Is there such thing as a perfect game?

[Mr Ixolite]

I fundamentally don't believe in "perfection" when it comes to art; even for my most loved games of all time. On a technical level, there will always be some little niggle that can be improved, and in terms of being "the best of its kind", that is not just subjective in the sense that one gamer may rank certain games above others, but that people may value fundamentally different things. For instance, I loved that Hollow Knight refined its combat around just the nail as opposed to more sprawling weapon selection, and prefer many 2D platformers over Marios outings due to not caring for the inertia and theming, so in that way the games aren't perfect in a more general sense.

The closest thing I can think of in terms of "gauging" perfection is how close a game comes to achieving its stated goal, which is of course impossible to judge objectively. In terms of gameplay, if your goal is just to be "a fun [insert gaming genre] it means that if ever a game comes along later that is somehow an even more fun platformer/shooter/whatever, then the older game retroactively can't be perfect. The reaching of thematic/storytelling goals is even harder to assess; Like, to me Undertale absolutely nails its core message. I can't think of a better way it could have been done...but that doesn't mean its the best way ever.

Bah, this is all very semantic, but thats just how my hyper-critical self rolls. Even just from the perspective of games being perfect to just ME, I think there'd always be some little thing I could dig up and want changed.

Like, Klonoa is my favourite game of all time, and it still bugs me a bit that it has 3 forest levels and just 1 water level.

[Alex79]

I fundamentally don't believe in "perfection" when it comes to art;

Ahem.

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.

[Flabyo]

I fundamentally don't believe in "perfection" when it comes to art;

Ahem.

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.

Contains at least one joke based around a gay slur you wouldn’t stick in a movie anymore.

Still a great movie, but not perfect by any means.

[Electric Crocosaurus]

If you want to be strict then no, there isn't any form of media that can be labelled as perfect as it is designed to be a subjective experience, which means there will always be someone who takes against its themes, or its gameplay, or even just a particularly annoying voice actor. But my own interpretation of it is that films, games, books or whatever are perfect if they have a central idea that I feel is executed as well as anyone could expect with the resources available. The 'Evil Dead 2' is a perfect film, because I don't believe anyone could have made a horror-comedy with that budget any better than they did. 'Wuthering Heights' is a perfect novel; there are few other gothic romance stories told as strikingly even 170 years on.

It's difficult to define a game as perfect given that they tend to be sprawling affairs, which is why it's easier to label those simple games that reveal their depth over time. I wouldn't disagree with a lot of the suggestions made already: I'd probably throw in Crazy Taxi, Threes, maybe Overwatch too. Mario can easily lay claim to a dozen or so; Mario Kart 8 is such a defining statement for that series that even once the inevitable sequel arrives I know I'll continue returning to its charms.

[Alex79]

I fundamentally don't believe in "perfection" when it comes to art;

Ahem.

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.

Contains at least one joke based around a gay slur you wouldn’t stick in a movie anymore.

Still a great movie, but not perfect by any means.

I remember our mum telling us off as kids when me and my brother would call each other that word without having a clue what it meant after watching that movie almost every day!