Super Mario Bros- the OG of platforming. Super Mario Bros ushered in an era of gaming unlike anything before it. It was vibrant, rich in color and played like smooth butter. As I child in the 80s I remember basically trashing my Atari once the NES launched and I got my hands on Mario and Duck Hunt.
Minecraft- The modern day "Mario bros." perhaps? This game single handedly expanded gaming to a younger audience and brought millions of people to PC gaming who before had ignored it. It also for the first time felt like you were a true sandbox, and could do and create anything you wanted.
Pac Man- the real OG of gaming. Although Pong came first, I would argue it was Pac Man which popularized video games period. People went crazy for Pac Man and would spend hours at pizza shops playing it.
Golden Eye- There were FPS games before GoldenEye of course (Doom says hello, Hexen), and although fun, no game did what GoldenEye did for FPS games. It completely redefined them and imo was one of the first FPS games with a "story" and set pieces etc. GoldenEye was a game changer and set the groundwork for basically all FPS games to come.
Metal Gear Solid- This game is the skeleton upon which all TPS "Cinematic" games hang their body on. MGS DNA can be found in every TPS that's come out since it launched. This game was one of the first true "AAA" games ever and showed that video games can have "deep" movie like stories and qualities of a spy thriller.
Super Mario 64- by popular request.
It basically created 3d gaming, making it far more playable than what came before it. It was one of the most amazing and influential games of the 20th century.
Last edited:
