A List of Must-Play Games

[Muzzles56]

There are loads of classic/iconic games I've never ever played. I've never even played any of the original Mario Bros games or the original doom games. I'd like to compile a list of stuff that people categorize as "must play" so that I can play through them, and others can too.

When giving games, please provide it's genre, platform, and release date. (Original release date in the case of remakes.)

Todo: Alphabetize games, Different heading colours (Maybe graphics if someone feels like drawing some up), wikipedia links to every game, or would purchase pages be better?

Action
Beyond Good & Evil	PlayStation 2 & 3, Xbox Original & 360, GameCube, PC	2003
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night	PlayStation 1 & 3, Sega Saturn, Xbox 360	1997
Super Metroid	SNES, Wii & Wii U, New 3DS	1994
The Legend of Zelda	NES, Gameboy Advance, Wii U, 3DS	1986
Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight	PC	2016
Hotline Miami	PC, Playstation 3 & 4 & Vita	2012
Grand Theft Auto	PC, DOS, Playstation	1997
Saints Row	Xbox 360	2006
Shadow of the Colossus	Playstation 2	2005
Platformer
Crash Bandicoot	PlayStation 1 & 3	1996
Psychonauts	PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC	2005
Ratchet and Clank Series	PlayStation 2 & 3	2002
Sonic the Hedgehog	Sega Genesis, Xbox Original & 360, PlayStation 2 & 3	1994
Spyro The Dragon	PlayStation 1 & 3	1998
Super Mario Bros	NES, SNES, Wii & Wii U, GameBoy Advance, 3DS	1985
Jet Set Radio	Dreamcast, Gameboy Advance, PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360	2000
Shovel Knight	PC, Playstation 3 & 4, Xbox One, Wii U, 3DS	2014
Yoshi's Island	SNES, Gameboy Advance	1995
Spelunky	PC, Xbox 360, Playstation 3 & 4	2008
Cave Story	PC, Wii, DS & 3DS	2004
Altered Beast	Sega Megadrive, PC, Xbox 360	2004
Paper Mario	Nintendo 64, Wii & Wii U	2000
Super Ghouls n Ghosts	SNES	1991
Mega Man X	SNES	1993
RPG
Mario & Luigi Bowser's Inside Story	Nintendo DS	2009
Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga	GameBoy Advance	2003
Persona 4	Playstation 2 & Vita	2008
Demon's Souls	Playstation 3	2009
Dark Souls	Playstation 3, PC	2011
Bloodborne	Playstation 4	2015
South Park the Stick of Truth	PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360	2014
Deus Ex	PC	2000
Borderlands	PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360	2009
Final Fantasy	NES, Playstation 1, PSP, Mobile, 3DS	1987
The Witcher	PC	2007
Baldur's Gate	PC	1998
Fallout	PC, DOS	1997
The Elder Scrolls	PC, DOS	1994
Monster Hunter	Playstation 2	2004
The World Ends With You	DS	2007
Strategy
Worms	SNES, Sega Genesis, MS-DOS, Playstation	1995
X-COM: UFO Defense	DOS, PC, Playstation 1	1994
Warcraft III	PC	2002
NetStorm: Islands at War	PC	1997
Roguelike/lite
The Binding of Isaac (Rebirth)	PC (Playstation 4, Xbox One, Wii U, New 3DS)	2011
NetHack	DOS?, PC	1987
Nuclear Throne	PC, PS4, PS Vita	2015
First Person Shooter
DOOM	DOS, PC, Xbox 360 & One, Playstation 3	1993
Half-Life	PC, Playstation 2	1998
Quake	DOS, PC, N64	1996
Halo: Combat Evolved	PC, Xbox Original & 360 & One	2001
Bioshock	PC, Xbox 360, Playstation 3	2007
Team Fortress 2	PC, Xbox 360, Playstation 3	2007
Rainbow Six	PC, Playstation, Nintendo 64, Dreamcast	1998
Sandbox
Terraria	PC, Playstation 3 & 4, Xbox 360 & One, 3DS, Mobile	2011
Blockland	PC	2007
Garry's Mod	PC	2004
Stealth
Metal Gear Solid	PC, Playstation 1	1998
Thief: The Dark Project	PC	1998
Second Sight	PC, Gamecube, Playstation 2, Xbox Original	2004
Racing
Gran Turismo 4	Playstation 2	2004
Forza Motorsport 6	Xbox One	2015
Super Mario Kart	SNES	1992
Trackmania	PC, Playstation 4, Xbox One, Wii, DS	2003
Lego Racers	PC, Nintendo 64, Gamecube, Playstation 1, Gameboy	1999
Need for Speed Carbon	PC, Xbox Original & 360, Playstation 2 & 3 & PSP, DS, Gamecube, Wii	2006
Beat 'Em Up
Castle Crashers	PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360 & One	2008
Streets of Rage	Sega Megadrive, PC, Xbox 360	1991
Super Smash Bros	Nintendo 64	1999
Dragonball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3	Playstation 2, Wii	2007
Survival Horror
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl	PC	2007
Resident Evil	Playstation 1 & 3 & 4, PC, Xbox 360 & One, Gamecube	1996
Silent Hill	Playstation 1	1999
Dying Light	PC, Playstation 4, Xbox One	2015
Metro 2033	PC, Xbox 360 & One, Playstation 4	2010
Puzzle
Antichamber	PC	2013
Narbacular Drop	PC	2005
Portal	PC, Xbox 360, Playstation 3	2007
Shooter
Every Extended Extra Extreme (E4)	Xbox 360	2007
Other
Rollercoaster Tycoon	PC, Xbox Original	1999
Dwarf Fortress	PC	2006
Rhythm Heaven	DS	2008

[Ad Bot]

[Freek]

jet set radio future - xbox - 2002
shovel knight - pc - 2014
the binding of isaac - pc - 2010
the legend of zelda - nes - 1986
castlevania: symphony of the night - ps1 - 1997
super metroid - snes - 1994
yoshi's island - snes - 1995

[SetGaming]

persona 4 - ps2

[ThatDarkNinja778]

Game	Genre	Platform	Release Date
Beyond Good & Evil	Action-Adventure	PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, PC (Re-released on PS3 & Xbox 360)	2003
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night	Action-Adventure Platformer (w/ RPG Elements)	PlayStation 1, Sega Saturn (Re-released on PS3 & Xbox 360)	1997
Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped	3D Platformer	PlayStation 1 (Re-released on PS3)	1998
Mario & Luigi Bowser's Inside Story	RPG	DS	2009
Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga	RPG	GameBoy Advance	2003
Metroid Prime	Action-Adventure	GameCube (Re-released on Wii & Wii U through MP: Trilogy)	2002
Psychonauts	3D Platformer	PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC	2005
Ratchet and Clank 2: Going Commando	3D Platformer	PlayStation 2 (Re-released on PS3)	2003
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles	2D Platformer	Genesis (Re-released on PS3 & Xbox 360)	1994
Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage	3D Platformer	PlayStation 1 (Re-released on PS3)	1999
Super Mario Bros. 3	2D Platformer	Nintendo Entertainment System (Re-released on SNES, Wii, Wii U, GameBoy Advance, 3DS)	1990
Super Metroid	Action-Adventure	Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Re-released on Wii, Wii U, New 3DS)	1994
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past	Action-Adventure	Super Nintendo Entertainment System  (Re-released on Wii, Wii U, GameBoy Advance, New 3DS)	1992
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask	Action-Adventure	Nintendo 64 (Re-released on GameCube, Wii, and 3DS)	2000
Worms Armageddon	Strategy	PlayStation, Dreamcast, Nintendo 64, PC	1999

Just some of my personal favorites that I've actually played through myself.

[CRITAWAKETS]

Every metroid game but Metroid 2, Metroid 1, Metroid Prime Hunters and Metroid Pinball. (Platformers/FPS/Whatever Other:M is) Release Date: Multiple Games

The half-life series. Genre: FPS Release date: Multiple Dates/The rapture

Terraria. Genre:Sandbox 2d Platformer Release Date: May 16, 2011

[Niblic²]

demon souls - action RPG - ps3 - february 5 2009
dark souls - action RPG - PC, xbox 360, ps3 - october 4 2011
bloodborne - action RPG - ps4 - march 24 2015

forget dark souls 2 and dark souls 3

[Satan From Wreck-It-Ralph]

demon souls - action RPG - ps3 - february 5 2009
dark souls - action RPG - PC, xbox 360, ps3 - october 4 2011
bloodborne - action RPG - ps4 - march 24 2015

forget dark souls 2 and dark souls 3

why forget dark souls 3
dark souls 2 is garbage but dark souls 3 isnt made by the b team and is pretty good

[kongo]

metal gear solid v, stealth third-person shooter, ps3 - 4, xbox 360 - one, pc (a controller really helps with sneaking on pc), september 1st 2015

bloodborne - action RPG - ps4 - march 24 2015

[Willco2]

Gran Turismo 4 - PS2 - Dec 28, 2004 - Amazing racing game. Outdated by today's standards, but It's still one of the best out there.

Forza Motorsport 6 - XBONE - Sep. 15, 2015 - Basically in the same boat as GT4. I play this game non-stop.

South Park the Stick of Truth - PC/PS3/X360 - Mar. 4, 2014 - A game made by the guys who made the show. It is absolutely funny and definitely worth a buy.

Castle Crashers - PC/PS3/X360 - Aug. 28, 2008 - Amazing visuals, amazing gameplay, and an amazing soundtrack.

Doom - DOS/WIN/MAC/GBA/X360/XBONE/PS3 - Dec. 10, 1993 - What can I say that hasn't been said about this game? It has loads of mod support, and can provide plenty of hours of fun.

Doom II - DOS/WIN/MAC/GBA/X360/XBONE/PS3 - Sep. 30, 1994 - RIP AND TEAR

Quake 1 - DOS/WIN/MAC/LINUX/AMIGAOS/N64/SEGASAT - Jun. 22, 1996 - Basically expanded on what Doom was and was one of the first games to incorporate polygons.

Quake III Arena - WIN/MAC/LINUX/SD/PS2/XBLA - Dec. 2, 1999 - Amazing multiplayer game that's great for LAN parties and nothing else really.

Mario Kart Double Dash!! - GCN - Nov. 7, 2003 - Maybe I'm just blinded by nostalgia here, but this game is just such great fun if you have friends over or even by yourself. The soundtrack is pretty top notch here too.

[Siren]

Gran Turismo 4 - PS2 - Dec 28, 2004 - Amazing racing game. Outdated by today's standards, but It's still one of the best out there.
Castle Crashers - PC/PS3/X360 - Aug. 28, 2008 - Amazing visuals, amazing gameplay, and an amazing soundtrack.

Doom - DOS/WIN/MAC/GBA/X360/XBONE/PS3 - Dec. 10, 1993 - What can I say that hasn't been said about this game? It has loads of mod support, and can provide plenty of hours of fun.

Doom II - DOS/WIN/MAC/GBA/X360/XBONE/PS3 - Sep. 30, 1994 - RIP AND TEAR

Quake III Arena - WIN/MAC/LINUX/SD/PS2/XBLA - Dec. 2, 1999 - Amazing multiplayer game that's great for LAN parties and nothing else really.

Mario Kart Double Dash!! - GCN - Nov. 7, 2003 - Maybe I'm just blinded by nostalgia here, but this game is just such great fun if you have friends over or even by yourself. The soundtrack is pretty top notch here too.

oh baby don't stop

Spelunky (classic)
Any Thief game except 4, Thief Gold is probably the one to pick
Worms
Trackmania

[Dreams_Of_Cheese]

STALKER (any will do, but Call Of Pripyat is my favorite) - Survival Horror/FPS - PC - Oct. 2 2009

X COM UFO Defense - Strategy - PC - 1994

Halo: Combat Evolved - FPS - XBOX, PC - 2001

Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 (1 is basically the same) - Construction/Management Sim - PC - 2002

I have a huge backlog of classic games I should play some day, but I've mostly just not bothered. This thread seems pretty cool.

[Tudoreleu]

deus ex (the original one) - pc - 2000

[Deve]

blockland

[Conan]

since there's all these action adventure games here cave story should get a mention. free pc action-adventure sidescrolling shooter that has quality design and gameplay but is really bad at showing you how to complete the game fully and get the true ending. i suggest you look up a guide after playing through most of the game and if you screwed things up, get a copy of a save file off some site so you can complete the true ending + boss cause that stuff be insanely hard yo.

just to clarify: its an incredibly clean and fun and challenging experience with only a few sections that feel grindy. it's definitely worth the 8-10 hours to play (shorter if you're real good at sidescrollers or skill based games) and is pretty genre-defining and universally likeable.

[DestroyerOfBlocks]

nethack