What games from 2017 until today get a shot at the title of "Greatest of All Time?

  • Hollow Knight

    Votes: 191 9.8%
  • TLoZ: Breath of the Wild

    Votes: 987 50.8%
  • Red Dead Redemption

    Votes: 327 16.8%
  • God of War (2018)

    Votes: 387 19.9%
  • The Last of Us 2

    Votes: 467 24.0%
  • Other (Put in the comments)

    Votes: 161 8.3%
  • None from 2017 until today is good enough to be called GOAT.

    Votes: 219 11.3%

  • Total voters
    1,943

The Unsent

Member
Oct 25, 2017
19,499
Hollow Knight and Outer Wilds are the two games since BOTW I'd put on the same tier of GOAT status. Lol @ people posting the latest gotybait prestige games in this running as if they'll be remembered once the sequel hits in 5 or 10 years.
TLOU1 is quite fondly remembered and it came out 8 years ago, and has had an amazing sequel released last year. Quit with the elitist gatekeeping bullshit.
I bet in years to come people will still be talking about Kratos' journey to spread the ashes in God of War, or how bittersweet RDR2's story was.
 

GattsuSama

Member
Mar 12, 2020
1,761
Although I appreciate GoW, TLOU2, RDR2 and others like Horizon Zero Dawn I still think BOTW is the best game that has come out in the last decade and one that really rekindled my love for gaming at a time I was a bit out of it.

I know that since story and narrative are such important factors that BOTW falls short in that regards vs the other I mentioned, but gameplay is so good it makes up for it. I also think the story in BOTW is the best done in a Zelda game but the presentation of it made people hate it.

We keep seeing thread of new mechanics found in the game. Nothing huge but it was the huge amount of these small attention to detail gameplay bits that made the game so memorable. Getting hit by lighting the first time, discovering another world puzzle in the 100th hr or play, waking up on Eventide island, climbing to the top of a peak or to the bottom or a ravine and the you find the hidden item or shrine you thought might be there. The rewards or exploration and messing around with the mechanics is so damn big.

I think in these other amazing games I mentioned you see a lot of these surprises in character animations, lines of dialogue or reaction to the environment, but almost never do you see them in the gameplay department like in BOTW.

imagine if in RDR2 you went to the bottom of some ravine and found some random treasure, not necessarily having to wait for the map or anything. I wish these other games would rewards exploration in better ways but I think they do have a better balance. To me in BOTW the reward was exploration itself since the seeds and other items were just meh, but the reward or exploration was so so good. In these other games the reward of exploration is not as big but the rewards themselves are.
 
Jul 26, 2019
282
The Netherlands
For me, it's a toss between Zelda and Last of Us.

Zelda released at a moment I was having a hard time at work, even needed a time out from work. Zelda had a very soothing effect on me; it was the perfect medicine/needed 'escape' from reality (maybe 2 hours a day)!

Last of Us II came along when I had just become a father. I got some extra gametime to spend between the 2 hourly nurturing of my son. I loved every fucking minute of that game..! Each encounter had me on edge and did something different from the last encounter. Not to mention the typical Naughty Dog Magic; how the fuck do they always do it?! With those graphics, animations, details, music, etc.

For now, I can't decide between the 2 games as my GOAT (at this moment).
 

Trey

Member
Oct 25, 2017
18,231
Nothing about Link's controls and combat is elegant in Breath of the Wild lol

And it also runs like shit. Whatever knock one might conjure up for the game (and it does deserve criticism, like all things) does not diminish my opinion that it is elegantly and holistically designed. It's a masterwork.
 

secretanchitman

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,861
Chicago, IL
Weapon Degradation
Lack Of Dungeons
Lack of Story
Barren World
Lack of exploration rewards.

This game doesn't even come close to my top 100 and is easily one of my most disliked Zelda games, doesn't come close to OoT or LttP.

Same here. I adore Zelda (OOT is my favorite game of all time) but BOTW ranks in the bottom half of Zelda games for me.

I don't think any game is worth GOAT in the last few years but some definitely have come close - God of War, TLOU2 and I'd even argue Smash Ultimate, FFVIIR and 13 Sentinels on a personal level.
 
Dec 27, 2019
6,142
Seattle
Wonder how ripped on I would get here if I called every Nintendo game a kiddie game?
You were doing this earlier with Minecraft. This kind of "Ha ha, they'll never defend Minecraft of all things." approach. But there's nothing wrong with kids' games, or kids' media. They generally contribute to making the world a better place. I'll take Minecraft and the Muppets over GTA and Breaking Bad any day of the week.
 

Tophat Jones

Alt Account
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
14,946
For me personally there are a handful of games that have matched or exceeded BOTW since it came out. If you took any kind of consensus poll, especially in this corner of the Internet, I think BOTW still walks away with it.

And considering that a top tier ND and R* have released since then, that is no small accomplishment. Even if I preferred both of those two games.
 

We_care_a_lot

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
3,157
Summerside PEI
I really don't think so. I don't think people appreciate the subtlety of Nintendo's design ethos. Breath of the Wild kind of effortlessly stepped into the open world game design realm and made something far superior to anything of that style that came before or after it, in my opinion.


I can see an argument for Red Dead 2 but honestly I have a million criticisms of that game. the design of the game was fine but the actual missions were incredibly annoying for the vast majority of the game. I don't really see what defines as distinct from say, red dead one. At the end of the day it's just more of that. Which is fine but it's not like it was some paradigm shift.

To me, breath of the wild is just a thing of beauty. A real work of art. As a piece of game design, all it's interlocking parts were just incredibly inspiring. I still play it to this day where as I can't ever see myself going back to the endless slog of something like red dead after I've already absorbed the story beats. The actual mechanics of the game are just another open world shooter.
 

ClickyCal'

Member
Oct 25, 2017
60,154
You were doing this earlier with Minecraft. This kind of "Ha ha, they'll never defend Minecraft of all things." approach. But there's nothing wrong with kids' games, or kids' media. They generally contribute to making the world a better place. I'll take Minecraft and the Muppets over GTA and Breaking Bad any day of the week.
I never said that though?? All I said was Minecraft would be considered the GOAT if going off stream numbers. I wouldn't call Nintendo games kiddy games either, because it's deductive. Same with calling games "gotybait". Implying that these people spend years making games just to win awards and don't put anything else in. What is the point of just being generalizing of entire "genres" of stuff?
 

SilverX

Member
Jan 21, 2018
13,158
And it also runs like shit. Whatever knock one might conjure up for the game (and it does deserve criticism, like all things) does not diminish my opinion that it is elegantly and holistically designed. It's a masterwork.

The controls, combat, breaking weapons, repetitive enemies on the map, repetitive shrine puzzles, general emptiness of the world, light story, and focus on exploration but no reward incentive makes it far from a masterwork. Its a good Nintendo game, probably the most ambitious thing they have ever produced, but actually playing it for me was tedious and just boring. I hope BotW2 actually feels fun to play as Link with a variety of enemies and exploration leading to interesting areas to say the least
 

moeman

Member
Oct 25, 2017
864
In terms of cultural impact I'd argue animal crossing has BoTW beat but from a pure gaming perspective BoTW was a phenom that will be difficult to top.
 
Dec 27, 2019
6,142
Seattle
I wouldn't call Nintendo games kiddy games either, because it's deductive. Same with calling games "gotybait".
My point is that Nintendo makes kiddie games, and there's nothing wrong with acknowledging that. Just like there's nothing wrong with a game being called "gotybait" or "prestige" games, cause that's very much what they are. These are games whose creators and fans are very invested in their status as serious art. As something that's not like those other, common-denominator, popular games. Just look at the number of people (including you) who brought up Minecraft and Fortnight in response to what I said earlier.
 

Mattmo831

Featuring Mattmo831 from the Apple v Epic case
Member
Oct 26, 2020
3,799
Voted for tlou2

Havnt played anything like that in my 20+ years of gaming. Can't wait for a ps5 upgrade to experience it all over again
 

ClickyCal'

Member
Oct 25, 2017
60,154
My point is that Nintendo makes kiddie games, and there's nothing wrong with acknowledging that. Just like there's nothing wrong with a game being called "gotybait" or "prestige" games, cause that's very much what they are. These are games whose creators and fans are very invested in their status as serious art. As something that's not like those other, common-denominator, popular games. Just look at the number of people (including you) who brought up Minecraft and Fortnight in response to what I said earlier.
Then why do people get bothered when people say Nintendo is for kids?
 

Cubs017

Member
Mar 16, 2020
765
I don't think that any of those games (or any game from the last four years) tops Breath of the Wild. Something like Red Dead 2 is an impressive achievement - it can be very immersive, has great visuals and a solid story, etc. - but I don't think that it's actually that great of a game.
 

Agamon

Member
Aug 1, 2019
1,781
BotW was my game of the generation until I played TloU2, which is my GOAT, for sure.
 

Wabba

Member
Apr 12, 2018
140
A toss up between Breath of the Wild and Last of Us Part II in my eyes.

There are some games like Red Dead Redemption II, God of War and Hollow Knight that comes close, but i would still put Part II and BOTW ahead as the most impressive games of this decade. Both games are almost perfect and will be talked about for years to come.
 

Nelson

Member
Oct 1, 2019
81
California
I think RDR2 is the only game in the running. What's neat is that RDR2 and BotW are, broadly speaking, the same kind of game. Detailed open world exploration with a strong story plot. But they are such different takes on that genre it's fun to compare. Long run I think I prefer the RDR2 take because it has more complexity. But then BotW is fantastic for its perfection and simplicity. It's great to have both.

To contrast, a game I'm enjoying very much right now is Assassin's Creed: Valhalla. Also in the same genre. But it has that trademark Ubisoft open world blandness. The world is beautiful but not very rich or varied. The story is well written and acted and yet kinda flat. I still love this game and will easily dump 100 hours into it, but it's just a level or two below RDR2 and BotW.
 

Kiria

Banned
Oct 29, 2017
1,624
Didn't enjoy botw tried to come back to it trice and never clicked on me

as for others like tlou2 it started great.. middle is eh.. and the last part especially towards the end fells flat.. gameplay is a evolution of tlou1 tho but doesn't really add anything special apart from accessibility
 
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Ocarina_117

Member
Oct 26, 2017
9,630
TLOU2 is a damn fine cinematic effort, but no - nothing touches BotW as greatest Game of all time
Yes how I feel, too. TLoU2's story and performances really moved me. It was phenomenally well done.

The pure child-like joy I felt playing BoTW hasn't been close to being replicated by anything else since, besides Mario Odyssey.

BoTW is cemented as my GOAT.
 

En-ou

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,840
Yes how I feel, too. TLoU2's story and performances really moved me. It was phenomenally well done.

The pure child-like joy I felt playing BoTW hasn't been close to being replicated by anything else since, besides Mario Odyssey.

BoTW is cemented as my GOAT.
That child-like giddy/excitement I got when I first played OoT and Mario 64 was recreated for me too in BOTW. Truly remarkable.
 

jon bones

Member
Oct 25, 2017
26,187
NYC
Yes how I feel, too. TLoU2's story and performances really moved me. It was phenomenally well done.

The pure child-like joy I felt playing BoTW hasn't been close to being replicated by anything else since, besides Mario Odyssey.

BoTW is cemented as my GOAT.
That child-like giddy/excitement I got when I first played OoT and Mario 64 was recreated for me too in BOTW. Truly remarkable.

You guys articulated what I feel playing BotW - a child-like joy, a sense of wonderment and maybe the only genuinely compelling sense of exploration in a video game I've ever felt.

I wonder if I'll ever see another open world game like this again.
 

Ocarina_117

Member
Oct 26, 2017
9,630
That child-like giddy/excitement I got when I first played OoT and Mario 64 was recreated for me too in BOTW. Truly remarkable.
Yeah this is the exact same way in which my father describes how it felt playing BoTW (hes put 300 hours into the game and hasn't played a game to completion since Halo 2).

He says Mario 64 was the first and only "holy shit" moment hes had playing a video game before BoTW.
 

Deleted member 17388

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
12,994
Breath of the Wild seems like the only one that will be remembered in the vein of Mario 64 or Ocarina of Time even a decade from now.
Not that the other games don't have merits of their own, but only a handful of titles become milestones in videogames. BotW is that.
 

Tyaren

Character Artist
Verified
Oct 25, 2017
25,032
How is TLOU2 in front of God of War?!

tumblr_mdlzy0krV11rzbvsto1_400.gif


Trying to be a little funny here. ;)
 
Last edited:

Deleted member 10737

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
49,774
Breath of the Wild seems like the only one that will be remembered in the vein of Mario 64 or Ocarina of Time even a decade from now.
Not that the other games don't have merits of their own, but only a handful of titles become milestones in videogames. BotW is that.
fully agreed. in 10 or 20 years, botw will be spoken about on the same level as other timeless classics.
 

Pascal

▲ Legend ▲
The Fallen
Oct 28, 2017
10,287
Parts Unknown
Damn this praise is serious. I tried to play Outer Wilds for a couple of hours but for some reason, the game fucking TERRIFIED me. I just did not like the existential dread of accidentally marooning myself in space, or realizing that the planet was crumbling and I was getting sucked into a black hole, holy shit I've never alt-F4'd so fast. I don't know why but Outer Wilds easily eclipses any horror game I've ever played. I really wish I could complete the game someday.
Yeah, Outer Wilds is one of the scariest non-horror games I have played. Where BotW is often about the child-like joy and wonder that exploring the natural world can give you, Outer Wilds is often about the sheer terror and overwhelming sense of dread that can come with exploring a strange and dangerous new environment and being confronted with vastness of space. Both games nail these particular feeling, which is why I hold both of them in such high regard.
 

Lemony1984

Member
Jul 7, 2020
6,800
I was gonna say Resident Evil 7 VR but I guess it came out 2 months before BOTW. But still. Resi 7 VR.
 

Skyebaron

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
4,416
Half Life: Alyx - the only true next gen, fully realized VR campaign. Greatest of all time. Walking dead SS and boneworks are fine but not in the same league.

God of War 2018 is a good pick too.

Breath of the Wild couldve been the best zelda if it had good main dungeons instead of the divine beasts. No, the puzzle rooms around the world dont make up for it. Reminds me of the almost great status of Windwaker, a game plaged by an atrocious back half and brain dead easy difficulty.

Hollow knights map is atrocious and a slog to get through. Looks good though.

Red Dead 2 is a slow, shit controlling, boring ass game with one, if not the most impressive open world.

Havent played Last of Us 2 but a homage to 1970's revenge movies dosent sound too appealing. I had my rotten.com fascination when i was 15 and grew out of it. Also, im not a graphics whore, so the mediocre feeling of movement and shooting of naughty dog games will get judged by what it is. Still, it can impress me, I will play it someday.