What were your favorite games from this past decade?

games_of_the_decade.jpg

As 2019 comes to a close, so does the decade. The past ten years have provided some of the best that gaming has ever had to offer, beginning with the tail-end of the seventh generation, and closing out right as companies have announced successors to their eighth generation hardware. What better way to celebrate the end of a decade than reminiscing and remembering some of the best of the best?

So, that begs the question; what were your top ten favorites games that released from 2010 all the way to 2019? We’ll be taking a community vote, to figure out the GBAtemp community’s essential and most-loved video games from this decade.

To clarify, games that were given a re-release or cosmetic remaster shouldn’t be considered. For example, Valkyria Chronicles released originally in 2008, but received a PC port in 2014, and a 1080p remaster for the PlayStation 4 in 2016. Neither of these newer versions of the game added new content, outside of graphical improvements, and are essentially the same game with a new coat of paint. If, however, a game was ported to a new engine, remade from the ground-up, or had substantial changes made or content added (Ratchet & Clank, Fire Emblem: Shadows of Valentia, etc) then it’s fair game. If you're confused as to when a game released, you can always check its release date on Wikipedia! (note: count the initial release date in the west, not a delayed PC port that came out the following year, or localizations that released one year in NA, but multiple years later in EU/AU).

Example:
2010: Fallout New Vegas
2011: The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky
2012: Persona 4: Golden
2013: Fire Emblem: Awakening
2014: Danganronpa 2
2015: Rocket League
2016: Superhot VR
2017: Sonic Mania
2018: Dead Cells
2019: The Division 2

This gives us a chance to have some fun, discussing some of our favorite games, explaining why we loved them, while reflecting on the previous decade. Then we can pit all the years against each other, to figure out which Pokemon game is going to win this vote, because let's face it, Pokemon always wins! Have fun!
 

Jayro

MediCat USB Dev
Developer
Joined
Jul 23, 2012
Messages
12,884
Trophies
4
Location
WA State
Website
ko-fi.com
XP
16,777
Country
United States
For NEW games, I really enjoyed the Splatoon games.

For reboots and remasters, I really loved DOOM 2016 and Resident Evil 2. Bioshock remastered was great too!

For ROM hack games, I've been loving Pokemon Crystal Clear, Pokemon Prism, Pokemon Blaze Black 2, Metroid II: Return of Samus DX, Super Mario Land 2 DX, and Pokemon Red (in full color with Gen 2 sprites), and the most recent one, *NEW* Super Mario Land
 
  • Like
Reactions: Deleted User

ita54

Active Member
Newcomer
Joined
Oct 23, 2008
Messages
36
Trophies
1
Website
Visit site
XP
816
Country
Gambia, The
Bloodborne, Dark souls 1-3, Sekiro, Assassins creed Origins, Odessey, God of War ps4, Horizon zero Dawn, and Street Fighter 2, Final Fight in Arcade 1990-2 best time :)
 

NoNAND

Give me back my legions!
Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2015
Messages
2,274
Trophies
1
Location
Somewhere
XP
5,064
Country
Albania
Hmm this is interesting.
For me, that'll be:

Persona 4
Persona 3
Shin Megami Tensei Digital Devil Saga
Shin Megami Tensei Digital Devil Saga 2
Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne
Pokémon Platinum
Pokémon HeartGold
Mega Man 9
Mega Man 10
The Legend of Zelda The Phantom Hourglass
The Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks
The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess
And many more..
 

KlariNoX

Well-Known Member
Newcomer
Joined
Mar 5, 2019
Messages
45
Trophies
0
XP
1,246
Country
Greece
Not in any order


Uncharted 4
Grand theft auto V
God of War 2018
The last of us
Cuphead
Super Mario Odyssey
God of War 3
Red Dead Redemption 2
Celeste
Luigi's mansion 2
Luigi's mansion 3
Super Mario 3D land
 

FAST6191

Techromancer
Editorial Team
Joined
Nov 21, 2005
Messages
36,798
Trophies
3
XP
28,284
Country
United Kingdom
Catherine and FTL are the two I think that really made the decade. Everything else is pretty derivative or sequels to games that were already good (they just made them better).

I usually don't put fighting games on any "top" lists (I think they are all pretty amazing and I never get tired of them), but it is significant that the genre saw a renaissance this decade. There are countless titles and the fighting game scene went from little enclaves to a global community.

2010 Resonance of Fate

Catherine really stood out that much? A friend had it and I toyed with it briefly but it otherwise failed to make much of an impression with me.

As for FTL while it was and remains fantastic, even more so with various mods, I can't help but feel some of the games it spawned later did things better.

As for Resonance of Fate I am probably going to have to crowbar open the wallet later next month for the PS4 physical version (Asia only but should be region free and feature English)... exchange rates and as if December was not already killer enough on the wallet. https://www.play-asia.com/end-of-eternity-4khd-edition-multi-language/13/70d47t?tagid=578221
 
  • Like
Reactions: gcunit

relauby

Idiot Child
Editorial Team
Joined
Sep 21, 2017
Messages
1,097
Trophies
1
Age
28
Location
Newfoundland
XP
17,578
Country
Canada
Catherine really stood out that much? A friend had it and I toyed with it briefly but it otherwise failed to make much of an impression with me.

I love Catherine (it was my choice for 2011 too) but I can see it not appealing to people. It’s a great puzzle game and a great visual novel, and it blends those elements together well, but the difficulty curve is punishingly and stupidly steep, and since it is all about gender and sexual politics, which tend to be polarizing even when done well (and Catherine stumbles with it a bit), the story might turn people away too.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Xzi

FAST6191

Techromancer
Editorial Team
Joined
Nov 21, 2005
Messages
36,798
Trophies
3
XP
28,284
Country
United Kingdom
I love Catherine (it was my choice for 2011 too) but I can see it not appealing to people. It’s a great puzzle game and a great visual novel, and it blends those elements together well, but the difficulty curve is punishingly and stupidly steep, and since it is all about gender and sexual politics, which tend to be polarizing even when done well (and Catherine stumbles with it a bit), the story might turn people away too.
That might have been it then. While I don't mind a good puzzle game (most reviews of the time and my time with it said basically qbert which is probably one of my least favourite "classic arcade puzzle" efforts) then visual novels have rarely done much for me, and if they go full bore into their own little subculture then I get even more turned off. Story wise then give me a good one and the perks and piss offs of being a given gender trying to navigate the world and doing the whole relationship bit have proven fertile ground for... millennia really but at the same time games usually fumble it and harlequin romances/boddice ripper novels are things that I only acknowledge to skip on past when I am looking at boxes/shelves of second hand books.
If I see a copy going cheap I might give it a spin. Should I aim for a copy of Full Body edition or will the base game suffice here?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Xzi

relauby

Idiot Child
Editorial Team
Joined
Sep 21, 2017
Messages
1,097
Trophies
1
Age
28
Location
Newfoundland
XP
17,578
Country
Canada
That might have been it then. While I don't mind a good puzzle game (most reviews of the time and my time with it said basically qbert which is probably one of my least favourite "classic arcade puzzle" efforts) then visual novels have rarely done much for me, and if they go full bore into their own little subculture then I get even more turned off. Story wise then give me a good one and the perks and piss offs of being a given gender trying to navigate the world and doing the whole relationship bit have proven fertile ground for... millennia really but at the same time games usually fumble it and harlequin romances/boddice ripper novels are things that I only acknowledge to skip on past when I am looking at boxes/shelves of second hand books.
If I see a copy going cheap I might give it a spin. Should I aim for a copy of Full Body edition or will the base game suffice here?

I’d say go for Full Body, even if it’s just for the fact that it lets you totally skip the puzzle sections if they’re really not doing anything for you. It also adds in a third love interest and expands on the existing ones with some flashbacks and new endings. It’s already 50% off on the PSN Black Friday sale so I’m thinking in a year or so it shouldn’t be too much more expensive than the base version.
 
D

Deleted User

Guest
2010: SMG2
2011: Mario Kart 7
2012: NSMB2
2013: GTA V
2014: Mario Kart 8
2015: Agar.io
2016: Pokémon Go
2017: Pokémon UM
2018: SSBU
2019: Still have to decide :D
 
  • Like
Reactions: DANTENDO

HarveyHouston

Christian Modder
Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2019
Messages
1,528
Trophies
2
Location
The Point of Know Return
XP
1,980
Country
United States
Huh, I'm not entirely sure what my faves of each year are. Probably something like:
2010 - Rock Band 3 (d'uh!)
2011 - Portal 2
2012 - LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes
2013 - Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon
2014 - The Room
2015 - LEGO Dimensions
2016 - Kirby Planet Robobot
2017 - Miitopia
2018 - Luigi's Mansion for 3DS
2019 - I have yet to have one!
 
  • Like
Reactions: DANTENDO

Kingy

Well-Known Member
Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2016
Messages
959
Trophies
1
Location
England I guess
XP
3,748
Country
United Kingdom
2010: Fallout New Vegas
2011: Portal 2
2012: Far Cry 3
2013: Tomb Raider
2014: Mario Kart 8
2015: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege (Best online multiplayer game imo.)
2016: DOOM 2016
2017: Cuphead
2018: Red Dead Redemption 2
2019: Tom Clancy's The Division 2
2020: Cyberpunk 2077 EZ
 
  • Like
Reactions: Xzi and DANTENDO

DS1

Tired
Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2009
Messages
1,595
Trophies
1
Location
In the here and now, baby
XP
2,522
Country
United States
That might have been it then. While I don't mind a good puzzle game (most reviews of the time and my time with it said basically qbert which is probably one of my least favourite "classic arcade puzzle" efforts) then visual novels have rarely done much for me, and if they go full bore into their own little subculture then I get even more turned off. Story wise then give me a good one and the perks and piss offs of being a given gender trying to navigate the world and doing the whole relationship bit have proven fertile ground for... millennia really but at the same time games usually fumble it and harlequin romances/boddice ripper novels are things that I only acknowledge to skip on past when I am looking at boxes/shelves of second hand books.
If I see a copy going cheap I might give it a spin. Should I aim for a copy of Full Body edition or will the base game suffice here?


I would not put this into the same category as a visual novel or dating sim (while there may be games in those genres that are similar). The story is unique, and just when you think you know where it's going, it takes a dive into the absurd. It never takes itself too seriously, but does deal with some topics that people may find serious/relatable. I think the reason I ended up liking it so much is that I was so sure that I WOULDN'T like it based on all the promo materials and footage I'd seen.

The thing that puts it over the top is that the story doesn't bog down the gameplay and vice-versa. They work in tandem in a way that I've never seen in another game (take Uncharted for example, you can either watch a mediocre movie or play a mediocre action game, but why in god's name do they force you to do both?), with excellent sound and art direction by the Persona team. The Persona games are great, but Catherine plays like an easily digestible short story rather than something that consumes your life.

On top of all that, the gameplay (which is really as easy or hard as you want it to be - I suck at puzzle games but never found it too difficult or frustrating), which includes a competitive mode, caught traction with the fighting game community and tournaments are regularly held at the largest events of the year (Evo, Combo Breaker, etc.).

edit - and yes, the games that followed FTL are doing even more for the subgenre, but FTL was the first that I felt did it without faltering. It was the entire package, and its influences inform it rather than direct it.
 
Last edited by DS1,

BORTZ

DO NOT SCREENSHOT
Supervisor
Joined
Dec 2, 2007
Messages
13,243
Trophies
3
Age
34
Location
Pittsburgh
XP
15,972
Country
United States
2010 - Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver
2011 - Dissidia 012
2012 - Hotline Miami
2013 - Shin Megami Tensei IV
2014 - Destiny (PS4)
2015 - Axiom Verge
2016 - Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE
2017 - Persona 5
2018 - Dragon Quest XI
2019 - Division 2
 
Last edited by BORTZ,
  • Like
Reactions: DANTENDO

64bitmodels

Professional Nintendo Hater
Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2019
Messages
1,451
Trophies
1
Age
18
XP
2,883
Country
United States
Plastic-looking trees and everything are known to be there (as of the last previews, and likely to stay) so....
The fuck would you perfer, hyper realistic PC graphics on an underpowered system? Like dude these were the established graphics for Animal Crossing ever since City Folk. If the only bad thing you can mention is plastic trees than you really aren't making a point
 

Ryccardo

Penguin accelerator
Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2015
Messages
7,675
Trophies
1
Age
28
Location
Imola
XP
6,882
Country
Italy
The fuck would you perfer, hyper realistic PC graphics on an underpowered system? Like dude these were the established graphics for Animal Crossing ever since City Folk. If the only bad thing you can mention is plastic trees than you really aren't making a point
"hyper realistic" hell no - but they're a different style than the previous ones: and my commercially binding opinion* is that it sucks :)

* otherwise said, "voting with your wallet"
 

64bitmodels

Professional Nintendo Hater
Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2019
Messages
1,451
Trophies
1
Age
18
XP
2,883
Country
United States
"hyper realistic" hell no - but they're a different style than the previous ones: and my commercially binding opinion* is that it sucks :)

* otherwise said, "voting with your wallet"
Okay then. Still just because the graphics aren't what you like doesn't nessesarily mean the game itself is bad.
I thought you'd have more problems with the game besides the weird graphics (yea i don't like them that much either, I hated that weird rolling hill style in wild world)
 
Last edited by 64bitmodels,

Site & Scene News

Popular threads in this forum

General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
    SylverReZ @ SylverReZ: @salazarcosplay, Morning