Updated September 2026
This is the ranking of the best Adventure Games, sorted by NextGameLike Score: a 0-100 metric blending Steam reviews, IGDB ratings (community and critic), Metacritic, OpenCritic and the NextGameLike community votes into a single number. Unlike opinion-based editorial lists, this order is computed from real data and applies a Bayesian shrinkage adjustment so games with few reviews can't inflate the top of the chart. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom lead the chart — the highest-rated titles in the genre according to our data. The top-25 average NextGameLike Score is 90/100, out of 203 games catalogued. The ranking updates continuously as new reviews and votes come in.
Top 3
Top of “The 20 Best Adventure Games (2026)”: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (95.3/100). Close behind: Super Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Ranked by NextGameLike Score · 203 games catalogued
Critics rated The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild higher than the public did. That is why it tops the ranking.
With Super Mario Odyssey, the press was ahead of the public. It holds the best critic score on the whole list, 97/100. That puts it at number 2.
Critics rated The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom higher than the public did. It is the newest on the list (2023), and has already earned its place. Enough for the podium: number 3.
Return of the Obra Dinn is one of the few Adventure Games where players and critics say the same thing. Number 4, inside the top 10.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time earns its place on presence rather than on a score. That gets it into the top 10, at number 5.
Dead Cells is one of the few Adventure Games where players and critics say the same thing. It is the most reviewed of the 20: 180,009 Steam reviews. That gets it into the top 10, at number 6.
Players and critics agree on The Stanley Parable, which is rarer than it sounds in Adventure Games. That gets it into the top 10, at number 7.
No argument here: Ori and the Blind Forest wins over players and critics alike. That gets it into the top 10, at number 8.
SteamWorld Dig 2 is one of the few Adventure Games where players and critics say the same thing. That gets it into the top 10, at number 9.
With Shadow of the Colossus, the press was ahead of the public. That gets it into the top 10, at number 10.
Super Mario 64 has little in the way of ratings and a great deal of standing. It is the oldest game in the ranking (1996) and still here. It lands at 11 of 20.
No argument here: TOEM: A Photo Adventure wins over players and critics alike. No other entry of the 20 has a higher share of positive reviews: 99%. It lands at 12 of 20.
No argument here: What Remains of Edith Finch wins over players and critics alike. It sits at 13 of 20.
Players and critics agree on OneShot, which is rarer than it sounds in Adventure Games. It sits at 14 of 20.
No argument here: Kerbal Space Program wins over players and critics alike. It lands at 15 of 20.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess has little in the way of ratings and a great deal of standing. It lands at 16 of 20.
Critics were lukewarm on Life Is Strange; players were not. It sits at 17 of 20.
Yoku's Island Express is one of the few Adventure Games where players and critics say the same thing. It lands at 18 of 20.
Players and critics agree on Outer Wilds, which is rarer than it sounds in Adventure Games. It lands at 19 of 20.
Google Spotlight Stories: Age of Sail earns its place on presence rather than on a score. It sits at 20 of 20.