What’s the “best” top 100 video games list?

[StrawberrySys]

I know most lists get a ton of backlash, and the criticisms seem contradictory. I’m wondering what list, if any, of top 100 video games is any “good”  Maybe perhaps one of the many iterations of IGN, maybe USA Today, I’m not sure.

[Inlusione]

I considered the list from OpenCritic to be the closest to reality compared to many other publications, but it looks like now it doesn't really reflect it anymore as some new titles got pushed up at the top recently: https://opencritic.com/browse/all

Also, PwnRank seems to be a website dedicated to aggregating ranking data from many lists, so it might be close to what a true top might look like: https://www.pwnrank.com/top-100

From what I've played, I'm confident that these titles will definitely make it to the top 100: The Last of Us, The Witcher 3, Half Life series, Portal series, Resident Evil series, Mass Effect trilogy, Final Fantasy series, Metal Gear Solid, Bioshock, Red Dead Redemtpion, God of War, Darksouls, Uncharted, Persona, Silent Hill, Hades, Mario, Starcraft, Fallout New Vegas, Grand Theft Auto, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

[xixxii]

top 100 lists are always going to cause drama! especially in a field like video games where technological progress has a huge impact on the art form on top of all the other elements, it's very difficult to compare games to each other. should something be ranked because of its popularity, its influence and legacy, its impact, its tech, its graphics, its writing, how many awards it won, critical response................ new games with massive technological advances come out all the time and it's hard to tell whether they'll be influential or how (if) they'll be remembered; critical response is hard to compare over time, because how a publication rates a game out of ten when they're a mass-market publication with industry relationships and a big audience to satisfy is going to be very different to how they'd rate something when they were a small self-funded startup, et cetera.

recency bias is also always huge on any recommendation list; the hot game of any year might seem like an all-timer at the time, but as time passes does it stay at the top of people's lists or does it fade into the background? you don't know yet!
"untitled goose game" won multiple game of the year awards - it beat outer wilds at the game developer's choice awards for the title! - but it isn't actually considered on the same "level" in terms of GOTY Greatness as many of its fellow winners of that same prize.

on the other hand, fortnite is hugely important and influential, but it's not considered Great Art so it doesn't make most of these lists either. maybe that'll change in a decade when its legacy becomes more obvious... or maybe not!

of course, every "top 100" list for any art form is going to have similar troubles! comparing and ranking art across years and styles and contexts and genres is tough.

an aggregate list like the one inlusione linked is the way to go if you want something that will reflect what is Generally Agreed Upon By People Who Make Such Lists, which can get you an idea of what games are considered best and most important by that slice of gaming culture.

i think the "best" top 100 list is whichever one you find most useful! if what you want is a list of games you'd enjoy playing, then a list you get from a friend is a "better" list than something from IGN or wherever.

[StrawberrySys]

I was thinking of starting a podcast on 100 video games, but I’m not sure which list to do! AcclaimedVideoGames may be a good answer

[Melooon]

For per-system lists I tend to click on RetroDodo when they show up in searches since they seeeem like they are run by proper enthusiasts and some of the selections they make are quite unique 

In general though, I feel like a lot of top lists fall into the realm of group-think and they all end up saying the same things over and over, often missing some really important stuff. For example I would say Electroplankton is one of the best DS games ever made, but I don't think you'll find it any any top list!

You could follow a metric based top list; like "Top Selling" or "Most played on Steam" etc ~ those would be fact based lists, whereas every other top list is more or less totally subjective!

So if your gonna follow someone else's list anyway, I'd totally encourage you to make your own list and put whatever you like on it, rather than trying to follow the same generic list people see all the time ~ that would be more interesting for people to follow and it might start some fun debates 

[candycanearter07]

Yeah, I feel like the "best" video games is EXTREMELY subjective to the point of it being pointless to argue about. Like, how would you compare Mario 1 to Silent Hill? Both are great games, but in completely different ways, so trying to rank them in an objective way is pointless. I think that its pointless to "rank" them, and it would be better to make "My favorite games" lists to be more honest.

[StrawberrySys]

Has anyone here heard of AcclaimedVideoGames?

Ilmeni, the creator, has pretty much perfected the idea of the aggregate list in such a way that I don't think anyone can really do any better. Plus he's a cool guy. For extra post space, I will list the top 10

1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, by Nintendo EPD
2. Tetris, by Alexey Pajitnov
3. The Last of Us, by NaughtyDog
4. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, by CD Projekt RED
5. Half-Life 2, by Valve
6. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, by Nintendo EAD
7. Super Mario 64, by Nintendo EAD
8. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (gee, Nintendo EAD is probably the critics' favorite dev)
9. Resident Evil 4, by Capcom
10. BioShock, by 2K Boston/Australia