The best 100 video games of all time: 80-61

From a title with one of the best villains ever in gaming, to one of our writers' favourites, these are our picks of the best video games of all time - from number 80 to 61.

80. Final Fantasy XII

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If this was a top 100 favourite games list, for one of our authors (Jake), this would be number one. It's absolutely epic, and filled with brilliant characters, an incredibly immersive world, varied locations, and brilliant side quests including loads of hunts. It also notably featured a mechanic that basically allowed players to program exactly how they wanted characters to behave in combat with the option to take control at any time. A masterpiece that was years ahead of its time and still stands up incredibly well today.

79. Horizon Zero Dawn

Horizon Zero Dawn - E3 2016 Trailer I PS4www.youtube.com

Horizon Zero Dawn is one of those games that felt like it came out of nowhere. Made by Guerrilla Games which had developed the Killzone series came this open world sci-fi game, where players take on the role of Aloy to find out her origins, what happened to humanity and how she needs to save the world. Taking on machines in all sorts of shapes and sizes is thrilling, and the story it tells is brilliant. It's slick, looks great, and it feels so satisfying working your way through an incredibly imagined post-apocalyptic world.

78. Tomb Raider

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This was the game that introduced the world to a character who was officially crowned the most iconic gaming character of all time in Lara Croft. This 1996 action adventure platformer sparked Croftmania, and saw the adventurer tackle levels which were well-designed with a free moving camera, which was pretty revolutionary at the time.

77. Alan Wake 2

Alan Wake 2 - Gameplay Reveal Trailer | PS5 Gameswww.youtube.com

Alan Wake 2 has one of the best game designs seen so far, and it has some truly magical moments. It features a tense atmosphere that is kept up so well throughout and is superbly written for the most part. It seamlessly moves between psychological terror to full-on frantic survival horror - and really doesn't miss a beat.

76. Pokemon Sapphire / Ruby / Emerald

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Gen 3 of Pokemon brought improved visuals, new brilliant locations and animations and, of course, loads more Pokemon to catch and battle. There's a lot to discover and explore and Emerald specifically has the brilliant Battle Frontier that can keep players engaged for hours and hours after the credits roll.

75. Dead Space

Dead Space Launch Trailerwww.youtube.com

This 2008 survival horror game is truly terrifying. It builds incredible tension through its atmosphere, lighting, and sound design. Some of the monsters are the most horrifying ever seen in video games. It's one of the most bloody and gory titles made, with a focus on having to dismember monster limbs - and that's all before the brutal ways they can kill Isaac Clarke, the world's unluckiest engineer. But it's so satisfying and fun to navigate the stricken Ishimura, and find out what happened to everyone that turned into a bloodcurdling monster.

74. Dark Souls II

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It's tricky to choose a best Dark Souls game but Dark Souls II takes the crown for having better bosses, battles, locations, and mechanics than the first with the third title not quite moving things on far enough. It does have its flaws but there is incredible replay value here.

73. Monster Hunter Wilds

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This might have only just released, but Monster Hunter Wilds is an outstanding game. It's the best in a very successful series, and it casts its net wide successfully in making it accessible to newcomers in the series as well as long-time veterans. The story is fairly short but the game features class-leading combat mechanics for an action role-playing game and its progression system is great too.

72. Marvel's Spider-Man 2 (2023)

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Spoiler alert: it's not the top Spider-Man game on this list but what a game this is. Building on the incredible reimagining of the Spider-Man reboot in 2018, New York City is expanded to include Brooklyn and, without giving away any spoilers, has a brilliant change of pace halfway through.

71. Crash Bandicoot

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Crash Bandicoot is one of the most eccentric and compelling platforming games ever made, with some of the most creative level designs we've ever experienced. More than that, it also pushed the boundaries of what gaming could be at the time. The game's studio effectively hacked the PlayStation in order to realise the game and bypass the memory management and 3D animation limitations in place back in the mid-90s. Thank goodness they did, or we'd have never got to experience greatness.

70. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King

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Dragon Quest has been around since 1986 but the 2005 release Journey of the Cursed King stands out as the best. It has all of the top traits of a classic Japanese role-playing game too: classic turn-based combat, a beautiful world to explore, brilliant music, and a strong focus on the characters and their stories within it. We love the art style too.

69. Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil

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This one might not be familiar to that many people, but Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil is a simply superb 2D platformer. Players take on the role of Klonoa, a dream traveller who is an anthropomorphic long-eared cat, that travels to the world of Lunatea to save it. It sounds straightforward on the face of it, but the story told is full of twists and turns and really tugs on the heartstrings in a way few games, let alone platformers, can. The levels are brilliantly designed and varied, which ramp up in difficulty as the game goes on.

68. Astro Bot

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Astro Bot celebrates all things PlayStation, and after a number of years without one, the Sony gaming arc seems to finally have its mascot, like Mario for Nintendo. Every level is incredibly fun to play and importantly, they never feel repetitive. The levels that draw inspiration from the worlds and characters of other top PlayStation games are among some of the most fun platforming levels in gaming.

67. Batman: Arkham Asylum

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What a breath of fresh air Batman: Arkham Asylum was. Although it takes place within the confines of Arkham Asylum, its concise and filler-free world is so incredibly atmospheric and the gameplay mechanics are stellar, so much so they were only really refined in the games that followed. It brought Batman to the top table of superhero characters in gaming in 2009.

66. Deathloop

Deathloop - Launch Trailer | PS5www.youtube.com

Deathloop is a truly unique experience and the clue is in its name - eight targets have to be assassinated by the end of the day cycle or else you start from the beginning, even if just one has been missed. That's not if another character called Julianna gets to the player first, which can be controlled by online players invading a game. It's all about learning the environment, enemy behaviour and working out the most efficient approach. The art and writing are very clever too.

65. Far Cry 3

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Far Cry 3 has arguably the best villain in gaming in Vaas and is peak Far Cry. The island it's set on is astonishing - there's plenty to do and that content is incredibly varied. There are some messed up and outrageous things in this game, including one mission where the player uses a flamethrower to burn down a cannabis farm to the tune of 'Make it Bun Dem' by Damian Marley and Skrillex, all while having to avoid resulting fumes to not become too high. Simply unforgettable.

64: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

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There are a number of great Prince of Persia games but The Sands of Time stands out as the best. Releasing in 2003, the title scaled the series to new heights with a great story, superb combat and challenging puzzles. A remake is currently in production and will no doubt prove popular among those who have played the original, along with a new audience, curious to see what all the fuss is about.

63. It Takes Two

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It Takes Two is a unique game in the sense that it must be played with another player, there's no option to fly solo in this. But whether playing with a friend or your better half, this delivers a rich story with brilliant level design and the perfect balance of each player having to do certain things to help the other progress through the world. Even if The Book of Love is pretty divisive!

62. Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077 — Official Launch Trailer — Vwww.youtube.com

Some may raise eyebrows with Cyberpunk 2077 being so high on the list, or even on this list at all. But credit where credit is due to developer CD Projekt Red which didn't give up on this. It knew exactly how good this game could be, even if Cyberpunk 2077 did release unfinished and was even pulled from the PS Store completely at one point. The studio worked tirelessly to improve it post-launch, and players diving into it now will experience a brilliant first-person action role-playing game with a unique aesthetic, superb story, great skill development, top notch gameplay - and Keanu Reeves.

61. Fable II

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Fable II is arguably the best game in the series, and that's because of the game's mechanics. It's a brilliant action role-playing game with so much to do away from the main story. It doesn't fall back on fantasy tropes and every action the player makes has a true consequence.

Click here for the 60-41 best video games.

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