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Outer Wilds.
If you haven't played it, don't read anything about it, just go in blind. It's an amazing experience that I wish I could play again for the first time.
Some other favorites worth mentioning:
Minecraft
Celeste
Doom 2016
What Remains of Edith Finch
Titanfall 2
I second outer wilds, one of the best if not the best gaming experiences I've ever had.
I'm going to say The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild for personal reasons.
When I was playing it, I was getting therapy for clinical depression. Breath of the Wild's entire structure really helped me process my depression and contextualise my issues, and I honestly think it helped me a lot more than would any game that is actually about depression.
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
This was just a groundbreaking game. I know the graphics aren't as nice as Skyrim, but the world has more depth and the guilds are all full games in themselves.
Such a big open world, fully populated with flora and mystical fauna (Minotaurs and unicorns), an endless supply of side-quests.
Oblivion destroys Skyrim in the following places:
The original Legend of Zelda on the NES. It fully captivated me as a child. I remember taking the game map to school with me and my friends would circle trees that could be burned or rocks that could be bombed. Such fond memories.
Definitely Dark Souls. I have played DS 1, 2, 3, Bloodborne, Elden Ring, and Sekiro. I only have completed DS 1 and 2 out of them (mostly due to time, with the exception of 3 which I just don't like).
I know the DS1 map like the back of my hand, the mechanics feel natural to me, I feel like I'm being treated fairly and have the skill to complete challenges, and it genuinely feels rewarding for me. I feel good after playing Dark Souls for a bit. Even when struggling with a boss, 95% of the time it felt like I had made a mistake which could be fixed next time.
Team Fortress Classic. The game was fun but the modding community really took it to the next level.
Probably Dark Souls for me, the replay value and the many different ways to take on challenges in the game haven't really been replicated, even after many attempt. If not that, then Alpha Protocol. I think they did choice and consequences the best in a game. I'll also throw Dwarf fortress in there too, since people need to play it.
halo 1 the GOAT with best weapon balance in the series and solid all around design
considers
I think that it'd have to be something with a lot of replayability, which doesn't lose value to me after one playthrough.
Also, it can't be a genre where the game was limited by technology. I mean, I remember Wolfenstein 3D being amazing when it came out relative to other games of the time -- walking around in a 3D world was so mind-blowing -- but the novelty of that technology has long-since worn off, and there are many more-impressive 3D games today.
I guess roguelikes are probably about the top of the heap there, and my favorite is probably Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead. I still regularly play that, which seems to me to be a good test of whether it's still at the top of my list.
Final Fantasy VII, it's the most pefect game made by human hands.
This is a hard call, and after a lot of self-deliberation...It must be Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, the updated 3DS version. It's a moody, dark, and interesting title within the Zelda game series! The deadline before the world ends pushes the player to figure out the most efficient way to make progress to save the world. The updated Bomber Journal makes this experience so tight and compelling!
Tales of Phantasia.
It's still the only game I've ever 100%. It started my love of the Tales Of series and Dhaos is still my favorite villain of all time.
I'm pretty old so have a lot of games I feel terribly nostalgic about, but I'm going to pick a relatively recent one in Deep Rock Galactic.
It just feels like such an absolute triumph of game design in so many ways. I've always had a soft spot for Co-op PvE, and it's just done right. Having a dedicated key to rock and stone (cheer on your teammates) is an absolute genius move for promoting positivity and cutting down on toxicity. Gunplay is good and varied. The feeling of exploration is AMAZING! Probably the game that's kept me going 'wow' when I go to a new place the most consistently after hundreds of hours.
So much respect for the devs who are continuing to absolutely nail it!
For myself: Illusion of Gaia (SNES).
I hear a lot of people talk about Soul Blazer and Terranigma when talking about this trilogy but IoG was always my favourite. I still have the soundtrack on my phone after all these years.
Fallout New Vegas
Super Metroid is the GOAT
Last of Us for story.
Original Modern Warfare 1 & 2 for all the memories I had of playing that in college.
Chrono Trigger! Great plot, and it swaps the slow burn that brings a lot of JRPGs down for a shorter story with a ton of replayability. Gameplay and characters are also great!
My personal all time favorite is hands down Halo 2. At that time my family only had dial up and I only ever played Halo 1 or 2 single player. Well one day I make a new friend and stay over at his house and they had high speed internet, Xbox live, and Halo 2. It was the first game I ever played online and it blew my mind. I remember going home and begging my parents for high speed internet and Xbox live but it was a hard sell especially because at the time they didn't mind dial up. They eventually switched after a few months because they got tired of the phone line being tied up lol
Stardew valley was a really fun game to play with my wife
Dead by Daylight. I love it as much as I hate it.
THPS2 and a close one is F.E.A.R.
I love Nier:Automata. The sound track, gameplay, story, all of it is just tied together so well. It impacted me so much and is definitely my favorite game. Planning on getting a tattoo based on the black box and lunar tear from the game someday
Either Super Mario World or FF7
What a tough question to answer, stretching all the way back to Atari 2600 for me.
I think I'll pick No Mercy/Virtual Wrestling Pro 2 on the N64. Possibly thousands of hours both solo and competitive at a friends with some incredible round robin tournaments with up to five participants. Just amazing Create A Wrestler and one of my handful of favorite gameplay mechanics ever. Also we were paying during the exciting days of pro wrestling so we had that enthusing us as well.
Going all the way back to the NES for me, and I'm getting the feeling I'm quite a bit older than most of the commenters here: Super Mario Bros. 3 - best game of all time. :)
It might sound dumb, but Guardian Tales. It's a gacha game on mobile and Switch, but I really love it. The story is great, it's fun to play, and the devs are very generous. I've played it multiple times on different accounts just because I have so much fun with it.
Castlevania Symphony of the Night. Had no idea what I was getting into and have been chasing that same experience ever sense.
While it's hard for me to come up with an ALL TIME favorite... playing Doom 2016/eternal is one of my greatest pleasures in life. Just simple mindless hack and slash that can get MUCH more difficult if you want it to
Final Fantasy VII
I always end up going back to the first Half-Life; everything in that game is very well made.
GOAT is Dungeon Keeper. Holy siht that's a great game. Still play it to this day, despite the fact that it's close to 30 years old.
Being totally honest, I don't think I can just settle on one game like that. I play different games for different reasons, and what genre/titles I've played the most has varied a lot throughout my life.
Up there, however, is Dark Souls, as well as League of Legends (despite all the issues I have with it, it's sucked me back in for over a decade now).
Streets of Rage 2. Favourite soundtrack, too.