Screen Rant's Best Games Of All Time

April 20, 2024, noon

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Screen Rant's Best Games Of All Time

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Summary Ranking the best games ever made takes multiple perspectives into consideration, with a multi-tiered voting system used by Screent Rant's gaming editors.

Included games are evaluated on their narrative and gameplay quality, audience and critical reception, influence, innovation, and more.

The greatest video games of all time span numerous genres and hail from every era in the medium's history.

Here are the best video games of all time, as evaluated by Screen Rant's gaming editors. The full list spans the most important genres, franchises, innovations, and just-plain-fun entries into gaming's storied pantheon of best releases.

Assembling a list of the best games ever made can be a daunting exercise for anyone, and there are plenty of rankings that are based purely on one writer's opinion. To best achieve a level of objective quality evaluation (factoring in both the quality of the game itself and its cultural impact), Screen Rant's ranking uses a multi-tiered voting system contributed to by seven gaming editors spanning four countries and many walks of life.

How We Worked It Out We started with an open-answer survey among all seven editors, asking them to compile a list of their most influential and best games of all time, factoring in audience reviews, critical reviews, and their impact on the gaming landscape. From there, any games that were voted for multiple times were added to a tier list above any game with a single vote. A second survey conducted a month later compiled these games and once again asked editors to vote, this time for games already in the highest tier. After this, a list of the 35 games total was finally ready, where editors once again used an internally determined points system to assign a score to every single game based on the above criteria, ultimately resulting in a list of 35 games ranked by their combined scores. Any ties were then broken by discussion.

Related The 55 Best Movies Of All Time Screen Rant breaks down the best movies of all time, from old classics to modern masterpieces across multiple genres of cinema.

35 The Oregon Trail

Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium, 1985

Yes, that game - The Oregon Trail was a staple of growing up for many children across the 80s, 90s, and 2000s, featured in countless elementary school libraries as part of their meager PC gaming offerings. The Oregon Trail is an excellent example of the staying power of text-based gaming, having been the blueprint for other successful entries that innovated or created new features of the genre later, like Douglas Adams' Starship Titanic.

The Oregon Trail is exactly what it sounds like, placing players in the shoes of a 19th-century pioneer traveling on the Oregon Trail. Unforgiving but interesting, many players became intimately familiar with the harsh realities facing people in that time period, such as dying from dysentery. Newer versions of The Oregon Trail have also acknowledged problematic depictions of Native Americans, cleaning up a dated perception and making the game much more accessible today.

34 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Valve, 2012

Franchise Counter-Strike Platform(s) PC Released August 21, 2012 Developer(s) Valve Publisher(s) Valve Genre(s) Tactical ESRB 13+

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive - more popularly known as CSGO - completely changed the world of esports and tactical shooters. As the followup to the already popular Source, CSGO had big shoes to fill, but after a two-year development period, it emerged as a timeless tactical FPS that presented a more polished, accessible, and deep version of the gameplay that made Source such a staying power in PC gaming. Gameplay features terrorist and counter-terrorist roles, with teams swapping sides mid-game between planting a bomb or attempting to prevent that or defuse it after the fact.

Few games can lay claim to the storied history that CSGO has.

The biggest impact CSGO had on video games was in competition, however. Few games can lay claim to the storied history that CSGO has, and its reputation as a game of razor-thin edges and mindbending outplays from pro players like s1mple made it must-see viewing all the way up until the release of Counter-Strike 2. Even now, the legacy of CSGO can be seen in CS2's competitors, like Valorant, which borrow heavily from the concepts implemented in Valve's 2012 shooter.

33 Halo 3

Bungie, 2007

Franchise Halo Platform(s) Xbox One , Xbox 360 , PC Released September 25, 2007 Developer(s) Bungie Publisher(s) Xbox Game Studios Genre(s) Action ESRB t

Unlike some other games on this list, which were more unexpected successes, everyone knew Halo 3 was going to be big from the very beginning. The third entry in a series that already had two renowned titles didn't even launch before it was a major story - Bungie supplemented the build-up to release with developer diaries, while Microsoft spent a reported $40 million on marketing for the game. As the first Halo for the Xbox 360, and one of Microsoft's biggest exclusive games, that gaudy budget made sense.

Luckily for them - and everyone who just wanted another great Bungie shooter - Halo 3 made good on the hype. A short Halo 3 campaign mode with a more tangible ending, multiplayer with perhaps the best map pool in the series to date, and the addition of the Forge Editor to create custom maps all raised the bar for Halo. Its first-day sales reached $170 million - somehow more than quadrupling its ridiculous marketing budget - and it became a staple multiplayer game at both high school LAN parties and professional video game tournaments.

32 Street Fighter 2 (SNES)

Capcom, 1992

One need only look at the many, many versions of Street Fighter 2 that exist to understand how important it was for both its franchise and for video games. As one of the best Street Fighter games ever made, it's also one of the greatest of all-time in any genre. It's widely credited as one of the most influential fighting games ever released, launching the genre to new heights in the 1990s while also helping establish a keener eye for balance among characters that helped kickstart fighting game competitions being more hotly pursued by soon-to-be professionals.

Street Fighter 2 featured eight playable characters and the same one-on-one combat first established by its predecessor. It's also credited with establishing combos as a staple of the franchise - the game has certain unblockable attacks when timed correctly, but the razor-thin margins meant that players had to train and practice against similarly talented competitors in order to get them down with any amount of frequency. This adherence to practice and repetition has become a staple of FGC competitors and is just another element of the legacy of Street Fighter 2.

31 Silent Hill 2

Team Silent, 2001

Silent Hill 2 is a survival horror game released in 2001 that, for some, still stands as the best its genre has ever produced. The premise is certainly a memorable one - protagonist James Sunderland journeys to the town of Silent Hill after receiving a letter from his dead wife, beginning a descent into madness that is unapologetically incisive about humanity's flaws. Gameplay was captivating and terrifying, with a healthy dose of jump scares supplemented by a more psychological brand of dread during frantic escapes or puzzle solving.

Related You're Going To Wish Silent Hill Was Dead Following recent rumors and potential leaks, Konami seems to be looking to reanimate the shambling corpse of Silent Hill with minimal room to breathe.

Silent Hill 2 also left a legacy as one of the releases that really helped establish video games as an art form. It's a debate that took decades to really settle - some would say it really hasn't even now - but the game's focus on symbolism, inspirations like Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, and its exploration of the occult and taboo all helped cement the medium as a place that's just as good at exploring emotion and psyche as film and literature.

30 GoldenEye 007

Rare, 1997

GoldenEye 007 is the rare case of a video game adaptation surpassing its film inspiration. While little was expected of the game prior to launch, it quickly became a success, and cemented itself as one of the most influential multiplayer shooters of its era - and, later, all time. GoldenEye 007 featured a campaign mode tie-in to the film that was, in itself, an entertaining gameplay mode that would've already changed the perception of the adaptation, but it really was the multiplayer aspect that was revolutionary.

GoldenEye 007's multiplayer placed more of a focus on stealth-based, spy-like maneuvering around the map than shooters in its era. That, coupled with graphics that, at the time, were considered highly detailed and immersive, helped engage players for years and placed the Bond console adventure on the same pedestal as other N64 multiplayer greats like Mario Kart 64. Just don't ask veterans of that era their opinion on OddJob in GoldenEye 007 unless there's a need for an hours-long debate.

29 God Of War

Santa Monica Studio, 2018

God of War's 2018 soft reboot launched Kratos back into the spotlight and completely changed the approach to the titular Greek god. Some of the cheesier elements of the series' earlier entries were replaced with a greater focus on narrative, and transplanting Kratos from the Greek pantheon into Norse mythology worked wonders for creating a refreshing, innovative story for his adventure to take place within. The game follows Kratos and his son, Atreus, on what starts as a journey to spread their respective wife and mother's ashes that eventually becomes something that could impact the world.

God of War didn't just shake up the series' narrative - it was one of the most visually arresting games in its release year. Its gameplay, featuring Kratos now wielding an axe among huge innovations to camera work, combos, and the addition of RPG elements, also helped bring the franchise into the new era of gaming while immediately creating a game of the year contender that did, eventually, make good on that promise across a number of award shows.

28 Resident Evil 4

Capcom, 2005

Resident Evil 4 is one of the best video games of all time because it is also the best entry in a franchise that makes a strong case for containing multiples of them. The game follows Leon Kennedy, returning from a starring role in the also-excellent Resident Evil 2, as he attempts to rescue the United States President's kidnapped daughter, who has been abducted by cultists. On his own and immediately thrust into a hotbed of monstrous villagers and a scheming cabal, Leon's adventure is exciting from step one and never stalls out.

Related 10 Harsh Realities Of Replaying The Original Resident Evil 4 While the original Resident Evil 4 is an all-time classic, the release of its heavily modernized remake can make some aspects of it seem dated.

Resident Evil 4 complements its great narrative with over-the-shoulder third-person shooting and the usual survival horror and puzzle solving that many have come to expect from Capcom's long-running series. In particular, the shooting in Resident Evil 4 helped elevate this entry, with tighter controls and more dynamic fights made possible by excellent mechanics. Quick time events are implemented here to great success, especially in boss fights, where a missed button press can often spell instant death for Leon.

27 BioShock

2K/Irrational Games, 2007

BioShock is another entry on this list that made a strong case for video games as an art form. The game follows protagonist Jack as he survives a plane crash and ends up in the underwater city of Rapture, which has slipped from a utopian, scientifically advanced stronghold into a chaotic, war-torn place filled with genetically altered monsters and few survivors. The game grapples with heavy concepts like freedom of choice, resource control, capitalism, and much more - its inspirations range from Ayn Rand to Walt Disney.

That gripping story is accompanied by first-person shooter gameplay with RPG influences, allowing for customization and combinations to suit player style. Exploration of Rapture is equal parts fascinating and horrifying, with small, scary moments helping to highlight the disarray the city finds itself in. Voice acting is another highlight, with some excellent performances immersing players under the waves that Rapture hides in. There's even a BioShock movie on the way, as it remains as culturally important in video games in 2024 as it was on release.

26 The Last Of Us

Naughty Dog, 2013

Franchise The Last of Us Platform(s) Steam Microsoft Windows , PlayStation 5 Developer(s) Naughty Dog Publisher(s) Sony Interactive Entertainment Genre(s) Action-Adventure , Survival , Narrative ESRB M

The Last of Us is one of many Naughty Dog games to influence the scope of video game development and reception, but it might be the best one from a studio full of hits. The Last of Us follows protagonists Joel and Ellie as they navigate the ravaged American landscape following a catastrophic outbreak of a viral fungus that mutates people into zombies. Ellie is immune from infection, and provides hope for the settlements of survivors across the country as her and Joel journey to figure out if she can be the source of a cure.

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The Last of Us is, at its core, a survival horror action game, but it has so many innovative elements for its time period. Tactical positioning during fire fights with other humans or zombie monsters littering the environment is necessary, and players can desperately craft makeshift solutions from what's around them to try to salvage a win. Beautiful graphics and set pieces make for a cinematic adventure, too, and its no surprise that one of the best games of all time also got its due as an equally successful television show in The Last of Us on HBO.

25 League Of Legends

Riot Games, 2009

League of Legends' cultural impact can't be overstated. The gargantuan success from developer Riot Games is genre-defining, the biggest esport in the world, and a revenue-generating machine thanks to its live-service leanings and deep pool of champions and skins. League of Legends is a MOBA game that places players in a 5v5 battle to destroy the enemy Nexus, with different roles assigned to players based on their champions' strengths. Tactical engagements, using the available resources that spawn on the map, and managing gold and item economy are just some of the difficulties that make it so fun.

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League of Legends is also the esport that created (arguably) the most recognizable competitive gaming player in the world - Faker. His dominance in early competitions created a narrative that made watching the game compelling viewing, as time after time, challengers would rise and fail to unseat the undisputed king of the game. That's not to say that things haven't changed, however, even if Faker did recently win a World Championship again - multiple reworks, graphics updates, and additions to League of Legends have made it as relevant today as it has ever been.

24 Doom

id Software, 1993

Doom is a first-person shooter that changed everything in the world of gaming. Both a critical and commercial success, even its many accolades don't accurately convey just how influential the game has been, for others in its genre and well beyond that scope. Beyond being the blueprint for the first-person shooter genre that would soon become one of the most popular in the industry, it also helped legitimize video games as more than a niche hobby, gradually adjusting how people viewed the burgeoning medium.

It's an addictive design that has withstood the test of time.

Doom seems laughably simple today, but that doesn't change its sublime design. Featuring quick-paced, accurate gunplay and the basics of powerups like health, ammo, and shields, it's an addictive design that has withstood the test of time. In 1993, the game's graphics were also revolutionary, blending 3D level design with detailed sprites to immerse players in its hellish landscape. Doom was also created by John Romero, who went on to be a visible presence in the industry and one of its first "rock star" video game developers.

23 Persona 5 Royal

P-Studio, 2019

Persona 5 Royal is the best version of one of the best JRPGs ever made, adding a slew of additional content, brand-new heroes and villains, and refinements to the game's combat and exploration that make it more palatable than its already enjoyable original offering. What felt like a victory lap before it released quickly revealed itself to be a significant upgrade, and Persona 5 Royal has become the bar against which other JRPG releases are now measured.

Persona 5 Royal follows protagonist Joker and his gang of students-turned-supernatural-thieves as they attempt to expose the hypocrisy and greed of adults who hold power in society. Manifesting their desires as mythological interpretations of historic figures that can then fight, the game is over-the-top in the most compelling way, dripping with anime aesthetic and style that makes it instantly memorable. A strong social sim backdrop including romance only adds to the amount of things to do (and do well), and one of gaming's best soundtracks scores an unforgettable journey.

22 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

Nintendo, 2017

Publisher Nintendo Genre Racing Mode Racing Platform Nintendo Switch Release Date 2017-04-28

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is one of the strongest cases for not needing to change what's working. Already a little dated as an expanded version of a Wii U game, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has stuck around since its 2017 launch as one of the Nintendo Switch's most consistent best-sellers, in spite of the fact that it's basically been around since the console was released (debuting just under two months after). So what makes Mario Kart 8 Deluxe continue to draw in audiences and keep people playing its brand of chaotic racing?

Easy to pick up but genuinely difficult to master.

To start, it's accessible. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is by far the most successful Mario Kart in terms of sales, and it's easy to see why - any age can play, and catch-up mechanics mean any age can win, too. The game contains the series' best pool of tracks, a strong roster of the Mario franchise's heaviest hitters (and a few sleeper picks), and the kind of gameplay that's easy to pick up but genuinely difficult to master. Oh, and it's also a multiplayer smash hit that is never out of place at a gathering of friends and/or family.

21 Dark Souls

FromSoftware, 2011

Dark Souls isn't the first Soulsborne game - that honor goes to FromSoftware's Demon's Souls - but it's the one that put the genre on the map. It's a third-person action roleplaying game with an absurdly high floor for difficulty, challenging the cursed undead to navigate an army of well-trained and frustrating foot soldiers only to get beaten down by a boss who is twice as hard to combat. While the gameplay loop of Dark Souls, and by extension its genre, can be daunting at first, the satisfaction of victory in this FromSoft game is unlike any other genre. We wouldn't have Elden Ring without Dark Souls.

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It's not just the depth of combat that makes Dark Souls so iconic, however. Its level design is sublime even today, but especially for its time period, containing plenty of hidden secrets (and even fights) and haunting visions of crumbling civilization. The unforgiving nature of its design also makes it a great host for its approach to lore, which complements the minute, detailed combat with obscure, vague world-building that gives players just enough that they desperately want to know more. Dark Souls pioneered an entire genre and changed gaming forever, and it's one of the best games ever made.

20 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater

Neversoft, 1999

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater probably did more to make Tony Hawk a household name than the legendary skater's long list of professional accomplishments. That's not underselling just how ubiquitous he was in competition - it's simply contextualizing just how much of a cultural impact THPS had when it released in 1999 as a daring take on a niche sport that opened the door for some of gaming's best extreme sport sims (and Jet Set Radio, which may not have found as big an audience without THPS becoming so well-loved earlier).

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater allowed players to jump into courses and experiment with a wide array of true-to-life skate maneuvers, challenging them to get the hang of grinding on rails or sticking landings. Player select featured a gallery of pros and their bios, lending a feeling of legitimacy to the game. The gameplay itself was addictive and the pacing sublime; challenges could be difficult, but things never felt as frenetic as, say, a racing game, even during time trials. Finally, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater had an unbelievable track list to back up its immaculate vibes. Here are just a few songs from that score:

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater Song Artist "Superman" Goldfinger "Police Truck" Dead Kennedys "Here and Now" The Ernies "Cyco Vision" Suicidal Tendencies "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver" Primus

19 Tetris

Alexey Pajitnov, 1985

The fact that Tetris probably needs no explanation for anyone even vaguely familiar with the idea of a video game is why it's one of the best games ever made. The simplicity of a game about rearranging falling blocks shaped in simple, four-tile designs has persisted throughout game design ever since. Match-four games? At least partially inspired by Tetris. Mobile games that hone in on one specific mechanic and get as much out of it as they can? Sounds a little like Tetris. The "less is more" approach of the game's strong belief in its core concept remains a compelling design philosophy even now.

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Tetris also helped change the perception of video games in popular culture; its accessibility and lack of main characters meant it truly was something anyone could play. The hi-score system common in arcade games was exceptional here, pitting players against the scores of their friends and creating in-house competition among families once it became available on other platforms beyond the cabinet. And there's just something about the replayability of Tetris - not just from game-to-game on one night, but across years or decades - that exemplifies its incredible staying power and inspirational design.

18 Super Metroid

Nintendo & Intelligent Systems, 1994

Metroid has plenty of good games, but Super Metroid is the one that jump started an entire genre. Super Metroid is to the "metroid" in metroidvania as Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is to the "vania" - they're both just that influential on how the genre developed and became a mainstay of the game industry. The historical significance of Super Metroid makes it the most obvious choice from the franchise to grace a best games of all time list, but that's not the only reason.

Related 10 Best Metroidvanias To Play Right Now There are many amazing Metroidvania games on all platforms, with varying degrees of quality, but here are the best available to play today.

Super Metroid also iterated on the formula of the original Metroid and Metroid 2: Return of Samus and evolved beyond a cool side-scrolling shooter into something more. Backtracking was made more interesting with new items and hidden rooms, and the improvements made to graphics, music, environmental design, and gameplay were all massive leaps forward for the series. While its predecessors laid the groundwork for metroidvania, Super Metroid built the monument.

17 Slay The Spire

Mega Crit, 2019

Slay the Spire is a roguelike deck-building game that is the reason that description feels so commonplace when discussing indie darlings in the 2020s. It's a dazzling spin on strategy and metaprogression that has become the blueprint for many studios chasing a similar combination of replayability and deft design. Even now, with so many excellent games competing in that niche space, Slay the Spire is the game that many think of when they're asked to name a deck-builder.

A satisfying gameplay loop that maintains interest across hundreds of runs.

Slay the Spire allows players to choose between playable classes of character and embark on a dungeon run with a set deck assigned to each class. They can manipulate these runs by altering their deck, whether its by adding or removing cards, upgrading them, or by changing mechanics from the outside with items and accessories that can significantly switch a strategy's potency depending on when it's found.

Death is expected in Slay the Spire and gradual learning and unlocks make things easier, creating a satisfying gameplay loop that maintains interest across hundreds of runs - not to mention leaderboards and difficulty increases that only add to that replayability more.

16 The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim

Bethesda Game Studios, 2011

Long before it was the punchline of many jokes about video game ports, The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim was a revolutionary video game that completely shifted our understanding of open-world design and quest progression. Skyrim puts players in the role of the Dovahkin (Dragonborn), a chosen one protagonist meant to save the land from the threat of dragons. A simple fantasy approach quickly becomes lost in a dizzying, expanding landscape that contains possibilities all over the place - and no need to chase anything at a specific time, creating a lot of side journeys along the way.

Related 10 RPGs That Ruined Every Other RPG Some RPGs leave such a mark on the gaming landscape that it's hard for those that come after to live up to the new standards they have set.

Skyrim's gameplay isn't even that remarkable compared to many other games considered to be among the best of all-time. It's great, but combat is noticeably clunky at times, and the main story can be a little forgettable in spots. But it's the sheer amount of possibility and freedom that Skyrim represents among its character builds, exploration, and story-telling that makes it so remarkable. There's a good reason this game has appeared on pretty much every platform it possibly could, and why The Elder Scrolls 6 has been so long in the making - it's a momentous achievement and one Bethesda must work extremely hard to top.