The 100 best games of all time (2023)! (85-81) – That’s Gaming

The year is over, so once again we thought it was time to make a list of the best games of all time. That’s no easy task, because so many great games have come out in the past thirty-five years. Nevertheless, we at the editorial team put our heads together, called each other rotten fish and cut the most emotionally charged knots. The result is this comprehensive list and a very grim atmosphere on the editorial staff.

The rules

It may sound somewhat crazy, but to make a list like this as fair as possible, you actually have to be flexible. For example, with sports games you often choose the best from the franchise, because they are usually released every year and sometimes differ little from each other. That while from franchises like those of Zelda or Mario you’re going to encounter multiple games in the list, though we tried to keep that to a minimum as well.

In addition, different aspects come into play when it comes to choosing a game. Thus, games are not all looked at in the same way, because some games have to make it mainly on the impact it had when it was released, while others have to make it on its playability or nostalgia. It is impossible to compare the first Mario game with, say, Red Dead Redemption 2, but you still have to make choices in such a list.

Fat chance you don’t agree with the list, we already couldn’t agree with each other on our small editorial team, let alone with the rest of the Benelux. Still, we would love to read your reaction to the list, stating that we are incredible sadists because we didn’t put your favorite game in the list. But even more fun, you probably have all kinds of memories of the games in the list and please don’t hide that, we enjoy reading them!

The 100 best games of all time (2023)! (100-96)
The 100 best games of all time (2023)! (95-91)
The 100 best games of all time (2023)! (90-86)

85. Cyberpunk 2077 (2020)

A sci-fi rpg from the creators of the Witcher series, we liked that. Unfortunately, the game was riddled with bugs and other glitches upon release, making the game look like a huge flop. Fortunately, CD Project RED did not sit still and did everything they could to improve the game. And they succeeded! Gone are most of the bugs, but also many animations and features have been tweaked. As a result, Cyberpunk 2077 actually turns out to be a great game!

The city looks really beautiful, the atmosphere is nice and dark, and the story is also great. You are V. and you have Keanu Reeves in your head, who also turns out to be a terrorist! Obviously it’s all a bit more nuanced, but for a game it’s quite an original setting. During your adventure, the beats really pump out of your speakers, which again adds immensely to the atmosphere. The only thing we think could be improved is the shooting itself, but that doesn’t outweigh the whole experience.

An expansion has also now been released, in which another well-known actor comes along. This time it’s Idris Elba! The expansion is called Phantom Liberty and lets you have another delightful adventure in Night City. We are curious to see if there is further and future in this franchise, although we know that the team behind the game has now started working on a new game in the Witcher series. Still, we don’t rule out seeing more Cyberpunk after that!

Moment of the game:

The first times you use a “BD” you really feel like a detective. In that mode you can view memories in 3D to get more information about an event. Very exciting and it looks pretty goofy too!

84. Outrun 2 (2003)

Outrun 2 is a typical example of a perfect sequel and also one of the last really good arcade racers. It surpassed the classic Out Run from 1986 and caused many coins to be thrown into the arcade cabinets, while getting a great port on the first Xbox. Beautiful graphics full of colors make every environment a joy to look at, while the gameplay is easy to pick up. It soon becomes clear to you in the game that it’s all about whether or not to use drifts in the right turns, which made the game feel almost like a puzzle at times.

The great OutRun 2 was spiced up on the Xbox with a number of different modes, making the game even more challenging. All this while getting wonderful tunes, including the amazing “Life was a Bore. Fast gameplay, beautiful cars and a breath of fresh air give the game its unique style. Several more versions came out, but Sega no longer has the Ferrari rights and unfortunately you cannot play that game on the current generation of consoles.

In the meantime, we haven’t given up hope for some port or remake of Outrun 2. For example, we once thought Daytona USA 2 would never come to consoles, yet it did recently. So the problem is the license, even with Daytona USA 2, but everything associated with it has been replaced with something new. We hope they do the same with Outrun 2, then we’ll just race without Ferraris.

Moment of the game:

There is no one moment that is better than the other, because everything is so good in this racer. The music is also fantastic and in Outrun 2 you will find old classics from the first part. Still, our favorite is a “new song” called Life Was a Bore. When we think of Outrun 2, we hear that song in our heads!

83. LA Noire (2011)

The technology behind LA Noire is truly amazing and it shows even the smallest facial changes of the actors, making emotions come across crisply clear to the gamer. Never before has it been such a great treat to see real actors at work in a game and it makes for a unique experience. Unfortunately, this technology was very expensive, so it took Rockstar a long time to finish this game. You are Cole Phelps, and as a detective, you visit witnesses and suspects while trying to prove with previously found evidence that the person in question is lying. Often you can easily tell by the eyes if someone is lying, but how can you prove it without evidence?

Unfortunately, the studio that made this game for Rockstar no longer exists and Rockstar has never hinted anywhere that it plans to make a sequel, but of course there is always a chance that Rockstar will surprise us. One released a remaster of LA Noire not too long ago, although we should honestly mention that Rockstar has not made a game other than GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2 since LA Noire. Incidentally, this technique is now being used in more games, including the upcoming HellBlade 2.

A remaster of the game has since been released, but it’s a bit strange, as the faces have stood the test of time better than the rest of the body. Therefore, the game may look a little less pretty today, but the acting is still very good. You can also play the game with real VR goggles, although these are for special missions and not the entire game.

Moment of the game:

The moment when your suspect is lying and you immediately know what evidence belongs to the claim, makes you feel some really like a detective, although it could have been a little more difficult for all of us. Now you get just as far without having much evidence.

82. Super Monkey Ball (2001)

There it was: an arcade cabinet with a banana as a joystick. A glance at the screen taught us that this was a cheerful game in which you, as a monkey-in-ball, must find your way to the end goal. Movement is not done by walking with the monkey, but by tilting the world around it, causing the ball to start rolling. It all starts out quite easy, but it soon becomes a lot more difficult. For example, large platforms are replaced by narrow beams and moving holes, so even with a small mistake you have to start over. Fortunately, Sega quickly brought the game to Nintendo’s GameCube and added some additional mini-games, of which Monkey Target was by far the best.

The first two parts in the series both came out on the GameCube, and later the PlayStation 2 and Xbox got a collection of all the levels (Monkey Ball Deluxe). The collection was also a top-notch game, but the GameCube controller seemed to be made for Monkey Ball, so you get the most out of the series if you play it on Nintendo’s purple cube. New volumes also came out for the Wii, for example, but Sega never managed to make another good Monkey Ball game and scrapped the Mini-games as well. Just the other day, an HD remaster of Monkey Ball Banana Blitz came out, while fans of the series are just waiting for a remaster of the first two parts.

Actually, there is little future in a good, new volume, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the first two games still stand like a house. You can pick these up from time to time into eternity and have tremendous fun with them. Furthermore, you don’t have to add that much to the gameplay, although they have tried to do that several times.

Moment of the game:

Monkey Target, that’s all you need to know!

81. Cuphead (2018)

What do you get when you mix the old Mickey Mouse cartoons with the gameplay of the Contra series? With that thought, Canadian brothers Chad and Jared Moldenhauer set to work and Cuphead is the result. Everything is hand-drawn and moves like you normally only see in cartoons. It took a long time to finish the game and that has mostly to do with expanding the game. Cuphead was actually supposed to be a series of Boss fights, but they ended up building entire levels around it. It looks really beautiful, but it wouldn’t have been in the list if it hadn’t played so great. The controls are spot-on and when a mistake is made, you can only blame yourself.

Cuphead is now also available for Nintendo’s Switch, and in addition to that, it’s got a delightful expansion! Let’s hope they make another great project after that and don’t decide to quit. It seems to us to be ultimely difficult to surpass their own first work, but the wonders are not yet out of the world. In case you haven’t played Cuphead yet, what are you here to do? Hurry up and enjoy all the hard work that went into the game.

The success has also spread to other media, as Cuphead now has two seasons on Netflix as an animated series. It’s funny, because it’s actually based on old cartoons and now it’s one itself. It’s not a punishment to watch, though we’re a lot more excited about the game than the series.

Moment of the game:

Every final boss is one to savour. The animations, transformations and presentation are of an unprecedented level and so many years later, there is still nothing that comes close to Cuphead graphically.