Gaming is such a marvellous hobby isn’t it? The fact I can plonk myself down on my sofa and use the variety of dusty (though expensive) black boxes plugged in beneath the TV, and be whisked off to any number of incredible locations within moments. All tastes are catered for, from a jaw-dropping and thrilling fantasy adventure all the way through to filling the shoes of a real world job; there is a game for every occasion and a story for every mood.
Today I’m going to talk about five games that feel like they could have been made for me, which I’ve played for countless hours and would recommend to anyone, as well as the fantasy of mine they’ve fulfilled.
Playing as a summon – Final Fantasy XVI
My very first Final Fantasy was X on the PlayStation 2, and while I was enjoying the turn-based combat and story, what really hooked me was Yuna’s abilities as a Summoner. Attaining eight vastly different Aeons through the game kept me absolutely hooked, with Yuna never leaving my party as I leaned on her ability throughout the playthrough.
Fast forward to 2023 when Final Fantasy XVI released, and witness the sheer scale of the Eikon (XVI’s name for summons) fights packed within it. Playing as Clive, the Dominant (summoner) of Ifrit; during key moments through the story he transforms into what I believe to be the best rendition of Ifrit that the Final Fantasy games have ever had. The combat may be very Devil May Cry button-mash heavy at times, but this works to heighten the dramatic scale of the epic combat unfolding before our eyes.
Not only is Clive one of my favourite Final Fantasy protagonists ever (voiced by Ben Starr, my favourite Ben Starr ever), but his tendency to lash out in anger and unleash his power as Ifrit without hesitation makes the twists and turns through XVI’s story such a joy to play. Ever since Final Fantasy X I’ve wanted a game that really embraced the possibility of playing as one of the franchise’ iconic summons, and now thanks to XVI that fantasy has well and truly been delivered.
Attending Hogwarts School – Hogwarts Legacy
My first session on Hogwarts Legacy delivered every childhood fantasy I’d ever had about the Harry Potter franchise. I vividly remember telling my mother the following day how giddy I, an at the time 32 year old man, felt at being instructed to attend a Charms class followed by Defence Against the Dark Arts. The absolute thrill of being sorted into Slytherin and sent off to lessons, thrashing my fellow students in class contests, and being able to fully explore Hogwarts castle; I can barely express it in words.
I have played four separate playthroughs of Hogwarts Legacy since release, one as a student of each House, and even now nearly 200 hours later I still find things in the castle and surrounding areas to make me smile. From role-playing as a one man army against poachers, setting up a shop in Hogsmeade to running a shelter for endangered magical creatures; the list of possibilities in this tremendous game feels never ending. Truly a lifelong fantasy fulfilled which I can return to as often as I like.
I named Hogwarts Legacy my favourite game of 2023, and it currently is among those likely to be my favourite of the entire generation, but that’s a conversation for another time.
Cruising a beautiful open world – Forza Horizon 5
Another contender for my favourite game of the generation, the sole reason I have an Xbox Series X: Forza Horizon 5, the best open world racing game I’ve ever played. With close to 500 hours of play time clocked up since it released in 2021, I have participated in and won 1500 races! Not only that, I have also spent countless hours exploring the open world, completing weekly Forzathon challenges, and enjoying the 1000 car collection I have accumulated over the last four years.
My favourite aspect of open world games is the freedom to explore them in a variety of ways. While I do not disagree with the criticism often directed at Forza Horizon 5 that its world feels pretty but empty, that doesn’t change the fact that the care and attention afforded to the design and handling of its cars makes them continuously fun to throw around Mexico’s dirt tracks, country roads and highway. As I said above, this is the best open world racing game, and therefore delivers on my basic wish to drive fun cars in a gorgeous setting.
I confess I’m not yet as enthusiastic about what we have seen of the upcoming Forza Horizon 6, set in Japan, but regardless it will definitely be a day one purchase for me.
Experiencing folklore tales – South of Midnight
From a very young age I’ve always loved folklore stories; the weirder the better! There was a game on PlayStation 3 called Folklore that I wanted to love but kept getting stuck on, which I regrettably traded in so haven’t played since. Fortuitously for me a fresh new alternative arrived in 2025 that I eventually named my favourite game of the year: South of Midnight.
While I knew absolutely nothing about any of the existing tales featured during South of Midnight, I still found myself becoming immediately, completely invested in them, all the way through to their sometimes satisfying, sometimes tragic endings. Exploring tightly designed linear levels allows the development team at Compulsion Games more narrative freedom than they’d have in a more open world setting. This shines brightest in the protagonist, Hazel, interactions with Catfish, a giant colourful fish who guides her towards objectives with his comforting deep southern drawl, traversing truly gorgeous environments that I kept stopping to look at throughout my playthrough.
I hope Compulsion Games continue to develop titles with this aesthetic, as I’m sure there are so many largely unheard of folklore tales which deserve to be told through the immersive medium of video games.
Managing my own bus company – Bus Simulator 21
Judge me all you like, but one of my favourite games to zone out and unwind with of recent years is Bus Simulator 21. I scored it highly when I reviewed it in 2023, and racked up dozens of hours when I became truly and hopelessly addicted to managing my own bus company. That play time now exceeds 100 hours, and I think a significant reason for this is the seemingly unintentional wackiness of the world Bus Simulator is set in.
Taking charge of a small bus company in a town whose council is hell-bent on attracting tourists to grow their economy, you are tasked with planning bus routes according to passenger demand you discover as you play. You are also in charge of buying and customising buses to cover your planned routes.
Money is incredibly scarce early on, with even slight mistakes such as hitting a pothole too quickly, or mounting the curb and mowing down your would-be passengers, setting the company back valuable time and cash. However, if you grit your teeth and get through the early days, the rewards eventually turn lucrative. Starting off earning around 10k per in game pay day (they vary in frequency depending on several factors), which is enough to buy maybe 10% of a bus; eventually when your business is firing on all cylinders you can make millions in a single day. That’s enough to run over 99% of people trying to use your buses, and still somehow turn a profit!
I will extol the virtues of Bus Simulator 21 forever and always, as it took a slovenly scrub like me off the street, handed me the keys to my first bus, and gave me the tools to turn it into an empire. If the Bus Simulator world featured a Forbes rich list, I would definitely be the Elon Musk equivalent, with all the money, but somehow less of the charisma.
That’ll do it for my list! What video games have allowed you to live out your fantasies, and do you agree with any from this list? Let me know in the comments, and I’ll be back again soon with my wish list of five game fantasies as yet unfulfilled, so will catch you then. Thanks for reading!
Written and edited by Alexx.
There’s No Safety in Silence.