There was a time when a great video game just needed to be fun. In the days before 4K screens and season passes, it was all that mattered. It didn’t matter if the design was janky, if you could finish the whole thing in one sitting, and frankly, if it was way too hard.
But as Rolling Stone reports, things evolved. Over time, games became more layered. They could tell a story the length of a novel or with the strength of a film. They could challenge the mind, either with puzzles or a test of reflexes. Most importantly, they could bring people together. In an online lobby, arcade, or just on the couch, gaming is really the story of the people who play them.
But to pick the best games ever made, there’s a lot of considerations. Gaming is a medium where sequels thrive — they can always look and play better. And while certain gaming dynasties run dozens of entries deep, there needs to be representation across the board. Today, everyone’s a gamer, but they’re not all playing the same thing.
For this list, Rolling Stone editors looked at both how influential each game was at arrival, as well as whether it still holds up. A good game may have played well, but a great one still does. These are games that made the culture what it is today and will chart where it goes tomorrow.
The Full List
1 – ‘The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’
2 – ‘Tetris’
3 – ‘Grand Theft Auto V’
4 – ‘Super Mario World’
5 – ‘The Last of Us’
6 – ‘Half-Life 2’
7 – ‘Metal Gear Solid’
8- ‘Final Fantasy VII’
9 – ‘The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
10 – ‘Super Metroid’
11 – ‘Halo: Combat Evolved’
12 – ‘World of Warcraft’
13 – ‘Doom’ (1993)
14 – ‘Street Fighter II’
15 – ‘The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’
16 – ‘Red Dead Redemption 2’
17 – ‘Diablo II’
18 – ‘Madden NFL 2004’
19 – ‘Baldur’s Gate 3’
20 – ‘Mario Kart 64’
21 – ‘Fallout 3’
22 – ‘Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare’
23 – ‘Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater’
24 – ‘The Sims’ (2000)
25 – ‘Stardew Valley’
26 – ‘Mass Effect 2’
27 – ‘Resident Evil 4’ (2005)
28 – Minecraft
29 – ‘Uncharted 2: Among Thieves’
30 – ‘Wii Sports’
31 – ‘Counter-Strike’ (1999)
32 – ‘Ms. Pac-Man’
33 – ‘NBA 2K11’
34 – ‘Hollow Knight’
35 – ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’
36 – ‘Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’
37 – ‘Pokémon Gold and Silver’
38 – ‘Shadow of the Colossus’
39 – ‘God of War’ (2018)
40 – ‘Chrono Trigger’
41 – ‘Metroid Prime’
42 – ‘Batman: Arkham City’
43 – ‘Celeste’
44 – ‘Elden Ring’
45 – ‘Fortnite’
46 – ‘League of Legends’
47 – ‘The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past’
48 – ‘Castlevania: Symphony of the Night’
49 – ‘Hades’
50 – ‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons’
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