What makes the perfect video game? For many, it’s a seamless blend of character, storytelling, design, audio, and game mechanics, for others it's pure simplicity, and for some it's for innovation. Your own preferences play a role in which games you widely consider to be perfect, but there are a few that seem to surpass even the most biased opinions.
Here are five games that are widely considered to be perfect, or as close to perfect as you can get.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
It might not look like much now, but Ocarina of Time was revolutionary in 1998. The game took the familiar aspects we’ve come to know and love about the Zelda franchise—lovable characters, rewarding dungeons, and a solid storyline— and made it three-dimensional.
This pivotal moment in the franchise was recognized with numerous accolades, from Game of the Year to a Guinness World Record for being the “most critically acclaimed game of all time,” and still holding the highest-scoring game on Metacritic—99/100. Really, Ocarina of Time is about as close to perfect as you can get.
Tetris
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? This well-loved building block game was released in 1984, and aside from some updated graphics, it hasn’t been changed since. The game is simple to understand but difficult to master, making it an addictive but satisfying challenge for players.
The game is also widely considered one of the most structurally sound games in existence and has been adapted to nearly every piece of technology. Honestly, Tetris proves time and time again that you don’t need much to achieve perfection.
Red Dead Redemption 2
The polar opposite of Tetris, RDR2 is widely considered a perfect game for the sheer amount of detail that was put into it. Thrown into this massive open world, you’ll find that everything, down to the blade of grass you’re standing on, is incredibly realistic.
The storyline, the consistent cause-and-effect of your actions, and this close attention to detail are widely considered to have set the standard for new open-world games. RDR2 received nearly 200 “Game of the Year” awards, from website rankings to full-fledged ceremonies.
Portal
This 2007 game changed the way we think about puzzles, catapulting the interactive and mind-bending genre to worldwide recognition. Alongside its novel puzzle design, Portal was loved for its story, atmosphere, and our familiar AI friend, GLaDOS.
This fresh take on the puzzle genre did not go unnoticed, as the first game received over 15 game-of-the-year awards for development, design, audio, writing, and character performance.
The Last Of Us
The first game in this series came out in 2013, and its success is still celebrated today. The game was among the first to push the boundaries of blending narrative and gaming, creating something totally new to the genre. It seamlessly combines basic horror-adventure game elements, such as stealth and resource scarcity, with a powerful, emotional storyline against a well-designed post-apocalyptic backdrop. The game won several game of the year awards and a whopping 240 accolades overall.
