I have only played Forbidden West and it’s the most mediocre experience I had with a video game in the past decade. The gameplay felt clunky with weird spikes of difficulty in the middle of otherwise fairly boring segments. The main plot was utter trash and the other quests completely uninteresting. If that’s the standard of good AAA games, I never want to play another one.
Probably the first Spelunky but Slay the Spire, A Short Hike and Disco Elysium are close. Honorable mention to both 80 days, Stardew Valley and The Witcher 3.
I worked my way back through their catalogue and I have to say I love each of them in such a particular way that I couldn't call any one the best, including Elden Ring. Which was the most fun I had in probably years.
While one starts to recognize repeating themes (and assets), I was shocked to find out how much the original Dark Souls feels like the predecessor to Elden Ring, just more intimate and simpler (for better and worse).
All that said, I'd still recommend Elden Ring to any first-timers.
