Acclaimed Video Games
The top 1,000 most recommended games across 902 critic lists from 140 publications.
Updated: January 21, 2026
Most Acclaimed Video Games of 2001
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#1 Halo: Combat Evolved (2001) (#28)
Bungie | MAC, WIN, Xbox | First-Person Shooter | ~10h | 69 lists
#2 Silent Hill 2 (2001) (#45)
Team Silent | PS2, Xbox | Horror | ~8h | 59 lists
#3 Ico (2001) (#57)
Team Ico | PS2 | Action-Adventure | ~6h | 52 lists
#4 Grand Theft Auto III (2001) (#58)
DMA Design, TransGaming Inc. | WIN, PS2 | Action-Adventure | ~14h | 40 lists
#5 Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001) (#76)
HAL Laboratory | GC | Fighting | ~10h | 38 lists
#6 Advance Wars (2001) (#124)
Intelligent Systems | GBA | Turn-Based Strategy | ~16h | 31 lists
#7 Rez / Rez HD / Rez Infinite (2001) (#144)
United Game Artists | DC, PS2 | Shooter / Music | ~2h | 25 lists
#8 Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001) (#152)
Konami Computer Entertainment Japan | WIN, PS2, Xbox | Action-Adventure / Stealth | ~13h | 24 lists
#9 Final Fantasy X (2001) (#158)
Square Product Development Division 1 | PS2 | Role-Playing | ~46h | 27 lists
#10 Ikaruga (2001) (#193)
Treasure | ARC, DC, GC | Shooter | ~2h | 17 lists
#11 Max Payne (2001) (#204)
Remedy Entertainment | MAC, WIN, PS2, Xbox | Third-Person Shooter | ~8h | 20 lists
#12 Animal Crossing (2001) (#263)
Nintendo EAD | N64, GC | Life Simulation | ~66h | 16 lists
#13 Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec (2001) (#273)
Polyphony Digital | PS2 | Racing | ~40h | 18 lists
#14 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (2001) (#302)
Neversoft Entertainment | WIN, PS, PS2, N64, GC, Xbox | Sports | ~7h | 19 lists
#15 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (2001) (#364)
Capcom | WIN, GBA, DS | Adventure / Visual Novel | ~18h | 12 lists
#16 Super Monkey Ball (2001) (#395)
Amusement Vision | GC | Party / Platform | ~4h | 11 lists
#17 Devil May Cry (2001) (#407)
Capcom Production Studio 4 | PS2 | Hack and Slash / Action-Adventure | ~6h | 12 lists
#18 Conker's Bad Fur Day (2001) (#494)
Rare | N64 | Action-Adventure / Platform | ~11h | 12 lists
#19 Virtua Fighter 4 (2001) (#557)
Sega AM2 | ARC, PS2 | Fighting | ~42m | 8 lists
#20 SSX Tricky (2001) (#589)
EA Canada | PS2, GC, Xbox | Sports / Snowboarding | ~10h | 7 lists
#21 Shenmue II (2001) (#606)
Rutubo Games, Sega AM2 | DC, Xbox | Action-Adventure | ~23h | 6 lists
#22 Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (2001) (#693)
Naughty Dog | PS2 | Platform | ~10h | 7 lists
#23 IL-2 Sturmovik (2001) (#712)
Maddox Games | WIN | Flight Simulation | ~14h | 5 lists
#24 Sid Meier's Civilization III (2001) (#783)
Firaxis Games, Westlake Interactive | MAC, WIN | Turn-Based Strategy | ~25h | 5 lists
#25 Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis (2001) (#813)
Bohemia Interactive Studio | WIN | Tactical Shooter | ~24h | 5 lists
#26 Frequency (2001) (#847)
Harmonix Music Systems | PS2 | Music | ~2h | 3 lists
#27 Black & White (2001) (#877)
Lionhead Studios | WIN | Simulation / God Game | ~16h | 5 lists
#28 Bejeweled (2001) (#883)
PopCap Games | WIN | Match-Three | ~1h | 4 lists
#29 Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader (2001) (#899)
Factor 5, LucasArts | GC | Action / Flight Simulation | ~6h | 7 lists
#30 Commandos 2: Men of Courage (2001) (#946)
Pyro Studios, Zonic Limited | WIN, PS2, Xbox | Real-Time Tactics | ~21h | 4 lists
#31 Return to Castle Wolfenstein (2001) (#982)
Gray Matter Interactive, Nerve Software, LLC, Raster Productions, Splash Damage, Westlake Interactive | 3 | First-Person Shooter | ~8h | 3 lists
#32 The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (2001) (#998)
Capcom Production Studio 1 | GBC | Action-Adventure | ~15h | 4 lists
#33 The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages (2001) (#1000)
Capcom Production Studio 1 | GBC | Action-Adventure | ~17h | 4 lists
#1
#28
Halo: Combat Evolved
2001
#2
#45
Silent Hill 2
2001
#3
#57
Ico
2001
#4
#58
Grand Theft Auto III
2001
#5
#76
#6
#124
Advance Wars
2001
#7
#144
#8
#152
#9
#158
Final Fantasy X
2001
#10
#193
Ikaruga
2001
#11
#204
Max Payne
2001
#12
#263
Animal Crossing
2001
#13
#273
#14
#302
#15
#364
#16
#395
Super Monkey Ball
2001
#17
#407
Devil May Cry
2001
#18
#494
Conker's Bad Fur Day
2001
#19
#557
Virtua Fighter 4
2001
#20
#589
SSX Tricky
2001
#21
#606
Shenmue II
2001
#22
#693
#23
#712
IL-2 Sturmovik
2001
#24
#783
#25
#813
#26
#847
Frequency
2001
#27
#877
Black & White
2001
#28
#883
Bejeweled
2001
#29
#899
#30
#946
#31
#982
#32
#998
#33
#1000
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