I believe The Beatles: Rock Band came the closest to being perfect. Eveything about that game was just beautifully done and the only things missing was Pro Drums, an option for Keys, and a few more Beatle songs (Hey Jude, Strawberry Fields Forever, Yesterday etc. etc.)
Maybe Tetris? Such a simple concept, and it’s one of the most popular games of all time.
Minecraft for similar reasons. Even if it has become more complex in recent years, the core of it is just…you can break everything and build anything. It’s hard to say that isn’t a perfect sandbox.
More personal opinion though, maybe Super Mario Odyssey. Just incredibly polished and varied with an amazing movement system.
Tetris is an interesting one because you’ve got 3+ decades of variations on the original, but the original is still the best. I’d argue it’s a perfect game.
I personally disagree that the original is best. It’s high up there, but I think some of the later titles have improvements that eek out the #1 spot.
I’m a fan of the “piece swap” feature, and later games have polished the piece lock over the original. Tetris 99 was the sweet spot for games that I’ve played.
Chrono Trigger: every aspect (graphics, gameplay, story, music, replayability…) has such level of polishness that it’s still outstanding almost 30 years later.
No other JRPG has come even close and, as a Final Fantasy fan, that’s hard to admitBioshock I think, loved it so much. Excellent writing and graphic design. Wish the remaster had improved the visuals more tho
Yesssss loved this game. Played all three and nothing hits like the first one.
Truth. I still love Infinite, though. I may be in the minority for that, but it’s such a bizarre atmosphere and the imagery and soundtrack really stuck with me. Welcome to the circus of VALUE!
Oh geez, I’d forgotten about the circus of VALUE! Gotta emphasize it like that 😂. I think I found Infinite to be more of a mixed bag. Creepy but in a different way. All I remember is being killed by George Washington 😂
Hades. I don’t think I’ve come across a game so carefully paced as Hades, both plot-wise and in the gradual introduction of game mechanics. Which is bloody impressive considering that it’s a roguelite.
Outer Wilds. I consider it the best video game ever made and I’ve spent quite some time thinking about if there’s something I could add, change or remove that would improve it and so far I’ve yet to come up with anything of substance (beyond tiny QoL changes or reeeally nitpicky stuff).
Fata Morgana.
Listen, whether you like Visual Novels or not doesn’t matter. But Fata Morgana is just somehow…perfect. Everything is resolved and I don’t feel any need to complain about any aspect of it. It was an experience to play a game that left me with no questions afterwards. It was just a really good story.
My answer to this is always Portal, the first one. It was so unexpected and so, so good. Nothing in gaming before or since has been that magical of an experience for me. Maybe early Pokemon, when my little kid eyes were opening to what gaming could be. But there’s just something special about Portal. Such a concise, perfect little game.
For me, probably Half-Life 2. Especially at the time? It was such a leap ahead in both technology and overall world immersion. I still revisit it sometimes and get sucked right back in.
I’ll agree with you on Beatles Rock Band too, though. It’s a work of art.
ive never played a half life game before. maybe i should start
The original Half Life is pretty fun, but I’d recommend checking out Black Mesa. It’s a remake of the original game in the same engine that Half-Life 2 uses, and changes some things for the better.
