12 Most Influential Video Games Of The 2000s

3. Spelunky

Never heard of Spelunky before? Well then you need to spend more time on the indie gaming scene. Oh, and you need to go out there and play it of course, because it's one of the most important indie games of all time, almost single-handedly reviving the roguelike genre (or roguelike-like, as some people like to term it).

For the uninitiated, Spelunky is a 2D platformer featuring procedurally-generated levels across four distinct worlds. As the spelunker, you gather gold, buy upgrades, and fight your way through various goons to find your way to the exit of each level. Along with the ingenious random level generation, the big hook is that once you die, it's game over and you start again (which is where the roguelike aspect comes in).

The Roguelike style was once popular back in the 90s, but died out before a huge resurgence after Spelunky's success, inspiring other games to do the same. Modern indie classics like FTL, The Binding of Isaac and Rogue Legacy all use similar mechanics, and take inspiration from its ingenious procedural generation designs that make each playthrough feel unique, and compel us to play these games endlessly.