Your friends keep telling you that you should play “this one game” on the PS4, Xbox or Nintendo, but you do not own a gaming system. So, you finally decide to buy a console, and while you are at it, you buy the game your friends recommended. The only problem is that you do not actually like “that one game”. Your next step is to go to YouTube and see what other people are playing, but even those games do not interest you. Somehow, you come across my article, and you find it interesting, as you should. So, here are the top 5 video games everyone should play. 

#5 “UNO” 

“UNO” is the perfect game when you just want to relax and crack open a Coke with your friends. This game is ideal when you do not want to go against lil’ Timmy, the type of player who has never walked on grass, nor talked to a girl his whole life. You can just sit, relax, and talk to your friends about life as you help each other and cure everyone’s depression. 

“UNO” games can range from 30 minutes to 2+ hours depending on the Random Number Generators (RNG) in the game. It is frustrating at times when the computer gives you a +4, four times, and you end up holding half the deck for the whole game, but you can get some good laughs out of “UNO”. (You can also get some great clips if you want to start a YouTube channel.)

#4 “Pokémon” 

Now Pokémon is a true classic. Pokémon games have typically been reserved for the ones who like a little bit of a grind/adventure, as Pokémon does actually take time to complete the story mode. In this game, you need to be extremely patient and rely on strategies for nearly every move; you also must be selected about the types of Pokémon you want on your team. 

This game is not easy if you do not have a plan: players start with 6 Pokémon on a team, including the “starter” Pokémon, and battle to determine who is the best. 

One of the top Pokémon games out there is “Pokémon FireRed” on the Game Boy Advance (GBA). This was the first Pokémon game I ever played, and I instantly fell in love with it: others can have the same experience. 

Of course, no one can forget the summer of 2016 when the legendary app “Pokémon Go” was released (July). Everyone and their grandma tried to catch the little creatures on their phone. Even now, the app produces a lot of memories for those who played, it allowed for exercise and a way to meet great new people. 

You just cannot go wrong with Pokémon considering the variety of games and the number of Nintendo consoles they are on. Pokémon truly deserves a part in the video game Hall of Fame.

#3 CoD”

“CoD”, or “Call of Duty”, is a game that makes you mad – to the point where you throw and break your controller and are then forced to buy a new one. “CoD” has numerous game modes such as multiplayer, which offers an arcade vibe where two teams compete to be the first to achieve an objective. Thankfully, you can respawn multiple times so you can beat the other team. Multiplayer is known in the community as the game mode that infuriates players because of how annoying it can be: sometimes the spawns are horrible, or the radar. And when you play and your teammates are burgers while the other team is full of Atlanta Faze players, it makes you want to uninstall life. (Here’s a FaZe Jev video in which he rages: viewer discretion is advised.)

A second mode, called the campaign, offers a story mode you play independently. For example, in “CoD WWII“, players can jump in the shoes of a soldier who was in WWII (not a real person) and experience a lowkey, educational and fun way to play the game. You can get an understanding of the types of weapons and environment the soldiers at that time were looking at while playing in story mode.

And the last mode worth checking out is Warzone, a battle royale (new in 2019), where you compete against 150 other players in a massive map, searching for weapons, ammunition and armor to win by slaughtering the enemy.

#2 “Marvel’s Spider-Man”/”Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales”

These two games would have found themselves in first place on this list, but they are exclusive to the PlayStation console, which bumps them down a notch. Nonetheless, these two games are actually amazing: from the graphics, to the swinging, to the voice acting, there is a lot to be impressed about with “Marvel’s Spider-Man“ and “Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales”. The story mode is so good, players honestly feel like they are Spider-Man. 

The only flaw in the “Marvel’s Spider-Man” PS4 game is that playing as MJ, Peter Parker’s girlfriend, is not as fun: her storyline, which must be played, feels out of sync with the Spider-Man game, but other than that, the gameplay flows well. 

The “Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales” game is even better. You see where Insomniac Games has improved upon the last Spider-Man game: they even made Miles feel/act like an actual teenager from the hip-hop type of soundtrack and how he is always happy that he gets to be Spider-Man. When players swing from buildings as Miles, he even does some flips. When he swings, he has a little bit of style to make it known to players that while he is Spider-Man, he is still different to Peter Parker’s Spider-Man. 

Story mode on “Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales” can take as long as 7 hours, which is nothing when compared to “Marvel’s Spider-Man” (17 hours).

#1 “Minecraft”

While “Minecraft” as the first-place game is controversial (some, including English teacher and Wildcat Chronicle advisor Leslie Fireman, disagree with its placement, citing poor graphics as the reason), there is no denying this game deserves a spot at the top of the list. 

“Minecraft’s” graphics have improved over time, a fact I know well because I have been playing the game for years. This game is so relaxing, and the music fits perfectly. As a new player, you spawn in the world, initially looking around to see what you need to do. You walk to an oak tree nearby, start hitting it with your fist, and then hear “Haggstrom“ fading in as you finish mining the tree and start exploring the world, seeking food, stones and more. 

With “Minecraft” everything is possible. It is your world, and nobody can tell you what to do or not to do. The game is an escape from the real world, and makes players feel like a little kid again – one who can get those little blocks and build anything with them. 

Now, you might think that “Minecraft” is just for little kids, but it is not: anyone can enjoy the game, and I still like playing “Minecraft” to this day. I have one world I have been playing for the past 3 years (a long journey in that world), and there is much more to do. If I had the time, I would build in that world once more. 

“Minecraft” also offers a “story mode” option for those who want to complete it: they must kill the Ender Dragon, a boss found at The End dimension. The quest is optional, but includes the option to explore the Overworld, the newly improved Nether (updated June 23, 2020) or The End. The Overworld features all the necessities to survive, including food, trees, a bed that can actually be slept on (trying to sleep in the other world can cause a character to blow up.) 

Mojang just updated the mountains and caves in the game a few months ago (June 8, 2021), and these features are even better. In fact, Mojang has improved the noise, lighting, graphics and more. “Minecraft” is almost perfect: it has its flaws here and there, but for many people, the game is perfect because of all the memories it has helped establish in players’ minds over the years. 

So, on that note, I will end this top 5 list by saying thanks to “Minecraft” for being the best game out there.