The 10 Best Computer Games of All Time
This is going to be a controversial one. Best of all time? surely not! Everyone has their own opinions and the age you were when you first experienced games always plays a part in your overall experience, but here is my list of the top 10 games of all time. Every game on this list is a solid 10/10. Games that are mechanically brilliant, addictive, or full of story depth and character. I hope you disagree, because variety is the spice of life. If I could only play 10 games for the rest of my life, it would be these.
10. Tetris (1984)
You want to talk mechanics, this is your game. Such a beautifully simple idea. The blocks are falling, and if they fill the screen to the top, you lose. That’s it. Yet, I have poured more hours into this game than I have RPGs, Shooters or world sims. I think the real beauty of the game is it’s simplicity, its easy to pick up but difficult to master, and appeals to gamers and non-gamers alike. I remember one Christmas my grandfather (who had never played a game before in his life) picked up my Gameboy and gave Tetris a go. I didn’t get it back for 3 days. It has an uncanny ability to hit the part of the brain that exists in everyone, that drive to clear, to clean. Try telling me that getting a lovely straight Tetris block that clears 4 lines in one go isn’t one of the most satisfying feelings in gaming history. With over 500 Million copies sold, it’s not just one of the best, but also one of the greatest selling games of all time.
9. Mega Man 2 (1988)
Mega Man 2 is hard. Rock hard. So hard in fact, they had to put an ‘easy’ version in the western release. But it’s difficulty is it’s greatest strength. The more you play, the further you get, the more satisfaction you get when you reach that further level, beat that harder boss. The way you gain the ability of the boss you’ve beaten seemed revolutionary at the time, and it looked 10 times better than all the other games on the NES.
I’m going to go out on a limb here, and say it also has one of the finest game soundtracks of all time too. The music, the gameplay, the graphics amount to an almost perfect package. If you have the patience, there’s so much satisfaction to be had with this innovative, colourful and exciting game. If you’ve never played it, do it now.
8. Civilisation V (2010)
Civ V is a masterpiece, plain and simple. since the first Civilisation came out in 1991, Sid Meier and his team have been perfecting the formula of turn based humanity simulator, and it got better and better until this entry exploded on the scene. The real beauty of this game is the almost infinite combinations and possibilities. Are you a warlord? a diplomat? a scientist? a trader? The varied play styles and outcomes make this a mechanically brilliant game that has infinite replay value.
each game takes about 20 hours to play to completion, and even if you lose (which is most of the time) you feel you’ve learned enough to attempt a new playthrough again. The days upon days I’ve lost to this game are almost immeasurable, and even though there has been 2 other entries since this one, this for me is the pinnacle. The best Simulation game ever made.
7. Doom (1993)
Doom is genre defining. Yes, there had been first person games before, but none that perfectly exemplified what this experience was supposed to be like Doom. Arguably, the biggest games being released today are STILL ‘Doom clones’. The music is great. The tone and atmosphere are amazing. the combat mechanic is still one of the best ever designed, and the level, character, and enemy design is second to none.
Almost 30 years later, it is tense, exciting and rewarding in a way that very few games of this era are. Even the name is perfect, you know exactly what you are going to get. Doom is the rock star of the computer game world, shocking, Gory, Hardcore and addictive.
6. Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988)
I’m going out on a limb here. Super Mario Bros. 3 is the best platformer of all time. Technically brilliant, bright, beautiful to look at, a delight for the ears, and so much fun. I know a lot of people love Super Mario world or Mario 64, but for me, neither have the replay value of this excellent game.
The culmination of many years of development by Nintendo’s finest minds, it’s a game that has been the benchmark for platformers for so long it’s almost embarrassing. It gave us the modern Mario who we know and love, and characters and settings that endure many years later.
Every new world offers a host of new characters, mechanics and secrets to enjoy, and finally finishing it for the first time a few years ago was a real highlight of my life. One of the first games I ever owned, and a much re-visited classic to this day.
5. Street Fighter IV (2008)
Fighting games are probably my favourite genres of games ever. The original Street Fighter 2 defined the genre, but I believe Street Fighter IV perfected it. In it’s final form it had 44 characters, encompassing the best of all the Street Fighter games before it.
A rich history, great character design and the most beautifully refined mechanics of any fighter ever, Street Fighter IV contains everything you could want from the genre. The thrill of a one on one fight won purely with skill and practice is a hard endorphin rush to match, and there’s a begrudging respect when you are bested by someone more skilled than you. Perfectly balanced, varied and fast paced, it would take a lifetime to master just one character, let alone the smorgasbord of fantastic fighters presented here.
4. The last of us Part II (2020)
The newest game on the list, I am adding this one because it explores an emotion rarely explored in this medium; Trauma.
If this game were a movie, I think it would have won several Oscars. From a mechanical standpoint, its a real triumph, but as a piece of storytelling it is in a league of it’s own. Never before have I played a game that asked so many valid questions about the nature of humanity, and elicited such a response from me emotionally.
It’s also undeniably beautiful. The stage design is so detailed, every home feels lived in and every forest feels wild. The AI is amazing, and the ‘bad guys’ of the piece react as you really would if your friend had been shot. The final act of the game is as intense as it is emotionally draining, and I felt genuine sadness and despair. It deals with PTSD, revenge and family ties in a way many great dramas fail to. It’s emotionally draining, depressing and thought provoking, and I love it for that. Plus, you can play guitar in it!
3. Fallout 4 (2015)
Fallout 4 is the time trap. It’s designers, Bethesda, have made some of the most infinitely re-playable RPGs ever, and they put many years of combined knowledge into this, the best RPG of all time. The world is so engaging, the characters are likable, and the politics of the inhabitants is interesting, nuanced and fascinating.
The freedom to roam and discover the landscape at your own pace and the variety of play styles and equipment load outs make for engagements you want to experience again and again. I’ve played it through 4 times so far, and I’m sure I’ll do it again, each time experiencing characters and story arcs I missed in previous playthroughs. As game worlds go, this might be my favourite. A masterpiece in world building, and the 50s aesthetic really works for me.
2. Resident Evil 4 (2005)
There is obviously something I like a lot about the forth games in franchises. I think good designers have had 3 whole games to learn from their mistakes, refine the characters and atmosphere, and bring the best elements of the franchise together in the perfect package. A full 9 years after the first game in the series, Capcom did the opposite. They threw the old playbook away, and delivered a game that is, other than a few returning characters, a bold leap away from the old format. No zombies, less puzzles, just action, new terrors and a completely different setting.
What they produced set a precedent for action games and storytelling that still persists today. The game is tense, scary, action packed and has a new surprise for you around every corner. The mechanics are perfect. The villains are always unnerving, and the setting is just awesome. They came close to reproducing this tone with the newest game in the series, but it was just missing that special something. I can’t wait to play the new VR remake.
- Bioshock (2007)
Bioshock is the greatest game ever made. When you talk about what makes a game great, this masterwork ticks every box. Rapture is one of the most fully realised worlds in science fiction writing across any medium. The Characters are great, the mood is perfect, the weapons, enemies and NPCs are varied, interesting and have their own motivations and experience. It’s the perfect length to tell an amazing story, and walks that fine line between feeling satisfied and wanting more.
Andrew Ryan is the archetypal villain, in that his motives are pure, but the execution is lacking, just like so many real life world leaders. ‘No Gods or kings, only man’ is a mantra worthy of any great writer of dystopian fiction. The opening of this game rivals great storytelling of any movie, and the reveal of the great city under the sea is impactful and eternally memorable.
To date, there are two sequels to this game. Both are truly great, but they are yet to capture the majesty, Intrigue and scope of this one magnificent game. I want more of this world, and at the same time hope they never return to it, leaving this beautiful, spooky and engrossing piece of art to stand forever as one of the greatest achievements in human storytelling history.
I think I’m going to start it again right now.
