Super Mario Galaxy 2 Bumped To Third-Highest Rated Game Of All Time

Out Of Nowhere, Super Mario Galaxy 2 Has Shot Up To The Third Highest-Rated Game On Metacritic Published Jul 24, 2026, 10:15 AM EDT George is the Lead News Editor for TheGamer, and has been working in the industry since 2021 after graduating from the University of South Wales with a bachelor's degree in Journalism. He has also previously written for RPG Site, WhatCulture, and PlayStation Lifestyle. George is an expert on platformers, action games, and fighters, but tends to play as many releases as possible. This hands-on experience lets him dive into gaming communities and follow the latest trends. Some of the games George has extensively covered first-hand include Dead Rising, Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, Assassin's Creed Shadows, and Ninja Gaiden 4. Super Mario Galaxy 2 is now the third highest-rated game of all time on Metacritic after a random update increased its score and moved it forward. When you think of the best games of all time, what jumps to mind? For many, I’m betting that recent masterpieces like Baldur’s Gate 3, Red Dead Redemption 2, Elden Ring, and, if you've got taste, Hi-Fi Rush are all the top picks, but that’s not really reflected in Metacritic’s official Best Games of All Time list. Due to reviews having become harsher over the years and how much bigger the gaming industry has become, Metacritic’s highest-rated games mostly include a lot of older classics, with Ocarina of Time taking the number one spot and the original Soul Calibur right behind it in second place. Now, out of nowhere, the third slot has been hijacked by Mario. Say Hello To The Third Highest-Rated Game Ever As pointed out by ResetEra user Truno, Metacritic’s Best Games of All Time list has suddenly shifted after remaining mostly the same for a very long time. For those who haven’t looked at it, it used to have Ocarina of Time, Soul Calibur, and Grand Theft Auto 4 as the top three rated games, with Super Mario Galaxy and its sequel sitting in fourth and fifth place, respectively. That’s changed at some point over the last month, though. For whatever reason, Metacritic’s scoring system has updated Super Mario Galaxy 2’s score from a 97 to a 98, which was enough to push it past both the first Galaxy and GTA 4 to put it in third place. It’s a notable leap forward considering how close all of those games previously were. I won’t be the first to say this but, as great as Galaxy 2 is, the first game absolutely deserves to be ahead of it. As of the time of writing, it’s not clear what’s changed to give Galaxy 2 the third spot, but it’s worth noting that neither the first Galaxy nor GTA 4 have had their scores changed at all. The Wayback Machine suggests that this change took place earlier in July, and just went unnoticed until Truno pointed it out on Reset. From a quick glance, it doesn’t look like any other games have significantly moved around with the update, so it’s likely just affecting Galaxy 2. Even still, it’s nice to see an unarguably outdated list get a bit of new life in it, even if we’re not likely to see those classics shift any further. Super Mario Galaxy 2 Systems Released May 23, 2010 ESRB E For Everyone due to Mild Cartoon Violence Developer(s) Nintendo EAD Publisher(s) Nintendo Engine Super Mario Galaxy Engine Multiplayer Local Multiplayer