Acclaimed Video Games

The top 1,000 most recommended games across 827 critic lists from 134 publications.

Updated: October 26, 2025

Most Acclaimed Atari 2600 Games of All Time

Filters

18 of 18

#1 Pac-Man (1980) (#153)

Namco | ARC, 3, 5, DOS, NES | Maze | ~48m | 31 lists

#2 Space Invaders (1978) (#171)

Taito | ARC, A26 | Shooter | ~30m | 25 lists

#3 Defender (1981) (#255)

Shockwave, Williams Electronics | ARC, A26 | Shooter | ~48m | 18 lists

#4 Asteroids (1979) (#267)

Atari | ARC, A26, A8 | Shooter | ~36m | 17 lists

#5 Pitfall! (1982) (#309)

Activision | 4, 3 | Platform | ~30m | 17 lists

#6 Missile Command (1980) (#422)

Atari | ARC, A26, A52, A8 | Shooter | ~24m | 12 lists

#7 Star Wars (1983) (#436)

Atari, Atari Games | ARC, 3, 7, DOS, MAC | Shooter | ~48m | 10 lists

#8 Adventure (1980) (#478)

Atari | A26 | Action-Adventure | ~12m | 9 lists

#9 Joust (1982) (#573)

Williams Electronics | ARC, A26, A52, A2, A8, DOS | Action | ~18m | 8 lists

#10 Battlezone (1980) (#652)

Atari | ARC, A26, VC20, C64 | Real-Time Strategy / First-Person Shooter | ~13h | 6 lists

#11 Centipede (1981) (#654)

Atari | ARC, 3, A8, C64 | Shooter | ~12m | 7 lists

#12 Combat (1977) (#720)

Atari | A26 | Shooter | ~12m | 6 lists

#13 Mario Bros. (1983) (#738)

Nintendo R&D1 | ARC, A26, A52, 5, NES | Platform | ~54m | 6 lists

#14 Breakout (1976) (#742)

Atari | ARC, A26 | Action | ~30m | 5 lists

#15 Spy Hunter (1984) (#747)

Bally Midway | ARC, A26, CV, 6, DOS, NES | Vehicular Combat | ~24m | 9 lists

#16 Warlords (1981) (#804)

Atari | ARC, A26 | Action | ~12m | 5 lists

#17 Star Raiders (1980) (#849)

Atari | A26, A52, A8 | Space Combat | ~18m | 4 lists

#18 Track & Field / Hyper Olympic (1983) (#873)

Konami | ARC, A26, A8, MSX | Sports | ~30m | 4 lists

#153

Namco

ARC, A26, A52, A8, C64, DOS, INTV, MSX, NES, PC88, ZXS

Maze

~48m

31 lists

Pac-Man 1980

#171

Taito

ARC, A26

Shooter

~30m

25 lists

Space Invaders 1978

#255

Shockwave, Williams Electronics

ARC, A26

Shooter

~48m

18 lists

Defender 1981

#267

Atari

ARC, A26, A8

Shooter

~36m

17 lists

Asteroids 1979

#309

Activision

A26, A52, A8, CV, C64, INTV, MSX

Platform

~30m

17 lists

Pitfall! 1982

#422

Atari

ARC, A26, A52, A8

Shooter

~24m

12 lists

Missile Command 1980

#436

Atari, Atari Games

AMI, CPC, MAC, ARC, A26, A52, A8, AST, BBCM, CV, C64, DOS, ZXS

Shooter

~48m

10 lists

Star Wars 1983

#478

Atari

A26

Action-Adventure

~12m

9 lists

Adventure 1980

#573

Williams Electronics

A2, ARC, A26, A52, A8, DOS

Action

~18m

8 lists

Joust 1982

#10

#652

Atari

ARC, A26, C64, VC20

Real-Time Strategy / First-Person Shooter

~13h

6 lists

Battlezone 1980

#11

#654

Atari

ARC, A26, A52, A8, C64, INTV

Shooter

~12m

7 lists

Centipede 1981

#12

#720

Atari

A26

Shooter

~12m

6 lists

Combat 1977

#13

#738

Nintendo R&D1

CPC, ARC, A26, A52, C64, FM7, NES, PC88, ZXS

Platform

~54m

6 lists

Mario Bros. 1983

#14

#742

Atari

ARC, A26

Action

~30m

5 lists

Breakout 1976

#15

#747

Bally Midway

CPC, A2, ARC, A26, A8, BBCM, CV, C64, DOS, NES, ZXS

Vehicular Combat

~24m

9 lists

Spy Hunter 1984

#16

#804

Atari

ARC, A26

Action

~12m

5 lists

Warlords 1981

#17

#849

Atari

A26, A52, A8

Space Combat

~18m

4 lists

Star Raiders 1980

#18

#873

Konami

ARC, A26, A8, MSX

Sports

~30m

4 lists

Track & Field / Hyper Olympic 1983

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