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#5 – Riven
Cyan's Myst may have been a revolutionary game, but the masterful Riven proved its superior in every way, delivering an unrivalled depth of visual realism, puzzle integration, and organic storytelling. In 1997, the sequel once again thrust players into the boots of the stranger, this time to help Atrus by rescuing his wife Catherine from his estranged father Gehn, who has imprisoned her on a dying world. The premise may be thin, but Riven is a far more complex, unified set of islands, and it’s a marvel just to explore its lakes, volcanic cliffs, and beaches, much of which you can reach without ever solving a puzzle. You can sneak up on sea creatures lazily sunbathing on the rocks, or watch an irritable giant fish through an external viewer. Although largely deserted, you’ll find plenty of evidence of D’ni civilization as well, complete with mechanical lifts and interconnected tram rides. In making your way through these serene but troubled lands, Riven is as much an unguided tourist experience as it is a game.
The Age of Riven is not only bigger and more beautiful than its predecessor’s, it’s also much, much harder. Puzzles are often multi-layered, requiring several steps to solve completely. With unique writing and numbering systems and myths to learn, all without any overt assistance, note-taking is essential. Anything can be a clue, requiring the utmost attention to even the smallest of environmental details, both visual and audible. Those subtle but richly immersive sound effects aren’t just for ambience; they’re an inherent part of the islands that factor into the puzzles as well. Taken alone, the game’s qualities are exemplary, but it’s the brilliant interweaving of each element that makes it a timeless classic. Striking a near perfect balance of difficulty and design, Riven is definitely not for the puzzle-solving faint of heart, but for anyone who enjoys an engrossing challenge, Riven is an unforgettable work of art.
#4 – Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars
Few companies were able to go toe-to-toe with LucasArts and Sierra back in their heydays, but Revolution, a tiny British company, not only released a worthy rival in 1996, but one so outstanding that it outshone all of its contemporaries at the time – and most since. Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars was that game, and it did just about everything right, from the memorable European settings to the expansive globetrotting plot to the gorgeous cartoon graphics. In particular, its lead character George Stobbart proved to be a runaway success – a lovable everyman thrown into a situation we’d all secretly love to experience. It's a nice play on the standard Indiana Jones-style story, but George has more in common with Guybrush Threepwood than the bullwhip-slinging adventurer.
George is far from alone, however, as the game features a memorable cast of supporting characters as well, including the perfect foil in Nico, the sassy French photojournalist. The story builds from a single random event (a coffee shop being blown up by a clown) to a much larger, deadly plot involving conspiracies, secret orders, and the Knights Templar. Add in some brilliant voice acting, a touch of humour, and a host of clever puzzles and you’ve got adventure gaming gold. It put Revolution on the map and made gaming royalty out of its designer Charles Cecil, a man who now holds a royal honour for his work in the British Gaming Industry. The game has spawned three sequels and has stood the test of time so beautifully, it’s still being ported to console and mobile platforms. There are few games on this list that can match such achievements, making Broken Sword thoroughly deserving of its top-five placement here.
#3 – Gabriel Knight: The Beast Within
The unabashed reverence held for The Beast Within is all about the story. The streamlined gameplay – at least in comparison to the other two chapters of the Gabriel Knight trilogy – may not be everyone's cup of tea, and the full-motion video presentation is a divisive one amongst adventurers. But there's ample reason why the 1995 sequel is still considered an essential landmark of the genre. Jane Jensen, widely considered the best writer and game designer of the acclaimed Sierra stable, once again penned a rich, riveting script that tackled some deeply thought-provoking themes head-on, like Gabriel’s struggle to accept himself and evolve from the egotism of childhood into the conscious acceptance of adult responsibilities. He also suffers a philosophical dichotomy between the two halves of his soul; the Apollonian reason, order, and progress vs. Dionysian irrationality, chaos, destruction, embodied in the story by the polar opposites of Grace and Von Glower, respectively.
These inspiring themes emerge organically from a spellbinding plot that spans almost three centuries, encompassing the early history of the Ritter family and King Ludwig II of Bavaria, the long-lost opera of Richard Wagner, and the political machinations of Otto Von Bismark. The rich tale masterfully infuses a supernatural element as well – werewolves in this case – to illuminate human nature. The story is further deepened by some of the most fascinating characters ever to grace the genre, like the eminently charismatic Baron Friedrich Von Glower, brought to life by the talented Peter J. Lucas. It's an enthralling tale, and even if you don't usually like FMV, this game can't help but grab you by the throat from the very beginning to its sublime and heart-wrenching finale. The Beast Within certainly brought the best of Jane Jensen out, and to this day her script remains arguably the best the genre has ever seen.
#2 – The Longest Journey
The new millennium kicked off in fine fashion, as Funcom's Ragnar Tørnquist crafted a vivid tale of two worlds in The Longest Journey: a world of fantasy and a world of science, each tied together by an unforgettable protagonist, April Ryan. A budding artist, April’s just an ordinary girl just trying to live her life – an ordinary girl who happens to have the ability to “shift” between magical Arcadia and scientific Stark. With no knowledge of these powers at first, or even the existence of another world, April begins both a personal journey to discover who she really is and a literal journey as she attempts to understand her role in the increasing imbalance between chaos and order. The game takes time to tell its story and establish rich characterizations, with long, edgy, and at times very adult dialogues with a vast cast of characters, from the mysterious Cortez to April’s lesbian landlady to the nefarious wizard Roper Klacks. And when you’re not immersed in deep conversation, you’ll be grappling with nearly Rube Goldberg-esque inventory puzzles.
It all adds up to an epic tale, the likes of which we really haven’t seen since. But there’s much more to this game than writing. More than a decade after release, Arcadia is still as magical as ever with its sprawling sea ports and lush forests filled with strange characters; scientific Stark, in its faded glory, is just as gritty, full of personality and paranoia. Even now, the cinematic cutscenes and beautifully artistic environments manage to inspire awe with swooping camera shots and majestic vistas, and the voice work is pitch-perfect in bringing such a diverse cast to life. In fact, it’s hard to believe it’s been around as long as it has. Back in the day, many considered the story-driven adventure a dying breed, unceremoniously swept aside by fast-paced action and console gaming. With The Longest Journey, Tørnquist’s storytelling prowess and vision not only created a quintessential point-and-click adventure that remains among the best the genre has ever seen, the game also brought some much needed inspiration back that helped show the way for those who followed.
#1 – Grim Fandango
There is a long-standing idea that no game should receive a perfect score because no game is perfect. There are those who might nitpick and say that Grim Fandango's wonky controls or blocky character models should prevent it from being considered perfect. Well, fine. Tim Schafer’s magnum opus may not be perfect, but it's as close as any game in the genre has ever come. Landing at the tail-end of the Golden Age of adventure gaming (by 1998 adventure games were far, far away from the limelight), this epic tale of skeletal travel agent Manny Calavera's four-year journey through the Land of the Dead infuses the mythos of the Mexican Día de Muertos with film noir atmosphere and archetypes, bebop and jazz, beat culture, and even hot-rod fetishism, all glued together with the best of the best of LucasArts' trademark wit and humour. It sounds absurd, and it sometimes is, but it works beautifully, as if there were no more natural mash-up of influences.
The game's memorable characters are nearly overshadowed by breathtaking environments full of clever ideas and devious puzzles. The Land of the Dead is home to unforgettable characters like Glottis the lovable gearhead demon, sleazy fellow travel agent/con-man Domino Hurley, and zealous revolutionary Sal Limones. You'll visit magical places like the seedy Casablanca-inspired Rubacava and a coral mining plant at the Edge of the World. And all of this is set to Peter McConnell's classic score that is a masterpiece in its own right, mixing jazz, mariachi, and classical film score influences. Despite selling poorly at the time, Grim Fandango's star has risen over time, and it now holds a place of hushed reverence (or gushing praise) in the hearts of adventure gamers. It may not have the most incredible graphics, the funniest lines, or the cleverest puzzles, but it has an utterly unique alchemy of those elements that leads to something sublime. Seriously – being dead has never been so enjoyable.
And there it is! Adventure Gamers' Top 100 All-Time Adventures. Now there's nothing left but the tears, and a recap of the full list to come...
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!
