New Year's Resolution: Video Game Canon

In 2026, the Video Games as Literature blog will be undertaking an enormous feat: we plan to play and discuss the top 100 games in the Video Game Canon! 

What is the Video Game Canon? In their own words, "The Video Game Canon is a statistical meta-analysis of 80 Best Video Games of All Time lists that were published between 1985 and 2025." In other words, it's a list of the most important games of all time (updated regularly) as chosen by a math equation created by librarian John Scalzo. For more information see "What is the Video Game Canon?"

Admittedly, it will be difficult for one human (me) and two furry assistants to play 100 games in only a year's time. Fortunately, I have already played and beaten 44 of the 100 games on the list, many of which I've blogged about in the past. I've created a color-coded document where I'm keeping track of which games I've beaten (44), which games I've started but never finished (33), and which games I've never played before (23). I'll show you this document in an upcoming video. In terms of games you can't strictly "beat" like Tetris and Street Fighter II, I'm using my personal judgement to decide if I've played enough hours in those games to count. I feel I can safely say that I know Tetris quite well -- I've played many iterations over the years and while I'm not a Tetris Grand Master, I'm pretty okay. Street Fighter II is less in my wheelhouse -- I'll never beat a dedicated fighting game aficionado, but I've played enough to know a few tricks and can at least best the noobs. I'm counting both of these as "beat" for the purposes of this project.

Ultimately, I will do my best to play as many of these video games as possible in 2026, but this project may continue into the next year or two. 

Below is the list of 100 games, copy and pasted from the Video Game Canon website:

 

1. Tetris (1988)

2. Resident Evil 4 (2005)

3. The Last of Us (2013)

4. Half-Life 2 (2004)

5. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017)

6. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015)

7. Hades (2020)

8. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)

9. Super Mario 64 (1996)

10. Mass Effect 2 (2010)

11. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1992)

12. BioShock (2007)

13. Grand Theft Auto V (2013)

14. Super Metroid (1994)

15. Shadow of the Colossus (2005)

16. God of War (2018)

17. Street Fighter II (1991)

18. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007)

19. Final Fantasy VII (1997)

20. World of Warcraft (2004)

21. Red Dead Redemption (2010)

22. Doom (1993)

23. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011)

24. Halo: Combat Evolved (2001)

25. GoldenEye 007 (1997)

26. Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018)

27. Chrono Trigger (1995)

28. Super Mario World (1991)

29. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997)

30. Bloodborne (2015)

31. Metal Gear Solid (1998)

32. Portal (2007)

33. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009)

34. Journey (2012)

35. Portal 2 (2011)

36. Minecraft (2009)

37. Dark Souls (2011)

38. Super Mario Bros. 3 (1990)

39. Metroid Prime (2002)

40. StarCraft (1998)

41. Super Mario Kart (1992)

42. Deus Ex (2000)

43. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (2003)

44. Final Fantasy VI / Final Fantasy III [US] (1994)

45. Disco Elysium (2019)

46. The Last of Us Part II (2020)

47. Rock Band (Series – 2007)

48. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater (Series – 1999)

49. Diablo II (2000)

50. Half-Life (1998)

51. Counter-Strike (1999)

52. Silent Hill 2 (2001)

53. Super Mario Bros. (1985)

54. Pokemon Blue/Red/Yellow (1998) / Pokemon FireRed/LeafGreen (2004)

55. Inside (2016)

56. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004)

57. Tomb Raider (1996) / Tomb Raider Anniversary (2007)

58. Ico (2001)

59. Grand Theft Auto III (2001)

60. Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)

61. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018)

62. Fallout 3 (2008)

63. Donkey Kong (1981)

64. Animal Crossing: New Horizons (2020)

65. Super Mario Odyssey (2017)

66. Celeste (2018)

67. Stardew Valley (2016)

68. Undertale (2015)

69. Ms. Pac-Man (1981)

70. Batman: Arkham City (2011)

71. Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010)

72. EarthBound (1995)

73. System Shock 2 (1999)

74. Overwatch (2016)

75. Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001)

76. SimCity (1989)

77. Pac-Man (1980)

78. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (2003)

79. Grim Fandango (1998)

80. SimCity 2000 (1994)

81. Mega Man 2 (1989)

82. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island (1995)

83. Resident Evil (1996) / Resident Evil (2002)

84. League of Legends (2009)

85. The Sims (2000)

86. The Legend of Zelda (1987)

87. Space Invaders (1978)

88. Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009)

89. Okami (2006)

90. Grand Theft Auto IV (2008)

91. Braid (2008)

92. The Walking Dead (2012)

93. The Secret of Monkey Island (1990)

94. Outer Wilds (2019)

95. Lemmings (1991)

96. Final Fantasy Tactics (1998)

97. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2003)

98. Civilization IV (2005)

99. NBA Jam (Series – 1993)

100. Galaga (1981)

 

Here is the part where I need your help: while I do already own most of the games on the list, I'm going to need to buy quite a few of them (mainly newer games that can't be emulated). My personal funds are limited. If you are a fan of my work and want to hear my opinions on the most important video games of all time, I would greatly appreciate it if you could pitch in by buying a game or gift card from my Amazon Wishlist, or tipping me on Ko-Fi. You can also join me on Patreon where you will receive access to the Video Games as Literature Discord (which includes discussion of the Video Game Canon as well as the Literary Game Club, where we discuss a different literary game each month), a collection of convention panels, cosplay photos, and more! 

This page will be used as a launch point for the rest of the year and I will edit it as I create content about the Video Game Canon, linking to it on this page. So feel free to bookmark this page and check back if you want to keep up with my progress playing The Video Game Canon!