What game(s) do you consider a masterpiece?

One game that comes to mind for me is the original Last of Us. Came out near the end of PS3’s life time and it became an instant hit. I think what makes it special is the story of course but also very good gameplay moments like the boss in the school gym, and the David fight. The game also had unique enemies like the Clickers and the human enemies were no pushover. And lastly, the ending, goes down as one of the best!

What about you, SW? What game(s) do you consider a masterpiece?

Resident Evil 2 (ps1)

Silent Hill 2

Demon's Souls Remake

Persona 5

Xenogears

Nethack

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee

Red Dead Redemption

Persona 3

For its time:

tlou 1 was good enough to be considered a master piece,
uncharted 2,
RE4 og was a master piece, RE4R is amazing but not master piece level imo.
Zelda OoT master piece,
halo CE, halo 3, halo reach
metroid prime
MSFS 20 (the defacto flight sim)
mario 64
golden eye

theres a bunch of games, Id say persona 5 Royale is also a master piece for that category of RPG games

The witcher 3

👩‍🚀🚀🪐✨💫

Deus Ex

Thief 2

Fallout: New Vegas

DCS World

Dishonored 1/2

Satisfactory (I know it's not out yet but it's amazing)

Factorio

Doom series, but especially the recent games

Breath of the Wild

Portal 2

No Man's Sky

Mass Effect 2

Minecraft

Knights of the Old Republic

The Witcher 3 is the best RPG that has ever been released.

Super Mario 3D World is the best platformer ever released.

2016 DOOM is the best single-player shooter ever released.

Factorio

I never like using the word "masterpiece" as it just sounds like a game must be like this in order to get masterpiece status. Any game I've played is considered "a good game" on its own merits. Sadly, I can't name nor list a game I think it's a masterpiece and we'll leave it like that as every game I've played is good in my books. It doesn't even need to be a masterpiece, just good to me.

What has happened to your totk playthrough?

There are many, but i'll name 3 random titles that i consider as a masterpiece grade banger.

Doom Eternal

Elden Ring

Baldur's Gate 3

BotW

Half Life 2

Prey

SM Galaxy

SM Galaxy 2

SM World

SM64

RDR

Portal 2

Halo Reach

Dark Souls

Hollow Knight

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis

Alone in the Dark

Dune

Another World

Shadow of the Colossus

Outer Wilds

Skyrim

Papers Please

Probably missing a few

Halo 3

Fable 2

Witcher 3

Gears 3

A whole lot. A few off the top of my head would be:

- Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross

- The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess, Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom

- Final Fantasy VI, VII, X, VII Remake

- Super Mario Bros. 3, World, Galaxy, Galaxy 2, Odyssey

- Contra III: The Alien Wars

- Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse, Super Castlevania IV, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

- Super Metroid, Metroid Dread

- Monster Hunter World, Rise

- Devil May Cry 3, 5

- Resident Evil Remake, 2, 4, 2 Remake, 4 Remake

- Mass Effect Trilogy

- Halo 3

- Forza Motorsport and Horizon games

- Dragon Quest VIII, XI S Definitive Edition

- Street Fighter II games, Alpha 2

- Gears of War 2, 3

Ive allowed it to stagnate.... I progressed through two temples. The Garrudo parts were pretty slow and uneventful. I found the light puzzles in the temple to be somewhat tedious at times and I didn't really enjoy myself.

I think this game was built for the Minecraft people and not the Zelda people. (oddly both in my list above!) It DOES have a story elements that connect to botw and it's satisfying to see recuring characters and places... But I'm not the type who wants my Zelda mixed with this much sandboxiness... I'm ready to return to focused parameters.

I don't really want to knock the game too much because it is designed masterfully.... You can ignore to an extent the crafting and rely on Links climbing and floating skills to achieve most goals, but what is here doesn't thrill me in the way I hoped and I'm finding it a chore to continue.

I also think Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is a Masterpiece.

Pokemon X/Y. There are tons of Pokemon to collect, challenging Gym battles, innovative trading mechanics and exciting online play. It's one of my favourite JRPG's of all time.

@Pedro said:

@davillain said:

I never like using the word "masterpiece" as it just sounds like a game must be like this in order to get masterpiece status. Any game I've played is considered "a good game" on its own merits. Sadly, I can't name nor list a game I think it's a masterpiece and we'll leave it like that as every game I've played is good in my books. It doesn't even need to be a masterpiece, just good to me.

I can go along with that sentiment for sure... I think for me I feel comfortable calling some select games masterpieces based on my own definition of the game coming together in nearly every element of game design, whereas lots of games are good, but flawed in ways. Games I'm willing to call masterpiece, like Portal 2, I played it over and over and through and through and all of it from mp through the story credits comes together perfectly...

A lot of Nintendo classics comes to mind. Besides them I think the Uncharted 2, Witcher 3, Arkham Asylum, Portal 2, Doom Eternal are really, really well designed games. You can clearly see how they have inspired other developers.

• The Last of Us
• The Last of Us 2
• Metal Gear Solid
• Metal Gear Solid 2
• Metal Gear Solid 3
• Metal Gear Solid 4
• Metal Gear Solid 5
• God of War
• God of War Ragnarok
• Elden Ring
• Bloodborne
• Sekiro
• Dark Souls
• Dark Souls 3
• Demon's Souls
• Red Dead Redemption II
• Dragon Age Origins
• Mass Effect 2
• GTA Vice City
• GTA San Andreas
• GTA V
• Half Life
• Half Life 2
• Bioshock
• Bioshock Infinite
• Death Stranding
• Final Fantasy 7
• Final Fantasy X
• Devil May Cry
• Resident Evil 4
• TESIV: Oblivion
• Ghost of Tsushima
• Arkham Asylum
• Arkham City
• Tekken 3
• Baldur's Gate 3
• Diablo 2
• Heavy Rain
• LoZ: BOTW

After 25 years of gaming, 20,000+ hours and more than 1,000 games played these are the 40 odd or so games I would consider a masterpiece. I have played every single game that ever received 85+ on metacritic, and the vast, vast majority of games with 80+ on metacritic.

So about 1 in 20 or 4% get a 'masterpiece' title from. Minimum 9/10 and above.

• Deus Ex
• Half life
• Half life 2
• STALKER
• System Shock 2
• Doom
• Doom Eternal
• Max Payne
• Mafia
• FEAR
• Resident Evil 4 Remake

Sorry, but, in this case, that just sounds like a cop-out.

I've played most of those considered the "best of the best". Hell, I bought a switch lite just to see what was all the fuss about BotW and Mario Odyssey despite never being a Nintendo fan. Currently playing both Elden Ring and Tears of the Kingdom and will definitely try out BG3 down the line despite never really liking isometric RPGs. I go out of my way just to see if the hype on these "best of the best" games is deserving.

Saying this, I've only gave two perfect 10s in my life, not because the games are perfect by any means but because I thought they were revolutionary in their own ways: Shadow of the Colossus, the game that made me truly see gaming as a form of art and the og Resident Evil 4 for its groundbreaking gameplay mechanics (at the time) and incredible pace. Just a fun game from start to end. Many games came to close to 10s to me, such as Bloodborne, Dark Souls, Sekiro, DMC3 and MGS3 but these two were the only true 10s imho

Castlevania SOTN

Metroid Prime

Metal Gear Solid 1-4

Bloodborne

The Last of Us 1

Chrono Trigger

Final Fantasy 6

Devil May Cry 1, 3

Baldur's Gate 3

• Hearts of Iron III
• DCS World
• Fallout: New Vegas
• Fable
• KOTOR
• Super Mario Bros 3
• P.T.O. II Pacific Theatre of Operations
• Baldur’s Gate 3 (I am still early on and too early to tell)

You are right, it is a copout answer. But not every game shouldn't need the masterpiece status as I have an open mind on the games I've played. Not every game is gonna be 100% perfect, there will always be flaws. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for example is a masterpiece IMO, but it has its flaws as an example.

Does "Masterpiece" game really matter these days?

kotor 1,2

mass effect 2

doom remake

Lol, doesn't really matter, no.

For the record, though, I think a game can have flaws and still be a masterpiece. It's just gotta have that timeless, one of a kind feel, plus a little magic.

Baldur’s Gate 3

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4

Skate 3

Gears of War 3

I wouldn't class any game as a masterpiece. There are games that I love and think are great games, but even then I can find minor faults or things I would like to see or devs fix.

So masterpiece for me at least is a fallacy.

Halo CE

Diablo 2

StarCraft

LttP

Portal 1 and 2

Fallout New Vegas

Most of the work done internally at Nintendo EAD/PD

MGS PS1

FFX PS2

Metal gear solid 3 ps2

Smackdown hctp PS2

Uncharted 2 PS3

Battlefield 3 PS3

Cod bo 1 PS3

Tlou PS3

Rdr2 PS4 pro

The Witcher 3 PS4 pro

Bloodborne, AKA the best game ever made.

Other than that;

• Persona 3
• Golden Sun The Lost Age
• FFVII
• Tactics Ogre Let us Cling Together
• StarCraft/Rise of Nation
• Nobunaga's Ambition PS2
• Civilization 5
• Europa Universalis 3
• Fallout 3

Death Stranding is slowly gaining few places in my list but some flaws of the game if the second game can rectify, second game will straight go up into my top 10 all time. I love Death Stranding.

Tekken 3 is da goat. personally the best fighting game of the era and easiest to button mash. everyone have their fav (mine is yoshimitsu).

Goldeneye 007

Nine hours nine persons nine doors.

Shantae and the Pirates Curse

Resident evil 1

Zelda: a link between worlds.

Super Metroid.

Half Life 1 & Half Life 2

Pheonix Wright dual destinies

Bioforge.

Shadow of the Colossus and Dark Souls.

Half-Life 2

Super Metroid and Zelda: A Link to the Past are two games I can confidently say that I wouldn't change a thing about.

@sakaixx: Tekken 3 was amazing. The first video game I ever played. nothing gives me more of a warm fuzzy feeling. Sits at a ridiculous 96 et metacritic as well so not only me who fell in love.

GOAT fighting game for sure. Too bad I'll never experience anything like it.

Doom

Tomb Raider

FF7

Metal Gear Solid 2

Mario 64

Heretic

Command & Conquer

@Mozelleple112: completed Tekken 3 getting all roster (or almost all) with my cousins and its just great fun. some characters is really unfair like the tree thing is OP and there is a character so small u can't normal punch it and its pretty much banned. So many memories of the game every mode is really fun to play even the volleyball minigame thing.

The Witcher 3 and all the dlc is legendary had everything I wanted in a RPG.

If I were to call one game a masterpiece it would be Breath of the Wild. That game is transcendent. There was nothing like it before and nothing like it since.

What did you think of Tears of the Kingdom?

Single player:

• Action - Ninja Gaiden
• Action-adventure - Metal Gear Solid 2
• Adventure - Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
• RPG - Final Fantasy VII
• Shooter - Resident Evil 4

Multi-player:

• Action - Streets of Rage 2
• Fighting - Street Fighter Alpha 2
• Racing - OutRun 2 SP SDX
• RPG - Secret of Mana
• Shooter - Metal Slug X

1. Age of empires 2 (still popular despite being 2 decades old and having multiple successors)

2. Counter strike.

3. Baldurs gate 2

4. Pokemon blue and red.

5. Portal/portal 2

6. Chrono trigger

@SolidGame_basic: I wasn't a fan of the direction they took Tears of the kingdom. It felt like several steps backwards in a lot of ways. Breath of the Wild is a far better game in my eyes.