Ooooh, The coveted 10 out of 10. I reserve that number for the pinnacles of gaming greatness. And this post is actually pretty hard because I can only rate games i have immense experience with and also leave personal bias aside. Which is hard to do both since most games i've played enough to judge are games I love. But here is my list
I will do my best to not let person love or nostalgia effect these.
Super Mario WorldIf I was forced to give one sole 10/10 to only one game in the gaming industry. It would be Super Mario World. Super Mario World, I feel embodies every single aspect of gaming culture. It is the peak. It's not my personal favorite game. But I can't think of any game that deserves the moniker of perfection more. It's like Gaming Cultures theme song. Everything from the colorful visuals, to the orchestral masterpiece that is the soundtrack. It has the perfect formula of easy enough for a literal baby to play and laugh and enjoy, but complicated enough for the most hardcore gamers and 40 year olds to play and truly just enjoy it, start till end.
The mini boss to main boss ratio, was unheard of at the time. It was just expertly done. Level progression flawless. The variety of levels and what they did with Mario's powers. I don't think a Mario Side Scroller has or will ever pass it. Super Mario World is a game that can be beaten 300 times and still be enjoyed the 301st. It's just never ending nostalgia.
Grand Theft Auto V Grand Theft Auto 5 as a stand alone game, is already pretty concrete. But then you add in it's ridiculously fun and immersive online. Which has still attracted one of the largest online player bases even half a decade later. It's just 10/10 imo. And again, a lot of bias comes into play because I love all Grand Theft Autos. But GTA 5 is open world gold. The scope of the side missions in this game are larger than some entire games. The plot was deep, thick and they did something that you rarely see in gaming by dividing it among 3 protagonists at once. And they did it seemlessly. I just think GTA 5 was Rockstar showing off. Just completely miles ahead of the sandbox open world genre. It's almost 3 games at once, with an online mode on top of it. Customizing, the world. RDR2 may have gotten more carried away with details, but I think GTA 5 was slightly better plot wise and was faster paced.
GTA 5 is a staple.
Legend of Zelda BOTWBOTW was an amazing turn around for Nintendo after Wii U failed. It was like the hail mary and it succeeded. Miyamoto proving again why he's a gaming genius. I think the main overlooked thing with BOTW is the orchestral cinematic soundtrack. It's gorgeous. It plays gorgeous. Sounds gorgeous. It utilized every bit of the Switch technology. The bosses are extremely memorable. The combat system is unique and ingenious. BOTW does hundreds of things right. Even things people didn't like, like the weapons breaking. I believe was a good thing for the franchise. I like the realism. I like how you gotta bundle up or eat certain foods to traverse the cold and have to scavenge for weapons if you break them. It makes it probably the most immersive Zelda of all time.
MinecraftMinecraft is a 10/10 because it follows the simple science of gaming that Super Mario World followed, maybe to a slightly lesser extent. But it is simple enough for a baby to play. Complex enough that adults can have extreme challenge with it. It is colorful, beautiful, simple and it's incredibly replayable, relaxing and you'll find yourself going back to it. Probably until the end of time. Once you get it, you get it type of game. I always thought I hated it. Until you love it. Then you love it love it lol. Minecraft is just that game. It's one of the best selling games of all time for this reason. I know people who own it on like 7 consoles. You just have to. When you see it in the E shop of your new console, you buy it. No collection is complete without it. And I highly reccomend people to try it and get carried away with endless imagination
TetrisAgain, imo the iconic formula. Simple yet complex. Easy to learn, hard to master. Amazing music. If you combine those factors with fluid and concrete gameplay. It will be a 10/10. Tetris is the most iconic puzzle game of all time. Tetris is so out of the box fun. Has been since it's inception. And after over 30 years. People will still be loading up Tetris. Tetris is still prominent on almost every major console. And the story behind it is even more interesting than the game itself. Tetris tournaments, tetris masters. It's almost like a Chess of the gaming world. It's gaming royalty.
Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow It's pokemon. I wish I could give a thought out reason for it being a 10 imo. But it's Pokemon. It speaks for itself.
I don't think i'd give any more games the glorious 10/10 award. Their are dozens i'd personally give it to like Red Dead, Call of Duty WW2, NFL Street 2, MVP Baseball 2005, Need For Speed Most Wanted (Original) and games like Ratchet and Clank Up Your Arsonal. But I know those are personal favorites. And not coveted masterpieces that changed the cultivation of gaming forever.