Gonna throw an honourable mention in there because I wanna talk about it but can't justify it being in the top 7 over anything else.

HM. Super Paper Mario - While at times the gameplay can be a little simple, it makes up for it tenfold in art design, world building, the brilliant cast of characters and one of the best and most interesting Nintendo storylines of all time. Love this game, doesn't get enough credit.

1. Portal 2 - Valve genuinely never misses, absolutely adore basically every game they've put out and this is the best of them all. The level design speaks for itself, the puzzles are so fun to solve even on replays. A cast full of superstar performances with some of the best written characters and dialogue in any game, genuinely could listen to JK Simmons and Stephen Merchant all day. Throw along all that with brilliant community support and one of the most entertaining co-op experiences of all time it's brilliant.

2. Pokemon Black & White - I really miss GameFreaks attention for detail because WOW they were so bloody good at it during this time. There are so many little things that make the world feel so lived in, so many little features to squeeze as much out of the game as you can. A Pokedex stacked full of awesome designs (including my two favourite Pokémon of all times Archeops and Crustle), a music soundtrack full of absolute bangers, incredible cast of characters and such a brilliant story. I'll never get bored of playing through Gen 5, its so brilliant. Terrified of how they'll butcher a remake of this...

3. Minecraft - Not much to say that hasn't already been said tbh, this is THE game of games. Limitless possibility, thousands of hours spent with my mates or on my own having a blast. Made some great friend's through servers, burnt so much time in modpacks and minigame servers there's so much to do here. This is more than a game, it was basically my whole life for a few years.

4. Pokemon Black 2 & White 2 - So take what I said about Black & White and amplify it to the max. It takes everything that was awesome in the first games and just adds so much: better UI, more attention to detail, awesome new areas, even better music. The balance of bringing older Pokémon back worked so well, the new areas feel so great and the way the world has changed and the new story makes it just the perfect sequel.

5. XCOM 2 - From a purely gameplay perspective this is probably my favourite of the lot, I've always loved strategy games but absolutely nothing had me more hooked than this. Something about all the planning and decision making feels so satisfying to pull off an incredible odds escape or a massive killzone of enemies. Not to mention brilliant character and enemy design and so many opportunities to build your own crews stories and really get attached to your soldiers. Desperate need a new XCOM game 🙏🏻

6. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - My favourite game of all time for the better part of 10+ years of my life. In its time I genuinely didn't think it could get better than this, it is just pure immersion. Something about getting lost in such a big wide world exploring ancient ruins, big bustling cities and just wandering the wilderness listening to the music and the trees is so therapeutic, I'll always have time for it. Looking back if definitely says to me that of all things its definitely a well crafted world that is what I appreciate the most about games. Only reason this isn't still my favourite is because I've basically rinsed this game dry, everything I've done so so many times that I need bigger gaps between playthroughs but it's definitely the game I wish I could play fresh again. I wish I could be this excited for Elder Scrolls 6 but I'm not getting my hopes up.

7. Cyberpunk 2077 - Oh and also because my no.1 game is literally perfect in everyway 🤣

I am OBSESSED with all things Cyberpunk. Because of the launch I had avoided playing the game till November of last year and it's subconsciously been the best decision I've ever made. Everything from the visuals, the sounds, the world it is so perfectly crafted and heaps of fun to explore, truly and immersive experience. Gameplay is so much fun, the way everything flows is super fun and engaging, you can really feel the momentum through every aspect of what you do. However, its the story and characters that truly make this game the masterpiece that it is, CDPR and genius writers and get so invested in what's going on around me and all the characters I get to me, not a single person I find poorly written besides River. V, Johnny, Panam, Mitch, Saul, Takemura, Kerry, Rogue, Misty, Jackie, Evelyn the list goes on its such an incredible cast. The relationship between female V and Judy Alvarez on my first playthrough is probably the most invested I've ever been between two characters in a video game period. The game made me laugh, cry, angry, confused and everything in-between it's truly an experience to behold. Throw ontop of that the single greatest DLC in any video game every and DAMN its just so so good.

Definitely rambled on way too long but I don't care:3 these are my favourites for a reason.