Point-and-Click Adventure Games
A classic genre that has influenced a lot of gaming, as early narrative-driven games, and which still pops up from time to time in modern days even after its heyday in the nineties. Following the purely text-based adventure games, point-and-clicks allow the player to interface with the world simply by clicking to move or use a menu of options - "look at", "use", "combine", etc. The genre (especially the older offerings) is known for its frequently odd and unintuitive puzzles, and punishing difficulty. While modern games usually do a lot more to make the game accessible, in these older games it's often incredibly easy to accidentally softlock yourself out of being able to complete the game at all, which you won't realize until you reach the end, often without knowing what you even did wrong. Despite this, there's a lot to love about these games, but it's a good idea to save often and maybe have a walkthrough on hand. It's also worth noting that you're likely to encounter some very 90s sensibilities.
Devil Came Through Here series
The Cat Lady, Downfall, and Lorelai. An atmospheric trilogy of voice acted point-and-click horror games set in the same universe, mostly connected by the existence of the "Queen of Maggots". Contains mature and potentially triggering themes, which are also touched on in this description. The characters are the highlight, with the horror mostly serving to develop them.The Cat Lady: Susan Ashworth, the protagonist of this game, is a unique protagonist and one of my favorites. You don't see a lot of middle aged women with depression as main characters. The premise of the game is that the titular cat lady commits suicide, only to be roped into working for the Queen of Maggot, brought back to life, granted immortality, and made to hunt five "parasites" on Earth. I don't want to say much more, but will say it's my favorite of the series, and I love the writing, Susan, and her eventual friendship with secondary character Mitzi.
Downfall: Technically there's the original, which I'm less familiar with, and then a 2016 remake. Joe brings his wife Ivy to a motel in an attempt to salvage their rocky marriage, only for Ivy to disappear. More surreal and symbolic than the first game, it also has a darker tone and subjects.
Lorelai: Lorelai is a young woman living in a troubled household, with her alcoholic mother, abusive step-father, and baby sister. Her new job gives her hope for being able to take her sister and start a new life, only for tragedy to strike and take away what little she has. She finds herself in a surreal afterlife she must escape, with the "help" (?) of the Queen of Maggots.
Sam & Max
Sam & Max Hit the Road - Two 'freelance police' investigate the case of a bigfoot gone missing from the circus by travelling across America and visiting various quirky roadside attractions. A fun, silly game with a lot to love, but I admit I primarily just really love Sam and Max and their dynamic. What better deuteragonist is there than a small little freak of a rabbit-thing who loves violence? Also, one of the first video games to feature fully voiced protagonists.
Sam & Max Save the World - A newer Sam & Max game made by Telltale before they became (in)famous. Doesn't have the nice pixel art style, but is still a funny and charming game.
2064
2064: Read Only Memories - A journalist-turned-detective teams up with Turing, the first sentient AI, to solve the mystery of the player character's friend - and Turing's creator - having been kidnapped. I like the worldbuilding, the characters and character design, and the OST.
Gabriel Knight
Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Father - A more serious take on the genre, struggling horror author and bookstore owner Gabriel Knight is haunted by nightmares which compel him to investigate the so-called "Voodoo murders" happening in his native New Orleans. The game features voice talent from Tim Curry as the titular character, along with Leah Remini, Mark Hamill, and wonderful narration by Virginia Capers. Gabriel himself is a bit of a scumbag misogynist in ways that are often played off as being more of a charming scoundrel character trait over being a terrible person harassing people - which is interesting considering the game is written by a woman. It's also about as racially sensitive as you'd expect from this plot being written in the 90s.
Chzo Mythos
5 Days a Stranger, 7 Days a Skeptic, Trilby's Notes, and 6 Days a Sacrifice. The first story is about a gentleman detective attempting to burgle a manor, only to become trapped and learns about the residence's dark history. What's particularly interesting to me is the amount of space and time covered, with the second game taking place hundreds of years later and in outer space. The third game technically isn't a point-and-click, but instead has a text-parser, like an old school text-based adventure, but with graphics. It's an amateur-made game (by the Zero Punctuation guy) and it shows, from the graphics to some of the gameplay design, and as a series that started in 2003 there are certainly some parts that didn't age too wonderfully, it's ultimately a series I found surprisingly engaging. The games are free as well.
Standalones
Day of the Tentacle - Three friends travel through time to solve puzzles in an attempt to stop an evil, disembodied purple tentacle from taking over the world. Tis a bit silly. It's a game that's remained beloved over the years, and it has a remastered version which also allows you to not only switch between the updated and original versions, but lets you mix and match - new audio with original art, etc.
Grim Fandango - You play as Manny Calavera, travel agent at the Department of Death trying to sell enough luxury travel packages to the recently deceased to earn his way out of limbo. A beautiful noir, incredibly funny but without the same silly atmosphere as a lot of others in the genre, Grim Fandango was one of the last and greatest of golden age of adventure games. Wonderful atmosphere, excellent soundtrack, great dialogue, and one of my favorite games in general.
Norco -
Shardlight -
Toonstruck - A sort of reverse Roger Rabbit, in which the main character Drew Blanc - an animator transported to a cartoon world, played by Christopher Lloyd - is a live action FMV character in an otherwise hand-drawn game. It's silly and fun with excellent animation, characters, and puzzles. A bit more adult-oriented than you might possibly expect (things get...a little weird!). It unfortunately flopped when it was released, but I am delighted that it exists.