20 Best Video Games Of The Last 20 Years

2. Dark Souls

Spiritual prequel Demon's Souls would set everything in motion and the sequels would refine from here, but it's the original Dark Souls that struck a perfect balance between RPG stat-progression, b*stard-hard gameplay that twins old and new-schools of thought, and a perfectly-designed world that's insanely rewarding to get through.

Playing as a character of your choice, there's a stark lack of tutorialisation as you're thrown into the world of Lordran and left to fend for yourself. Discovering how its various pathways snake and intertwine, what strategies to employ to defeat bosses and enemies alike, and simply advancing forward to the next checkpoint are all Herculean tasks, but they provide the perfect meld of 80s checkpoint game design and new-age animation, character progression and artistic flourish.

Dark Souls is gaming, though there's one title that goes the extra mile...