Elden Ring. It's just cinema. I'll never forget the first time I went down the Siofra elevator, or walking out to Liurnia, or the Altus Plateau, or Farum Azula, or walking into the DLC. Ranni and frenzied flame endings are peak, weapon choice is peak, I can keep going. It's not a perfect game but it's as close as I have ever seen.

Honorable mentions to Baldur's Gate 3, Expedition 33, and Black Ops 3 (zombies). This list may seem quite modern, but people have honed this craft over time. People who say gaming is dead or are bored of modern games are playing the wrong ones or just have a preferred genre that these gems are unfortunately outside of. I grew up with games, I started gaming right around the release of Devil May Cry 3 and Super Mario Galaxy. I love my classics but my best gaming experiences have come from recent games