The 20 BEST Single Player Games of the Century So Far (2020-2025)

20 Best Single Players Games of the Century (So Far)

Welcome to MojoPlays and while we love all kinds of video games, nothing beats just cozying up with a good game and spending some quality time alone with it. And if you’ve been gaming for as long as we have, you know there are plenty of amazing games to spend your “Me Time” playing.

“Resident Evil 4” (2005)

Honestly, either the 2005 or 2023 remake could have filled this spot, but we’re going to focus on the 2005 entry for not only being a brilliant game, but also its impact on the entire industry. The Resident Evil series had always been at the pioneer of survival horror, but for the fourth entry, Capcom and game director Shinji Mikami shifted the perspective on the genre, literally. Switching to an over-the-shoulder perspective opened new possibilities not only in combat but also exploration and offered players a much more visceral version of the game’s traditional combat. The game’s campy script and a new more confident and quippy Leon put a new spin on the franchise that shaped not only Resident Evil but also gaming overall. Soon the over-the-shoulder perspective became the standard and remains so even today with remakes of 2, 3, and 4 iterating and improving on the groundwork laid by the original RE4.

“Shadow of the Colossus” (2018)

While the original 2005 release is also a classic in its own right, we’re going to highlight Bluepoint’s masterful 2018 remake for this entry as they not only updated the graphics but modernized the game’s mechanics to make it more playable for a new audience. There’s truly no feeling that compares to entering an area and seeing a creature standing dozens of stories tall walking towards you and attempting to discover a way to not only scale the beast, but also bring it down. These moments of intense stress and action are perfectly interspersed with the long, lonely rides to your next colossus, forcing you to think about your actions and killing these majestic creatures. Few games manage to nail the isolation and give you time for reflection in the way that Shadow of the Colossus did, and the gut-wrenching ending remains as impactful today as it was two decades ago.

“Portal 2” (2011)

The cake might’ve been a lie but that didn’t stop millions from playing GLaDOS’ games and making what was originally a pack-in title with the Half-Life 2 Orange Box its own standalone franchise. Portal 2 offered players not only brand-new challenges, but a deeper look at the lore of Aperture and just how far and deep the facility goes. Brand new mechanics allowed players to solve puzzles the way the devs intended and also discover their own shortcuts. The new character Wheatley became instantly iconic, brought to life brilliantly by Stephen Merchant and players were given a new understanding of GLaDOS and the purpose behind the tests. With even more mind-bending puzzles, a deeper understanding of the game’s lore and world, incredible pacing and characters, Portal 2 is one not only one of the best puzzle games of all time but one of the best sequels ever, full stop.

“Hades” (2020)

Roguelikes are nearly as old as gaming itself and while there has been no shortage of interpretations of the genre, Hades offered something for both fans of the genre and newcomers. The normal live, die, repeat process is as fine-tuned as ever in Hades, but developer Supergiant Games crafted a narrative that accounts for these deaths into the overall plot, with each death offering new dialogue with the many denizens of the underworld and more backstory with every run. Combat is slick and intuitive, giving players innumerable options to customize each run with helpful boons that offer both buffs and debuff rewards from the many other gods of the Greek pantheon. The tightly constructed script is full of interesting and engaging characters to interact with, and the game’s multiple unlockable endings means that just because the credits roll, it doesn't mean the story is over.

“Fallout: New Vegas” (2010)

Bethesda’s Fallout 3 might’ve taken the series into the 20th century and made it more mainstream, but Obsidian arguably created the franchise’s best entry to date. The Mojave Desert and the Las Vegas strip perfectly translated everything that made the original two entries so iconic into the modern age. What initially appeared to be a simple tale of revenge quickly offered players more freedom of choice in how to craft their own narrative with multiple branching paths, alliances and endings. While New Vegas had the usual Bethesda and Obsidian jank with numerous bugs and glitches at launch, the majority of which have been patched out in the years since, those who were able to overlook the game’s numerous technical errors were immersed in the definitive Fallout experience in a way the series has never been able to fully recapture. Come on Bethesda, don’t be jealous, let Obsidian have another crack at the series.

“Uncharted 2: Among Thieves” (2009)

Naughty Dog has always innovated with their sequels being better than their last, but after their step into summer blockbuster adventure with Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, the team outdid themselves and crafted one of the best experiences on the PS3 hands down. Everything about Uncharted 2 was vastly improved over the original: controls, traversal, exploration, combat, the characters, everything about Uncharted 2 felt like the true globetrotting Indiana Jones-style adventure they were attempting to craft with the first game. Uncharted 2 became the benchmark for Naughty Dog going forward, with some of the best writing, characterization, and motion capture brought to life by actors who completely inhabited their roles. Uncharted 2 is remarkably replayable today and even if you’ve never played an Uncharted game before, you could start with 2 and know exactly why it is so iconic.

“Bloodborne” (2015)

FromSoft had already established themselves as a top-tier developer and solidified their Dark Souls formula by the time Bloodborne released in 2015, but not only did they make substantial changes to what fans knew and loved with their gothic entry, they also crafted one of the best Souls-type games of all time. The Lovecraftian aesthetic is dripping from every corner of Bloodnorne’s Gothic nightmare, full of some of the best and most uniquely unsettling creature designs in the developer’s history, with endless looping pathways and near-death encounters awaiting around every turn. Bloodborne isn’t FromSoft’s typical Dark Souls experience. You can feel the oppressive cathedrals and claustrophobic hallways closing in as you explore, and the changes to combat made encounters far more visceral, forcing players to react aggressively to enemies rather than strategically. Although there is technically multiplayer, this is a journey best experienced alone.

“Batman Arkham City” (2011)

Rocksteady’s Arkham Asylum captured the feeling of inhabiting Batman’s cape and cowl like no other game before it, but Arkham City gave players the streets of Gotham to explore and fight crime the way we always imagined. While Arkham Knight would further perfect this formula despite its overreliance on the Batmobile, Arkham City gave fans the playground to fully immerse themselves in the crime fighting experience and one of the best Batman stories ever told. With improvements to Batman’s gear, the series’ already stellar combat, a wealth of new villains from Batman’s extensive rogues gallery, and some of the best and most inventive boss fights in the series history all packaged together in an impeccable narrative brought to life by the continued iconic collaboration of Mark Hamill’s Joker and Kevin Conroy’s Batman, Arkham City remains to this day the best game Rocksteady has ever crafted and the best Batman game of all time.

“The Elder Scroll V: Skyrim” (2011)

Bethesda had quite the winning streak with their formula in the early 2000s, but by far their magnum opus is their fifth entry in their Elder Scrolls series. The entire world was impeccably detailed, full of hidden secrets and quests that would lead players to every corner of the map, oftentimes forgetting about the main storyline and instead getting lost in the experience. With countless ways to customize your character and playstyle, additional DLC only added to the experience and further immersed players in Skyrim’s world, allowing them to build their own cozy little cabin or homestead in Tamriel. Sure, the usual Bethesda jank was ever-present, but players discovered ways to make these technical glitches work in their favor and turned Skyrim into a well of meme material. Even a decade later, Bethesda has yet to recapture the sense of boundless freedom Skyrim offered. No wonder they just keep porting it to absolutely everything possible.

“Grand Theft Auto V” (2013)

Rockstar is responsible for pioneering the open world sandbox genre and with Grand Theft Auto’s fifth mainline entry, the team at Rockstar almost perfected it. Returning players to the beloved San Andreas, the devs offered players a true playground to explore to their heart's content, full of various biomes, streets, expressways, and buildings for them to either live a peaceful co-existence with the NPCs or cause as much chaos as humanly possible. Everything that made the series so iconic was also significantly improved. The controls, especially shooting and cover mechanics received a major upgrade, vehicles were less floaty and more responsive, and there was more mission variety and activities for players to spend their downtime with than ever before. With three different protagonists players could switch to at almost any given time, each with their own lives and missions to undertake, the incredibly well-crafted story full of memorable characters was Rockstar at its finest.

“Halo 3” (2007)

While an argument could be made for Halo Reach to claim this spot, we have to give the nod to Master Chief’s final entry under Bungie’s guidance. Master Chief might be continuing the fight, but in 2007, this was the culmination of Bungie’s trilogy, and they sent the Spartan out in true heroic fashion. While the game maintained Bungie’s rock solid FPS mechanics, the devs added new gear and new melee options which could turn the tide of battle should Master Chief or the Arbiter be faced with overwhelming odds. With numerous twists and turns, new alliances and tragedy, Halo 3 represented the best of what made the Halo series so iconic: industry leading FPS mechanics and unmatched sci-fi storytelling with one of the greatest video game characters of all time.

“The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” (2015)

CD Projekt Red was already slowly building industry recognition with their increasingly solid Witcher series, but Witcher 3 made them a household name with gamers. The Witcher 3 presented players with an incredibly detailed world rich in lore and backstory for them to discover and filled with meaningful player driven decisions that could affect the outcome of the entire game. Combat was vastly, and we do mean VASTLY improved over previous Witcher games with a fluidity that had rarely if ever been seen in the genre. Everything about The Witcher 3 was designed to engross you in its world with many of the game’s side quests leaving more of an impact than the main narrative itself. Geralt’s character was further strengthened by his connection to Yennefer and Ciri and thanks to a phenomenal performance by Doug Cockle, Geralt was far more than just the gruff mercenary the world painted him as.

“Mass Effect 2” (2009)

The Mass Effect series might very well be Bioware’s magnum opus and one of the greatest video game trilogies of all time, but the franchise’s second entry remains its best and strongest. With greater world building, better dialogue and character interactions that further allowed players to customize their version of Shepard, as well as higher stakes than anything in the series before or since, Mass Effect 2 is not only the best entry in the trilogy but stands alone as one of the greatest RPGs ever made. Bioware made meaningful improvements in nearly every department, particularly combat. Getting to know your crewmates and companions was integral to the story and could affect the overall outcome with some or all your team being sacrificed due to your decisions based on how well you got to know them. Mass Effect 2 raised the stakes for every subsequent entry in the franchise that none have managed to match.

“God of War” (2018)

Santa Monica Studio deserves all the recognition and accolades they have received for Kratos’ growth as a character between the events of the Greek saga and God of War 2018. Where there once was a brash and impulsive Spartan consumed by his revenge, longtime fans got to see a remorseful older Kratos trying to live down his past actions so as not to repeat them with his young son, Atreus. The world of Midgard offered players not only a brand-new pantheon to explore, with its Metroidvania-style level design, but also a new combat system that was somehow even more visceral than Kratos’ early days and felt just as fluid and responsive. By giving fans a new introspective Spartan, Cory Barlog and his team evolved Kratos in every meaningful way and set the Spartan up for even greater adventures in the future with an older and wiser God of War.

“The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” (2017)

The Legend of Zelda series has long been one of the most innovative game franchises in the industry and with Breath of the Wild, Nintendo rewrote the book of not only the long running adventures of Link and Hyrule, but open world sandbox game design. Giving players an unprecedented level of freedom - seriously, even now players are still discovering ways to use the game’s physics - Breath of the Wild set players loose in a ruined Hyrule and dared them to save the kingdom their way. Breath of the Wild’s narrative took a more Dark Souls approach to storytelling and let players uncover as much or as little of the backstory as they wanted, while giving them the tools to craft their own journey. With dramatic changes to combat, including the controversial weapon durability system, an unrivaled physics system that rewarded experimentation, Breath of the Wild redefined not only Zelda games but open world game design.

“Bioshock” (2007)

Few games have had the impact on the industry of Bioshock. The Ayn Rand inspired world at the bottom of the sea meant to be a utopia but destroyed by its own hubris harkens back to some of the greatest novels of the 20th century. The introduction of plasmids offered players more strategy to combat than a traditional FPS, and the world’s impressive attention to detail and haunting atmosphere made the underwater city of Rapture immediately iconic. The moral choices the players encounter feed into the game’s overall narrative and the numerous roaming Big Daddy mini-boss fights stand out as some of the game’s most heart-pounding moments. The game’s twist remains unmatched even by the series’ own subsequent sequels and catches players so off guard, it’s still being discussed today. If you haven’t played this one yet and somehow managed to stay spoiler free, would you kindly set some time aside for a trip to Rapture?

“Half-Life 2” (2004)

Valve might not be able to count to three, but we’ll be damned if they’re still not some of the greatest video game developers in the industry, even if they’re not the most prolific. After redefining the FPS genre with Half-Life in 1998, Valve did again in 2004 with Half-Life 2. Crafted using the then-cutting edge Source engine, no game prior to Gordon’s second outing had the level of realistic physics and facial animation as Valve’s highly acclaimed sequel. The amount of freedom offered to players was unheard of, with each new area consistently offering players new ways to interact with the various enemies and environments. The scale of Half-Life 2 set the benchmark for narrative first person shooters going forward and is the lightning in a bottle many developers are still attempting to recapture even two decades later.

“Ghost of Tsushima” (2020)

In a time when Sony had seemingly become complacent with their cinematic crevice crawler formula, Sucker Punch crafted arguably one of the PS4’s defining first party exclusives. Perfectly recreating the real-life Tsushima Island, the story of Jin Sakai rebelling against the stoic principles of the Samurai Code to save his people from the invading Mongols was so expertly told that the developers became honorary ambassadors to the island of Tsushima. Forgoing the traditional Sony first part formula, Ghost of Tsushima innovated on not only the stealth genre, recalling the glory days of the Tenchu series, but also made significant improvements to the open world genre itself, forgoing the traditional map markers and allowing players to either discover the island themselves or follow the game’s “guiding wind” to their next objective. With impactful and responsive combat and a beautifully heartbreaking story, Ghost of Tsushima is one of the PS4’s best games of all time.

“Red Dead Redemption 2” (2018)

Rockstar have long defined the open world genre, but none have truly captured the freedom of that concept the way Red Dead Redemption 2 did. Giving players a living breathing Wild West to inhabit, the amount of detail pouring into every square inch of the game is nothing short of remarkable. With near limitless interactions with NPCs, wildlife and the entire map, players could easily spend hundreds of hours exploring the wilderness and still feel like they’d only scratched the surface. The tale of redemption for Arthur Morgan as he fights to save the people he loves as the walls close in on him has been used as a metaphor for the changing video game landscape and it’s not hard to make the association. With some of the best written characters in any media ever, Red Dead Redemption 2 isn’t just a video game, it’s an unforgettable experience.

“The Last of Us” (2013)

In 2013 Naughty Dog was mostly known for the Crash Bandicoot, Jak and Daxter and budding summer blockbuster series Uncharted, but all of that changed with the release of The Last of Us. This was a much bleaker experience than the developer’s previous games and crafted a horrific future overtaken by spores and a zombie-like infection. However, through incredibly impressive motion capture as well as a believable and oftentimes heart-breaking script, the journey of a seasoned survivor and girl immune in the apocalypse immediately enraptured players and critics alike. Neil Druckmann and Bruce Straley’s meticulously crafted narrative along with innovative new gameplay mechanics and enemy AI made this trek across a ruined America one of the greatest stories video games have ever told and not only drastically changed the focus of Naughty Dog but impacted the entire industry going forward.

What was your favorite single player experience of the last two decades? Share your favorites in the comments below.