Player crowns the 100 best games of all time, but the list cannot be right: A legendary strategy game is missing

A player has gone the extra mile to create a list of the 100 best games of all time. MeinMMO author Ody explains why it can’t be right.

Trying to crown the best games of all time is always a massive undertaking. Since the advent of video games, countless titles have been released that differ significantly from one another: How do you decide whether a story-driven RPG is better than a strategy game?

A player thought that the best way to solve this problem was with a dataset as large as possible: Reddit user IlmeniAVG collected and compared over 900 lists to determine the truly best games of all time. You can read how the user compiled this list in his Reddit post on r/gaming. There, he scientifically disclosed data sources and methodology.

I want to make one thing clear before I get worked up: I find it remarkable what has been achieved. The person behind the list deserves nothing but my utmost respect, and the list certainly has its justification. You can see the complete list of 1000 games at www.acclaimedvideogames.com.

So, now to why it is wrong.

Who is writing here? MeinMMO author Ody grew up with Age of Empires. The series ignited his love for strategy games. Accordingly, the shock was quite significant for him that none of the games made it into the top 100 of this list.

A legendary strategy game is missing from this list

One thing I only noticed upon a second look: There are hardly any strategy games present. To be exact, there is only one in the top 100, and that is StarCraft from 1998. I congratulate fans of the game for the placement but must object.

Because just one year later came a real-time strategy game (RTS) that is simply legendary – and remains relevant to this day! I’m, of course, talking about Age of Empires 2, the famous RTS from Ensemble Studios. The game only ranks at number 113 – still a strong result, no question.

The title certainly deserved to be in the top 100. I say this as someone who is annoyed at how much the game is revered by fans.

Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition – Developers thank for 5 years of loyal fan support

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Not even a fan and still angry

In my personal ranking of the “Age of” series, Age of Empires 3 would come in first place. However, that part doesn’t even make it into the top 1000, which I can understand. The game is controversial and has never been able to gain as many fans as other editions. Age of Mythology would land in second place. If I want to be really edgy, out of pure nostalgia, I’ll even place the first Age of Empires (which at least ranks at number 316) ahead of part 2. Then would come part 2, and lastly part 4.

You can tell: I am not the biggest fan of Age of Empires 2, even though I played it a lot and enjoyed it as a child. Nevertheless, I have to admit that Age of Empires 2 was an immensely influential RTS and rightly holds its legendary status.

And not only was it popular back then, it remains so today: The revamped Definitive Edition on Steam still receives DLCs. At least on Steam, part 2 has about twice as many players (according to steamdb.info) as the latest entry in the series, Age of Empires 4, which was released in 2021. (also according to steamdb.info).

I can only agree with Reddit user Spooplevel-Rattled when he writes in his comment: “Age of Empires 2 has been robbed.” That is currently (as of February 6, 11:21 AM) also the top comment under the Reddit post, with over 1,100 upvotes. Age of Empires 2 simply deserved better.