Attempting to single out the greatest video games of all time is a task and a half. What are you supposed to judge? There's the way certain titles influenced future games, and whether or not the graphics were gorgeous, and how much we loved them as kids versus now. But ultimately, it comes down to good taste. We took a step back and looked at the general landscape, considering all the games that have inked their way into pixelated infamy, and came up with a list of probably 100 titles. We narrowed that down to 20, narrowed that down even more, and were left with the 15 video games that we think rightly represent more than three decades of incredible gaming. With 2020 looking like it'll be a stacked year for new titles, who knows? Maybe we'll soon have to reconsider the field.

So with that—blows in a cartridge; mutters, "Is this thing on?"—here are the best of the best.