The 100 best games of all time – the sequel

Domagoj Belancic

13-7-2026

Translation: Natalie McKay

Support: Rainer Etzweiler, Philipp Rüegg, Simon Balissat, Kim Muntinga, Debora Pape, Franziska Behner-Thang, Kevin Hofer

Video: Davide Arizzoli, Piero Istrice

Cutter: Valentina Sproge-Werndli

Digitec Galaxus assembled a panel of 47 experts and got them to choose the 100 best games of all time. It’s time to analyse our choices and take a critical look at them.

It’s all wrapped up. Digitec Galaxus chose the 100 best games of all time together with a panel of experts. It’s fair to say that the list sparked quite a bit of discussion. There was a heated debate in around 800 comments posted underneath the articles.

Voting process and judging panel

The members of the judging panel sent us their personal top 25. The higher a game ranked on the list, the more points it earned towards the overall standing (1st place: 25 points, 25th place: 1 point, and so on). If two games had the same number of points in the overall rating, the one mentioned by more people was ranked higher. The games were selected by a panel of experts. Game developers, industry representatives, convention organisers, just to name a few. In short, they’re all people whose life revolves around video games. You can find the complete list in the image (click to enlarge).

Now it’s time for a deep dive. I’ll break down the list and analyse what patterns emerge from our top games. The members of the editorial team who were on the judging panel will also reveal their personal top 25 games – and criticise comment on the panel’s collective taste.

Ready to tear into each other one last time in the comments and brand us noobs? Let’s go!

Need a reminder before you dive into the analysis? Click here for all the articles about the top 100:

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  video

  Opinion

  World of Warcraft is the best game of all time

  

  Philipp Rüegg

  150166

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  Opinion

  The 100 best games of all time: spots 33 to 2

  

  Rainer Etzweiler

  134338

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  Opinion

  The 100 best games of all time: spots 67 to 34

  

  Rainer Etzweiler

  137118

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  Opinion

  The 100 best games of all time: spots 100 to 68

  

  Rainer Etzweiler

  439168

The best game series of all time

Some game series feature heavily in our ranking. I looked into which franchise was mentioned the most, making it «the best game series of all time.»

The results will come as no surprise – here are the top 5:

Spot 1: The Legend of Zelda (6 games)

• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (spot 2)
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (spot 4)
• The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (spot 17)
• The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (spot 28)
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (spot 73)
• The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (spot 86)

With six entries, The Legend of Zelda takes the cake. I think it’s especially fitting that all the eras of the series are represented. From its 2D origins (A Link to the Past) and the early 3D classics (Ocarina of Time) to the new open-world direction (Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom), it’s all here. It’s amazing how long this series has endured and how consistently high its quality remains.

Spot 2: Super Mario (5 games)

• Super Mario Bros. (spot 22)
• Super Mario 64 (spot 25)
• Super Mario Galaxy (spot 49)
• Super Mario World (spot 75)
• Super Mario Odyssey (spot 85)

Another Nintendo stalwart takes second place with five entries. Each title marks a milestone in video game history. Just one question for our judging panel – where the heck is Super Mario Bros. 3?

Spot 3: Grand Theft Auto (4 games)

• Grand Theft Auto V (spot 39)
• Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (spot 40)
• Grand Theft Auto III (spot 56)
• Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (spot 67)

Before Rockstar graces us with the sixth instalment of GTA, the judges are celebrating this series with four entries on the top 100 list. That's all well and good. But it’s a travesty that GTA IV is missing here. I’m going bowling with my cousin Roman as a form of protest.

Spot 3: Resident Evil (4 games)

• Resident Evil 2 (spot 26)
• Resident Evil 4 (spot 50)
• Resident Evil Requiem (spot 80)
• Resident Evil 4 remake (spot 93)

Tied for third place with four entries is Capcom’s survival horror series Resident Evil. For me, this was one of the biggest surprises on the list. Don’t get me wrong – I’m a huge fan of Resident Evil. But I didn’t think the series was that popular.

What’s particularly funny is that Resident Evil 4 is the only game to appear twice on the list – once as the original from 2005 and once as the 2023 remake. It’s also worth noting that the legendary Leon S. Kennedy plays a leading role in all these games. The guy knows what he’s doing.

Spot 5: Mario Kart (3 games)

• Mario Kart 8 (spot 31)
• Mario Kart 64 (spot 38)
• Super Mario Kart (spot 46)

Not only can Mario jump, he can hit fast speeds too. His fun racer series takes three spots at once. It’s a shame that Double Dash is missing. Fun fact – the three Mario Kart games are the only racing games to make the list.

What developer studios dominate the list?

With so many games, I want to know which developer studios crop up most often. Nintendo dominates the list on this front too – with more than twice as many titles as second-ranked PlayStation.

The top 5 looks like this:

1. Nintendo (15 games)
2. PlayStation Studios (7 games)
3. Blizzard (6 games)
4. Rockstar (6 games)
5. Capcom (5 games)
6. Valve (5 games)

Note on scoring: to simplify the analysis, I’ve grouped individual studios into entire development companies. For example, it doesn’t matter whether Nintendo EPD1 or Nintendo EPD2 created a game. To keep things fair, I’ve also grouped all PlayStation and Xbox studios together, even though they exist as separate entities with their own names (Naughty Dog, for instance).

What countries are the top games from?

My gut tells me that Japan features heavily on our list. The analysis confirms my assumption. Japanese studios account for 40 of our top 100 games, closely followed by the USA. After that, there’s a huge gap. If you add up all the European countries, their total only comes to 21 games.

The top 5 countries:

1. Japan (40 games)
2. USA (36 games)
3. United Kingdom (6 games)
4. Poland (3 games)
5. Sweden (2 games)
6. Belgium (2 games)
7. France (2 games)
8. Canada (2 games)

Note on scoring: only one country is counted per game. I based it on the headquarters of the main development company.

What platforms dominate?

Is our list geared more towards consoles or PC? The analysis shows we have a little bit of everything. It’s funny that Google’s defunct Stadia platform (Baldur’s Gate 3, Cyberpunk 2077) and two arcade games (Tekken 3, Pac-Man) have also made their way onto the list.

The top 5 platforms:

1. PC (51)
2. PlayStation consoles (41)
3. Nintendo consoles (25)
4. Xbox consoles (24)
5. Stadia (2)
6. Arcade machines (2)

Note on scoring: I’ve based it on the platforms on which a game was originally released. To allow console platforms to be compared with the PC platform, I haven’t categorised them by generation (PS1, PS2, PS3, etc.). If a game’s released on multiple platforms, all platforms are counted.

Breakdown by year

In the comments, we were accused of having too many new games on the list. The opposite has also been claimed – that we included too many outdated, old titles that no one’s interested in any more.

The truth lies somewhere in the middle, as the chart below shows. There, you’ll see all the games from the list, broken down into five-year periods.

Two peaks stand out. I attribute the one at the turn of the millennium to the nostalgic sentiments of the judges, whose average age is over 30. The late 1990s and early 2000s were a magical era for gaming, marked by many milestones in 3D graphics. Moments like these are forever etched into a gamer’s mind.

The second, even larger peak could be explained by recency bias – new releases tend to be remembered more clearly. To be fair, it’s also worth noting that many exceptional games were released during that period (the mid to late 2010s).

Note on scoring: only the original release year of a game is taken into account.

What genres does our judging panel like and dislike?

In the comments, some users complained that we’d completely left out entire genres. Sports and racing games were practically nonexistent. The analysis confirms this. Only three games on our list are racing games (all of them Mario Kart). What can I say? We nerds have absolutely no interest in sports.

If we repeat this rating in a few years’ time, this is something we’ll have to be more aware of when selecting the judging panel – we need even more people with diverse tastes.

The top 5 genres:

1. Action-adventure (29 games)
2. Role-playing games – including JRPGs (21 games)
3. Open world (17 games)
4. Shooter (11 games)
5. Platformer (8 games)
6. Strategy (8 games)

Note on scoring: I assigned a maximum of two genres to each game. I’ve grouped the subgenres together in a way that makes sense, to avoid an overly granular breakdown.

Single-player or multiplayer?

Regardless of the genre, I was curious to know whether our list was more focused on single-player or multiplayer games. The results are clear – our judges are lone wolves of the gaming world.

• Single-player: 82 games
• Multiplayer: 18 games

Note on scoring: each game was categorised as either primarily a multiplayer or primarily a single-player title.

Here are the personal top lists

Together with many guest authors, Rainer presented rankings 100 to 2 in a total of three articles. What many people failed to grasp was that this wasn’t Rainer’s personal list.

Time and again, our freelancer had to defend himself in the comments against accusations that he didn’t know what he was talking about. He was merely the innocent messenger delivering the collective voting results of our panel of experts.

To counteract this injustice, I’m publishing below the top 25 picks from the members of the Digitec Galaxus editorial team who were on the judging panel. So now you finally have a good reason to hate on Rainer’s questionable taste.

Note: the games in regular font made it into the top 100. The ones in italics didn’t.

Rainer’s personal top list

1. Final Fantasy VII
2. Baldur’s Gate 3
3. Final Fantasy VIII
4. Final Fantasy XI
5. Secret of Mana
6. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
7. Fire Emblem
8. Broken Sword
9. Chrono Trigger
10. Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance
11. GTA: Vice City
12. Streets of Rage
13. Half-Life 2
14. Pillars of Eternity
15. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth
16. Grandia
17. Super Mario Odyssey
18. Suikoden 2
19. Metal Gear Solid
20. Aladdin
21. Pokémon Red/Blue/Green/Yellow
22. Yakuza Zero
23. Mario Kart 8
24. Halo: Combat Evolved
25. Uncharted 2

52% of Rainer’s games feature in the top 100.

Here’s what Rainer has to say about the top 100 list:
«Huh? Ugh! Really?!». That was my reaction when it became clear that World of Warcraft was going to win. Not because I don’t like the game. I spent a summer in Azeroth myself back in 2004 and had a great time with my Night Elf hunter (before you ask – yes, vanilla is my favourite ice cream flavour). But the fact that so many members of the judging panel still rank this game – which is over two decades old – so highly left me a little shocked at first. As time goes on, though, the happier I am that it took the top spot. After all, what other game has such an impressive track record?

Personally, I would’ve liked to see a more even split between newer and older (pre-2000) games. I chalk this up to recency bias, which certainly influenced my list as well. And my second confession is that I’d rank my top 25 differently today than when I voted back in spring. The comments are right. I have no idea – I’m such a noob.

Philipp’s personal top list

1. World of Warcraft
2. Valheim
3. PUBG
4. Cyberpunk 2077
5. Half-Life 2
6. Portal 2
7. Elden Ring
8. Red Dead Redemption 2
9. Split Fiction
10. The Witcher 3
11. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
12. Mass Effect
13. Command and Conquer: Red Alert
14. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
15. FTL
16. Diablo
17. Doom
18. The Curse of Monkey Island
19. Mirror’s Edge
20. Max Payne
21. Fallout 3
22. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
23. Deus Ex
24. The Operative: No One Lives Forever
25. Battlefield 1942

56% of Phil’s games feature in the top 100.

Here’s what Phil has to say about the top 100 list:
It’s incredibly difficult to narrow down your favourite games to just 25. Why don’t you give it a go? Still, I’m very happy with the list. Not just because my personal number one came out on top.

Almost all milestones are represented. Of course, I’m missing a few classics like Max Payne and The Curse of Monkey Island. And even though it’s never really been my thing, there should be at least one FIFA game on there. But EA only has itself to blame for the fact that the games are so similar. For me, Valheim and PUBG definitely belong in a top 100 list – and actually Fortnite too, considering what a huge phenomenon it is. But at the end of the day, 100 spots are just 100 spots, and every one of them is well-deserved – except for The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, Frostpunk, Super Mario Kart, Clair Obscur (recency bias) and all those JRPGs I just don’t get. Or, to quote Domagoj: loool. This list is a joke. You guys don’t know anything about games.

Simon’s personal top list

1. Dark Souls
2. Starcraft
3. Tetris
4. GoldenEye 007 (aka GoldenEye 64)
5. Mario Kart 64
6. Super Mario Bros.
7. Counter-Strike
8. RollerCoaster Tycoon
9. Minecraft
10. Half-Life
11. Age of Empires II
12. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2
13. GTA III
14. Quake III Arena
15. Ico
16. Elden Ring
17. World of Warcraft
18. Super Street Fighter II Turbo
19. Tekken 3
20. Doom
21. Super Mario 64
22. Gran Turismo
23. Titanfall 2
24. Spec Ops: The Line
25. Europa Universalis IV

72% of Simon’s games feature in the top 100 – the highest percentage among the members of the editorial team who were on the judging panel (along with Domagoj).

Here’s what Simon has to say about the top 100 list:
I love lists. They bring order to the chaos that usually reigns in my head. Even better are lists that have the potential to be something I completely disagree with. I absolutely love being ragebaited. Dark Souls in spot 54? Are you out of your minds? Without me, the game would be even closer to the bottom. It’s my number one, so almost half the points it got came from me.

The passion that lists like these spark in the Community – and in me – borders on cult-like fanaticism. If your favourite obscure PC Engine game isn’t at least in the top 10, then all 40-plus judges clearly have no clue. In your eyes, we’re philistines, noobs or amateurs. And you’re right! While putting my list together, I realised I had no idea. I added, swapped and removed titles so many times. There’s only one thing I’m certain about – Dark Souls is way too low down, dammit!

Kim’s personal top list

1. RimWorld
2. Unreal Tournament
3. Age of Empires II
4. Super Mario Kart
5. TEW IX
6. FlatOut 2
7. Football Manager 2024
8. Anstoss 2 Gold Edition
9. Pro Evolution Soccer 5
10. Gangsters 2
11. Pro Cycling Manager 25
12. Project Zomboid
13. Jagged Alliance 2
14. Red Faction
15. Grand Theft Auto 2
16. Dungeon Keeper 2
17. Lemmings
18. Medal of Honor: Allied Assault
19. Micro Machines
20. Mafia 2
21. L.A. Noire
22. Railroad Tycoon II
23. The Operative: No One Lives Forever
24. Holiday Island
25. The Walking Dead: The Telltale Definitive Series

12% of Kim’s games feature in the top 100. That’s the lowest percentage among the members of the editorial team who were on the judging panel.

Here’s what Kim has to say about the top 100 list:
When I look at our top 100, what strikes me most is what games are missing. In my opinion, there’s a severe lack of sports and manager games in particular. Football Manager, Anstoss, Pro Evolution Soccer, FIFA, TEW, NCAA Football and Pro Cycling Manager have had a greater impact on me than many of the titles that made it onto the list. But choosing the games wasn’t exactly easy. With series that have annual instalments, there’s always the question of which title should stand for the whole. Still, I think at least one major representative of this genre should’ve made it into the top 100.

It’s a shame that Unreal Tournament is nowhere to be seen. For me, it’s one of the best shooters of all time and a game that defined an entire era on the PC. And to top it all off, World of Warcraft takes the number one spot. A catastrophic choice. I think it’s a time-consuming, incredibly boring game that, even with the best will in the world, I wouldn’t voluntarily put myself through. The fact that this title, of all the possibilities, tops our list clearly shows just how much opinions differ among the editorial team and the external members of the judging panel. We all like different things, and at the end of the day that’s a positive.

Debora’s personal top list

1. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
2. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
3. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
4. The Witcher 3
5. Civilization V
6. Dyson Sphere Program
7. The Division
8. Skyrim
9. Red Dead Redemption 2
10. The Settlers II
11. Frostpunk
12. Transport Fever 2
13. Surviving Mars
14. The Witcher
15. Dune: Awakening
16. Detroit: Become Human
17. Horizon Zero Dawn
18. Assassin’s Creed Origins
19. Ghost Recon Wildlands
20. Cities: Skylines
21. World of Warcraft
22. The Division 2
23. Space Haven (EA)
24. Timberborn
25. Star Wars: The Old Republic

36% of Debora’s games feature in the top 100.

Here’s what Debora has to say about the top 100 list:
When I was asked to rank my favourite games in a top 25 list, I found myself facing some real difficulties. Just the research alone – what games have I actually played in my life? Of course, there were a few I forgot about that really deserve a spot on the list (Commander Keen!). After I turned in the list, I was annoyed the very next day because my own ranking seemed wrong to me.

What makes a game a favourite? The story? How relaxed I feel when playing it? The game time alone? Is the emotionally gripping Detroit: Become Human – which I played through in just a few hours – actually better than Cities: Skylines, which I spent nights on end puzzling over? Do nostalgic memories of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past count for more than an immersive adventure like Red Dead Redemption 2? Why have I included Civilization V, but not Civilization I, which was one of the main reasons I went on to study history? What we’re doing is comparing apples and oranges across genres and decades. It’s an extremely difficult task.

The fact that World of Warcraft was voted number one surprised me… but in a way it didn’t really. For many people, this MMORPG has likely been a constant companion in their lives for years. It’s the same story with me, which is why I included it in my ranking. Still, I never would’ve expected it to be in first place. But that’s also what’s so good about this list – it gets people thinking and sparks conversation. And in the best-case scenario, it will give us all new inspiration.

Franziska’s personal top list

1. Persona 5 Royal
2. It Takes Two
3. NieR Automata
4. Animal Crossing: New Horizons
5. Final Fantasy XV
6. Resident Evil Requiem
7. Yakuza: Like a Dragon
8. The Last of Us
9. Final Fantasy X-2
10. Death Stranding
11. A Plague Tale: Innocence
12. Final Fantasy X
13. Resident Evil 4
14. The Evil Within
15. Devil May Cry 5
16. Atelier Ryza 2
17. Bayonetta
18. PUBG Mobile
19. Astro Bot
20. Shadow of the Tomb Raider
21. Pokémon Red/Blue/Green/Yellow
22. The Chant
23. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
24. Hugo
25. Assassin’s Creed Syndicate

36% of Franziska’s games feature in the top 100.

Here’s what Franziska has to say about the top 100 list:
If I had to come up with a list today, it would probably look different than a few months ago – and completely different again next year. There are just too many great games. This is also evident from the entire top 100, which includes so many titles that I’ll never be a fan of – like Soulslikes, which I can’t stand because my patience is far too thin.

And you know what? That’s exactly what I like about the list. If I want to find out which games are «objectively» great, I can visit review sites like Opencritic. Our list is subjective, but it helps me discover games I hadn’t even considered. World of Warcraft in the number one spot shocked me, though. Does that mean a lot of the judges ranked this game first, while it didn’t even make it onto my list? WoW.

Kevin’s personal top list

1. Xenogears
2. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
3. Final Fantasy VII
4. Final Fantasy Tactics
5. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
6. Resident Evil 2
7. Suikoden 2
8. The Last of Us
9. Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights
10. Metal Gear Solid
11. NieR: Automata
12. Super Mario Galaxy 2
13. Uncharted 2
14. Diablo II
15. Mass Effect 2
16. Chrono Trigger
17. Parasite Eve
18. Hollow Knight
19. Grand Theft Auto
20. Shenmue
21. Gris
22. Half-Life 2
23. Silent Hill
24. Tetris
25. Pokémon Red/Blue/Green/Yellow

52% of Kevin’s games feature in the top 100.

Here’s what Kevin has to say about the top 100 list:
Do I see myself in the top 100 list? No. Is that a bad thing? Also no. I enjoy checking out rankings like these on other websites from time to time. Looking back, I should’ve included some of those titles in my personal top 25 as well. But there are so many great games, and depending on how much time I have and what I’m in the mood for, I’d keep adding different ones to the list. In any case, I’m inspired now, and if my backlog ever lets me, I’ll definitely catch up on Baldur’s Gate 3.

Domagoj’s personal top list

1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
2. The Last of Us Part II
3. Super Mario Galaxy
4. Uncharted 2
5. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
6. GTA 5
7. Pokémon Gold/Silver
8. The Last of Us
9. Red Dead Redemption 2
10. Astro Bot
11. Pokémon Red/Blue/Green/Yellow
12. Rayman 2: The Great Escape
13. God of War
14. Red Dead Redemption
15. Metroid Prime
16. Fallout 3
17. Metaphor: ReFantazio
18. GTA: San Andreas
19. Super Mario Bros. Wonder
20. Super Mario Odyssey
21. Pokémon Pokopia
22. Super Mario 64
23. Mario Kart 8
24. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
25. Rayman

72% of Domagoj’s games feature in the top 100 – the highest percentage among the members of the editorial team who were on the judging panel (along with Simon).

Here’s what Domagoj has to say about the top 100 list:
On the whole, I’m pleased with the top 100. The list’s nothing to be ashamed of. Except for first place, you damn basement dwellers (especially Phil).

Seriously though, I don’t have a problem with World of Warcraft being included in the list. But the game only took first place because, well, there’s only one World of Warcraft. In contrast, there are countless Zelda, Mario and GTA games that end up competing against each other in a vote like this.

To end my rant on a positive note – it was a hell of a lot of fun putting together my personal list. In an age when new content is shoved down our throats every day, it’s good to pause and reflect on what really matters to us. The list also inspired me to catch up on a few gems I’ve been sleeping on (NieR: Automata, Half-Life, BioShock) and to revisit some games I haven’t played in a long time (Uncharted 2, Red Dead Redemption 2, Super Mario Odyssey).

Long live gaming, the best hobby in the world.

Domagoj Belancic

Senior Editor

Domagoj.Belancic@digitecgalaxus.ch

My love of video games was unleashed at the tender age of five by the original Gameboy. Over the years, it's grown in leaps and bounds.

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