Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
When Tony Hawk Pro Skater came out, it was like nothing anyone had ever played before. It just felt so insanely intuitive, it had great music, it just felt… cool? There was not one demographic that wasn’t drawn into the cultural singularity of gaming and skateboarding like a rent-a-cop to a skate video shoot. Enter Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2, an improvement upon the original in virtually every single way imaginable, the popularity of the game exploded in a way that could only have ended in steadily diminishing annual releases. Still, THPS2 remains the perfect skateboarding game. - Brendan Graeber
Monster Hunter: World
Kill a monster, make gear out of its parts, and hunt a stronger monster sounds like a gameplay loop that can get old fast, but Monster Hunter: World has taken that decade-old hook and perfected it. World has streamlined the cycle and made the introduction into monster hunting more palatable for without watering down the deep action-RPG mechanics longtime fans loved most. With 14 unique weapons that all control entirely differently, endless armor customization options that change more than just fashion, and incredibly difficult fights that reward players with an incomparable sense of accomplishment, Monster Hunter: World is in a league of its own when it comes to endless replayability and challenge. Add in the fact you can hunt with your best friends, and you have a recipe worthy of the Chef himself. - Casey
Resident Evil 2 Remake
Resident Evil 2 Remake redefined what a ‘remake’ could be. For players new to the game, this was a meticulously crafted survival horror experience that felt completely in step with the genre in 2019, while veterans got to enjoy a lovingly crafted piece of nostalgia that felt like the game they remembered from 1998. It trod a brilliant tightrope, capturing the inherent weirdness of the original while updating the control scheme to a fluid over-the-shoulder camera far more suited to the way we play games today. The result was uneasy but never frustrating, subversive but familiar. All remakes should learn from this one. - Lucy O'Brien
System Shock 2
System Shock 2 paved the way for the genre-blending first-person games that are commonplace today, perfecting the formula years before anyone else would even try. Its premise was straightforward: you found yourself alone on a space station where you were apparently the only thing left alive. Well, the only organic thing. Rogue AI wastes little time in establishing herself as your formidable opponent. Along the way you pick up elements of the backstory through audio logs and can mold yourself in any way from a DPS/combat focus to a pure hacker that can infiltrate any system. System Shock 2 was tense, smart, and as great as it was immediately upon its release in 1999, ahead of its time.
Mortal Kombat 11
Mortal Kombat 11 is quite simply one of the most complete fighting games in existence. It’s got one of the most impressive story modes in the entire genre; a highly respectable roster of 25 outstanding characters, with 12 more added as DLC; a fantastic set of tutorial modes; an unrivaled set of unlockable cosmetics for every character; an equally unrivaled vault of unlockable goodies found in the game’s unique, which is almost a game unto itself; and most importantly, it’s got one of the best online net codes across all fighting games. - Mitchell Saltzman
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