Explanation and methodology

I compiled fourteen different "best of all time" lists to create one definitive list. It was originally going to be a top 100 but I ended up having enough data to make a consensus top 200. For each list I gave each game a score based on placement (i.e. one point for 100th place, two points for 99th place, all the way up to 100 points for 1st place). I also gave a certain amount of extra points for simply being on the list--otherwise games that ranked low would get basically no advantage over games that didn't rank at all. The amount differed based on whether the list was a top 50, top 100, top 200, and so on. Making it onto more exclusive lists obviously granted more points.

Lists used

I averaged together the following lists, with diverse perspectives and recent publication being a priority in which lists I chose:

Media rankings: Empire (UK, 2023), USA Today (US, 2022), Popular Mechanics (US, 2022), Looper (US, 2022) IGN (international, 2021), Slant magazine (USA, 2020) Game Informer (US, 2018) Games TM (UK, 2018)

Critic ratings: Metacritic top 200 Metascores of all time (as of 2023)

Gamer ratings: IMDB top 200 user ratings of all time (as of 2023), Ranker top 200 user ratings of all time (as of 2023)

Critic polls: British GQ Industry Poll (UK, 2023)

Gamer polls: TV Asahi viewer poll (Japan, 2021), Hobby Consolas reader poll (Spain/Latin America, 2021)

THE LIST

Here is the final top 200 list:

1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
2. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
3. Grand Theft Auto V
4. The Last of Us
5. Tetris
6. Resident Evil 4
7. Metal Gear Solid
8. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
9. Super Mario 64
10. BioShock
11. Final Fantasy VII
12. Super Mario Bros 3
13. Half Life 2
14. Minecraft
15. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
16. Shadow of the Colossus
17. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
18. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
19. Portal 2
20. Chrono Trigger
21. Street Fighter II
22. Pokemon Red/Blue
23. Bloodborne
24. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
25. God of War (2018)
26. Red Dead Redemption 2
27. Castlevania Symphony of the Night
28. Super Mario World
29. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
30. Mass Effect 2
31. World of Warcraft
32. Dark Souls
33. Halo: Combat Evolved
34. DOOM (1993)
35. Persona 5
36. GoldenEye 007
37. Super Metroid
38. Silent Hill 2
39. Fallout 3
40. Portal
41. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
42. Red Dead Redemption
43. Journey
44. Super Mario Kart
45. Batman: Arkham City
46. Metroid Prime
47. Disco Elysium
48. Diablo II
49. Super Mario Odyssey
50. Super Mario Bros
51. Undertale
52. StarCraft
53. Hades
54. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
55. Super Smash Bros Melee
56. Resident Evil 2
57. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
58. Final Fantasy VI
59. The Sims
60. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
61. Assassin’s Creed II
62. Half Life: Alyx
63. EarthBound
64. Pac Man
65. Elden Ring
66. Super Smash Bros Ultimate
67. Grim Fandango
68. System Shock 2
69. Planescape: Torment
70. Super Mario Galaxy
71. Okami
72. Super Mario Galaxy 2
73. Inside
74. Deus Ex
75. Pokemon Gold/Silver
76. Ms. Pac Man
77. Resident Evil
78. Batman: Arkham Asylum
79. Halo 3
80. Persona 4
81. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
82. Half Life
83. Sonic The Hedgehog 2
84. NieR: Automata
85. Grand Theft Auto IV
86. Dishonored 2
87. Civilization IV
88. SimCity
89. Final Fantasy X
90. League of Legends
91. Left 4 Dead 2
92. Fallout: New Vegas
93. Animal Crossing
94. Fortnite
95. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
96. The Last of Us Part II
97. Grand Theft Auto III
98. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
99. Outer Wilds
100. Animal Crossing: New Horizons
101. Hollow Knight
102. Borderlands 2
103. BioShock Infinite
104. Sonic the Hedgehog
105. Kingdom Hearts
106. Halo 2
107. Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain
108. Mega Man 2
109. Donkey Kong
110. Secret of Monkey Island
111. Stardew Valley
112. Mortal Kombat 2
113. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
114. Suikoden II
115. God of War (2005)
116. Kingdom Hearts II
117. Team Fortress 2
118. The Oregon Trail
119. DOOM (2016)
120. Counter Strike
121. Dragon Age: Origins
122. Age of Empires II
123. Divinity: Original Sin 2
124. Final Fantasy IX
125. Tekken 3
126. Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn
127. Return of the Obra Dinn
128. Fire Emblem: Three Houses
129. Horizon: Zero Dawn
130. Final Fantasy XIV
131. Braid
132. Fable II
133. Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty
134. The Legend of Zelda
135. Galaga
136. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2
137. Spelunky
138. Psychonauts
139. Overwatch
140. Ghost of Tsushima
141. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
142. Max Payne
143. Final Fantasy Tactics
144. Thief: The Dark Project
145. Katamari Damacy
146. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
147. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Theory
148. Gears of War
149. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
150. Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes
151. Tomb Raider (1996)
152. Xenoblade Chronicles
153. God of War II
154. Rock Band
155. Shenmue 2
156. Wii Sports
157. Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag
158. XCOM: Enemy Unknown
159. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
160. Viewtiful Joe
161. DOTA 2
162. Donkey Kong Country
163. Burnout 3: Takedown
164. Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec
165. Gone Home
166. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
167. It Takes Two
168. Dead Space
169. Myst
170. NBA Jam
171. Celeste
172. Pokemon Diamond/Pearl
173. Star Fox 64
174. Quake 3
175. Civilization II
176. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
177. The Walking Dead
178. Hotline Miami
179. Super Smash Bros Brawl
180. Apex Legends
181. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
182. Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem
183. Alien: Isolation
184. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
185. Dark Souls III
186. Kentucky Route Zero
187. Spider-Man
188. Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
189. FTL: Faster Than Light
190. Mother 3
191. Secret of Mana
192. Day of the Tentacle
193. Yakuza 0
194. Battlefield 2
195. Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!
196. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island
197. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1989)
198. Kirby Super Star
199. Final Fantasy VIII
200. LittleBigPlanet

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Statistical analysis

Here are some charts showing some interesting data breakdowns of the top 200

Entry distribution by decade:

https://preview.redd.it/fl94ptgqqp2c1.png?width=1200&format=png&auto=webp&s=ee061746b1007a61888c103e4d19647947bccca6

Entry distribution by country of development:

https://preview.redd.it/z32pukzerp2c1.png?width=1200&format=png&auto=webp&s=e31ee20d7c591c81c038e887f775658eab5f618a

Entry distribution by console type:

https://preview.redd.it/9qhw8sgrrp2c1.png?width=1200&format=png&auto=webp&s=82b2346f66274a2db92a3fddfb63bc79e69cee38

Top franchises:

1. Mario
2. The Legend of Zelda
3. Grand Theft Auto
4. Final Fantasy
5. Metal Gear Solid
6. Resident Evil
7. Half Life
8. Halo
9. Portal
10. Red Dead Redemption
11. Pokemon
12. The Elder Scrolls
13. Metroid
14. Uncharted
15. God of War

Top developers:

1. Nintendo
2. Square Enix
3. Valve
4. Capcom
5. Rockstar

Highest ranking game of each year

1980: Pac Man

1981: Donkey Kong

1982: Ms. Pac Man

1983: none

1984: Tetris

1985: Super Mario Bros

1986: The Legend of Zelda

1987: Mike Tyson's Punch Out

1988: Super Mario Bros. 3

1989: SimCity

1990: Super Mario World

1991: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

1992: Super Mario Kart

1993: DOOM

1994: Super Metroid

1995: Chrono Trigger

1996: Super Mario 64

1997: Final Fantasy VII

1998: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

1999: Planescape: Torment

2000: Diablo II

2001: Halo: Combat Evolved

2002: Metroid Prime

2003: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

2004: Half Life 2

2005: Resident Evil 4

2006: Okami

2007: BioShock

2008: Fallout 3

2009: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

2010: Mass Effect 2

2011: Minecraft

2012: Journey

2013: Grand Theft Auto V

2014: Alien Isolation

2015: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

2016: Inside

2017: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

2018: God of War

2019: Disco Elysium

2020: Hades

2021: It Takes Two

2022: Elden Ring

Notable games not on the list that I think deserve a shout out:

Banjo Kazooie, Crash Bandicoot, SoulCalibur, Zork, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Titanfall 2, Cuphead, Ico, Devil May Cry, The Stanley Parable, Dance Dance Revolution, Angry Birds, Black and White, What Remains of Edith Finch, Blood, Snake, Baba Is You, Elite, Ridiculous Fishing, Mirror's Edge, Jet Set Radio, Rocket League, L.A. Noire, Cave Story, The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky, Terraria, Pong

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Hope you guys find this interesting and let me know if you have any feedback!