Giant Bomb decided to piggyback off of the New York Times’s massive “The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century” feature with their own take on “The 100 Best Games of the 21st Century“.
The site’s editors opened up the voting to their community, and began collecting ballots a week and a half ago. Each voter was given the chance to choose any ten games released after 2000, and ranking a game higher up on the list ensured it received more points in the final tally.
After receiving a total of 3171 ballots, Giant Bomb unveiled the final list this morning, and it features many of the heavy hitters we’ve come to know and love over the last quarter century. So what made the cut? Please read on to find out…
Before we start talking about the top of the list, let’s look at a few supplementary statistics compiled by Giant Bomb. A total of 2164 games received at least one vote, and 953 of those games received only one vote.
Among that spread of titles, no single year really stood out (though 2007, 2017, 2018, and 2019 led the way with seven games apiece). That said, no games from 2014 managed to break into the Top 100, but Dark Souls II (#136) came the closest.
Nearly every major publisher was represented in the Top 100, but Nintendo’s games appeared the most, taking up a total of 11 spots. That includes four games from the Legend of Zelda franchise, three games from the Super Mario series, and two titles from the Super Smash Bros. series. Not surprisingly, Nintendo also claimed more spots in the Top 100 (seven) than any other developer.
So what game took the top spot? With all the references to Nintendo and Zelda and 2017, I think you can see where we’re going… The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was the Giant Bomb community’s #1 game of the 21st Century. In second place was From Software’s Elden Ring. And rounding out the top five was Outer Wilds (#3), Mass Effect 2 (#4), and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (#5).
Beyond these five games, the rest of the Top 100 is certainly filled with some great games. There’s new stuff (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 at #17), old stuff (Final Fantasy IX at #70), and everything in between (the biggest game of 2013, The Last of Us, is #26). It’s really an incredibly varied list that includes something for everyone.
You can see “The 100 Best Games of the 21st Century” below, and be sure to visit Giant Bomb to see the full list of all 2164 games.
- 1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- 2. Elden Ring
- 3. Outer Wilds
- 4. Mass Effect 2
- 5. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- 6. Baldur’s Gate 3
- 7. Bloodborne
- 8. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- 9. Dark Souls
- 10. Half-Life 2
- 11. Super Mario Odyssey
- 12. Disco Elysium
- 13. Hades
- 14. Red Dead Redemption 2
- 15. World of Warcraft
- 16. Resident Evil 4 (2005)
- 17. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
- 18. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
- 19. Nier: Automata
- 20. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
- 21. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- 22. Fallout: New Vegas
- 23. Metroid Prime
- 24. Portal 2
- 25. Halo 3
- 26. The Last of Us
- 27. Final Fantasy X
- 28. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
- 29. Minecraft
- 30. Stardew Valley
- 31. Halo: Combat Evolved
- 32. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
- 33. Persona 5 Royal
- 34. Yakuza 0
- 35. Hollow Knight
- 36. Undertale
- 37. Super Mario Galaxy
- 38. Portal
- 39. Deus Ex
- 40. Balatro
- 41. Mass Effect
- 42. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
- 43. BioShock
- 44. Shadow of the Colossus (2005)
- 45. The Last of Us Part II
- 46. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
- 47. God of War (2018)
- 48. Celeste
- 49. Persona 4 Golden
- 50. Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers
- 51. Slay the Spire
- 52. Mass Effect: Legendary Edition
- 53. Resident Evil 4 (2023)
- 54. Hitman 3
- 55. Kingdom Hearts II
- 56. Halo 2
- 57. Cyberpunk 2077
- 58. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
- 59. Titanfall 2
- 60. Red Dead Redemption
- 61. Silent Hill 2 (2001)
- 62. Rocket League
- 63. Team Fortress 2
- 63. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3
- 65. Super Mario Galaxy 2
- 66. Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence
- 67. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
- 68. Control
- 69. Batman: Arkham Asylum
- 70. Final Fantasy IX
- 71. Resident Evil 2 (2019)
- 72. Grand Theft Auto V
- 73. Super Smash Bros. Melee
- 74. Katamari Damacy
- 75. Doom (2016)
- 76. Fallout 3
- 77. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
- 78. Alan Wake II
- 79. Return of the Obra Dinn
- 80. Diablo II
- 81. Dragon Age: Origins
- 82. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
- 83. Spelunky
- 84. Rock Band 3
- 85. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
- 86. XCOM 2
- 87. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4
- 88. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
- 89. Hitman
- 90. Persona 5
- 91. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- 92. Tetris Effect
- 93. Journey
- 94. Dota 2
- 95. Shadow of the Colossus
- 96. Astro Bot
- 97. Burnout Paradise
- 98. Batman: Arkham City
- 99. Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver
- 100. Death Stranding