IGN’s editors and contributors have produced multiple Best Games lists over the last 20 years (the most recent, the “Top 100 Video Games of All Time,” was published in 2019), but they’re doing something a little different with their “Best Video Game of All Time Bracket.”
Beginning today, IGN’s readers will guide the process by voting in a March Madness-style tournament that features 64 of “the very best” games, as selected by IGN staff.
To build the bracket, games were sorted randomly into four different regions, and then seeded by IGN’s editors. Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption, Valve’s Portal 2, Nintendo’s Super Mario World, and Nintendo’s Super Metroid were the #1 seeds in each region, but voters will have to make some hard choices in this first round.
I mean, how do you choose between The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim? Or Halo 2 and Mass Effect 2? Or Street Fighter II and Pokemon Yellow? Or The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Final Fantasy VII?
Let’s take a look at the full seeding…
Region 1 (Top Left): Round 1
- (1) Red Dead Redemption
(16) Borderlands 2 - (8) Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
(9) Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - (5) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
(12) Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 - (4) Fallout: New Vegas
(13) League of Legends - (6) World of Warcraft
(11) Fortnite - (3) Chrono Trigger
(14) Burnout 3: Takedown - (7) Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
(10) GoldenEye 007 - (2) Journey
(15) Dishonored
Region 2 (Bottom Left): Round 1
- (1) Portal 2
(16) The Sims 3 - (8) God of War (2018)
(9) StarCraft - (5) Civilization IV
(12) Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag - (4) The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
(13) The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - (6) BioShock
(11) Overwatch - (3) Minecraft
(14) Fable II - (7) The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
(10) Diablo II - (2) Doom (1993)
(15) Inside
Region 3 (Top Right): Round 1
- (1) Super Mario World
(16) Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - (8) The Last of Us
(9) Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater - (5) Halo 2
(12) Mass Effect 2 - (4) Grand Theft Auto V
(13) Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - (6) Street Fighter II
(11) Pokemon Yellow - (3) Super Mario 64
(14) Batman: Arkham City - (7) Dark Souls
(10) Shadow of the Colossus - (2) Half-Life 2
(15) Rise of the Tomb Raider
Region 4 (Bottom Right): Round 1
- (1) Super Metroid
(16) Apex Legends - (8) Animal Crossing: New Horizons
(9) Titanfall 2 - (5) Half-Life: Alyx
(12) Bloodborne - (4) Tetris
(13) Rock Band - (6) Hades
(11) Metroid Prime - (3) Super Mario Bros. 3
(14) Persona 5 Royal - (7) Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
(10) Resident Evil 4 - (2) The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
(15) Final Fantasy VII
Voting for future rounds will be held every few days this month, beginning with the Round of 32 on Tuesday, September 14.
Because IGN’s “Best Game of All Time Bracket” is a public vote, it’s ineligible for inclusion in the overall Video Game Canon. But it’s very possible the site’s editors will publish an update to their “Top 100 Video Games of All Time” list later this year.
UPDATE (9/14/21): The first round of voting is in the books and IGN’s editors may have misjudged the seeding. Chrono Trigger, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Super Mario World, Street Fighter II, Super Mario 64, Half-Life 2, Super Metroid, and several others all fell to lower seeds.
Here’s what the next round looks like:
Region 1 (Top Left): Round 2
- (1) Red Dead Redemption
(8) Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - (5) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
(4) Fallout: New Vegas - (6) World of Warcraft
(14) Burnout 3: Takedown - (7) Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
(15) Dishonored
Region 2 (Bottom Left): Round 2
- (1) Portal 2
(8) God of War (2018) - (12) Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
(13) The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - (6) BioShock
(3) Minecraft - (7) The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
(2) Doom (1993)
Region 3 (Top Right): Round 2
- (16) Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
(8) The Last of Us - (5) Halo 2
(4) Grand Theft Auto V - (11) Pokemon Yellow
(14) Batman: Arkham City - (7) Dark Souls
(15) Rise of the Tomb Raider
Region 4 (Bottom Right): Round 2
- (16) Apex Legends
(9) Titanfall 2 - (12) Bloodborne
(4) Tetris - (11) Metroid Prime
(3) Super Mario Bros. 3 - (10) Resident Evil 4
(2) The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
UPDATE (9/16/21): Titans continue to fall as Red Dead Redemption, Portal 2, Doom (1993), and Tetris were all knocked out. Here’s how the bracket currently stands at the start of Round 3:
Round 3
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UPDATE (9/20/21): Down goes Minecraft! Mojang’s sandbox simulation was cruising through the early rounds, but only eight games currently remain in the “Best Video Game of All Time Bracket” and it’s no longer one of them after losing to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt:
Round 4
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UPDATE (9/23/21): We’re down to the final four, but which two games will advance to the Final Round? Will we have an all-GTA finale? Or will Link and/or Kratos prove their mettle? Let’s find out:
Round 5
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UPDATE (9/27/21): This is it… the Final Round. It’s God of War (2018) versus Grand Theft Auto V and you should get your votes in now.
Final Round
- (8) God of War (2018)
- (4) Grand Theft Auto V
UPDATE (9/29/21): After a series of somewhat baffling reader votes, IGN’s “Best Game of All Time Bracket” has come to an end and Sony Santa Monica’s God of War (2018) has been declared the winner after defeating Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto V in the final round.
Kratos returned in God of War (2018) after a five-year absence and instantly won over fans and critics everywhere. The fervor for the further adventures of the Ghost of Sparta no doubt helped the PS4 game topple StarCraft, Portal 2, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on its path to victory.
As confusing as it is to readers who expected a more established game to win, IGN’s “Best Game of All Time Bracket” turned out to be just another pantheon for Kratos for conquer.