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Nobody can answer that question objectively.
Well, none because favorites are super subjective, but I’ll shout out my favorites because no one else did:
- The Wonderful 101
- Bayonetta
- Ninja Gaiden II
- God Hand
- Viewtiful Joe
- Catherine
- Gravity Rush
- Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R
- Under Night In-Birth II Sys:Celes
- Persona 4 Arena Ultimax
- Crimzon Clover: World EXplosion
- Ketsui: Kizuna Jigoku Tachi
Catherine deserves to be on someone’s list so glad you have it and Gravity rush is a good choice cause it was a fun use of mechanics.
Portal 2.
Portal 1 was flawless. Portal 2 had a crucial flaw.
Specifically, it was not Portal 1. Everything else was perfect.
Are you saying that Portal 2 is not perfect due is a sequel?
Not a sequel. Just because it’s not Portal 1. The fact that it’s second is not the problem. The problem is that the first one was flawless.
So the gaming equivalent of ‘chasing the dragon’? That tracks!
chasing the dragon
Huh. I guess it might be.
Far from my first game, but my first perfect game. Yea, I guess that does track.
Too few promises of cake
In my opinion, Portal 2’s difficulty curve was off. It started in a good place and ended in a good place but was too easy for most of the game.
The two player section was fantastic though.
We peaked in 2011.
objective
MEDIA APPRECIATION DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY, GOOD NIGHT!
Just out of curiosity, listing the games mentioned here as of this writing by their date of release:
Release Date Game 1980 Pac-Man 1985 The Oregon Trail (assuming widely-played 1985 game) 1985 Tetris 1986 Kid Icarus 1988 Mega Man 2 1988 Super Mario Brothers 3 1988 The Guardian Legend 1989 Abadox: The Deadly Inner War 1989 Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II 1989 Monster Party 1989 Populous 1989 Sweet Home 1990 Dr. Mario 1990 Final Fantasy III 1991 Battletoads (assuming original game) 1991 The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 1992 Ecco the Dolphin 1992 Sonic the Hedgehog 2 1992 Super Mario Kart 1993 Dinopark Tycoon 1993 Doom 1993 Gauntlet IV 1993 Lufia & the Fortress of Doom (assuming first game) 1993 Mega Man X 1994 Donkey Kong Country 1994 Earthworm Jim 1994 Sonic & Knuckles 1994 Sonic the Hedgehog 3 1994 Super Metroid 1994 The Lion King 1995 Chrono Trigger 1997 Castlevania: Symphony of the Night 1997 Diablo 1997 Final Fantasy VII 1997 Mega Man X4 1997 Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee 1997 Snowboard Kids 1998 Banjo-Kazooie 1998 Metal Gear Solid 1998 Sonic Adventure 1998 South Park 1998 StarCraft: Brood War 1999 Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings 1999 Heroes of Might and Magic III 1999 Planescape: Torment 1999 Quake III Arena 1999 RollerCoaster Tycoon 1999 Silent Hill 1999 Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike 1999 Sven Co-op 1999 Unreal Tournament 1999 Worms Armageddon 2000 Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 2000 Diablo II 2000 Resident Evil CODE: Veronica 2000 SimCity 3000 Unlimited 2000 Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 2001 Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies 2001 Final Fantasy X 2001 Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty 2001 Shenmue II 2002 The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind 2003 Beyond Good & Evil 2003 Need for Speed: Underground 2003 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2004 Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War 2004 Champions of Norrath 2004 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas 2004 Gran Turismo 4 2004 Half Life 2 2004 Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater 2004 The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap 2005 Champions: Return to Arms 2005 Psychonauts 2005 Shadow of the Colossus 2006 Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War 2006 Ōkami 2007 BioShock 2007 Dark Souls 2007 Mass Effect 2007 Portal 2008 Clonk Rage 2008 Left 4 Dead 2008 Mirror’s Edge 2008 Super Smash Bros. Brawl 2009 Dragon Age: Origins 2009 Forza Motorsport 3 2009 Killing Floor 2009 Left 4 Dead 2 2009 Plants vs. Zombies 2009 Steins;Gate 2010 Battlefield: Bad Company 2 2010 Limbo 2010 Nier 2010 Planet Minigolf 2011 Bastion 2011 Portal 2 2011 Terraria 2011 The Binding of Isaac 2012 Hotline Miami 2012 The House in Fata Morgana 2012 Tokyo Jungle 2014 Forza Horizon 2 2014 LISA: The Painful 2015 Bloodborne 2015 Ori and the Blind Forest 2015 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 2015 Undertale 2016 Doom (2016) 2016 Kirby: Planet Robobot 2016 Stardew Valley 2016 The Witness 2016 Titanfall 2 2016 Tyranny 2017 Little Nightmares 2017 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (for Deluxe version) 2017 Nier: Automata 2017 Night in the Woods 2017 Super Mario Odyssey 2017 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2018 Celeste 2018 Donut County 2018 Return of the Obra Dinn 2018 Rimworld 2018 Subnautica 2019 A Short Hike 2019 Disco Elysium 2019 Outer Wilds 2019 Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice 2019 Slay the Spire 2020 Cyberpunk 2077 2020 Factorio 2020 Hades 2021 Everhood: An Ineffable Tale of the Inexpressible Divine Moments of Truth 2021 Psychonauts 2 2022 Elden Ring 2022 Lil Gator Game 2023 Baldur’s Gate 3 2023 Dave the Diver 2024 Balatro Has seriously no one mentioned The Last of Us? That’s crazy.
I think the second should be included.
As well as red dead redemption 2.
The storytelling is just top tier. Better than literally almost all media made today.
Last of Us 1 was really good. But the second one was so bad, it kind of ruined the first one for me as well. And I wouldn’t call it masterpiece. Because for me a masterpiece shines in gameplay, narrative and atmosphere. The Last of Us’ gameplay serves its purpose, but there’s really nothing special here compared to e.g. Elden Ring, were story, atmosphere and gameplay are all pretty much perfect.
How was the second one “so bad?” It had incredible narrative, more in depth gameplay, challenging and coherent themes, depth of storytelling, it took risks that a lot of people didn’t like, but you can’t say they were done poorly. They were just challenging for people. And that’s good. The same stories told with the same character arcs following the same hero’s journey is boring. TLOU2 challenged you with the characters making choices you wouldn’t, it challenged you with co placated character arcs that saw well-loved characters turn into the villains, while the villain of the story became the one to end the cycle of violence…it was incredible. That worldbuilding, the design, the voice acting, the mocap acting, the more varied fighting styles, the expansive world…I mean, shit, I really do want to know what you thought actually classified as “bad” about that game. It pissed people off. But that does not make it a bad game by any stretch of the imagination.
The only game I’m missing here is master of magic. I was shocked noone else had mentioned sts and ff3(6).
Missing Half-life (the first one). That game was the first one to feature scripted scenes during player interaction and it was mind-blowing. Plus, it had the most sophisticated story ever seen in an FPS before.
The only game I kinda like on this list is Okami.
1996: Duke Nukem 3D
I think Outer Wilds is the most unique and fantastic way to tell a story I’ve ever experienced. Truly open in a way I’ve not seen before or since.
With the banger of a soundtrack too, I just can’t bring myself to rate other games higher than it; even if I enjoy them more, Outer Wilds is probably the best game I’ve ever played.
Slay the Spire probably makes the list as it’s inspired countless tweaks on its incredibly balanced deck building experience
Portal/Portal 2
Deus Ex (the original)
Minecraft
Stardew Valley
Terraria
Mirror’s Edge
Chrono Trigger
Cyberpunk 2077
Hades
Subnautica
A Short Hike
Donut County
I’m shocked to see Donut County mentioned. But you’re right, it’s a perfect pleasant game similar to the perfection of the first Portal. In fact, it’s my son’s favorite video game, by far.
The worst thing about it is that there isn’t more.
A short hike! Very pleased to see this one mentioned. What a game. The best kids game IMO
I was expecting to disagree with the list at some point, but I’m finding it increasingly hard to find a reason to
Katamari Damacy. It has a reputation for being silly Japanese nonsense, but the gameplay is brilliant, the graphics are timeless, the soundtrack is incredible, and it has some surprising thematic depth.
Na naaaaa na na na na na, na na, na naaaa Katamari Damacyyyyyyy
Outer wilds
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+1 for Beyond Good & Evil.
For those unfamiliar with this game, this was early 2000s Ubisoft when they used to be creative, celebrated, and original.
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For me it’s Journey. That game gave me an emotional experience I’ve never had in any other.
Absolute embodiment of less is more. Controls are simple but intuitive, you can beat it in one session, there’s no major payoff in the end. It’s just a game about the journey and the friends made along the way.
I still remember having my mind blown that the other figure I met after the tutorial level was not just an NPC, when I noticed their movements were too deliberate and they were solving some puzzles for me.
I made it all the way to the end of the game with that person. Never knew who they even were until their name showed up at the very end. What a cathartic experience. I’ve also never been able to achieve anything similar since then.
This game will forever live in my heart as an absolute masterpiece. I cry every time I play it because something about it just completely sucks me in.
I added the buddy I ran through the game with and he’s still on my friend list decade or so later, amazing experience
Bastion, Hades, Disco Elysium, Planescape: Torment, and Tyranny (even if the last act is rushed in the last two) come to mind for me
Bastion is amazing.
Assuming that “masterpiece” refers to the quality and impact the games had in their time (not how well they aged) some of my picks would be:
- Baldur’s Gate 2 + ToB
- Star Wars: KotoR
- Morrowind
- Read Dead Redemption 2
- The Witcher 3
- The Last of Us 1+2
- God of War
- Shadow of the Colossus
- The Legend of Zelda: BOTW
- Mass Effect 1+2
- Disco Elysium
- Half Life 2
- BioShock 1
- Diablo 2
- Fallout 2
I don’t know how objective this list is. Some picks are definitely subjective and fit more in a “flawed masterpiece” category of games that had a large impact on how I perceived games but that may not be so widely acclaimed as some others on this list.
You could probably add E33 to that, even if it is still too early to know how much impact it will have.
- Chrono Trigger
- Disco Elysium
- Sekiro
- Zelda Ocarina of Time
- Bioshock
- Portal
- Half Life
- Nier Automata
- Tetris
Flawed Masterpieces
- Minecraft (surprising)
- Dragon age Origins
- Team Fortress 2
- Fallout New Vegas
- Dark Souls
- Every Baldur’s Gate
Masterpiece in my heart: Terraria
I’m always curious why people add things like Ocarina of Time to lists like these. While the game was revolutionary at the time, I don’t think it holds up particularly well nor succeeds where later zeldas fail.
To call it an objective masterpiece I feel like it has to be a game that someone picking up today would still enjoy and appreciate. Tetris and Portal for example hold up well even by today’s standards.
The thing that not holds well in Ocarina of Time is the N64 controls and like what they supposed to do to overcome that?
It’s probably me being pedantic, but for an “objective masterpiece” the game needs to stand on its own and not on its legacy. I just don’t think Ocarina of Time holds up to later zelda games in many aspects (although I do think the story and soundtrack do).
Generally I think the ps1 and N64 era just suffer from the transition to 3D. Graphically and gameplay wise many games suffered for being the first foray into 3D gaming and those challenges wouldn’t really be settled until the next generation.
I’m going to take this as “games that I never see anyone question their quality.” (I don’t even like all these games myself)
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Sonic 3 & Knuckles
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Kirby Planet Robobot
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Doom 2016
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Street Fighter III: Third Strike
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Pac-Man
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Balatro
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Steins;Gate
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The House in Fata Morgana
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Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
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Gran Turismo 4
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Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
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Mega Man X
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Mega Man X4
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Super Mario Bros. 3
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Hollow Knight
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Bloodborne
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Elden Ring
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Balder’s Gate 3
I’d take SMW over SMB3, but I can’t really fault anything else in this list! 😅
I like SMW better myself (actually not a single franchise entry on that list is my favorite in the series) but it doesn’t have the kind of unanimous praise SMB3 does.
I am here to question Elden Ring’s quality
Steins;Gate my man cultured AF
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