Explanation and methodology

I compiled fourteen different “best of all time” lists to create one definitive list. It was originally going to be a top 100 but I ended up having enough data to make a consensus top 200. For each list I gave each game a score based on placement (i.e. one point for 100th place, two points for 99th place, all the way up to 100 points for 1st place). I also gave a certain amount of extra points for simply being on the list–otherwise games that ranked low would get basically no advantage over games that didn’t rank at all. The amount differed based on whether the list was a top 50, top 100, top 200, and so on. Making it onto more exclusive lists obviously granted more points.

Lists used

I averaged together the following lists, with diverse perspectives and recent publication being a priority in which lists I chose:

Media rankings: Empire (UK, 2023), USA Today (US, 2022), Popular Mechanics (US, 2022), Looper (US, 2022) IGN (international, 2021), Slant magazine (USA, 2020) Game Informer (US, 2018) Games TM (UK, 2018)

Critic ratings: Metacritic top 200 Metascores of all time (as of 2023)

Gamer ratings: IMDB top 200 user ratings of all time (as of 2023), Ranker top 200 user ratings of all time (as of 2023)

Critic polls: British GQ Industry Poll (UK, 2023)

Gamer polls: TV Asahi viewer poll (Japan, 2021), Hobby Consolas reader poll (Spain/Latin America, 2021)

THE LIST

Here is the final top 200 list:

  1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
  2. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
  3. Grand Theft Auto V
  4. The Last of Us
  5. Tetris
  6. Resident Evil 4
  7. Metal Gear Solid
  8. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
  9. Super Mario 64
  10. BioShock
  11. Final Fantasy VII
  12. Super Mario Bros 3
  13. Half Life 2
  14. Minecraft
  15. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
  16. Shadow of the Colossus
  17. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
  18. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
  19. Portal 2
  20. Chrono Trigger
  21. Street Fighter II
  22. Pokemon Red/Blue
  23. Bloodborne
  24. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
  25. God of War (2018)
  26. Red Dead Redemption 2
  27. Castlevania Symphony of the Night
  28. Super Mario World
  29. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
  30. Mass Effect 2
  31. World of Warcraft
  32. Dark Souls
  33. Halo: Combat Evolved
  34. DOOM (1993)
  35. Persona 5
  36. GoldenEye 007
  37. Super Metroid
  38. Silent Hill 2
  39. Fallout 3
  40. Portal
  41. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
  42. Red Dead Redemption
  43. Journey
  44. Super Mario Kart
  45. Batman: Arkham City
  46. Metroid Prime
  47. Disco Elysium
  48. Diablo II
  49. Super Mario Odyssey
  50. Super Mario Bros
  51. Undertale
  52. StarCraft
  53. Hades
  54. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
  55. Super Smash Bros Melee
  56. Resident Evil 2
  57. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
  58. Final Fantasy VI
  59. The Sims
  60. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
  61. Assassin’s Creed II
  62. Half Life: Alyx
  63. EarthBound
  64. Pac Man
  65. Elden Ring
  66. Super Smash Bros Ultimate
  67. Grim Fandango
  68. System Shock 2
  69. Planescape: Torment
  70. Super Mario Galaxy
  71. Okami
  72. Super Mario Galaxy 2
  73. Inside
  74. Deus Ex
  75. Pokemon Gold/Silver
  76. Ms. Pac Man
  77. Resident Evil
  78. Batman: Arkham Asylum
  79. Halo 3
  80. Persona 4
  81. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
  82. Half Life
  83. Sonic The Hedgehog 2
  84. NieR: Automata
  85. Grand Theft Auto IV
  86. Dishonored 2
  87. Civilization IV
  88. SimCity
  89. Final Fantasy X
  90. League of Legends
  91. Left 4 Dead 2
  92. Fallout: New Vegas
  93. Animal Crossing
  94. Fortnite
  95. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
  96. The Last of Us Part II
  97. Grand Theft Auto III
  98. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
  99. Outer Wilds
  100. Animal Crossing: New Horizons
  101. Hollow Knight
  102. Borderlands 2
  103. BioShock Infinite
  104. Sonic the Hedgehog
  105. Kingdom Hearts
  106. Halo 2
  107. Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain
  108. Mega Man 2
  109. Donkey Kong
  110. Secret of Monkey Island
  111. Stardew Valley
  112. Mortal Kombat 2
  113. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
  114. Suikoden II
  115. God of War (2005)
  116. Kingdom Hearts II
  117. Team Fortress 2
  118. The Oregon Trail
  119. DOOM (2016)
  120. Counter Strike
  121. Dragon Age: Origins
  122. Age of Empires II
  123. Divinity: Original Sin 2
  124. Final Fantasy IX
  125. Tekken 3
  126. Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn
  127. Return of the Obra Dinn
  128. Fire Emblem: Three Houses
  129. Horizon: Zero Dawn
  130. Final Fantasy XIV
  131. Braid
  132. Fable II
  133. Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty
  134. The Legend of Zelda
  135. Galaga
  136. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2
  137. Spelunky
  138. Psychonauts
  139. Overwatch
  140. Ghost of Tsushima
  141. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
  142. Max Payne
  143. Final Fantasy Tactics
  144. Thief: The Dark Project
  145. Katamari Damacy
  146. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
  147. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Theory
  148. Gears of War
  149. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
  150. Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes
  151. Tomb Raider (1996)
  152. Xenoblade Chronicles
  153. God of War II
  154. Rock Band
  155. Shenmue 2
  156. Wii Sports
  157. Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag
  158. XCOM: Enemy Unknown
  159. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
  160. Viewtiful Joe
  161. DOTA 2
  162. Donkey Kong Country
  163. Burnout 3: Takedown
  164. Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec
  165. Gone Home
  166. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
  167. It Takes Two
  168. Dead Space
  169. Myst
  170. NBA Jam
  171. Celeste
  172. Pokemon Diamond/Pearl
  173. Star Fox 64
  174. Quake 3
  175. Civilization II
  176. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
  177. The Walking Dead
  178. Hotline Miami
  179. Super Smash Bros Brawl
  180. Apex Legends
  181. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
  182. Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem
  183. Alien: Isolation
  184. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
  185. Dark Souls III
  186. Kentucky Route Zero
  187. Spider-Man
  188. Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
  189. FTL: Faster Than Light
  190. Mother 3
  191. Secret of Mana
  192. Day of the Tentacle
  193. Yakuza 0
  194. Battlefield 2
  195. Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!
  196. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island
  197. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1989)
  198. Kirby Super Star
  199. Final Fantasy VIII
  200. LittleBigPlanet

​

Statistical analysis

Here are some charts showing some interesting data breakdowns of the top 200

Entry distribution by decade:

https://preview.redd.it/fl94ptgqqp2c1.png?width=1200&format=png&auto=webp&s=ee061746b1007a61888c103e4d19647947bccca6

Entry distribution by country of development:

https://preview.redd.it/z32pukzerp2c1.png?width=1200&format=png&auto=webp&s=e31ee20d7c591c81c038e887f775658eab5f618a

Entry distribution by console type:

https://preview.redd.it/9qhw8sgrrp2c1.png?width=1200&format=png&auto=webp&s=82b2346f66274a2db92a3fddfb63bc79e69cee38

Top franchises:

  1. Mario
  2. The Legend of Zelda
  3. Grand Theft Auto
  4. Final Fantasy
  5. Metal Gear Solid
  6. Resident Evil
  7. Half Life
  8. Halo
  9. Portal
  10. Red Dead Redemption
  11. Pokemon
  12. The Elder Scrolls
  13. Metroid
  14. Uncharted
  15. God of War

Top developers:

  1. Nintendo
  2. Square Enix
  3. Valve
  4. Capcom
  5. Rockstar

Highest ranking game of each year

1980: Pac Man

1981: Donkey Kong

1982: Ms. Pac Man

1983: none

1984: Tetris

1985: Super Mario Bros

1986: The Legend of Zelda

1987: Mike Tyson’s Punch Out

1988: Super Mario Bros. 3

1989: SimCity

1990: Super Mario World

1991: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

1992: Super Mario Kart

1993: DOOM

1994: Super Metroid

1995: Chrono Trigger

1996: Super Mario 64

1997: Final Fantasy VII

1998: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

1999: Planescape: Torment

2000: Diablo II

2001: Halo: Combat Evolved

2002: Metroid Prime

2003: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

2004: Half Life 2

2005: Resident Evil 4

2006: Okami

2007: BioShock

2008: Fallout 3

2009: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

2010: Mass Effect 2

2011: Minecraft

2012: Journey

2013: Grand Theft Auto V

2014: Alien Isolation

2015: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

2016: Inside

2017: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

2018: God of War

2019: Disco Elysium

2020: Hades

2021: It Takes Two

2022: Elden Ring

Notable games not on the list that I think deserve a shout out:

Banjo Kazooie, Crash Bandicoot, SoulCalibur, Zork, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Titanfall 2, Cuphead, Ico, Devil May Cry, The Stanley Parable, Dance Dance Revolution, Angry Birds, Black and White, What Remains of Edith Finch, Blood, Snake, Baba Is You, Elite, Ridiculous Fishing, Mirror’s Edge, Jet Set Radio, Rocket League, L.A. Noire, Cave Story, The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky, Terraria, Pong

​

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Hope you guys find this interesting and let me know if you have any feedback!

  • Fineous4BEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Were Indi games excluded? Can’t imagine rimworld and factorio missing this list otherwise.

  • PozzgBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Ooh my favorite game Witcher 3 in top 10. Very nice work

  • PMC-I3181OS387l5BEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago
    1. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1989)

    I’m sorry, but… what???

    This is the NES game… with the dam level… the annoying gap that you can just WALK over… the cryptic last level… and the punishing difficulty…

    How did THIS game made it on a Top 200 compiled and averaged list over Turtles in Time or the first Arcade game (which led to the 2nd NES game)???

  • fortellerBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    I’m saddened to not see The Talos Principle on the list. It deserves way more attention and praise than it’s gotten. IMO it’s far beyond any of the Portal games in the puzzle genre.

    I wouldn’t find it strange to see Fez on this list either.

  • silvermudBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Inside was good, but feels way too high compared to the other indies on the list

  • sothatsathingnowBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    I know you didn’t make this list but Perfect Dark deserves a spot in the top 200. It might not have the cultural impact of Goldeneye but it is in most ways the superior game.

  • KidspudBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    I’m surprised to see Mario Galaxies 1+2 so low on the list. For me, Galaxy 2 is a top five all-time game.

  • longgammaBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Overwatch doesn’t deserve to be here. The game died with GOATS and never recovered.

  • FlyingPiranhaBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Seeing Yakuza 0 sneak on the list at all makes me damn happy. And definitely not because I’m replaying it at the moment.

  • Middle-Welder3931BEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Seeing Disco Elysium featured so prominently makes me happy. Still the most unique game I’ve ever played and possibly due for a second playthrough soon.

  • DrunkendxBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Move entire list 1 spot down and put Vagrant Story at 1st place and then your list get orders of magnitude more accurate.