The five games HotHardware contributor Thiago Trevisan argues were missing from Rolling Stone’s all-time ranking are The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Ghost of Tsushima, Hogwarts: Legacy, Rise of Nations, and Quake. These are Trevisan’s suggested additions—not an official list of omissions from Rolling Stone.
What the “top 5 snubs” list actually represents
HotHardware published Trevisan’s commentary on January 8, 2025, in response to Rolling Stone’s ranking of the 50 best video games of all time. The article makes an argument about titles it believes deserved a place; it does not report that Rolling Stone acknowledged leaving these games out.
The distinction matters because the available Rolling Stone page is a Spanish-language adaptation titled “Los 25 mejores juegos de la historia,” published February 5, 2025. It is a 25-game list, not the complete English-language 50-game ranking, so it cannot confirm every entry or position in that ranking. Rolling Stone names The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as No. 1 and says the selection considers a game’s influence when it launched and whether it remains relevant. Read Rolling Stone’s Spanish-language adaptation.
Trevisan’s five proposed snubs
1. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Trevisan argues that Tears of the Kingdom builds on the appeal of Breath of the Wild and merits consideration even if a list-maker is reluctant to include two games from the same series. The underlying editorial question is whether a sequel’s achievements should stand on their own or whether an all-time list should limit representation from any one franchise.
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2. Ghost of Tsushima
Trevisan calls Ghost of Tsushima an omission and points to its story, gameplay, and Legends multiplayer mode. Those are his reasons for recommending it, rather than findings independently established by the ranking or the available Rolling Stone adaptation.
3. Hogwarts: Legacy
Trevisan makes the case for Hogwarts: Legacy through its audience reach, open-world setting, and story. His argument centers on broad appeal and the experience offered by the game, not on a confirmed Rolling Stone rule for evaluating cultural reach.
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4. Rise of Nations
Trevisan proposes the real-time strategy game Rise of Nations, invoking its design and comparison with other games in the genre. That makes it the list’s clearest challenge to a canon focused mainly on games from other genres: strategy deserves to be considered on its own terms.
5. Quake
Trevisan argues that Quake belongs in the conversation because of the franchise’s importance to PC first-person shooters. This is his genre- and platform-influence case; the available sources do not independently assess the franchise’s historical standing.
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How these arguments relate to Rolling Stone’s stated criteria
The Spanish adaptation’s influence-and-longevity criteria provide a useful lens for understanding Trevisan’s suggestions, but they do not establish how Rolling Stone would have ranked these five games. The cases appeal to different ideas of lasting importance: Quake and Rise of Nations are framed around genre or platform significance, while Tears of the Kingdom, Ghost of Tsushima, and Hogwarts: Legacy are argued through their design, stories, or audience appeal. Whether any would qualify depends on how a reader weighs those factors against the ranking’s stated criteria.
Trevisan’s list is also not the only suggestion in the HotHardware piece. Separate staff commentary mentions The Secret of Monkey Island and other adventure games. Those are additional suggestions, not part of Trevisan’s five.
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What can—and cannot—be confirmed
- Confirmed in the commentary: Trevisan names Tears of the Kingdom, Ghost of Tsushima, Hogwarts: Legacy, Rise of Nations, and Quake as his proposed snubs. Read the HotHardware commentary.
- Confirmed by Rolling Stone’s adaptation: its Spanish-language 25-game list puts Breath of the Wild at No. 1 and describes influence at release and continued relevance as selection considerations.
- Not confirmed by the available Rolling Stone page: the full contents and ordering of the English-language 50-game ranking. The 25-game adaptation should not be treated as a complete verification of that list.
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