# The best video games of all time

The highest-rated games ever according to Metacritic's all-time critic scores, cross-checked with IGN's Top 100 and the games most often named among the greatest. Ordered by Metascore.

- 811 votes · 22 items
- Jan 8, 2022 · brian.austin
- https://even.best/en/l/28/the-best-video-games-of-all-time

## Top 20

1. **The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time** (75 · ▲81 ▼6) — Nintendo 64, 1998. The highest Metascore ever (99) and the template for 3D action-adventure games.
2. **SoulCalibur** (55 · ▲58 ▼3) — Dreamcast, 1999. Metascore 98; the fighting game that showed off the Dreamcast's power.
3. **Super Mario Galaxy 2** (53 · ▲59 ▼6) — Wii, 2010. Metascore 98; a sequel that packed even more gravity-bending platforming ideas.
4. **Grand Theft Auto IV** (51 · ▲55 ▼4) — 2008. Metascore 98; Niko Bellic's story in a hugely detailed Liberty City.
5. **Super Mario Galaxy** (41 · ▲42 ▼1) — Wii, 2007. Metascore 97; Mario's leap into spherical planets in outer space.
6. **The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild** (31 · ▲37 ▼6) — Switch/Wii U, 2017. Metascore 97; an open-world Hyrule where almost anything can be climbed or tried.
7. **Super Mario Odyssey** (29 · ▲36 ▼7) — Switch, 2017. Metascore 97; Mario's globe-trotting adventure with his cap-possessing ally Cappy.
8. **Grand Theft Auto V** (28 · ▲35 ▼7) — 2013. Metascore 97; three playable protagonists in Los Santos and one of the best-selling games ever.
9. **Metroid Prime** (27 · ▲30 ▼3) — GameCube, 2002. Metascore 97; Samus moved to first-person without losing the series' exploration.
10. **Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3** (26 · ▲29 ▼3) — PlayStation 2, 2001. Metascore 97; the peak of the arcade skateboarding series.
11. **Grand Theft Auto III** (24 · ▲30 ▼6) — PlayStation 2, 2001. Metascore 97; the jump to a 3D open city that defined a genre.
12. **Perfect Dark** (22 · ▲28 ▼6) — Nintendo 64, 2000. Metascore 97; Rare's spiritual successor to GoldenEye starring Joanna Dark.
13. **Halo: Combat Evolved** (21 · ▲23 ▼2) — Xbox, 2001. Metascore 97; the shooter that made the original Xbox and console FPS mainstream.
14. **Red Dead Redemption 2** (20 · ▲23 ▼3) — 2018. Metascore 97; Rockstar's western about Arthur Morgan and the decline of the Van der Linde gang.
15. **BioShock** (18 · ▲22 ▼4) — 2007. Metascore 96; a shooter set in the underwater city of Rapture with one of gaming's best twists.
16. **GoldenEye 007** (15 · ▲20 ▼5) — Nintendo 64, 1997. Metascore 96; the James Bond shooter that made split-screen multiplayer legendary.
17. **Uncharted 2: Among Thieves** (15 · ▲19 ▼4) — PlayStation 3, 2009. Metascore 96; Nathan Drake's cinematic hunt for Shambhala.
18. **Tekken 3** (14 · ▲18 ▼4) — PlayStation, 1998. Metascore 96; the fighting game that brought Jin Kazama and Eddy Gordo.
19. **Mass Effect 2** (12 · ▲17 ▼5) — 2010. Metascore 96; BioWare's space opera about assembling a team for a suicide mission.
20. **Resident Evil 4** (11 · ▲16 ▼5) — GameCube, 2005. Metascore 96; Leon S. Kennedy in rural Spain, and the over-the-shoulder camera everyone copied.
21. **Half-Life 2** (9 · ▲19 ▼10) — PC, 2004. Metascore 96; Gordon Freeman's return, famous for its physics and the Gravity Gun.
22. **The Orange Box** (6 · ▲10 ▼4) — 2007. Metascore 96; Valve's bundle of Half-Life 2 and its episodes, Team Fortress 2 and Portal.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.