‘My Favourite Games’ is a regular MossRanking feature which gives us a chance to get to know our fellow Spelunkers a little better. In each edition, we put the spotlight on one member of the community, as they pick three of their most treasured video games ever and give their reasons why. Featured members are allowed to pick whatever games they want... except for Spelunky. In the seventh entry, we go to Kazzy, Twitch global moderator and familiar face to the Spelunky community. Below are her three games... The Binding of Isaac (PC, 2011) Kazzy’s first pick is a game often compared to Spelunky. The Binding of Isaac is a roguelike title which features procedurally generated dungeons and permadeath. Since its release in 2011, the game has undergone several evolutions and iterations. “I learnt everything about the game inside out and inevitably played hundreds of hours of it,” Kazzy says, adding that The Binding of Isaac was also the first Twitch community she properly got involved in and the first game she attempted to speedrun. “It was only natural to progress from vanilla to Wrath of Lamb to Rebirth -- which was a complete remake of the game -- and then Afterbirth.” For Kazzy, one of the more appealing parts of releases like The Binding of Isaac is that runs aren’t particularly long, affording her flexibility. “I like games I can play without needing to commit a lot of time to in one sitting. I like being able to pause pretty much anywhere, and a game short enough that I didn’t mind quitting midway.” She has logged more than 2,000 hours on the base game and a further 900 hours on the Rebirth remake, which was released in 2014. Dofus (Browser, 2004) Browser-based MMORPG Dofus became a huge part of Kazzy’s life for a long while. Although Dofus is more well-known in France than the rest of the world, it hooked Kazzy in, firstly as a casual player and then to the point where she became obsessed. “It is a tactical and turn-based game,” she explains. “It’s unique in the sense that one had the freedom to build one’s character in any way, dress them in any equipment to allow any sort of stats, and play it the way one wanted to.” While in combat, players take in turns to use Action Points and Movement Points. Such is the depth of Dofus that there are numerous different character classes, which led to Kazzy having 22 paying accounts. “I wanted different characters of different builds for different purposes,” she says. “When I was playing it, it had twelve classes with four basic elementals. You could even combine elementals for different combinations. Each had their own strengths and weaknesses. Ideally, one would find other players to do stuff with, but I wanted to be able to provide them with whichever class and element a group needed.” Kazzy ended up being part of a major guild, and she made plenty of good friends as a result. “I was second-in-command of one of the biggest, most prestigious English guilds on my server,” she shares. “We frequently had hang-out sessions with guild members where we’d run around and do silly things together. It made for great times and lots of laughs.” You can check out a couple screenshots of Kazzy's time with The Reapers (her guild) below: "Epiphany and I have been partners in the game since 2010, and we share everything -- accounts, in-game money equipment, houses, everything," Kazzy adds. "During my first visit to the US in 2015, I went to visit him." Don't Starve (PC, 2013) Lastly, we have Don’t Starve, an indie survival game with plenty of roguelike elements. In Don't Starve, the player is thrown into a randomly-generated open world and must survive as long as possible, managing health, sanity, and hunger. Permadeath is also a significant feature -- if your character dies, it’s game over for good. “I love everything about Don’t Starve,” Kazzy comments. “The art, the music, the gameplay. It’s the only game I truly love every aspect of. I love how they’ve spaced out their expansions (Reign of Giants and Shipwrecked), I love all the characters in the game, and I love the difficulty of it.” Kazzy praises the player-created mods for adding extra value to what is already an impressive game. “They’re very easy to install and range from making the HUD neater to adding completely new characters with their own stats to play with in-game,” she says. “I particularly enjoy having new characters and challenges when one has exhausted the native ones.” But Don’t Starve wouldn’t be as good as it is without its implementation of permadeath. Unlike Spelunky and The Binding of Isaac, where runs often last mere minutes and regular resets are expected, Don’t Starve is all about exploration, the gathering of food and resources, and ultimately survival. Games last hours, not minutes. “It has a steep learning curve, and is completely punishing and unforgiving,” Kazzy explains. “But the sense of achievement one gets after surviving a couple of seasons is satisfying. Without permadeath, the game would become monotonous. One becomes more careful in order to progress and discover new areas.” -- Want to be featured? Contact me on the Spelunky Discord. Previous 'My Favourite Games' entries: Konato_K (#6) ShinGraywords (#5) Meowmixmix (#4) MikeIsMyIke (#3) Twiggle (#2) Kinnijup (#1)