I’ve been wondering the same thing, but haven’t found a way to phrase my question as well as you did.

You’re not the first person to wonder about that, and admittedly, I can see why. I think part of the reason my opinions are different than the general public is that I spent a few years in the SMBX community, specifically the few years it wasn’t being updated. This meant level designers could only work with what was there, but still had to try to keep their episodes interesting across multiple levels. Sure, I had grown up with games like Mario vs. Donkey Kong, but it further cemented to me that you don’t need to keep introducing new stuff to keep a game interesting; you could use old stuff in creative ways. The devs get to keep the game interesting with the added benefit of not having to lower the difficulty curve to teach the player how the new stuff works.

So whenever I see these professional games–the ones that actually cost real money–somehow have less ingenuity than free SMBX episodes like A New Beginning, Mario Classic, or Mario Prime: Saga of a Maleficent Mask…it’s disappointing, to say the least. I’ve actually considered going back to level editor communities once my Steam backlog is done.

…but that’s not what you were asking, was it?

I’m just genuinely curious as to what your top games of all time would be, where you’d say they are ‘perfect’.

Well, I linked my favorite game in my BLAEO description, but I’ll admit even that game isn’t perfect: https://www.backlog-assassins.net/posts/db8kgjb

As for the other games I liked the most in these past three years:

Adventures of Pip: I did originally say to wait for a sale, but that was before I realized these kind of games weren’t the norm, even among action platformers.
Strider 2: It’s got a few cheap spots and recycles some of Strider 1’s bosses, but it’s still pretty fun if you can get it for less than a couple bucks.
Toki Tori 1: It does introduce one new item for each world (two for world 4 if you count the ice working differently underwater), but it does a good job at building on every other item, and even the new ones to an extent (and unlike the sequel, you know that you know everything you can do when you make it to each level). I should probably go back and beat all the hard levels at some point.
Super Mario Odyssey: It also recycles bosses and the post-game kinda sucks, but if you just focus on the story missions and obstacle courses instead of the “wander around the desert until you happen to stumble across three seeds” missions, it can be pretty fun.
Khimera: Destroy all Monster Girls: It has some issues, but it’s competently made and free! What more could you ask for?
Super Lucky’s Tale (and its DLCs): It’s a little on the easy side (with some levels maybe being too easy in retrospect, especially if you miss a clover and have to replay a level), but I had fun with it.
Prince Yeh Rude: The difficulty curve is a bit wonky (and the lives/time system is dumb), but it’s otherwise a solid puzzle game.
Gunman Clive: A couple of the bosses have some cheap attacks, but the price is also cheap, and the rest of it is pretty fun.
Hyper Light Drifter: One of the few hack ‘n’ slash games that regularly uses level design. This is why I haven’t written the genre off completely.
The Messenger: This might’ve been the best one besides Sutte Hakuun if it stayed a linear platformer and cut out the backtracking and riddles (and maybe reworked the Tower of Time, too).
Good Snowman: The difficulty builds pretty slowly and getting to the post-game after beating the main game wasn’t a fun experience, but once you’re there, it gets pretty challenging.
Gravity Duck: Yet another example of free games having better understanding of level design and difficulty curves than professional titles. Could’ve stood to be a bit more challenging, though; oh well.
Wargroove: No percent chances, little fog of war, few new stuff introduced after the half-way point, instead focusing on level design for challenge. Games like this are why I still play tactics games.
Splasher: Besides some of the hostages being in positions where you won’t have time to react to them on your first try, this is another example of level design done right.
https://www.backlog-assassins.net/posts/mlyer27: More free flash games.

Honorable Mentions:
Bionic Commando Re:Armed 2: The first third-ish is kinda dull and the bosses are kinda cheap, but it does have some good level design in the later parts of the game.
Undertale: This is the single worst thing to happen to final bosses in maybe forever (not to mention all the arbitrary, counter-intuitive stuff you need to do to unlock post-game, and if you mess up you have to start a new file), but I did like the enemies’ attacks being little bullet-hell arenas, and its overworld segments are better than many other RPGs. This is why I’m more interested in Nepenthe than Deltarune.
Strider 2014: There’s a difficulty spike when you have to fight 2-3 bosses at once, gravity controls are finicky, and there’s a part near the end where projectiles blend into the background, but otherwise, it’s an okay game.
Jet Set Radio: It’s a unique twist on the 3D collectathon platformer, but the jumping is stiff and the bosses are really annoying.
Explodemon: The platforming is fun, but the lock-down segments are repetitive and the same boss gets reused throughout the whole game (albeit in different arenas).
The Bug Butcher: I’ll admit I don’t really remember this game that well (which is why it’s here and not on the list above), but I’d rather have a fun, unmemorable title than one where you remember it for its problems.
Pink Hour & Pink Heaven: I’m not a fan of their forward momentum, but they have the best-executed hard mode I’ve seen in a while: they actually alter the level design instead of just tweaking HP and DEF. And they’re free.
Secret of the Nameless Kingdom: Combat and dungeon design were okay, but you need to finish the trading quest to beat the game, and at least one of the required NPCs is in a spot that is very miss-able.
Advance Wars 2: Had the potential to be another Wargroove, but quite a few maps were a bit too symmetrical IMO. Still, not a bad game at all.
Kirby’s Return to Dreamland: A well polished game, though it’s a little on the easy side (maybe not as easy as Super Lucky’s Tale in retrospect, but only one of these games is on Xbox Game Pass, which has a free trial).
Ori and the Blind Forest: The chase segments are kinda cheap and the part where you have to use the enemies’ projectiles to destroy the logs was kinda unintuitive (to say nothing of the anti-gravity squares), but it still has some of the best level design I’ve seen in a metroidvania in a while (The Messenger doesn’t count).
Cosmic Express: Decent puzzle game, but the difficulty curve is all over the place and it can be kinda gimmicky.

…wait, that’s not what you were asking, either. I’m really bad at this.

top games of all time
all time

That’s a bit tougher since I have enough trouble remembering just these past three years, and I may have to replay the games in question to make sure. Also, before I beat Sutte Hakuun, I’d always been reluctant to say that X is one of my favorites of “all time” because it would imply I like it more than some other game I played when really I’d have to compare the two side-by-side with a refreshed memory to make that decision. I guess just take these with a grain of salt, but I can list some games I remember enjoying:

Mario vs Donkey Kong: Pretty good level design for the most part, and while it does introduce new stuff in each world, there are enough levels that it can build on what it has. It was disappointing that the final boss was basically a direct copy of the final boss from Donkey Kong 94, though.
Bullet Maze: Challenging level design and it’s free. Only issue is that you have to use the mouse to move, but the protagonist moves at a fixed speed.
Super Mario 64 DS: Sure, the original 64 and Sunshine (and DK64 to a lesser extent) are what got me into collectathons, but 64 DS fixed some of my issues with the original, like the wall-jumping mechanics or the fact that you had to catch the rabbit TWICE to get all the stars (now catching the rabbits just get you new mini-games IIRC). And Sunshine had those blue coins.
Super Mario 3D Land/3D World: I like the linear Mario games more than the collectathon ones.
Metroid Zero Mission: While it does basically reuse Super Metroid’s Kraid (and it has a mediocre stealth section tacked on near the end), it’s way less obtuse than Super Metroid while still having pretty good level design (notably, Super Metroid’s X-Ray Scope won’t reveal all fake walls; my brother and I thought we had to take damage through the lava just to escape Norfair after beating Ridley…until I watched a 100% run on YouTube). Maybe Fusion is better, I dunno; I haven’t played these games in a while.
Metroid Prime: I don’t normally like FPS games because aiming in a 3D space is awkward, but this game has a lock-on mechanic and designs the game around it. The map is also more interconnected, unlike Prime 2 and 3 where you’ll have to backtrack through the same rooms more often (and 3 ruined what made the lock-on system great by not locking your gun onto the enemy).
A Link to the Past+Four Swords: It’s like the original, only portable! It’s also one of the last Zelda games to put some focus on combining combat with level design. It was disappointing that the Four Swords dungeon reused the first four Dark World bosses, though it did tweak them slightly. The multiplayer was fun, though some of the stuff felt tacked on, like a rock you need everyone together to lift. The puzzles still aren’t that great, but it isn’t as obtuse as the first two games. Oracle of Ages might’ve been able to be better, but I still remember the boss of the 8th dungeon not get damaged by my bombs, only to ask my brother for help and watch him do the same thing I was doing only it somehow worked that time. I don’t remember Oracle of Seasons that well, so maybe it’s better? I just wish there was a game with this combat system that focused on combat and level design instead of “puzzles” and exploration.
Jack Bros: Decent twinstick shooter, though I wish the game told you how to strafe before level 3 (and it would’ve been nice to know that the character select is really just a glorified difficulty select in disguise). It’s easily my favorite SMT game.
Battle Kid Fortress of Peril: Technically a metroidvania, but I remember it being pretty linear. Only thing I remember actively disliking was how obtuse it was to get the 4th-tier block destroyer (you’re only told it’s in a “green room”, and IMO that room wasn’t particularly green), and I think some of the bosses had attacks that weren’t conveyed well.
More free Flash games: Tower of Heaven (though I remember its secrets being kinda obtuse), Pause Ahead, Tiny Dangerous Dungeon, Elephant Quest, Super Mario 63, Melee Man, Captain Fugly, Enough Plumbers (1 and 2), Spikes Tend To Kill You (1 and 2)

Honorable Mentions:
Rocket Knight Adventures: I remember having fun, but IIRC it has limited continues. I think Sparkster had infinite continues; I don’t remember.
Super Bat Puncher: Fun concept, but it never made it past a demo stage.
Terranigma: This has the kind of combat I like, but in retrospect, level design is a bit weak and the RPG mechanics were kinda frustrating (I still remember only dealing 9-10 damage to the final boss–who isn’t always in range, by the way–then looking up a walkthrough that simply said to use another weapon which the game said only had +1 attack, but ended up dealing way more damage). Maybe Illusion of Gaia is better despite being a bit more obtuse at times and reusing all the bosses at the end…or maybe Soul Blazer is better than both despite mostly just having enemy spawners that go away once you’ve killed a set number of them.
Soldier Blade: Pretty good right up to the stage 6 boss which IIRC has invulnerable periods and puts the weak point near the bottom of the screen in this game where you can only shoot up, making it way more difficult than the rest of the game. Despite the game having infinite continues, I never beat that boss.
Klonoa Door to Phantomile: This is another I don’t remember that well, but I’m pretty sure it was more action-oriented than Moonlight Museum, which ended up being kinda dull for the most part.
Donkey Kong Country GBC: It has an extra level that the SNES and GBA versions don’t have. Unfortunately, it also recycles music from Donkey Kong Land instead of having proper conversions of the SNES game’s music. I don’t remember if it lets you save per-level or if you need to reach a designated spot per-world like in the SNES version, though.

I’d probably also put at least one of the Mega Man games on there, as that franchise was one of the first to do jumping momentum correctly, i.e. not at all. Forward is forward, regardless if you’re on the ground or in mid-air. I wouldn’t be surprised if I moved some of these games to my honorable mentions list upon replaying them since it has been a while. And yeah, these are mostly platformers, but that seems to be the only genre that regularly does level design well (them and SHMUPs, but SHMUPs tend to do continues poorly).

I’d definitely still put Sutte Hakuun and The Messenger on my all-time list, though. Probably Toki Tori 1 as well.

That enough?