Patient Gamers

Here are a few that really surprised me with how good they were (tried to grab different genres from my recently played list):

• Yakuza 0 - imo, the mix of serious story and silly side content worked fantastically
• Ys 1 - one of my favorites of all time; the combat system really made the game feel urgent and it flowed really well; Ys Origin is close and more modern
• Black Mesa - good enough graphics, great pacing (except Interloper, that dragged), high quality gameplay; I didn't expect much from a fan-made recreation
• The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - dungeons were a ton of fun, and side content was enjoyable as well; I originally played on GBA, and replayed on SNES emulator
• INSIDE - clever puzzles, but the real kicker imo was the feeling at the end
• Slay the Spire - one of the few "rogue likes" that I actually ended up playing through; I finished a run with each main character at least once, and I enjoyed it thoroughly
• GTA IV - my favorite GTA, from the compelling story, interesting MC, and relatively realistic feel of driving, it narrowly beats GTA SA for me; V was a disappointment (hated the story and the characters), III is just too dated (though i enjoyed it at the time), and Vice City didn't feel good to play imo

And some that are probably less well known:

• Recettear - interesting mix of dungeon diving and store management
• Stacking - you play as Russian stacking dolls, and the game doesn't overstay its welcome
• Abzû - super relaxing, and the story was surprisingly emotionally impactful