I have 1600 hours in Elite Dangerous.

Fallout: New Vegas. You don't need to have played any of the other ones. Obsidian did an amazing job missing some of the stumbling blocks Bethesda usually hits. Its a game you can tear through in a few hours, or spend years getting lost in.

The hardest part is letting go.

Factorio, just don't expect to have a life left...

Stardew Valley

Disco Elysium

Age of empires II, I've been playing since its release 20 years ago and it's aged like a fine wine.

Yeah, definitely depends on who I'm recommending to. If it's someone who's pretty familiar with games, I think it would be Elden Ring. Love the sense of exploration and discovery in that game.

Skyrim.

Halo: Combat Evolved

I still find the odd person that never played it here and there, and yet everyone that tries it after says "Oh my god, how did I never play this game before?" and goes on to play the rest

Inmost. Short platformer/metroivania with a story that will crush your soul. Gameplay is good, art is great, and the story is phenomenal!!!

https://inmostwiki.com/INMOST_Wiki

The Mass Effect Trilogy. If that counts as 3 games, then Mass Effect 3. I just love Multiplayer.

Depends who you're talking to really but I would say Borderlands 2

Super Mario World.

Good variety in enemies and levels, hidden secrets, an evolving world as you progress, simple controls that are easy to understand, but also require a degree of skill to master. It's also a game that's enjoyable for ages 3-100, in my eyes it's one of the most 'perfect' games.

Zelda Ocarina of Time or TOTK. Most if the Zelda games really.

Outer Wilds. Yeah, you've probably all played it, but if you haven't, please do and let the rest of us watch. It is very special.

Hollow knight. It is a challenging game but the gameplay and aesthetic are phenomenal.

NieR It changed me, I resonate deeply with NieR, one of the few games that actually made me emotional

This is a niche game and I'll look like an old fart, but Shining Force (1, 2 , 3, Gaiden) is (are) my all time favorite game(s).

It's gotta be Outer Wilds for me for sure.

That's a surprisingly difficult question. Everyone has different interests, so it's hard to make a catch-all recommendation.

With that being said, I'll go with Chrono Trigger. It's a true classic with interesting characters, a solid enough story (that doesn't outstay its welcome), easily approachable gameplay, and an amazing soundtrack. It easily ranks among my favorite games of all time.

Left 4 Dead 2, preferrably with 3 friends.

Portal: Reloaded

I think it's the single best puzzle game ever created and the fact that it's a free Portal 2 mod is astounding.

Garry's mod. The content is community created and has an amazing amount of fun/ educational potential

Dark souls obviously

Dragon Age: Origins. BioWare has the talent to fill your heart with lovely characters and their stories until it overflows with joy and care, only to stab a knife into it to make you bleed. Beautifully painful. :)

Mass Effect Legendary Edition, quickly became my favorite game of all time.

it would be Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets for PC