Best Video Game Of Each Year In 21st Century (2000 - 2025)
The list contains the best video games released in 21st Century and my personal favorite from each year
List activity
18K views
• 215 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
- 26 titles
- DirectorWarren SpectorStarsJay Anthony FrankeBrent AndersonRalph BarbagalloIn a dark cyberpunk future where poverty, disease, oppression and terrorism are widespread, J.C. Denton, a new cybernetically-enhanced special agent, finds evidence of a massive conspiracy when his brother, also an agent, goes rogue.Contenders: Diablo 2, Perfect Dark, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, Baldur's Gate 2, Majora's Mask, Vagrant Story, FF IX, Spyro, Counter Strike, Thief 2
- DirectorHideo KojimaStarsDavid HayterQuinton FlynnChristopher RandolphTwo years after the death of Solid Snake, a rookie FOX-HOUND agent, on his first mission, infiltrates an offshore decontamination facility to rescue the President.Contenders: Devil May Cry, Halo Combat Evolved, Max Payne, Silent Hill 2, Final Fantasy X, Jack and Daxter, Super Smash Bros Melee, Onimusha Warlords, Sonic Adventure 2, Soul Reaver 2
- StarsRay LiottaWilliam FichtnerTom SizemoreIn 1986, after doing a 15 year prison stint for the Forelli crime family in Liberty City, gangster Tommy Vercetti is sent away to Vice City, Florida to take over the town and rise to the top of the criminal empire.Contenders: Elder Scrolls 3 Morrowind, Splinter Cell, Kingdom Hearts, Ratchet and Clank, Resident Evil, Hitman 2, Metroid Prime, Super Mario Sunshine, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, The Lord of the Rings The Two Towers, Age of Mythology, Blood Omen 2, Metroid Fusion, Timesplitters 2, Medieval: Total War, Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
- DirectorMarkus MäkiStarsJames McCaffreyWendy HoopesJonathan DavisThe brooding cop has left the DEA and returned to the NYPD. When his latest case ends up involving the thought-dead femme fatale Mona Sax, he finds that his journey through the night is far from over.Contenders: Castlevania Aria of Sorrow, Star Wars Knights of the old republic, Prince of Persia the sands of time, The Lord of the rings the Return of the king, Jedi Academy, Silent Hill 3, Jack 2, Legacy of Cain Defiance, Call of Duty, NFS Underground, SoulCalibur II
- DirectorDavid SpeyrerStarsRobert GuillaumeRobert CulpLouis Gossett Jr.Dr. Freeman is taken out of stasis by his "employer" to help rid the planet of invading aliens forces known as the Combine that entered through the portals he helped create.Contenders: Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater, Halo 2, GTA San Andreas, Far Cry, Prince of Persia Warrior Within, The Lord of the rings the Third age, Need for speed Underground 2, World of Warcraft, Burnout 3 Takedown, Ratchet and Clank Up Your Arsenal, Vampire Bloodlines, Metroid Prime 2, Jack 3, Lord of the Rings Battle for Middle Earth, Rome Total War, Ninja Gaiden, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Fable, Metroid: Zero Mission, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Sly 2: Band of Thieves, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow
- DirectorKun ChangStarsYuri LowenthalRick MillerSarah CarlsenThe Prince of Persia makes his way home to Babylon, bearing with him Kaileena, the enigmatic Empress of Time, and unspeakable scars from the Island of Time.Contenders: Resident Evil 4, Splinter Cell Chaos Theory, Warriors, God of war, Devil May cry 3, Need for speed Most Wanted, Kingdom Hearts 2, Ninja Gaiden Black, Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow, Yakuza, Shadow of the Colossus, Call of Duty 2, King Kong, Burnout Revenge, Jade Empire, SoulCalibur III, Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition, Tekken 5
- DirectorRichard TaylorStarsBilly BoydDominic MonaghanJohn Rhys-DaviesYou play the Elf and the Dwarf nations as they fight their own battles against the forces of Sauron.Contenders: Gears of War, Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion, Bully, Hitman Blood Money, NFS Carbon, Okami
- DirectorKen LevineStarsJohn AhlinGreg BaldwinJane BellerIn 1960, a lone survivor of a plane crash named Jack discovers an abandoned underwater utopia, only to find out that the mystery behind its creation is much more sinister than he first believed.Contenders: God of war 2, Portal, Call of Duty Modern warfare, Mass Effect, Halo 3, Super Mario Galaxy, Stalker, Crysis, Metroid Prime 3, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
- StarsMichael HollickJason ZumwaltTimothy AdamsNiko Bellic comes to Liberty City, America to live the good life, but ends up having to assist his dangerously indebted cousin Roman with his financial troubles, by any (mostly illegal) means necessary.Contenders: Dead Space, Fallout 3, Metal gear solid 4, Persona 4, Burnout Paradise, Gears of War 2, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, God of War Chains of Olympus, Mirror's Edge
- DirectorSefton HillStarsMark HamillKevin ConroyArleen SorkinBatman battles his archenemy, the Joker, who instigates an elaborate plot to seize control of Arkham Asylum, trap Batman inside with many of his incarcerated foes, and threaten Gotham City with hidden bombs.Contenders: Uncharted 2, Assassins Creed 2, Dragon Age Origins, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, Bayonetta, Ratchet and Clank Future A Crack In Time, Demon Souls
- DirectorStig AsmussenStarsGeorge BallAdrienne BarbeauSusanne BlakesleeArmed with his deadly double-chained blades, Kratos must take on Greek mythology's darkest creatures to destroy Olympus and the mighty Zeus himself.Contenders: Red Dead Redemption, Mass Effect 2, Fallout New Vegas, Metro 2033, Call of Duty Black Ops, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Halo Reach, Bioshock 2, Mafia 2, Amnesia the Dark Descent, AC Brotherhood, God of War Ghost of Sparta, Super Meat Boy, Battlefield Bad Company 2, Alan Wake, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Darksiders, Prince of Persia the Forgotten Sands, Limbo, Starcraft 2 Wins of Liberty, Heavy Rain, Xenoblade Chronicles, Enslaved Odyssey to the West
- DirectorTodd HowardStarsMax von SydowChristopher PlummerJoan AllenAfter escaping execution, the last living Dragonborn must grow in strength and power to defeat the dragons that have once again begun to plague the land of Skyrim.Contenders: Dark Souls, Batman Arkham City, Portal 2, Dead Space 2, Witcher 2, Rayman Origins, Uncharted 3, Gears of War 3, Deus Ex Human Revolution, Infamous 2, Crysis 2, Lord of the Rings War in the North, LA Noire, Ni no Kuni, AC Revelations
- DirectorsRaphael ColantonioHarvey SmithStarsSusan SarandonLena HeadeyCarrie FisherAfter being framed for the murder of the Empress he swore to protect, a once trusted bodyguard with supernatural abilities is forced to become a masked assassin in order to seek revenge on those who conspired against him.Contenders: Far Cry 3, Borderlands 2, Mass Effect 3, Max Payne 3, Sleeping Dogs, Spec Ops the Line, Dragon's Dogma, Persona 4 Golden, Kingdoms of Amaluer Reckoning, Trials Evolution, Mark of the Ninja, AC III
- DirectorsNeil DruckmannBruce StraleyStarsTroy BakerAshley JohnsonHana HayesIn a hostile, post-pandemic world, Joel and Ellie, brought together by desperate circumstances, must rely on each other to survive a brutal journey across what remains of the United States.Contenders: GTA V, Bioshock Infinite, Tomb Raider, Metro Last Light, Rayman Legends, AC IV Black Flag, Splinter Cell Blacklist, Metal Gear Rising Revengeance, Super Mario 3D World, Beyond Two Souls, Brothers a tale of two sons, God of War Accession, Super Mario 3D World
- DirectorJens MatthiesStarsBrian BloomAlicja BachledaGideon EmeryAfter regaining consciousness following an injury sustained in World War II, legendary American commando, B.J. Blazkowicz, awakens from a coma in a dystopian Nazi dominated world of 1960s. He tries to locate the remnants of the resistance.Contenders: Middle Earth Shadow of Mordor, Far Cry 4, Bayonetta 2, Divinity Original Sin, AC V Unity, Alien Isolation, Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze, Child of Light, Banner Saga, Diablo 3 Reaper of Souls, Shovel Knight, DA Inquisition
- DirectorHidetaka MiyazakiStarsDaniel FineJoe SimsWilliam VanderpuyeA hunter awakens in the plagued lands of Yharnam, where the denizens have succumbed to beasthood, in an attempt to learn the truth and how to end the plague, unbeknownst of the true horror lurking within the city.Contenders: Witcher 3, MGS V Phantom Pain, Batman Arkham Knight, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Fallout 4, Ori and The Blind Forrest, Soma, Pillars of Eternity, AC Syndicate
- DirectorsNeil DruckmannBruce StraleyStarsNolan NorthTroy BakerRichard McGonagleThrown back into the dangerous underworld he'd tried to leave behind, Nathan Drake must decide what he's willing to sacrifice to save the ones he loves.Contenders: Dark Souls 3, Doom, Dishonored 2, Titanfall 2, Inside, Battlefield 1, Deus Ex Mankind Divided, Superhot
- DirectorKenta MotokuraStarsKate HigginsNobuyuki HiyamaKenny JamesMario must travel to worlds unknown in order to stop Bowser from marrying Princess Peach.Contenders: Hollow Knight, Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild, Nioh, Nier Automata, Persona 5, Divinity Original Sin 2, RE 7, AC Origins, Horizon Zero Dawn, Cuphead, Prey, Wolfenstein II New Colossus, Pyre, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Middle Earth Shadow of War,
- StarsBenjamin Byron DavisRoger ClarkRob WiethoffAmidst the decline of the Wild West at the turn of the 20th century, outlaw Arthur Morgan and his gang struggle to cope with the loss of their way of life.Contenders: God of War, Detroit Become Human, Celeste, Spider-Man, Shadow of the Colossus Remake, Return of the Obra Dinn, Ni no Kuni II, Far Cry 5, A Way Out, AC Odyssey, Tetris Effect, Pillars of Eternity 2, Shadow of the Tomb Raider
- DirectorsHidetaka MiyazakiKazuhiro HamataniStarsDaisuke NamikawaMiyuki SatôJin UrayamaSet in a reimagining of 1500s Sengoku era Japan. An unnamed shinobi, tasked with protecting a young lord of mystical lineage, who is left for dead when a powerful samurai attacks and chops off his arm.Contenders: Resident Evil 2 Remake, Devil May Cry V, Disco Elysium, Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order, Death Stranding, Control, Days Gone, Metro Exodus, Astral Chain, Kingdom Hearts III, Plague Tale Innocent, NFS Heat, Gears 5, Fire Emblem Three Houses, Persona 5 Royal
- StarsErik BraaBoris HiestandJennifer LosiOri begins a new journey that goes beyond the forest of Nibel where he uncovers lost secrets, and unearths his true destiny.Contenders: Doom Eternal, Nioh 2, Hades, Ghost of Tsusima, Demon Souls Remake, The Last of Us Part II, FF VII Remake, Mafia Definite Edition
- DirectorsFumi HayashiJosé Luis MárquezStarsStephen HughesDave Rogers RuizNikki GarcíaSet after "Metroid: Fusion (2002)", bounty hunter Samus Aran investigates the source of a mysterious transmission on the planet ZDR where she faces a new robotic enemy.Contenders: Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart, It Takes Two, Resident Evil Village, Returnal, Deathloop, Valheim, Age of Empires IV
- DirectorsHidetaka MiyazakiYui TanimuraStarsMartha MackintoshAnthony HowellCon O'NeillIn a dark fantasy world created by Hidetaka Miyazaki (Dark Souls) and George R. R. Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire), the player is a Tarnished who is called back to the Lands Between to restore the Elden Ring and become the Elden Lord.Contenders: God of War Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West, Stray, Plague Tale Requiem, Sifu, Neon White, Teenage Mutan Ninja Turtles Shredder's Revenge
- DirectorSwen VinckeStarsAmelia TylerNeil NewbonJennifer EnglishReturn to Faerun in a tale of fellowship and betrayal, and the lure of absolute power. Mysterious abilities are awakening inside you. Resist, and turn darkness against itself, or, embrace corruption, and become ultimate evil.Contenders: Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, Super Mario Bros Wonder, Resident Evil 4 Remake, Lies of P, Armored Core VI, FF XVI, Spiderman 2, Alan Wake 2, Dead Space Remake, Metroid Prime Remastered, Star Wars Jedi Survivor, Hogwarts Legacy, Blasphemus 2, Sea of Stars, Dave the Diver, Cocoon
- StarsMark Takeshi OtaAndrew KojiSteven PaceyBlack Myth: Wukong is an action RPG rooted in Chinese mythology. You shall set out as the Destined One to venture into the challenges and marvels ahead, to uncover the obscured truth beneath the veil of a glorious legend from the past.Contenders: FF VII Rebirth, Metaphor Refantazio, Silent Hill 2 Remake, Astrobot, Dragon's Dogma II, Space Marine 2, Stellar Blade, Prince of Persia the Lost Crown, Balatro, Animal Well
