New research has revealed the most popular video games of the century, with a range of different genres making it on the list.

Gaming experts SolitaireBliss studied the average Metacritic scores of video games released every year since 2000 to determine which are the best.

In 2021, role-play game Disco Elysium: The Final Cut came out on top, with an average critic score of 97 out of a possible 100. The game follows a detective solving a murder in a city recovering from war. It’s an expanded version of Disco Elysium with additional voicework encompassing 1.2 million words.

In 2020, the top-rated game was Persona 5 Royal, a role-play game following high school students in Tokyo, fighting supernatural beings. The game is an enhancement of Persona 5 and has extra content such as new characters, additional plot and new music. It has an average critic score of 95.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is the top-rated game of 2019, with a score of 91. It follows a ninja as he seeks revenge on a Samurai clan who kidnapped him in fictionalised Japan. The game sold over two million copies in its first ten days of release and topped the UK charts in its debut week.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is the top-rated video game of 2018, scoring 97. The action game surrounds the survival of an outlaw in the declining Wild West in 1899. It’s the third game in the Red Dead franchise and had the biggest opening weekend in the history of entertainment, bringing in $725 million of revenue in three days.

In 2017, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was the top-rated game. Players of the adventure game aren’t given much instruction, allowing them to explore the world freely and collect various items to help them with tasks. It scores 97/100. The game broke sales records for Nintendo launches in multiple regions, including Japan.

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is the top-rated game of 2016. The game has a score of 93 and follows a former treasure hunter coming out of retirement to find long-lost treasure. Released in May 2016, it had sold 8.7 million copies by December of that year.

In 2015, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain got the highest score. The game scored 95 and centres around a soldier exacting revenge on those who almost killed him during a war. It sold three million physical copies in its first five days of release.

The Last of Us Remastered is the top-rated game of 2014. The game follows a smuggler helping a girl cross post-apocalyptic United States and has a score of 95. It is an enhanced version of The Last of Us, which was released in 2013 and allows players to capture images during gameplay and hear additional audio recordings.

The top-rated game of 2013 is Grand Theft Auto V. The action game focuses on three protagonists trying to commit heists in the fictional state of San Andreas and has a score of 97. It generated over $1 billion in sales in three days, making it the fastest selling entertainment product in history.

Persona 4 Golden is the top-rated game of 2012, with a score of 93. It follows a teenager in the Japanese countryside who becomes involved in murder investigations. It is an enhancement of Persona 4 and includes extra content such as new characters.

The highest rated game of 2011 is Batman: Arkham City. Based on the DC comics, the game follows Batman as he is incarcerated in Arkham prison and attempts to uncover the secrets of it. It has a score of 96 and sold 12.5 million copies in 12 months.