There are many great ones on this list, but I just have to chime in and express my undying love for FTL. I have this special place in my heart for games that s

There are many great ones on this list, but I just have to chime in and express my undying love for FTL. I have this special place in my heart for games that set out to deliver a specific experience and succeed spectacularly, and FTL is one my favorite examples. You really feel like the spaceship captain, or maybe like a ship AI, making these quick decisions about how to distribute power among your ship's systems, and swapping out equipment for different situations. There are just all these little maneuvers you learn that fit the theme so perfectly - like when you vent oxygen from a part of the ship to put out a fire, or when you vent oxygen while manipulating bulkheads to suffocate enemy boarders. When you pull some power out of the shields to get a quick evasion boost by powering the engine when a missile is fired. Or mind control the enemy pilot to reduce their evasion before you fire your lasers. It just does such a great job of delivering that spaceship experience. Some other games that I hold dear among my "delivers their intended experience" category include Subnautica (experience of being dumped into an alien water world, gradually gaining comfort in the environment, discovering a mystery), DOOM 2016 (experience being an insane unstoppable demon slayer), and Batman: Arkham City (experience being the goddamn Batman). I realize that _all_ games are delivering some experience, but I think these are special standouts in a special sense. They go for some specific thing and use the gameplay to really put you in that scenario. There are many fun and good games that don't do this in the same sense and are more focused on mechanics or story than "experience".