I created a “History of Gaming” challenge.

I've been thinking a lot about something Dunkey once said. I can't remember the exact quote, but it was something along the lines of "why are you playing modern broken games that aren't even finished yet when you haven't played the classics?" And I thought, he is so right, there are so many games I haven't played.

I started with Super Metroid, and my mind was blown. I was in shock over how amazing the game felt and how well designed and fair it was for an older game. Then, I played Halo: CE. After spending so much time with Super Metroid, my mind was blown again. I couldn't believe so much had changed, and so much progress had been made in such a short amount of time between the development of those two games. It made me realize I should go on a "history tour" of the best games of all time, in chronological order.

There were a lot of rules going into making this list. First, they must easily fit within a top 100 greatest video games of all time list. Next, there can't be too much overlap. For example, I really debated between putting on Star Craft or Age of Empires II. Both are incredible games, and different in some ways, but close enough in genre and time that I figured you really only need one. Arguments can be made for either one, and your own personal list might cut one or the other. It started as a list of games that I haven't played yet, but then morphed into the ultimate history walk of the best games of all time. If an alien was to land on earth tomorrow, and sent someone to learn first hand about video games, what would we have them play? This is the order I think they should do it in.

How much of each game do you play? That is really up to you. I say at least two hours. If after two hours you're finding the game just isn't grabbing you or feels tedious to play, move on.

Classics (Atari / NES)

Pong (1972) Space Invaders (1978) Pac-man (1980) Tetris (1984) Super Mario Bros (1985) The Legend of Zelda (1986)

16-Bit (SNES / Genesis)

Super Mario World (1990) The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991) Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) Super Mario Kart (1992) Street Fighter II: Turbo (1992) Doom (1993) Super Metroid (1994) Donkey Kong Country (1994) Chrono Trigger (1995)

3D Revolution (N64/ PS1)

Super Mario 64 (1996) Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997) GoldenEye (1997) Final Fantasy VII (1997) Metal Gear Solid (1998) The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998) Age of Empires II (1999)

Modern Generation (PS2 / Xbox / Gamecube)

Diablo II (2000) Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 (2000) Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001) Silent Hill 2 (2001) Halo: Combat Evolved (2001) Metroid Prime (2002) Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004) Half-Life 2 (2004) World of Warcraft (2004) Resident Evil 4 (2005) Shadow of the Colossus (2005)

HD Generation (PS3 / Xbox 360)

BioShock (2007) Super Mario Galaxy (2007) Portal 2 (2011) Mass Effect (2007) Red Dead Redemption (2010) Dark Souls (2011) The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011) Minecraft (2011) The Last of Us (2013)

Contemporary Era (PS4 / Xbox One / +)

Bloodborne (2015) Doom (2016) Hollow Knight (2017) Super Mario Odyssey (2017) The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017) God of War (2018) Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018) Hades (2020) Elden Ring (2022) Baldur's Gate 3 (2023)