Perfection is elusive. Rarely does any video game earn the title of "perfect," mostly because video games, just like any art form, are subjective. The things that one person loves may be the same things another person can't stand. The beauty of the gaming industry is that there is so much choice out there, gamers can almost always find something they'll enjoy playing.
However, once in a blue moon, a game comes along that achieves so much, it's hard to deny that it is virtually flawless. These games are special, not because they excel in any one area, but because every single element that makes up their cohesive whole is so refined, so intricately designed and meticulously adjusted, that perfection is the only way to describe them.
As stated above, this list is (obviously) subjective. If there's a game you think belongs here that we missed, shout it out in the comments.
Shadow Of The Colossus
No Fluff, No Excess
Shadow of the Colossus
- Released
- February 6, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Blood, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Adventure
There's something to be said for a game that knows exactly what it is and doesn't try to do too much. That's exactly what Shadow of the Colossus accomplishes. Technically, it's an open-world game, but there are exactly 16 things to find in that open world—the titular colossi—and beyond that, exploration is a desolate and lonely experience. Yet that lends itself to the game's brilliance. The lack of any distractions puts players in the same single-minded perspective as Wander, the game's protagonist.
See, Wander is trying to save a woman who is either dead or so ill that she cannot wake up. To do so, he brings her to a being known as Dormin, who promises to revive her if Wander kills the 16 colossi wandering the land. So he does just that. The subtlety of the game is what makes it exceptional. As he eliminates one colossus after another, Wander begins to change. His features grow dark, his hair blackens, and eventually, horns sprout from his head. Every colossus' death reinforces this moral dilemma; these beasts don't go down in a blaze of glory, but in a tragic anticlimax, as if something beautiful has just been erased from the world. Players inevitably begin to question their actions, but without any other route, the colossus hunt continues. Stunning graphics and boss fights that are as much puzzles as they are combat encounters, all set to a gorgeous musical score, complete this mosaic. Shadow of the Colossus is a classic for a reason, and from beginning to end, there isn't a single moment wasted.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
If Your Skating Isn't Destructive, You're Not Doing It Right
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
- Released
- October 30, 2001
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen // Blood, Mild Lyrics, Suggestive Themes
- Genre(s)
- Sports
The skateboarding genre has died out in the last decade, with only a few games like Session and Skate keeping its gnarly heart beating. However, in its heyday, the best skateboarding games around were the annual Tony Hawk's Pro Skater games, and while they are all spectacular in their own right, the pinnacle of the series was Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3.
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To this day, THPS3 remains one of the highest-rated games on Metacritic ever. There's a reason for that. While the game takes place in disconnected skateboarding "arenas" and gives players a time limit in which to complete as many goals as possible, the arenas themselves are the stars of the show. The degree of player interactivity present—and the wide array of level-changing effects that interactivity can introduce—is second to none. Everything from grinding on power lines to giving a lumberjack an axe can open up new places to skate in each level. The soundtrack, which is loaded with licensed songs, is still one of the best in the industry to this day. Then there are the unlockable skaters. From Wolverine and Darth Maul in the original release to the Doom Slayer and Michaelangelo from TMNT in the remake, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 is a pitch-perfect blend of skateboarding depth and pop culture absurdity.
The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past
A Formula So Perfect It Persisted For Decades
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
- Released
- April 13, 1992
- ESRB
- E For Everyone Due To Mild Violence
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure
The original Legend of Zelda was a standout game in that it all but pioneered the open-world genre. There wasn't much to that open world beyond finding dungeons and then fighting waves of enemies inside them, but it was a benchmark nonetheless. Zelda 2 was... Well, a different kind of game, and it wasn't particularly well-received as a result. Nintendo heard the criticism, and with a few essential tweaks to the original formula, they launched The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past in 1991.
Adopting a few elements from Nintendo's other series, like Metroid, A Link to the Past took the open-world concept from its predecessor and added progress gates. Essentially, players could only progress by finding a particular item that they needed to access blocked-off parts of the map. Those items were found in dungeons, so inevitably, players had to complete those dungeons, which featured everything from puzzles to platforming to boss fights that made innovative use of the key item found within. Then, using that same item to open up paths in the overworld would lead to the next dungeon, and the next item. It was a brilliant piece of design work that made progress immensely addictive. With this perfectly designed gameplay loop, the Legend of Zelda formula was born, and from 2D to 3D, it persisted across the series until 2016, when Breath of the Wild decided to switch things up. While that formula was a constant in the series, it was never implemented quite as exquisitely as it was in A Link to the Past.
Dead Space 2
The Ideal Blend Of Action, Tension, And Unspeakable Horror
Dead Space 2
- Released
- January 25, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
Crafting a truly perfect horror game is a tricky proposition. Most games in the genre slip up somewhere along the way, be it in their pacing, their storytelling, their gameplay, or even just one frustrating mission that stonewalls progression (looking at you, Resident Evil 4). The first Dead Space suffered from many of these same issues, but if there's one thing a sequel provides, it's an opportunity for the developers to smooth out any rough edges, and that's exactly what Dead Space 2 did.
Where the first Dead Space's pacing would grind to a halt, Dead Space 2 kept things constantly moving forward. Where the first game's weapon arsenal felt redundant behind the effectiveness of the Plasma Cutter, Dead Space 2 made every weapon feel essential. Where the first Dead Space's enemy and setting variety grew stale by the third act, Dead Space 2 never let anything linger for longer than absolutely necessary. It added a voiced protagonist, fascinating lore regarding the Necromorphs' origins, and impressive zero-gravity sections that really made space feel threatening. Then there's the legendary "eyeball scene," which remains one of the most vividly disturbing body horror moments in any video game. Dead Space 2 is a rarity: a game that perfectly captures its ideas—and the ideas of its sci-fi horror inspirations—and distills them down into an exceptional horror experience that neither ends too soon nor overstays its welcome.
Batman: Arkham City
I'm Not Stuck In Here With You, You're Stuck In Here With Me
Batman: Arkham City
- Released
- October 18, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
Batman: Arkham Asylum was a landmark game that almost instantly became one of the best superhero video games of all time. Yet for all its accolades, its "open world" was really more a series of open areas connected by vents. The restriction of holding Batman within the titular asylum kept the scope relatively small. For the sequel, developer Rocksteady wanted to give players a true open-world Batman experience, and boy, did they ever nail it with Batman: Arkham City.
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Right from the jump, Arkham City raises the stakes from the first game by trapping Batman inside a walled off section of Gotham that Hugo Strange has designated as a "prison city" for Arkham's most dangerous inmates. To up the ante even further, it's revealed at the game's outset that Hugo Strange knows Batman and Bruce Wayne are one and the same. Uncovering and stopping Strange's plans is the main plot of the campaign, but Arkham City truly shines in how it consistently rewards exploration. The traversal mechanics alone are pristine, with Batman's grapple, glide, and dive abilities chaining together to create constant and infinitely fulfilling momentum. The combat is exceptional, just as it was in the first game, but with more depth and creativity available to be played with. Then there are the side quests, which are widely considered some of the best in gaming history. From taking down Mr. Freeze to stopping Deadshot or dragging Hush out of hiding, these side quests feel like one-off Batman stories of their own, complete with satisfying conclusions and some of the best boss battles in any action game.
Chrono Trigger
Losing Track Of Time
Chrono Trigger
- Released
- March 11, 1995
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood
- Genre(s)
- RPG
On the year of its 30th anniversary, Chrono Trigger is still regarded as one of the greatest games ever made. That's not just nostalgia talking, either. This is a game that dared to dream big, and even while working with the hardware it had available at the time, it still managed to accomplish something that many modern games struggle with: multiple organic endings that actually mean something.
Chrono Trigger is a time-travel story, one in which Crono, Marle, Lucca, and others journey through time to prevent a catastrophe from unfolding. It's not the most standout concept in the world, but the magic is in the execution. Combat is excellent, even for a turn-based RPG from the 90s. The writing is stellar, from the character work to the world-building. Then there's the branching plot. Once players unlock Epoch (the game's time machine), they can travel to seven different time periods in almost any order. The choice of which period to focus on first, and what they do while they visit that period, changes events in other time periods. This ripple effect is present no matter which time periods players travel to, and it will then affect the game's story and ending. Outside of Baldur's Gate 3, this kind of plot-shaping player agency has rarely been seen in video games of any era, and while Chrono Trigger's age makes that accomplishment all the more impressive, the success with which they pulled it off is what makes the game timeless.
Outer Wilds
What Do You Want To Know?
Outer Wilds
- Released
- May 28, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ due to Fantasy Violence, Alcohol Reference
- Genre(s)
- Adventure
Outer Wilds is a tricky game to recommend, mainly because the most crucial part about recommending it is to reveal absolutely nothing about it. The reason for this is that the game's main gameplay mechanic is discovery. Players are a nameless Hearthian—an alien race with four eyes and big ears—who just got their pilot's license. They complete a brief tutorial, then are given a ship and cast off into the unknown. From that point on, they will receive no guidance. The game hinges entirely upon what question players want to answer and how they go about finding that answer.
While Outer Wilds provides plenty of fodder for curiosity, at the end of the day, the onus is entirely on the player to track down the answers they seek. The only barriers to progress are the player's knowledge and a 22-minute time loop, at the end of which, the local sun explodes, resetting the game back to its original state. That time loop is crucial, though. Certain areas are only accessible early in the 22 minutes, but as the terrain of each planet changes, other opportunities open up. It's an odd yet beautiful game, with dozens of head-scratching physics puzzles and a central mystery that gets its hooks in and never lets go. The thing is, because of the lack of guidance, Outer Wilds doesn't always feel perfect in the moment-to-moment gameplay. Yet when everything comes together and players reach the ending, they'll be hard-pressed to describe this game as anything other than flawless.
Super Mario Bros. 3
Boundless Innovation Meets Charming Creativity
Super Mario Bros. 3
- Released
- October 23, 1988
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E For Everyone
- Genre(s)
- Platformer
The original Super Mario Bros. May be an industry-defining game, but in terms of playability, originality, and timeless brilliance, it doesn't get any better than Super Mario Bros. 3. Given the hardware limitations of 1988, the degree of mechanical depth on display here is astounding. This isn't just a rehash of the previous two Mario Bros. Games with a fresh coat of paint and some new sprite work; this is a game that builds upon every single element of the previous games, making them both more intricate and more exciting.
From new suits to new abilities, the range of gameplay innovations on display in Super Mario Bros. 3 is unbelievable. And because of all these finely-tuned mechanics, the game is also absolutely bursting with secrets. From hidden exits to entire secret levels, there are so many things to discover that there are secrets even lifelong players have yet to uncover. While it may not share the jaw-dropping scope of Super Mario World, what Super Mario Bros. 3 has instead is a perfectly refined version of retro gaming's difficult platformer formula (oh yes, it's very difficult). In fact, it remains one of the best 2D platformers ever made.It's so well done that playing it today doesn't just feel seamless; it still feels like playing one of the most intuitive video games ever made.
God Of War (2018)
Give A God Dad Strength
God of War
- Released
- April 20, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
Before 2018, calling Kratos a "deep character" would have been laughable. He was still iconic, but the vengeful Greek demigod was hardly a layered hero. Hell, even calling him "sympathetic" was a bit of a stretch. That all changed with 2018's God of War continuation. After murdering his father, Zeus, and fleeing Greece, Kratos settled down in the Nordic realms. He got married, built a home, and had a child. Then, his wife dies, and suddenly, Kratos, a man who has never shown an emotion beyond anger, is a single father trying to raise a young son. Kratos is burdened with an intense fear that his son, Atreus, will turn out to be the same kind of ruthless killer as his father, and that fear permeates every second of the game.
It's also a fear that is intensely relatable. In combat, Kratos remains as devastatingly strong as ever, ripping his foes in half and driving the blade of his Leviathan Axe through their frigid flesh. Yet behind all that violence is a vulnerability, something that was never present in the original games, and it is the driving force of the experience. It helps that every other aspect of God of War 2018 is equally compelling. The combat, exploration, and narrative are all fantastic, and they're all seamlessly woven together by the game's unique trick of "filming" the entire campaign in a single camera shot. There are so many standout moments in this game—from the first fight with Baldur to open the game to the moment when Kratos unearths his discarded Blades of Chaos—that it is nearly impossible to put down. God of War is a masterful experience, one that relishes embracing the lore from its past and gently ferrying it into a new and wonderful place.
Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Taking Over The World
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007)
- Released
- November 5, 2007
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- m
- Genre(s)
- FPS
The monster gaming franchise that is Call of Duty actually managed to go through three iterations before landing on one of the most successful first-person shooter formulas of all time with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Prior to this game, Call of Duty was trying to compete with Medal of Honor, and it wasn't succeeding. Infinity Ward decided to move away from World War 2, and instead made a game that was equal parts story campaign and multiplayer. The rest is history.
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In terms of its single-player campaign, Call of Duty 4 stands among elite company. It's not the longest story mode in history, but it is robust. Very few games boast as many standout missions as this one, from the iconic "All Ghillied Up" to the jaw-dropping twist in "Shock and Awe." The game's brilliance lies in the way it makes each mission feel totally unique while utilizing the same FPS mechanics throughout, from stealthy sniping to cinematic run-and-gun rescue missions. Then there's the multiplayer. We haven't brought up online games here, mainly because it's rare they they are totally flawless, but Call of Duty 4 is an exception. This is the Call of Duty online formula in its most refined state, before rampant upgrades and pop culture character skins made the whole thing feel so "video gamey." The shooting was the best in the industry at the time, the online map roster didn't have a single miss on it, and the now-standardized progression system was at its most addictive. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare set a standard, not just for FPS games, but for video games in general. It proved that it was possible to create a gripping single-player story, a highly addictive online multiplayer mode, and best-in-class gameplay mechanics, and house them all within a single product. This game set a bar that even other Call of Duty games have struggled to clear, and considering the franchise's insane popularity, that's high praise indeed.