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Best games of 1985

The 8 best games released in 1985, ranked from 554 critic and player ratings.

The best game of 1985 is Ghosts 'n Goblins, with a critic score of 90/100 — updated November 2026.

How this ranking is built
  • Games are ranked on the aggregated critic score out of 100 imported from IGDB and Metacritic, never on Tier's own grades.
  • A game only enters the ranking with at least 30 external ratings, so a single enthusiastic review never outranks a proven classic.
  • Community grades from F to S are shown next to every game, and only stated as a fact above 5 Tier ratings.
  • Release window covered: 1985.
  • 8 games are listed on this page, carrying 554 ratings between them.
  • Rankings are recomputed hourly; this one was last rebuilt on 13 November 2026.

Top 8

Played them? Give your tier with the + next to each game. No account needed to try — create one to keep your tiers.

01 Ghosts 'n Goblins Ghosts 'n Goblins 1985 · 107 ratings Ghosts 'n Goblins is a platform game where the player controls a knight, named Sir Arthur, who must defeat zombies, ogres, demons, cyclops, dragons and other monsters in order to rescue Princess Prin Prin, who has been kidnapped by Satan, king of Demon World. Along the way the player can pick up new weapons, bonuses and extra suits of armor that can help in this task. The game is often considered very difficult by arcade standards and is commonly regarded as one of the most difficult games ever released. The game is considered by Gametrailers.com to be the world's second most difficult game ever made. The player can only be hit twice before losing a life (the first hit takes away Arthur's armor, and the player must continue on in his underwear until completing the level, or finding replacement armor). If the player loses a life, he is returned to the start of the level, or the halfway point if he has managed to get that far. Furthermore, each life can only last a certain length of time (generally around three minutes), the clock being reset at the start of a level. If the clock does run out, the player instantly loses that life. After defeating the final boss, but only with the cross weapon (if the player does not have the cross weapon, they will be prompted that it is needed to defeat the boss and restart at the beginning of level 5 and must repeat round 5 and 6 again regardless if the weapon is obtained immediately or not) for the first time the player is informed that the battle was "a trap devised by Satan". The player must then replay the entire game on a higher difficulty level to reach the genuine final battle. 90 /100
02 Gauntlet (1985) Gauntlet (1985) 1985 · 49 ratings The players, up to four at once in the arcade version, select among four playable fantasy-based characters; Thor the Warrior, Merlin the Wizard, Thyra the Valkyrie, or Questor the Elf. Each character has his or her own unique strength and weaknesses. For example, the Warrior is strongest in hand-to-hand combat, the Wizard has the most powerful magic, the Valkyrie has the best armour and the Elf is the fastest in movement. Upon selecting a playable character, the gameplay is set within a series of top-down, third-person perspective mazes where the object is to find and touch the designated exit in every level. An assortment of special items can be located in each level that increase player's character's health, unlock doors, gain more points and magical potions that can destroy all of the enemies on screen. The enemies are an assortment of fantasy-based monsters, including ghosts, grunts, demons, lobbers, sorcerers and thieves. Each enters the level through specific generators, which can be destroyed. While there are no bosses in the game, the most dangerous enemy is "Death", who can not only drain a character's health, but is difficult to destroy. As the game progresses, higher levels of skill are needed to reach the exit, with success often depending on the willingness of the players to cooperate by sharing food and luring monsters into places where they can be engaged and slaughtered more conveniently. While contact with enemies reduces the player's health, it also slowly drains on its own, thus creating a time limit. When a character's health reaches zero, that character dies. The character can be revived in place with full health by spending a game credit (i.e. inserting a coin) within a certain short time window after it died. This allows even the least proficient players to keep playing indefinitely, if they are willing to keep inserting coins. 77 /100
03 Commando Commando 1985 · 59 ratings Several levels await your super-tough Commando in this arcade conversion. Armed with only a standard rifle and a few grenades you must take on hordes of enemies. Some are wandering around in the open, while others have picked out hiding places, which you must approach from certain angles. Trees, rivers and bridges create a varied combat-like terrain and must be incorporated into your thinking. Extra grenades can be collected, and will definitely be required, as they allow you to kill from distance and thus avoid some enemy shots. 80 /100
04 Winter Games Winter Games 1985 · 32 ratings Third in the series of Epyx Olympic sports games. Compete in many different sporting events like: Ski Jump, Hot Dog, Biathlon, Bobsled, Free Skating, Figure Skating and more. 90 /100
05 Gradius Gradius 1985 · 50 ratings One of the defining characteristics of the Gradius series is the use of a "power meter." The power meter is powered by a power-up item, whose purpose, when collected, is to move a highlight to the next power-up on the power meter. When a power-up that the player wants becomes highlighted, he or she may activate it, also causing the highlight to reset. 74 /100
06 Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? 1985 · 31 ratings Woldwide crime wave! Acme Detective Agency hot on the trail of master thief Carmen Sandiego and her henchmen. Wanted: Detective to locate and capture Carmen and her gang. Must be hard working, independent, fun seeking individual willing to travel the world. No experience necessary. - Digitised graphics - Hundreds of cases - More animated sequinces - Play in 5 languages Don't forget your World Almanac. It is a gumshoe's best friend. 70 /100
07 Balloon Fight (1985) Balloon Fight (1985) 1985 · 114 ratings Balloon Fight was developed and released by Nintendo, being the console port of the Arcade game VS. Balloon Fight (which was developed at the same time by another team, but released first). It was ported onto numerous other systems, and has more recently been released on the Nintendo Wii U. The game allowed for 1 player and 2 player gameplay, providing cooperative play to get past each stage. 69 /100
08 Bomberman (2005) Bomberman (2005) 1985 · 112 ratings Bomberman is a robot engaged in the production of bombs. Like his fellow robots, he had been put to work in an underground compound by evil forces. Bomberman found it to be an unbearably dreary existence. One day, he heard an encouraging rumor. According to the rumor, any robot that could escape the underground compound and make it to the surface could become human. Bomberman leaped at the opportunity, but escape proved to be no small task. Alerted to Bomberman's betrayal, large numbers of the enemy set out in pursuit. Bomberman can rely only on bombs of his own production for his defense. Will he ever make it up to the surface? Once there, will he really become human? 58 /100

Other years

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Nearby rankings

Best games of 1984Best games of 1987

Catalog statistics

Most abandoned gamesMost completed games

Frequently asked questions

What is the best game of 1985?

Ghosts 'n Goblins currently tops the ranking with a score of 90/100 across 107 ratings. Ranking updated November 2026.

How is this ranking built?

Games are ranked on their aggregated critic score out of 100, with a minimum vote threshold so a single glowing review never outranks a proven classic; the Tier community's own F-to-S grades are shown alongside each game.