The title pretty much sums it up. This is going to be a list of my Top 10 genres from video games where I'll try to explain why I like each genre as much as I do. It'll also be a chance for me to talk about games that I haven't quite talked about on this blog yet.
1. Platformers
Examples: Super Mario Bros, Kirby, Klonoa, Freedom Planet, Banjo-Kazooie, Spyro The Dragon, Yoshi's Island, Celeste, Crash Bandicoot, Super Meat Boy, VVVVVV
This shouldn't be much of a surprise, so many of my favorite games are platformers or have platforming elements. These intricate obstacle courses can be so fun to navigate especially when the game has great movement or a ton of exploration involved. Puzzle platformers can be enjoyably devious, collectathons have an addicting gameplay loop, precision platformers can be brutally difficult in the best way possible, and action platformers like the ones on the Genesis keep the adrenaline pumping. There's so much variety in this one genre alone, to the point where my examples list barely scratches the surface of amazing platformers. I think it's the defining genre of video games in general, and it's my personal favorite of all time.
2. Action-Adventure/RPG
Examples: Legend Of Zelda, Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, Undertale, Pokemon, Trails In The Sky, Mario RPGs, Xenoblade
No game genre tends to offer quite as much as a great adventure game. Large worlds to explore, environment puzzles, in-depth combat, great stories, and usually fantastic soundtracks make for easily the most all-encompassing game genre. Personally, my favorite types of adventure games are the Zelda-likes since I prefer real-time combat to turn-based combat and adore the ways dungeons are structured, but I also can't say standard RPGs aren't fantastic as well. The best RPGs feel like a labor of love, like how Omori took 6 years to make in spite of developmental issues, or how Chrono Trigger and Xenoblade were made by dream teams of game developers, or how the Trails series spends so much time on world-building alone. I may not be able to bring myself to fully finish most of them, but I also can't say this isn't one of the best video game genres out there.
3. Metroidvania
Examples: Metroid, Hollow Knight, Ori And The Blind Forest, Touhou Luna Nights, Iconoclasts, Shantae, Wario Land 3
The core gameplay loop of a metroidvania is just so inherently addicting, running around a massive open world and finding items that you can use to explore even more of the world. Whether it's Metroid's fast pace where there's something hidden in nearly every room or Hollow Knight which makes you earn new abilities, slowly accumulating a massive moveset and combing the entire map for collectibles just feels great. It helps that a lot of these games have great and fluid movement that only feels better to play the more moves you get.
4. Rhythm
Examples: Guitar Hero, Osu, Cytus, Stepmania, Friday Night Funkin', Taiko No Tatsujin, Rhythm Heaven, Beat Saber
If you've seen how much I rave about music in a lot of these reviews, this shouldn't come as much of as a surprise. I love listening to music, so it's only natural that I love playing rhythm games. Guitar Hero III was one of the first games I owned, and I've been a fan of rhythm games ever since, even now that the Guitar Hero craze has kinda died down. While I wouldn't quite say I'm amazing at any of these games (though I find FNF pretty easy), I really enjoy the rhythm genre especially when it's involving songs that I enjoy listening to. It may seem like there's only so many ways you can interact with the game to the beat of a song, but there are so many unique rhythm games with their own varied control schemes that all feel super satisfying to learn. And I didn't even highlight the games like Geometry Dash, Crypt Of The Necrodancer, Sayonara Wild Hearts, and Just Shapes & Beats that combine the rhythm gameplay with other genres entirely!
5. Bullet Hell
Examples: Touhou, Undertale, Cuphead, DonDonPachi, One Step From Eden, Bullet Hell Monday, Ikaruga, Mamorukun-Curse
It's hard for me to really articulate what I enjoy so much about bullet hell games aside from the fact that they're just so satisfying to play. Usually, you're faced with a seemingly insurmountable onslaught of bullets that you have to try and navigate around, and doing so feels so rewarding. While this depends on the game, there's a sort of puzzle element to bullet hells where you have to find the most efficient and safe way to dodge the bullets that make them so enjoyable. It's not just top-down shooters though, I'm also a fan of games with bullet hell elements like One Step From Eden and Cuphead even if they tend to be a bit more fast-paced and action-packed. It helps that nearly all of these games have phenomenal soundtracks.
6. Kart Racers
Examples: Mario Kart, Crash Team Racing, Kirby Air Ride, Diddy Kong Racing, Super Indie Karts
While racing games in general can be fun, I especially love games like Mario Kart for their fast-paced arcade-y gameplay, colorful visuals, and especially their insane tracks. You just can't get stages like Machine Passage, Hot Air Skyway, and of course, Rainbow Road in your standard racing game. I also love that kart racers tend to be derived from some of my favorite video game series like Mario, Kirby, Little Big Planet, and Crash Bandicoot, though there are still tons of great original ones too. Kart racers aren't realistic in the slightest, but that's what makes them so unabashfully fun.
7. Party Games/Minigame Collections
Examples: Mario Party, WarioWare, Nintendo Land, Wii Series, Jackbox, Bomberman, Crash Bash
This is probably the most guilty-pleasure genre on the list, but having grown up with the Wii, I'm a sucker for a good party game, and especially minigame collections. Just the simple premise of having a sizable amount of short-but-sweet multiplayer games all in a single package can be incredibly alluring if done well. Mario Party is obviously the highlight here, a series that I'm beyond passionate about, but there are so many fantastic and underrated party games out there of many different styles, from more arcade-y fare like the addicting Bomberman series to online-centric packs like the Jackbox games. My love for party games also shows in some of the other picks on this list, particularly Kart Racers and Platform Fighters, which take a tried-and-true genre and turn it into more of a party game.
8. Arcade Puzzlers
Examples: Tetris, Puyo Puyo, Panel De Pon, Petal Crash, Dr Mario, Magical Drop, Peggle, Lumines
While I really like the puzzle genre as a whole as well as high-score-chasing arcade games, this genre feels like the best of both worlds. The best arcade puzzlers are easy to learn but hard to master, sure anyone can form a line in Tetris or a link in Puyo Puyo, but these games have so much depth and clever tricks that encourage me to learn and improve. It helps that a lot of my favorite arcade puzzlers are jam-packed with a ton of game modes to keep me playing, from level creators, to story modes, to puzzle modes, so it rarely ever feels repetitive. Arcade puzzlers are incredibly addictive pick-up-and-play games that leave me more engrossed than most arcade or puzzle games I've played.
9. Platform Fighters
Examples: Super Smash Bros, Rivals Of Aether, Shovel Knight Showdown, Towerfall
While standard fighting games like street fighter can be a bit too slow-paced for my tastes, I love just how ridiculously fast and frantic games like Smash Bros can be. Each character tends to have an entirely different moveset from one another, there are usually a ton of intricate moves and hidden exploits, and the dynamic stages that utilize the Y-axis add a cool new layer to fighting games. And then there's just Smash Bros with its insane roster of characters and stages from a ton of different games, easily the greatest crossover in gaming history. I don't even care about the competitive aspect all that much, though it can be a draw for a lot of people, platform fighters are just always a ton of fun to play with friends.
10. Puzzle Game
Examples: Portal, Braid, Picross, Baba Is You, Fez, Human Fall Flat, The Room, Opus Magnum
I really admire all the effort that goes into making a good puzzle game. Between nailing the difficulty curve, preventing any softlocks, and coming with new mechanics to keep things fresh, it feels like an incredibly difficult task. But at its best, the puzzle genre can lead to some of the most satisfying video games of all time. Games that give you that perfect "ah-ha!" moment every time you figure out a solution, games that force you think outside the box in the most clever ways possible, games that take a simple premise and flesh them out as far as they can go. And then there's Baba Is You which does all that and amps it up to eleven.
No comments:
Post a Comment