What, in your opinion, is a perfect video game?

Any other video gamers out there? What games do you consider perfect?

Mine are:

Horizon: Zero Dawn (PS4) - A post-apocalyptic open-world sci-fi bow-and-arrow RPG. Just thinking about this game makes my heart flutter. The story is jaw-droppingly good, Aloy is an utterly iconic heroine, the gameplay is smooth and gripping, and every creature in the game presents a fiendishly difficult (but fair) challenge. I devoured this game and I'm just incredibly grateful it exists.

SteamWorld Heist (PC, Switch, Wii U, PSN, iOS) - A sidescrolling turn-based precision shooter set in steampunk wild-west outer space. I've played it all the way through multiple times. It runs on my Surface Book without a hitch and everything about it is delightful, from the low-stakes gameplay to the cowboys-and-bandits dialogue.

0h h1 and 0h n0 (Web, Android, iOS) - Simple, colorful puzzle games. I love a good puzzle game and these meet all my requirements: must have a single unique solution, must be solvable through pure logic (no guessing), must be simple enough that I can figure out solving strategies on my own. I've played a lot of mobile puzzle games but these are the two I keep coming back to.

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Anyway, those are my top three. There are other games I love but I wouldn't call them perfect.

What are your perfect games?

Comments

[Prafulla Raichurkar]

Counter Strike : Global Offensive ( A Great game for team co-ordination )
Max Payne 2 : The Fall Of Max Payne ( Old but gold, great story and narration)
GTA 5 : Just love the graphics and the overall feel

[t3_rrY]

I really enjoyed Unravel 2 by ColdWood which is very poetic and strategic (I loved the fact that cooperation is needed).
In a completely different fashion Detroit: Become Human is amazing both story and game experience has been great

[juankOrtiz]

Tricky question. In my opinion a (near) perfect game has the following:

• Good story: a game should have a compelling narrative, without too much exposition.
• Challenging gameplay: a good game challenges you to stay away from the comfort zone.
• Customization: customizing my character look, class, items, or the components of a vehicle, and so on. This is a must have in my opinion.

If I had to choose one game for each genre, I think my list would be:

• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (RPG): a game I'm currently in love with. It's amazing how much you can do in it. The only downside for me are the lack of variation regarding the armor you can equip.
• Celeste (Platform): Celeste is a masterpiece. It's a hard game and keeps pushing your limits until the end.
• Civilization V (Turn based strategy): I love turn based strategy games, and Civ V made me spend tons of hours trying to conquer the world.
• Warcraft 3 (Real time strategy): sorry AOE II, but the first time I played Warcraft 3 something inside me sparked and still hasn't gone off. This game has so many things I love, that I could keep talking about it for a whole day.
• Sacred 2 (RTS RPG?): another RPG I played recently, more like World of Warcraft but in your PC. It makes it's way in this list because the insane amount of missions you can take, the massive map and the ridicolous amount of items you can equip.
• Skullgirls (2D Fighter): you need hours to master this game mechanics, but it's pure fun!
• X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse and Marvel Ulltimate Alliance_ (Superhero, action): call me a sentimental, but these games represents the most accurate depiction of my favorite comic heroes.
• Kingdom Rush (Mobile): I'm no mobile gamer, but Kingdom Rush won my heart. Well designed, with awesome graphics and an entertaining gameplay.

[Angela Whisnant]

I love Stardew Valley. Minecraft is fun, too!

[Gaffen]

Grim Fandango is probably the closest to my heart.

Undertale I think is also a masterpiece, same goes for Alien: Isolation.

The Monkey Island games are also very special to me, as is Psychonauts!

Half-Life was pretty life changing for me too when it came out. Silent Hill 2 as well.

I also love the feeling of satisfaction when you complete Return of the Obra Dinn.

I thought Red Dead Redemption was stunning

Phoenix Wright is also a series of expertly told stories.

I'm trying to think of other games that I just keep coming back to; I know there are more...

For me I love games as a storytelling medium. Anything that plays with narrative really appeals to me.

[Gaffen]

Oh and I'm currently finishing of the Mother series for the first time! I'd played Earthbound years ago but it's my first time playing the entire trilogy. They're a real gem in terms of retro games :D

[Sophie The Lionhart]

Starfox 64 has always been my favorite.

[Ross]

Tetris
Mario Kart Double Dash
Rocket League
Secret of Monkey Island
Bomberman

EDIT: +XCOM

[mlaj]

The Mount & Blade series.
Absolute fun to play. The game doesn't let you win. You can play for 30 minutes or 15 hours and have the same amount of fun. The mods male it even better.

Each game adds functionalities on top of what has already been done in the previous ones. You just get more toys to play with.

Hiring modders to make DLCs is a fantastic idea.

Other games that are great are Minecraft, Garry's mod, terraria, star bound, Skyrim, Warframe, Path of exile and Stardew valley.

[Valentin Baca]

Horizon Zero Dawn is certainly in the top 5. Phenomenal graphics, story, mix of stealth and brawn, collectibles and just a main character so perfect I can't even.

Halo will always hold a special place in my heart as the best FPS. The guns were balanced (except the pistol?!?) and most fondest high school memories are putting just hours into fragging my best friend with Metallica in the background.

Stardew Valley is a game I have to mention because it completely consumed me until I "finished" it. The fact that the whole game is made by ONE person with the polish and depth that it has, it's just unbelievable. I never thought I'd like a retro-style farming game; if you think the same thing, I implore you to give it a chance. And just go ahead and cancel your plans for the next two weeks.

Pokemon Red and Blue: The game that started the whole zeitgeist. I played it again recently on my 3DS and it's still so good. Like Stardew valley, it just shows that you pack a lot into chunky pixels.

Diablo 2: like, do you need a description? This game is absolute Gold. It's so outdated now. If you missed out on it, I'm really sorry for you.

Honorable mention: Ark Survival Evolved. I have to mention Ark because I've literally put a thousand hours into it. It is NOT a perfect game by any means, but there has to be something that hits just right if I've put half a year's worth of full-time work into it! I've heard it best described as Jurassic Minecraft. Without a doubt, nothing has taught me more about loss acceptance and emotion management when a base you've spent days building gets wrecked by an alpha chompy boi in minutes.