What Is The Best Video Game Of All Time? 289 Lists Later And There Is An Answer!

What is the best video game of all time? It’s a question that I have been looking into forming an answer for over the last six months and I finally have an answer that I am really happy with.

How? Well I spend countless hours finding ‘best of’ lists from around the internet and forming a combined list. This included lists that dealt with best of year, best of decade, best of generation, best of genre, best of console and (of course) best ever.

In total I combined the ratings of 289 lists from sources such as IGN, Gamesradar+, Kotaku, Eurogamer, Retro Sanctuary, Retrogamer, Complex, Arcade Sushi and (the now sadly defunt) Official Nintendo Magazine.  Using a half-life method to calculate points depending on position, list length and whether it was ranked or not I am happy to share the up-to-date list of:

The 100 Most Acclaimed Games Ever

Rank	Name	Year
1	The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time	1998
2	Resident Evil 4	2005
3	Super Mario 64	1996
4	The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past	1991
5	Super Mario World	1991
6	BioShock	2007
7	Chrono Trigger	1995
8	Super Metroid	1994
9	Half-Life 2	2004
10	Tetris	1985
11	Final Fantasy VII	1997
12	Super Mario Bros. 3	1990
13	Mass Effect 2	2010
14	Shadow of the Colossus	2005
15	Super Mario Bros.	1985
16	World of Warcraft	2004
17	GoldenEye 007	1997
18	Red Dead Redemption	2010
19	Minecraft	2011
20	Portal 2	2011
21	Halo: Combat Evolved	2001
22	The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker	2002
23	Portal	2007
24	Super Mario Kart	1992
25	Metroid Prime	2002
26	Metal Gear Solid	1998
27	The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim	2011
28	Castlevania: Symphony of the Night	1997
29	Fallout 3	2008
30	Resident Evil	1996
31	Grand Theft Auto V	2013
32	Deus Ex	2000
33	Doom	1993
34	The Last of Us	2013
35	Street Fighter II	1991
36	Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic	2003
37	Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare	2007
38	Okami	2006
39	The Walking Dead	2012
40	Final Fantasy VI	1994
41	Uncharted 2: Among Thieves	2009
42	Yoshi’s Island	1995
43	Pokemon Red/Blue	1998
44	Final Fantasy X	2001
45	Super Smash Bros. Melee	2001
46	Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas	2004
47	Sonic the Hedgehog	1991
48	The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask	2000
49	Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater	2004
50	Dark Souls	2011
51	Diablo II	2000
52	Super Mario Galaxy	2007
53	The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess	2006
54	Batman: Arkham City	2011
55	Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty	2001
56	Donkey Kong	1981
57	Braid	2008
58	Secret of Mana	1993
59	Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time	2003
60	Grand Theft Auto: Vice City	2002
61	The Legend of Zelda	1986
62	Ico	2001
63	Grand Theft Auto III	2001
64	Earthbound	1994
65	Pac-Man	1980
66	Tomb Raider	1996
67	Soul Calibur II	2002
68	Half-Life	1998
69	Mega Man 2	1989
70	Final Fantasy Tactics	1997
71	Silent Hill 2	2001
72	The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion	2006
73	Team Fortress 2	2007
74	Starcraft	1998
75	Beyond Good & Evil	2003
76	Super Mario Galaxy 2	2010
77	Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars	1996
78	Space Invaders	1978
79	Punch-Out!!	1987
80	Super Smash Bros. Brawl	2008
81	Perfect Dark	2000
82	Resident Evil 2	1998
83	Mario Kart 64	1996
84	Mass Effect	2007
85	Dead Space	2008
86	Rayman Legends	2013
87	Tomb Raider	2013
88	Kingdom Hearts	2002
89	Burnout 3: Takedown	2004
90	Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag	2013
91	Baldur’s Gate II	2000
92	The Secret of Monkey Island	1990
93	NBA Jam	1993
94	God of War	2005
95	Limbo	2010
96	Banjo Kazooie	1998
97	F-Zero	1990
98	SoulCalibur	1999
99	Animal Crossing	2001
100	Batman: Arkham Asylum	2009

List Item: Play 100 of the greatest computer games
Progress: 43/100

Of course when it comes to these lists it is all based on opinion, but in the end there was no question, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time just ran away with it completely.

Do you disagree with this list? Is your favourite game not on here? Do you have random ‘best of’ lists that I might have missed and should include when I update this list next year?

Would you like to see the extended list (I have a pretty stable list of between 400 and 500 games) on its own website with more details?

Please feel free to sound off in the comments!

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