201X Games of the Decade
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While I haven't been a regular player for 2 to 3 years now, this game dominated the decade for me and I stayed heavily invested in the professional scene long after I was done playing. While this game probably deserves my top spot just based on time played alone, it's cemented here by being my gateway into esports.
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What's to say about this game that hasn't already been said? I'll just say that this game changed my thinking both in terms of what to expect from a game's ability to world-build and to tell a narrative. At times it feels like it went way too far in the direction of obscuring lore and story elements, but I also came away from this game with a newfound appreciation for environmental storytelling and more nuanced delivery. I really appreciate a game that trusts the player to learn things on their own over the more common text dumps you see in games. Dark Souls also taught me to embrace challenges and find joy in overcoming an obstacle that previously seemed impossible, and to take the risk of exploring past every corner even if a swift death is probably lurking.
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I was in a gaming drought coming into 2017. I was playing a lot of LoL, D3, and WoW, which are fine games but were no longer really fulfilling for me. At times, I thought maybe gaming as hobby had passed me by. NieR:Automata, despite being a little difficult to get into, blew me away not just with its story, but the gameplay mechanics it utilized to tell that story to me. This game got me fully back into gaming in a way I never thought possible, by telling me a story that could only be told in an interactive medium. NieR:Automata made me believe in games again.
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Maybe the best RPG I've ever played. I loved the first game, and this one vastly improved the combat while somehow catching lightning in a bottle a second time with another cast of amazing characters. Every western RPG I play will be compared to this game.
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A lot of what I liked about Dark Souls applies here, Bloodborne just took it to another level. I went a long time not wanting to play this game, because it removed my biggest crutch from Dark Souls; the shield. Bloodborne showed me that I don't have to play scared in FROM games anymore, and changed my expectations and approach to games of this variety. I also just straight up connected with the aesthetic, the lore and the world more than I ever did with Dark Souls. I still have the Cleric Beast/Amelia music pop up in my head every once in a while.
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As someone who struggles to stay interested in exploration, this game redefined what an open world could and should be. I'm sure there's a lot of stuff I flat out missed, and there's definitely some mechanics I'd like to see removed (weapons breaking, rain). However, Breath of the Wild raised the bar for the open world genre, and integrated physics in such a surprising and refreshing way, it's difficult to look other open world games the same as I used to.
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This game hooked me for 120 hours despite a general disinterest in JRPGS for like 15 years. I still haven't really gotten into JRPGs as a genre, but Persona 5 certainly kicked the door open.
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I was frustrated by this game a lot - puzzle solving and exploration are two things that my dumb ass don't really love in video games. However, the payoff of putting pieces together and solving this gargantuan mystery were worth it. This game was full of breathtaking surprises, and while I might not ever be fully into games of this ilk, I appreciate Outer Wilds as an experience and for what it made me feel. Any time I run into a lazy or shallow environment, I will be thinking of how much worthy exploration Outer Wilds was able to cram into the game.
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I was very conflicted about this game when I played it, but in hindsight it has raised the bar for what an open world should be and how to make the player feel like they are playing a real living character in that space. At the very least, I want every open world game to give you the ability to just greet everybody on the fly like in this game. I also really liked story.
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