Metroid Prime

METROID PRIME (2002) is an utterly fantastic game. The level design is smart and creative, the gameplay controls and plays perfectly (the jumping in particular is just about the best implementation of these mechanics in any first-person game), the game is challenging yet fair, mysterious yet intuitive, fresh, original, inventive and on top of all this it looks and sounds incredible. The game has more story than plot, relying on atmosphere and world-building to give the game a purpose, but the real drive for the player is in the exploration itself. The game is huge and rewards the player for their curiosity, which it fosters through some excellent puzzles, all of which are simply displayed in the environment (with perhaps a few scannable text clues to nudge the player a little further), and the player is left to put the pieces together, which is extremely satisfying. Every new skill Samus acquires is rewarding in itself to find, but also expands the scope of the game, opening up new areas and possibilities in such a way that the player feels empowered and reinvigorated. This is not a first-person shooter, but the combat is enjoyable if simple, and perhaps the biggest negative aspect of the game is the few instances where fighting the space pirates or Chozo ghosts in particular a bit more often than perhaps they should. Even so, the game is beautiful, fascinatingly vague mysterious whilst maintaining a logic to the puzzles that never seems obtuse or unfair, and stays creative and interesting throughout its around 20-hour playtime