Titanfall 2

Titanfall 2 fixed the main shortcoming of the first game by adding a full single-player campaign, which, despite its modest length, went down as one of the best-rated story shooters of the generation. The campaign follows foot soldier Jack Cooper, who unexpectedly becomes the pilot of a Titan named BT-7274 after his mentor's death, and their gradually built relationship between human and artificial intelligence gives an otherwise action-focused game unexpected emotional depth. Communication with BT happens through simple dialogue choices and the handing over of weapon modules, so within a few hours the war machine becomes a genuine character rather than just a walking vehicle.

The campaign's level design excels in creative puzzles involving time manipulation via a device that jumps between the past and present of the same location, repeatedly praised by critics as one of the most inventive game ideas of the year. Just as inventive are missions built around moving factory-line modules or a controlled fall from a great height, and the game practically never reuses an idea twice, preferring to set it aside after a single mission. The core of the controls remains the pilot's movement — wall-running, sliding, and double jumps keep the pace so high that the player rarely touches the ground for more than a moment.

The multiplayer retained the core parkour movement and infantry-versus-Titan combat of the first game but enriched it with six distinct Titan classes with their own abilities and loadouts, a more elaborate pilot equipment system, and new game modes. Respawn Entertainment unfortunately released the game in the same week as Battlefield 1 and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, which significantly damaged its sales despite excellent reviews, and it became one of the most-cited cases of poor marketing timing in the games industry. Over the years, thanks to word of mouth, Titanfall 2 built a strong cult following and is now retrospectively considered one of the best-designed shooters of the entire console generation.