I fully admit there’s a lot of games out there I’ve never played, and I'd like to study more, so I’m wondering what y’all’s favorites are and why. I don’t care what genre the system’s game is in, even something like a fast paced card game would be interesting. I do have a few wants:

• It has to be real-time (pretty implicit in “action” but worth saying). A hybrid like Transistor is interesting to study too.
• Should theoretically (even if the game doesn’t take advantage) support both combat vs monsters and vs other players.
• It should have a high skill cap: Quick/easy to be barely passable, hard/lots of practice to be great.
• It should not overload you with multitasking or micromanagement. Many WoW/clones throw tons of of information at you. GW1 was bad too.
• There should be twists and turns, surprise comebacks, edge of your seat finishes.
• Fairly difficult and punishing is okay (e.g. Dark Souls).
• I like pickable and mix and match skills, skills with synergy and not, skills that counter other and not, etc.
• I'd like something that could be (even if the game doesn’t take advantage) very “physical” (weighty and kinetic).
• It shouldn't be too twitchy (e.g. arena shooter) but a bit twitch is okay (e.g. Dark Souls).