Super Mario Galaxy 2 Jumps to Third Highest-Rated Game on Metacritic

Super Mario Galaxy 2 has quietly climbed Metacritic's Best Games of All Time list, landing in the third spot after a scoring update shifted its score from a 97 to a 98.

Quick Facts

• Super Mario Galaxy 2's Metacritic score updated from a 97 to a 98.
• The change pushes the Nintendo platformer past both the original Super Mario Galaxy and Grand Theft Auto 4.
• The top three highest-rated games on the platform are now The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Soul Calibur, and Super Mario Galaxy 2.
• The score shift was initially spotted by ResetEra user Truno and noted as taking place earlier in July.

How Metacritic's Top List Shifted

Metacritic's historical highest-rated games list has remained largely static for years. Older classics dominate the top rankings due to industry changes and shifts in review strictness over time. Previously, the top three slots belonged to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time at number one, Soul Calibur at number two, and Grand Theft Auto 4 at number three, with the two Galaxy titles occupying the fourth and fifth positions.

At some point over the last month, a change to Metacritic's scoring system bumped the 2010 Wii platformer up to a 98. That single-point increase was enough to maneuver past both the original Super Mario Galaxy and GTA 4, placing the sequel directly behind Soul Calibur. Neither the first Super Mario Galaxy nor GTA 4 experienced score adjustments during this period, leaving the update isolated to Galaxy 2.

Unnoticed Until Community Discovery

The adjustment went completely unnoticed until ResetEra user Truno highlighted the altered ranking on the forum's boards. WayBack Machine archives indicate the shift occurred earlier in July, but the quiet nature of the score recalculation meant it flew under the radar until community members checked the all-time standings.

While the exact catalyst behind the score movement remains unclear—as no other major titles on the list experienced similar shifts—it injects rare movement into an otherwise stagnant leaderboard of historical critical darlings.