Best Games of 1996
Ranked by our critic's grades, best first.
Super Mario 64The game that taught an entire medium how to move through three dimensions.Read the review
QuakeTrue 3D, mouselook, and internet deathmatch: the future of shooters shipped in one box.
Pokémon Red and BlueGotta catch 'em all: the link cable turned a modest RPG into a global compulsion.
Resident Evil (1996)Terrible acting, immortal design: the game that taught horror to ration your bullets.
DiabloOne click, one skeleton, one more dungeon level: the loot loop that ate the world.
Crash BandicootA gorgeous technical showpiece whose corridors were never as fun as they looked.
Bubsy 3DA 3D platformer built by a team with no map for the genre, released the same season somebody else drew the map.