4Stack #9 — answers & breakdown
Wednesday, July 22, 2026
Release years, which is the format people either love or find completely unfair. There is no wordplay to fall back on: you either know when things came out or you are guessing.
The sixteen cards in this puzzle were: Ocarina of Time, Half-Life, Metal Gear Solid, StarCraft, Skyrim, Minecraft, Dark Souls, Portal 2, Breath of the Wild, PUBG, Cuphead, Hollow Knight, Baldur's Gate 3, Tears of the Kingdom, Alan Wake 2, Lies of P.
The four stacks
Released in 2023
Baldur's Gate 3, Tears of the Kingdom, Alan Wake 2, Lies of P
2019: a strong year for mid-size and independent releases rather than blockbusters. Disco Elysium and Outer Wilds both landed on a lot of decade-end lists.
Released in 2017
Breath of the Wild, PUBG, Cuphead, Hollow Knight
2017: often argued to be one of the strongest single years in the medium. Breath of the Wild and PUBG alone reshaped two entirely different parts of the industry.
Released in 2011
Skyrim, Minecraft, Dark Souls, Portal 2
2013: the tail end of the PS3 and Xbox 360 generation, and a good year for narrative-led games.
Released in 1998
Ocarina of Time, Half-Life, Metal Gear Solid, StarCraft
1998: the year most frequently cited as the greatest in gaming history. Ocarina of Time, Half-Life, Metal Gear Solid and StarCraft all shipped within twelve months of each other.
Want to try it yourself? Play puzzle #9 — archive plays don't affect your streak. Or jump into today's puzzle.