The 10 Most Fun Games Of All Time, Ranked

After a long, hard day, there’s nothing better than unwinding with a video game. Turning on that console or booting up your PC, players like you or me are instantly taken from the stress and drama of the world they inhabit, dropped into a digital landscape of their choosing for the purposes of having fun.

While no definitive game is more “fun” than another, given that enjoyment of one title over another is based on preference, there are a few games that stand out. This ranking is not absolute but reflects decades spent playing video games across all genres for relaxation and enjoyment.

10

LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

Luke Skywalker Brought to Life in Block Form

LEGO games, whether it be LEGO Harry Potter Collection or LEGO Batman, are immensely popular. These games adapt iconic franchises, taking stories, characters, and settings and reimagining them brick by brick. I grew up playing the 2005 TT Games’ classic Lego Star Wars: The Video Game​​​​​, and felt immense joy seeing some of my favorite characters like Darth Vader, Queen Amidala, and Mace Windu in LEGO form. That same joy I felt playing as a kid was effortlessly replicated in LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, released in 2022.

Made for both casual and die-hard Star Wars fans, the game is chock-full of fun things to do and see. Essentially, you’re meant to play through all the happenings of the Luke Skywalker storyline from The Phantom Menace all the way to The Rise of Skywalker, in any order. You can uncover Easter eggs that nod to the mainline Star Wars films and television shows, battle enemy ships, explore over 23 unique planets, and collect over 380 playable block-like characters.

There’s something for everyone. The game is like reliving the greatness Lucasfilm brought to the silver screen, but with players at the helm.

9

The Sims 2

A World of Endless Possibilities

Endless fun awaits you in The Sims 2, hallowed as one of the best entries in the series. The game’s appeal is its simplicity and attention to detail. While not as flashy as its later counterparts, The Sims 2 at the time really improved the way players control their created Sims. For instance, the game expanded life stages, which humanized your created Sims. This way, players can follow the growth of their created avatar from toddler to teen to elder.

Sims can also have a multitude of interests, up to 18 in The Sims 2, which dictates the way they interact with the people, and even pets, around them. This, once again, makes your created character feel three-dimensional. Speaking of 3D, the game graphically jumped from the original 2.5D perspective, introducing well-thought-out backgrounds for your characters to interact with.

I, and many others, have sunk hours upon hours into this game, creating characters, building relationships, starting whole families, and building custom houses from scratch. If you can dream it, you can probably do it in The Sims 2.

8

LittleBigPlanet

Create and Explore in Imaginative Worlds

LittleBigPlanet stepped on the scene in 2008, changing the world of puzzle platforming games forever. This addictive title follows Sackboy, a little customizable pal who lives in a world made up of sewn fabric and cardboard. Through each level, players must interact with their surroundings, solve physics-based puzzles, and get Sackboy to the end.

Imagination and fun are key to this game’s success. Each level is both rewarding and challenging, prompting the player to think outside the boxto get Sackboy to the finish line. Once you’re done playing through every level, the fun doesn’t stop. After unlocking creation tools throughout the game, players can create their very own head-scratching puzzle levels in Create Mode.

LittleBigPlanet is one of those games that never ceases to delight, even on my third or fourth replay. It’s a shame the franchise is basically dead by this point.

7

Red Dead Redemption 2

Conquer the Wild West Without Bounds

While any Rockstar title, like the classic Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, could have made my list, Red Dead Redemption 2 takes the cake when it comes to endless fun. Players are thrust into the final days of the American Wild West, where we meet Arthur Morgan and his gang, spearheaded by the man with the plan, Dutch Van Der Linde. The gang has run into trouble with the law and must find suitable lodging and a way to make money, legal or otherwise, to get by.

This semi-open world game is your oyster. You can hunt for Legendary Animals, rob trains, get into bar fights, ride horses long distances, catch fish, customize your character down to the spurs on his feet, and get into your usual western tomfoolery. If you’re not interested in following story mode, you can take a break from the action by completing side missions marked by a question mark on your ever-detailed map, where you’ll meet unique characters with their very own backstories.

Admittedly, the controls tend to be divisive, and I don’t particularly enjoy them myself… but everything else just hits the mark so perfectly that I cannot help but have endless fun simply existing in RDR2‘s world. There’s just nothing else really like it, as even the first game’s scope is far more limited (although still incredible).

6

Street Fighter Three: 3rd Strike

A Satisfying Fighting Game With Stunning Visuals

Fighting games are always a joy. Trying your hand at combos, testing out characters to see which fighting style is your favorite, and battling it out with colorful foes to secure your victory never gets old. That’s why Capcom’s Street Fighter Three: 3rd Strike is immensely fun whenever you boot it up, especially if you are alongside a couple of friends.

Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike features the well-loved no-damage parry mechanic introduced in the first game in this series (Street Fighter III: New Generation​​​​​​), a system that helped make fights even more satisfying. While fairly accessible to genre beginners, the gameplay still focuses on technicality and spacing, coming with a learning curve that rewards veterans without completely pushing away everybody else.

Characters and locations are hand-drawn, and the animations are extremely fluid. The soundtrack is the stuff of dreams, featuring a mix of hip-hop, jazz, and rock, providing excellent background to intense fight sequences. If you’re looking for a fighting game with unique visuals, interesting combat, and a rocking soundtrack, Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike is a throwback that has aged beautifully. I mean, you can’t really go wrong with most Street Fighter games, but this one is my pick.

5

Super Mario Sunshine

Mario Goes on Vacation

While I love most Super Mario titles, the most fun I had with the lovable blue-and-red plumber was in Super Mario Sunshine, the game that sees him vacationing on the scenic island of Isle Delfino. Soon after his arrival on the island, inhabited by friendly Piantas, Mario is accused of vandalizing the tropical paradise with a paintbrush when, in fact, the damage was done by an evil doppelgänger.

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Players are tasked with cleaning up this goopy paint-like substance, stopping Mario’s doppelgänger from doing more damage, and exploring the colorful world of Isle Delfino surrounded by blue water. You tend to get around on foot, jumping from platform to platform, or with help from a water-powered jetpack called F.L.U.D.D. You can use this tech to glide across surfaces, reach platforms Mario can’t get to on his own with acrobatic combos, and swiftly dispatch foes with powerful blasts of water.

Unlike other Mario games, Sunshine comes with a bit of a higher wall than usual, as you really need to embrace the F.L.U.D.D. movement to fall in love with the game. If that clicks, you are in for one heck of a great time, and you can even pull off some pretty incredible stunts. The story is quite simple, but the tropical world Nintendo created around it is endlessly fun and addicting.

4

Sonic Adventure

Three Beloved Characters One Big Adventure

Like many, I grew up playing Sonic games religiously. The bright blue speedy hedgehog has been a massive part of my gaming experience. While most of the good titles in the Sega franchise are extremely fun to play, Sonic Adventure is one of my absolute favorites. From spending hours upon hours in the cutie Chao garden to speeding through fleshed-out and expansive levels like Emerald Coast, Windy Valley, or Dr. Eggman’s Sky Deck, the fast-paced title kept me on the edge of my seat.

When booting up the game, you’ll have the option to play either Sonic, Tails, or Knuckles. Each campaign features distinct differences in gameplay, combat, and perspective, making every story replayable. These three campaigns converge and follow a general narrative, making it fun to see each hero’s journey from their perspective as the events of the game play out. Sonic Adventure is essentially like your standard 2D game, like Sonic the Hedgehog 2 or Sonic the Hedgehog 3, but reimagined for fans in glorious 3D stylings.

Nowadays, Sonic Adventure can be clunky, and it certainly hasn’t aged as perfectly as the Genesis masterpieces, but that doesn’t really matter when it comes to how much fun I had and continue to have with it.

3

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

A Welcomed Shift in the Franchise

Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda is, well, The Legend of Zelda. Basically, every (notable) game in the series is extremely fun to play through, with Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask being two of the most obvious candidates (alongside BOTW and A Link Between Worlds). Personally, the most fun I had with the series was when I sat down with my sister back in 2006 to play The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

An oppressive purplish mist, called poison fog, falls over Hyrule, plunging the once-peaceful world into chaos. We find our semi-mute friend Link, cursed by the Shadow King Zant. Thanks to the protection of the Triforce of Courage, Link is not transformed into a spirit like others in the land. Instead, he is turned into a wolf, with his only company being the shadowy monarch of the Twilight Realm, Midna.

The entry was noticeably different from the games that preceded it, with a moodier tone that left horror fans like me extremely giddy. Enemies, landscapes, and bosses are spookier than in games past, converting from their normal counterparts to grotesque and depressing ones once players switch over to the parallel world of the Twilight.

Along with your usual sword combat, Link’s wolf form shakes up encounters with a fun but sometimes janky lock-on mechanic. Boss battles in this title are especially challenging and fun, à la Blizzeta’s icy triumph or the bridge battle with King Bulblin. Not everything is doom and gloom, however. Players can fish, snowboard, play addictive mini-games, and explore for hidden items.

The atmosphere change drew me in when I was younger, offering a reprieve from the cheerier The Legend of Zelda titles I was used to. Twilight Princess hooked me in with the promise of adventures with Link and had me playing again and again because of its unique atmosphere, tough bosses, and satisfying combat.

2

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

The End of Nathan Drake’s Story is a Wild Ride

Taking what Naughty Dog learned from the PS3 games, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End was polished to perfection, serving as the end to Nathan Drake’s adventures. Our story begins with Nathan, semi-retired, living the good life with Elena Fisher, a former videographer turned explorer. Things were normal for a time, but the thrill of adventure refuses to stop calling his name. Sam, Nathan’s older brother, returns from the dead to take Nathan on one last mission.

Their goal? To find Libertalia, a hidden pirate utopia in Madagascar.

Weapons consist of a rotating wheel of artillery that can be picked up and discarded at any time, adding variety. Some added mechanics are reminiscent of The Last of Us, introducing stealth and more fluid hand-to-hand melee combat with a rhythm and finesse the past games lacked. Fights are action-packed, quick, and explosive, like something you’d see out of an Indiana Jones flick. That momentum carries over into narrative-driven cutscenes that primarily focus on Nathan and Sam’s relationship and past.

When I sat down to play the final installment of this series, it was bittersweet seeing Nathan’s story come to an end. Since its release, I have played Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End about 10 times, coming back again and again without fatigue for the superb voice acting, heart-racing action-packed sequences, and my love of exploring the unknown in search of fame and glory.

1

Animal Crossing: City Folk

Big Fun in a Little City

Animal Crossing is an institution. The cozy series lets players create their own chibi avatar and explore a new world inhabited by animal neighbors with their own personalities (to an extent). The player’s job is to landscape their town, pick weeds, dig up fossils, pay off lofty debts to Tom Nook, upgrade available stores and their house, and generally serve as an upstanding member of their digital community.

In 2008, Animal Crossing: City Folk launched for the Nintendo Wii, introducing a new mechanic that lets players fast-travel by bus piloted by Kapp’n to a city beyond their town.

Heading into the city offered a brand-new experience for me and my sister, with whom I shared an account. We’d try to catch every fish and colorful bug in our town and visit our assortment of villagers, some we loved, some we despised greatly. When the afternoon turned to night, my sister and I would head out to the city, attending comedy shows fronted by the expressive axolotl Dr. Shrunk, before moseying on over to get ourselves a snazzy new haircut courtesy of Harriet at Shampoodle or our shoes polished to a shine for 500 bells by Kicks the skunk.