Gaming

Ace Attorney. The first 3 and Edgeworth spinoffs are legit masterpieces.

The entire Witcher trilogy, but especially the Witcher 3. Replaying after reading the books adds so much depth the world and the political decisions you are forced to make. The world is beautiful, the ambient sounds and soundtrack are so good ("winds howling") and the story is gripping.

Thief. The first three, at least. (*)

Splinter Cell as well.

Basically, Splinter Cell got me into what became my favorite genre: stealth.

Then I went and played Thief because stealth, and just everything about those games furthered my love for not only stealth, but it was my gateway to immersive sims as well.

Also, the level "Robbing the Cradle" in Deadly Shadows will always stick with me. As someone who hates survival horror, that level was both fucking incredible and also a nightmare that I had to use a walkthrough to get through quickly.

KOTOR got me into RPGs, and New Vegas came around and has stuck with me ever since.

And Skyrim I guess, since I've played it way too many times.

Should probably add Prey (2017) as well. Incredible game. For that matter, Dishonored. Both have a permanent place in my mind. And when I say Dishonored, I mean the first two, although I also enjoyed Death of the Outsider.

(*) I actually enjoyed Thief 2014 for what it was. Not nearly on the level as the originals, but it was still okay, if a sadly forgettable entry which kind of put the nail in the coffin for future releases.

Loom

It's been, what, 30 years? I still think about that game pretty frequently.

Oblivion has lived in my head since the moment I first played it back in 09. Finally started teaching myself how to make mods for it last year and now it takes up even more of my brain!

The closest is Ghost Trick I guess? But frankly while being another masterpiece, it didn't stick THAT much more than the others, after a month or two even the 10/10 games come to mind only if I think of a related topic.

The most influencial would be Etrian Odyssey IV since it got me into giving JRPGs another go, after years of not being impressed by any of the classics (Final Fantasy 4-5, 6 kept my attention until the endgame, Golden Sun...), and now I basically beat them (mostly Atlus' so far) on a bimonthly basis. I guess EO in general sticks the best, but it's hard to label one game since I quickly went and started playing all of them.

Alpha Protocol, cause and effect and replayability just made it one of the best of all time in my opinion.

Spec Ops: The Line I thought it was just another military 3rd-person shooter. Boy was I wrong. That thing hit me hard!

Also Oni by bungie. I like the style and I remember that the climax was somewhat emotional for very jung me.

This war of mine I cannot play this game for long and I absolutely love it for that.

There are others too but the common thing is that they were emotional for me. Sure I remember great visuals or gameplay but at the end of the day the games that make me feel stuff stay with me.

Persona 5 Royal. I normally don’t like JRPGs but there is something special about this one game. The design, the music and the gameplay never failed to put a smile on my face

Bloodborne has the most haunting atmosphere of any game I played and I haven't stopped thinking about it since I first played.

Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP is the easy answer for me. It hit me at just the right time, in just the right way. It was masterfully crafted. The sound track was, at the time, perhaps the best pairing of a video game and sound track ever made.

Metal Gear Solid. All of them, but especially MGS 4 left me speechless and sad-tisfied. I played it pretty much every year until my PS3 didn't want to exist anymore. I still have times where I recall scenes from the whole saga.

For me, it's Mirror's Edge, particularly Mirror's Edge Catalyst. I even go running IRL to the soundtrack.

Metroid Fusion, TLoZ: Wind Waker and Mass Effect 2; the latter still being my favorite action RPG to date.

Chrono Trigger, for so many reasons. The soundtrack is outstanding. The use of time travel, with little moments where you affect the world in 1000 AD by making changes in 600 AD, is very satisfying. It has a New Game + feature with multiple endings to explore. The gameplay, particularly double and triple techs, was great too. Because of that gameplay, the choices you make for who you put on your team have meaning. Last but not least, the story gives every character you recruit some personal moments and a reason why they're hanging around with you.

I honestly think that Chrono Trigger is a game that nailed every essential element, and is the closest I've come to playing a perfect video game.

Shadow of the Colossus

Mass Effect series. Especially ME3 with the DLC's. I think it was the Citadel DLC that I enjoyed the most. The game was really emotional at times.

Star Wars Galaxies - the open world, the city building, the player housing, the ground and space vehicles, the player market, the world pvp. It was so much goodness. Broke all future games for me.

Spyro, Explorers of Sky, and Yoshi Island to name a few.

Fallout 3. Especially the morale dilemma's I could never bring myself to blow up Nuke town.

At the risk of dating myself, Heroes of Might and Magic III. Took every bit of grunt my late 90s PC had, still play occasionally.