Stardew Valley (Concerned Ape - 2016)

If someone banished me to a desert island and said I could only play one videogame for the rest of my life this is the one I'd choose. There are so many things to do and so many ways to do them. It can be played ultra casually or super stressfully depending on your mood and goals. Everything about this game, from the beautiful pixel art to the music and everything in between is just about perfect, and it's even more impressive that this was all done by just one person.

[Click HERE for Stardew Valley guide]

Fallout: New Vegas (Bethesda - 2010)

The best of the Fallout games by a country mile. It's designed like a proper RPG where you have the freedom to create different characters with very different abilities that have a real effect on your gameplay. The choices you make have a real impact on the way NPCs interact with you and the progression system is balanced. It lends itself to being a great sniping simulator, but the characters, environment and the effect your choices have are what makes this game special.

[Click HERE for Fallout: New Vegas guide]

Subnautica (Unknown Worlds - 2018)

Lots of crafting, amazing graphics and a pretty big ocean to explore. This is one of the best examples of good environmental storytelling in games, and the sense of isolation is unmatched. Replayability may be an issue for some because it's a fixed world with the items you need to progress being essentially in the same spots from game to game. However if like me you have a rotten memory and a terrible sense of direction that's much less of an issue.

Valheim (Irongate - 2021)

Properly difficult Norse themed game with bags of atmosphere and hands down the best building mechanics of any survival game. It also features a neat progression system and an interesting portal system that prevents metal - required for high tier crafting - from being transported through them, resulting in the need for transportation via ships, which introduces a fascinating logistics puzzle of how to get high level equipment from one hard to access place to another.

Red Alert 2 (Westwood - 2000)

The most fun you can possibly have playing an RTS; it's goofy on the surface - with crazy unfeasible units and abilities, but serious when it comes to balance and playability. Gameplay is smooth and satisfying. The 12 factions have wildly asymmetrical abilities giving an unprecedented amount of replayability, and it has a great sense of humour. This was the gold standard back in 2000. Sadly it still holds that position today, but this is the only one you need.

American Truck Simulator (SCS - 2016)

On the surface it would seem this game has nothing much to offer. It's literally just driving in first perspective with some optional parking once you reach your destination. That's it. Yes, you can buy garages and hire AI drivers to drive virtual trucks in the background but these are just extra trinkets to flesh the game out a bit more. Ultimately it's just you driving forward and trying not to fall asleep, because it's very relaxing. The absolute best game to pair with an audio book.

Baldur's Gate 3 (Larian - 2023)

For someone who's never played Dungeons and Dragons, this will be a difficult game to get into. There's an overwhelming amount of knowledge required to master it's systems, but perseverance will unlock a rich and varied experience hard to match in gaming. It's an incredibly impressive and immersive game once you know what you're doing, with a vast world to explore, hundreds of fully voiced NPCs, and a pretty cool story.

Skyrim (Bethesda - 2011)

For those who enjoy exploring and hoarding loot from dungeons full of thieves, vagabonds and monsters in a medieval style fantasy setting this is hard to beat. The world building is second to none, it has a decent main story, and probably the best music in any videogame. What this does it does really well, and with it's vast playing area and radiant quest system there's always something interesting to do.

Death Stranding (Kojima - 2019)

The story is nonsense but enjoyable in a stoned kind of way, though you can skip every cut scene if you just want to enjoy the mechanics. The broody atmosphere and visuals, the taxing terrain and inventory management and the entertaining combat sprinkled throughout all combine to make a really compelling package. The UI takes a little getting used to, but once you get the hang of that the myriad systems in the game make for an excellent meditative experience.

Satisfactory (Coffee Stain - 2024)

This, along with Factorio are the ultimate automation games, and you will generally favour one over the other. This has a beautiful world to explore and a perspective most current gamers are very familiar with. It's the obvious choice if you don't want to go full spreadsheet all work and no play mode. This is a much more forgiving game, and building a vast factory from nothing in a beautifully realized 3D environment is very, ahem, satisfying.