“1000 Games You Must Play Before Game Over” [500 – 401]

Eckhart! … Think about the future!
-Sam Hamm and Warren Skaaren, Batman

Better late than never, I suppose. After a bit of a publishing error this morn, our second half of this epic 1000 Games list kicks off now! Maybe you’d never thought you’d ever read a post with the phrase “goodest doggo” used twice?

#0500. Pokémon Trading Card Game Online
Yes, this is a thing. Go play it now, you are welcome.
-The Midnight Mystic Mage

#0499. Mario Kart 7
My personal favourite Mario Kart.
-The Red Hot Chili Mage

#0498. Ms. Pac-Man
Classic! Classic! Classic!! Simple gameplay but you can play for hours.
-The Shamrock Show Mage

#0497. Super Smash Bros. Brawl
This might not be everyone’s favorite Super Smash game, but everyone should at least take some time to play the story mode just to enjoy the interaction between all of the characters.
-The Green Screen Mage

#0496. WipEout 3
WipEout 3 is a fast-paced antigravity racer that set the gold standard for the series. It’s known for its adrenaline-fueled soundtrack, fast and fluid gameplay, and iconic graphic design.
-The Timely Mage

#0495. Nintendo Labo
Got a few hours to kill? Feeling that creative tingle? Look no further than… cardboard? Yes, cardboard! You never knew it could be so much fun! Plus, the designs and instructions are extremely clever.
-The White Out Mage

#0494. The Misadventures of Tron Bonne
Give these voice actors some Oscars… This is a high energy, ultra cute, cutthroat spinoff of Mega Man Legends featuring a piratical family of villains, and it’s one of the rarest PS1 games there is.
-The Well-Red Mage

#0493. NHL ’94 [Genesis]
Video game ice hockey perfected. Licensed teams and players. Perfect controls. Remains fun and relevant to this day, a rarity for sports games.
-The Slipstream Mage

#0492. Left 4 Dead
My favorite zombie survival game, no hunger, fair access to ammo, an amazing “Horde Crescendo” system. though there isn’t a whole lot of music here, I love how it changes with the fluctuation of the Horde.
-The Indecisive Night Mage

#0491. Kaboom!
Simple, arcade action. Catch those bombs in water buckets or the Mad Bomber wins.
-The New Age Retro Mage

#0490. Puyo Puyo Tetris
Still my preferred way to play Tetris and Puyo Puyo, this game combines two of my favorite puzzlers into an experience with limitless options.
-The Normal Mage

#0489. Unholy Heights
Best. Hotel ownership. Simulator. Ever. Because you are Satan and your tenants are devils and you fight off adventurers with them.
–The Wandering Mage

#0488. Tales of Vesperia
An epic RPG adventure with a lovable cast and hundreds of hours of content. This is an unbelievable experience from start to finish.
-The Regional Exclusive Mage

#0487. Crash Bandicoot N Sane Trilogy
This game was a whole generation of gamers’ childhoods. For me this game brings me back to a simpler time and is a must play for that alone.
-The Off-Centered Earth Mage

#0486. Dante’s Inferno
An underrated hack ‘n’ slash that takes you on an adventure through the underworld. Overcome your weaknesses or become consumed by your sins.
-The Kingly Yellow Mage

#0485. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
Though an odd direction for a remake of the first game, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is ultimately one of the most psychological entries in the series. It learns about you as a player, and shapes the game accordingly.
-The Blood-Stained Metal Mage

#0484. Superman 64
Proof positive that objectively bad games and bad game design exist. The Big Blue Boyscout didn’t deserve this, but what can we learn from it? Play it so history doesn’t repeat itself.
-The Well-Red Mage

#0483. Battletoads/Double Dragon
Side-scrolling brawler with all the unsettling, irresistible marks of its genre.
-The Bookwarm Mage

#0482. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
A game with an amazing story and interesting game mechanics. You fall in love with the characters as well as making you think that you can become a treasure hunter.
-The Keeper of the Darkness Flame Mage

#0481. Tales of Berseria
The most interesting entry in the long-running Tales series takes narrative risks by putting the player in control of a group of anti-heroes rather than the usual ragtag band of do-gooders. Not only is Berseria one of, if not the best entry in the series, it’s one of the PS4’s best JRPGs.
-The Middle-aged Horror Mage

#0480. Mario Party
A digital Mario board game that makes you hate all your friends and it isn’t even a licensed Monopoly game. Find friends or play against computers in one of Nintendo’s most surprising offerings of the 90’s.
-The Ink-Stained Mage

#0479. Gran Turismo 4
Super dense racing simulator featuring over 700 cars.
-The Bizzaro Mage

#0478. SimTower
UP UP UP! You will be obsessed with reaching the top of the screen in search of engineering and business dominance. This fun simulator puts you in the drivers’ seats of building engineer, planner, hotel manager, recycling supervisor, and terrorist negotiator. Lots of replay here and Santa makes an appearance, you can’t beat that!
-The Beer Mage

#0477. Beyond the Beyond
The first RPG ever released for Sony’s first console. If you’re a fan and are familiar with Camelot Software Planning’s work (all of the Shining Force titles, Hot Shots Golf, multiple entries in the Mario Tennis series, multiple entries in the Mario Golf games, and the stewards of the Golden Sun franchise), then this title is worth checking out. If nothing else it’s a bit like a beta or early prototype for what would become Golden Sun.
-The Optimistically Sentimental Alabaster Mage

#0476. Evoland
A short & sweet journey through video game history with in-jokes galore
-The Blue Moon Mage

#0475. RuneScape
RuneScape may not be the prototypical MMO, but it was the gateway for a lot of younger gamers to discover the genre. It’s still a great introduction to multiplayer adventuring and questing, in my opinion.
-The Sometimes Vaguely Philosophical Mage

#0474. SimCity 2000
Took the concept of SimCity and added an amount of detail thought impossible. With massive maps containing minute details, it’s still the pinnacle of the franchise.
-The ABXY Mage

#0473. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
The best Castlevania game since Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Features a badass female protagonist/one-woman army who starts off by trying to regain the memories stolen from her, but ends up raining on Dracula’s parade in the most epic and fashionable way possible.
-The Hyperactive Coffee Mage

#0472. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow
Pound for pound I still think that spies vs mercs is some of the most fun I’ve ever had online. Splinter Cell alone is fantastic, but this multiplayer mode took it to another level.
-The Mail Order Ninja Mage

#0471. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
-The Livid Lightning Mage

#0470. Smash TV
Take the dual-stick shooting action of Robotron: 2084, make it two-player, add the 90’s colourful visuals and a good dose of Robocop-style humour and what do you get? Awesome, frantic shmup action, that’s what!
-The Badly Backlogged Mage

#0469. Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna – The Golden Country
This is a more compact prequel to Xenoblade Chronicles 2. It also gives a better connection to the NPCs with a drawback: lots of forced quests!
-The Valiant Vision Mage

#0468. Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
More Mario RPG goodness, and this time Luigi joins the fold, creating an engaging and riveting battle system. Instead of the Mushroom Kingdom, we deviate into the Beanbean Kingdom, a phenomenal playground to explore.
-The Iron Mage

#0467. EverQuest
Unprecedented upon release, EverQuest was the first massively multiplayer online role-playing game to offer 3D graphics, creating the first truly immersive virtual gaming world. Modern multiplayer online gaming owes it all to this.
-The Purple Prose Mage

#0466. Jet Force Gemini
Rare’s famous penchant for collectathons made slightly easier in this entry that you could just blast your way through many of your problems. Also, you get to play as a space dog with rocket launchers on his back. Sweet.
-The Dapper Zaffre Mage

#0465. Road Rash 2
A brilliant concept, well executed.
-The Hopeful Sega Mage

#0464. Steins;Gate 0
The sequel to Steins;Gate meant that there was a lot of pressure to live up to the amazing original story. Steins;Gate 0 managed to surpass my expectations and pull at my heartstrings much in the same way as the original did. A must play visual novel.
-The Final Fourteenth Mage

#0463. Dungeon Keeper
From 1998, Bullfrog’s remarkably inventive strategic title remains absolutely demonic. You take control of a dungeon and develop it to defeat rival keepers or do-gooders from the surface out to destroy you. Be evil – enjoy it. Love the experience. You can still pick it up on GOG.
-The Moronic Cheese Mage

#0462. Hearthstone
Been hooked on this one multiple times, different types of hero character play styles keeps it fresh.
-The Midnight Mystic Mage

#0461. Mini Ninjas
An underrated classic of the last console generation and a fantastic little action platformer.
-The Red Hot Chili Mage

#0460. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3
A great step in gameplay for a skating game. Able to feel like a pro skater and learn moves even without ever skating in real life.
-The Shamrock Show Mage

#0459. Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life
Sometimes all you need is a simple farm game. Raising animals, growing crops, falling in love.
-The Green Screen Mage

#0458. Xenosaga – Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht
An epic space opera stuffed with philosophical themes that make you question the nature of existence during its hour-long cutscenes.
-The Timely Mage

#0457. LEGO The Lord of the Rings
Emblock- I mean, embark on silly side-quests as you enjoy seeing your favorite LOTR scenes LEGO-tized!
-The White Out Mage

#0456. The Simpsons
Undoubtedly one of the greatest four-player beat ’em ups ever, and it just so happens to star one of the longest-running animated families ever.
-The Well-Red Mage

#0455. Bonk’s Adventure [TG-16]
NECs flagship title for the TG-16. Bonk’s Revenge is probably the better game, but Adventure brought us the own unique prehistoric art style and gameplay for a platformer first. Had it been given proper first party title promotion by Sega or Nintendo, we’d be playing an entire series of Bonk games to this very day.
-The Slipstream Mage

#0454. Battlezone
I recommend you play it at least once, this is the best example of “3D” environments fit into a 3-bit console. Kind of a graphical marvel of its time. This was probably the most “realistic” game the Atari 2600 had to offer.
-The Indecisive Night Mage

#0453. Skies of Arcadia Legends
Solid story, fun characters and great gameplay. The RPG that got me back into the genre.
-The New Age Retro Mage

#0452. Jet Set Radio Future
This game is all about the music — I must listen to the soundtrack in full at least once a month. The gameplay and presentation only serve to compliment one of the coolest games around.
-The Normal Mage

#0451. Mister Mosquito
Underrated little puzzle/survival game for PS2. Best mosquito in gaming history.
–The Wandering Mage

#0450. Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
The addition of the pirate ship made Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag the quintessential Assassin’s Creed game, and quite possibly one of the best pirate games ever made.
-The Regional Exclusive Mage

#0449. FEZ
This game blew my mind. It turns 2D platforming into 3D platforming at the touch of a button and none of the other characters have any idea what’s going on!
-The Off-Centered Earth Mage

#0448. Gradius
For fans of retro shmups, Konami is king, and that’s thanks in no small part to one of their flagship series Gradius. The scrolling and shooting space adventure began here with Vic Viper and a dynamic weapons system built for the hero on the go.
-The Well-Red Mage

#0447. Obscure
A survival horror that enables you to play as a group of teenagers, each with different abilities, as they explore the school they’re trapped in. It feels like a trashy 90s horror flick, which means it’s amazing.
-The Blood-Stained Metal Mage

#0446. Wargroove
-The Silver Sentinel Mage

#0445. Ape Escape
Time travel, clever level design with tons of replay value, chill tunes, droll buffoonery.
-The Bookwarm Mage

#0444. StarCraft: Brood War
Control one of three alien races (one is human) to dominate another one of three races across various environments. Also has a great story with interesting characters to boot. My childhood in a nutshell.
-The Keeper of the Darkness Flame Mage

#0443. Haunting Ground
Escaping a mansion full of murderous stalkers is hard work, even with the goodest doggo in all of horror at your side (I love you, Hewie!). This is one of the most underappreciated horror titles in the PS2’s library, featuring an absolutely phenomenal soundtrack, one of the best antagonists in the genre, and multiple endings and costumes to unlock.
-The Middle-aged Horror Mage

#0442. Octodad
Wacky controls and a cartoonish style make what should be an infuriating experience a ridiculous and over the top game.
-The Ink-Stained Mage

#0441. Syphon Filter
Third person shooter featuring stealth, gunfights and hot taser action.
-The Bizzaro Mage

#0440. Theme Park
Bullfrog was a powerhouse of fun PC games back in the 90’s and Theme Park is one of their best. The predecessor to RollerCoaster Tycoon, this game packs a lot of extras. A lot of replayability in because you get to design the roller coasters and really test your skills.
-The Beer Mage

#0439. Darkest Dungeon
Deeply flawed heroes with stress meters; as innovative as it is subversive, while still paying homage to traditional turn-based tropes as well as drawing inspiration from familiar territory like Dungeons & Dragons. The thing that sets Darkest Dungeon apart from the crowd is how it embraces a distinctly Lovecraftian horror and applies a coat of comic book flair to it’s aesthetic, not only with hand-drawn art, but also by moving it’s dungeon crawling mechanics from the traditional first-person perspective into that of a side-scroller.
-The Optimistically Sentimental Alabaster Mage

#0438. Diablo III
Dark hack ‘n’ slash with cool environments and lots of gameplay options thanks to character classes.
-The Blue Moon Mage

#0437. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
One of the greatest 3D platformers, for my money. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time keeps it simple, in comparison to the abundance of features that Prince of Persia: Warrior Within and Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones would include, and I think its pure platforming mechanics with the simple yet effective time-affecting abilities make it a real treat.
-The Sometimes Vaguely Philosophical Mage

#0436. Mega Man 4
Introduced the chargeable Mega Buster.
-The ABXY Mage

#0435. Severed
A macabre adventure/RPG game combining directional input with touchscreen controls. Despite it being short, its story, environment and combat will keep you hooked in for longer than you think.
-The Hyperactive Coffee Mage

#0434. Nintendo Land
There were certainly some duds among the several minigames on this compilation, but there were also some amazingly fun ideas that you can’t find the like of on any other device.
-The Mail Order Ninja Mage

#0433. Assassin’s Creed II
-The Livid Lightning Mage

#0432. X-COM: UFO Defence
The perfect blend of turn-based tactics, strategy game, base-builder and insane difficulty. Its mark on turn-based tactics games will be eternal.
-The Badly Backlogged Mage

#0431. Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Find out why a JRPG the size of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 may not be quite as grand of an idea as some would think. It also might be a great idea, but this depends on the player.
-The Valiant Vision Mage

#0430. Life is Strange
Life is Strange is a heart-wrenching game about university life, love, abuse, and the end of the world. The game’s main gimmick, allowing the main character Max to rewind time to an extent, exemplifies the significance of even the most minute of decisions in our lives. The ending will leave you broken, as it did me.
-The Iron Mage

#0429. Pitfall!
Generally credited with the creation of the side-scrolling genre, Pitfall! also marked the beginning of video games becoming longer than their arcade port contemporaries and popularised the now-abundant jungle setting.
-The Purple Prose Mage

#0428. Phantasy  Star: ZERO
A return to form, Phantasy  Star: ZERO‘s entry on the DS went right back to what made Phantasy Star Episode I & II fun, while retaining the PSP’s focus on narrative and your NPC allies as a team.
-The Dapper Zaffre Mage

#0427. Super Mario Sunshine
A game whose only flaw is that it’s not as good as seminal classics like SM64, SMB3 or SMW.
-The Hopeful Sega Mage

#0426. Rune Factory: Frontier
Harvest Moon is good but Rune Factory: Frontier is even better. It was amazing to be able to continue the story of Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon in Rune Factory: Frontier on the big screen thanks to it being developed for the Nintendo Wii! As usual the artwork is absolutely stunning!
-The Final Fourteenth Mage

#0425. FAR: Lone Sails
A beautiful little indie gem that sees you heading off on an atmospheric, lonely adventure across a bleak landscape. Armed with only a remarkable vehicle, you must work hard to keep powering the contraption along. A title for those with introspective personalities – it’s a thought-provoking experience.
-The Moronic Cheese Mage

#0424. Animal Crossing
The first game I can remember where the game followed the real time daylight schedule.
-The Midnight Mystic Mage

#0423. Halo 3
The best FPS ever made, hands down.
-The Red Hot Chili Mage

#0422. Streets of Rage
Walk the streets and face bad guys using pipes or bottles to defeat them.
–The Shamrock Show Mage

#0421 Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis
-The Green Screen Mage

#0420. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
Mortal Kombat 3 Ultimate is the pinnacle of the series and a gruesomely fun 2D fighter. It boasts a comprehensive roster of iconic characters and brutal sound and animation.
-The Timely Mage

#0419. DDRMAX 2 Dance Dance Revolution
It was hard enough trying to coordinate your dance moves on one pad and then that punk at the arcade had to do it on two. I still think he was faking it somehow.
-The White Out Mage

#0418. DarkStalkers: The Night Warriors
Growing up, I loved classic movie monsters. Finding DarkStalkers: The Night Warriors in some dusky arcade somewhere was like a dream come true, or rather a nightmare come true, stuffed with Capcom’s monstrous Street Fighter clones, and this one is just as good as its predecessor.
-The Well-Red Mage

#0417. Destiny
A space magic shooter with a loot treadmill that keeps you going. The smoothest gunplay maybe ever, coupled with some amazing cooperative multiplayer experiences (strikes, raids, and public areas). Some say the story and the lore are convoluted. I say read your Grimoire Cards!
-The Slipstream Mage

#0416. Tony Hawk’s Underground
The look and feel of this game seem like a perfection of the formula that has been slowly evolving since Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. After Tony Hawk’s Underground the controls started getting weird (I have to use thumbsticks for What?… ew). Tony Hawk’s Underground was also the last one to add any enjoyable new challenges without trying to be more than a sports game.
-The Indecisive Night Mage

#0415. Silent Hill
A reaction to the more action-based Resident Evil style of horror, this took a more psychological spin to create nightmarish hellscapes.
-The New Age Retro Mage

#0414. Nights into Dreams…
I loved ethereal, dream-like games that came out long before indie titles were popular. With its amazing graphics, solid gameplay, and otherworldly concept, Nights into Dreams… never ceases to amaze me.
-The Normal Mage

#0413. Goat Simulator
The greatest physics sandbox game in existence.
–The Wandering Mage

#0412. Dead Space
Injecting the survival-horror genre with a fresh setting and innovative combat system, Dead Space is a game that truly deserves a place on any horror fan’s shelf.
-The Regional Exclusive Mage

#0411. Abzû
A truly amazing experience from start to finish. Not only is this a game with an amazingly deep story and one you can finish in a matter of hours, but it also has a seamless educational feature as well as a beautiful soundtrack based around meditation and mindfulness.
-The Off-Centered Earth Mage

#0410. The Walking Dead
The game that perfected the interactive novel genre with amazing characters that are as vibrant as they come.
-The Kingly Yellow Mage

#0409. OneShot
You, the player, are in control of guiding a child through a journey that seeks to restore the sun. Extremely unique with the ways it breaks the fourth wall. Go in blind, and be pleasantly surprised.
-The Blood-Stained Metal Mage

#0408. Little King’s Story
-The Silver Sentinel Mage

#0407. Legend of Mana
World-building that makes you, more directly than in most games, aware that you’re the architect of your own nostalgia
-The Bookwarm Mage

#0406. RollerCoaster Tycoon 2
You have full control over an amusement park and its patrons. And you get to design rides… as well as put people in danger for no reason!
-The Keeper of the Darkness Flame Mage

#0405. Rule of Rose
One of the rarest (and therefore most expensive) PS2 games, Rule of Rose is a heart-wrenching survival horror title with one of the genre’s goodest doggos. It’s kind of infuriating to play nowadays, but the narrative and creepy atmosphere still holds up rather well!
-The Middle-aged Horror Mage

#0404. Sonic Adventure
Laugh all you want. Everyone should play all of Sonic Adventure. Even the Big the Cat levels. It’s twee and glitchy and kind of dumb but every time I see it I’m a kid on Christmas morning again.
-The Ink-Stained Mage

#0403. Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf
Tactical and challenging helicopter combat, a hallmark of the 16-bit era
-The Bizzaro Mage

#0402. X-Men
6 player 2 screen action based on the X-Men cartoon and comic book series. This beat em up is intended to be played in a loud arcade surrounded by five of your best friends. Each player controls a different character with their own special abilities and styles. A quarter-muncher for sure but a game that can’t be missed.
-The Beer Mage

#0401. Metal Combat: Falcon’s Revenge
Intelligent Systems is mostly known for their strategy games, but being a first-party studio for Nintendo, they fell into the trapping of having to also make games for a toy company that is absolutely in love with subversive control schemes and add-on hardware. The Super Scope was definitely an evolution of the Zapper, but didn’t see nearly as much love in sales. However, this game is the single most important title in the Super Scope’s library of compatible games, and the only reason to own that peripheral.
-The Optimistically Sentimental Alabaster Mage

Red formerly ran The Well-Red Mage and now serves The Pixels as founder, writer, editor, and podcaster. He has undertaken a seemingly endless crusade to talk about the games themselves in the midst of a culture obsessed with the latest controversy, scandal, and news cycle about harassment, toxicity, and negativity. Pick out his feathered cap on Twitter @thewellredmage, Mage Cast, or Story Mode.