As someone who's been playing video games for two decades, I've come across a lot of great games. Today I'm going to talk about my top 3!

#1 - Okami

Okami is easily my favorite game of all time. Originally released on the PS2, and eventually released on several other systems, including the HD remake on PC, this game offers something really special. The art style is breathtaking, the story is in-depth and keeps your interest through hours and hours of play, and just when you think it's over, there's more.
What makes Okami extra special and caused it to grab my attention as a kid was the unique gameplay mechanics that allowed you to draw a variety of symbols on the screen to use your various powers. Whether it's making the sun rise, sprouting a tree out of the ground, or creating huge fire blast to destroy your enemies, Okami gives you a wide array of tools, known as celestial brush techniques, to work with as you progress through the game and save the whole world from evil itself.

#2 - The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

CD Projekt Red really created an RPG masterpiece with the Witcher series, but the third installment of the series definitely takes the cake and is a prime example of what an RPG can and should be able to offer the player. An excellent story, an array of skills, weapons, armor, and even spells at your disposal, and a truly living world to explore make this game amazing. Blacksmiths who can craft you new armor, merchants and innkeeps you can take a break and play cards with, villagers disgruntled about the state of their lives during wartimes, and even barbers who can give you a haircut or a shave (your beard even grows back over time!) make the world of the witcher feel more alive than ever. Crossbows, bombs, blade oils, and potions can all be utilized to improve your ability to fight monsters. A lesson learned early in game is that proper preparation is just as important as carrying a sword. The original content of the game alone offers hours of exploration, questing, and story, and the 2 DLC additions add even more. It amazes me how well the developers were able to take all the things you're able to do and make everything fit into the buttons of a controller without it feeling clunky or taking away from the immersion. The previous installments of the witcher series were definitely not controller-friendly, so it's nice to see they were able to work so well with a controller this time around. Overall, Witcher 3 is gaming at its best.

#3 - Fallout 4

The Fallout series is undeniably a classic at this point as one of the first games that gave us a real open world experience. Fallout 4 comes in as another great addition to the series, improving on the mechanics of the former installments and offering new features while bringing us a new story in another part of the Wastelalnd and staying true to the lore and world they've already created. Some of the improvements in mechanics, like not having to open the whole inventory menu to loot one thing from a cabinet, and new features, like being able to craft things in settlements and easily modify armor and weapons, are what make this particular game better than Fallout 3 or New Vegas, at least in my opinion. Survival difficulty adds a whole new challenge to the game, making you have to remember to eat, drink, and sleep, and making combat more immersive by forcing you to use cover and sneak rather than rush up to your opponent guns blazing.

[Spoiler Warning!!]

The most disappointing aspect of this game for me was the ending of the story. In the conclusion, you're forced to side with one faction and one faction only, destroying the other 2 factions in the process. I understand the three major factions had very opposing goals, but I feel there should have been a way to come to some sort of diplomatic conclusion with them, or The Institute and Railroad at the very least. That's why this game didn't make it higher on the list.
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I hope you all enjoyed my perspective on these games! If you haven't already experienced these games for yourself, I highly recommend all three of them. Let me know what you think in the comments, and thanks for reading! Suggestions for future posts are always welcome :)