1998 was so sick. Just a few more:

• Metal Gear Solid
• Resident Evil 2
• Turok 2
• Thief: The Dark Project
• Banjo-Kazooie
• Goldeneye 007
• Tomb Raider III

The list goes on and on, I still play games from that year today.

Honestly I genuinely think that 2017 might be the best year of gaming, ever. Breath of the wild, nier automata, mario odyssey, fortnite, cuphead, horizon zero dawn, hellblade: senua’s sacrifice, destiny 2, xenoblade chronicles 2, prey, sonic mania, injustice 2, divinity original sin 2, nioh, splatoon 2, hollow knight, middle earth: shadow of war, night in the woods, pubg, pyre, yakuzas 0 and kiwami, even tekken 7’s console release and persona 5’s western release if you want to count those. And that’s not mentioning the smaller indie games that were acclaimed within their circles like Absolver or the expansions for games that were critically acclaimed like Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire or Final Fantasy: Stormblood. Like, '98 is legendary for a reason but I think that as far as just, number of incredible games released we’ve never seen a year like 2017.

My favorite was 1997, I only owned a PS1 at the time, and here’s some really good games that was released that year:

• Gran Turismo
• Final Fantasy 7
• Castlevania Symphony of the Night
• Crash Bandicoot 2
• Final Fantasy Tactics
• Parappa the Rapper
• Vandal Hearts
• Mega Man X4
• Breath of Fire 3
• Mega Man Legends
• MDK
• Oddworld Abe’s Oddysse
• Tomb Raider II
• Grand Theft Auto
• Klonoa
• MK Mythologies Sub Zero

Some other non PS1, but notable games that came out that year:

• Diablo
• Mario Kart 64
• Turok
• Goldeneye 007
• Star Fox 64
• Fallout
• Panzer General II
• Age of Empires
• Mortal Kombat 4

1998 was also very good

It’s harder and harder to get a year that can produce a large number of hits, especially since AAA has become so expensive and time consuming. Even great indies take longer than usual now. The explosions of hits released between late 2022 and this year, is probably caused by Covid delaying multiple projects.

With more game devs consolidation, and Embracer stumbling, I’m not too sure about the near future.

I mean… 2023 is shaping up to be pretty dope so far. FF16, Pikmin 4, Diablo IV, Armored Core (assuming it’s good), Tears of the Kingdom…

2023 -Street Fighter 6 -being able to play Hunt: Showdown on Linux -Cyberpunk '77: Phantom Liberty -Guild Wars 2: Secrets of the Obscure -BattleBit -games I haven’t played yet, but looking forward: Zelda Totk(?)

2014 the year Titanfall came out, it was basically everything I wanted in FPS. I could wall run, shoot and then hop in my giant robot and rain hellfire down with a 40MM or hoop out and let it follow while I jump onto the enemies Titan, shoot it with my machine gun and then plant satchel charges. When the pilot hops out to try and kill me jump off set off satchel charges killing the Titan and its pilot.

I know I’m basic.

My top 3 games of all time:

• Final Fantasy IX
• Baldur’s Gate II
• Diablo II

All in 2000. Oof. I didn’t even realise this until you asked OP. What a time to be 12 that was.

This is like arguing which cast of SNL was best. It’s more about you & what age you where at the time, then the games themselves.