a huge shift in how melee combat games were designed, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice took yet another leap that would eclipse everything before it entirely. It’s just you and the blade, and with next to no handholding, your path throughout the story is solely dependent on whether you can “get good” and become a master of deflects.
I consider the gameplay in Sekiro to be among the best the gaming world has ever produced. Whenever I jump around to other soulslikes or even hack-and-slash games, there is an inescapable void that can only be filled by yet another duel with Genichiro. Also, when it comes to Eastern-inspired action games, whenever a new trailer drops or a new title is released, many players are quick to compare it to Sekiro, and to ultimately say that the new product is far from the magnum opus that FromSoftware created.
Baldur’s Gate 3
The Peak Of RPGs
- Unmatched role-playing depth.
- Cinematic presentation with turn-based gameplay.
Baldur’s Gate 3 introduced a whole generation of players to the world of CRPGs and gave countless longtime fans a new favorite game that they could easily get lost in for hundreds of hours. Those opening scenes will forever be among my most memorable. As the world opened up, I quickly realized I was experiencing something special firsthand that was unlike anything I had seen in the RPG genre.
The combination of cinematic cutscenes and role-playing freedom ensures that you are constantly immersed from start to finish, and even if you manage to venture all the way to the credits, there are always dozens of more paths to explore in a second, third, or fourth playthrough. As someone who has been a longtime turn-based RPG fan, I find it hard to imagine another game coming along and matching the quality of BG3, unless Larian is capable of actual witchcraft with the release of the next Divinity.
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