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The Video Game Canon: How It Works
The Video Game Canon is a statistical meta-analysis of 70 Best Games lists that were published between 1995 and 2021. To qualify for inclusion, each list must include at least 50 titles, some form of editorial oversight (lists made up solely of reader polls or fan voting were excluded), and no restrictions on release dates or platforms.
After feeding each Best Games list into the Video Game Canon machine, the games were ranked against each other using the C-Score, a formula that adds together a game’s Average Ranking across all lists with the complementary percentage of its Appearance Frequency.
This means that a lower C-Score results in a higher ranking on the Video Game Canon. Want an example?
Tetris appears on 94.29% of all lists in the most recent update to the Video Game Canon, with with an Average Ranking of 17.63. Plugging those numbers into the formula gives it the lowest C-Score of any game.

17.63 + (100 – 94.29) = 23.35
Average Ranking + (100 – Appearance Frequency) = C-Score
17.63 + (100 – 94.29) = 23.35
More than 1,000 different games were included on at least one Best Games list… where does your favorite rank?
The Video Game Canon: The Top 100
Last Update: 10/19/2022 (Version 6.0)
- 1. Tetris
- 2. Half-Life 2
- 3. Resident Evil 4
- 4. The Last of Us
- 5. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- 6. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- 7. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
- 8. Red Dead Redemption
- 9. Super Mario 64
- 10. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
- 11. Super Metroid
- 12. BioShock
- 13. Street Fighter II
- 14. Shadow of the Colossus
- 15. Mass Effect 2
- 16. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
- 17. Doom (1993)
- 18. Halo: Combat Evolved
- 19. Grand Theft Auto V
- 20. World of Warcraft
- 21. GoldenEye 007
- 22. Portal
- 23. Bloodborne
- 24. Final Fantasy VII
- 25. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
- 26. Chrono Trigger
- 27. Super Mario World
- 28. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- 29. Metal Gear Solid
- 30. God of War (2018)
- 31. Portal 2
- 32. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
- 33. Super Mario Kart
- 34. StarCraft
- 35. Journey
- 36. Super Mario Bros. 3
- 37. Metroid Prime
- 38. Minecraft
- 39. Dark Souls
- 40. Rock Band (Series)
- 41. Deus Ex
- 42. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
- 43. Final Fantasy VI (AKA Final Fantasy III [US])
- 44. Super Mario Bros.
- 45. Diablo II
- 46. Red Dead Redemption 2
- 47. Counter-Strike
- 48. Pokemon Blue/Red/Yellow (1998) / Pokemon FireRed/LeafGreen (2004)
- 49. Half-Life
- 50. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater (Series)
- 51. Sonic the Hedgehog
- 52. Tomb Raider (1996) / Tomb Raider Anniversary (2007)
- 53. Grand Theft Auto III
- 54. Silent Hill 2
- 55. Super Mario Odyssey
- 56. Ico
- 57. Inside
- 58. Donkey Kong
- 59. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
- 60. Batman: Arkham City
- 61. Ms. Pac-Man
- 62. Overwatch
- 63. Fallout 3
- 64. Super Mario Galaxy 2
- 65. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- 66. System Shock 2
- 67. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
- 68. SimCity (1989)
- 69. SimCity 2000
- 70. Braid
- 71. The Legend of Zelda
- 72. Undertale
- 73. Grand Theft Auto IV
- 74. Resident Evil (1996) / Resident Evil (2002)
- 75. EarthBound
- 76. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island
- 77. The Walking Dead
- 78. Grim Fandango
- 79. Pac-Man
- 80. The Sims
- 81. Mega Man 2
- 82. Okami
- 83. Space Invaders
- 84. Batman: Arkham Asylum
- 85. Super Smash Bros. Melee
- 86. Lemmings
- 87. NBA Jam (Series)
- 88. The Secret of Monkey Island
- 89. X-COM: UFO Defense (AKA UFO: Enemy Unknown)
- 90. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
- 91. Galaga
- 92. Final Fantasy Tactics
- 93. Secret of Mana
- 94. Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! (1987) / Punch-Out!! (1990)
- 95. League of Legends
- 96. Assassin’s Creed II
- 97. Super Mario Galaxy
- 98. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
- 99. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
- 100. Civilization IV