I covered some honorable mentions last time, so I'll just jump in here with the true top 10 of the decade. This will almost certainly not be the top 10 when I mentally revisit this is 2030, but as of right now, here are the 10 games from this decade that I enjoyed the most:
10. Diablo III
Diablo III was such an incredibly communal experience for my family that it will always be a game that I cherish. We have specific memories about this game and playing it over our extended Christmas vacation that it has an endurance for me beyond the quality of the game (which is high). We still talk about the time my father-in-law got killed so many times in a boss fight that he was literally running around in his underwear. And we have video. Cheers to this game, and you can be certain that my family is greatly looking forward to Diablo IV.
9. Pokemon Y
Pokemon Y is the last great Pokemon game, and I hope that will not always be true. I've been greatly let down by the last two games, and this one had left me so hopeful for my Pokemon future. If you've never played it and think you're too old for Pokemon, go take the plunge. It's truly incredible.
8. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
A Link Between Worlds shows how to do retro-styled games right. It nails the balance of reverence for a treasured property while iterating just enough to give you an experience that could only exist on a modern console. This is an extremely good Zelda game in a very good decade for Zelda games.
7. Super Mario Maker
Super Mario Maker was the game I never knew I needed, but I totally did. It's another great example of adapting retro properties to the modern day (that's a bit of a theme on this list). Mario is brilliant. The internet hivemind is brilliant. Combining the two gave me weeks and weeks of innovative levels to explore; levels that even the geniuses at Nintendo never could have accomplished. I really need to get the second one, if only anyone would sell theirs on the secondary market. The fact that I can't find one attests for the greatness of this concept.
6. Grand Theft Auto 5
The cranky old man in me wants to point out that like with Red Dead Redemption, the actual gameplay in this game is not always particularly fun. There are better driving games. Better boxing games. Better shooting games. Better golf games. Better flight simulators. But as a madcap sandbox experience combining good enough gameplay, unbelievable audacity of scope, brilliant writing, and a genius concept, Grand Theft Auto 5 sucked weeks and weeks of my life away, and I regret nothing.
5. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Anybody who knows me even slightly knows that JRPGs are my preferred style of RPG. I'll take Final Fantasy over Baldur's Gate any day of the week. But the 2010s were a rough decade for JRPGs in my experience, with a few bright spots acknowledged in my honorable mentions. Western RPGs from the decade captured my attention far more, and Skyrim isn't even my favorite (see one spot up). But the incredible openness of the world, detailed and haunting lore, diversity of playstyles available between classes, and a tremendous soundtrack places this among my favorite RPGs of all-time.
4. Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 2 is video game writing and storytelling at its zenith. I don't normally play video games for story, preferring engaging and immersive action far more. But Mass Effect 2 is a premium developer's A+ fastball of a game in terms of storytelling, and the quality of the action isn't too far behind. The scary thing is, I actually prefer Mass Effect to the sequel (for character building and roleplaying dynamics), but that was last decade. Experimenting with different combat genres with roleplaying mechanics has been one of the signatures of 2010s RPGs, and Mass Effect 2 is a nearly perfect exemplar of that experimentation going perfectly.
3. Shovel Knight
Shovel Knight is amazing. About the only bad things I can say about it is that some of the expansions have not been quite as perfect as the original game. Seeing as these are brand-new, free campaigns makes this complaint fall pretty hollow. The base Shovel Knight campaign is platforming genius on the level of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World, and I don't say that lightly. It's also an exemplar of how to handle crowdfunding ethically while also making a ton of money for the company. Yacht Club Games deserves all of the credit for forging a new way to make high-quality games, provide tremendous value to the customer, and profit along the way. Here's to Shovel Knight Dig!
2. Super Mario Odyssey
I generally prefer my PS4 to my Switch, but the top of this list shows why Nintendo has been around the gaming throne, if not on it, for the last forty years. Super Mario Odyssey is an insanely good 3D platformer. The best ever. I don't think anything else even comes close, save perhaps for Super Mario 64, and that only for pure inventiveness. If you haven't played it, you're missing out on one of the most polished video games of all-time.
1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
What if Nintendo made Skyrim, only it was more beautiful, bigger, more inventive, and the combat was twice as fun? That's what you get in Breath of the Wild, the game of the decade. As a devoted adherent to the 2D Zelda games, you can understand that me putting a 3D Zelda at the top of this list shows how high the quality of this game is. Link to the Past will always be my favorite, but Breath of the Wild is the best of the 3D bunch, without any question.
And that's it for the top 10! I really enjoyed this decade in gaming, and think that at least two, if not three, of the top 10 here would make it on a top 10 of all time list for me. On to the 2020s!
-TRO
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