Undertale wins GameFAQs’ ‘Best. Game. Ever.’ poll

And people aren’t happy

For the last few weeks, GameFAQs has been running a “Best. Game. Ever.” poll to celebrate its 20-year anniversary. It’s pitted classic against classic, Sonic against Mario, Final Fantasy against Zelda, Portal against BioShock to find the ‘real’ best game ever. At long last, the winner has been crowned, and it’s causing something of a stir.

After countless rounds of voting, the winning game was one that only released this year. One that not many people have had the chance to play yet, and certainly not one with the long-term popularity of Final Fantasy VII or Ocarina of Time.

The winner was Undertale.

Undertale’s success in the polls has caused a massive, internet-wide uproar all the way through the voting. On the one side are people who don’t feel that Undertale can really be called the “Best. Game. Ever.” if it only came out this year, and that the vote was ‘rigged’ due to the size of the fandom it currently has.

On the other, you’ll find people defending Undertale, claiming it really is the best game ever, or you’ll find people who are critical of gaming’s perceived obsession with nostalgia driving these kinds of polls to usually pick games like Ocarina of Time. And then there’s the rest of us sat in the middle, slightly bemused about the whole situation.

I personally don’t have a horse in this race, as the game I consider the ‘best ever’ wasn’t even in the running (Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, if you’re curious). I love Undertale (and so did Ben), and it’s certainly one of the best games to come out this year in my book.

As much as I like Undertale though, this poll isn’t confirmation that it’s “objectively good”, or that your favourite game is “objectively bad” because it lost to it. All it is confirmation of is that Undertale is really bloody popular at the moment.

So, what is your “Best. Game. Ever.”, and why is it Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory?