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#10 – Portal 2
Valve faced a monumental task when it chose to make a full-length sequel to the brilliant physics-based puzzler Portal. With such a hard act to follow, would the second game be able to live up to the near perfection of the original? Would the premise and style of the first game, a perfect fit at just a few hours, be able to sustain itself across a game more than twice that size? Would the portal gun gimmick or GLaDOS’s sociopathic yet amusing monologues start to feel repetitive? These questions were decisively answered in 2011 with Portal 2: Yes, absolutely, and a resounding no! A follow-up that surpassed the original seemed impossible, but in retrospect the first game was really just a warm-up for the main event. A wider variety of environments and tools, the inclusion of more memorable “characters”, and vastly improved visuals made the ongoing attempt to escape Aperture Labs feel just as fresh and even more exciting than the first time around.
While Portal was essentially a running tutorial much of the time, Portal 2 is the full game it was preparing us for, though not without some additional training for all the new toys like light bridges, liquid goo and catapults that were brought into play. The longer game time allows the puzzles even more space to gradually grow and increase in complexity. An impressively challenging co-op campaign was added, allowing players to experience portals in a whole new way, this time with friends. It’s hard to think of anything the sequel didn’t improve. GLaDOS naturally returns, and the new characters manage to be almost as amusing , which isn’t surprising as they’re voiced by Stephen Merchant and J.K. Simmons. And revelations about the history of Aperture Science and GLaDOS herself make the whole experience that much more intriguing. Valve seems unable to set the bar so high they can’t leap over it themselves, and Portal 2 is a testament to that. It’s nothing like any adventure you’ve every seen, but it’s a must-play for fans of any genre, and an instant classic that propelled its way right into our top ten.
#9 – Tex Murphy: The Pandora Directive
Many adventure games follow a straightforward path: there's a beginning, a middle and an end, with no place for player choices and their consequences. Even in games that offer multiple endings, it's almost always a matter of a very clear crossroad near the end. But The Pandora Directive proved to be so much more advanced in 1996. In fact, the fourth installment of the Tex Murphy series (though only the second to use the now-familiar FMV/3D exploration style) ensured that every single choice – even the most seemingly unimportant – truly matter. As a result, the outcome of each player’s adventure varies greatly depending solely on the choices you make, ranging from a satisfying ending that sees our hero triumph and win the heart of his lady to a grim, hopeless and depressing conclusion in true film noir fashion.
Back in the trench coat, fedora, and gumshoes of the titular detective, you must decide: will you be a jaded, cynical PI or will you play nice and be a gentleman? How will you treat the various women that gravitate around Tex? And what about Chelsee? Will you be faithful to your blossoming romance with her? Will you answer the phone or will you pretend to be outside? The many options present a deeply engrossing and incredibly rewarding experience. Penned once again by Chris Jones and Aaron Conners, this sprawling masterpiece about a government conspiracy concealing aliens allows you to role-play Tex as you like, and every finale is definitely worth exploring. Add to the mix some challenging puzzles, a vast live-action cast brought to life by some great performances, dozens of 3D locales full of nooks and crannies you can thoroughly explore, and The Pandora Directive did what seemed impossible only two years earlier: it beat its own accomplished predecessor at its own game.
#8 – Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge
How do you follow up one of the most popular comic adventure games of all time? If you’re LucasArts circa 1991, you make an even better one. While still a comedy with plenty of laughs, Guybrush Threepwood’s second outing is a slightly darker affair than its predecessor. He is a more mature adventurer this time, a fact reflected in the tone and art style of the game. Voodoo torture with agonizing animations is commonplace, and the ghost pirate LeChuck is at his scheming worst in his quest for revenge against Guybrush, now seeking the legendary Big Whoop. The changes didn’t hold back the public though, as the game was massively hyped by the mainstream press and lapped up en masse at the time of release.
And rightfully so! The sequel is a fantastic game: insults, spitting contests, voodoo – what's not to love? Well, the hugely controversial ending for some, though for others it’s just another jewel in its crown. Retaining much of the same crew that worked on The Secret of Monkey Island, it improved on its predecessor in almost every way. The graphics were gorgeous and really brought to life the characters we’d already come to love, the SCUMM engine was even more refined, two different difficulty levels were offered, the first-rate story featured puzzles that required plenty of thought but no frustration, and the innovative music was top-notch. When it comes to comic adventures, you can’t get much better than Monkey Island 2. It’s no surprise that like its older brother, its recent remake is appealing to a whole new generation of gamers all over again.
#7 – The Last Express
Where do the accolades start for Smoking Car Productions’ The Last Express? Is it the rotoscoped graphics that give the game a uniquely classy sense of style? Is it the painstaking historical recreation of the final voyage of the Orient Express before World War I? Is it the stunningly immersive real-time progression of gameplay? Or is it the thrilling and extraordinarily literate writing? Why choose? There really isn't anything quite like Jordan Mechner’s 1997 adventure. While the story of American doctor Robert Cath and the international intrigue he encounters on a train journey from Paris to Constantinople does head to some pretty fantastical places, it is equally balanced by a genuine sense of realism and authenticity. Mechner's team went to great lengths to portray everything from foreign languages to daily weather patterns with historical accuracy. The characters portray the broad and tumultuous sociopolitical climate of the era, as Cath encounters everyone from German businessmen to Serbian militants. And in a still-unparalleled design decision, live actors were filmed and then hand-traced in a style reminiscent of early 20th century illustration.
Making things feel even more authentic is the game’s real-time progression: The Last Express doesn't wait for you. The train barrels relentlessly toward Constantinople, stopping at several famous locales along the way. Similarly, the other passengers have their own agendas to attend to; they move around the train, have conversations, go to sleep, eat dinner, conduct secret meetings, and so on. As Cath, players have more or less total freedom to explore the train and observe, interact with fellow passengers, or sneak around trying to find information. This gives the game an astounding level of replayability for an adventure game, since you'll never be able to see everything in a given playthrough; while you're off exploring one car, something else (something probably very interesting) is going on in another. And if you don’t like the direction your recent choices have taken, rather than simply restore an old save file, simply rewind time and begin that segment of the journey all over again. It all adds up to a tense, immersive, and innovative adventure that few other games have equaled.
#6 – Day of the Tentacle
When LucasArts’ Tim Schafer and Dave Grossman were given an opportunity to continue Ron Gilbert’s Maniac Mansion series in 1993’s Day of the Tentacle, they attacked that goal with a completely unhinged sense of whimsy and irreverence for American history. The extraordinary result was a legacy of hilarity that made genre immortals out of bookish Bernard, rocker Hoagie, and ditzy Laverne, setting new standards (yet to be matched decades later) for comedic puzzle design in the process. Although once again featuring three playable characters, the game marked a radical departure from its predecessor, reinventing the franchise as a story of unlikely heroes spread out across 400 years of past, present, and future times in an attempt to stop the insane Purple Tentacle from ingesting toxic sludge. Filled with quirky charm and outlandish scenarios, this game has it all, from a frozen hamster to fake barf to a flushable inventory-swapping Chron-O-John.
The game succeeds on every significant level – a unique and beautiful art style that defines “cartoonish” perspective; spectacular voice acting across the board that exponentially increases the quality of the already-brilliant dialogue (at a time when the CD-ROM was still a relatively new luxury); ingenious puzzle design, featuring most of the greatest time-travel puzzles ever designed; and a phenomenal attention to cinematic detail that can only be described as “Schafer-esque.” It begins with what is still the only comedy adventure game intro that truly feels theatrical, and the final shot before the credits roll is the perfect payoff. It is hard to find enough superlatives to describe a virtually flawless game – Day of the Tentacle was and for now remains the greatest comedy adventure ever.
Next up: #5-1...
Continued on the next page...
The heading says “You may also like”, not “These other games are identical”. And anyone who likes Syberia 2 should like ANB. Both have beautiful hand-painted artwork, third-person gameplay, epic storylines, expansive locations, strong characterization, etc. Syberia 2 is more like ANB than Sinking Island.
Like some of the other posters above, I am using this list to remind myself of those games I haven’t yet played and to discover ones I’ve never even heard of. I knew full well going into this that my favorite adventure games would never, ever appear in the top 100 at any gaming website. I’m one of those freaks that would put the Rhem series and the Mysterious Journey games at the top of such a list. Hmmm, maybe I need to set up my own website…
It’s good to see Cing getting the recognition they deserve with Hotel Dusk and Another Code. The adventure landscape is a duller place without them. Dreamfall and Syberia II are also some of my favourites, though I hope to see their originals much higher in the list, in amongst all the Lucas Arts and Sierra games ;-)
They could also say you’d might like The Longest Journey, in reference to Syberia 2, but that one is of course still upcoming in the list :-)
Another suggestion could be “Journey to the center of the earth”, i sincerely hope this is no indication we can still expect this game in the Top50, given the fact it hasn’t been featured yet!
i really gotta try gold rush! it sounds fun. im also definitely getting Gemini Rue.. cant believe i never heard of it. Book Of Unwritten Tales looks really great too, and im intrigued to try I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream. i need to get around to these. Riddle Of Master Lu and LSL7 are several others i never got to try…
u made me realize i missed alot of great games. thanks for this list!!
hard to make list of 100 top adventures, it’s too individual, i just seen 20 places so far and i can already say i disagree , the dig on no 92 no way ;], and my top adventure will always be indiana jones and the fate of atlantis
“And anyone who likes Syberia 2 should like ANB.”
Well, no. I loved Syberia, both parts. ANB didn’t impress me at all as a game and AFAIC, there’s no way the artwork in that one comes even close to the quality of artwork in Syberia. So my lack of motor control was due to “you might also like ANB”. It really doesn’t follow, even though, from the ‘on paper’ resemblance you note, anyone might think it did.
Hence the word “might” originally. 
No two games or people are alike. These are just secondary recommendations that should appeal to many. If they were sure things, they’d be on the main list. 
I really wanted to get into ANB and play through it immediately. But i could not get into it at all.. The english voice acting was amazingly bad to me. And the puzzles were kindv annoying.. The story seemed like it might have some promise.. but i quickly lost interest with the game. I might have to make another attempt eventually.
About #71’s “You might also like [...] especially #4” :
Too bad there never was a #4… According to the creators/publishers, the leisure suit larry sequence goes like 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7. They claim they dont understand WHY there has to be a #4 so they just skipped that one 
In my opinion that’s what makes Al Lowe stand out when it comes to adventure games!!!
Yeah, Kosa, that was the joke.
Bah ,#45 – The Curse of Monkey Island, it’s a sin.
hmm yeah, “infocom games” at number 50 is definitely cheating
Still dont know why is Syberia2 on 55. Hope that’s the price if Syberia 1 is in top 10. For me both parts are like one game.
This is an awesome list! I was hoping to see one of the games from the Atlantis series make it on here, but I’m starting to doubt it. Oh well, I can’t wait to see where Heavy Rain, Portal, Syberia, and, perhaps, L.A. Noire or Stacking end up!
Really-really hoping on Riven being in top10.
Kinda disappointed with low rank for Loom, but… oh well, it’s your list, after all.
I am also very interested, if KGB, Agharta, Azrael’s Tear, Zero Critical and Pathologic will manage to claw their way into this list (but somehow I already doubt it).
The Curse of monkey Island at #45? Are you serious? I am playing adventure games since 1993 and this game, together with Day of the Tentacle is my #1 game. I was sure it will make at least the Top 10. Usually I see eye to eye with AdventureGamers reviewers, but this id too much!
Please fix the list.
In general, very strange choices for quite high places. Ghost Trick? Infocom? I mean, OK, they may have a room in this list, but in much lower place.
simon the sorcerer is in no way better than COMI!
It was really good to see Sanitarium appreciated. If it weren’t for the wooden voice acting of the main character and the horrible sequence at the end that demands way too much of ‘my’ reflexes, it would be much higher on my own, personal list of greats but it is definitely there and definitely a great game.
Wow, the selection of games at ranks 40 to 31 is really, really, really strong. It’s almost hard to believe that there are 30 adventures which are better than those.
It’ s interesting to see a lot of titles from a portable device - NDS. We haven’t even seen Phoenix yet! Besides, i’m so satisfied as a huge nintendo fan 
I would not rank the games in your order, but then who would? Still I like your list very much, it isn´t predictable, it´s even in some ways controversial I guess . But all the same with sound motivation accompanying it.
I am also glad Space Bar, The Dark Eye, Spycraft, Feeble Files and Black Dahlia are in top 100. They are great games. And also nice to see Sanitarium and Riddle of Master Lu.
Btw. recently Dark Earth came on my mind - I never finished this game. Hopefully with the patches I have, it should run on my XP. It is great action adventure game.
So many I haven’t played yet! But two of my favs in the50’s.. hmm.. we’ll see.^^
If Titanic is #100, Dust should be in the list, as it is better game and got better rankings. But in top 20? Wow, that I would not expect. And I wanted to mention, as I am quite nostalgic, 1997 was a great year for (adventure) gamers: two beautiful and atmospheric games I truly love - Atlantis and THE LAST EXPRESS (!) - were released. And some other titles I had pleasure playing - Blade Runner, The Course of Monkey Island, and also Ignition and Theme Hospital :-)
Anyway, I really like this list. I discovered some titles I have not played and want to. And I am glad most of the games I played are on the list.
I hope they’re going to put BASS higher than 19 this time, and maybe put BS at nm.3 / 2 instead of 4???? - I mean, I’m pretty sure that they’re gonna put Monkey Island and Gabriel Knight higher than BS (don’t get me wrong, they’re great games), but I hope they put at atleast at nm. 3! :-)
I thought Blade Runner might rank higher personally, that game was amazing, graphically still holds up, and had choice and consequences/results whereas most AGs still don’t have that.
The fact that Overclocked is mentioned with “you might also like” makes me think we won’t find it on this list. Which is a real shame cause it’s one of the finest games ever imo and quite unique.
Also I think Phoenix Wrong is completely misplaced in the top 30 or really in any top. Not only does it cause epileptic seasures but it’s stories and characters are so completely rediculous it’s only fun if you’re under the age of 12. (of course that’s just my opinion)
Overall I’m really liking the list. Great to see LA Noire and Heavy Rain so high. But Stacking in the top 40? Of all time? Hmmm.
Great to see QFG4 Shadows of Darkness ranked so high. Well deserved, I would say.
The narrator is named John, BTW, not Jonathan. :-)
So far I’ve come across 19 titles in this list that I can play on consoles and the DS. Woohoo! I can’t wait to see where you guys have placed Portal 2. Its gotta be coming. We need more console adventure games. Its been great seeing them steadily increase these last couple years on the PS3. Now I’m off to go buy a Wii and play some Zack and Wiki! Looks great!
Awesome list. So many great games here, many of which I would love to replay and quite a few I am yet to play. The top 20 will be amazing, and although mostly brilliant games in 40-25, I felt that there were a few games in this range that were average to good at best and didn’t think they even came close to similarly ranked games. Just my thoughts though, other than that I’m fairly happy that the entire 100 so far is an accurate ranking of some brilliant and entertains games.
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis better than The Secret of Monkey Island? No way, I must disagree.
Any list that does not have Monkey Island in the top 5 is completely illegitimate.
GK1 has several dead ends, some intentional and one due to a bug.
Here goes the top 10 i guess,
Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars
Day of the Tentacle
Riven
Portal 2
Longest Journey, The
Grim Fandango
Last Express
Gabriel Knight: The Beast Within
Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge
Delete
Runaway: A Road Adventure
Shocking not to have Gabe1 and Mobkey Island in the top10. Perhaps they both haven’t aged that well.
I don’t think Runaway will or should be in the Top10, as it was mentioned earlier that the third installment was supposedly the best and therefore featured in the Top100.
Could it be that the Monkey Island remake will still be in the Top 10?
I don’t think that would be fair…
You have seriously got to be kidding - Kings Quest VI ahead of Secret of Monkey Island… oh dear, dear me.
I still think the original Monkey Island deserved to be #1. Not only for historical reasons: it’s a game which is perfect at what it does, with absolutely nothing that should have been done differently. Oh well…
Now, I hate Day of the Tentacle and hope it doesn’t win this time again. And, as much as I like Jane Jensen and Gabriel Knight, GK2 is my least favourite of the series, and I certainly don’t want Dean Couldnotactifhislifedependedonit to become the poster boy for Best Adventure Game ever.
So I guess I’m officially rooting for The Pandora Directive, or The Longest Journey, for Best Adventure Game in the history of the galaxy!
And I’m officially rooting for The Longest Journey not to place at all. I hate that thing. With my luck, it will probably come out on top.
Lol! Love Dean’s new official last name!
Atlantis (first installment) and Dust (Titanic made it, kind of weird) not in Top 100? I understand some titles just had to be left out or forgotten. So - I am ok with that, my personal list is of course different. Still - good job and thanks again for this - it is inspiring. I know exactly which adventure game should be #1, but I am afraid it is not going to happen. But I am happy it is going to be (well, if it was not, Earth would stop turning for a moment) in Top 10.
How about this list?
1. Gabriel Knight 2
2. Monkey Island 2
3. Broken Sword 1
4. Day of Tentacle
5. Riven
6. The Longest Journey
7. Grim Fandango
8. The Last Express
9. Goblins 3
10. Pandora Directive
Can’t wait to find out if I am right.
Jackal, when all is said and done, could you have a page at the end that lists all 100 titles on one page? Great job with this list.
I wonder, if there is actually any chance of Rama making it to the top10? I guess not…
Really glad Riven is in the top10 (as well as officially considered here to be the best one in series). Hope it will make its way right into the top3.
As well as I hope that TLJ DOESN’T make it into the top5. Top10 is more than good enough for that game already.
And yeah. Kinda disappointed with GK1 losing to GK2. Love the first one so much more…
Interplay, yes there will be a complete list at the end, with a link directly to it on page 1.
Very nice list. The main benefit of such lists is that you discover good games that you never played or even heard about before.
In my personal opinion, the top 3 should be: Grim, Longest Journey, and Portal 2.
Have to agree about The Longest Journey - it’s the most overrated adventure game of all time. No doubt it will place highly.
well, the only #1’s id be satisfied with would be: GK1, pandora directive, or last express.
Since Gk1 is already eliminated…. i dont expect to agree with the #1 choice
If TLE is on top I’ll make AG my permanent homepage!
