What Defines a 10/10 Game?

For a lot of gamers out there, a 10/10 game means different things. Some consider it utter perfection with little to no issues. While others consider 10/10 games as a masterclass in their genres. Here at LOGNET, we posed the same questions to the writing team about what games we consider 10/10 and why. Check out our takes below.

Weighing Up What a 10/10 Game Means – Chris Jones, Senior Writer

When it comes to games that are 10/10s, for me, there aren’t any. I’ve played all the games some people mention like Final Fantasy 7, Mario 64, and even Final Fantasy Tactics. But to me, those aren’t even a perfect 10 in my opinion. I know everyone has a different opinion or thinks a little differently when it comes to these things. Some games that I have played that I think are closest to a 10 are Suikoden 1 and Suikoden 2.

Suikoden 1 has bugs and translation errors. Suikoden 2 also has translation errors as well. Shadow Hearts and Shadow Hearts Covenant are amazing too but having to stop the spinner on the judgment ring seems like the timing can be a little off. Then we also have Command and Conquer Red Alert 2: Yuiri’s Revenge which is a flawless real-time strategy experience, except for the fact of unbalanced units in the game at times. Maybe I’m too strict in my line of thinking, but I hope eventually to play and rate a game a 10/10.

Dark Souls 3 – Dan Amoroso, Assistant Editor & GAMERANT

Bioshock Infinite and NieR Automata – Joseph Repko, Assistant Editor

Perfection will always be up to the individual. As the old saying goes: “Value is in the eye of the beholder” after all. But I think everyone can collectively agree on how timeless and incredible Bioshock Infinite is. The game’s art style, music, and even the gameplay hold up to this day. With a story that still leaves new and returning players still in shock and awe at its execution of every single element. Especially with the Burial At Sea DLC episodes. The entire journey from start to finish will always be something most gamers should experience, even if it is only once.

Another one that can be added to the list is NieR Automata. Since it not only has a brilliant “dance of death” style of combat that borrows heavily from Bayonetta. It also places most of its narrative experience on the player’s agency upon multiple playthroughs. Similar to NieR Replicant, where the first run feels like a standard playthrough. But when you play the second time, you see new perspectives, play as different characters, and have new gameplay elements, in the same story section before the next act in the story. Creating this emotional rollercoaster that hits the player just as hard as it needs to.

The Outer Wilds is a 10/10 Game – Daniel May, Assistant Editor

You know you’re playing a special game when it uses ideas outside of the box. The Outer Wilds does multiple things outside of the box, but let’s start with exploration. This game has no experience bar, just a sprawling conspiracy board of clues to other places throughout your star system. That board drives you all over the system, some places multiple times, but only rewards you with the next clue to the biggest mystery, or answers to smaller ones.

To cement your desire to explore, you need memorable places to visit. You have twin planets in orbit around each other, passing sand back and forth. One planet is dominated by waterspouts that can shoot you back into space or deeper underwater. Another is collapsing into a black hole. There are questions and answers on all of these planets, but you only have twenty-two minutes to seek them out before going back to square one.

Zelda and Elden Ring Reign Supreme – Mahmood Ghaffar, Editor-in-Chief

The ten-point scale can be defined in different ways, but for me, a 10/10 game means pure master class. Does that mean it’s perfect? Not at all. Instead, the game is a must-play for fans of the genre. It will and should have criticisms as well, as nothing is perfect, but it’s a genre-defining experience that should not be missed. For instance, for me, Zelda Ocarina of Time is the quintessential Zelda experience. The game’s open world, mechanics, and dungeons are second to none and when I think of Zelda, Ocarina of Time immediately comes to mind.

I would also consider Elden Ring a 10/10 game as well. The game is the culmination of all the experiences and lessons FromSoftware learned from over a decade’s worth of shipping Dark Souls titles. It is the crescendo that beautifully brings together the definitive Soulslike experience and expands it so that newcomers to the genre can enjoy it as well. Everything from the combat, exploration, boss fights are simply amazing in Elden Ring. Of course, it does have its faults like repetitive boss designs in the dungeons and your occasional glitch here and there, but my time in the Lands Between left an impression that will last for a very long time.

Renowned Explorers: International Society – David Schallert, Writer

I have far too many to list them all, so here’s just one. Not my favorite of all time, but the least known of my favorites: Renowned Explorers: International Society.

In RE: IS, you are a new explorer trying to collect fame. You travel from location to location collecting treasures. Then, back home, you spend them on new abilities, items, and reporters for your entourage.

The graphics are cartoony, but that works to soften an otherwise too-heavy topic of colonialism.

What makes this a ten out of ten, though, is the attitude system. When you have an encounter, you can punch the enemy. But you can also convince them to like you. Or insult them enough that they get mad and just storm off.

On top of that, the attitude you choose affects the mood of the battle. So, for example, if everyone’s being nice, you get a bonus for suddenly stabbing them in the back. If they come in aggressive, you can ridicule them and the enemy will be so enraged they’ll have a hard time hitting you.

It’s a fantastic system that affects every corner of the game, and I never get tired of exploring its depths!