Wikipedia's best games of all time

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_games_considered_the_best
Sup.
I can't remember how i got here, i think i was looking at the wiki page for the game Inside, but i came across this list of the best games ever complete with references and it seems pretty solid at first glance.
I haven't got the time or energy right now to study it but i thought it would be good for discussion, i did see Psychonauts in there which is a game i love but might not personally put on a list like this, are there any games you guys disagree with? Are there any you think are missing?

Something i do notice about the list is how from 2012 onward the quantity of games gets smaller and smaller, and nothing's been added since 2018, that might just be due to lack of input but it does kind of align with my thoughts on the quality of games in recent times, there's certainly not a shortage of good-great games to play of course i'm not saying we're in a bad place at all, but nothing springs to mind when i think of "best" games, Witcher 3 was the last one for me that i could truly say did something amazing.

Last note, i couldn't believe there wasn't anything better than Destiny in 2014, a quick search suggests Dark Souls 2, Bayonetta 2, Alien: Isolation, Wolfenstein and Giant Bomb's GOTY Shadow of Mordor, i'm hesitant to put sequels on the list, i hated Shadow of Mordor and the PC port of Wolfenstein was bad, but Alien: Isolation is definitely a contender, and i'd take any of those games over Destiny.

Eh, I think the reason nothing newer than 2018 is on there is because you need perspective in order to really tell how good something is. There's recency bias to be aware of, but also a lot of other aspects that are hard to judge in the moment, but with 5 or so years of perspective are easier to see in their proper context.

In general I think that list seems to have a very American bias to it, and I absolutely don't think Destiny has any place on it, and probably not DOTA 2 either (a case could be made for the original perhaps, which brings up another issue with a list like this, because sometimes what makes a game great isn't what the original developers put in there, but what the modding community made with it as a toolset).

Anyway, for the most part, these wouldn't have been the picks I would've made, but I can see the argument for many of them.

This might come off as too gatekeep-y but I found it very funny that the 'reputable' journalists and magazines from which the aggregated list was drawn from includes well known gaming publications like Esquire, EW, FHM and the Irish Times among others.

Only took a quick scroll through the list because the idea that Nights into Dreams somehow made it onto at least 6 of these lists broke me.

Man, 2008 was a good fucking year.

It looks a bit like most popular games (not necessarily in terms of raw sales). I would remove Quake (technological marvel but not a great game), Grim Fandango (great story and character but weak gameplay), Jedi Knight Dark Forces 2 (good but not great), Halo 2, Starcraft 2, GTA V. Actually a lot more where you could also say "good but not great".

Notable absences: All Ultima's (except Online), Alone in the Dark, basically all Sierra adventures, The Dig, Unreal, Far Cry 1&3, Gabriel Knight, Jagged Alliance 1&2, Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver, Master of Orion 1&2, Outcast, Settlers, Theme Park, Pikmin...

I appreciate they have a lot of diversity in there, sports and racing don't usually get many mentions. And it may feel a bit boring to list every Final Fantasy game from 1 to 7 but would that be incorrect to do so?

Comparing to my own top lists, there are various standouts missing from most years. For example:

1990: Mega Man 3, Crystalis, Actraiser, Gaiares, Loom, Super C, Thunder Force III, Metal Gear 2 and Adventures of Lolo 2

1995: Terranigma, Ristar, DKC2, VB Wario Land, Lords of Thunder, Alien Soldier, Secret of Evermore and Suikoden

2000: FFIX, Paper Mario, Typing of the Dead, Red Alert 2, Phantasy Star Online, Zeus and Vagrant Story

Some entries seem based more on contemporary sales, I mean Wipeout 1 isn't really considered the best in that series by most (so it's reviews but most likely mostly contemporary ones, therefore affected by hype and sales).

hell yeah dota 2

@apewins: Quake isn't significant simply because it's a technological marvel, it's also the game that served as a foundation for pretty much every other multiplayer shooter of the 90's. Even if it doesn't hold up today, that should make it significant enough to lock a position on any "video game canon" type list. I do think it's important for any such list to also give a summary of why all of its entries were chosen - nobody is choosing Quake for its very Doom-ish single player campaign.

In general, though, any such list is going to be loaded with flaws and missing games. There are just too many gems still playable today if you know where to look.

Quake's also significant for the absolutely horrific environment and circumstances it was made in.

I like how 2017 and 2018 only produced two games, but all the prior year through to the 1980s had half a dozen all the way up to two dozen? Sorry, teh methodology of this list is suspect and random. Oh, wow, random magazines in 1978 talked about Space Invaders so it must be so great. In fact, northing else can sit on the list next to it, right?

Remember kids, the ONLY good game that came out in 1978 was Space Invaders. So, just forget that the physical arcade game Whac-A-Mole, the American version, came out that year too - literally a world-wide meme worthy activity - but it just doesn't make the cut for a "best of" list.

The reason the list is shrinking towards its later years and why there's no games after 2018 is almost certainly because of the criteria used for putting them on the list. "Best games of all time" lists are not standard content for most publications, as you can even see by looking at their source list, and then having to be featured on six separate ones makes it much more unlikely for newer titles to get on the list purely due to lack of new lists to be featured on. It only list 15 lists published in 2018 or later as source material.

There are also fewer sites nowadays, you'd have to use youtube channels instead which wikipedia doesn't seem to like. There's a single link to it for this list, from a 9 year old mixed movies and games list from a channel I've never heard about.

Why? Do you think a game isn't as good if they didn't get it right the first time? Do you think too much iteration should disqualify a game? If so, would you discount spiritual successors, etc. too?

Let’s not overlook the fact that this year old thread was bumped by either one of the most convincing robo-posts I’ve ever seen or a man cosplaying as ChatGPT.

@nodima: I'm convinced :P

But i also want to take this opportunity to point out that nothing else has been added since 2018, and the only thing i can think of adding in recent times would be Flight Simulator and... Vampire Survivors?

@jaidboyer: Really enjoy being a part of this awesome community where I can learn new things. Btw, I borrowed 100 dollar loan to purchase the same thing.