I played Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty for the first time on Christmas day in 2001. That morning, after all the presents had been opened, my dad popped our new game (that he got for us) into the PS2 so that he could «test it out.» Five hours later, he finally concluded that the game was in working order and reluctantly handed off the controller to me and my little sister. Up until that point, I had only ever played games like Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, and Ape Escape—which are all iconic games, don’t get me wrong—but MGS2 felt like a game for grown-ups. I still remember the addictive feeling of satisfaction after successfully getting photographs of the RAY without being detected. I felt like a real spy. It was the most immersive gaming experience I’d ever had at the time. Of course, everyone has their own opinions about which game in the Metal Gear series is the very best, but to me, MGS2 will always be a masterpiece. 

One redditor asked gamers to share their opinions on which video games ought to be considered masterpieces, and it’s hard to argue with their choices. We’ve collected all of the highlights from the thread.