Patient Gamers

FF9 and FF Tactics for me

I would say Borderlands 2. This game is so good in terms or story and gameplay creating its own type of game + the graphics that are sort of cartoon/drawing like definitely makes it timeless for me. I would still restart a gameplay today if it wasn't for the 4 or 5 times I finished it at the time it got released haha

This is going to be a weird one considering the graphics, but hear me out, the original Deus Ex. Something about the game just feels so well put together that the graphics take a back seat to the gameplay. There is a reason the community around the game has fought so hard to keep it running on modern hardware.

Surprised no one has said Super Metroid yet. The game just excelled at atmosphere.

Pokemon RB and Gold/Silver feel timeless to me.

Super Mario World

Halo: Reach aged very well despite being the black sheep of the excellent OG Halo Trilogy. The more faster pace, exceptional visuals (how this was done on a 360 I do not know), and absurd customizability keep it running today, especially with Forge, Custom sandbox, and now mod support. Everything being coop + splitscreen helps too.

Undertale. It will always be beautiful even if it doesn't have detailed graphics.

Civ 1 and 2. I've been playing since about 2003 and I still play about 15 hours a week on my steam deck

Earthbound will always be a top game for me.

Halo Reach. Every time I replay it, it hits harder.

I still play through Final Fantasy VI at least once a year.

Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines

Love that game, even if its combat system is pretty dated. The world and the writing are top notch. If you get it, make sure you get the community patch so it's not buggy.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and Minish Cap, I rarely play things twice but those two are just so pretty and well done. I play them every few years.

I'd like to try Chrono Trigger but for some reason I just can't get into it

Streets of Rage 2 feels remarkably good to play today. Homeworld 1 and 2 are great to play today, too, especially since RTSs are so rare. The remasters do clean up the visuals a lot, but for the time gap between the originals and the remasters the originals hold up amazingly well.

And then puzzle games. The TGM tetris series may as well be a new release. Puzzle Bubble 1-4 actually look and sound better than the new sequel that came out this year.

And if we fast forward to more modern 3D games, Batman Arkham City, which is now twelve years old (damn) would be a perfectly current open world game if released now, and Burnout Paradise, which is now fifteen years old (double damn) is such a nice racing game that when they remastered you could barely tell the difference.

Oh, and Eye of the Beholder. I have no idea of why Eye of the Beholder, of all games, is just as good as it was at launch and as good as modern reimaginings. The UI is so smooth and the game teaches itself perfectly. I could use an automapper, I suppose, but if you ask me whether it or the Etrian Oddyssey games feels more like a contemporary design it's EotB any day.

I've said it before on Lemmy and I'll say it again, but mindustry. It's the game that has held my attention for years and years, it never quite gets old.

The original Star Craft and Brood War. I grew up playing those games so they have a special place in my memories.

Ever played Chrono Trigger randomized? After playing it so many times it was fun playing with a new perspective

Okami.

Personally, it's Disco Elysium for me. It deals with issues that will always be core to the human experience, and it forces you to place yourself somewhere along that spectrum with no opportunity to opt-out. I wish people near me were more interested in video games so I could show it to them.