The Adventure Log: VGC Updates, Game History, and More
The Video Game Canon: How It Works
The Video Game Canon is a statistical meta-analysis of 76 Best Games lists that were published between 1995 and 2023. To qualify for inclusion, each list must include at least 50 titles, some form of editorial oversight (lists made up solely of reader polls or fan voting were excluded), and no restrictions on release dates or platforms.
After feeding each Best Games list into the Video Game Canon machine, the games were ranked against each other using the C-Score, a formula that adds together a game’s Average Ranking across all lists with the complementary percentage of its Appearance Frequency.
This means that a lower C-Score results in a higher ranking on the Video Game Canon. Want an example?
Tetris appears on 94.67% of all lists in the most recent update to the Video Game Canon, with with an Average Ranking of 17.35. Plugging those numbers into the formula gives it the lowest C-Score of any game.
17.35 + (100 – 94.67) = 22.68
Average Ranking + (100 – Appearance Frequency) = C-Score
17.35 + (100 – 94.67) = 22.68
More than 1,000 different games were included on at least one Best Games list… where does your favorite rank?
The Video Game Canon: The Top 100
Last Update: 11/18/2023 (Version 7.0)
- 1. Tetris
- 2. Resident Evil 4
- 3. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- 4. The Last of Us
- 5. Half-Life 2
- 6. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- 7. Super Mario 64
- 8. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
- 9. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
- 10. BioShock
- 11. Super Metroid
- 12. Shadow of the Colossus
- 13. Mass Effect 2
- 14. Red Dead Redemption
- 15. Street Fighter II
- 16. Grand Theft Auto V
- 17. God of War (2018)
- 18. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
- 19. World of Warcraft
- 20. Doom (1993)
- 21. Final Fantasy VII
- 22. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- 23. GoldenEye 007
- 24. Bloodborne
- 25. Chrono Trigger
- 26. Halo: Combat Evolved
- 27. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
- 28. Portal
- 29. Super Mario World
- 30. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
- 31. Metal Gear Solid
- 32. Portal 2
- 33. Journey
- 34. Super Mario Bros. 3
- 35. Minecraft
- 36. Red Dead Redemption 2
- 37. Dark Souls
- 38. Super Mario Kart
- 39. Metroid Prime
- 40. StarCraft
- 41. Deus Ex
- 42. Disco Elysium
- 43. Final Fantasy VI (AKA Final Fantasy III [US])
- 44. Rock Band (Series)
- 45. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
- 46. Super Mario Bros.
- 47. Diablo II
- 48. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater (Series)
- 49. Pokemon Blue/Red/Yellow (1998) / Pokemon FireRed/LeafGreen (2004)
- 50. Silent Hill 2
- 51. Half-Life
- 52. Counter-Strike
- 53. Inside
- 54. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
- 55. Ico
- 56. Sonic the Hedgehog
- 57. Grand Theft Auto III
- 58. Super Mario Odyssey
- 59. Tomb Raider (1996) / Tomb Raider Anniversary (2007)
- 60. Donkey Kong
- 61. Fallout 3
- 62. Ms. Pac-Man
- 63. Undertale
- 64. Batman: Arkham City
- 65. EarthBound
- 66. Celeste
- 67. Stardew Valley
- 68. Super Mario Galaxy 2
- 69. SimCity 2000
- 70. Super Smash Bros. Melee
- 71. System Shock 2
- 72. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
- 73. Mega Man 2
- 74. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- 75. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island
- 76. Pac-Man
- 77. SimCity (1989)
- 78. Grim Fandango
- 79. The Legend of Zelda
- 80. Grand Theft Auto IV
- 81. Okami
- 82. The Walking Dead
- 83. Braid
- 84. The Sims
- 85. Overwatch
- 86. Resident Evil (1996) / Resident Evil (2002)
- 87. Space Invaders
- 88. The Secret of Monkey Island
- 89. Batman: Arkham Asylum
- 90. Lemmings
- 91. League of Legends
- 92. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
- 93. NBA Jam (Series)
- 94. Galaga
- 95. Super Mario Galaxy
- 96. Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! (1987) / Punch-Out!! (1990)
- 97. X-COM: UFO Defense (AKA UFO: Enemy Unknown)
- 98. Secret of Mana
- 99. Civilization IV
- 100. Final Fantasy Tactics