The greatest game of all time, as voted by the Game Informer community, is

Considering the time Doom 64 came out? People were tired of more Doom by that point, which was actually part of the reasons GS themselves initially SLAMMED the game. Every developer, even ID (Quake was born by that point, FFS) was hyped to make the jump.

Is it any wonder why Nintendo 64 fans were more for GE and PD when those games had what Doom 64 lacked? Which included multiplayer that for Doom was ONLY on PC at the time? When Nintendo and Rare were considered the only ones to actually push the N64, due to how many third party devs were bailing on Nintendo (cartridge, Nintendo's overall treatment of them, etc) at the time after Sony approached the majority of them, even though it often excludes some (unless you were Star Wars, mainly Rogue Squadron) of the GOOD third party games that DID make it to 64 (like Gauntlet Legends or Rayman 2).

Again, not arguing what the game critics tells me or what Nintendo chuds thought at the time, or overall influence or innovation.

Judging games right now. Doom 64 is better, and holds up better than every game you listed.

It is quite simply, a better game.

Its crazy to see no sonic on the list. Love it or hate it, it still had a big impact in gamin, more than half the games on that list.

Game Informer was always turned on with hate with Sonic, iirc. Same with IGN, who created the "Sonic was never good meme" if @Jag85 is correct and the internet rolled with considering SEGA doesn't have consoles anymore.

"Judging games right now" funny, that argument seems to fall apart whenever someone does that about some old games you DO like and others think "aged badly".

Look, I'm glad Doom 64 has gotten some sort of resurgence, but I also get why it got the reputation it did ON launch. More than I do other "resurgences" (translation: revisionism) in entertainment.

And it only seems you like it because it's NOT Nintendo. That's it.

Now ignoring the full-proof argument and attacking (->me<-) personally with a rant.

It's hard being a realist.

Another list where TLOU gets top 4, well done to TLOU. As I stated many months ago, TLOU, BOTW and OOT always win these competitions and are always in the top 5. (well technically BOTW didn't make top 4 on this list, but that's only because it was beaten by TLOU in the QF)

so here's the top 8 best games of all time according to GI readers:

Zelda: OOT

TES V Skyrim

The Last of Us

Red Dead 2

Zelda: OOT

BG3

Elden Ring

Witcher 3

That's a very, very solid top 8 but the lack of Metal Gear games is disturbing. I could easily place MGS1, MGS2 and of course MGS4 all in the top 8 games of all time.

@___gamemaster__: Skyrim being the runner up and actually beat TLOU is a complete joke.

The gameplay / combat mechanics are utter garbage and were clunky and outdated even by 2011 standard (and boy has the standard of RPG combat gone up since From Software entered the scene). And overall, its just a much worse, casualised and watered down Oblivion.

I'd much rather see Oblivion as the runner up. But oh well. Looking at the top 8, those are very strong candidates.

@kathaariancode: Peak Bethesda was absolutely not Skyrim. Peak bethesda was Oblivion. Arguably Fallout 3 and Morrowind as well.

Skyrim was a more streamlined and casual RPG though which is why it attracted the masses. IRL I know people who only played FIFA, COD and GTA that actually bought Skyrim, never would those guys buy a real RPG like BG3 or Dragon Age Origins.

So credit for being enjoyed by the 'normies', but eh, quality wise it was lackluster AF.

Also, unironically, Skyrim was the game that made me 'quit' gaming. Avid gamer from 96-11, took a long break from gaming from 11-19 because Skyrim actually bored me and as a huge fan of Oblivion my thought process was if I cannot enjoy the new TES game then games just aren't it for me anymore.

Ocarina of Time is truly the goat of all time. Still enjoy playing the original on N64 on PC to this day but still leaned back to the actual N64 console myself. Hell, even Majora's Mask is fantastic but I consider it an expansion to Ocarina of Time but in a very good way.

Edit: The 3DS version was hot garbage! I appreciate the better framerates but making slight changes to the actual game just ruined it for me.

Game Informer ain't wrong on this list and that's saying something.

Let's be real: Doom 64 is the hipster game here.

By definition: OoT can't be hipster since it's too mainstream.

Uninspiredcup needs to stick with eating potatoes and cheese, and how much he hates Star Wars (but still watches it all anyways).

I have no complaints about the winner.

Then what's the alternative, bro? Letting Gen Z vote Fortnite as the GOAT?

Like I said before:

Sonic's peak era was from Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) to Sonic Adventure 2 (2001), well before Gen Z's time. Sonic is still a household name among Gen Z, but they recognize Sonic more for the movies, cartoons/anime and mobile games nowadays.

@jaydan: Gen Z's wouldn't vote for that shit.

From my extensive research on the topic, this is the typical voting habits of each generation:

Boomers: Don't play video games

Gen X( the dinosaurs): SMB1, SMB3, Tetris, Pong, DOOM, Ultima or something old shit like that

Millenials: Zelda OOT, MGS1, FF7, TLOU, Skyrim, Bloodborne, HL1-2

Gen Z: Zelda BOTW, RDR2, TW3, Elden Ring, TLOU

Gen Alpha: Don't play video games

@jaydan: Fine, maybe the super casuals will. But we millennials have our casuals too. Minecraft is the millennial Fortnite. (very bad game that for some reason has 200-300 million players and some of them will dare to vote it among the best games of all time which is 100% BS).

Minecraft and WoW for us. Fornite and PUBG for them.

Boomers - Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Pong, Donkey Kong, Frogger, Galaga

Gen Alpha - Roblox, Pokemon, Minecraft, Fortnite, Genshin Impact, Palworld

Just not letting your nostalgia vote for you.

Oblivion was way better than Skyrim imo. Breath of the wild better than MGS, hell no.

@uninspiredcup: I thought Doom 64 was amazing especially in the atmosphere. My favourite FPS on 64 would have to go to Turok 2. The weapons to this day are pretty original.

Doom is very much a mainstream franchise. Doom 64 itself being a victim of overexposure and lack of innovation.

But again, not judging it on that. Simply judging a game on if it's well designed and holds up, attempting to be as objective as possible on those qualities.

Ocarina of Time is gamings great lie. People either say it's the best due to romanticized memory or because this is what is normalized as the go-to take. Thus, hipsterism.

Even looking at random replies it always needs the caveat "for its time", which Doom 64 does not require. In actual fact, with the recent release, it's better than ever regardless of age.

I'm now convinced you are a Fortnite fanboy, as evident in this thread. I think it's sickening, and diabolical that you want Fortnite to be the GOAT.

Stop mixing me with GhostOfGolden. He is disgustingly into this shit game since the beginning.

It's worth noting as well, which yet to see anyone bring up, the Gameboy Zelda games are also better than OOT. They do hold up. They are better than the vast majority, if not all 3D Zelda games.

And this is coming from someone who has no attachment to the franchise other than playing it at a later date, thus, I am actually objective about it and not a mouth dribbler clapping like a baby at metacritic scores or what the team at IGN told you to think. Brian Altano "trailer make me cry!" caveman ug ug or whatever.

The fact so many people agreed with this list with little to no critical thinking is very van damming.

Pedro disregarded it entirely, which is admirable.

Back off, Fortnite scum. The cat is out of the bag, and you've been exposed for everyone on the internet to see.

I recommend you get off the internet and never come back, because Fortnite has no place in real video game discussion.

Everything I see a media outlet that releases a list, whether decided by the staff or readers, there will always be heated debates on this forum questioning their choices. What makes System Wars more knowlegable?

I can complete Spongebob.

Don't confuse knowledge with strong personal opinions. They are not mutually exclusive.

I've never understood peoples need to compete art. Isn't it in conflict with the point of art. I understand the aspect of individuals being recognised, but just not in a competition.

I do appreciate OoT though. The use of graphics and music to tell the emotions of that adventure was extremely well done. I think I've only properly played through it once or so when I was a kid, but it definitely left an impression.

Even though I wasn't properly into it, Mario 64 still left an impression for the same reasons with me.

It was an amazing gane for its time but it doesn't hold up that well.

Not a bad choice.

Sales:

• Ocarina of Time - 14,040,000
• Doom 64 - 316,888

Ocarina is the popular choice. Doom 64 is the hipster choice.

My vote goes to MGS. Snake eater is also up there.

Doom, that niche' indie series people with berets play.

Upon its release in December 1993, Doom became an "overnight phenomenon". It was an immediate financial success for id, making a profit within a day after release. Although the company estimated that only 1% of shareware downloaders bought the full game, this was enough to generate initial daily revenue of US$100,000, selling in one day what Wolfenstein had sold in one month. By May 1994, Wilbur said that the game had sold over 65,000 copies, and estimated that the shareware version had been distributed over 1 million times. In 1995, Wilbur estimated the first-year sales as 140,000, while in 2002 Petersen said it had sold around 200,000 copies in its first year.

By late 1995, Doom was estimated to be installed on more computers worldwide than Microsoft's new operating system, Windows 95. According to PC Data, by April 1998 Doom's shareware edition had yielded 1.36 million units sold and US$8.74 million in revenue in the United States. This led PC Data to declare it the country's 4th-best-selling computer game since 1993. The Ultimate Doom sold over 780,000 units by September 1999, and all versions combined sold 3.5 million copies by the end of 1999. In addition to sales, an estimated six million people played the shareware version by 2002; other sources estimated in 2000 that 10–20 million people played Doom within 24 months of its launch.

Every franchise has its black sheep.

Like the 3DS version more than the OG version

Meh, none of the games mentioned would make it into my top 50 list, so I don't care.

I see a lot of recent games on there, which shows how healthy our industry is.

Oh no wait, let's believe what AAA publishers are telling us: mobile games and live service games are the only ones that make money.

Also Doom 64 is better than Doom II. Doom II is actually pretty overrated. The OOT of the Doom franchise if you will.

Just a humble opinion. Very humble.

@uninspiredcup: But it's the lowest selling in the Doom series, released at a time when gamers and developers were ready to move on.

How hard is this?

I love the GB Zelda games, Links awakening and Ages were part of my childhood, good games.

But OoT was something else, a total revamp for Zelda in general. Don't need any game journalist or metacritic to me that because I remember when it came out. I still have my gold cartridge, I remember friends of mine fighting over the strategy guide because everyone was stuck on water dungeon. OoT was captivating and something new. I do think you have to take account how innovative the title was for Zelda as a whole. That kind of leap is not something Doom 64 did. Doom 64 is more Doom 1 and 2. There wasn't anything innovative about it. It didn't change Doom. It was just more Doom.

Just say your favorite game is Doom. That's fine if you like Doom more than Zelda, 2 very different games.

That's not what black sheep means. Very hard.

Doom 64 is held in high regard. More so now than ever as more people can play it now.

Many mental gymnastics. Excuses, none-arguments, bad attempts to divert, petty personal attacks than acknowledging how right I am with this claim.

Crazy.

Fav game is Devil May Cry 3.

Judgment is purely objective as a non-fan without linked nostalgia and having gaming critics (largely Nintendo fanboys) telling me what to think.

Doom 64 is better. The Gameboy games within it's own series is better.

It may have been new and fresh for people at the time but measuring it now falls flat.

Doom 64 and the Gameboy titles do not have this problem.

Why? Very simple. They are better games that can stand up to the ebb of time.

OoT stands up to the test of time imo if you haven't played it before. It's an enjoyable game from start to end. I'd say the same thing for the Zelda gb games or link to the past on snes. There is nothing about the gb Zelda games that makes it "better than OoT" though, there is nothing about links awakening or ages or link to the past.. that makes it hold up better than OoT imo it's an opinion, it's w/e. Would be be like saying super Mario bros is better than Mario 64.. not gonna argue about it.. don't agree with it tho.

But once you've played it through it once ,I can see people not feeling the need to go back to it over and over again. But I'd say the same for all other Zelda games.

Doom being less about world building and just classic doom mechanics of clearing levels in quicker times does have more replayability. It's just there is little difference between doom 64 and the other doom games... which is why it wasn't all that popular when it came out, was more of the same.

OoT was an easy choice for this poll or w/e. Most gamers see it as one of the most influential games of that generation of gaming.

If the choice had been Doom 64 for greatest game of all time, everyone would be scratching thier heads big time.

Personally think UT2004 is a better game than any Doom game ever made. We all got opinions.

@SolidGame_basic: the fact that "the last of us" made it so high, is pathetic. Its a good game, not great.

I'm just gonna throw down here with the rest of yall and say.... Doom 64 is trash! About as much trash as Half-Life 2!!!

Or maybe... we are all audiophiles and can appreciate true art like this.

The OoT OST bangs 💯