Best Video Games of All Time The Definitive 50 Game Ranked List

What makes a video game the greatest of all time? Critics look at Metacritic scores. Players look at hours logged. Historians look at cultural impact and industry influence. The greatest games the ones that belong on every definitive list pass every test simultaneously.

This guide ranks the 50 best video games ever made, drawing on Metacritic’s all-time scoring data, community ranking aggregates from GameRanks and Ranki, critical consensus from outlets including IGN, GameSpot, Eurogamer, and Polygon, and cultural staying power measured across decades of discussion, replay, and influence on games that came after.

How We Built This List: The Ranking Criteria

Every game on this list was evaluated against four criteria, weighted equally:

1. Critical Score Metacritic Metascore and aggregate critical consensus across major publications. Games with fewer than 95 Metascore were only included if they dominated every other criterion.

2. Cultural Impact How much did this game change gaming? Did it establish genres, redefine mechanics, or inspire an entire generation of developers?

3. Player Legacy Does the game hold up today? Is it still played, discussed, speedrun, and modded years after release?

4. Genre Representation Every major genre deserves representation. The list deliberately spans platformers, RPGs, shooters, open-world games, horror, sports, strategy, and indie titles to reflect the full breadth of what makes gaming exceptional.

The 50 Best Video Games of All Time, Ranked

1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)

Platform: Nintendo 64 | Metacritic: 99 | Developer: Nintendo EAD

The highest-scored game in Metacritic history. When a game scores 99 across dozens of professional reviews and holds that distinction for 28 consecutive years, the conversation ends. Ocarina of Time did not just define 3D action-adventure it invented the template that virtually every third-person action game released since then has followed in some form.

Z-targeting combat. Environmental storytelling. Puzzle-locked dungeons. Time travel as a narrative mechanic. The dual timeline structure that lets Link experience both childhood and adulthood. Ocarina of Time introduced all of these elements to 3D gaming simultaneously and executed all of them at a level that contemporaries could not touch.

The game holds the top spot not only because of its score but because of what it taught the industry. It is the most-referenced game in game design literature and the most commonly cited influence by professional game developers when asked what shaped their careers.

2. Grand Theft Auto IV (2008)

Platform: PS3, Xbox 360 | Metacritic: 98 | Developer: Rockstar North

Both the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of GTA IV earned a 98 Metascore the highest score for a game with the review volume to make it statistically meaningful. Niko Belic’s story of immigration, disillusionment, and survival in the fictional Liberty City remains one of the most mature, thoughtful, and emotionally intelligent narratives in gaming history.

GTA IV stripped out the bombastic cartoon excess of its PS2 predecessors in favor of a grittier, more cinematic tone. The result was divisive at launch among fans expecting more of the same, but universally recognized by critics as a masterpiece of interactive storytelling. Liberty City itself modeled on post-9/11 New York remains one of the most carefully crafted open worlds ever built.

3. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 (2000)

Platform: PlayStation | Metacritic: 98 | Developer: Neversoft

The second highest-scored game in Metacritic history alongside GTA IV. THPS2 perfected the formula introduced in the original and delivered a skateboarding experience so satisfying, so perfectly tuned, and so endlessly replayable that it remains a gold standard for arcade sports games a quarter century later.

The soundtrack alone featuring Rage Against the Machine, Dead Kennedys, and Naughty by Nature helped define the cultural identity of an entire generation of gamers. The create-a-skater, career mode structure, and secret character unlocks gave THPS2 a depth that kept players engaged for hundreds of hours.

4. Grand Theft Auto V (2013)

Platform: Multi | Metacritic: 97 | Developer: Rockstar North

The best-selling game in history that isn’t Minecraft or Tetris. GTA V’s three-protagonist structure, its sprawling Los Santos open world, and its unparalleled wealth of activities created a sandbox that defined the 2010s generation of open-world gaming. The addition of GTA Online which continues to receive updates in 2026 extended its commercial relevance for over a decade.

GTA V is also the most profitable entertainment product in history, having generated over $8 billion in revenue since its 2013 launch. For players who want to explore how the next chapter measures up, our deep dive into the GTA 6 map compared to GTA 5 explores exactly what Rockstar is building toward.

5. Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018)

Platform: PS4, Xbox One, PC | Metacritic: 97 | Developer: Rockstar Games

The greatest story ever told in a video game. Arthur Morgan’s journey through the dying days of the American frontier is a meditation on loyalty, mortality, and the impossibility of escaping your past that operates at a literary level no other game has matched. The world of RDR2 the hunting, the fishing, the campfire conversations, the beard growth, the wanted system, the NPCs with daily routines creates the most immersive simulation of a historical environment ever achieved in interactive entertainment.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is also one of the finest arguments for video games as serious art: a work that is simultaneously fun to play, beautiful to look at, emotionally devastating, and technically astounding. It remains one of the highest community-ranked games of all time across aggregators.

6. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017)

Platform: Nintendo Switch, Wii U | Metacritic: 97 | Developer: Nintendo EPD

The game that reinvented open-world design. Breath of the Wild discarded 30 years of Zelda conventions and rebuilt the series from the ground up around a single question: what if the player could go anywhere and do anything from the first moment? The answer was a game so liberating, so overflowing with discovery, and so respectful of player agency that it prompted virtually every major open-world release in the five years following it to acknowledge its influence.

The physics engine which allows nearly any material interaction imaginable and the cooking system, climbing mechanics, and environmental puzzle design made Hyrule feel genuinely alive in a way open worlds had never achieved before.

7. Super Mario Galaxy (2007)

Platform: Wii | Metacritic: 97 | Developer: Nintendo EAD Tokyo

The most inventive use of gravity in gaming history. Mario Galaxy turned the platformer inside out by making the laws of physics themselves the primary mechanic planets, gravitational fields, and orbital movement became puzzle elements in a game so creative that each of its 40+ galaxies felt like a standalone invention. The orchestral soundtrack, the co-op Luma mode, and the sheer variety of gameplay concepts packed into a single title made Galaxy one of Nintendo’s finest achievements.

8. Elden Ring (2022)

Platform: Multi | Metacritic: 96 | Developer: FromSoftware

The most important game released since 2017. Elden Ring took FromSoftware’s Soulsborne formula methodical combat, cryptic storytelling, punishing difficulty and translated it into an open-world framework co-designed with George R.R. Martin, whose worldbuilding gave the Lands Between a mythological depth that felt genuinely literary.

The result was a game that conquered every demographic simultaneously: hardcore From fans loved the challenge escalation, open-world explorers loved the sheer scale of secrets to discover, and newcomers who had bounced off Dark Souls found the open-world structure gave them breathing room to improve at their own pace. Elden Ring remains the modern standard for open-world design and combat depth.

For players building the optimal character in this masterpiece, our guide to the best Elden Ring weapons for every build covers the entire arsenal in detail.

9. The Last of Us (2013)

Platform: PS3 | Metacritic: 95 | Developer: Naughty Dog

The game that proved interactive narrative could achieve emotional depths previously reserved for the greatest novels and films. Joel and Ellie’s journey through a post-fungal-apocalypse America is a masterclass in character writing, environmental storytelling, and the moral complexity of survival. Naughty Dog’s performances, motion capture, and writing elevated The Last of Us to a cultural artifact that transcended the medium validated by its eventual adaptation into HBO’s acclaimed television series.

The gameplay tense, resource-scarce, and deeply hostile perfectly complemented the emotional tone of the story. You never felt safe. You never felt comfortable. And that discomfort made every moment of human connection between Joel and Ellie hit exponentially harder.

10. Baldur’s Gate 3 (2023)

Platform: PC, PS5 | Metacritic: 96 | Developer: Larian Studios

The most ambitious RPG ever made. Baldur’s Gate 3 took the Dungeons & Dragons 5e ruleset and built a game of such overwhelming scope, reactivity, and role-playing depth that it reset expectations for what a CRPG could be. Every choice matters. Every character is written at a AAA blockbuster level. The multiplayer co-op, the hundreds of hours of content across six acts, and the sheer number of ways to approach every situation made BG3 the most discussed game of 2023 and a runaway Game of the Year winner.

Larian Studios also achieved something extremely rare: a game that both hardcore tabletop RPG veterans and genre newcomers could genuinely fall in love with simultaneously.

For a broader look at the greatest role-playing games across every era, our guide to the top 25 RPGs you must play at least once is essential reading for every fan of the genre.

11. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015)

Platform: Multi | Metacritic: 92 | Developer: CD Projekt Red

The game that set the gold standard for side quests in open-world RPGs. The Witcher 3’s open world is not just large it is dense with meaningful content, from the Bloody Baron quest (one of the finest pieces of interactive writing ever conceived) to the Gwent card game that spawned its own standalone title. CD Projekt Red’s achievement was building an open world where nothing felt like filler every contract, every point of interest, every conversation revealed something worth knowing about the world of the game.

Geralt of Rivia’s story across the main campaign, Hearts of Stone, and Blood and Wine constitutes over 100 hours of content, all of which maintains the quality bar established in the opening hours. Few games have managed that.

12. Half-Life 2 (2004)

Platform: PC | Metacritic: 96 | Developer: Valve

The game that proved physics could be a storytelling tool. Half-Life 2’s Gravity Gun was not just a weapon it was a design philosophy: the world should be interactive, environmental puzzles should feel logical rather than arbitrary, and the player should always feel agency over the world around them. The City 17 setting, the resistance narrative, and the silent protagonist Gordon Freeman became iconic elements of gaming culture.

Half-Life 2 also launched Steam, which became the dominant PC gaming distribution platform and fundamentally transformed how games are sold and played. Its technical and commercial legacy is as significant as its creative one.

13. Super Mario 64 (1996)

Platform: Nintendo 64 | Metacritic: 94 | Developer: Nintendo EAD

The game that invented 3D platforming. Super Mario 64 defined the vocabulary of three-dimensional movement the triple jump, the wall kick, the long jump, the backflip that platformers still use today. Peach’s Castle as a central hub, the star-collection structure, and the sheer freedom of movement in every world made Mario 64 a revelation that players in 1996 had simply never experienced before.

The camera system was imperfect. Some level design choices look dated. None of that matters: Mario 64 is where 3D gaming began, and it deserves its canonical place in every all-time list.

14. Metroid Prime (2002)

Platform: GameCube | Metacritic: 97 | Developer: Retro Studios

The most impressive genre transition in gaming history. Taking a beloved 2D platformer series and rebuilding it as a first-person exploration game was a risk that almost ended the Metroid franchise. Instead, it created one of the definitive experiences of the GameCube generation a game of extraordinary atmospheric density, environmental storytelling, and combat precision that remained unmatched for years. For a broader look at the best games from Nintendo’s purple box era, our guide to the best GameCube games of all time covers everything the console had to offer.

15. God of War (2018)

Platform: PS4 | Metacritic: 94 | Developer: Santa Monica Studio

The most confident reinvention of an existing franchise in gaming history. Taking Kratos from the hack-and-slash excess of the Greek mythology trilogy and reimagining him as a complex, grieving father in a Norse mythology setting was a creative gamble that paid off completely. The single-take camera shot which presents the entire game as one continuous unbroken shot is the boldest cinematic decision in AAA gaming history.

Atreus as a companion character added emotional stakes that made every combat encounter feel charged beyond the mechanics themselves. God of War 2018 is not just one of the best games on PlayStation it is one of the finest narrative achievements in any interactive medium.

For players looking for more standout PS4 exclusives from this era, our comprehensive list of the best PS4 games of all time captures the full breadth of what Sony’s fourth console delivered.

16. The Last of Us Part II (2020)

Platform: PS4 | Metacritic: 93 | Developer: Naughty Dog

The most divisive masterpiece in gaming history. The Last of Us Part II committed to a narrative structure so bold, so deliberately uncomfortable, and so insistent on moral complexity that it generated an unprecedented volume of critical and player discourse. The game asks its player to empathize with a perspective they actively hate and it works, because Naughty Dog’s craft is so complete that the emotional logic is undeniable.

The gameplay improvements over the original the prone mechanic, the dodge system, the infected variety, the environmental design of Seattle also represent a substantial leap forward for the action-survival genre.

17. Super Mario Odyssey (2017)

Platform: Nintendo Switch | Metacritic: 97 | Developer: Nintendo EPD

The most joyful game ever made. Mario Odyssey’s Cappy mechanic which allows Mario to capture and control enemies, objects, and characters generated a level of gameplay creativity that Nintendo had not reached since Galaxy. Every kingdom in the game functions as a toybox designed to be played with in ways the developers likely didn’t fully anticipate, and the Moon-collecting structure rewarded exploration rather than punishing incompletion.

Odyssey also nailed the landing on the sandbox platformer in a way that has proven very difficult to replicate the feeling that the world exists to be played with, not completed.

18. Persona 5 (2016)

Platform: PS3, PS4 | Metacritic: 93 | Developer: Atlus

The most stylish JRPG ever made. Persona 5’s Art Deco visual direction, jazz-infused soundtrack, and all-time-great UI design made even its menu screens a joy to navigate. Beyond the aesthetics, the Phantom Thieves’ story of social rebellion against corrupt adults, the Metaverse dungeon system, the friendship and romance mechanics, and the sheer emotional resonance of its characters particularly Futaba Sakura’s arc made Persona 5 a cultural landmark that introduced millions of Western players to the JRPG genre.

19. Hollow Knight (2017)

Platform: Multi | Metacritic: 87 | Developer: Team Cherry

The finest Metroidvania ever made and one of the greatest achievements in indie game development. Two developers at Team Cherry built an underground insect kingdom of extraordinary atmospheric depth, populated with hundreds of unique enemy types, eleven areas, and dozens of memorable bosses, all wrapped in a hand-drawn art style that looked unlike anything else in gaming.

Hollow Knight’s lore delivered entirely through environmental storytelling, scattered text, and cryptic NPC dialogue rewards players who choose to investigate with one of the most melancholic and beautifully constructed world histories in the medium.

20. Minecraft (2011)

Platform: Multi | Developer: Mojang

The best-selling game in history. Minecraft’s procedurally generated survival sandbox has sold over 300 million copies across all platforms and continues to be the most-played game in the world among children and teenagers as of 2026. The creative mode has been used to build architectural reproductions of real-world cities, fictional worlds from literature, working computers, and the entirety of Middle-earth to scale.

Minecraft’s cultural impact on gaming the survival crafting genre it spawned, the educator mode it pioneered, the speedrunning community it supports is difficult to fully quantify. It belongs on any list of gaming’s most significant achievements regardless of genre.

21. BioShock (2007)

Platform: PC, Xbox 360 | Metacritic: 96 | Developer: Irrational Games

“Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow?” The most philosophically ambitious shooter ever made. BioShock used the FPS framework to deliver a sustained critique of Ayn Rand’s objectivism through the fallen underwater city of Rapture a setting so atmospheric, so perfectly realized, and so narratively charged that it remains one of gaming’s most iconic environments. The twist remains one of the medium’s most effective narrative gut punches.

22. Portal 2 (2011)

Platform: Multi | Metacritic: 95 | Developer: Valve

The greatest puzzle game ever made and one of the funniest games ever written. GLaDOS, Wheatley, and the Cave Johnson recordings are among the finest comic writing in any medium. The co-op mode which requires genuine communication between two players to solve puzzles neither can complete alone is the best designed multiplayer experience built around cooperation rather than competition.

23. Hades (2020)

Platform: Multi | Metacritic: 93 | Developer: Supergiant Games

The game that made roguelikes mainstream. Hades solved the central tension of the roguelike genre runs that end in failure feel punishing and discouraging by making narrative progression the primary reward system. Every failed escape attempt revealed new dialogue, advanced character relationships, and unlocked new story beats. The result was a game that felt rewarding even when you died, because dying meant more story.

The combat among the most satisfying in any genre made every run feel different through weapon variety and randomized ability combinations.

24. Chrono Trigger (1995)

Platform: SNES | Developer: Square

The greatest JRPG ever made by consensus. Chrono Trigger’s time travel narrative, New Game+ feature, 13 different endings, and real-time combat system were all innovations that the genre is still processing. The “Dream Team” of Hironobu Sakaguchi, Yuji Horii, and Akira Toriyama created a game that has never been topped in terms of efficient, elegant JRPG design a story told without a single wasted hour across its entire runtime.

25. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004)

Platform: PS2 | Metacritic: 91 | Developer: Konami

The greatest stealth game ever made and the finest example of Hideo Kojima’s creative vision before it became untethered from craft. Naked Snake’s mission in the Soviet jungle during the Cold War is an espionage thriller, a survival game, a love story, and a meditation on war and loyalty all wrapped in an impossibly rich open-ended stealth sandbox. The Sorrow boss fight. The ladder. The ending. Snake Eater remains the emotional peak of the Metal Gear series.

26. Dark Souls (2011)

Platform: Multi | Metacritic: 89 | Developer: FromSoftware

The game that invented a genre. Dark Souls did not invent difficult games but it invented the specific grammar of challenge-as-meaning, of environmental storytelling, of boss fights as learning experiences rather than obstacles. The “Soulslike” genre it spawned encompasses hundreds of titles. The Lordran world design an interconnected, non-linear map where every area loops back on every other remains the gold standard for environmental design in action RPGs.

27. Mass Effect 2 (2010)

Platform: Multi | Metacritic: 96 | Developer: BioWare

The greatest science fiction game ever made. Mass Effect 2’s suicide mission structure assembling a crew of memorable characters and then risking their lives in a final impossible assault created an emotional investment model that no RPG has fully replicated. The character writing across all twelve squadmates is so complete that players who spent twenty hours with each of them felt genuine grief when anyone died.

The game also refined the RPG-shooter hybrid to a level of mechanical satisfaction that its predecessor could only approximate.

28. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011)

Platform: Multi | Metacritic: 94 | Developer: Bethesda Game Studios

The game that made open-world RPGs a mainstream phenomenon. Skyrim’s dragon-hunting, faction-joining, word-shouting adventure in the Nordic province captured an audience far beyond hardcore RPG fans and sold over 60 million copies across fifteen years and seven platform releases. The modding community it spawned has produced thousands of additions, expansions, and total conversions that extended the game’s life indefinitely.

29. God of War Ragnarök (2022)

Platform: PS4, PS5 | Metacritic: 94 | Developer: Santa Monica Studio

A worthy sequel to one of gaming’s finest reinventions. Ragnarök expanded on every element of the 2018 game the combat, the world-building, the emotional depth while delivering a Norse mythology conclusion that rivaled the best fantasy epics in any medium. Kratos and Atreus’s relationship reaches its most complex and rewarding point here, and the final act delivers a payoff proportional to the setup built across two games.

30. Resident Evil 4 (2005)

Platform: GameCube | Metacritic: 96 | Developer: Capcom

The most influential third-person shooter ever made. Resident Evil 4 abandoned the tank controls and fixed camera angles of its predecessors and invented the over-the-shoulder perspective that became the default for action games. The result Leon Kennedy’s mission to Spain to rescue the President’s daughter is a masterclass in encounter design, pacing, and tonal control that keeps players in a state of perpetual engagement across its 20-hour runtime.

31. Stardew Valley (2016)

Platform: Multi | Developer: ConcernedApe (solo developer)

One of the greatest achievements in the history of independent game development. A single developer spent four years building a farming RPG of extraordinary depth, warmth, and emotional resonance that sold over 20 million copies and became the defining cozy game of its era. The seasonal structure, the townspeople with their daily lives and secrets, and the underground Skull Cavern create a game that rewards players with hundreds of hours of genuinely relaxing progression.

Stardew Valley also fundamentally changed the economics and cultural perception of solo indie development, proving that a single dedicated developer could compete commercially and critically with major studios.

32. Undertale (2015)

Platform: Multi | Developer: Toby Fox (solo developer)

The most emotionally intelligent game about what games are. Undertale uses the medium itself as its subject matter the relationship between player and game character, the meaning of replay, the ethics of violence in a world where NPCs have feelings with more sophistication than almost any work of game design theory. The Genocide Route and Pacifist Route are not just different playthroughs; they are fundamentally different arguments about what playing a game means.

33. Shadow of the Colossus (2005)

Platform: PS2 | Metacritic: 91 | Developer: Team Ico

The most minimalist masterpiece in gaming. No inventory. No map. No NPCs. No music except in boss encounters. Just a boy, a horse, and sixteen colossi that must be climbed and destroyed to save a girl who may not deserve saving. Shadow of the Colossus is the purest argument for games as art: a work of deliberately stripped-down design that achieves emotional impact through absence rather than accumulation.

34. Disco Elysium (2019)

Platform: PC | Metacritic: 91 | Developer: ZA/UM

The greatest RPG ever made without combat. An amnesiac detective pieces together his past while investigating a murder in the post-revolutionary city of Revachol. Every conversation is a skill check. Every character embodies a distinct political philosophy. The dialogue genuinely brilliant, frequently hilarious, occasionally devastating is the best writing in the history of the medium.

35. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018)

Platform: Nintendo Switch | Metacritic: 93 | Developer: Sora Ltd.

The greatest platform fighter ever made and the broadest celebration of gaming history as a single interactive experience. Ultimate’s roster of 89 fighters representing franchises from Mario to Final Fantasy to Banjo-Kazooie to Persona is a love letter to the history of gaming that doubles as one of the most mechanically refined competitive games available. The World of Light adventure mode and the Spirit Collection system added substantial single-player content to what could have been a pure fighting game.

36. Hades II (2025)

Platform: PC, PS5, Xbox | Metacritic: 94 | Developer: Supergiant Games

Metacritic’s 2025 Game of the Year. The sequel to Hades continued and expanded every element of its predecessor more characters, more biomes, more weapons, more story while introducing Melinoë as a protagonist who proved compelling enough to stand alongside Zagreus in the Supergiant pantheon. Many critics felt the sequel topped its predecessor in nearly every way. Hades II confirmed that Supergiant’s formula narrative-driven roguelikes with exceptional character writing was not a one-time achievement but a repeatable creative standard.

37. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (2025)

Platform: Multi | Metacritic: 91 | Developer: Sandfall Interactive

The greatest debut from a new studio since Supergiant Games launched Bastion in 2011. Expedition 33 is a turn-based JRPG set in a painterly French Belle Époque fantasy world where every year, a mysterious Paintress erases people of a certain age from existence. The combat system combining classic turn-based mechanics with real-time parry and dodge inputs created a battle framework that felt genuinely new in a genre prone to stagnation.

The game arrived as one of 2025’s most critically acclaimed titles and cemented its place in the all-time great RPG canon in its first year of existence.

38. Astro Bot (2024)

Platform: PS5 | Metacritic: 94 | Developer: Team Asobi

Metacritic’s 2024 Game of the Year, and winner of Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2024. Astro Bot is Sony’s answer to Super Mario Odyssey a 3D platformer of extraordinary polish, invention, and joy that celebrates the entire PlayStation legacy through cameos, references, and affectionate tributes to three decades of Sony gaming history. Critics called it “an obscenely polished and soul-affirming triumph” with precisely engineered platforming and no microtransactions or season passes just pure, joyful game design.

39. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (2023)

Platform: Nintendo Switch | Metacritic: 96 | Developer: Nintendo EPD

The sequel that somehow improved on Breath of the Wild. Tears of the Kingdom added the Ultrahand, Fuse, Ascend, and Recall abilities to Hyrule’s existing open-air framework, creating a crafting and physics sandbox of almost limitless possibility. The Depths and Sky Islands expanded the world vertically in ways that felt genuinely new rather than cosmetically different.

The community-created machines trebuchets, aircraft, submarines, nuclear bombs, working computers demonstrated that Tears of the Kingdom’s physics engine gave players tools for creativity that the developers themselves could not have fully anticipated.

40. Animal Crossing: New Horizons (2020)

Platform: Nintendo Switch | Developer: Nintendo EPD

The most played Nintendo Switch game for millions of players, released at the precise historical moment the COVID-19 pandemic’s opening months when its offer of a calm, social, persistent island life felt like the most valuable thing a video game could provide. New Horizons sold over 45 million copies, making it one of the best-selling games of all time, and its online social mechanics created genuine communities of players who remain active years after launch.

41. Celeste (2018)

Platform: Multi | Metacritic: 94 | Developer: Maddy Thorson & Noel Berry

The greatest precision platformer ever made and a work of genuine emotional intelligence. Madeline’s climb up Celeste Mountain is simultaneously a platforming challenge of extraordinary difficulty and an honest exploration of anxiety, self-doubt, and self-compassion. The assist mode which allows players to slow the game, add extra dashes, or enable invincibility without breaking the narrative became a model for how accessibility options can be implemented without compromising artistic vision.

42. Bloodborne (2015)

Platform: PS4 | Metacritic: 92 | Developer: FromSoftware

FromSoftware’s most atmospheric achievement. Bloodborne’s Victorian gothic horror setting the city of Yharnam and its cosmic horror secrets created an aesthetic so distinctive and so perfectly realized that it remains one of gaming’s most requested platform-exclusive titles among PC players hoping for a port. The aggressive, rally-focused combat system where damage is healed by attacking immediately after being hit created the series’ most offensive and fast-paced battle mechanics.

The note from the community never ends: Bloodborne PC remains one of the most searched gaming topics years after the PS4 exclusive launched.

43. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker (2002)

Platform: GameCube | Metacritic: 96 | Developer: Nintendo EAD

The most visually distinctive Zelda game and the one that proved cel-shaded art ages better than photorealistic rendering. Wind Waker’s ocean world sailing between islands, collecting charts, exploring dungeons remains one of the most relaxing and atmospherically perfect open worlds in Nintendo’s history. The controversy over its art direction at launch looks baffling in retrospect: Wind Waker is visually stunning decades later while its photorealistic contemporaries look dated.

44. Silent Hill 2 (2001)

Platform: PS2 | Metacritic: 89 | Developer: Konami

The gold standard of psychological horror. Silent Hill 2’s foggy, monster-haunted resort town is not just a scary setting it is a direct manifestation of its protagonist James Sunderland’s guilt, grief, and repression. The monsters are not random creatures; they are psychological symbols that the game uses to tell its story through visual language rather than exposition.

The Pyramid Head reveal and the game’s ending which exists in multiple versions, each more disturbing than the last remain among the most powerful moments in horror gaming history. For fans who enjoy the survival horror genre more broadly, our guide to survival horror hidden gems on Steam uncovers the best lesser-known titles in the category.

45. Portal (2007)

Platform: PC, Xbox 360 | Metacritic: 90 | Developer: Valve

The game that proved a two-hour experience could be a masterpiece. Portal introduced the portal gun, GLaDOS, the cake, and “Still Alive” in a single tight puzzle-platformer that has never been forgotten by anyone who played it. The ratio of quality to runtime makes Portal one of the most efficient creative achievements in gaming history.

46. Outer Wilds (2019)

Platform: Multi | Metacritic: 85 | Developer: Mobius Digital

The greatest mystery ever told in a video game. Outer Wilds puts players in a 22-minute time loop in a small solar system and asks: what happened to the ancient civilization that lived here? The answer discovered entirely through exploration, observation, and deduction rather than combat or progression mechanics delivers one of the most emotionally resonant and intellectually satisfying endings in gaming history.

Outer Wilds is the game most frequently cited by players who never expected to be moved by a video game as the one that changed their mind.

47. Resident Evil Village (2021)

Platform: Multi | Metacritic: 84 | Developer: Capcom

The most commercially successful Resident Evil entry since RE4 and the one that best balanced horror, action, and atmosphere in the modern first-person format. Lady Dimitrescu became one of gaming’s most iconic characters within weeks of the game’s reveal. The four-area structure each with a distinct tone and enemy type kept the pace dynamic across its runtime. Village also represents one of the finest arguments for the PS5 Pro’s visual capabilities when played on current hardware. For a full breakdown of what Sony’s latest console upgrade offers, our PS5 Pro review covers everything the hardware improvement delivers.

48. Hollow Knight: Silksong (2025)

Platform: Multi | Metacritic: 93 | Developer: Team Cherry

One of gaming’s most anticipated sequels delivered on every expectation. Silksong’s protagonist Hornet brought a faster, more acrobatic movement system to the Metroidvania format while Team Cherry’s worldbuilding the kingdom of Pharloom and its mysterious Ritual proved as atmospheric and narratively dense as the original game’s Hallownest. The wait was long. The result justified it.

49. Fortnite (2017/Ongoing)

Platform: Multi | Developer: Epic Games

The game that defined live-service gaming as a cultural phenomenon. Fortnite’s battle royale mode added to what was originally a cooperative survival game in 2017 captured the world’s attention and became the most-played game on earth at its peak. Its seasonal event structure, celebrity collaborations, and live in-game concerts established a template for how ongoing games maintain relevance that every major developer subsequently attempted to follow.

Love it or dismiss it: Fortnite belongs on this list as one of the most culturally significant games ever made.

50. Tetris (1984)

Platform: Multi | Developer: Alexey Pajitnov

The game that proved video games could be understood by literally everyone. Tetris’s rules rotate and place falling blocks to clear lines can be learned in thirty seconds by players of any age, any language, any cultural background. Its depth the escalating pace, the strategy of piece placement, the psychological pressure of the approaching top can occupy players for years. No game before or since has achieved Tetris’s combination of universal accessibility and genuine skill ceiling.

Tetris is not just one of the best games ever made. It may be the most important game ever made.

The Best Video Games of All Time: Quick Reference by Genre

The Best Video Games of All Time: By Era

Best Games of the 8-Bit Era (1983–1991)

Tetris, Super Mario Bros. 3, The Legend of Zelda (NES), Contra, Mega Man 2

Best Games of the 16-Bit Era (1992–1995)

Chrono Trigger, Super Mario World, Street Fighter II, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Final Fantasy VI

Best Games of the 32/64-Bit Era (1996–1999)

Ocarina of Time, Final Fantasy VII, Metal Gear Solid, GoldenEye 007, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Best Games of the PS2/GameCube/Xbox Era (2000–2005)

GTA Vice City/San Andreas, Resident Evil 4, Shadow of the Colossus, Metroid Prime, Half-Life 2, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2

Best Games of the Xbox 360/PS3 Era (2006–2012)

BioShock, Red Dead Redemption, Mass Effect 2, Portal 2, Uncharted 2, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, GTA IV

Best Games of the PS4/Xbox One Era (2013–2020)

The Last of Us, Bloodborne, The Witcher 3, Elden Ring predecessors, God of War, Red Dead Redemption 2, Celeste

Best Games of the PS5/Switch/Xbox Series Era (2020–2026)

Elden Ring, Astro Bot, Baldur’s Gate 3, Tears of the Kingdom, Hades II, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Hollow Knight: Silksong

For players exploring what the current generation’s best titles are specifically on Sony’s platform, our guide to the best PS5 games you should play right now covers the complete PS5 library’s standout experiences. And for the best co-op experiences specifically on PlayStation 5, our best co-op games on PS5 guide is the definitive resource.

What Makes a Video Game the Best of All Time?

The academic and critical community has produced several frameworks for evaluating great games. The most commonly cited criteria:

Mechanical innovation Does the game introduce something that games hadn’t done before? Ocarina of Time’s Z-targeting, GTA III’s sandbox freedom, Portal’s spatial reasoning puzzles, Hades’ narrative roguelike loop all introduced mechanics that the industry subsequently adopted.

Narrative achievement Does the game tell a story that could only be told in an interactive medium? The Last of Us uses player agency to make the relationship between Joel and Ellie emotionally real in ways a film adaptation cannot fully replicate. Undertale makes the player’s choices the subject of its story.

World-building depth Does the world feel real beyond the areas the player visits? Red Dead Redemption 2’s NPCs with daily routines, Elden Ring’s interconnected mythology, The Witcher 3’s politically complex kingdoms these games build worlds that feel inhabited rather than constructed.

Technical achievement Does the game push the boundary of what its hardware can do? Every Nintendo first-party release on this list was technically impressive for its era. Half-Life 2’s physics engine. RDR2’s simulation depth.

Cultural legacy Is the game still discussed, played, and referenced today? The games on this list are all still actively discussed. Many are still played competitively or for speedrunning. All have communities that remain active.

The best games pass all five tests. The greatest games do so while appearing to do it effortlessly.

Best Video Games of All Time: FAQ

What is the highest-rated video game of all time on Metacritic?

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998) holds the highest Metascore in the history of Metacritic at 99. It has held this position since its release and remains unchallenged by any subsequent release.

What is the best-selling video game of all time?

Minecraft is the best-selling video game of all time with over 300 million copies sold across all platforms. Tetris is second (counting all versions), and GTA V is third among single-title releases on modern platforms.

What is the best open-world game of all time?

Red Dead Redemption 2 is most commonly cited as the best open-world game ever made for its world density, narrative quality, and simulation depth. Elden Ring and The Witcher 3 are the strongest alternatives depending on whether you prioritize combat, exploration, or storytelling.

What is the best RPG of all time?

Baldur’s Gate 3 is the current critical consensus answer for the greatest RPG ever made, combining D&D depth with AAA production values. Chrono Trigger is the most respected JRPG. The Witcher 3 leads for narrative-driven open-world RPGs.

What is the best horror game of all time?

Silent Hill 2 is the most critically and academically respected horror game of all time, widely cited as the gold standard of psychological horror game design.

What is the best indie game of all time?

Hollow Knight, Undertale, and Stardew Valley are the three strongest candidates. Celeste and Outer Wilds are frequently cited alongside them. Hades and Hades II blur the indie/AA line.

What is the newest game on this all-time list?

Resident Evil Requiem (2026) appears on live aggregated lists as of mid-2026. Among games included in this specific list, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Hollow Knight: Silksong (both 2025) are the most recent entries.

What is the best game on Nintendo Switch?

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Odyssey are the critical co-leaders for the Switch’s best game, with Hades and Hollow Knight often cited alongside them for the best games available on the platform.