We are nearing the end of the decade, and like every other sheep on the internet, I've decided to put together a best of the decade list! I love lists, so this is the type of content I adore doing. At first, I thought putting together a list of the best games of the decade would be pretty simple. There's a clear top five to me, and the rest could be my own pet picks. The 2010s has been a decade with some wonderful gaming, and some all-time great consoles. I think after another decade has gone by, my already high rating of the PS4 and 3DS will go up even more, and will end up being among my all-time favorites. It hasn't quite been the 90s to me, although some of that is colored by nostalgia, but I also haven't even scratched the surface of what I want to touch from the decade, while the 90s are pretty well tapped out for me.
So, before I begin my true list, we'll start with some honorable mentions that could absolutely be on anyone's list, in no particular order:
Marvel's Spider-Man was a true joy to view and to play, and represents cinematic-style gaming at its peak, to me. Heavily story driven style gaming has never been my cup of tea, but when combined with great controls and combat, this one was absolutely tremendous.
Fire Emblem Awakening was a wonderful modernization of one of my favorite series. While I prefer the first GBA title by a hair, there's no denying Awakening's greatness. The writing is sharp and the strategic combat excellent.
Mario Kart 8 is a visual marvel and a gameplay delight. It's a must own for anyone.
Sonic Mania is an excellent example of why the 2010s have been a great decade for retro-styled games. We're certainly not getting the quantity of retro games that we did in the 80s and 90s, but there have been some real high flyers this decade, and Sonic Mania is one of the best.
New Super Mario Bros. U and its super expansion are more great retro-styled platformers from this decade. This game gave us another huge drop of great Mario levels, and led the way towards the greatness that is Super Mario Maker (more on this later).
MLB: The Show felt cheap to include in a top 10, since there are so many installments. But it has consistently been delivering the best sports simulation of any game, ever, so it definitely belongs in the honorable mentions.
Ultra Street Fighter IV is the pinnacle of a wonderful game. This feels like cheating, since Street Fighter IV was released before this decade, but it reached its heights here, so I don't feel bad. Street Fighter V just felt too focused on microtransactions to reach the heights, but this one followed the time-honored tradition of pumping out new versions to increase content, even if the cosmetics were still ludicrously expensive.
Lego Marvel Super Heroes is a weird pick for a grown man, but I really can't tell the story of my gaming decade without at least one game from this quirky franchise. In a day and age that supports playing games online with friends, this game was capable of bringing my family together, passing the controller, and having some good old fashioned co-op fun. I've had a great time with a bunch of the games in this series, but this one is the best.
It has been an odd decade for fans of JRPGs. We've gotten lots of clunky attempts at the genre in a time when it feels like Western studios are pushing the creative envelope in the role-playing space, but we've had a handful of standouts, with Xenoblade Chronicles coming to mind immediately.
It's impossible to tell the story of the decade without mentioning mobile games, but it's such a hugely fractured marketplace that it's difficult to know what's relevant and important to people. Terra Battle was one of the first mobile games that really captured my attention, and it's better than ever to play right now due to some quality of life improvements to the game. Check it out now before they take the servers down!
We'll keep going with the mobile games here for a few more. If you love the 16 bit era of Final Fantasy, you'll find Final Fantasy Record Keeper as charming and delightful as I do. There has not been a day since I downloaded this game that I haven't at least logged in once to get my daily bonus. Not one.
I don't think there's any single game on this list that's more emblematic of the capabilities of modern technology to continue delivering new and unique gaming experiences to the masses. It's super fun, it's a communal experience for my whole family, and I'd recommend it to anyone.
Candy Crush Saga took the genius of piling up points in Bejeweled and added a social aspect along with differential gameplay styles to take it up a level. Including stamina and microtransactions also made King very rich, but not from me. This is a really fun game.
Super Mario 3D Land is a really tightly crafted and well designed Mario game that's an essential for anyone collecting for 3DS.
I'm really not one for cinematic story-telling games, but I really enjoyed The Last of Us, even if the gameplay is a bit clunky. Someday I'll finish it, too...
Bravely Default, along with Xenoblade Chronicles, are the two examples that make me optimistic for my JRPG future. To be fair, I haven't played too many JRPGs from this decade, but I'll get to them eventually! I'm working through this game at the moment and think it's extremely good. I'll have a review at some point, perhaps before the new year?
Check back in next time for the cream of the crop from this decade!
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