Thanks to the original three Star Wars films, the height of this iconic trilogy is what creators and companies strive to achieve. It’s a great goal to reach as it follows the basic act structure of having a beginning, a middle, and an end. And by trilogy, we don’t just mean the first three games in a series. So Super Mario Bros. won’t count since it isn’t continuing a story between each release. On top of that Uncharted, as great as it is, will also not count since that tale was actually finished with the fourth entry.
Now, even though some other games on here continued their stories with a fourth, fifth, or whatever, the three games represented are contained within one concrete trilogy. The review scores were then added up and averaged out as denoted next to each header. Using this system, we've discovered the best game trilogies of all time.
Updated on September 22, 2022, by Ritwik Mitra: Long-running gaming franchises that end up selling like gangbusters are pretty prominent in the gaming industry. Publishers salivate at the idea of establishing an IP that is guaranteed to have more games that their loyal fanbases will dish out a ton of moolah for. While some games end up rehashing the same ideas for their franchises over and over again, there are other titles that focus more on making a trilogy of games that are all wildly entertaining in their own right. Keeping this in mind, here's a look at some of the most well-received trilogies in gaming history.
15 Golden Sun - Average Score of 85
With scores of 91, 86, and 79, the Golden Sun saga averages out to an 85, this series had a bit of a diminishing returns effect according to the scores.
That said, what the developer, Camelot, set out to do was unheard of at the time. The biggest advancement was that data could be passed between the first two Game Boy Advance titles via passwords. However, when it came to the finale on the Nintendo DS, it was a bit trickier. Despite this, it was still cool seeing a hero’s story told through multiple perspectives and through multiple timelines across the titles.
14 Tomb Raider - Average Score of 85
Since the second game was a timed exclusive on Xbox One, we wanted to follow the Microsoft path. With scores of 86, 86, and 82, the Tomb Raider reboot trilogy averages out to another 85.
The first game was a true surprise. Not only was the Tomb Raider series good again, but also it was a Game of the Year contender. How long had it been since that was even possible? PS1 era? The sequel was also great, but more of the same, and the finale sort of trailed off in thought.
13 The Witcher - Average Score of 87
These reviews were taken from the PC versions to make it all uniform, as the first game never went to consoles. With scores of 81, 88, and 93, The Witcher series averages an 87 rating.
This trail is not surprising at all, as CD Projekt Red started off with a great idea and kept getting better with every sequel. Now, The Witcher 3 is on the same fantasy RPG level as Skyrim. In fact, it might even be better, especially in terms of the narrative and its many branching pathways.
12 Max Payne - Average Score of 87
Like The Witcher, we are going with the PC version of these games. With scores of 89, 86, and 87, Max Payne averages out to another 87. This is also not that shocking. All of these games are great shooters with excellent bullet-time effects akin to The Matrix. On top of that, this trilogy follows Max’s unraveling life from one disaster to the next. It was both exciting and heart-wrenching at the same time.
11 Assassin’s Creed: Ezio Trilogy - Average Score of 87
Just to give the PlayStation some love, we went with PS3 scores for this one. With scores of 91, 90, and 80, the three games starring Ezio Auditore averages out to an 87.
This started out as just a fantastic sequel to what was a good but flawed proof of concept. Because Assassin’s Creed II sold so well, Ubisoft decided to make a direct sequel starring Ezio, which followed with another in his old age. To this day, because three games focused on him, Ezio remains the best character in the franchise.
10 Dark Souls - Average Score Of 88
The first Dark Souls title put FromSoftware on the map and formed a template of RPG gameplay that many titles in the future would be inspired by. While the second game suffered from a lack of direction from Hidetaka Miyazaki, the third game saw this video game auteur return to cap off the final entry in a truly iconic series.
The amazing boss fights, interconnected level design, and beautiful score of these games set them in a class of their own. It's easy to see why people still rave about the Dark Souls trilogy to this very day, given the immense quality of all three games.
9 Xenoblade Chronicles - Average Score Of 88
After his work on Xenogears and Xenosaga, Tetsuya Takahashi partnered with Nintendo to create an exclusive JRPG franchise on their lineup of consoles. This led to the rise of the first Xenoblade Chronicles, which is still considered by many to be one of the best JRPGs on a Nintendo console to date.
The series recently rounded off its main trilogy with the release of Xenoblade Chronicles 3, a game that served as a massive improvement from its predecessor and let players enjoy another brilliant story in this franchise. Players who want to sink their teeth into a deep and engaging role-playing title will be quite impressed with everything that the Xenoblade Chronicles trilogy has to offer.
8 Diablo - Average Score Of 90
Diablo is a legendary video game IP that pretty much everyone is aware of at this point. A fourth game is slated to release in this series, meaning that the status of Diablo as a trilogy won't last for too long.
However, it's impossible to talk about legendary video game trilogies without mentioning the magic of Diablo. These hack-and-slash titles are notable for sporting a wealth of amazing content, and even the third game is held in high regard by fans despite the wealth of issues and controversies that stemmed from its poorly-handled launch.
7 Batman: Arkham - Average Score of 91
Let’s continue with the PlayStation brand for this round. With scores of 91, 96, and 87, the Batman: Arkham trilogy averages out to a 91.
This year actually marks the 10th anniversary of Batman: Arkham Asylum’s debut. Who would have ever thought a Batman game could have been that good? For that matter, the developer, Rocksteady Studios, hit pay dirt twice with its sequel, Arkham City. The last game is a bit more divisive thanks to the Batmobile, but still an overall excellent trilogy.
6 BioShock - Average Score Of 92
There was a time when Ken Levine was a name that many people held in high regard in the industry. His work on the first BioShock was held in high regard, with the sequel suffering slightly because of a lack of involvement from his end. However, the release of Minerva's Den ended up being one of the best DLC content ever released, which improved the second game's reputation quite a bit.
BioShock's story was rounded off with a third entry that has one of the most ambitious and mind-bending plots in a video game. While some people argue that the story dealt with concepts it didn't understand fully, what matters is that the game hooked its players from start to end and ended the legacy of BioShock on a massive high.
5 Mass Effect - Average Score of 93
We decided to track the Xbox 360 scores for this one since the first was originally an exclusive for that system. With scores of 91, 96, and 93, the Mass Effect saga sports an average rating of 93.
We will call this the Shepherd trilogy since BioWare tried to create a new one, starring the Ryders, which ultimately flopped. Anyway, as can be seen by the scores, we have to agree that Mass Effect 2 was the pinnacle of this franchise. It still has one of the best openings to a game ever.
4 Gears of War - Average Score of 93
With scores of 94, 93, and 91, the Gears of War games also average out to a 93.
Microsoft had the market cornered on first-person shooters, and Gears of War aimed to do the same thing but for cover shooters. In a way, Gears of War was a more defining franchise for this console generation than Halo. While the games are still continuing, the story has focused on a new set of Cogs, which is why we included it. Let’s call it the Marcus saga.
3 Metroid Prime - Average Score of 93
Moving from the GameCube to the Wii, the Metroid Prime trilogy received an average of 93 with review scores of 97, 92, and 90.
Now, while we do know a fourth Metroid Prime game is coming, we can only assume it will attempt to start a new story since it has been so long since these launched. Metroid Prime 3 launched in 2007! On top of that, the third game had a pretty well-executed ending.
2 Halo - Average Score of 95
Halo is actually broken up into two different trilogies. The first, which we are examining here, was called the Reclaimer Saga, while the current one is referred to as the Forerunner Saga. With scores of 97, 95, and 94, Halo averages out to our highest score of 95. Is there really anything to say? This is Halo!
While we said Gears of War was the bigger franchise of the Xbox 360 era, Halo 3 still had a huge impact. How could it not be with the slogan “finish the fight” plastered everywhere?
1 Grand Theft Auto 3D Trilogy - Average Score Of 96
After Grand Theft Auto 3 broke new ground when it came to the possibilities of an open world, Rockstar Games realized the potential of its format and released two more games on the same engine.
Both Vice City and San Andreas became a part of what is unofficially known as the Grand Theft Auto 3D Trilogy, and it's still incredible to see that all three games were released over the span of just three years. It proves just how much quality was present in Rockstar Games... and how tough and resource-intensive video game development has become in modern times.