As you might've noticed, GAMINGbible now has an all-new, very shiny online home. Partly to celebrate the launch of our new website, and partly to provide a window into the team's tastes when it comes to video games, we've put together our own top 100 greatest video games of all time. Some of us have been playing video games for 35 years, while others haven't been alive that long - so our top 100 covers a lot of bases, from across several generations of gaming.
How we came to this top 100: a lot of listing, a smidge of voting, and then a solid bout of arguing. And then we changed some positions, and added some totally new entries to the list. It's not a science, dear reader. It's love.
To make things easier for your eyes, we've broken the top 100 into five parts. Please click the links below to go straight to the pages in question. Enjoy!
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100-81 - you're looking at it
80-61
60-41
40-21
20-1
Words: Dan Wilson (DW), Dean Abdou (DA), Ewan Moore (EM), Imogen Donovan (ID), Imogen Mellor (IM), James Daly (JD), Julian Benson (JB), Mark Foster (MF), Mike Diver (MD), Tom Ryan-Smith (TRS), Will McCue (WM)
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100
Dirt Rally
Codemasters, 2015
Straddling the line between arcade racer and simulation, Dirt Rally is a stripped-down experience. There's no map, no other cars on the track, no safety nets - if you let your concentration lapse and take a turn too wide you will be off the road and out of the top spots for the competition. Dirt Rally stands out as a racing game because of its clarity of focus, and every racing game fan should play it. JB
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99
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
Ubisoft, 2013
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag proved conclusively that assassins and pirates mix perfectly. A magnificent nautical adventure stuffed to the gills with content and a series-best protagonist in Edward Kenway, this one's a genuine treasure. EM
98
World Of Warcraft
Blizzard, 2004
If World Of Warcraft had a penny for every time it'd been parodied, criticised, championed, lambasted and idolised by gamers and non-gamers alike throughout the years, it'd probably have a stack of cash stretching from here to Azeroth. Which would be quite a long way. If that doesn't scream success, I don't know what does. MF
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97
Professor Layton and the Curious Village
Level-5, 2007
The Nintendo DS library was an important part of a lot of people's childhoods, from Nintendogs to Cooking Mama. Professor Layton and The Curious Village was a game which allowed a slightly older audience all the enjoyment of a game of Cluedo on the handheld console. The challenging puzzles and almost Tim Burton-esque proportions of the characters you meet are engaging and such a pleasure to consume, no wonder there were so many sequels. Following Hershel Layton and Luke Triton is simply a delight. IM
96
SOMA
Frictional Games, 2015
Following a tragic car accident, Simon Jarrett closes his eyes in preparation for an experimental brain scan which might save his life. When he opens them again, he is alone in a dark and dingy cell with exposed piping and metal panels. SOMA does an excellent job of toying with your expectations of horror, and fraying the threads of your understanding with gruesome monsters and haunting discoveries of what has happened, and will happen, to Simon Jarrett. Plus, if you don't like spooks, there's a Safe Mode which will put the creatures in a time out. ID
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95
TimeSplitters: Future Perfect
Free Radical Design, 2005
You're probably thinking, "Why is this not TimeSplitters 2?" Which is a valid question. But Future Perfect took everything TS2 did, and made it better - and therefore it's 95 on our list, and TS2 is not. To be fair, for many, the two games are pretty interchangeable, but this one gets the edge for its superior story missions. MF
94
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Nintendo EAD, 2006
Twilight Princess was my first "proper" game, i.e. one that was generally well-known and that had a colon in the title, which means it must have been important to warrant use of complex punctuation. Its world, which was colourful and exciting as well as moody and mysterious, encouraged me to explore, uncovering treasure if I could work out the puzzle. This was mega for me, as it was unlike anything I'd ever played, and with the Wii motion controls, it was like Link, Midna and I were working together to save Hyrule. ID
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93
Persona 4 Golden
Atlus, 2012
The Persona series has never been home to a duff game, but in terms of its mainline entries this all-bells version of Persona 4, initially exclusive to Vita, really shines bright. Falling in love with Golden's rural Japanese setting and cast of misfits is one of the easiest things you'll ever do in gaming, and its dungeon crawling never dulls as you fight through to an epic ending. MD
92
GoldenEye 007
Rare, 1997
Perhaps still the best film tie-in game ever, GoldenEye 007 brought us the split-screen shooter action that would dominate couch multiplayer sessions for years to come. As for the story, it features the best Bond dialogue of all time: "For England, James?" "No. For me." JD
91
Animal Crossing: Wild World
Nintendo EAD, 2005
Everyone on the planet knows I am almost always playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons. I might even be playing it now. Though the newest entry is nice and shiny, Wild World is the one that sparked my love for the series. Slowly and steadily saving up to expand my house and fill it with space shuttles and dinosaur skeletons. Pilfering a friend's fruit so that I could make a mint on my own game. Drawing constellations in the sky and naming them "asjdkjd" or "bum." It's what society should aim for. ID
90
Hearthstone
Blizzard, 2014
CCGs, or collectable card games, originally found success in physical gameplay. Blizzard's Hearthstone took the ideas of Magic: The Gathering and formed them into a World of Warcraft CCG which took off amazingly. Many have attempted to replicate the awe that comes with opening card packs in Hearthstone, or the excitement you get when you play a Legendary card to trigger a stunning animation sequence, but none have exceeded the original's beauty and intricacy. IM
89
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Intelligent Systems/Koei Tecmo, 2019
The Fire Emblem games are all tactical sims where your units battle it out against an enemy. What makes Fire Emblem: Three Houses stand out is the story, conversations and the world those battles take place in. From the outside, it looks like an anime, and some of the plot plays out like that; but inside is a deliciously replayable story you want to hear every side of. The tales of each house and story are worth hundreds of hours of play. IM
88
Streets of Rage 2
SEGA, 1992
What Capcom and Konami made great in the arcades, with the side-scrolling action of Final Fight and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles respectively, SEGA arguably perfected for home consoles with its Streets of Rage sequel. With chunky sprites, crunching special moves and a striking techno soundtrack, Streets of Rage 2 still feels amazing to play some 28 years on from its Mega Drive release. MD
87
Fortnite Battle Royale
Epic Games, 2017
The battle royale genre and online gaming changed forever with the release of Fortnite's free-to-play, last-player-standing-wins mode. Whether you love or hate it, Epic Games' money-making machine took over the world and was the game everyone was talking about for a good year or two. Fortnite is more than just a game, it's a cultural phenomenon. WM
86
Dragon Age: Inquisition
BioWare, 2014
In Dragon Age's two preceding titles, there was an inkling that there was an entire continent to explore, but it was contained in codex entries and conversations. Inquisition flings open the gates and lets you loose in sumptuous and verdant playgrounds, and the dragons are bloody ginormous in this one. Yes, the plot might be all over the place, figuratively - but it is all over the place, literally, too. And that's good. ID
85
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Neversoft, 2007
Everyone loves Guitar Hero, that is a universal fact. The arcade musical instrument series made anyone who played it feel like a legit rock god - yes, even on easy. Guitar Hero III took every aspect of the first two games and turned it up to 11. Solos felt better than ever before, as the hammer on and off mechanic had been tightened to perfection. Sliding your fingers up and down the buttons and throwing a cheeky right hand tap in there felt so good. There's a reason this game in the series was used as the model for an arcade version of Guitar Hero. Anyway, I've got to go now, my 'Cliffs of Dover'-induced carpal tunnel syndrome has kicked in. TRS
84
Undertale
Toby Fox, 2015
Undertale is truly a special project. Toby Fox almost single-handedly created a sincere game about love and showing compassion towards those you may not understand. It's hilarious at points, while it makes you cry in others. Only through multiple playthroughs and a little bit of diving into the code can you see how detailed and deep this experience goes - all while looking like a 20-year-old game you find in your attic. An essential indie title. IM
83
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2
Ubisoft, 2007
There's a purity to Vegas 2's terrorist hunt. The same few levels are populated with AI goons waiting for you to move into their sights, but somehow it is endlessly replayable. Mastering those missions, stretching your limited ammo and health to the end of a map stuffed with enemies is a punishing challenge few games can offer. JB
82
Shadow of the Colossus
SIE Japan Studio/Team Ico, 2005
The antithesis to open-world games stuffed with objective markers and collectibles, Shadow of the Colossus sends us out into a wide landscape largely absent of life - save for 16 titanic beasts to conquer. And yet, it manages to make us feel like the monster. 2018's PS4 remake by Bluepoint is the recommended entry point for newcomers to this sombre, introspective masterpiece. MD
81
Total War: Warhammer II
Creative Assembly, 2017
The Total War series has been a mainstay of PC gaming for decades, but it found new life when it became Warhammer flavoured. Each faction in Warhammer II is wonderfully distinct in look and design, so as you try to take control of the game world you're forever needing to develop new tactics to overcome the unique strengths of your enemies. The game has been fleshed out with new factions and updates for years now, making it the most lively strategy game available. JB
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Check out the rest of our top 100 greatest games of all time, as follows:
100-81 - you're looking at it
80-61
60-41
40-21
20-1
Topics: Xbox, Fortnite, Sega, Animal Crossing, list, Nintendo, PlayStation, Retro Gaming, The Legend of Zelda