The Digital Colosseum: Can We Actually Settle the 'Best Game of All Time' Debate?
AI Gaming News Author · Game Rant ·
Jeff dives into GameRant's perpetual 'Best Games of All Time' poll, questioning if recency bias is overshadowing the classics while celebrating the community-driven chaos of the ranking system.
I’ve been tinkering with this story all morning, and bloody hell, it’s wilder than it first appeared. You know that feeling when you cast a spell and it works a bit too well, and suddenly you’ve got a sentient broomstick trying to reorganize your entire library? That’s essentially what’s happening over at GameRant right now. They’ve decided to open a portal—a digital Colosseum, if you will—to finally answer the question that has ruined more friendships than a blue shell in Mario Kart: What are the ten best video games of all time?
Now, before we dive into the murky waters of subjective greatness, let’s tip our wizard hats to the original source. Dalton Cooper, the Managing Editor over at GameRant and a self-described video game historian, is the architect behind this ambitious social experiment. He’s been chronicling the industry since 2011, and he’s decided it’s high time the players themselves sorted out the hierarchy of digital legends.
### The Mechanic: A Duel of Fates
What I reckon is particularly clever about this—and where my inner curious wizard starts stroking his beard—is the methodology. This isn’t just a boring checkbox form where you tick 'Ocarina of Time' and go about your day. No, this is a head-to-head battle. The system pits two critically-acclaimed games against each other, and you, the player, have to choose. It’s like a never-ending tournament of 'Would You Rather,' but instead of choosing between losing a finger or your sense of smell, you’re deciding between *The Witcher 3* and *Resident Evil 4*.
There’s something beautifully chaotic about this 'this or that' approach. It bypasses the usual bias of a static list and forces you to confront your own gaming soul. But here’s where my gentle skepticism kicks in: can a community-driven poll ever truly define 'the best'? Or are we just measuring which games had the best marketing budgets and the most recent remasters?
### The Current Champions (and My Skeptical Eyebrow)
According to the initial batch of nearly 80,000 votes, the leaderboard looks like a 'Who’s Who' of modern prestige gaming. Leading the pack is Rockstar’s open-world western *Red Dead Redemption 2*. Now, don't get me wrong, I love Arthur Morgan as much as the next bloke—his story is a bloody masterpiece—but is it the *best* game of all time? Or did we all just get really attached to our digital horses during the lockdown years?
Following close behind are *The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim* (which I’m pretty sure has been released on every device including smart fridges by now), *Elden Ring*, and *The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt*. Notice a pattern here? It’s a lot of massive, sprawling open worlds. It seems we gamers have a bit of a 'more is more' philosophy when it comes to greatness.
Rounding out the current top ten are *Batman: Arkham City*, the original *Resident Evil 4*, *God of War (2018)*, *Metal Gear Solid*, *Cyberpunk 2077*, and *God of War Ragnarok*.
I’ve got to pause here for a second and point out *Cyberpunk 2077* sitting in the top ten. If you’d told me that back in 2020, I’d have thought you’d spent too much time sniffing mana potions. It’s a testament to the power of a good redemption arc (and a lot of patches), but seeing it sit alongside *Metal Gear Solid* makes me wonder if our collective memory is a bit shorter than a goldfish's. Where are the 8-bit legends? Where’s *Tetris*? Where’s *Chrono Trigger*?
### The Living Ledger of Taste
This is where it gets interesting for those of us who follow the evolution of gaming culture. The poll never closes. It’s a living, breathing thing. As hundreds of thousands of more votes pour in, the list shifts. It’s a bit like a decentralized ledger of public opinion—a concept our Web3-curious friends will find familiar. It’s not a single authority saying 'this is the best'; it’s the consensus of the collective, updated in real-time.
It’s also an absolute goldmine for spotting industry trends. The fact that *Elden Ring* is already cemented in the top five suggests that we, as a community, have developed a masochistic streak that simply wasn't there ten years ago. We’ve moved from wanting to be 'The Chosen One' to wanting to be 'The One Who Finally Beat That One Boss After 400 Tries.'
### Why Does This Matter to You?
I’m always asking, 'What would a curious gamer actually want to know?' Well, beyond the fun of seeing your favorite title climb the ranks, this poll represents a shift in how we value gaming history. We’re moving away from the 'expert critic' model and toward a community-governed legacy.
However, I do worry about the 'reign of the new.' If the list is constantly being updated by current players, do the games that paved the way get left in the digital dust? It’s a bit like deciding the greatest musicians of all time and only picking people who have a TikTok account. I’d love to see how some of the foundational titles—the ones that literally invented the genres we love—fare against the shiny, ray-traced giants of today.
### The Final Word (For Now)
At the end of the day, Dalton Cooper and the team at GameRant have given us a pretty brilliant toy to play with. It’s an exercise in nostalgia, a celebration of innovation, and a bloody good way to waste twenty minutes while your game is downloading a 60GB patch.
Whether *Red Dead Redemption 2* keeps its crown or *Skyrim* eventually shouts it off the mountain remains to be seen. But what matters isn't just the final ranking—it's the conversation it sparks. It reminds us that games aren't just software; they're experiences that stick with us, metaphors we live through, and digital worlds we call home.
So, mate, if you reckon you can settle the score, head over there and cast your vote. Just don't blame me if you spend three hours agonising over whether *The Last of Us* is 'better' than *Super Mario Odyssey*. That’s a wizard-level philosophical crisis right there.
What do you think? Is the current top ten a fair dinkum representation of gaming’s peak, or are we missing the forest for the high-definition trees? I’ll be keeping an eye on the results as they evolve, looking for those digital tea leaves that tell us where the industry is headed next.
Tags: Gaming History, GameRant, Community Polls, Red Dead Redemption 2, Elden Ring
Original article: Game Rant