The Games We’re Most Thankful For This Thanksgiving

Every year when Thanksgiving rolls around (for those of us who celebrate, at least), it’s important to take the chance to stop and reflect on the things we’re thankful for, and that includes games. Whether because of their original release dates being close in proximity to the holiday, or due to their place as timeless classics that are practically essential annual replays during times when we want to hunker down with the gaming equivalent of comfort food, the following 20 titles represent the games that we here at Cheat Code Central are most thankful for. Across decades of gameplay spread out between hundreds of hours spent in each of these games’ worlds, we’ve helped form the foundations of our gaming tastes, and revisiting these classics each holiday season is a core element of what makes them so central to our love for the hobby.

• Release Date — January 23, 2019
• Developer — Mega Crit
• Publisher — Mega Crit
• Genre — Roguelike, Deckbuilder
• Review Aggregate Score — 89% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — Android, iOS, PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One

There are dozens upon dozens of roguelike deckbuilders available on Steam, but very few ever come close to reaching the bar of quality established way back in 2019 by Slay the Spire. Along with titles like Hades, Celeste, and Hollow Knight, Slay the Spire is one of the most important and pivotal indie games ever released, and its importance is directly proportional to how fun and addictive its deckbuilding RPG gameplay is, even after hundreds of hours spent climbing the titular spire. Each new run in Slay the Spire has a chance to develop into an hours-long session containing some of the best roguelike deckbuilding gameplay ever designed, and for that, we’re thankful that it exists and is so easily accessible to come back to as a “gold standard” game in our libraries.

• Release Date — February 11, 1998
• Developer — Square Product Development Division 3
• Publisher — Squaresoft
• Genre — JRPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 91% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — PlayStation

Picture the scene: it’s 1998, and as an RPG-obsessed gamer with a long documented love for all things Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, you’ve just been gifted a copy of Square’s newest RPG for the PS1: Xenogears. That same scenario is something that many players of a certain age lived out during the formative years that range from pre-adolescence to young adulthood, and Xenogears‘ metaphorically rich and philosophically deep story was like nothing the genre had ever seen before — or since, for that matter. No wonder, then, that many of us who shared the formative experience of playing Xenogears rank it as not just one of our favorite RPGs on a console bursting with incredible titles in the genre, but as one of the most poignant and important stories ever told in video games.

• Release Date — January 26, 2010
• Developer — BioWare
• Publisher — Electronic Arts, Microsoft Game Studios
• Genre — Action RPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 96% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Speaking of incredible RPGs, it’s impossible to make a list of some of the more important and groundbreaking games in the medium without mentioning the Mass Effect trilogy. And if you’re going to pick just one game out of the trio to highlight as the series’ crowning jewel, I think we can all agree that it’s the near-perfect Mass Effect 2 that’s the obvious choice. Everything about Mass Effect 2‘s changes and improvements over the original are targeted decisions aimed at addressing player feedback, and the way that its story both continues the saga of Shepard and sets up the final arc of the grand conflict against the Reapers is pure sci-fi brilliance. It’s the Empire Strikes Back of the Mass Effect trilogy; it’s dark, it’s bursting with action, and it ends on a cliffhanger that leaves the fate of the galaxy hanging in the balance.

• Release Date — March 24, 2015
• Developer — FromSoftware
• Publisher — Sony Computer Entertainment
• Genre — Action RPG, Soulslike
• Review Aggregate Score — 92% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — PlayStation 4

Given how influential FromSoftware has been over the past decade-plus of modern game design, there were bound to be several of the studio’s titles on a list of games we’re thankful for, and first up is Bloodborne. At the time Bloodborne came out, it set the stage for what a post-Dark Souls FromSoftware might be capable of, and that it still stands as many fans’ favorite game in the studio’s catalogue should come as no surprise to anyone who’s played both it and the rest of the developer’s games. Among them, Bloodborne stands alone, favoring faster, more aggressive play and adopting a story and atmosphere that are definitively horror-leaning when compared to the high fantasy of Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, and of course, Elden Ring.

• Release Date — September 17, 2020
• Developer — Supergiant Games
• Publisher — Supergiant Games
• Genre — Action Roguelike
• Review Aggregate Score — 93% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — iOS, PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

Along with Slay the Spire, Hades is another obvious indie game worth shouting out, if for no other reason than that it’s responsible for hundreds of hours of gameplay across just about everyone who has it in their library. Amazingly, you could spend more than 300 hours in Hades and still end up coming across new dialogue and character interactions, and the moment-to-moment gameplay will rarely ever get old in all that time thanks to a finely-tuned progression curve and some excellent randomization that keeps each run feeling fresh and different. And, much like Slay the Spire, Hades is one of those comforting roguelikes that you can easily return to time and time again and still manage to get a handful of fun runs with, even after you think you’ve seen everything it has to offer.

• Release Date — February 24, 2017
• Developer — Team Cherry
• Publisher — Team Cherry
• Genre — Metroidvania, Soulslike
• Review Aggregate Score — 90% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One

Our thankfulness for Hollow Knight is actually a bit twofold. As much as we appreciate Hollow Knight as a game and love its genre-defining mix of Metroidvania structure and progression with the difficulty and mechanics of a Soulslike, we are also simply thankful that Hollow Knight even exists. Without Hollow Knight and its subsequent success, we would have likely never seen the deluge of high-quality indie Metroidvania games of the last several years, which would have robbed us of other classics in the genre like Blasphemous, Ender Lilies, or even Nine Sols. Never mind that its sequel also happens to be one of 2025’s best games.

Hollow Knight is a pivotal indie game that has shaped not just its own genre but the industry as a whole, and it’s also one of the few modern Metroidvanias that can stand toe-to-toe with formative classics like Super Metroid or Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

• Release Date — September 6, 2024
• Developer — Team Asobi
• Publisher — Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Genre — Platformer
• Review Aggregate Score — 94% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — PlayStation 5

Remembering the “wow” factor of seeing Super Mario 64 in action for the first time and witnessing the genuine transition between the 2D and 3D eras of gaming is something that was a formative experience for many gamers, and it’s a feeling that’s been all too fleeting in the modern era of the medium. Thankfully, Astro Bot came along last year to change that and remind us of the inherent joy that video games can elicit, bringing us back to the childhood wonder of getting lost in an interactive imaginary world.

Few games, if any, utilize the PS5’s DualSense controller as Astro Bot does, giving the experience a tactile quality not unlike breaking into a toy chest and letting our imaginations take hold. In addition to it being an incredible platformer, we’re just thankful for Astro Bot reminding us of the pure fun that made us fall in love with video games in the first place.

• Release Date — May 6, 2023
• Developer — Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo
• Publisher — Konami
• Genre — Metroidvania
• Review Aggregate Score — 91% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — Game Boy Advance

The Castlevania series is one of the more memorable and foundational in the rise of gaming as a serious medium, and its mid-franchise shift to a non-linear, gated-progression model emulating the Metroid and Zelda series gave us one of gaming’s greatest genres: the Metroidvania. And while it’s tempting to put that pivotal entry, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, as the game in the series we’re most thankful for, the truth is that designer and producer Koji Igarashi would perfect the series’ Metroidvania template with the Game Boy Advance title Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, which is both one of the best Metroidvania games ever made and arguably the best game in the Castlevania series. As a bonus, we’re also thankful that Aria of Sorrow is now readily playable on modern hardware thanks to the Castlevania Advance Collection.

• Release Date — September 22, 2011
• Developer — FromSoftware
• Publisher — Bandai Namco Games
• Genre — Action RPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 89% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PC, PS3, Xbox 360

Similar to Hollow Knight, a game which probably wouldn’t exist without Dark Souls, our thankfulness for FromSoftware’s pivotal 2011 game is multi-faceted. As a standalone game, Dark Souls is an impeccable experience that has an incredible dark fantasy atmosphere, some dense and fascinating lore, enjoyable combat that also happens to be flexible for a variety of viable builds, and some of the most memorable and frustrating boss battles in the history of gaming. It’s just about as close to a perfect action RPG as you could ever get. But it also happens to be the game responsible for the creation of the Soulslike subgenre (which has itself birthed many incredible action RPG experiences), and the willingness of Dark Souls to buck industry trends of the time and not hold players’ hands has brought gaming back to an era where difficult-but-rewarding games are the rule, not the exception.

• Release Date — September 3, 1998
• Developer — Konami Computer Entertainment Japan
• Publisher — Konami
• Genre — Action, Stealth
• Review Aggregate Score — 94% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — PlayStation

We’re thankful for quite a few landmark games in the PS1 library for how formative they were in shaping our gaming tastes, and one of the most pivotal of the bunch is Metal Gear Solid. Nearly 30 years later, it still stands tall as an incredible proof of concept of the “stealth action” subgenre that Kojima created with the original MSX Metal Gear, positioning it alongside games like Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in helping to prove that established franchises and IP could successfully make the transition to a new dimension. Along with its technical brilliance and rock-solid gameplay, though, Metal Gear Solid also has one of the best stories in gaming, and it’s one that’s surprisingly only increasingly poignant and relevant as the years go by.

• Release Date — April 2, 1994
• Developer — Square
• Publisher — Square
• Genre — JRPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 90% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — SNES/Super Famicom

Growing up alongside the Final Fantasy franchise has helped elevate it to being one of my favorite game series of all time, even if some entries fail to live up to the bar set by the series’ best. When it comes to the best of the original 6 entries, though, it’s pretty much universally accepted that Final Fantasy VI represents the peak of the series’ original 2D era, acting as a culmination of all the great ideas pioneered by Square during the company’s incredible hot streak on the NES and SNES.

Even in the wake of the incredible 3D games in the series’ lineage, Final Fantasy VI is a legitimate contender for the best game in the franchise, and it’s even a viable candidate for “Best RPG of All Time”, barring one game further down our list that barely ekes out a win over it in that category. Each time we go back and play Final Fantasy VI, it’s a stark reminder of how perfect a game it is, from its gameplay and progression systems to its incredible cast of characters and series-best villain.

• Release Date — January 25, 2019
• Developer — Capcom
• Publisher — Capcom
• Genre — Survival Horror
• Review Aggregate Score — 93% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — iOS, PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

It might be a bit surprising to see a modern video game remake on a list that’s primarily dominated by all-time great video games from the 4th, 5th, and 6th console generations, but Capcom’s Resident Evil 2 remake is such an incredible example of how to approach a remake of a beloved game that it inevitably became the exemplar by which all other remakes were measured. Resident Evil 2 continues the more horror-leaning approach taken by the 2002 remake of the original Resident Evil, bringing the series back to its gore-soaked roots at a time when many players were hungry for a return to form, and the ways that it toys with returning players’ perceptions and expectations are nothing short of genius. I’ll say it — the Resident Evil 2 remake is the best game in the series.

• Release Date — February 25, 2022
• Developer — FromSoftware
• Publisher — Bandai Namco Games
• Genre — Action RPG, Soulslike
• Review Aggregate Score — 96% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

While Hidetaka Miyazaki might be hesitant to call Elden Ring a “perfect” action RPG, I think we can collectively say it for him. Elden Ring amounts to the end result of over a decade of impeccable game design that began with Demon’s Souls, and it pulls elements from all of FromSoftware’s successes and growth along the way to represent the pinnacle of what a “Soulslike” can and should be. Combat and buildcraft are obvious highlights of the Elden Ring experience, but just as important is its open-world sandbox, The Lands Between, which is arguably one of the most dense and immersive interactive environments ever designed. Every one of FromSoftware’s modern games is an incredible experience, but Elden Ring is the crowning jewel that sets the new standard for the entire action RPG genre.

• Release Date — November 19, 1998
• Developer — Valve
• Publisher — Sierra Studios
• Genre — FPS
• Review Aggregate Score — 96% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — PC

Valve’s Half-Life was one of a very special class of PC game that arrived in the late 1990s and helped usher in what many consider to still be the absolute peak of interactive media. It’s joined by a slew of iconic games that could easily fit on a list like this — Thief, Deus Ex, System Shock 2, and others — and it somehow stands tall above all of them as the next true evolution in the first-person shooter in a post-Doom world. Half-Life‘s influence on gaming is felt in just about every single game that succeeded it, whether in the FPS genre or outside of it, and it’s almost shocking how modern and timely the game still feels nearly 30 years since its release. And hey, were it not for Half-Life, we wouldn’t have industry-defining games like Counter-Strike or platforms like Steam.

• Release Date — November 21, 1991
• Developer — Nintendo EAD
• Publisher — Nintendo
• Genre — Action-Adventure
• Review Aggregate Score — 93% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — SNES/Super Famicom

With how successful Zelda is now, it’s easy to forget that the first game’s breakthrough success in the West was followed up with an experimental entry that sold well, but most players hated: Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. If the series was going to survive, Nintendo needed to bring players back into the fold with its third entry, and first for the SNES, which helped drive the design choices behind The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.

And we’re thankful that this foundational third entry went back to the format of the first game, because it’s since served as the template for every subsequent 2D entry, helped inspire the mechanics of the first 3D Zelda, and stands tall as one of the best first-party Nintendo games and best games in the SNES library. Just talking about it has us ready to go do another playthrough on the Nintendo Switch Online classic game collection.

• Release Date — November 21, 1990
• Developer — Nintendo EAD
• Publisher — Nintendo
• Genre — Platformer
• Review Aggregate Score — 94% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — SNES/Super Famicom

From one incredible SNES first-party game to another, Super Mario World is still the gold standard by which all other 2D platformers are rightfully judged. That it was a pack-in with the SNES is one of the greatest gifts a game publisher has ever given players, especially in a modern context where Nintendo tends to be a little too fond of repackaging and reselling games to players who’ve already paid for them multiple times on other platforms…but I digress. Super Mario World is the next evolutionary step from the practically perfect Super Mario Bros. 3, and while it’s not so much a leap as it is a gradual improvement, it’s still an essential game to help showcase how pivotal the SNES was in confirming that the video game industry was here to stay and not a flash in the pan.

• Release Date — January 31, 1997
• Developer — Square
• Publisher — Square, Sony Computer Entertainment
• Genre — JRPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 92% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — PlayStation

While Final Fantasy VI might be the best game in the series to a large contingent of Final Fantasy fans (present company included), there’s no denying that Final Fantasy VII was a revolutionary title when it first released. As the first 3D Final Fantasy, FFVII had a lot riding on its shoulders in the same way that both Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time did, and it managed to deliver on the promise of a new era for the series in spades. Beyond its evolution of the Final Fantasy series mechanics, though, Final Fantasy VII helped establish the PS1 as a major player in the 5th generation console wars and brought the Final Fantasy IP into the mainstream, helping to lay the foundation for the PlayStation brand’s future and guaranteeing us many subsequent games in the Final Fantasy franchise.

• Release Date — March 19, 1994
• Developer — Nintendo R&D 1, Intelligent Systems
• Publisher — Nintendo
• Genre — Action-Platformer, Metroidvania
• Review Aggregate Score — 97% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — SNES/Super Famicom

Rounding off our trio of the best first-party Nintendo games on the SNES is the best of the bunch, Super Metroid. Compared to both Mario and Zelda, both of which had incredible games on the NES, the original Metroid doesn’t hold up nearly as well. By the time the 4th console generation came around, the Metroid formula was very due for a 16-bit refresh, and Super Metroid more than delivered. Its mechanics and elements serve as the foundations for what would eventually become the modern Metroidvania playbook (joined by the other half of the portmanteau, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night), which makes it at least partially responsible for some of the best games of the last 10 years, but it’s also an incredible adventure that shows a different side of Nintendo that we don’t get to see all too often.

• Release Date — November 21, 1998
• Developer — Nintendo EAD
• Publisher — Nintendo
• Genre — Action-Adventure
• Review Aggregate Score — 99% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — Nintendo 64

Is there such a thing as a “perfect” video game? It’s debatable, but if there’s any one title that comes incredibly close, it’s The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. As a newer player who goes back and plays it today, it’s almost impossible to impart the same sense of wonder and awe that many of us had when venturing out into a 3D rendition of Hyrule for the first time, but otherwise, the moment-to-moment gameplay in Ocarina of Time holds up incredibly well because it’s still the foundation on which every subsequent game in the series was built. Had a 3D version of Zelda stumbled out of the gate, who knows what would’ve happened to the series during the 5th generation and beyond, and we’re thankful that Eiji Aonuma and his team were able to shepherd the franchise into future greatness that matched its legacy importance.

• Release Date — March 11, 1995
• Developer — Square
• Publisher — Square
• Genre — JRPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 96% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — SNES/Super Famicom

They casually refer to the minds behind Chrono Trigger as the “Dream Team”, and looking at the who’s who of creators in that list proves that to be an apt moniker. Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi and composer Nobuo Uematsu, together with Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii and artist Akira Toriyama, came together with a goal of creating the best RPG ever made, and by god, they succeeded with Chrono Trigger. All these years later, it still stands out as a singular experience not just within its genre, but within gaming as a whole, inserting itself as a pivotal cultural artifact that transcends the medium of video games. We’re thankful that those creators came together to work collaboratively on a project that, by all accounts, shouldn’t have ever existed, and that it does is one of the main things we’re grateful for in our favorite hobby.