TV Trope's Favorite Videogames of the 2010s (2024)

As we enter the final hours before the decade starts to end, I figured now would be the best time to stop procrastinating and start putting up this thread.

Some games we have enjoyed, others we put down and never came back to again, others we will continue to enjoy even if the Earth begins to crumble, what were your favorite games of the 2010s?

And while I am personally putting up a list, you don't have to follow my format. If there's a specific format you want to go with, that's fine by me. The one thing I ask is that you pothole your games for those who are interested.

Anyways, let's go:

2010:

• World of Warcraft Cataclysm: My first rodeo on an MMO's hype train. It basically followed what I was doing with Wrath of the Lich King. I really enjoyed much of what this game had to offer, because I basically play this and only this for the majority of the time.
  • Runner Up: Minecraft, even though 1.0 came out the next year, it was still out and playable.

2011

• Pokémon Black and White: My return to the series after skipping pratically skipping gen 4. I loved the music, the chracaters, and the story. It's too bad I wasn't able to enjoy Wi FI at the time due to the fact I was still using an original DS and the place I was staying at the time didn't want to change to fit the old thing.
  • Runner Up: Mario Kart 7

2012

• World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria: While Cataclysm was me being a hyped up fanboi, Mists of Pandaria was where I loved everything about the expansion. The new region, the new class, the new race. I can't say much else about how I loved this game at the time. It's too bad the next expansion and upcoming games kinda helped me fall off the bandwagon.
  • Runner Up: Pokémon Black 2 and White 2

2013

• Animal Crossing: New Leaf: I loved this game. As with Pokemon, it was my return to form after basically skipping Wild World and City Folk (I bought both games, but disliked them both) I spent so much of my time in my little town, helping out villagers and building it up. That was until I screwed up the transfer process to a New 3DS. I basically lost all interest after that, but I'm hoping and expecting New Horizons to bring me back.
  • Runner Up:The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

2014

• Mario Kart 8: It's hard not to repeat myself. I enjoyed this game so much I pretty much gold medeled everything except for the 200cc cups. I also loved the implementation of DLC for the game.
  • Runner Up:Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U

2015

• Xenoblade Chronicles X: A great world, excellent world building, excellent music, excellent combat, lackluster story. Still played this game a lot. Even did a challenge run.
  • Runner Up: Cities: Skylines

2016

• Stardew Valley: I jumped on the bandwagon when I heard this was a farming simulator in the same vein as Harvest Moon, and being done by one person makes it much more spectacular. I spent some time with the PC version, but most of my time with this game was actually with the Switch port.
  • Runner Up: Pokémon Sun and Moon

2017

• Nintendo Switch: I had a really hard time figuring out which game to give my Got Y for 2017, but then I remembered what platform those games were on. To me, the Switch has been my gamer dream come true, the same dream I had back when I was playing N64 and Gamecube games, the ability to take console worthy games on the go. It has its issue (JoyCon drift anyone?), but I still love the system.
  • Runner Up: Splatoon 2

2018

• Octopath Traveler: My favorite RPG from 2018. Spent a lot of time with that world and the characters. Not just the main characters, but also the NPC. Still need to go back and try and beat the True Final Boss.
  • Runner Up: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

2019

• Video Game/Civilization VI: Gathering Storm: Can you tell where most of my time this year has went? Yeah, this expansion pack to the latest Civ game has me hook, line, and sinker, and makes it hard for me to let go to play other games this year, both the fact that it introduced my two favorite Civs, but also, I enjoyed the mechanics to the point that when I tried to go back to the base game with the Switch port, it was hard to play. Glad the expansions are on the Switch now (and the whole game is on other platforms).

"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."

It wasn't closed, just relocated to the Yack Fest forum.

SoundCloud

Well, my Top 10 from The New '10s, in no particular order, are:

Katawa Shoujo

Shovel Knight

Undertale

Katana ZERO

Metal Gear Rising

Persona 3 Portable

The Legend of Heroes: Trails From Zero^note

Bastion

Fallout: New Vegas

Dark Souls

I generally prefer to play retro, so this was surprisingly hard to put together.

Hmm... I haven't played many new games this decade, I fear, but of the ones that I have these are the games that perhaps stood out for me, in no particular order:

• Divinity: Original Sin (Enhanced Edition)
  • I'm still playing this, so my opinion may change as I go on, but thus far I'm thoroughly enjoying it! The magic-system is fun to play with—especially with the inclusion of various environmental interactions—and the exploration is rewarding.
• Brilliant Shadows
  • A really good visual novel, with fun characters and some interesting choices.
• Shadowgate
  • I never played the original, as far as I recall, but the remake was a really interesting and rather enjoyable puzzle-adventure. I wasn't a huge fan of the time-limit mechanic, but the game's mysterious and magical puzzles quite made up for that, I think!
• SOMA
  • The monster-mechanics may not have been my favourite, but those aside, SOMA provided an intriguing, ruined world, along with some neat perspectives on artificial intelligence.

And if we may include a work-in-progress game, of which I played an early demo, as I recall:

• Zodiac Axis
  • A rather impressive visual novel, relatively-dense with choices and possessed of interesting characters and an intriguing plot. (Plus there's a neat use of visual-novel choices to create an article-writing mechanic.)

My Games & Writing

Might as well just paste what I wrote in the previous thread:

1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: Yeah I know, bit of a cliche pick and I can see where some of the detractors are coming from. However, for me, this game represents the culmination of the open-world genre that had been developing up to its release, and no other game I can think of this decade allowed me to have as much freedom and creativity in how I chose to play than it. Even to this day, people are still finding new ways to experiment with its physics and world, which is pretty much all I have to say about that.

2. NieR: Automata: What else can I say about it? It's definitely a one-of-a-kind in terms of games released, with one of the greatest soundtracks in all of gaming, one of the most compelling stories I've seen in any medium, and thanks to Platinum's touch, it is just as fun to play, whereas other "arty" games tend to sacrifice gameplay just to prove a point. Not here though, and I am so thankful for that. Plus, 2B is my waifu. XD

3. Red Dead Redemption 2: A bit of a controversial pick here. Yes, it is rather slow paced, has several control issues, linear mission design, and the later chapters can drag on a bit. So why is it still up on my list? Because despite all that, the game manages to overcome those issues thanks to one of the most well-realized and authentic worlds in all of gaming, some of the best and most realized characters in the medium, and gameplay that really makes you feel like you are in the Old West.

4. Doom (2016): Arguably the biggest reason as to why we're seeing so many retro-style shooters these days from indie developers. It really brought that old-school style of action packed shooting, weapon variety, tactics and movement, and combined it with things like Glory Kills and upgrades to create what I consider to be the best shooter of the decade. And considering how many good ones it had, that's saying a lot.

5. Devil May Cry 5: Itsuno and the rest of Capcom said they wanted to create the best action game of the Heisei era, and I truly think they succeeded. It does away with all the mindless frills that I feel the genre had picked up in the wake of the franchise's absense (such as QT Es and more focus on grand scale and cinematic spectacle over mechanics), and hones the combat down to the deepest and most satisfying the genre has ever had. Heck, just like Breath of the Wild and Doom 2016, Devil May Cry V showed that returning to the roots of the franchise and its genre can create much better experiences than ever before.

I...played way too few games this decade. WAY too few. Buuut if I can rattle off a few...

• Nie R: Automata (this is a serious, serious contender for my new favorite game of all time, I absolutely love it. Also the true ending is possibly the single greatest thing I've ever experienced in a game)
• Hollow Knight
• Spider-Man (PS 4)
• Asura's Wrath
• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
• Kirby's Return to Dreamland

Self-serious autistic metalhead who goes by any pronouns. (avvie template source)

There's a lot of games from the 2010's I haven't played due to having a terrible computer, but as far as what I have:

Dark Souls: I fell in love with Demon's Souls after giving it some time and this game managed to make love it even more. There's only a handful of games I've thought about more since playing them period. I love the art direction, gameplay, storytelling style, and basically everything about it appeals to me a lot.

NieR and Nie R Automata: I gotta be honest, this decade I've fallen out of love with JRPG's a good deal. I still enjoy them for their gameplay and audivisual aesthetic but in terms of story they're rarely all that satisfying or interesting to me (to put it somewhat dismissively, most of them just make me feel like I'm watching a mediocre anime). But these two games really sank their hooks into me and easily became some of my top games of all time. There's just something really sharp, incisive and effective about Yoko Taro's direction and writing that truly speaks to me the way few games do. These games really use the potential of the videogame medium in ways that are rarely seen. And that's why, despite these games having a bunch of flaws in a lot of areas, they're still really special to me. Not to mention the godlike soundtracks by Keiichi Okabe and his team which I still listen to regularly.

The House in Fata Morgana: It feels weird to classify this as a game given how little interactivity it has, but f*ck it. This is probably my biggest surprise in a while. I was expecting an enjoyable visual novel on par with others I've played, but it was truly gripping and after the second door it had me hooked. While it does have one or two VERY problematic aspects, I can't deny the emotional impact it had on me. It dives straight into pure melodrama but DAMN if it doesn't do what melodrama is supposed to: make you feel strong emotions. It really helps that it has a more distinctive art style and soundtrack compared to many other VN's out there which helps it stand out.

Hollow Knight: This quickly became my favorite Metroidvania of all time. Between its simple but very satisfying combat, complex and densely packed world design that makes it actually possible to get lost (in a good way), fantastic atmosphere and audiovisual aesthetic, and amazing amount of content for such a cheap game, it's just a great overall package that left me very satisfied by the end.

Cuphead: I haven't finished this yet but it's amazing. Even if all it had going for it was the visuals it would still be a worthwhile game, but the fact that its gameplay is so satisfying and visceral easily makes it one of my top games of recent years.

Honorable mention:

Doki Doki Literature Club!: This doesn't really have the long-lasting impact a lot of these other games do but damn if my first time playing this wasn't a damn memorable experience. It legitimately got under my skin more than many conventional horror games I've played so I feel it deserves to be mentioned at least.

Edited by Draghinazzo on Dec 31st 2019 at 1:11:00 PM

I'm going to copy and paste my list from the previous thread here if no one minds.

1. Xenoblade Chronicles is the best RPG of its generation, if not the best game of all time. Over-effusive praise? I don't think so. How many games make their protagonist's story-cracking power a core gameplay mechanic? Other games have Relationship Values that unlock scenes and special conversations, Xenoblade 1 starts there and then goes on to use them in battle, in crafting, in sidequesting, and in developing the setting by giving you Relationship Values with entire regions. Oh, and the setting itself is incredibly inspired, and I challenge anyone to come up with anything more fantastic that isn't another Xenoblade game.

2. Xenoblade 1 is on my shortlist for best game ever. I like Xenoblade Chronicles X even BETTER. It's a completely different experience; less an epic story and more a science fiction anthology about colonizing an alien, dangerous world. Don't be fooled by the "main story", the game is really about the city and how you and those around you contribute to its survival and growth. Also, giant robots.

3. Divinity: Original Sin and sequel. I backed a lot of games on Kickstarter, including most of the big RP Gs. Most of them were unworthy followups to their predecessors. Divinity Original Sin was the exception that validated Kickstarter's existence. You're free to decide how to tackle each area, you have plenty of options on how to approach, subvert, and avoid most every encounter you encounter, and the only game that does world interaction better is BOTW. Best of all, you can do all this with a friend, or three in the Even Better Sequel.

4. Sdorica has a very simple premise: what if a gacha game... was good? It has most of the trappings of those waifu collectathon skinner boxes, but at its core is a fantastic story. And that makes all the difference, because good stories imply good characters, and Sdorica's characters are very good indeed. It's also got great music, and a battle system where your characters are completely mechanically unique—which is basically unheard of in the genre. In other words, it's a gacha game for people who hate gacha games and I recommend it to everyone willing to give mobile games a try.

5. The Trails series, but Trails in the Sky particularly. SC and TC totally count, they only made it here this decade! But yeah it's hugely ambitious from a storytelling perspective, as each game builds on not just the reveals but the political moves of the last. Estelle as a protagonist is a breath of fresh air. More great music, and while I'm less happy about the battle system that's a product of playing Nightmare in every game. Aaaaaargh.

In no particular order:

Fallout: New Vegas

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

Soulcalibur V (Well, I liked the Create-A-Soul function and for Ezio Auditore. The story and characters blew chunks.)

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag

Saints Row: The Third

Saints Row IV

Soulcalibur VI (Again, mainly for Create-A-Soul and Geralt.)

Fallout 4

Persona 4 (I hadn't actually played it until I found out about it in 2010. Same with Persona 3 and Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne)

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc

The Sims 3 (even though it first came out in 2009, most of the expansions came out during the 10s, so I'm counting it)

The Sims Medieval

Lollipop Chainsaw

Stardew Valley

Batman: Arkham City

Batman: Arkham Origins

Dead Rising 2 (Including Off The Record, which I played first)

Devil Survivor and Devil Survivor 2

The remake of DuckTales

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Pokémon Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! (Pikachu version)

Pokémon Sword and Shield (Shield version)

Edited by bmoore4026 on Jan 1st 2020 at 2:19:56 PM

I should have awards for all the drama I exude.

• Brigador: Reminds me of the of the classics like Desert/Urban/Nuclear Strike and Future Cop LAPD. Only, whereas those games had you play as the good guy (well, most of the time...) in this game you're a mercenary with zero moral scruples and a penchant for destruction. So much so towards destruction that save for the giant barrier walls surrounding each city sector you have the ability to flatten EVERYTHING. Lots of replayability too since you're allowed to unlock a wide variety of vehicles, pilots and weaponry, and a ton of different maps and mini-campaigns to play. A real pity this game doesn't have co-op, would've been a total blast to play with friends.
• Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: Not much to add here that others haven't already said. The game's major changes to the open-world genre are actually rather simple: give players the ability to scale virtually any obstacle in the world, a fun physics system, dungeons that encourage players to create their own solutions, and four powers that have strong synergy. And whaddaya know, it makes for a fun product!
• Monster Hunter World: I was never a fan of the Monster Hunter series. In fact I originally obtained my copy as a free bonus for upgrading my graphics card a couple of years back, and only bothered to verify the CD Key before it expired. Heck, I didn't even play it for very long, initially; I found the fight against the Jagras boring and didn't pick up the again for months. It took a friend playing alongside with me and explaining the intricacies of the (admittedly VERY complex) system before I finally became hooked. I've now got 180+ hours logged into this sucker, and will probably have another hundred more if Iceborne is any indication.
• Terraria: Crazy as it sounds, Terraria counts - it was released in May 2011! It's arguably one of the best examples of an indie game that not only succeeded in achieving it's initial goals, but ultimately expanded far beyond it's scope and continues to add content even today. In fact, Reg Edit is supposed to release one final major update called "Journey's End" in the next couple of months, and that's not even supposed to be the end of their work - we might still continue to see smaller updates into the future. Oh, and does anybody here remember the old Terraria multiplayer server we had? Good times, good times.
• Zero-K: What would happen if somebody fused together the epic scale and mass armies of Supreme Commander, the micro-management of Starcraft, a surprising amount of quality and polish for a fan-made game... and its all FREE? That's Zero-K for you. Seriously, if you're a long-time fan of the RTS genre you owe yourself the time to play it, it's not even CPU-intensive.

Edited by SgtRicko on Jan 2nd 2020 at 12:02:24 AM

Guess I'll copy my list, too:

1. Asura's Wrath: Still one of my favorite games ever. What it lacks in complexitiy, it makes up for in story, the best execution of Shonen fighting series tropes in any medium, Some of the best ways to implement QT Es ever, The most bombastic and batsh*t insane set pieces ever made for a video game, and the greatest dad in all of gaming in Asura himself. Its still possibly my all time favorite game, and while its a Cult Classic at best in terms of popularity, it helped Cyber Connect 2 perfect their overall style for future projects, including the upcoming Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot.

2. Devil May Cry 5 OR Bayonetta 2: Both represent the pinnacle of Action games in the past decade for me, in terms of style and combat mechanics.

3. New Danganronpa V3: Possibly the best Adventure game/ Visual Novel made by Spike Chunsoft to date, and Kazutaka Kodaka's finest writing he's ever done, if only for the Finale's plot twist alone. The series as a whole could honestly fit here for me, too.

4. Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4: The entire Ultimate Ninja Storm series could go here, but the fourth and final entry in this series is still, I Mo, the pinnacle of Anime games that go the Power Stone route of Arena Fighters, and still has one of the best campaigns of any Anime licensed game to date, enhancing the source material. Its little wonder why almost every other anime game out there right now has tried to copy this game, and yet still don't manage to do whatever anime they adapt justice.

5. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice: I love From Software's Souls Series, but I Mo, Sekiro takes all the best aspects of it, mixes it with Tenchu styled patforming and an overall more fast paced and polished combat system with the same ball busting difficulty the series is known for while managing to be more user friendly on the whole due to its speed and less restrictive game design. Looking forward to Elden Ring next year.

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