There's a frequent disconnect between critics and players. You might find, for instance, that you strongly disagree with the critical consensus of a game. By the same token, players often disagree with other players, and the same goes for critics. We all have our own perspectives, opinions, preferences, and experiences, and they all ultimately go into the experience we have with a given game.
10 Masterpiece Xbox Games Turning 10 Years Old In 2026
From Gears of War 4 to Quantum Break, these Xbox games defined a generation and are celebrating their 10th anniversary in 2026.
This isn't to say, though, that critics and players never agree. Some titles are almost universally panned, while others are celebrated as something truly special by almost all who play them. Here are some of those recent masterpieces.
In order to celebrate a range of titles, we'll avoid including games already featured in our rundown of masterpiece RPGs. We will include games based on the same standards, though: Only those highly ranked by both OpenCritic's Top Critic Average and Player Rating will be included.
9 Fallout 4
Top Critic Average: 87, Player Rating: 80
The Fallout series has certainly had its ups and downs. It's vital that a long-running series is able to move forward and continue to build on what's come before, and by and large, it's done just that. Of the games, Fallout 4 had an enormous role in popularizing the series, and it's a little difficult to believe that, at the time of writing, it's a whole decade old. Nonetheless, its creative and varied gunplay, as well as its ever-surprising open world and customization, keep it utterly engaging.
This installment opens with the Sole Survivor's family torn apart and their child missing. There is one simple and obvious objective to begin with, and besides that, it's for the player to determine how to proceed through the Wasteland. Building, crafting, forging relationships with companions, and developing your character, your way, is the primary objective. This game took a turn more towards action and away from intricate RPG mechanics, but this doesn't mean that it's lacking in depth. The core shooting is very satisfying and rewards careful targeting, rather like a less gruesome Dead Space.
8 The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe
Top Critic Average: 90, Player Rating: 80
The titles on this list are primarily from bigger developers with rather hefty budgets. However, smaller teams are more than capable of producing masterpieces, too. One more recent example is the extraordinary The Stanley Parable, which took a bland and rather clinical office environment and made it the stuff of an ever-changing legend.
The game's a fascinating kind of curio, one that has a way of intriguing almost anyone who experiences more than a moment or two of it. Fourth wall breaking always helps forge a connection between the game and the player, and the narration about what you've done, where you're going, and exactly what's happening is iconic. It's as though the developers anticipated so many of the potential steps players would take. As a result, the hapless Stanley's attempts to learn what exactly became of his coworkers feel more like an experience than a game, or like a wry and rather sarcastic interactive storybook.
7 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Top Critic Average: 92, Player Rating: 90
Of course, Mario Kart World arrived with Nintendo Switch 2 in June 2025. Though it's an impressive package that genuinely tries something new with the franchise, not all the additions to the formula have been well-received. For some fans, more traditional races would be preferred over the intermissions and touring action of World. As a result, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe might well be in pole position in that regard.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Unlockables Guide
As an updated re-release, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe comes with a lot of content available at the start, but there are still a few hidden unlockables.
Though there are still gliding and anti-gravity sections to switch things up, this is a rather purer take on Mario Kart. It's been and remains a sales sensation for the Switch, with a huge cast of racers, a lot of fun components to switch between to customize your ride (with significant effects on its stats), and, most importantly, some of the best tracks from across the series' history as well as some excellent new ones.
6 Grand Theft Auto 5
Top Critic Average: 92, Player Rating: 90
You might not expect two such entirely disparate games to hit the exact same scores, but here's Grand Theft Auto 5 matching Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's Top Critic Average and Player Rating on OpenCritic. Well, they're both themed around driving, and GTA 5's multiplayer does feature some silly racing.
The factors that have kept players entranced by GTA 5, twelve years after its original release, are really those that define the series. A vast and brilliantly realized open world. A diverse range of characters to interact and evolve with, including the iconic core trio. Missions, both story and optional, are so varied from one to the next. This title, of course, also introduced Grand Theft Auto Online, which dialed it all up in the greatest way possible. You can never tell where an impromptu session of GTA Online will take you, but it'll typically involve suddenly piloting a plane without quite understanding how you got into that situation. Or maybe a fire truck. There's a ludicrous wealth of things to do.
Metroid Prime Remastered
Top Critic Average: 94, Player Rating: 90
Alongside similarly elite titles like The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Metroid Prime was one of the jewels of the GameCube's crown. I've often felt that the humble system was a bit underrated, and I was particularly surprised that this unique game, in an entirely different perspective and developed by Retro Studios, would be as beloved as it was. Cautiously exploring the planet of Tallon IV through Samus' visor, taking in all the new environments, critters, and little details (that visor steamed up in hot areas, and bright energy weapons caused a flash that reflected in it) was an arresting experience.
How do you improve on near perfection? You add some quality of life improvements and polish up the visuals. Metroid Prime Remastered is lovingly presented and, visually, among the most impressive titles on the original Switch. If you've never played before, this is the way to do so.
5 God Of War
Top Critic Average: 94, Player Rating: 90
If you're familiar with Norse mythology, you'll know that a lot of the major players could certainly handle themselves in a fight. Moreover, they were quite well-versed in huge, apocalyptic bouts. The setting, then, was an appropriate one for 2018's God of War to adopt, and it embraced it as tightly as a bear hug from Kratos itself.
The primary thing that series fans are looking for, of course, is visceral and satisfying combat. There's no denying that the game was a huge success on that front, with every blow from the Leviathan Axe feeling as weighty (and looking as horrific) as it should. Combat is nicely varied, with weapons in Kratos' arsenal unlocking throughout the game and bringing different elemental effects and techniques to bear. It's flashy without being superficial and nicely varied without being overly complex, which is important: Combat should be front and center in any God of War game after all. Just as impactful as Kratos' axe, though, is the narrative, which centers around the demigod's journey to take his beloved wife's ashes across the nine realms to a great peak. There are glimpses of this legendary warrior's softer side in his dealings with his son and their bond, and it's quite arresting.
4 Bloodborne
Top Critic Average: 91, Player Rating: 100
The first title on the list to get a perfect OpenCritic Player Rating of 100, Bloodborne is now a decade old, and the mark it left is as fresh as ever. Hardened players like myself fondly remember falling again and again to the rabble patrolling the opening area, improving over time, and then eventually triumphing over the trickiest bosses the game had to offer. I was spurred onwards, failure after failure, by the fascinating world FromSoftware had created.
8 Scariest Monsters In Bloodborne, Ranked
Bloodborne has no shortage of horrible monsters and intimidating bosses, but the following are unparalleled in terms of fear factor.
It has an eerie aesthetic all its own, at once reminiscent of and entirely different from the rest of the Soulsborne titles. Combat is refined, faster, and far more reactive, with counterattacks offering a chance to regain lost health and nimble dodges replacing heavy armor and shields. The lore is as obtuse as ever, but to those who take the time to unravel it, the tragic story of the Great Ones, their Old Blood that ultimately cursed Yharnam, and the disaster the Hunter slowly discovers is haunting.
3 Metaphor: ReFantazio
Top Critic Average: 93, Player Rating: 100
Metaphor: ReFantazio is a triumph of a JRPG that could stand proudly on the shelf next to the genre's very best. In fact, it scored just one Top Critic Average point lower than the formidable Persona 5 Royal, which is ineligible as noted. In a way, Metaphor: ReFantazio is the more traditional of the two games, offering classic archetypes to adopt, such as Berserker, Thief, Healer, and Summoner. The United Kingdom of Euchronia, too, is quite familiar fare for the genre, a Medieval backdrop for this story of political intrigue and a righteous quest to thwart a royal assassin.
Combat utilizes the unique resource of Turn Icons, allowing the party to make more moves in battle by using enemy weaknesses against them or save them for costly but formidable Synthesis Attacks. In a similar fashion to Bloodborne and FromSoftware, Atlus' deft fingerprints are all over Metaphor: ReFantazio, but the game remains unique enough to stand on its own.
2 The Last Of Us Remastered
Top Critic Average: 94, Player Rating: 100
The Last of Us was an extraordinary direction for Naughty Dog to take. Debuting in June 2013, it tells the unforgettable story of Joel, Ellie, the Fireflies, and the survivors of a ravaged world battling to make it one more day in the aftermath of the cordyceps infection. It sounds like a bit of an outlandish zombie story, but it is far deeper than that. It's about fighting for what still matters when almost all is lost, about desperately clinging to hope and what happens when it's snatched away.
The Last of Us Remastered was the edition that hit the PS4 the following year, and remains OpenCritic's most celebrated version of the game. As with the Metroid Prime remaster, it didn't reinvent the title by any means, but boosted the resolution, lighting, and other key visual aspects. The result was an even more atmospheric and gripping experience.
1 Red Dead Redemption 2
Top Critic Average: 95, Player Rating: 100
Red Dead Redemption 2 boasts the highest combined rating on this list, outstripping fellow Rockstar open-world extravaganza Grand Theft Auto 5 by a considerable amount. It's an interesting case, because Red Dead Online never really took off to a fraction of the extent that its Los Santos-set counterpart did, but what an experience its single-player campaign is.
Every fan finds their own unique things to love about this sequel. High on the list, typically, is the way that it allows them to forge their own ultimate destiny, as the treatment of those Arthur meets on his journey will influence his level of honor. This is a brutal world, and the fact that relationships will be colored by the lasting consequences of his actions is fitting and well-implemented. There are few games like it for realistic exploration. We forge a bond with Arthur and the Van Der Linde gang over the course of the experience, and the inevitability of gang relationships souring and Arthur's eventual fate is harrowing. This western adventure is starkly real, emotionally fraught, and tonally a world apart from the Grand Theft Auto games, which have the silly humor and moments of parody to temper even the most emotional narrative twists.
Read Dead Redemption Trophy/Achievement Guide
Red Dead Redemption holds 51 Achievements to collect. If you're looking to become a Legend of the West, check out our handy guide to collect them all!