Shenmue has topped a BAFTA poll to find the most influential video game of all time.
The 1999 Dreamcast release may have struggled commercially at launch, but it has provided the blueprint for open world games ever since, received a cult following, and was followed by two sequels.
It’s perhaps a surprise choice for the public-voted poll, with creator Yu Suzuki stating he was “deeply honoured and grateful” for Shenmue’s win. “At its inception, we set out to explore the question, ‘How real can a game become?’, aiming to portray a world and story unprecedented in scale and detail,” he said. “This distinction serves as a powerful reminder that the challenge we embraced continues to resonate with and inspire so many people even today. It is truly the greatest of encouragement.”
He even teased there’s more to come as the story remains incomplete.
The top five games in the poll are all classics worthy of the title. Following Shenmue are Doom, Super Mario Bros, Half-Life, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (my own personal choice).
The rest of the top ten also includes greats like Minecraft, Super Mario 64, Half-Life 2, and The Sims.
But there’s one outlier in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. Whether it’s a good or bad game is one thing, but can a game released just two months ago in February 2025 really be considered that influential, especially when compared to others in the list?