EDGE Magazine released a special issue this month to commemorate the greatest games of all time in a new 100 Best Games list. And at the top of the list was Nintendo’s magnum opus from earlier this year, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, selected by EDGE as the best game ever.
This is definitely well earned- Zelda is a superlative title, featuring emergent gameplay and player agency like nothing else, as well as an incredible open world and physics driven gameplay that just beg player exploration and experimentation. The game drives player curiosity, and is a thorough reinvention not just of the thirty year old Zelda legacy, but of open world games in general, taking a lot of elements that have been done before, reimagining them and doing them better, and adding new elements of its own.
Apart from Zelda, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, The Last of Us, and GTA5 all made the top 5, too. The list itself is bound to be controversial- there are many placements that people will find odd, omissions and underrepresentations (especially racing games, platformers, and JRPGs), and of course, any list will always end up alienating everyone to some degree. But I think the games selected are a fine bunch, in spite of the rankings, and I really do appreciate Breath of the Wild‘s placement as the best game of all time.
100. Super Hexagon
99. Her Story
98. Super Monkey Ball
97. Final Fantasy XII
96. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
95. Hyper Light Drifter
94. Katamari Damacy
93. Animal Crossing: New Leaf
92. Resogun
91. Puzzle Bobble
90. F-Zero GX
89. The Sims 3
88. R-Type Final
87. Elite: Dangerous
86. Bomberman
85. StarCraft II
84. Pac-Man: Championship Edition
83. BioShock
82. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
81. Puzzle & Dragons
80. Tearaway
79. League of Legends
78. Super Meat Boy
77. Xenoblade Chronicles
76. OutRun 2006: Coast to Coast
75. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
74. Civilization IV
73. Battlefield 4
72. Metroid Prime
71. Hearthstone
70. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
69. Limbo
68. Towerfall Ascension
67. EarthBound
66. Batman: Arkham Knight
65. Transistor
64. Puyo Puyo
63. FTL: Advanced Edition
62: Persona 4 Golden
61. Mass Effect 2
60. Okami
59. The Stanley Parable
58. XCOM: Enemy Unknown
57. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate
56. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt
55. Far Cry 4
54. Titanfall 2
53. Doom (2016)
52. Trials Fusion
51. Nidhogg
50. Fez
49. Overwatch
48. Super Mario 3D World
47. Journey
46. Dead Space
45. Dota 2
44. Vanquish
43. Super Mario Maker
42. Fire Emblem Fates
41. Inside
40. Shadow of the Colossus
39. Halo 3
38. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
37. Spelunky
36. Destiny
35. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
34. Kerbal Space Program
33. Dishonored
32. Splatoon
31. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
30. Rock Band 3
29. The Last Guardian
28. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
27. Ico
26. Super Metroid
25. Demon’s Souls
24. Horizon: Zero Dawn
23. Advance Wars
22. The Witness
21. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
20. Ultra Street Fighter IV
19. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
18. Rez Infinite
17. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
16. Super Mario World
15. Red Dead Redemption
14. Super Mario 64
13. Portal
12. Bayonetta 2
11. Minecraft
10. Resident Evil 4
9. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
8. Super Mario Galaxy 2
7. Tetris
6. Half-Life 2
5. Bloodborne
4. The Last of Us
3. Grand Theft Auto V
2. Dark Souls
1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
[EDGE, via Nintendo Everything]