These games are the remaining contenders for my top 100, but didn't quite make the cut. Some of them are close, and I'm revisiting this list often. These are all memorable and fun games, and I'm sure you'll find a few of your own favorites here.
| Title | Platform | Release Year | Game Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Combat | Atari 2600 | 1977 | multiplayer, multidirectional shooter |
| Space Invaders | Atari 2600 | 1980 | fixed shooter, wave defense |
| Donkey Kong | Arcade | 1981 | non-scrolling platformer |
| Ms. Pac Man | Arcade | 1981 | maze/area traversal |
| Asteroids | Atari 2600 | 1981 | multidirectional shooter |
| Defender | Atari 2600 | 1981 | horizontal scrolling shooter |
| Missile Command | Atari 2600 | 1981 | projectile defense |
| Castle Wolfenstein | Apple II | 1982 | adventure stealth/shooter |
| Choplifter | Apple II | 1982 | helicopter hostage rescue |
| Dig Dug | Arcade | 1982 | area traversal maze/digging |
| Donkey Kong Jr | Arcade | 1982 | non-scrolling platformer |
| Q*Bert | Arcade | 1982 | isometric area traversal |
| Zaxxon | Arcade | 1982 | isometric fighter craft shooter |
| Centipede | Atari 2600 | 1982 | fixed vertical shooter |
| Frogger | Atari 2600 | 1982 | non-scrolling platformer |
| Pole Position | Atari 2600 | 1982 | F1 racing |
| Dragon's Lair | Arcade | 1983 | interactive cinematic / laser disc |
| Spy Hunter | Arcade | 1983 | vertical scrolling vehicular combat |
| Star Wars | Arcade | 1983 | 3d vector graphics space combat |
| Marble Madness | Arcade | 1984 | trackball object guidance, platform |
| Gauntlet | Arcade | 1985 | 4p overhead hack-and-slash/dungeon crawl |
| Duck Hunt | NES | 1985 | optical light gun / hunting |
| Excitebike | NES | 1985 | motocross/racing |
| Wild Gunman | NES | 1985 | optical gun / wild west quickdraw |
| Rampage | Aracde | 1986 | 3 player monster city-destruction |
| Rolling Thunder | Aracde | 1986 | side scrolling run-and-gun |
| Commando | NES | 1986 | overhead shooter |
| Darius | Aracde | 1987 | 3-screen side scrolling space shooter |
| Rastan | Aracde | 1987 | side scrolling hack and slash platformer |
| After Burner | Arcade | 1987 | F14 action flight-sim/combat |
| Elevator Action | NES | 1987 | puzzle-platformer/shooter |
| The Goonies II | NES | 1987 | adventure platformer |
| Punch Out!! | NES | 1987 | boxing/fighting |
| Bop'n Wrestle | PC | 1987 | ring exhibition/pro wrestling |
| Altered Beast | Arcade | 1988 | 1/2p co-op scrolling beat 'em up |
| Double Dragon | NES | 1988 | 1/2p co-op scrolling beat 'em up |
| Super Mario Bros. 2 | NES | 1988 | side scrolling platformer |
| It Came From The Desert | Amiga | 1989 | action adventure / puzzle |
| Shadow of the Beast | Amiga | 1989 | side scrolling platformer |
| Space Quest III | Amiga | 1989 | graphic adventure |
| Hard Drivin' | Arcade | 1989 | 3D race/stunt driving sim |
| Super Mario Land | Game Boy | 1989 | side scrolling platformer |
| Tetris | Game Boy | 1989 | piece placement puzzle |
| Ninja Gaiden | NES | 1989 | platformer |
| Smash TV | Aracde | 1990 | 1p/2p co-op multidirectional shooter |
| Paperboy | Atari Lynx | 1990 | oblique-view bicycle+delivery |
| Super Mario Bros. 3 | NES | 1990 | side scrolling platformer |
| Kings Quest V | PC | 1990 | graphic adventure |
| Leisure Suit Larry | Amiga | 1991 | graphic adventure |
| S.T.U.N. Runner | Atari Lynx | 1991 | speed bike racing/shooter |
| Xybots | Atari Lynx | 1991 | 3D maze, shooter |
| Metroid II | Game Boy | 1991 | action-adventure |
| Sim Ant | PC | 1991 | life simulation (ants) |
| Super Castlevania IV | Super Nintendo | 1991 | side scrolling platformer |
| Super Mario World | Super Nintendo | 1991 | side scrolling platformer |
| Mortal Kombat | Aracde | 1992 | 2 player fighting |
| The Addams Family | Pinball | 1992 | pinball machine |
| Star Wars | Pinball | 1992 | pinball machine |
| The Incredible Machine | PC | 1993 | Rube Goldberg physics puzzle |
| X-Wing | PC | 1993 | space combat |
| Myst | PC | 1994 | graphic adventure / puzzle |
| Duke Nukem 3D | PC | 1996 | first person shooter |
| Symphony of the Night | Play Station | 1997 | platform adventure RPG |
| Pro Pilot | PC | 1998 | flight simulator |
| Crazy Taxi | Arcade | 1999 | open world driving/racing |
| Rush 2049 | N64 | 1999 | car racing |
| Quake III Arena | PC | 1999 | arena FPS |
| C&C Tiberian Sun | PC | 1999 | overhead realtime strategy |
| GTA: Vice City | PS2 | 2002 | open world, 3rd person adventure/shooter |
| Doom 3 | PC | 2004 | horror FPS |
| Painkiller | PC | 2004 | first person shooter |
| Crazy Machines | PC | 2005 | Rube Goldberg physics puzzle |
| Quake 4 | PC | 2005 | FPS w/campaign & deathmatch |
| Call Of Duty 3 | XBox 360 | 2006 | World War II FPS |
| Mario Kart Wii | Nintendo Wii | 2008 | 3D kart racing |
| Red Alert 3 | PC | 2008 | real time strategy |
| Amnesia The Dark Descent | PC | 2010 | survival horror |
| Super Meat Boy | PC | 2010 | level platformer |
| Minecraft | PC | 2011 | sandbox |
| Sanctum | PC | 2011 | tower defense + FPS |
| Space Chem | PC | 2011 | programming/chemistry puzzle |
| The Pinball Arcade | PC | 2012 | video pinball, real tables |
| Primal Carnage | PC | 2012 | online humans vs. dinosaurs |
| Space Engineers | PC | 2013 | space sandbox/mining/crafting |
| Gauntlet | PC | 2014 | multiplayer hack-and-slash/dungeon crawl |
| Space Run | PC | 2014 | tower defense cargo delivery |
| Toxikk | PC | 2015 | arena deathmatch |
| The Witcher III | PC | 2015 | open world action/RPG |
| Planet Coaster | PC | 2016 | theme park simulator |
| Far Cry 5 | PC | 2018 | open world adventure/FPS |
| Moss | PC | 2018 | VR-puzzle-adventure |
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | PC | 2018 | action-adventure |
| Surviving Mars | PC | 2018 | offworld city builder |
| Anno 1800 | PC | 2019 | city builder RTS |