11. Shadow Of The Colossus
One of the early games to ever provoke the 'are games art?' debate (answer: yes, but not when they're
glorified slot machines), SotC is like playing an elegantly brushed painting. The plot has some very memorable twists and turns once you realise what's actually going on (and how much agency you directly have in what's on screen), but for the most part you're mounting a trusty steed and setting off to take down 16 towering colossi, all with different puzzle-based tactics to figure out. For the most part it's the act of killing these docile beasts that provides the most reward, scouting out weak spots, figuring out how to even get close to underwater or airborne variations, and then holding on for dear life as you attempt to make steel meet flesh. For the 13th colossi alone, you simply need to feel the rush of knocking that thing out the sky and colliding in a giant heap in the sand. Phenomenal.