Critics consider "EarthBound" a "classic" or "must-play" among video games. The game was included in multiple top 50 games of all time lists, including that of "Famitsu" readers in 2006 and IGN readers in 2005 and 2006. IGN ranks the game 13th in its top 100 SNES games and 26th among all games for its in-game world, which was "distinct and unforgettable" for its take on Americanism, unconventional settings, and 1960s music. And Gamasutra named it one of its 20 "essential" Japanese role-playing games. The rerelease was Justin Haywald of "GameSpot" game of the year, and "Nintendo Life" Virtual Console game of the year. "GameZone" said it "would be a great disservice" to merely call "EarthBound" "a gem". In the United Kingdom, where "EarthBound" had been previously unreleased, "GamesTM" noted how it had been "anecdotally heralded as a retro classic". IGN's Scott Thompson said the game was "the true definition of a classic". "Kotaku" wrote that the game was content to make the player "feel lonely", and, overall, was special not for any individual aspect but for its method of using the video game medium to explore ideas impossible to explore in other media.