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These are my favourite franchises:

Dark Souls: They're set in dark and hopeless worlds where everything has gone to hell. The apocalypse has happened, the world is full of monsters, there's a curse rampaging through the denizens of this bleak landscape, you will be aimless and alone for most of your journey, and you will die a lot. But it is through sheer tenacity that you do not succumb to the curse, that you keep coming back to face insurmountable odds again and again until you finally conquer them. And when you do you feel on top of the world. But there is little time to celebrate before moving onwards, knowing that you're stronger than at the beginning of your journey and yet fully aware that the next fight for your life is inminent. As a person who has spent many years struggling with depression, these games exemplify the human spirit in a way I find beautiful. The medieval/gothic/dark fantasy aesthetics are great, the difficulty is hard but fair most of the time, the music is equal parts oppresing and hauntingly beautiful. Definitely worth a look.

Deus Ex: They're cyberpunk inmersive sims set in the near future (the chronologically earliest one is set in 2027!). Technically they'd also be Action RPGs and First Person Shooters, but in reality they're so much more than that. Every game is different but they all follow a similar formula: You play as an augmented operative working for an agency, and while you're investigating a massive web of conspiracies, lies and secrets starts unraveling around you. The aesthetics are amazing, the music is great, there's a ton of philosophy and sociopolitical themes, and you can choose between many different playstyles. The endings tend to be weak, though.

Mirror's Edge: First Person Parkour! Set in a big, shiny city in a light-cyberpunk police state; you play as Faith, an illegal courier or "runner" whose job it is to hand-deliver messages and data across rooftops and skyways to avoid ubiquitous government monitoring of movement and communications. Then things go south, and you're thrown into action-filled chase sequences as you try to rescue your sister from the hands of the villains. The aesthetics are amazing, the music is great, and with a single exception in both games you can opt to never fire a single shot. This one and Deus Ex have influenced my taste for design so much that I used them as inspiration for my personal brand.

Half Life: A series of First Person Shooters that place you in the role of Gordon Freeman, a scientist. During one of the experiments he's involved in aliens invade through a dimensional tear, and he's forced to survive and escape while fighting both the alien invaders and the military sent to silence any possible survivors. The sequels take place in the future, when other more powerful aliens subjugated Earth and instated oppresive authoritarian regimes in the few places where people still live. Gordon Freeman has become a messianic figure amongst the people, and it's his job to fight back against the Combine. They're solid shooters, have a cast of characters you easily grow to love, some really interesting scientific concepts (like Dyson Spheres, or portal technology), and the Portal franchise is a spinoff from this one.

Devil May Cry: You take control of white-haired dudes with big swords who kick demon a** while asskicking music plays in the background. 1 is alright, 2 was a disappointment, 3 is arguably the best one, 4 was good but it clearly shows that they ran out of time during development, and 5 is just as good as 3 (and some people argue it's even better, me included). Many of the characters are named after Divine Comedy characters, but the similarities end there. There's also a controversial "reboot" called DmC Devil May Cry, but that one was "debooted" and now stands alone because it was an outright insult to the legacy and fanbase. The combat wasn't bad, but the story and characters sucked. Overall it's pretty grotesque, tbh.

In one way or another all these franchises have been very important in videogame history. Whether because they brought revolutionary concepts and tech to the industry, or because they have become the de-facto gold standard in how to do things; they're top tier. They might not be for everyone, but the door's wide open for anyone who's interested in the themes or aesthetics or playstyle so they can pick them up and have fun.

favorite? to many lol.

when i had a PS1 & 2 it was final fantasy(several), and guitar hero

Xbox 360/One Left for Dead 1&2, Gears of War (i have all), Farcry 4/5/ND, any and all Lego games, Bioshock 1&2

Switch would be The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.