Monolith
Hollow Knight
UnderRail
Metro Series
Caves of Qud

No Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged Exemplar??

How do your recommendations - without explanation - mean anything to anyone else?

If someone lists 4 of your favorite games plus a game that you don't know, chances are it's worth checking out. If someone mentions games that you've entirely dismissed as looking very clearly very bad, it may lead you to reconsider it with a fresh look. If someone mentions a game you haven't even heard of, or a game you hadn't noticed was on gog, or...

Whatevr. Many people do share such lists and obviously find an interest in checking others' lists, in one form or the other. Heck, people check top 100 movies or songs or whatever even when they don't feature pages long analysis.

Without actually being them, no one really knows. But, name dropping can be a good (and useful) thing for those willing to do some research (especially when it's a name they have never heard of before, or only in passing) to find out more about the game or series behind some of the names that are offered. Granted, not everyone is willing to do much (if any) legwork to find things out, and possibly be introduced to a gem they may have missed or may have passed them by, but it should not be dismissed for those that are willing...

These are some of my absolute favorite games, thus the recommendations. There are more, but these are the ones that popped into my mind now.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Immersive-sim RPG with great story, and fun quests/activities. Not for everyone, so one might want to watch a few videos before diving in.

Commandos series
Stealth/real time tactics. Not heavy on the story side, however the gameplay more than makes up for it.

Return of the Obra Dinn
Modern adventure game with old-school graphics. It's a deduction game, so if one is into detective gameplay, this may very well be down one's alley.

Hitman series
Sandbox stealth games. Earlier titles can be janky, but the series gets more polished with each entry. You can go for Suit Only/Silent Assassin for increased difficulty, which makes them quite fun, if you're into sneaky stealth.

Heroes of Might and Magic III
Turn based strategy/tactics. This game is the definition of replayability. I had spent many hours generating random maps, or playing the ones included in the game, either playing them against the AI or friends in hotseat. I only played the campaign a couple/few years after picking it up (this was 20 years ago). At some point, I was solely playing this game for a whole year. I still haven't played the expansions, though.

Why would I ignore it when there are good posts to read, like #22.

Betrayal at Krondor: Classic RPG, with great atmosphere, the feeling of playing a book and interesting gameplay elements. Do need to be able to put up with the limitations and design practices of the period, however.
Gothic series: "Golden age" RPG, with great atmosphere and a world you feel you're really living in. Do need to be able to put up with poor combat controls and some other "eurojank" elements though.
King's Bounty: The Legend: Pure PvE TBS with RPG elements, without the annoyances of other games from the genre, just pulling you from turn to turn, and also with graphics that can be considered art. Light on the story though.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic series: Late "golden age" RPG, making proper use of the Star Wars universe and featuring memorable characters. Pity about that rushed ending of the second.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines: Late "golden age" RPG, with outstanding atmosphere, memorable characters and a great amount of freedom. Pity about the bugs and missing content, referring to the game itself here.

1. Mafia (series). The first two games are brilliant love letters to classic gangster stories.
2. Brothers in Arms (series). Great WWII tactical FPS series. The closest you will get to playing Band of Brothers.
3. Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen (game). Mix D&D party management with Shadow of the Colossus action. IMHO a true ARPG... but don't expect a story-centric experience.
4. Blackguards (series). The games that taught me to love turn-based, strategic combat RPGs.
5. Call of Juarez (series). A series that IMHO could have rivaled Red Dead by now if Techland had kept at it instead of going all in with zombies. Bound in Blood and Gunslinger are great experiences.

Almost made the list...

1. Sleeping Dogs (game). GTA, Hong Kong, kung fu!
2. Gothic (series). Brilliant. Why isn't this on the main list!?
3. Sea Dogs (series). Pirate RPG! Aaaargh!

Gabriel Knight
Blackwell
Quest For Glory
Atlantis
Journeyman project

La-Mulana
Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove
Volgarr the Viking
Ion Fury
Odallus: The Dark Call

1. Bioshock 1-2
2. Divinity Original Sin
3. Pillars of Eternity
4. Curse of the Dead Gods
5. Hotline Miami

Night in the Woods
Oxenfree
What Remains of Edith Finch
Virginia
Hollow Knight