Games of the Decade (2010-2019)
2019/12/03Originally chosen as my ten favourite videogames from both major studios and indies across the decade, this now alphabetised list is my best attempt at curating the best the medium had to offer in the 2010s.
Celeste
Sublime gamefeel and a mountain of artistry, Celeste is the perfect marriage of mechanics and themes.
Death Stranding
Death Stranding takes traversing an open world back to fundamentals, and then layers it back up with a wealth of superbly refined systems, world building and enrapturing performances.
Fallout: New Vegas
Quests with character and choices with consequence, Fallout: New Vegas is roleplaying heaven.
Gravity Rush 2
Fantastical worlds and impossible feats, Gravity Rush 2 delivers with touching beauty.
Grow Home
Grow Home is indie gaming grown up, a physics platformer of simple, joyful escapism that reaches new heights.
Hollow Knight
Challenging, immersive and expertly crafted, Hollow Knight is the best metroidvania ever made.
Hotline Miami
Every part of Hotline Miami gets in your head, coming together in a frighteningly addictive tight loop of murder performance.
Journey
In its masterfully minimalist design and isolation, Journey connects strangers together more closely than any other game.
Little Big Planet 2
Play, Create, Share - a mantra fully embodied by Little Big Planet 2 in a joyously punk package that pound for pound has never been surpassed.
Mario Kart 8
That Mario Kart seems a boring choice is testament to how universally enjoyed this series has become - and Mario Kart 8 (Deluxe) is the best it has ever been.
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
In its depth and breadth of mechanics, Metal Gear Solid V is the best playing third person action game of all time - but Ground Zeroes provides the perfect playground.
Mount and Blade: Warband
Mount and Blade: Warband is the perfect sandbox, a truly free-form roleplaying game that you will completely lose yourself in - along with hundreds of hours of your life.
Outer Wilds
Progression through player knowledge is paramount in Outer Wilds, offering up a clockwork solar system of unparalleled craft and intelligence.
Rocket League
The very definition of easy to pick up but hard to master, Rocket League is instantly fun with a near infinite skill ceiling.
Superhot
SUPERHOT is the most innovative shooter I've played this decade - an unmissable interactive ballet of bullets.
The Binding of Isaac
A rarity of roguelikes, The Binding of Isaac swims in content without ever diluting its core experience, making a game as playable in its first hour as its hundredth.
The Last Guardian
Simple but beguiling, beautiful and frustrating, and as evocative as it is divisive - The Last Guardian is art.
The Last of Us
Beautiful, visceral and enrapturing, The Last Of Us is a personal blockbuster, every element painstakingly refined.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Breath of the Wild is a landmark of landmarks, a masterclass in systems design and emergent gameplay in an open world, and probably the best game ever made.
The Stanley Parable
Laugh along as you consider the fundamental limitations of videogames as a medium - that's The Stanley Parable.
Tokyo Jungle
You have never played a game like Tokyo Jungle, and you likely never will - which is fine, because it's already perfect.