Rolling Stone has released their “50 Greatest Video Games of All Time” list. Because when you think of video games, you think Rolling Stone. (No, not really). In case you don’t know, their website is primarily known for music reviews. And if they’re as bad at reviewing music as they are games, I wouldn’t recommend them.
To be fair, their list is mostly just full of the most popular games they could think of. I’ll save you the trouble and tell you right now Breath of the Wild topped the list—which is ridiculous when it isn’t even the best Zelda game. Not even in the top five.
Here was the magazine’s ranking criteria:
For this list, we looked at both how influential each game was at arrival, as well as whether it still holds up. A good game may have played well, but a great one still does. These are games that made the culture what it is today and will chart where it goes tomorrow.
And here was Rolling Stone’s Top 50 Games list:
50 – ‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons’
49 – ‘Hades’
48 – ‘Castlevania: Symphony of the Night’
47 – ‘The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past’
46 – ‘League of Legends’
45 – ‘Fortnite’
44 – ‘Elden Ring’
43 – ‘Celeste’
42 – ‘Batman: Arkham City’
41 – ‘Metroid Prime’
40 – ‘Chrono Trigger’
39 – ‘God of War’ (2018)
38 – ‘Shadow of the Colossus’
37 – ‘Pokémon Gold and Silver’
36 – ‘Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’
35 – ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’
34 – ‘Hollow Knight’
33 – ‘NBA 2K11’
32 – ‘Ms. Pac-Man’
31 – ‘Counter-Strike’ (1999)
30 – ‘Wii Sports’
29 – ‘Uncharted 2: Among Thieves’
28 – Minecraft
27 – ‘Resident Evil 4’ (2005)
26 – ‘Mass Effect 2’
25 – ‘Stardew Valley’
24 – ‘The Sims’ (2000)
23 – ‘Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater’
22 – ‘Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare’
21 – ‘Fallout 3’
20 – ‘Mario Kart 64’
19 – ‘Baldur’s Gate 3’
18 – ‘Madden NFL 2004’
17 – ‘Diablo II’
16 – ‘Red Dead Redemption 2’
15 – ‘The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’
14 – ‘Street Fighter II’
13 – ‘Doom’ (1993)
12 – ‘World of Warcraft’
11 – ‘Halo: Combat Evolved’
10 – ‘Super Metroid’
9 – ‘The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
8- ‘Final Fantasy VII’
7 – ‘Metal Gear Solid’
6 – ‘Half-Life 2’
5 – ‘The Last of Us’
4 – ‘Super Mario World’
3 – ‘Grand Theft Auto V’
2 – ‘Tetris’
1 – ‘The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’
NintendoUp’s Take
Yes, apparently Metroid Prime is worse than Ms. Pac-Man and Hollow Knight. Not a chance in hell. Even if we’re to assume they’re saying Metroid Prime was less influentual than Hollow Knight or Ms. Pac-Man, that’s still pretty egregious.
Opinions are opinions, but this list isn’t helping their website’s credibility (in my view). While some of the games deserve a spot in the list, their ranking order is all over the place. And did you notice that Ocarina of Time, the real best game of all-time, isn’t even in their damn list!?
Alright, whatever. People are entitled to wrong opinions, so I’m letting this one go to reduce my blood pressure. 🙂
Check This Out: For our take on the best games of 2024, check out our Game of the Year awards.
What do you make of Rolling Stone’s Top 50 Games list? Let me know in the comments down below.