12. Tomb Raider
One of the most legendary characters and games of all time, narrowing down just one Tomb Raider is an effort in itself. However, rather than choose the Anniversary remake of this original or any of the more modern releases, it's this 1996
chest-glitch debut that has within it some of Lara's best moments. It's definitely Lara's gun-ho attitude that carries her willingness to explore, but the actual feel of positioning her for very specific jumps, busting out the twin pistols to deal with enemies and figuring out all sorts of item-based puzzles cemented both the character and the games as legendary additions to the PlayStation catalogue. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQ6mWoErc0E That genuinely perilous sense of death-defying exploration and verticality even Lara herself has shied away from in recent years (
but check out Grow Home for something similar in 2015), is what made journeying through these environments so enjoyable, and it's a formula Crystal Dynamics would extend across three incredibly successful sequels.