Video games expert shares his five top games of all time – do you agree?

There are some video games that transcend the test of time and really stick with players for a number of reasons.

It could be the first game they remember playing, a game that really got them into playing video games more, a game with friends that created funny and iconic moments to be talked about for years to come, a game with a powerful story that really stays with them, the list goes on.

George Osborn is the creator of Video Games Industry Memo and the managing director of Half-Space Consulting with 15 years' experience in the industry having also studied at the University of Cambridge.

In his own words to Indy100 , Osborn explains what his top five games of all time are and why he holds them in such high regard.

5. Mass Effect 2

"I think it's one of the few video games that has the feel of both an unbelievably amazing choice-based game to play and also the prestige of a HBO boxset series.

"It's got that sense of episodic structure to it which is so good.

"I generally love the Mass Effect series but this is my absolute favourite."

4. GoldenEye 007

"It's one of the games I grew up with, it's a game I was possibly playing a little bit too early, but it's very much reminiscent of me playing video games with my brothers together.

"It helped me really establish that sense of the social side of video games, for me that was the starting point for it."

3. Slay the Spire

"It's this unbelievably brilliant rogue-like deck builder and it's a game I bought when a mate got me a voucher because I'd lent him my 3DS during lockdown so he could play Majora's Mask again so he bought me a voucher.

"I bought this on a whim because someone had said it was quite good and I think I've got about 400 hours into it now.

"Considering each run-through is about 45 minutes, that gives you a sense of you always come back for more."

2. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

"I love the Zelda series generally, I've loved Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild but this is the first game in the series I really got into.

" Majora's Mask was probably the more interesting game but Ocarina of Time was this enormous, epic adventure which blew my mind as a kid."

1. Football Manager

"It's the series I have played most in my life, it's also probably the game that's most responsible for me being where I am now because I established a bit of a reputation as someone who knew a bit about Football Manager so I managed to pick up work in the games industry doing reviews and various pieces around it.

"Off the back of that, I was able to get loads of other work in my career so that was great.

"But as someone who is an obsessive football fan, as someone who really likes the tactical side of the game, and as someone who is listening to six football podcasts on rotation, Football Manager plays into my dream of being in that sport and that world in probably the only way I would ever hope to be in it.

"I wasn't good enough to play professional football, being a football manager is a lot of fun - despite the fact that actually when I think about it, I've spent most of the last 20 years losing in that game.

"It is what it is."

Osborn's Video Games Industry Memo is sent out every Thursday and he's writing his debut non-fiction book called Power Play , a look at how video games are changing the world.

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.