​
The Creativity of Gaming
Soulstice, probably the least known title that I will mention here, is a random game that I saw on the Steam website, and honestly only purchased because I thought that the main character, Briar, had a cool looking sword. While this was the only reason I bought the game, I was in for a delightful surprise, as the game has great visuals, fun fights, and takes the hack and slash genre, combines it with the concept of a bullet hell, and makes a game that is an absolute blast to play.
03
Borderlands
Throughout the years, borderlands has had a history of fantastic gunplay and crude humor. While the latest entries of the Borderlands name have been lackluster in Borderlands 3 and New Tales from The Borderlands, Borderlands 2 has some of my favorite characters of all time, and a villain widely regarded to be one of the greatest ever in Handsome Jack.
To mention the current state of gaming and not address Larian Studios' "Baldur's Gate 3" would be to ignore one of the largest developments in the recent gaming industry. A massive work of art with tens if not hundreds of interesting characters, thousands of voice lines and choices, and a thoroughly interesting turn based battle system. It does all of this with phenomenal visuals and voice acting, hundreds of weapons, and a phenomenal adaptation of the Dungeons and Dragons IP into digital form.
Elden Ring, to put it simply, is an absolute masterpiece. Through its multiple endings, its phenomenal visuals, its thousands of weapons, and its boss count being nearly one hundred, the game is a masterclass in visual, combat, and story design. From Godrick to Malenia, the multiple demigods provide a progressive challenge that feels incredibly rewarding to complete. With the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC coming out in June, it's expected that Fromsoftware will deliver another piece to an absolute gem in the history of video games.