Best Games of All Time: 9 Picks Across Every Era

"Best game of all time" is a fight that never ends, so this list is built on a different rule: every pick either invented something or did it better than anyone since. No nostalgia votes, no museum pieces — these are games you can still enjoy tonight.

The nine that defined the medium

The arguments, briefly

Why Tetris beats any modern puzzle game

It's the purest example of "easy to learn, impossible to master." The original is still free to play and still dangerous to start before bed.

Why two FromSoftware games made the list

Dark Souls set the philosophy; Elden Ring proved it could scale to an open world without losing the tension. They're different games with the same bloodline.

Why no multiplayer shooter

Counter-Strike, Overwatch, and Fortnite all have arguments, but the list favors games that stand alone as complete experiences. Shooter picks would need a separate ranking.

See how the community ranks them over time on the 9GameGrid leaderboards, or compare against the tool-driven top-9 list.

What's the difference between this and the site's top-9 tool page?
That page is generated from user card picks; this one is an editorial list. They overlap on a few games and diverge where taste kicks in.

Is an old game really better than a 2026 one?
The list doesn't rank "better," it ranks "mattering." Tetris still gets played more than most new releases.

Which one should I start with?
If you're under 25, start with Elden Ring — it's the modern entry point. If you want history, Tetris is forty minutes, not forty hours.

Are any of these free?
Tetris has free versions everywhere. The rest go on sale regularly and most have modern ports.