Ty HarveyAs one of the oldest gaming publications in the world, we’ve been responsible for playing a ton of absolutely horrible games. Stuff like World Championship Paintball, which holds the record for our worst reviewed game of all time, really makes playing video games for a living feel like a real job.
Thankfully not every game is bad, and while it may have taken us nearly twenty years, we’ve finally accumulated a total of ten perfectly scored games. That’s right, PSX Extreme has given out fewer 10’s than IGN. Not sure how to feel about that…
Below is every 10/10 game we’ve reviewed within the last 20 years, ranked in no particular order.
Red Dead Redemption 2 (PS4)
Reviewer: Ryan Hartmann
Date Reviewed: October 26th, 2018
Full Review
Excerpt: “A game of unparalleled scope and ambition, with breathtaking visuals, a broad-ranging but intimate story, and an incredible sense of identity and purpose, Red Dead Redemption 2 will go down as one of the greatest games of the generation, and perhaps video game history.”
God of War (2018) (PS4)
Reviewer: Ryan Hartmann
Date Reviewed: April 23rd, 2018
Full Review
Excerpt: “This brutally violent mythological adventure was the last place I ever thought I’d find deep, meaningful ruminations on what it is to be a father, and the sacrifices involved. God of War is brilliant in ways I never thought games could be. That it’s also perhaps the most highly polished game I’ve ever played, with unsurpassed presentation and mechanics, is actually secondary to the fact that it generated in me the kind of childlike awe I haven’t experienced in decades. I have been writing about video games for almost 20 years now, and in all that time I have never given any game a perfect score. Until now.”
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (PS4)
Reviewer: Ben Dutka
Date Reviewed: May 28th, 2016
Full Review
Excerpt: “I suppose some people are still hung up on the concept of a “perfect score.” Of course, it doesn’t mean “perfect” because no game is flawless. In this case, I suppose I could cite the ungodly precision of enemies with grenade launchers, or the fact that the camera can go just a tad loopy in certain parts. But I say a perfect score goes to the game that is, upon release, better than all the competition. If nothing on store shelves can compete, if you rack your brains and can’t think of a better game to come along in the past year or so, it deserves the maximum score. I also believe in the subjective aspect, in that if the game didn’t make an impact on a personal level, the critic shouldn’t hand out the 10. I’ve almost never done it because clearly, my requirements are steep. But here, I can’t imagine giving out anything less…Side note: Though, with 36 perfect scores counted so far according to Metacritic (more than 1/3 of all 102 counted reviews), I’m hardly the only one to come to this conclusion.”
JOURNEY (PS4)
Reviewer: Ben Dutka
Date Reviewed: July 24th, 2015
Full Review
Excerpt: “Anyway, Journey on PlayStation 4 is undoubtedly the definitive edition of an instant classic. It’s not drastically different and there really isn’t any new content, but the upgrades included in this package are noticeable and appreciated, and vault the production into the stratosphere.”
Final Fantasy XII (PS2)
Reviewer: Cavin Smith
Date Reviewed: November 27th, 2006
Full Review
Excerpt: “Deviations from past Final Fantasies may turn off some players, but this game is so classy, it’s like mouthwash for the nasty taste FFX/X-2 left in gamers’ mouths. It redeems a hallowed series which had begun to spiral into teeny-bopper, pop-idol-infested hell.”
The Last Of Us: Remastered (PS4)
Reviewer: Ben Dutka
Date Reviewed: August 1st, 2014
Full Review
Excerpt: “Saying The Last Of Us: Remastered is an absolute triumph seems redundant. I said it when the original released last year, after all. And yeah, it’s basically the same game with a glossier coating and a few additions. But consider: What have we seen in the last 15 months or so that even comes close? Seriously?”
Okami (PS2)
Reviewer: Cavin Smith
Date Reviewed: October 17th, 2006
Full Review
Excerpt: “Simply one of the best games of the generation and I’d even wager to put it up with some of the best of all time.”
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots (PS3)
Reviewer: Arnold Katayev
Date Reviewed: June 14th, 2008
Full Review
Excerpt: “There is no doubt about it, but this is easily the best experience you’ll have on the PlayStation 3 to date, simply nothing comes close to MGS4’s presentation, story-telling, gameplay, visuals, and sound. The amount of classic homages paid to the previous games, with one in particular, will leave you breathless and, perhaps, emotional.”
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (PS3)
Reviewer: Arnold Katayev
Date Reviewed: October 24th, 2011
Full Review
Excerpt: “All that can be remains to be said about Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception is that it both defies and defines everything a videogame is and should be. In that order.”
Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec (PS2)
Reviewer: Arnold Katayev
Date Reviewed: July 10th, 2001
Full Review
Excerpt: “YOU MUST GET GT3! Your life depends on it!”
So, what’s your favorite game of all time, huh? Let us know in the comments!
Yea… FF12 was ass man.
And Journey looks pretty but is ass
And the 3rd one is a Car game.
But ya got 7 boi
What? No..
1. Persona 5
2. Shadow of the Colossus
3. Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage
4. Heavy Rain
5. Uncharted 4
6. Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time
7. Gran Turismo 5
8. Horizon Zero Dawn
9. Crash Team Racing
10. Infamous 2
Definitely agree with Spyro!
As for Horizon? I don’t believe we reviewed that one, as it came out during a transitional period here at PSXE.
Well that’s a shame. I’d give it a 10/10 no doubt.
Well, we invite ya to write a review for Horizon for us, and publish it over on our forums. If the review is well written, we’ll publish it on here as a guest submission! 😀
Oh snap. I’ll see what I can do.
Respect for sticking Persona 5 on your list. That game is awesome and you’ve just reminded me to finish it.
You must! It completely reinvigorated my love for gaming. No single game is better.. imo.
I had a couple of other Persona games on the Vita but never finished any of them. They’re real time syncs and I guess I’m easily distracted. But I’ve a fair bit of time sunk into Persona 5 and I really should find the time.
Take note that these are simply the games we reviewed here at PSX Extreme. Out of 1,380 reviews over the last 20 years, only these ten have received a perfect review score. Some of these date back 10+ years.
These aren’t the “best games ever” but rather the “best we’ve ever played”, according to the individuals that reviewed them at the time.
grand turismo , final fantasy and red dead 2?…ehhh.. my top 10 would probably have …
1. Batman Arkham Asylum
2. Resident Evil 2
3. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3
4. Horizon Zero Dawn
5. Persona 3 FES
6. Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 3
7. Crash Bandicoot 2
8. God of War 3
9. Spider-man 2 (the movie game)
10. The Last of Us
I’d likely replace THPS3 with THUG2 personally. Great games though!
I agree haha
my top 10
1. Xenogears
2. Breath of fire 2
3. Legend of dragoon
4. red dead redemption 2
5. Infamous 2
6. red dead redemption
7. legaia 2 duel saga
8. final fantasy 8
9. threads of fate
10. breath of fire
Glad to see infamous 2. But I just don’t get the love for red dead. My friend lent it to be and I just beat it and honestly… I’m so glad I didn’t buy it.
My personal top 10 would be(in no particular order);
1. Battlefield 2: Modern Combat
2. Don’t Starve Together/Don’t Starve
3. Final Fantasy VIII
4. Star Ocean 2: The Second Story & Star Ocean 3: Till the End of Time
5. Metal Gear Solid(PS1)
6. M.A.G.
7. Command & Conquer series(all of them)
8. Persona (series everyone that i played)
9. Valkyria Chronicles
10. Reserved for something i’ve yet to get to 🙂
I understand it equals out to a lot more then 10 but each of these get extremely high praise from me. Just running basic numbers, some are estimates a few are completely trackable i’ve got at minimum 14,000 hours invested into this list of games.