List items
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I still think about Nier: Automata. It’s comprised of so many different parts, yet they all work perfectly together. I love this game. Play it.
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For better or worse, this is the game that changed gaming for the whole decade. Nothing more needs to be said.
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The decade began with the Yakuza series’ future uncertain in the West. It ended with its future more bright than ever. Yakuza 0 encapsulates everything to love about the series complete with its most thrilling and touching story.
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In translation hell since being released in 2010 before finally being fully released in English in 2017, there was almost a mythical quality to Wonderful Everyday/Subahibi for me as I waited and played through partial translations. The wait was worth it for one of the best stories I’ve experienced in any medium.
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It’s hard to think of anything to write about the ubiquitous Undertale four years later. If you haven’t played it by now, you may as well.
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This game was made entirely by one man who was simply dissatisfied with the lack of good Harvest Moon games.
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Lovecraftian themes made for a great match with the gameplay of the Souls series which may have been perfected in Bloodborne.
SPOILERS: To reach the true ending you must find and consume four umbilical cords which will allow you to fight a tentacle monster that descends from the Moon. Then you will be reborn as a slug.
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If you have ever described Deadly Premonition as “so bad it’s good,” fuck you. Fuck you, and fuck the irony that’s become so pervasive this decade. Deadly Premonition is unironically great and has more soul and sincerity than something you’ll surely find on other Games of the Decade lists like G*ne H*me or L*fe Is Str*nge.
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Maybe it’s not fair putting this here considering it’s technically a remake, but there are enough differences between HG/SS and the originals that they’re not only practically new games, but they are the best Pokémon games period.
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It only took nearly a decade and years of delays, but Persona 4 got the follow-up it deserved. A lot of style and substance here.
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Genuinely entertaining, fun all the way through, and it never overstays its welcome. What games should be.
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I’d fallen off of competitve multiplayer games years ago, but Rocket League hooked me instantly. It helps that matches are fairly short, and it’s simple enough to play that you can pick it right up again even if it’s been a while, which I find myself doing from time to time to this day.
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Originally released in Japan in 2009, this is the visual novel that started it all. If I were to play this today, as well, I would still cry.
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If I were to play this today, I would still cry.
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A 3D platformer collectathon that’s as good as its influences.
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The very definition of a cult classic. Soundtrack of the decade.
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Another game I had a blast playing with friends this year. Overcoming seemingly impossible bosses amounted to some of my favorite gaming moments of the decade.
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An epic adventure that isn’t afraid to adhere to tradition.
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Easily one of the best games of the decade in terms of aesthetics alone.
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Bethesda may have ran Fallout into the ground by the end of the 2010s, but at least the decade started off strong with New Vegas.
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A tense visual novel with escape-the-room puzzles, 999 featured one of my favorite plot twists of the decade which even incorporated the Nintendo DS hardware. I have to imagine that playing this on any other platform would lessen the impact.
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This isn’t just to acknowledge V3, but also the first two Danganronpa games which were released in English this decade. A great trilogy filled with charm and chaos.
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Be the cool teacher you wish you had, and cut down those who stand before you—Three Houses has it all.
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The only MMO to come close to scratching the World of Warcraft itch. One of my friends moved across the country for a year, and FFXIV nights became what I looked foward to most.
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A worthy successor to A Link to the Past.
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The feeling of progression in Ys VIII through building up your island community by finding fellow castaways and materials is fantastic. It helps that there is so much unique content throughout the entire experience.
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Until it got ported to Switch, Bayonetta 2 was one of the only reasons to own a Wii U.
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One of the problems with open world games these days is that they really aren’t open. Breath of the Wild, however, is what an open world game should be—one that lets you immediately explore at your own pace and figure things out for yourself.
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I’m not saying there’s a correlation between 2D and 3D graphics and whether a Pokémon game is great, but that’s what I’m saying. I don’t think the post-Gen V games are necessarily bad (although I admit I have zero interest in Sword/Shield), but Black 2/White 2 was the last truly great mainline Pokémon game.
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There couldn’t have been a better person to make a new Tetris game than the creator of Rez.
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A detective story that’ll keep you wondering what comes next combined with the addictive gameplay and wacky setting of the Yakuza series.
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A great open world fantasy game in a world full of medicore open world fantasy games.
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Shovel Knight is one of the rare video game Kickstarter success stories. Not only is it great, which is where most kickstarted games fail, but Yacht Club has been adding free DLC periodically, with the full Shovel Knight experience having been completed this year.
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Quite possibly the best Metroidvania that isn’t named Metroid or Castlevania ever released. Guess those Aussies aren’t only good for shitposting.
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You will fail repeatedly but won’t be able to bring yourself to put Spelunky down.
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Arguably the best Science Adventure game you don’t hear about.
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Human Revolution is among the few great Western RPGs of the decade.
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The story behind the creation of Katawa Shoujo is quite unlike any other. The writing may be a bit amateurish at times, and there are “better” visual novels out there, but a lot of love went into crafting the heartfelt plot within. You can also play it for free which helped introduce many people to the genre.
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Almost a decade later and Catherine is still one of the most unique experiences in gaming.
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(P.T. isn't in GB's database)
More people still talk about and dissect this demo (for a canceled game, no less) than most AAA games released this year.
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