Acclaimed Video Games
The top 1,000 most recommended games across 904 critic lists from 141 publications.
Updated: February 3, 2026
Most Acclaimed Simulation Games of All Time
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#1 Minecraft (2011) (#39)
Mojang Studios | 3, X360, PS3 | Sandbox / Survival | ~66h | 89 lists
#2 SimCity 2000 (1993) (#78)
Maxis | DOS, MAC, AMI | City Building | ~21h | 43 lists
#3 Persona 4 / Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 (2008) (#89)
Atlus | WIN, PS2, PSV | Role-Playing / Life Simulation | ~72h | 33 lists
#4 Persona 5 (2016) (#93)
P Studio | WIN, 3, XB1, XBXS, SW | Role-Playing / Life Simulation | ~98h | 60 lists
#5 The Sims (2000) (#95)
Maxis | MAC, WIN | Life Simulation | ~20h | 43 lists
#6 Fortnite (2017) (#96)
Epic Games | MAC, WIN, XB1, PS4 | Sandbox / Survival / Battle Royale | ~62h | 44 lists
#7 Stardew Valley (2016) (#101)
ConcernedApe | 3, XB1, PS4, SW | Life Simulation | ~53h | 49 lists
#8 SimCity (1989) (#121)
Maxis | DOS, MAC, 5, SNES | City Building | ~15h | 35 lists
#9 Animal Crossing: New Horizons (2020) (#128)
Nintendo EPD Production Group No. 5 | SW | Life Simulation | ~61h | 46 lists
#10 Shenmue (1999) (#130)
Sega AM2 | DC | Action-Adventure / Life Simulation | ~19h | 27 lists
#11 Star Wars: TIE Fighter (1994) (#141)
Totally Games | 3 | Space Simulation | ~28h | 30 lists
#12 Papers, Please (2013) (#147)
Lucas Pope | 3 | Simulation / Puzzle | ~5h | 36 lists
#13 Elite (1984) (#180)
Acornsoft, David Braben, Frontier Developments, Ian Bell | 6, DOS | Space Combat | 23 lists
#14 Animal Crossing: New Leaf (2012) (#246)
Nintendo EAD Software Development Group No.2 | 3DS | Life Simulation | ~79h | 30 lists
#15 LittleBigPlanet (2008) (#247)
Media Molecule | PS3 | Sandbox / Platform | ~9h | 25 lists
#16 Animal Crossing (2001) (#265)
Nintendo EAD | N64, GC | Life Simulation | ~66h | 16 lists
#17 The Sims 2 (2004) (#300)
Maxis | MAC, WIN | Life Simulation | ~26h | 13 lists
#18 Dispatch (2025) (#304)
AdHoc Studio | WIN, PS5 | Adventure / Simulation / Interactive Drama | ~8h | 29 lists
#19 The Sims 3 (2009) (#358)
The Sims Studio | MAC, WIN | Life Simulation | ~53h | 16 lists
#20 Populous (1989) (#402)
Bullfrog Productions | 3, SMS, GEN, SNES | God Game | ~12h | 12 lists
#21 MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat (1995) (#415)
Activision | 3 | Simulation | ~8h | 11 lists
#22 Star Wars: X-Wing (1993) (#442)
Totally Games | 3 | Space Simulation | ~27h | 12 lists
#23 Kerbal Space Program (2015) (#472)
Squad | 3 | Flight Simulation | ~113h | 14 lists
#24 FreeSpace 2 (1999) (#473)
Volition | WIN | Space Combat | ~15h | 8 lists
#25 Wing Commander (1990) (#486)
Origin Systems | DOS, AMI, CD32, SNES, SCD | Flight Simulation | ~8h | 11 lists
#26 Eve Online (2003) (#502)
CCP | WIN | MMORPG / Space Combat | ~1777h | 10 lists
#27 ActRaiser (1990) (#532)
Quintet | SNES | Action RPG / City Building / Platform | ~5h | 13 lists
#28 Dungeon Keeper (1997) (#536)
Bullfrog Productions | DOS, WIN | Role-Playing / Real-Time Strategy / God Game | ~17h | 8 lists
#29 Pilotwings (1990) (#548)
Nintendo EAD | SNES | Flight Simulation | ~4h | 11 lists
#30 Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) (#581)
Asobo Studio | WIN, XBXS | Flight Simulation | ~26h | 11 lists
#31 Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi (1991) (#599)
Origin Systems | DOS | Space Combat | ~11h | 7 lists
#32 Factorio (2020) (#600)
Wube Software | 3, SW | Real-Time Strategy / Construction & Management | ~50h | 2 lists
#33 SimCity 4 (2003) (#618)
Maxis | MAC, WIN | City Building | ~9h | 6 lists
#34 Theme Park (1994) (#646)
Bullfrog Productions | DOS, MAC, 3, 3, SNES, 3DO, JAG, PS | Construction & Management | ~17h | 8 lists
#35 Consume Me (2025) (#666)
Hexecutable | MAC, WIN | Life Simulation | ~7h | 8 lists
#36 Animal Crossing: Wild World (2005) (#676)
Nintendo EAD | DS | Life Simulation | ~68h | 8 lists
#37 Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter (1997) (#697)
Totally Games | WIN | Space Combat | ~14h | 5 lists
#38 LittleBigPlanet 2 (2011) (#701)
Media Molecule | PS3 | Puzzle-Platformer / Sandbox | ~7h | 11 lists
#39 Cities: Skylines (2015) (#705)
Colossal Order | 3 | City Building / Construction & Management | ~28h | 8 lists
#40 IL-2 Sturmovik (2001) (#714)
Maddox Games | WIN | Flight Simulation | ~14h | 5 lists
#41 Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom (1996) (#751)
Origin Systems | 3, PS | Space Combat | ~11h | 5 lists
#42 Dwarf Fortress (2006) (#761)
Bay 12 Games | 3 | Survival / Construction & Management / Roguelike | ~75h | 4 lists
#43 Pilotwings 64 (1996) (#769)
Nintendo EAD, Nintendo R&D3, Paradigm Simulation | N64 | Flight Simulation | ~5h | 7 lists
#44 Everything (2017) (#776)
David OReilly | 3, PS4 | Simulation / God Game | ~3h | 9 lists
#45 Crimson Skies (2000) (#796)
Zipper Interactive | WIN | Action / Flight Simulation | ~10h | 5 lists
#46 Driver / Driver: You Are the Wheelman (1999) (#802)
Reflections Interactive | WIN, PS | Action / Simulation | ~12h | 5 lists
#47 Cart Life (2010) (#808)
Richard Hofmeier | WIN | Simulation | 4 lists
#48 Harvest Moon (1996) (#810)
Amccus, Pack-In-Video | SNES | Life Simulation | ~24h | 6 lists
#49 Overcooked (2016) (#811)
Ghost Town Games | WIN, XB1, PS4, SW | Simulation | ~8h | 5 lists
#50 RollerCoaster Tycoon (1999) (#823)
Chris Sawyer Productions, Frontier Developments | WIN | Construction & Management | ~61h | 4 lists
#51 Microsoft Flight Simulator 1.0 (1982) (#831)
subLOGIC | DOS | Flight Simulation | ~30m | 5 lists
#52 Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger (1994) (#877)
Origin Systems | DOS, MAC, 3DO, PS | Space Combat | ~12h | 6 lists
#53 Black & White (2001) (#881)
Lionhead Studios | WIN | Simulation / God Game | ~16h | 5 lists
#54 Dragon Quest Builders 2 (2018) (#883)
Omega Force, Square Enix Business Division 5 | WIN, PS4, SW | Sandbox / Action RPG | ~55h | 6 lists
#55 Populous II: Trials of the Olympian Gods (1991) (#894)
Bullfrog Productions | DOS, AST, AMI | God Game | ~17h | 4 lists
#56 Star Raiders (1980) (#895)
Atari | A26, A52, A8 | Space Combat | ~18m | 4 lists
#57 Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader (2001) (#906)
Factor 5, LucasArts | GC | Action / Flight Simulation | ~6h | 7 lists
#58 SimCity 3000 (1999) (#908)
Maxis | MAC, WIN | City Building | ~9h | 5 lists
#59 Viva Piñata (2006) (#918)
Climax Group, Rare | WIN, X360 | Life Simulation | ~19h | 4 lists
#60 Persona 3 / Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 (2006) (#942)
Atlus | PS2 | Role-Playing / Life Simulation | ~82h | 3 lists
#61 Microsoft Flight Simulator X (2006) (#966)
Microsoft Game Studios | WIN | Flight Simulation | ~182h | 3 lists
#62 RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 (2002) (#980)
Chris Sawyer Productions | WIN | Construction & Management | ~73h | 4 lists
#63 Farming Simulator 22 (2021) (#996)
Giants Software | MAC, WIN, XB1, XBXS, PS4, PS5 | Simulation | ~163h | 1 lists
#1
#39
Minecraft
2011
#2
#78
SimCity 2000
1993
#3
#89
#4
#93
Persona 5
2016
#5
#95
The Sims
2000
#6
#96
Fortnite
2017
#7
#101
Stardew Valley
2016
#8
#121
SimCity
1989
#9
#128
#10
#130
Shenmue
1999
#11
#141
#12
#147
Papers, Please
2013
#13
#180
Elite
1984
#14
#246
#15
#247
LittleBigPlanet
2008
#16
#265
Animal Crossing
2001
#17
#300
The Sims 2
2004
#18
#304
Dispatch
2025
#19
#358
The Sims 3
2009
#20
#402
Populous
1989
#21
#415
#22
#442
Star Wars: X-Wing
1993
#23
#472
Kerbal Space Program
2015
#24
#473
FreeSpace 2
1999
#25
#486
Wing Commander
1990
#26
#502
Eve Online
2003
#27
#532
ActRaiser
1990
#28
#536
Dungeon Keeper
1997
#29
#548
Pilotwings
1990
#30
#581
#31
#599
#32
#600
Factorio
2020
#33
#618
SimCity 4
2003
#34
#646
Theme Park
1994
#35
#666
Consume Me
2025
#36
#676
#37
#697
#38
#701
LittleBigPlanet 2
2011
#39
#705
Cities: Skylines
2015
#40
#714
IL-2 Sturmovik
2001
#41
#751
#42
#761
Dwarf Fortress
2006
#43
#769
Pilotwings 64
1996
#44
#776
Everything
2017
#45
#796
Crimson Skies
2000
#46
#802
#47
#808
Cart Life
2010
#48
#810
Harvest Moon
1996
#49
#811
Overcooked
2016
#50
#823
RollerCoaster Tycoon
1999
#51
#831
#52
#877
#53
#881
Black & White
2001
#54
#883
#55
#894
#56
#895
Star Raiders
1980
#57
#906
#58
#908
SimCity 3000
1999
#59
#918
Viva Piñata
2006
#60
#942
#61
#966
#62
#980
#63
#996
Farming Simulator 22
2021
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