Only three is a cruel restriction; I grant myself at least a top four.

• Morrowind
• The Neverhood
• Diablo 2
• Hyper Light Drifter

1. Celeste
2. Outer Wilds
3. Slay The Spire

Much hidden gem.

cyberpunk 2077

eve online

counter strike source

• Portal 2
• Persona 4 Golden
• Galaga

Honorable mentions:

• Titanfall 2
• Destiny/Destiny2 (sometimes)
• Baldies Gate 3

In no particular order:

• Megaman X
• UNDERTALE
• Call of Duty 4 (campaign, never played MP)

I just really like those three games. They're all fun in their own ways and in the case of Undertale it shaped a huge part of my 20's because it was through playing it that I learned to love humanity even with its bumps and scrapes. It kept me from turning into a full on misanthrope.

Honorable mentions go to GTA Online (I have almost 6000 hours in that game total, it's my favorite pastime), Call of Duty Black Ops 2 (multiplayer), and Titanfall 2.

Factorio Outer wilds Horizon zero dawn

Civilization (the OG dos version)

Planetside 2

Warframe

1. Puyo Puyo 20th Anniversary - Puyo Puyo is the greatest competitive puzzle game ever made, and 20th is a massive package of incredible extras to go with it. I made a video just showing off how many cool things are in this game, and got so carried away that it ended up being an hour long. To this day, I continue to have a chip on my shoulder about how everything else Sega has done since doesn't come anywhere close to this game, and so the west has never gotten to see the best of what the series has to offer.

2. Skullgirls - Best damn fighting game of all time. Fast, explosive, with tons of options for flexible teambuilding. It wears its old-school influences on its sleeve, in an era where too many modern fighting games feel watered down. At the same time though, Skullgirls was also so far ahead of its time for having functional online, a training mode more robust than any other game at the time, and tons of excellent QoL features.

3. Slay the Spire - Spire has ruined all other roguelikes for me. What I love about Spire is that it does not let you get away with just looking for one powerful synergy that will carry you, many enemies are designed to hard counter one-trick decks. You're forced to adapt and actively consider what threats are coming up and what you need to deal with those threats, recognizing the difference between the cards you want and the cards you truly need.

Oh , probably

1. Witcher 3
2. Cyberpunk 2077
3. Something like persona 4 golden? Feels a little like a log jam

-Minecraff -Generation Zero -Farcry Franchise

Forever stuck in mid to late 90s JRPGs, if I had to pick 3

Final Fantasy VI Final Fantasy Tactics Suikoden II

I'll cheat because picking just 3 is impossible.

1. Nethack / Alundra (PS1) / Sim City 2000 / Transport Tycoon Deluxe / Prey / Doom 2016 / Elite / Dwarf Fortress / Rimworld / International Karate / Paradroid

2. System Shock / Ultima 3-8 / Alpha Centauri / GTA5 / Titanfall 2 / Control / Eye of the Beholder / Sensible Soccer / Star Control 2 / Total Annihilation / Impossible Mission

3. Undertale / Bioshock Infinite / S.O.M.A. / Nemesis the Warlock (entirely because of the title song) / Pirates! / Stardew Valley / Revenge of the Mutant Camels

1. Portal 2
2. Hollow Knight
3. Minecraft

For me it’s always about how much fun I had playing them, so right now and in no order:

• Halo 2
• Starcraft
• Red Dead Redemption

Honorable Mentions:

• Super Mario World
• Super Metroid
• Ocarina of Time
• Fallout: NV
• Assassins Creed: Black Flag
• Deep Rock Galactic
• Hades
• Hollow Knight

• Mindustry, it's open source as well, must have sunk close on a thousand hours into it. Incredible Game, has a good modding scene as well.
• Trove, the opposite of Mindustry, in that the game sucks, I do not recommend. However the game had so much potential and it sort of half realized it before becoming a cash grab. Does a good job of releasing LOADS of dopamine for very simple game play. That said I am now looking into Veloren - which appears to try and be a better version of trove, although taking voxel MMORPG in a new direction. It's also open source so, yeah.
• Minecraft - with mods. Nothing quite beats tech mod mania. I hope some day luanti gets to be a real competitor on some level, but till then.

Disco Elysium

Hi-Fi Rush

...third is hard. Maybe Mass Effect Trilogy. Maybe Rogue Trader/Pathfinder WOTR.

1. GTA San Andrays
2. Halo 3
3. AOE 2

These games are rooted in my childhood and connected to memories of simpler times and good friends. I Still play video games but I don't think I could ever experience the same level of joy and excitement that I got from gaming as I did when I was younger. These days I'd rather just go for a nice walk with my dog like the boring old man that I am.

• Quake
• Minecraft
• Fallout

Factorio, Anno 1602, Civ 3

Easy choices for me, but I don’t know how to order them.

Anno 1800 gets an honourable mention for feeling like a great spiritual successor to 1602, but I have a ton of nostalgia for the first game.

Elden Ring, Dwarf Fortress, and Disco Elysium.

• Left 4 Dead 2 - for the awesome vs teamplay
• The Last of Us (remake) 1+2 - stunningly gorgeous, emotional heavy hitter
• Disco Elysium - art, literature, as a game

edit: I forgot Guitar Hero / Clone Hero was a game not a 'standard hobby', I play e-drums on that daily still..

1. Jagged Alliance 2
2. Unreal Tournament
3. Fistful of Frags

Doom Crosscode Cave Story

Ragnarok Online in the early 00s is the only reason I’m alive to post this comment

Diablo II for sure, what an amazing technical achievement in the year 1999

Theeeen probably Earthbound.

Descent for the movement.

Unreal tournament for getting ten PC's on a token ring for PvP lan.

Warcraft 2 because it's rad and a pirated copy got me a job at the trading card shop.