Over the years since I began the Make Lists, Not War website, I’ve received a number of requests to publish meta-lists on particular topics of interest to readers. As a result of these requests, I’ve created meta-lists of the best essays of all time, the best novels of all time, and the best hip hop songs of all time, among others. The most frequently-requested meta-list is the best video games of all time. It’s taken me a few years to get around to making such a list, but it is finally complete. You can access it through the link below:
The Best Video Games of All Time: Ranked
One of the reasons I hesitated about making a video game list is my lack of knowledge of gaming and gaming culture. With a couple of exceptions, I haven’t played any video games since the 1980s. But the beauty of the meta-list concept is that I don’t need any expertise in the subject matter. All I need is the ability to find “best video games” lists and combine them into a meta list. There were plenty of such lists to be found on the Internet. I chose the 15 lists below to create this meta-list.
The Original Source Lists:
- Time Magazine (2016)
- Slant (2020)
- IGN (2021)
- Games Radar + (2021)
- Business Insider (2022)
- USA Today (2022)
- Popular Mechanics (2022)
- British GQ (2023)
- Empire (2023)
- Digital Trends (2023)
- Parade (2023)
- IMDB (2024)
- Wikipedia Meta-List (accessed 1/24)
- WatchMojo (n.d., accessed 1/24)
- Gadget Mates (n.d., accessed 1/24)
The three top vote-getters were on 14 of the lists. No video game was on all 15 lists. I included every video game that was listed on three or more lists in the published meta-list. My feeling is that including items that are only on one or two lists makes for a much longer, and ultimately less useful list.
My own personal experience with video games is very limited. It begins with the game of Pong, which we played on my television as a child.
Arcade games I played in the late 1970s and early 1980s included Space Invaders, Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Asteroids, and Centipede.
I also recall a favorite arcade game that allowed two players to cooperate to shoot down aliens – it was unusual in that it required players to work together as a team instead of compete against each other, but I don’t recall the name of it. (If anyone knows, leave me a comment below!) I also recall playing Donkey Kong on a friend’s computer in the 1980s and maybe something involving Mario. I’m pretty sure I played Tetris at least once, but I was never a big fan. I played Wii Sports with my nephew once in 2006 or 2007, and either Guitar Hero or Rock Band once with a friend. And that’s about the extent of my gaming experience.