8 Epic Video Games That Are Amazing From Start to Finish

Image via Bethesda Published Sep 11, 2026, 7:46 AM EDT Eddie Possehl is a dynamic and driven writer/director with a passion for the written word and all things film, television, comics, and games. His passion for storytelling led him to establish his own production company in hopes of achieving his dreams. His dedication to his craft has attracted renowned talent like Yuri Lowenthal to collaborate with him on his projects. As he grows and improves, Eddie is a shining example of a self-starter. Sign in to your Collider account Video games are one of the largest, most popular mediums of entertainment ever made. Some of the best come in the form of games with grand and epic adventures, landscapes, and worlds for players to invest themselves in. An epic video game takes the players on a journey that is grand in one way or another. Whether the goal is to explore a world, beat the crap out of bad guys, or journey through a well-written story, audiences can expect an epic game to be an incredible time, no matter the genre or developer. Games that can be considered "epic" have the ability to go down as some of the most memorable experiences in gaming, period. 8 'Super Mario Galaxy' (2007) No, the 2026 animated film is not the first piece of media to be titled Super Mario Galaxy. Said cinematic adventure is actually based on a 2007 video game that is commonly considered one of the best Nintendo games of all time. This Wii title takes super-plumber Mario out into the far reaches of space after Princess Peach is stolen by Bowser and taken into the galaxy. Super Mario Galaxy is the third 3D-platforming game to be based on the mustached marvel, and it does so extremely well. The platforming here is some of the best in Mario gaming. The way this game completely redefines Mario platforming—Nintendo platforming in general, really—with the stellar gravity-based mechanics, and circular/cylindrical world layout, makes it completely unforgettable. The grand design of this entire galaxy, filled with different planets to explore, is, well, epic in so many different ways. 7 'The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild' (2017) Image via Nintendo The Legend of Zelda franchise is one of Nintendo's most popular—celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, actually—and because of that, the young Link typically has a lot of blood, sweat, and tears put into his titles. One of his greatest games that redefines the franchise comes in the form of 2017's The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. This series has always been a dungeon-crawler one, and while The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild still is—with dungeons to find in the world around Link—it's actually an open-world game at heart. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is quite easily one of the best modern open-world video games in the modern age, and for very good reason. The way Nintendo went about building the world of Hyrule, giving plenty of things to do (aforementioned dungeons), is stellar, and that, paired with an incredible story, gives this game plenty of reasons to love it. 6 'Marvel's Spider-Man' (2018) Image via Insomniac Games Spider-Man is the most profitable and one of the most popular superheroes ever made, so it only makes sense that Marvel and Sony Interactive Entertainment would pour a lot of effort and money into making his media amazing. This very much applies to the video games in the character's media catalog, and the best of the best is, without a doubt, Marvel's Spider-Man, by Insomniac Games. This adventure is one of the greatest superhero games of all time, actually. This title gained a lot of praise for the way Insomniac Games invented new mechanics for the Wall-Crawler. The combat feels very Batman: Arkham City-coded, which is a very good thing. The best mechanic they invented for the hero, however, is the web-swinging. The momentum-based physics of the swinging mechanics makes them so investing, and had many players and critics claiming that this game truly made them feel like they were Spider-Man. This, combined with the fact that it has one of the best Spidey stories out there, makes Marvel's Spider-Man astounding. 5 'The Last of Us' (2013) Image via Naughty Dog Known as one of the best video games ever made, The Last of Us became a cultural phenomenon. Not only is the story exceptionally well-written, but the worldbuilding surrounding the truth behind the apocalypse that Joe Miller (Troy Baker) and Ellie Williams (Ashley Johnson) are facing together. The characters are realistic, the world is exceptional, and the production quality is unlike any other. The Last of Us manages to balance a raw and honest plot and character arcs with an epic world and journey. Being able to juggle all of that and still managing to make an amazing game out of it is beyond impressive and, dare we say, epic. Collider Exclusive · Universe Personality Quiz Which Iconic Universe Do You Belong in the Most? Star Wars · Lord of the Rings · Harry Potter · Game of Thrones · Star Trek Five legendary universes. Five completely different visions of what the world could be — or already was. One of them is the world your instincts, your values, and your particular way of existing were built for. Eight questions will tell you which one. 🚀Star Wars 💍Lord of the Rings 🧙Harry Potter 👑Game of Thrones 🖖Star Trek FIND YOUR UNIVERSE → 01 What gives your life its deepest sense of meaning? Every universe is built around a different answer to this question. ABeing part of something larger than myself — a cause, a rebellion, a fight for freedom that outlasts me. BThe journey itself — the places I'll go, the companions beside me, the world I'll discover on the way. CLearning — unlocking what I'm capable of, understanding the world's hidden mechanics, growing into something more. DLegacy — the name I leave behind, the power I build, the mark I make before the world moves on without me. EUnderstanding — exploring what exists beyond the horizon and asking what it means to be alive in a universe this vast. NEXT QUESTION → 02 Which kind of world do you most want to inhabit? The environment shapes who you become. Choose carefully. AA galaxy of planets, each with its own culture — connected by conflict, trade, and the Force. BAncient lands of breathtaking beauty, deep history, and a creeping darkness at the edges. CA world hidden inside our own — full of wonder, community, and magic waiting to be learned. DA brutal, beautiful continent where power is everything and every alliance is a calculation. EA future where humanity has reached the stars — and must decide what kind of species it wants to be. NEXT QUESTION → 03 How do you prefer your conflicts resolved? The shape of a world's conflicts tells you everything about its soul. AThrough sacrifice and courage — someone has to make the impossible choice so others don't have to. BThrough fellowship — the impossible becomes possible when the right people walk the same road. CThrough growth — confronting what you fear, understanding what you lack, and becoming equal to the challenge. DThrough strategy — outthinking, outmaneuvering, positioning yourself so the outcome was never in doubt. EThrough dialogue — finding the third option, the peaceful resolution, the answer that doesn't require a body count. NEXT QUESTION → 04 Who do you want beside you when things get difficult? Your ideal companions reveal the world you were made for. AA small crew — a pilot, a rogue, a warrior — each broken in their own way, unbeatable together. BA fellowship of different kinds of people, bound by purpose and deepened by the long road. CFriends who grew up alongside me — who knew me before I knew myself, and stayed anyway. DAllies whose loyalty I've earned — and tested — and whose ambitions align with mine, for now. EA crew of brilliant, curious, principled people from every corner of known space. NEXT QUESTION → 05 What is your relationship with power? How you seek, wield, or resist power is the map of who you are. AI want to use it to protect — and I'm terrified of what I might become if I'm not careful. BI distrust it. The most important power in this story is the courage to give it up. CI want to earn it — through knowledge, through effort, through becoming someone worthy of it. DI want to wield it. Preferably before someone else decides to wield it against me. EI want to understand it — its structures, its limits, its ethical dimensions. Power without accountability is the real threat. NEXT QUESTION → 06 How does your universe treat good and evil? A world's moral architecture tells you more about it than any map. AThere is a dark side and a light side — and the choice between them is always present, always personal. BEvil is real and ancient and patient — and goodness, however small, is the only thing that can undo it. CGood and evil are real, but they live inside people — and people are complicated, always capable of both. DGood and evil are mostly a matter of perspective and proximity. Power is the only honest currency. EEvil is usually the result of ignorance, fear, or broken systems — and understanding it is the first step to solving it. NEXT QUESTION → 07 What role would you naturally fall into? Every universe has archetypes. Which one fits you without trying? AThe reluctant hero — ordinary origins, extraordinary moment, changed forever by the choice to act. BThe unlikely carrier — the one nobody expected to matter most, quietly bearing the weight of everything. CThe student — not yet who I'll become, learning through every mistake, growing into something the world needs. DThe player — sharp enough to see the game for what it is, ambitious enough to try to win it. EThe explorer — drawn to the unknown, driven by curiosity, most alive when standing somewhere no one has stood before. NEXT QUESTION → 08 What do you ultimately believe about the future? The answer to this is the clearest window into which universe already lives inside you. AThat hope is real — that even in the darkest galaxy, a new hope is always possible. CThat even the smallest person can change the course of the future, if they have the courage to try. CThat love and friendship and doing what's right will matter in the end, even when everything says otherwise. DThat the wheel keeps turning — that power shifts, winters end, and what endures is those willing to fight for it. EThat humanity — or whatever we become — is capable of extraordinary things, if we choose to be. REVEAL MY UNIVERSE → Your Universe Has Been Chosen You Belong In…Your answers point to the iconic universe your values, your instincts, and your particular way of seeing the world were built for. This is where you would find your people — and your purpose. Star WarsYou believe in the cause — in the idea that freedom is worth fighting for even when the odds are impossible and the empire is vast. You are drawn to the moral clarity of a universe where hope itself is a form of resistance. You'd find your people in the Rebellion — a ragtag coalition of true believers held together by conviction more than resources. Star Wars is fundamentally a story about ordinary people choosing to matter in an extraordinary conflict — and that is exactly your kind of story. The Force may or may not be with you. But the will to use it for something larger than yourself certainly is. Lord of the RingsYou understand, in the deepest part of yourself, that the journey matters as much as the destination — and that the world's beauty is worth protecting even at great cost. Middle-earth is a world of ancient wonder, deep friendship, and a darkness that only retreats when enough small acts of courage accumulate. You would thrive here because you value the fellowship more than the glory — the road more than the arrival. Tolkien's universe rewards patience, loyalty, and the willingness to carry something heavy across a very long distance. Those are not burdens to you. They are simply how you move through the world. Harry PotterYou believe that love, loyalty, and doing what's right are not naive sentiments — they are the most powerful forces in any world, magical or otherwise. The Wizarding World is a place of wonder hidden in plain sight, where learning is transformative and the bonds you form at school follow you into every battle. You would flourish here because you take both the magic and the friendships seriously — and you understand that one without the other is incomplete. Harry Potter's universe ultimately rewards those who choose to stand for something even when standing is terrifying. That choice — made quietly, without guarantee — is something you understand completely. Game of ThronesYou see the world clearly — its power structures, its hypocrisies, its brutal arithmetic — and you are not paralysed by that clarity. You use it. Westeros is a world that rewards intelligence, adaptability, and the willingness to understand that every alliance is also a negotiation. You would survive here — possibly thrive here — because you don't confuse the world as it is with the world as you'd like it to be. Game of Thrones is a story about what happens when the idealists and the realists collide. You are sharp enough to know which one lasts longer. Winter always comes. You are already prepared. Star TrekYou believe the future is worth building — that curiosity, cooperation, and the expansion of understanding are not just ideals but the most practical path forward for any civilisation. Star Trek is a universe where the questions matter as much as the answers, and where encountering something utterly alien is cause for wonder rather than fear. You would belong here because you are fundamentally optimistic about what intelligence and decency can achieve — while being honest about how hard that achievement is. The Federation is the universe's most ambitious thought experiment: what if we actually got better? You don't just hope that's possible. You think it's the only thing worth working toward. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ 4 'God of War' (2018) Image via Sony Interactive Entertainment The God of War franchise has been around for quite some time, debuting in 2005. While there were four games that came out that take place within the world of Greek mythology, the series really shook things up in 2018 with a soft reboot of sorts. God of War shifts the beloved protagonist, Kratos (Christopher Judge), into the Norse mythology this time around, and changes up the character quite a bit. In the first four games, Kratos was very much a, well, god of war. In the 2018 project, though, he's now a father, and a far more mellow man. The visual fidelity of God of War is amazing. Not to mention, the world that said visual fidelity brings to life is large, feels lived-in, and very well-designed. The spectacle involved in bringing the Norse world to life is large and bombastic. With it even winning Game of the Year at The Game Awards of 2018. 3 'Elden Ring' (2022) Image via Bandai Namco Entertainment The Dark Souls-style of video games is one that always provides some great challenge and, typically, worldbuilding for players. One of the best examples of this is none other than 2022's Elden Ring. This open-world, extremely challenging title is one that cannot be denied for its inherent quality. Elden Ring quickly became one of the most unforgettable games out there. The expansive world and many characters surrounding the player is one that is profoundly detailed, providing vast worldbuilding. Elden Ring's spectacle and universe rivals that of The Lord of the Rings universe, which is saying a lot. Because of that, there's no denying that Elden Ring is abundantly epic in almost every sense of the word. 2 'Red Dead Redemption 2' (2018) Image via Rockstar Games The likes of Rockstar Games don't just make the Grand Theft Auto franchise. When they're not making heists and replicas of Los Angeles, they spent time crafting the Red Dead Redemption series. This series is just as good, if not better, than Rockstar Games' other franchise—high praise, given how popular and beloved Grand Theft Auto is. The Red Dead Redemption series provided players with one of the best video games of the modern generation, Red Dead Redemption 2. With such an impactful story and main character in Arthur Morgan (Roger Clark), this sequel is one for the books. Red Dead Redemption 2 is a really special title that has continued to stick with people to this day, thanks to its inventive take on the Western era, great character building, and an expansive and complex world to play around in. Image via Bethesda Softworks There are no epic games that hold up to the one and the only... The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. This 2011 masterpiece is so good and beloved by players that it continues to be ported to every single new console on the market. People replay this game every single year, and its one of the most definitive games of the 2010s. Developers Bethesda Game Studios did a wonderful job bringing this world to life, and provided something truly awesome that gave players the choice to do literally whatever they wanted. No pressure to journey through the story. Players can fight dragons, rob people, be warriors—anything they so desire. When it comes to games in general, it's incredibly hard to step up to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Released November 11, 2011 ESRB M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol Developer(s) Bethesda Game Studios Publisher(s) Bethesda Softworks Engine Creation Engine Expansions Skyrim: Dragonborn, Skyrim: Hearthfire, Skyrim: Dawnguard Franchise The Elder Scrolls