LogFAQs > #977602081

Finally wrapping up the list

The "Among My Personal Favorite Games (Indie or Not) of All Time" Tier

12. Hellblade: Senuas Sacrifice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBJ0ifVtK5c

Where the hell did this even come from? I remember at the 2017 Game Awards (again, 2017 is the year for indie games) I thought Ashly Burch as Aloy in Horizon: Zero Dawn was for surethe favorite to take home best performance, only for it to go to Melina Juergens, a complete unknown who had never acted before (or since) from a small team. Slowly I started hearing a little bit more about the game and it's exploration of mental health, and at that point I had to check it out. First off, yeah, Juergens deserved the win. I mean holy shit, her performance here is near unmatched in gaming, and I have no idea how she's not an actress as her main profession. Just seeing the way she moves her face gives me chills. And the audio design here? There aren't many games I play with headphones on here, as the whispering of the cruel voices in Senua's head just haunted me while playing. It tackles psychosis is a distinctly unique way, combining it with Norse lore, fascinating mechanics and an incredible, tragic story.

11. It Takes Two
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohClxMmNLQQ

Speaking of the Game Awards, ya know, that thing happening tomorrow (or later today, depending on your time zone), It Takes Two shocked everyone two years ago by being the massive underdog and first ever indie game to win Game of the Year. And fuck it, you know what? It deserved it. I've been a big fan of Josef Fares for years (as evidenced by the two other Josef Fares games in this ranking) and It Takes Two is by far, by far, his best work. It Takes Two is a couch co-op game unlike any other. Fares' games break away from basically every other co-op game by refusing to ever give character the same role or abilities. In It Takes Two, that's pushed to its limit, changing the abilities of the player characters every fucking level, always making them distinct from each other, but always in a way that both roles are a blast to play as. There's never one character that feels better than the other, they're just always drastically different and always both fun. The story breaks my fucking heart, but it's also funny and shocking and sweet when it needs to be. Every level feels fully distinct, and there's always so much detail and so many things to find and do that I never wanted to move on to the next area until I was positive I'd seen every last inch of the section at hand.