The debates on the quality of games never end. And this is a very good thing, as everyone has a different opinion, preferences and a unique point of view, bringing interesting reflections and critical comments to such discussions. But there are titles that most people will agree that they deserve top ratings. The following is a list of ten such gaming masterpieces that we all agree they are the best games of all time.
10- Shadow of the Colossus (Remake)
Even released on PS2, Shadow of the Colossus was an outstanding title which combined the artistry known from ICO with very thrilling action in an extremely skillful way. The Bluepoint Games studio further improved on this Japanese project in 2018 and we got a remake of Shadow of the Colossus on PS4, and it turned out to be so well-made that it deserves the highest praise and perfect ratings.
This is not only because of the lovely, ethereal setting and inspirational music, but above all because of the great battles with the eponymous giants, to which we rush on the back of the horse Agro. This is a gaming masterpiece and it deserves a place in the list of best games of all time.
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9- Portal 2
It is difficult to find a more complete and well-thought-out game in the category of puzzle games than Portal 2. Valve’s masterpiece, released in 2011, continues to attract today with its great graphics, which remain surprisingly fresh. The highlight of this masterpiece, however, is the perfect game design – the intricately woven puzzles, coupled with an element the first part lacked, namely a surprisingly interesting storyline, in which there is no shortage of great humor (Wheatley is a character that every gamer should get to know!).
8- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Breath of the Wild is a triumph of game design over the graphic layer. Released not only on Switch, but also on Wii U (which is sometimes forgotten), the game definitely doesn’t evoke jaw-dropping visual splendor, but it more than makes up for some deficiencies in this field with an incredibly well-designed, huge world in which the player feels great freedom of action from nearly the very beginning.
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While doing so, Link’s adventure is able to surprise even after many hours, unveiling new gameplay mechanisms or awakening curiosity by gradually revealing its secrets. It can be safely said that this is the most powerful and complete installment in the history of The Legend of Zelda series and a template for other developers wishing to create a game with a large open world. You can also consider it one of the best games of all time.
7- Suikoden 2
Suikoden 2 already seemed anachronistic at the time of its release, in 1999, and offered pixelated graphics reminiscent of 16-bit atmospheres. Konami, headed by Yoshitaka Murayama, however, demonstrated that it is not “the garment that makes the RPG.” – that the story layer, great characters, locations or exciting optional quests are more important.
Suikoden 2 delivered all these themes, for example, side quests in the form of recruiting 108 heroes for our army, all the while expanding on fantastic ideas from Suikoden 1, like turning a run-down castle into a headquarters. Taking its cue from the first installment of the series, the game also offered even more excitement than the first (there’s no shortage of emotional and tragic moments in the scenarios), while also serving up superbly engineered battles and plenty of side activities (such as leading turn-based battles of entire armies).
To find a copy of Suikoden 2 for PS1 today would border on the miraculous (and when you do track down a disc, the prices can be fabulous). Thankfully, Konami is about to remind us of its brilliant 1999 RPG. A refreshed edition of Suikoden 1 and 2 will be released this year for PS4, XOne, PC (Steam) and Switch. So just tell me, how could we not put it in our list of best games of all time?
6- Grand Theft Auto 5
Not only is GTA 5 an exquisitely well-executed game in terms of graphics and mechanics – it is a total craze to crash cars, bikes and motorcycles in and around a huge city styled after Los Angeles. Also, GTA 5 is an extremely well-written script – not only because of the appearance of the nutty Trevor, but a mass of delectable satirical motifs, like the parody of Facebook, the stock market or the distortions of the mental health care system (the scenes with Michael’s private “therapy” are a classic).
Nobody has made fun of modern absurdities and Western globalized society in games as much as Rockstar. Needless to say – GTA 5 still to this day with its Story mode is a masterpiece, perhaps outclassed in its sandbox category only by Read Dead Redemption 2. Well, at least until the release of the GTA 6, we can consider this game to be one of the best games of all time.
5- Final Fantasy VII
There were many great RPGs in the 1990s. But there was no title during that period with greater ambition than Final Fantasy VII. Squaresoft firmly believed that games featuring a highly developed story layer could surpass the best movies and anime in form and drama. Indeed, the company created the first ever such vision of a roleplay – with long FMV sequences, gorgeous pre-rendered locations and amazingly impressive turn-based clashes.
And this was all merged with an excellently written script, which has no shortage of touching themes and the best next to Luci Blight (from Suikoden 2) antagonist in the history of jRPGs. Also great was the combat system with a superb Materia (skill and magic) system. And the length of the adventure did not disappoint either – FFVII is so huge that it takes well over 50 hours to complete the game with side quests.
4- The Last of Us
We can safely say that The Last of Us is the crowning achievement of the long evolution of the Naughty Dog studio, which began with simple RPGs (Keep the Thief and Rings of Power) or 3D platformers (Crash Bandicoot) and is now creating moving role-playing games in which the action soars well above the standards of B-grade horror games with zombies.
That’s exactly what The Last of Us is – the game not only provided great action scenes and convincing survivalist themes in 2013, but also an amazingly strong, cleverly written post-apocalyptic story (with a twist on the zombie theme) that in some ways represents a new narrative quality in the gaming world. Everybody should give this captivating vision a chance – no matter the release (on PS3 or in the form of remasters released on PS4 and recently on PS5). This game is truly one of the best games of all time.
3- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition
In The Witcher 3 we don’t get a huge amount of freedom of action, such as The Elder Scrolls brand. But in CDP RED’s masterpiece we have a clearly imposed character, profession and course of action. However, such a limitation has allowed the Polish studio to go wild with a dramatic story. The team, based on Andrzej Sapkowski’s novel, developed a story masterpiece, which offers, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the best quests/stories in the history of games (e.g. the phenomenally written story of the Bloody Baron).
The game still impresses today with its nice graphics, which was fortunately fixed after the release (the game was suffering from major technical problems right after the release, which manifested in poor framerate, e.g. in the swamps). The cherry on the cake proved to be the expansions released later, all of which have such a good storyline that they easily match the content from the basic release. With such a complete package, The Witcher 3 is a prime example of a game that deserves a 10/10 rating.
2- Silent Hill 2
The 1999 Silent Hill was already incredibly good. Konami managed, by some miracle, to somehow still ramp up the tension and the feeling of dread known from the first installment of the game. The masterpiece was so successful that the developers to this day have not offered anything in the horror genre that could match the plot, locations and overall gameplay of Silent Hill 2 (well, maybe except for the excellent upcoming Silent Hill 3!).
This is why gamers are still, after so many years, returning to this PS2 classic, discovering new plot tidbits, new layers of the masterfully woven scenario from this Dostoevsky-inspired production “Crime and Punishment,” which primarily focuses on the psychology of James Sunderland, the story’s main character. Silent hill 2 will be remembered always as one of the best games of all time.
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1- Red Dead Redemption 2
Red Dead Redemption 2 is a game that was ahead of its time and we got a truly next-gen title still on PS4 and Xbox One. Arguably, we will wait many more years for another project that can match this magnum opus of the Rockstar studio. You could write for weeks on the technical excellence and breadth of Red Dead Redemption 2. The Artificial Intelligence system itself, as well as the scripts that manage the NPCs in this western, are a level that rises above the current capabilities of the competition.
Besides the astonishing degree of freedom, gorgeous graphics, a huge world that doesn’t get tiresome even after 100 hours, the RDR 2 delights in yet another aspect: a brilliant scenario, the shape of which is the work of Dan Houser, who is one of the main creators of the GTA series. Rockstar has shown that it also knows how to do well in serious climates, by creating an item with great action, and with a cleverly written, moving story. RDR2 deservedly takes the first spot in our list of best games of all time.
So what do you think about all these titles in this list of list of best games of all time? Do you think there are some other titles that deserve a place here? Well, in that case, tell us their names in the comments section below.
