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:

Spoiler: Like this

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!

 

[YukidaruPunch]

I remember something similar rolled around this week on Twitter, but it was divided by years. Let's see if I can remember mine:
2010: Vanquish, Bayonetta (western release)
2011: Dark Souls
2012: Hotline Miami
2013: Rayman Legends, TLOU, Bioshock Infinite (I'm afraid to revisit this last one, but I can't deny how much I liked it back then)
2014: Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze, Shovel Knight
2015: Splatoon, Undertale
2016: DOOM
2017: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Willd, Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap
2018: Dragon Quest XI (western release)
2019: Sayonara Wild Hearts

Some games end up missing when you put them like this, but it's good to remember past stuff.

Also, it's a shame A Link Between Worlds came out in 2013, that was an absolutely packed year. 2014 was pretty barren in comparison (sans Nintendo's Wii U output, which was stellar), so I figure it would have been all-around better had it come out then.

EDIT: Holy shit, Super Mario 3D World. 2013. That fucking year, I tell you.

 

[SANIC]

2010: Sonic Colors
2011: Super Mario 3D Land
2012: KH3D Dream Drop Distance
2013: Super Mario 3D World
2014: Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo Wii U
2015: Sonic Runners
2016: Pokemon Sun
2017: Breath of the Wild
2018: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
2019: Team Sonic Racing

 

[WhiteMaze]

Flappy Bird.





Lmao

 

[Deleted member 397813]

Flappy Bird.





Lmao

nice

 

[darksweet]

1. Final Fantasy XV
2. Nier Automata
3. Bloodstained
4. Final Fantasy XII Zodiac Age
5. Devil May Cry 5

 

[Deleted User]

2010: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (special mention Fallout: New Vegas)
2011: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (special mention to Portal 2)
2012: Dishonored (special mention to Kid Icarus: Uprising)
2013: Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate
2014: Super Smash Bros. Wii U
2015: Undertale
2016: Dark Souls III
2017: Super Mario Odyssey (special mention to Breath of the Wild)
2018: God of War
2019: Metro Exodus (I haven't played many 2019 games)

 

[zoogie]

1. Operation Cobra - New 3DS
2. Read Dead 1 - X360
3. Dragon Quest 9 - DS
4. BOTW - Switch
5. Cubic Ninja - 3DS

 

[SammyP6]

in no particular order

Minecraft
Terraria
A hat in time
Animal crossing new leaf
Skyrim
Enderal
Mario Oddysey
Portal 2
Monster hunter world
Rocket League

 

[XDel]

Elsa Brain Surgery

 

[HaloEffect17]

2010: Super Mario Galaxy 2
2011: Super Mario 3D Land
2012: Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward
2013: Pokémon X/Y
2014: Mario Kart 8
2015: Rocket League
2016: Inside
2017: Splatoon 2
2018: Octopath Traveler
2019: Pokémon Sword/Shield

The reflection of this made me realize that I liked the 2000-2009 era better (shoutout to Sonic '06, amirite!), but this was a solid decade for sure.

ALSO KNACK 2 FOR LYFE BAYBEE

 

[Xzi]

2010: Fallout New Vegas
2011: Batman Arkham City
2012: Borderlands 2
2013: Path of Exile
2014: Dark Souls 2
2015: The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt
2016: XCOM 2
2017: Divinity Original Sin 2
2018: Super Smash Bros Ultimate
2019: Disco Elysium

Runners-up and notes:

2010: Pokemon Soulsilver, Mario Galaxy 2, Bayonetta, Vanquish (good year for Nintendo and Platinum)
2011: Marvel vs Capcom 3, Portal 2, Dark Souls, Bastion
2012: Xenoblade Chronicles, Dishonored
2013: Bioshock Infinite, Grand Theft Auto 5 (kind of a slow year)
2014: Divinity Original Sin, Shadow of Mordor, Door Kickers
2015: Bloodborne, Undertale, Nuclear Throne, Rocket League
2016: Dark Souls 3, Stardew Valley, Titanfall 2, Owlboy, DOOM (tons of greats this year)
2017: Nier Automata, Prey, Zelda BotW
2018: Dead Cells, Monster Hunter World, God of War, Spider-Man, Dragonball FighterZ, The Messenger, Beat Saber (list goes on and on)
2019: Fire Emblem Three Houses (insanely close second), Resident Evil 2, Sekiro, The Outer Worlds, Astral Chain, Luigi's Mansion 3, Slay the Spire, Apex Legends (this year has spoiled us)

 

[Jiehfeng]

Sorry about the years, I don't keep track. My favourites include from when I was around 11 to where I was around 17. So that's about 2010 to 2018:

-All the Batman Arkham games except Asylum
-Watch Dogs
-AC Origins (the one game in 2019 I loved, but...)
-Luigi's Mansion 3 (yeah. but I didn't finish it and took a break from it, so it does get repetitive towards the end, more of an honorable mention. I really like it though.)

-AC Unity, an absolute treasure of a game. Story is alright yes, but I had a liking towards that french woman, I connected with Arno there. As for the game, I played it 5 times. People skim off the performance on this one, I have a well balanced PC for such cases, all it took was a 750ti and settings that I didn't get too greedy on but was still beautiful. The trick was not to get too caught up in details. It's true the game is very detailed, but the issue is people look into it much that you notice all the graphical issues. When the patches came, it's on and off. And from there it's closer to nitpicking, but there you haven't given the game a chance.

-Zelda BoTW.
-Mario Kart 7, jesus was this game good.

-Pokemon BW and BW 2, wow. Masterpieces.

-God Of War on the PSP, the two, and the PS4 one. What to say other than a work of art and two blasts of a good time?

-Kingdom Hearts BBS PSP, and DDD 3D. Don't argue, go suck your opinion up your darkness. ;O;

I probably have others but it's already too much of my time. Thank you game devs and artists. Love you. <3

 

[orangy57]

Definitely Portal 2 and DDLC are in the top spots, those were like the 2 story-based games I really enjoyed

 

[Frankbel]

Come on, people. Too many have forgotten about or not played The Witcher 3. That was a great game. Then I remember Mass Effect 2, great game too. Recently, Dragon Quest XI made me like a child 40 years old.
These games made the difference for me.

So:
Mass Effect 2
The Witcher 3
Dragon Quest XI

 

[shano]

2010: Red Dead Redemption
2011: Deus Ex: Human Revolution
2012: Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition
2013: The King of Fighters XIII: Steam Edition
2014: Ultra Street Fighter IV
2015: Wolfenstein: The Old Blood
2016: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
2017: Resident Evil 7
2018: -
2019: Resident Evil 2

 

[lordelan]

2010: Super Mario Galaxy 2
2011: Mario Sports Mix
2012: Torchlight II
2013: Guacamelee! Gold Edition
2014: Goat Simulator
2015: Super Mario Maker
2016: Pokémon GO
2017: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
2018: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
2019: Magic the Gathering: Arena

Wow, have I become a casual player?
However, this list is just honest, that's why Pokémon GO is there.
Although I spent most of the time of all listed games on Torchlight II (PC) while still adding playtime on the Switch port now, the most outstanding game without any doubt is The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild! What a masterpiece! Thank you, Nintendo!

As a sidenote: It's amazing, that many listed games are somehow playable on the Nintendo Switch (released 2017), either natively or a successor (Super Mario Maker) or by streaming from a PC to Switchroot Android.
What a console! And what a community!

Edit: Pretty cool that all games have an entry in the GBA Game Center so we can link to them.

 

[Alysh_Graham]

The Dark Souls trilogy, TES V Skyrim, the Momodora games, Fallout New Vegas, Assassin's Creed III, Act of Aggression, Legend of Grimrock, and the Halloween Trick or Treat hidden object games.

 

[DANTENDO]

Can't people follow basic instructions it clearly says list Yr top game of each year in last decade and bloody hell thers even an example

 

[Alexander1970]

Hello.

2010: Wii Party
2011: The Elder Scrolls V - Skyrim
2012: LEGO Lord of the Rings
2013: Tomb Raider
2014: Far Cry 4
2015: ---------
2016: Rise of the Tomb Raider
2017: Dragon Quest VIII (3DS)
2018: Dragon Quest XI
2019: Resident Evil 2 Remake

I am not really sure the Data is correct, but those were the Years I played it.

Thank you.

 

[DarthDub]

2010: Super Mario Galaxy 2, Sonic Colors (Wii)
2011: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
2012: Katawa Shoujo
2013: The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
2014: Shovel Knight
2015: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D
2016:
2017: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
2018: Shenmue I & II (Americans didn't get to transfer their saves from I to II until this collection happened)
2019: Kingdom Hearts III