25 essential video games every gamer should know

24. Katamari Damacy

Katamari Damacy is one of the strangest games on this list, but it’s easily one of the most joyful and fun ones as well. It was originally released on the PlayStation 2 by Namco and is part of the permanent collection in the New York Museum of Modern Art.

Players control a very tiny Prince of the Cosmos with the dual joysticks as they roll up larger and larger objects in the environment as he tries to recreate stars that his father, The King of the Cosmos, destroys after a night of binge-drinking. (Yes, really.)

The game starts out inside a house, having the Prince roll up small trinkets like pieces of gum and dice, and each level following expands the environment from a neighborhood to a city to the world. The goal is to get the Katamari up to a certain size before time runs out. There are several obstacles players have to avoid or overcome, such as moving objects that will knock items off the Katamari if the Katamari is not big enough or areas of the map that are only accessible to Katamari of a certain size.

Discovering all the different items you can roll up is half the fun, especially when collecting people and animals, who wiggle adorably in panic as they’re stuck to the Katamari. Unique gameplay paired with a delightful script and catchy songs easily make this game a must-play for gamers.