These days, the best that players can hope to get out of developers and publishers when it comes to the achievements of their games are sales figures. Even then, these figures only tend to see the light of day in the event that a game has performed exceptionally well. Thankfully though, there's an organization out there that is dedicated to documenting all of the weird and wonderful achievements in gaming.
The first edition of the Guinness Book of Records was published way back in 1955 and a new edition has followed every year since. Although some video game-related records were included in earlier editions of the book, in 2007, the group began periodically publishing special gaming-centric editions. It's here that many of gaming's biggest and most interesting franchises have been recognized.
10 Metal Gear
Stealth plays a huge part in Metal Gear games and has done since the series' very first entry. According to Guinness though, Metal Gear was actually "The first console game to fully utilize stealth as part of the gameplay" and Metal Gear Solid 2 the "First stealth game to feature guards who could operate as a team."
As well as its heavy emphasis on stealth, the series is also renowned for its long cutscenes. According to the 2011 Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition, Metal Gear Solid 4 features the "Longest cutscene ever in a video game" as well as the "Longest sequence of cutscenes", clocking in at 27 and 71 minutes respectively. Perhaps surprisingly, both of these records have since been surpassed.
9 Donkey Kong
Cutscenes may be a staple of modern gaming, but before the fairly recent rise of narrative-driven games, they were nowhere near as prevalent. It may be hard for some to imagine, but, prior to the 1990s, the vast majority of games relied on onscreen text to convey key story beats. There were a few exceptions though.
One such game was Nintendo's 1981 arcade classic, Donkey Kong. They may be incredibly rudimentary by today's standards, but the game's cutscenes tell a clear, albeit very basic, story. 27 years after the game's first release, Guinness recognized this as having been the "First use of cutscenes to tell a story in a video game."
8 Grand Theft Auto
The sustained success of Grand Theft Auto V is nothing short of phenomenal. It's the "Best-selling action-adventure video game" of all time, has managed to remain relevant across three different console generations, and still looks great despite first releasing more than seven years ago. Perhaps its most awe-inspiring achievement though is the speed with which it came out of the blocks.
The game needed just three days to generate a billion dollars in sales which, according to Guinness, makes it the "Fastest entertainment property to gross $1 billion." Considering this category includes Hollywood blockbusters and best-selling albums, this is a truly incredible feat and by far the most impressive of the Grand Theft Auto series' numerous records.
7 Resident Evil
It may not have been one of the PS2's best selling games, but when it comes to critical success, none can top Resident Evil 4. The game averaged a 95.85% rating on gamerankings.com, the go-to review aggregator site before Metacritic. These ratings were reviewed and verified by Guinness in 2019 and the game was officially declared the "Most critically acclaimed PS2 video game." Were it not for Resident Evil fans though, this may not have been the case.
The game was originally planned to be a GameCube exclusive, but due to pressure from fans and shareholders, Capcom decided to release it for the PlayStation 2 nine months after its GameCube debut. RE4 wasn't the only "GameCube exclusive" to make its way to the PS2 either, nor was it even the only Capcom game to do so.
6 The Legend Of Zelda
Its pointed polygons might not look too impressive by today's standards, but in its day, Ocarina of Time was one of the best looking 3D games around. It was the very first 3D Zelda game and implemented new ideas and mechanics that would become staples of 3D gaming for years to come. It also captured the hearts and minds of both players and, most notably, critics.
Ocarina of Time's 99 rating on Metacritic beats out competition from top titles like GTA IV, SoulCalibur, and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, placing it firmly on top of the site's highest-rated video games. This feat was finally recognized by Guinness in early 2015 when it was declared the "Most critically acclaimed video game ever."
5 Tony Hawk's
The Tony Hawk's series made its triumphant return earlier this year following a five-year hiatus. Even before the recent release though, the series held the record for being the "Best-selling action sports video game series." Given that it leads its nearest competition by more than 40 million units, it's a record that the series will likely hold on to for quite some time.
The series holds a few other records, the most interesting of which was achieved by Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 back in 2001. It was the "First PS2 game to support online play" following the release of the PS2's network adaptor. Both the Dreamcast and the Xbox may have taken console gamers online first, but it was a significant moment in the PlayStation's history nonetheless.
4 Shenmue
With a reported budget of $70 million, the first Shenmue game once held the Guinness World Record for "The Most Expensive Video Game Ever," although this has long since been surpassed. It's also worth noting that series creator Yu Suzuki has since disputed this figure, suggesting that the budget was actually closer to $47 million and also included some of the sequel's development costs.
After laying dormant for fifteen years, the series returned in 2015 with a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign where it once again broke records. As well as "Fastest $1 million pledged for a crowdfunded video game," Shenmue 3 also holds the record for "Most money pledged for a Kickstarter video game." Unfortunately, the final game was nowhere near as successful and is seen by some as a huge disappointment.
3 The Last Of Us
Part 2 may have divided fans with some of its narrative choices, but most can agree that The Last of Us is a true masterpiece. It currently holds a 95 rating on Metacritic and has won numerous awards since its release. It's been particularly successful at the Video Game BAFTAs though, holding the record for "Most BAFTA award nominations for a video game" as well as most wins with 12 and 7 respectively.
It also holds an interesting record relating to its Left Behind DLC, which in 2015 won Video Game BAFTAs for both "Best Performer" and "Best Story." In doing so, it was recognized by Guinness as being the "First DLC to win a video game BAFTA." As of the time of writing, this is a feat that is yet to be repeated.
2 Fortnite
Fortnite is one of the most commercially successful games ever created and has played a huge role in the popularization of the battle royale genre. It's a genre that the game still dominates to this day, as reflected by its recent Guinness World Record for "Most concurrent Twitch streams for a single game." The record was set on the 15th of June 2020, at which point 117,582 people were streaming the game.
Sadly, Guinness doesn't give an exact figure when it comes to how many people were actually watching at that time, but another recent record does give a strong indication of the game's true appeal. In the 2020 GWR Gamer's edition, Fortnite is recognized as the "First battle royale with 250 million registered players."
1 Minecraft
There are plenty of free to play games that have been able to draw in huge numbers of players. When it comes to commercial games though, few can match the success of Minecraft. With over 200 million units sold, it currently holds the Guinness World Record for "Best-selling video game" and still boasts an incredible 126 million active monthly players.
Guinness also recognizes Minecraft as having the "Largest playable world in a video game" thanks to its 4,096,000,000 km² land-based map. It's possible that this record has since been broken though, with plenty of huge open-world games having released since the record was first awarded in 2013.