# 50 best video games of the 21st Century



## souljacker (Sep 19, 2019)

We've done the albums and TV ones in other forums, now it's the chance for gamers to disagree with the guardian list.

The 50 best video games of the 21st century

Personally, I'd have GTAV in 3rd and I'd also find a place for PUBG, Elite Dangerous, League of Legends and DOTA. In fact, there seems to be quite a few missing from the esports genre. No CS:GO or Rainbow Six for instance.


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## souljacker (Sep 19, 2019)

Also, seems very light on strategy games. No CIV4, cities skylines, total war?


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## 8ball (Sep 19, 2019)

Only a few of my most fave games ever on there.
HL2 is a good call.


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## 8ball (Sep 19, 2019)

souljacker said:


> Also, seems very light on strategy games. No CIV4, cities skylines, total war?



Fair point.  Sometimes games like that are kind of on the edge of what you would call "videogames", I guess.


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## Steel Icarus (Sep 19, 2019)

No Super Mario Galaxy (1 or 2), no Zelda Wind Waker or Twilight Princess, Perfect Dark?


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## blairsh (Sep 19, 2019)

Was Perfect Dark not 90s?


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## FridgeMagnet (Sep 19, 2019)

blairsh said:


> Was Perfect Dark not 90s?


Released in 2000 apparently. The N64 is basically a 90s machine though; I thought it was a 90s game before I checked.


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## Fez909 (Sep 19, 2019)

S☼I said:


> No Super Mario Galaxy (1 or 2), no Zelda Wind Waker or Twilight Princess


The problem with these lists is that they're so broad, you end up excluding stuff because others in the same series have been included. For instance, Mario.

If Mario had 15 games, and they were all among the top 15 games of all time, they should be in this list by right. But it would make a shit list. So most franchises appear once...twice if they're 'special' - Like Mario and Zelda here. So even thought SMG might be better than Burnout 3, it's tough, because there's already 2 Mario games in the list.

tbh, it's not a bad list. Obviously going to piss some people off, and goes for some populist choices rather than the actual better game (Portal 1 is way better than 2, for instance), but otherwise


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## blairsh (Sep 19, 2019)

Really!? (((Myaddledbrain)))


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## AverageJoe (Sep 21, 2019)

No Command and Conqueror:Generals


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## mauvais (Sep 21, 2019)

8ball said:


> Only a few of my most fave games ever on there.
> HL2 is a good call.


HL2 is revered, but it's nowhere near as good - memorable, novel or industry-changing - as the original.


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## Spandex (Sep 21, 2019)

S☼I said:


> no Zelda Wind Waker or Twilight Princess


If they decided to limit the number from each series of games, I think they picked the right Zeldas.

Breath of the Wild is absolutely incredible. It's beautiful to look at, the story is epic and unfolds brilliantly as the game goes on, the gameplay is just right and I loved playing it. The sense of achievement when I finally got inside Hyrule Castle and survived was awesome. My heart melted a little bit at the end. Definitely the best Zelda game since Occarina of Time.

Wind Walker looked amazing and was good to play, but felt liked it had been rushed out before it was finished. Having traveled the islands battling the bosses  you got to the end and... battled the same bosses again - fin. Still loved it. Wish I still had my Gamecube and this game so I could play it again.

Twighlight Princess was good, but doesn't grab me as an essential Zelda game. Then, I was so stoned while playing it I can barely remember it.

Majora's Mask on the other hand is a very unusual game in its structure, replaying the same 3 days over and over until you've explored the all the lands, solved everyone's problems and saved the world. It's one spooky game - that moon still freaks me out. It deserves it's place just for being such a different experience. 

I fucking love Zelda.


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## yield (Sep 21, 2019)

That's actually a fairly good list. Ashamed to say I've played them all except for Dark Souls and Katamari Damacy


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## DotCommunist (Sep 21, 2019)

two GTA games in there but no Fallout: New Vegas? 

halfweight cunts


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## BristolEcho (Sep 21, 2019)

None of the Civs, EU, Total Wars, CK2, Cities Skylines being in there is an oversight in my opinion. The amount of love put into those games by both producers and gamers deserves some recognition.

No Football Manager/Championship manager either?

Games that people put 1000's of hours into sometimes.


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## Fez909 (Sep 21, 2019)

BristolEcho said:


> None of the Civs, EU, Total Wars, CK2, Cities Skylines being in there is an oversight in my opinion. The amount of love put into those games by both producers and gamers deserves some recognition.
> 
> No Football Manager/Championship manager either?
> 
> Games that people put 1000's of hours into sometimes.


People put millions of hours into Angry Birds - that doesn't make it one of the best games


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## BristolEcho (Sep 21, 2019)

Fez909 said:


> People put millions of hours into Angry Birds - that doesn't make it one of the best games



This is true, but comparing Angry Birds too Civ isn't the same either in my opinion. Those games are generally great games in their field so to see them ommited is surprising.


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## FridgeMagnet (Sep 21, 2019)

The Civs in the 2000s were just remakes of Civ 2, which was too early.

Let's face it, there have been an awful lot of games released in the past almost 20 years though. Even if every single entry here was a complete seminal classic there would still be others you could argue for. It's even worse for that than your normal best-of listicle.


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## FridgeMagnet (Sep 21, 2019)

DotCommunist said:


> two GTA games in there but no Fallout: New Vegas?
> 
> halfweight cunts


On the other hand fuck the wrong two GTAs and no Fallouts at all (F3 would be the one to have). At least they had the right Bioshock.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Sep 21, 2019)

I've not heard of any. . . . Except one, which I actually own to my surprise. Ico.
Can't remember it though, and can't play it anymore because it the Japanese version.


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## tommers (Sep 21, 2019)

I would say it's quite an unimaginative list. Lots of "big" games but nothing very obscure. Do we really need GTA IV & V? They're essentially the same thing.

Mario Odyssey rather than Galaxy?

Last of Us, Gears of War, Cod, Battlefield.

Metal Gear V??? Seriously?

But then this stuff is all subjective innit?


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## friedaweed (Sep 21, 2019)

Jet set willy. Nuff said.


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## Orang Utan (Sep 21, 2019)

Glad Resident Evil 4 is included. The sound of those chainsaws starting will always shit me up good and proper


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## Kaka Tim (Sep 22, 2019)

its very light on strategy - no civ, no football manager? (as mentioned above - these are outstanding game in their field)  no war strategy games at all? 

 seems very much console-orientated - and even then, the absence of any fallout games is quite glaring.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Sep 22, 2019)

friedaweed said:


> Jet set willy. Nuff said.


Not sure that came out in the 21st century.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Sep 22, 2019)

FridgeMagnet said:


> Released in 2000 apparently. The N64 is basically a 90s machine though; I thought it was a 90s game before I checked.


Blimey, that doesn't quite compute for me. . . But giving it some thought I guess it makes sense as I worked for gamesmaster and gamesworld etc and never covered it (it all shut down just before 2000).
There was a weird thing it did without the expansion pack with strange light looking characters, but after you play with the pack and the game updates you can never get it back, even if you remove the expansion. 

I want to play golden eye now.


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## mauvais (Sep 22, 2019)

Anyway the best game is probably Psychonauts.


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## tommers (Sep 22, 2019)

friedaweed said:


> Jet set willy. Nuff said.


1984 grandad.


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## friedaweed (Sep 22, 2019)

tommers said:


> 1984 grandad.


ZX Spectrum with 3k rom pack


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## friedaweed (Sep 22, 2019)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> Not sure that came out in the 21st century.


Some games just remain on the top of the leage tables.

Anyway if we're talking 21st C for me I think it might have to be The last of Us. It's the only time I've ever rushed home from work to be the first on the console.


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## BristolEcho (Sep 22, 2019)

No RuneScape either


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Sep 22, 2019)

Played video games for the first time in ages today. Someone just left two Wii games out in the street this morning. Some Micky mouse painting thing and a mario football thing. Can't get to grips with either.
I never really got on with video games which was a bit of a bitch mid 90s when one of my jobs was recording gameplay for TV shows. Would have probably been someone else's dream job, but I hated it.


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## Mattym (Sep 22, 2019)

mauvais said:


> HL2 is revered, but it's nowhere near as good - memorable, novel or industry-changing - as the original.



& that's generally the problem with 'of the 21st century' bit. For me, the original Metal Gear & Silent Hill were far better than the sequels.


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## QueenOfGoths (Sep 22, 2019)

No Fallout? Fuck the fuck off. And then fuck off again.

At least Ezio and "Assassin's Creed 2" is in there!


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## mauvais (Sep 22, 2019)

Mattym said:


> & that's generally the problem with 'of the 21st century' bit. For me, the original Metal Gear & Silent Hill were far better than the sequels.


To be fair, I forgot it was limited to the 21st century and HL1 was 1998. Usually these lists have a very recent bias.


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## ruffneck23 (Sep 22, 2019)

nice to see Dark Souls in at number 3 , I'm still playing it to this very day, in fact most of this weekend, as said on the DS thread , it took me a few attempts the ' get ' it, but once I had its like crack


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## tommers (Sep 22, 2019)

ruffneck23 said:


> nice to see Dark Souls in at number 3 , I'm still playing it to this very day, in fact most of this weekend, as said on the DS thread , it took me a few attempts the ' get ' it, but once i had its like crack


It should be number 1.


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## ruffneck23 (Sep 22, 2019)

tommers said:


> It should be number 1.


yeah , youre right


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## Ming (Sep 22, 2019)

QueenOfGoths said:


> No Fallout? Fuck the fuck off. And then fuck off again.
> 
> At least Ezio and "Assassin's Creed 2" is in there!


That’s a huge omission. Fallout 3 and New Vegas are two of my favourite games (i’ve played all of them).


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## Chilli.s (Sep 23, 2019)

The lack of Fallout games ruins any credibility. And some of the list are a bit rubbish too.


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## skyscraper101 (Sep 23, 2019)

No Rez.

Meh.


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## YouSir (Sep 30, 2019)

Nothing for the Indies either really, barring Spelunky. Misses out a whole heap of other good stuff.


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## Gimigimi (Oct 3, 2019)

Civ4? Any Paradox strategy game, especially Hearts of Iron 2 and Victoria 2? Diablo 2? As many people said, New Vegas?

If you're going to put some of these random indie-aesthetic games, how about their actual inspirations, like Yume Nikki or Cave Story?

Persona 4 should be up there too. I would honestly vote that game as having the best story and characters of any game I've ever played.  Yeah, it's Japanese high school, whatever. The characters are fucking real, the aesthetic and style pulse through every single scene and the entire interface, the motivations and behavior of everyone involved is rock solid, it's incredibly funny and moving, and it actually has some serious things to say about how people form their identities. I mean, it's a game where you fight through the collective unconsciousness of humanity and every boss is a physical manifestation of the repressed sexual and social desires of the protagonists. You don't kill them, because they're an integral part of the personalities of the characters. "Defeating" them involves their being consciously accepted and integrated as part of the process of self-actualization. You know, like Jung said. You don't just kill your homosexuality, or your exhibitionism, or your nihilism; you have to stop denying them, and come to terms with them. Fucking incredible game. Persona 5 sucks though and basically destroys the entire concept by having you change other people's personalities instead of coming to terms with your own, it's a real shame. I guess I can give it points for seriously tackling a sexual assault coverup and attempted suicide and doing a decent job, but it's all downhill from there, and the characters are one-dimensional.

I am impressed with a few choices, like Tony Hawk 2 and Battlefield 1942, which are extremely good games and kind of forgotten. Katamari Damacy has a big place in my heart but I'm not sure it makes top 50. Left 4 dead and the Sims are good and should be on there. Skyrim... well, a lot of other people like it. I think it was a step back from Oblivion, which in turn was a step back from Morrowind, but I'm not going crazy about that.

Minecraft as best game, fuck off. Are you kidding me? I have more fun playing with Legos in real life.

I'm drunk on the internet, and I have opinions about video games.


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## agricola (Oct 5, 2019)

_Knights of the Old Republic _was the biggest omission for me.  Not only did its success result in Mass Effect (and Dragon Age), it was also better than any Star Wars film made since the Empire Strikes Back.


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