Games & consoles

The best video games, according to hackers

78 video games recommended in Hacker News comments over the past year, ranked by how many separate people recommend each one.

• Most recommendedHelldivers 250 people recommend it
• Least regretnandgame11 recommend, 0 criticize
• Free and lovedGPU building game49 people recommend it

All video games

• Helldivers 2Players recommend it for fun, polished gameplay that lasts hundreds of hours. Critics point to a bloated install size and a buggy, janky experience.50recommend
• GPU building gameTeaches digital logic through hands-on wiring of gates into GPU parts, though critics say it assumes prior circuit knowledge and explains some steps poorly.49recommend
• Triple-A MinesweeperPeople recommend it as a funny parody of bloated AAA games, with a joke ending, a great credits sequence and a Minesweeper twist. Critics say the captions, long load times and forced logins get in the way.40recommend
• Quake IIPeople recommend Quake II for its multiplayer, especially LAN and 1v1 play, and fond memories of it. Critics find single-player dull and say software rendering lacks colored lighting.33recommend
• Red Dead Redemption 2Praised for its immersive world, deep systems and story-driven single-player play, and widely called one of the greatest games. Critics often cite a repetitive story and slow, grindy missions.28recommend
• Grand Theft Auto (1997)People enjoy its simple fun of driving around and evading police; the caveats are dated graphics and choppy performance on modern hardware.28recommend
• The Witcher 3: Wild HuntRecommended for its story, Novigrad and side quests, and its strong modding support, though its length and mod conflicts draw criticism.25recommend
• Rocket LeagueFun competitive car soccer that runs well on Linux via Proton, though Epic's removal of the native Linux client and botting problems draw criticism.24recommend
• Turing CompleteA puzzle game where you build a working computer from logic gates, praised for teaching how CPUs and assembly work in a fun way. Critics say it is buggy, still in early access, and does not cover other processors in depth.22recommend
• Battlefield 6Recommended for being well optimized, fun to play with friends, and the best franchise entry in years; the most common caveat is kernel-level anti-cheat that blocks Linux.21recommend
• Minecraft Bedrock EditionCross-platform Minecraft version praised for portability and performance, playable on consoles and iPads. Critics cite frequent bugs, missing features and weaker moddability than Java Edition.19recommend
• Super Mario Bros.People recommend the NES original for its fun, simple design and lasting influence on games. Critics mention Nintendo repeatedly re-selling the same ROM.19recommend
• Grand Theft Auto 2Fans praise its distinctive top-down city, fun cars and sneaking tactics, and many call it the turning point for the series. Some say the top-down view has not aged well.18recommend
• Control by Remedy EntertainmentPraised for early comprehensive ray tracing, striking art direction and level design; one critic found the cloud version totally unplayable.16recommend
• Death StrandingRecommended for its original design, open world and memorable story, and for being unlike typical games. Critics find much of the time spent walking tedious, and the sequel repetitive.16recommend
• Learn Flags QuizRecommended as a fun, ad-free, account-free way to learn flags through addictive quizzes. Critics note that flags are forced into one aspect ratio and that country selection sometimes repeats or skips countries.16recommend
• GoldenEye 007People recommend it as a classic Nintendo 64 shooter with great multiplayer, and a native PC port runs it at 4K and 60 FPS. Critics say its graphics and controls have aged poorly.14recommend
• The Entire City of San FranciscoFun to wander and drive around the city, with slow tile loading, buggy performance, and a hard-to-use camera as common complaints.13recommend
• Prey (2006)Recommended as a great game with innovative level design built around portals and gravity manipulation, and a strong opening level.12recommend
• Quake ported to safe RustFun, impressive port of Quake to safe Rust, with a browser build and visual diff harness; multiplayer is not working.12recommend
• nandgameBrowser game where you build a computer from logic gates down to transistor level, which people say makes how small circuits combine into large ones clear. One reviewer found the UI plain and some concepts oversimplified.11recommend
• Journey by thatgamecompanyPeople recommend it as a masterpiece of game storytelling and emotional design, one that left at least one player nearly in tears.10recommend
• Grand Theft Auto IVPraised as an enjoyable, well-liked open-world game by its fans. The most common caveat is that it is hard to get running on modern PCs.9recommend
• Raiders of the Lost Ark for Atari 2600Recommended for a complexity unusual on the Atari 2600 and for being hard to win; some find its objectives unclear.9recommend
• MapTapRecommended as a fun, detailed way to learn NYC neighborhoods; critics note it includes NJ while omitting the Bronx and much of Queens and Brooklyn.9recommend
• Flight ControlPeople recommend it as a simple, polished touchscreen game that was an important early iPhone title and still fun to play quickly on the go.9recommend
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance IIA richly detailed medieval role-playing game that people count among the best recent games and say runs well on Linux. Some say it is still linear in most ways.8recommend
• Another WorldEric Chahi's 1991 game is praised for its smooth vector animation, achieved on the hardware of its time, and still holds up.8recommend
• Black MesaFree fan-made remake of Half-Life 1 on the Half-Life 2 engine, made with Valve's blessing. Caveat: some find the Xen levels sprawling and confusing.8recommend
• Mic DropFun real-time multiplayer premise that people find promising. Critics say it is not really karaoke since there are no lyrics, and it needs multiple players.8recommend
• 4D DoomPeople recommend it as a mind-bending way to explore higher dimensions and a cool, fun project. Critics say the controls and very low resolution get in the way of playing it.8recommend
• Top Gun for NESFans like its carrier landing simulation and classic feel, but critics say carrier landings and mid-air refueling are very hard and the instructions mislead.8recommend
• 100 JumpsRecommended as a fun, simple, whimsical game that people find addictive, with no complaints recorded.8recommend
• Oregon TrailNostalgic educational game that teaches survival and patience, recommended by people who played it as kids. Critics say it only worked well enough.7recommend
• Resident Evil 4Praised for tense, atmospheric horror that works well even in VR. Critics question its Android release and note non-functional raytracing in the RE4 versions.7recommend
• BattlefieldPlayers who still enjoy it recommend it despite its flaws, mainly for its large multiplayer battles. Critics say cheating and the quality of public servers are the main problems.7recommend
• Perfect DarkPeople recommend this Nintendo 64 shooter for its nostalgic appeal and a PC port based on the decompilation project that plays well, including on Steam Deck.7recommend
• StrayPraised for its art direction, atmospheric setting and a cat's story in a city of robots, with a tight, fairly minimal story and playtime. The one caveat is that it reportedly only holds 60 frames per second at 1080p medium.7recommend
• The Binding of IsaacRecommended as a long game that takes hundreds of hours to beat and runs well on iPad and Steam.7recommend
• Doom: The Dark AgesA fast-paced shooter with strong combat and good visuals that people say fits well in the well-received Doom series, though critics say performance is weak, especially with ray tracing.7recommend
• Among UsPeople recommend it as a fun multiplayer game that runs well on Linux and Steam OS. Critics point to networking code full of exploits and a crash on one setup that needed command-line tweaks.7recommend
• TeardownPeople recommend it for its crisp, striking visuals, voxel physics and strong performance even in large worlds. One critic finds it visually noisy and unclear when streamed.7recommend
• Dark CastlePeople find its gameplay still fun from 1986 and enjoy it in emulators. Critics report that keyboard or mouse input fails on the browser version.7recommend
• SegagagaLong-awaited English translation of the Dreamcast game, praised as a technical achievement that makes it understandable in English. Common caveat: the script reads stiff and machine-translated, with lost puns.7recommend
• Shufflepuck CafePeople recommend it for its fun, engaging gameplay, nostalgic appeal, and good playable Amiga port; no recurring complaints appear in the quotes.7recommend
• Hard RoadRecommended for its promising post-apocalyptic demo and nice vehicle physics. Most common caveat: the front shield renders black, leaving only the engine hood view.7recommend
• Drugwars for TI-82/83 calculatorsFans call it a fun, addictive classic among TI-Basic calculator games, and one critic says it cost them a lot of classroom time.7recommend
• Hades IIPeople recommend it as a phenomenal, original indie game that runs smoothly, including on MacBooks and during travel. No criticisms were recorded.6recommend
• BioShockPeople recommend it for its environmental storytelling and as one of their top-rated games. One commenter reported that installing it failed because patch servers were unavailable.6recommend
• Hogwarts LegacyA casual open-world fantasy game that some people enjoy despite its flaws. The most common caveat is crashing and poor performance.6recommend
• ShenmuePeople call it a wonderful cult classic that defined Sega's design philosophy, with visuals that looked amazing for the Dreamcast era.6recommend
• Alan Wake 2Story-driven shooter praised for unusual storytelling, from studio Remedy Entertainment. Main caveat: it is an Epic Games Store exclusive.6recommend
• Warhammer 40,000: Rogue TraderPeople recommend it as a Warhammer 40,000 game offering hundreds of hours of play, often named alongside similar RPGs like Citizen Sleeper and Darkest Dungeon.6recommend
• Halo InfiniteRecommended for its stable, equal-footing arena multiplayer and drop-in play, though critics note performance problems, cut content and a middling overall quality.6recommend
• Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2Recommended as a game that runs on Steam Deck; the most common caveat is crashes and stalls early on.6recommend
• HexenPeople recommend Hexen as a game that was worth buying, and one commenter says it plays well with a VFX1 headset. No caveats recur in the quotes.6recommend
• Deus Ex: Human RevolutionPeople recommend it for its ambience, music, story and writing, and gunplay that is genuinely dangerous. Critics most often report that it runs slowly or fails to run.6recommend
• Fallout 3Runs on modern Macs and PCs and has deep interiors. Critics find it less memorable than Fallout 1 and 2, and the emulation imperfect.6recommend
• Alien: IsolationRecommended as a brilliant, under-appreciated masterpiece and the best Alien media since Aliens. Critics raise only minor complaints, mostly about a movie title font.6recommend
• Fallout 1Recommended for the open source C++ port of the 1997 classic, which people call formative and praise for a near-perfect mobile interface.6recommend
• KaratekaRecommended as a well-made, memorable early game by Jordan Mechner, written while he was a college student, with the Apple II version especially loved. One critic calls the Atari 7800 version flawed.6recommend
• Cold War Assault RemasteredPeople recommend this free, open-source remaster of Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Assault for its depth, fun online play, and the clean source release by Bohemia Interactive.6recommend
• What Remains of Edith FinchPeople recommend it for its original storytelling and game design, with several calling it a favorite. No criticism appears in the quotes.5recommend
• Katamari DamacyPeople recommend Katamari Damacy for the delight of first seeing it, and they say it runs fine on almost anything.5recommend
• Papers, PleasePeople recommend it for its many balanced factors, steady stream of new situations, and its stories and moral choices.5recommend
• Gears of WarPeople recommend it as a good game to play with children and a classic they remember fondly. No common caveat appears in the quotes.5recommend
• Donkey Kong CountryPeople recommend this Switch version as nearly identical to the original but with updated graphics and a save option, still fun and worth playing today.5recommend
• SplatoonPeople recommend Splatoon as a Nintendo game that stays safe for kids because it has no chat or user-generated content, and as a successful new franchise.5recommend
• GeoGuessrRecommended as a long-running geography guessing game that friends play together. The quotes offer few specifics and some compare its visuals unfavorably with alternatives.5recommend
• System ShockPeople recommend this sci-fi shooter for its story of a hacker sent to subvert a station's AI, and for paving the way for Deus Ex and Thief. Critics raise no recurring complaint.5recommend
• Keeper by Double FinePeople recommend it for a smooth transition and simple single-file storage. The most common caveat is performance trouble, such as framerate drops on Steam Deck.5recommend
• PentimentRecommended as a wonderful, well-written and engaging game, and Obsidian's best in a long while. Some find it a lot of reading.5recommend
• GTA V by Rockstar GamesRecommended for its technical work, such as many manually made level-of-detail models; critics mainly cite bugs, including framerate-dependent ones.5recommend
• The AscentPeople praise its detailed cyberpunk world and stunning look, though most recommenders haven't played it. Some also recommend the Rust Datalog engine called Ascent.5recommend
• CrimsonlandPeople recommend it for how long it kept them hooked and how much it influenced later recreations. Some say the Steam version lost the feel of the original 2003 game.5recommend
• Half-Life 2: Episode TwoRecommended as a fun, replayable follow-up to Half-Life 2, though people say it is not suited to a first playthrough.5recommend
• WageslaveRecommended as a fun game about a depressing job, with reviewers praising its dreadful atmosphere and its relatability to real work.5recommend
• Tiny BrutalismRecommended for flipping a familiar game aesthetic into something opposite, with a fluid feel that suits a quick break.5recommend