Throughout the years, certain titles have risen above the rest—not just because they were enjoyable, but because they fundamentally changed how we view and experience games. These are the best games that didn’t just entertain; they tiger298 innovated, influenced, and inspired an entire generation of developers and players alike. Their legacy can still be felt in modern titles, and they continue to be referenced in discussions about the greatest games of all time.

One prime example is The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which redefined open-world game design. It offered players a seamless and truly open environment, where physics-based puzzles and freeform exploration became more important than rigid objectives. The freedom given to players to experiment and solve problems their own way inspired countless modern titles, proving that a non-linear approach could be just as engaging as traditional storytelling.

Then there’s Dark Souls, a game that not only gave rise to an entire subgenre but also shifted how difficulty was perceived in games. It was unrelenting, mysterious, and filled with lore that had to be pieced together by the player. Many of today’s best games, especially in the action-RPG space, owe their mechanics and atmospheric design to what Dark Souls pioneered. From stamina-based combat to minimalist storytelling, its fingerprints are everywhere.

On the narrative side, The Last of Us was a major milestone. Released as a PlayStation exclusive, it showed that video games could rival the emotional depth and cinematic quality of the best films and TV shows. This PlayStation game wasn’t just a survival horror experience—it was a deeply human story of love, loss, and moral complexity. It helped establish Naughty Dog as a master of storytelling and cemented PlayStation as a home for high-caliber narrative games.

Games like Breath of the Wild, Dark Souls, and The Last of Us are more than just critically acclaimed—they’re pillars in gaming history. They influenced how developers build worlds, tell stories, and design mechanics. When we talk about the best games of all time, these titles don’t just belong on the list—they helped write it.