Take Total War: Rome 2 and put in significantly better strategy mechanics but place it in a less appealing, more bleak, and more difficult setting.

If you can modify the game to relax its difficulty to a more manageable degree, Star Ruler 2 has a lot of good ideas to bring to the space 4X/RTS genre.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is easily among the finest role-playing games ever made and likely among the finest games of any genre ever made.

Cities: Skylines is the new benchmark in city building and city simulation games. This is the game to get if you are at all interested in the genre.

Pillars of Eternity is the current pinnacle of story-telling in RPGs with a great combat system and a classic style.

One of the best story-based RPGs in years.

One of the best tower defense games around complimented by incredibly engaging RPG elements at a bargain price.

An excellent combat-focused RPG that is light on story and characters but makes up for it with exceptional melee combat.

A fantastic RPG that punches well above its weight and is proud of its heritage and purpose.

The best action game to come out in years.