#GamesOfTheYears 1986: I’m a huge Metroidlike fan (get outta here, Metroidvania), but this year’s winner is a game I’ve gone back to regularly over the years. (The OG Metroid is a rare revisit.) The Legend of Zelda was exploration unbound. Perfect for tiny me, and the gold cartridge… classic.

#GamesOfTheYears 1985: Agonized over this one. Super Mario Bros. is right there! But in the end, I had to go with this one. Because... well, it's Tetris. Need I say more? Tetris has been one of my most-played games across its various versions. Who knows? It may show up elsewhere on the list...

#GamesOfTheYears 1984: For me, it’s Hack. (The screenshot is from Rogue, sadly.) I didn’t really know too much of what I was doing, but I spent a long time exploring. Delving. Having a dog—sorry, a d.

For 1983, the year I was born, it’s Mario Bros. It’s likely not the last time Mario will hit this list, and this is a little bit of a cheat: I was first introduced to this game as the minigame in Super Mario Bros. 3. But, hey! First Luigi sighting! (Never played Dragon’s Lair…) #GamesOfTheYears

#365games Day 26: Mega Man 3 (NES) After watching an aquaintance play this game, I started playing in my mind that my fingers were combatants and they could absorb their opponents' powers. I imagine I wasn't alone, or else Super Smash Bros. wouldn't really exist. The stage select music SLAPS.

#365games Day 25: Neva (PS5) Yes, you can pet the [dog]. And it works, even if the animation shows that you're mostly petting air. You develop a relationship. Came along at the right time.

#365games Day 24: Hunt the Wumpus (ZCPR3) My father helped me program a version of this game, letting me visualize a version of the game that existed in a three-dimensional space—rooms arranged in cubes. Hunt the Wumpus reminds me that I'm always going to be chasing my father's brilliance.

#365games Day 23: QWOP (Browser) I beat QWOP. I stumbled upon a specific rhythm to beat a game designed to be obtuse. No skill other than "hey, this is working—don't stop now!" and not panicking. It's probably one of my gaming achievements that I share with the fewest number of people.

#365games Day 22: Scrabble (BG) I associate this game, above all, with my grandparents—sitting in a quiet farmhouse with ticking clocks and nothing but time. There was a lot of love hanging over that board, somehow in its purest form, that I'll never know again. (Also: shoutout to The Big Snit.)

#365games Day 21: Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition (TTRPG) I devoured this book: memorized THAC0 tables, rolled up characters (somehow always with absurd stats), but I played all of two hours total. In two separate campaigns. Didn't matter. It ignited something in me that hasn't left yet.

#365games Day 20: Secret of Evermore (SNES) I played the first few hours of this game repeatedly—because I only ever rented it. There's a few games that never had the chance to show me everything they had to offer because I was time-limited, young, and subject to sharing the television.

#365games Day 19: League of Legends (PC) It's popular to bash LoL for its punishing difficulty curve, its toxic fanbase, but saddling up with four friends and trying our luck was an unmatched thrill. I don't play any more—my friends grew up. (I didn't.) But it's still an excellent game.

#365games Day 18: Dead Cells (PC) I'm a sucker for a roguelike, and a sucker for a 2D platformer, and therefore I'm a sucker for Dead Cells. This game reeks of style and ultimately rewards player skill in an incredibly satsifying way. This is one I plan to revisit for sure.

#365games Day 17: Civilization (Atari ST) Past the early game, I could watch almost an entire episode of the Simpsons between turns; this game was a monster for a 8 MHz CPU to handle. Don't care. Worth every second of waiting. The Civilopedia convinced my mother the game was educational.

#365games Day 16: Ice Hockey (NES) One skinny guy. Three chonkers. Green-clad Team Canada. Accept no substitutes. Distill a game down to its essence, add one or two flairs, and you've got Ice Hockey. It just works. A perfect game to play with a friend when your plans get cancelled due to rain.

#365games Day 15: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (NGC) Not the best, but the first one I owned. Someone needs to find the person responsible for music liscensing in this game and give them a trophy or something. I much prefer THPS when it's about the joy of movement; stories never felt necessary to me.

#365games Day 14: Brotato (XSX) This is Vampire Survivors but much more reliant on strategy. I adore it. Most of my time with this game has been spent next to @zen-r0b0.bsky.social. We took turns playing, helping each other out during the buy phase. The new couch co-op mode was custom made for us.

#365games Day 13: Sonic the Hedgehog (GEN) My first Club Price (now Costco) visit, a TV showed Sonic tapping his foot, waiting for someone to play. I promptly sent him to his death. I just wanted to GO FAST. I never owned a Sega console until I was 40, but the Green Hill Zone theme stuck with me.

#365games Day 12: Chrono Trigger (SNES) You want me to justify putting this on my list? I'm marrying someone whose handle is @zen-r0b0.bsky.social! I used to load the music tracks into a sequencer and practice turning individual channels on and off. Fanfare 1 still slaps. Schala's Theme...

#365games Day 11: Mario Hoops 3-on-3 (NDS) I've always loved arcade basketball games, but this is the one that threw me for a loop. Is the White Mage from Final Fantasy a lady?! I was almost sure that Nintendo Power implied that all the Light Warriors were men. I approve this retcon.

#365games Day 10: Solar Jetman (NES) This is the first video game I encountered that was just too damn hard for little ol' me. I should revisit it now; I might understand the point of varying physics and I can look up what the controls are. Rare made an interesting but fiendish thing with this one.

#365games Day 9: You Don't Know Jack Vol. 2 (PC) My introduction to You Don't Know Jack was the second game. My big takeaway from this game was the unexpected thrill and joy from seeing a game that magically reacted to the user. Swear when you enter your name? The game RESPONDS. Such a delight.

#365games Day 8: Passage I spent an afternoon playing this game over and over, trying to see if there was any hidden ways to escape the game’s message. There isn’t. And maybe that’s just fine.

#365games Day 6: Grand Theft Auto (PSX) Again, a "play anywhere but my own house" game, as I was 14 and certain my parents wouldn't approve. Except I didn't really see the harm, because it never seemed all that realistic. It felt like a game so removed from reality. The whole series still does.

#365games Day 5 (a day late): Wii Sports I very nearly couldn't afford a bus pass after buying a Wii (lining up outside a Toys R Us in the early morning to do so), but Wii Sports was worth the risk. There was so much joy in handing a Wii Remote to -anyone- and watching them bowl. Smiles so wide.

#365games Day 4: Crystalis (NES) Probably my first "major" gaming accomplishment was beating this game before anyone else I knew. I wonder if I could enjoy it the same these days, having developed severe FOMO. I gotta stop using guides. Take the time to figure things out on my own.

#365Games Day 3: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Randomizer LttP is my favourite Zelda game—I remember begging my cousin to let me play it—but Randomizer lets me enjoy it in an different way. Returns me to a time where I'd just have to figure out a game, y'know?

#365games Day 2: Dance Dance Revolution I idly wonder if one day I'll have the space, time, and resources to just have a permanent video game workout gym. DDR (or its clones) would go right in there. I considered myself a decent player, but nowadays songs are much harder than those in DDRMAX2.

#365games Day 1: The Island of Dr. Brain When I was quite young, I'd visit some dear family friends and play on their PC. This one stuck with me—Sierra knew how to get me interested early on. I still can hear "Congratulations! You have earned a [gold] [Map Skills] plaque!" in my head.