3. The EZA Forums Top 50 Games of the 2010s!

The EZA Forums Top 50 Games of the 2010s!


  • My list. Ten made the top 50, ten didn't:

    1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
    2. *** Super Mario Odyssey
    3. *** Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
    4. Rocket League
    5. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
    6. Halo: Reach
    7. *** Dark Souls
    8. Alien Isolation ( yo, @DIPSET ! )
    9. Cuphead
    10. *** Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
    11. *** Super Mario Maker
    12. Mario Kart 8
    13. *** The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
    14. *** Tetris 99
    15. *** Firewatch

    HM *** The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
    HM Splatoon
    HM *** Tetris Effect
    HM *** Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
    HM The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

    The *** games are ones I haven't played (since submitting my list, I have started Super Mario Odyssey).

    The only year not represented in my list is 2012.

    The following games I WOULD'VE put on my list had they been eligible:

    Pikmin 3 (2013)
    Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit (2010) [hope that rumoured remaster is true!]
    The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD (2013)
    *** Planet Coaster (2016)

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  • My main problem with our final list is that there aren't 50 games better than Dark Souls 2, much less from the 2010s.

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  • Some more stats from the top 50.

    Most games by Publisher:

    9 - Nintendo
    8 - Sony
    3 - Bethesda
    3 - Capcom
    3 - Rockstar
    3 - Square Enix
    2 - Annapurna Interactive
    2 - Bandai Namco
    1 - (17 publishers)

    Easy Allies/GameTrailers GOTY:

    2010: #10 - Mass Effect 2
    2011: N/A - Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
    2012: N/A - XCOM: Enemy Unknown
    2013: #3 - The Last of Us
    2014: N/A - Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
    2015: #2 - Bloodborne
    2016: N/A - The Last Guardian
    2017: #1 - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
    2018: #4 - God of War
    2019: #41 - Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

    Edit: One more useless stat from the top 50. I'm done, I promise.

    Longest/Shortest Games (howlongtobeat.com - Main Story)

    Longest (Hours):
    97 - Persona 5
    69 - Xenoblade Chronicles
    52.5 - The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
    50 - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
    49 - Monster Hunter: World
    48.5 - Fire Emblem: Three Houses
    47.5 - Red Dead Redemption 2
    46 - Dark Souls
    46 - Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
    40.5 - Death Stranding

    Shortest (Hours):
    2 - What Remains of Edith Finch
    2 - Journey
    3.5 - INSIDE
    4 - Rocket League
    5.5 - Mario Kart 8
    6.5 - Shovel Knight
    6.5 - Undertale
    8 - Return of the Obra Dinn
    8.5 - Portal 2
    8.5 - Resident Evil 2

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  • And it's over, and of the two games left I'm happy BOTW took it. I'm kind of sad this is done as it gave me something to look forward to every day, so mad props to @Axel for doing it. I'm sure it took a shit-ton of work. Here's my list:

    1. Mass Effect 2
    2. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
    3. Batman: Arkham City
    4. Yakuza 0
    5. Persona 5
    6. Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair: On the surface Danganronpa is a series about murder, deceit and despair. On the surface it's about anime characters and their struggle to survive in the face of evil. On the surface It's about making you care deeply for these people, only for them to be ripped away one by one until you're left with the final group of survivors, which happens to have your least favorite character. At it's heart, however, it's about perseverance, friendship, and hope. I think the Danganronpa games are some of the most poignant pieces of media for our times, and i think it says a lot that of the three lists I've seen that have this series, they each have a different entry. Any one of these games could have made my list, but I chose 2 because it touches me the most, and captures it's themes the best.
    7. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
    8. What Remains of Edith Finch
    9. Stardew Valley: Just beautiful. I don't tend to view games as escapism per se, but I do for Stardew Valley. In Pelican Town all of my worries wash away as I live the life of a farmer. I fish, plant crops and hit rocks, and it's some of the most fulfilling things I've ever done in a game.
    10. God of War
    11. Fire Emblem: Three Houses
    12. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
    13. Pyre: Pyre has one of the most unique narratives I've experienced. It has great characters, a great world, and the writing is impeccable. The gameplay is also very fun, and is something truly interesting I've not yet seen anywhere else. With the recent release of Hades I think Supergiant has a spotlight on them so if you haven't played this yet then please do yourself a favor and try it out.
    14. Outer Wilds
    15. Red Dead Redemption

    HONORABLE MENTIONS

    Return of the Obra Dinn
    Final Fantasy XV
    The Last of Us
    The Walking Dead: Probably my GOTY 2012, it represents a kind of game we unfortunately don't see too much of anymore: the adventure game. They were rare when this came out, and for a time it revitalized the genre. We wouldn't have Life is Strange without The Walking Dead. It's still one of the best written games I've ever played, and makes me cry every time. The stuff they did with player-choice blew my mind at the time as well.
    Red Dead Redemption 2

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  • Very surprised that legendary goty Hearthstone didn't win.

    Bloodborne, my 4th From Soft game on the top. It was just an HM but frankly everything beyond 10th place is very close. It's a fantastic game, beautiful art direction. The reason why it's behind the other FS games is that it was more on the easy side and most bosses were downed after a couple of tries, so it didn't feel like that huge achievement. But it's a fantastic game nevertheless.

    Zelda my #2 pick, right after Galaxy 2. There's a lot to say about this game. At its core it's a very simple idea, use Ubisoft's design philosophy, like many others do, and deconstruct it, rethink it, edit it down. Strip all the thrash away. Trust gamers are not dumb but make sure the world is designed in a way where curiosity and joy of exploration should be enough to keep you engaged.

    Then there's how robust the game is, how physical and real it feels. Systems upon systems that interact with each other in a coherent way. If the world design encourages exploration, game design encourages experimentation and ingenuity on a unprecedent level. A very basic example, in most games a tree is mostly decorative, if you are lucky you might be able to cut/destroy that tree and... that's it. In BotW you can cut that tree and use it as a bridge or to float over water. And this applies everywhere in the game, objects don't feel just like assets but instead have physical characteristics that actually place them in the world and interact with the multiple systems.

    And it's hilarious that this was actually achieved on X360/PS3 level hardware.

    I'll try to write one final post about games I left out.

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  • Bloodborne: Haven't played. Never will!

    The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: Haven't played. Could be interesting.

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  • Here's my personal list:

    1. The Last of Us
    2. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
    3. Red Dead Redemption 2
    4. Marvel's Spider-Man
    5. The Witcher III: Wild Hunt
    6. Return of the Obra Dinn
    7. Assassin's Creed Origins
    8. Horizon Zero Dawn
    9. Life is Strange
    10. Grand Theft Auto V
    11. God of War
    12. Batman: Arkham City
    13. Hotline Miami
    14. Red Dead Redemption
    15. God of War III

    HM BioShock Infinite
    HM Death Stranding
    HM Deus Ex: Human Revolution
    HM The Walking Dead
    HM The Witness

    14/20 of my games made it.

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  • Can I ask how many votes any Dead Space games got?

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  • I only put it as an HM, but I still wish Dragon Quest XI made it.

    Other than that, I'm really surprised that Bioshock Infinite didn't make it. I had it in my top ten.

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  • Bloodborne may be the first time I was truly head over heels for a video game. I've never finished a game and immediately started a NG+ file twice before.

    As for BotW, I had a lot of fun playing through it, but I think it's slightly overrated.

    Here's my list if anyone cares:

    1- Nier Automata
    2- Bloodborne
    3- Zelda: Skyward Sword
    4- Super Mario Odyssey
    5- Gravity Rush 2
    6- Nier
    7- Bastion
    8- Undertale
    9- Ori and the Blind Forest
    10- Bioshock Infinite
    11- Super Mario Maker
    12- Splatoon
    13- Max Payne 3
    14- The Last of Us
    15- Shovel Knight

    HM:
    16- Mario Kart 8
    17- Rayman Origins
    18- Bayonetta 2
    19- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
    20- Dishonored

    It's sad not seeing any Gravity Rush game, but I get it.
    Also, shoutout to @bam541 and @El-Shmiablo for voting Max Payne 3!

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    Of the games on this list, there are really only two that I feel fundamentally changed or have the potential to change game design: Dark Souls (which I'll never play) and Breath of the Wild (which was my #1). Bloodborne, from what I can tell, is the purest refinement of that original Souls formula, so it makes sense to me that it's as high up as it is.

    My list:
    The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

    1. Mass Effect 2
    2. Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
    3. Undertale
    4. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
    5. Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver
    6. Journey
    7. The Last of Us
    8. Final Fantasy XV
    9. Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age
    10. Fire Emblem Awakening
    11. Divinity: Original Sin II
    12. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
    13. Super Mario Odyssey
    14. Batman: Arkham City

    HM. Mario Kart 8
    HM. Super Mario 3D World
    HM. The Banner Saga
    HM. P.T.
    HM. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

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    My Top 15 With Honorable Mentions
    1.The Witcher III: Wild Hunt
    2.Super Mario: Odyssey
    3.What Remains of Edith Finch
    4.Persona 5
    5.GTA V
    6.The Last of Us
    7.Spider-Man
    8.Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
    9.Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
    10.Fallout: New Vegas
    11.God of War: Ghost of Sparta
    12.The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
    13.Bioshock Infinite
    14.Rocket League
    15.Spec-Ops: The Line
    HM. Skate 3
    HM. Heavy Rain
    HM. inFAMOUS 2
    HM.A Plague Tale: Innocence
    HM. Forza Horizon 4

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  • Bloodborne

    Despite my love for Dark Souls, I'm majorly behind on FROM SOFTWARE titles, with Dark Souls 3 and Sekiro still to play. I just played Bloodborne this year.

    It's certainly the closest thing to Dark Souls that FROM SOFTWARE have put out. I loved the mechanic where you get your health back by getting hits. It really encourages you to be aggressive. More aggressive than what most people who choose to be aggressive in Souls are.

    I feel like there isn't as much freedom of playstyle in Bloodborne though. Armour means very little and you can't really create a high poise build like you can in Dark Souls.

    But the environment and the boss fights and the ambience is lovely. I really like how the area before Father Gascoine is huge and sprawling, giving you many hours on your first playthrough to slowly learn the ins and outs of the game, before the man himself acts as a literal gatekeeper, making sure that you know enough about how to play the game before you progress on.

    I don't love Bloodborne like I love Dark Souls, but it's a Great Game.

    Breath of the Wild

    I didn't vote for this one. There are many many games in this list that I think are far and a way better. The thing with Breath of the Wild is that the highs are astronomically high. The first time you discover shield surfing is amazing. The first time you realise you can parry a guardian is great. And the first time you beat a Guardian in one of those tough Shrine boss fights is great. The systems at play in this game are phenomenal, and certainly contributed to how shareable gameplay of it was on release.

    But this focus on emergent gameplay is also one of the games biggest flaws.

    It's clear that the team were very inexperienced with the open world formula. Even after the plateau, the game is extraordinarily hard, and there is very little in the form of a path of least resistance, because there is very little in terms of a path.

    Additionally, there are key checkpoints throughout the game that seem almost mandatory, but very little is done to guide the player towards it. Finding some kind of recipe to keep you cool for a start was incredibly frustrating. It took me hours to find somewhere that would allow me to get to the north east part of the map.

    Also, I played through the entire game never finding Tarrey Town which after listening to conversations, seemed like a pretty sizeable side quest and gameplay mechanic that I didn't get to experience because the game never really pushed me to it.

    But, I did really enjoy my time with Breath of the Wild, and I look forward to playing the sequel when it eventually releases.

    That was really good fun though, and a great way to sum up the Decade. Can't wait to see Jones' reaction on Community Showcase. Man, I hope Ian does end up on the next one like Jones said, he'll flip his lid at the top 2. Thanks to @Axel as always for the organisation that goes into this.

    Here are my votes!

    #1. Dark Souls
    #2. Fallout: New Vegas
    #3. Hitman
    #4. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
    #5. Horizon Zero Dawn
    #6. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
    #7. Red Dead Redemption 2
    #8. Death Stranding
    #9. God of War
    #10. Persona 5
    #11. The Walking Dead
    #12. NieR:Automata
    #13. Resident Evil 2
    #14. Grand Theft Auto V
    #15. The Last of Us

    #HM. Marvel's Spider-Man
    #HM. Bloodborne
    #HM. Fallout 4
    #HM. Mass Effect 3
    #HM. Assassin's Creed III

    Just very quickly:

    Assassin's Creed 3, Mass Effect 3 and Fallout 4 are all wonderful games that are criminally underrated by gamers far and wide. Mass Effect 3 is marginally better than 2 in my opinion.

    The Walking Dead is just a wonderful piece of story telling. Great gameplay, and a character I hold near and dear. #ForClementine #StillNotBitten

    Hitman. Probably my biggest pleasant surprise of this decade. Those games are just catnip to me. They're like someone took a huge sprawling RPG a boiled it down into a level you can complete blind in an hour or so. And then they multiplied that by 6! And then they added all these easter eggs and challenges.

    Hitman 3 is by far my most anticipated game of 2021.

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    @hazz3r Shout-out to a fellow Hitman lover!!

    I already disagree with some of my own list. Odyssey should have been above Mario Kart 8 for sure. Blew it.

    1. GTA V

    2. Hitman

    3. Mario Kart 8

    4. Super Mario Odyssey

    5. Marvel's Spider-man

    6. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

    7. Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

    8. Dishonored

    9. Borderlands 2

    10. Final Fantasy XIII-2

    11. Final Fantasy XV

    12. Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

    13. The Witness

    14. Portal 2

    15. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

    Ni No Kuni

    Persona 5

    Super Mario Maker

    Far Cry 3

    South Park: Stick of Truth

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  • @crepe said in The EZA Forums Top 50 Games of the 2010s!:

    Other than that, I'm really surprised that Bioshock Infinite didn't make it. I had it in my top ten.

    Bioshock Infinite is a really fun game and I don't really like this overly analytical criticism it's gotten since launch. Back when it released, I thought it was a GOTY competitor for sure. I think it's strange and pulpy enough to be taken lightly, but serious enough to have some nice social commentary. I think people either take it too seriously when critiquing the plot, or they for some reason can't see past the holes to enjoy themselves.

    The other half of the pitchfork mob believes that they were promised one game, then received another. I honestly disagree. I think mostly everything that was said to be in this game is in it, just not to the level of finesse that either fans nor the developers expected. I also know there is a camp of people who think the game design in general is bad, it's too linear, it's not Bioshock, etc. I get it - but on the surface it's still a fun as hell FPS with super power abilities and a weird world to explore.

    I really like it, I think it's flawed but good if not great. I disagree with the pitchfork mobs. It just didn't make my cut.

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  • The Last of Us, Bloodborne, and Breath of the Wild are all some of my favorite games ever. The Last of Us has one of my favorite narratives and performances, there are so many scenes that just stick in my head, and I had a lot of fun being as stealthy has possible with that bow. Easily one of the worst trophy lists I've suffered through to get the platinum just because I loved the game so much.

    Bloodborne was actually my first FromSoftware game, and it took a little bit for me to really get the feel of it, but it turned into some of my favorite vibes from a game. The satisfaction of being scared of a new area, to finding the boss, then dying so much that you find shortcuts and then know the area like the back of your hand is second to none.

    Then with Breath of the Wild, there's not much I can say that hasn't already been said. I always wished there was a little bit more story to go off of that wasn't in flashbacks, but it's hard to complain when everything surrounding it is so damn good.

    Here's my list:

    1. The Last of Us
    2. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
    3. God of War
    4. Bloodborne
    5. Spider-Man
    6. Super Mario Odyssey
    7. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
    8. Monster Hunter World
    9. Kingdom Hearts III
    10. Death Stranding
    11. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
    12. The Last Guardian
    13. Horizon Zero Dawn
    14. Dark Souls
    15. Final Fantasy XV
      HM: Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
      HM: Destiny
      HM: Rocket League
      HM: Super Mario Galaxy 2
      HM: Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver

    Most of my list made it in there and it made sense to me where they ended up (a little surprised at how low Monster Hunter World is though). I think I only had 3 picks not make it in. I had Kingdom Hearts III at #9. Not totally shocked, but I waited years for that game and loved every minute of it. I think KH2 is still my favorite in the series, but it's definitely a contender. Destiny was an honorable mention and I figured it wouldn't make it, but I had to at least mention it because that was some of the most fun I've ever had playing games with my friends. I have super fond memories of late night Trials of Osiris or Crota's End runs. Finally, I felt the compulsion to give at least one Pokemon game a nod and it just had to be HeartGold/SoulSilver. Similar to Destiny, Gen 4 was probably the most my friends and I played Pokemon together, but I also just have a big appreciation for Johto, that story, and those Pokemon.

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    1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
    2. Inside
    3. Resident Evil 2
    4. Return of the Obra Dinn
    5. The Witness
    6. XCOM 2
    7. Ori and the Blind Forest
    8. Resident Evil VII: Biohazard
    9. The Evil Within 2
    10. Forza Horizon 4
    11. Gears 5
    12. Outer Wilds
    13. XCOM: Enemy Unknown
    14. Limbo
    15. Gears of War 3
      HM. Cuphead
      HM. DOOM
      HM. What Remains of Edith Finch
      HM. Dead Space 2
      HM. Donkey Cong Country: Tropical Freeze
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    @miserableperson I feel very much like, had I played it, Cuphead would have been on my list.

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  • @demonpirate said in The EZA Forums Top 50 Games of the 2010s!:

    3- Zelda: Skyward Sword

    uhhhhhhh

    @hazz3r said in The EZA Forums Top 50 Games of the 2010s!:

    It's clear that the team were very inexperienced with the open world formula. Even after the plateau, the game is extraordinarily hard, and there is very little in the form of a path of least resistance, because there is very little in terms of a path.

    I like the lack of streamlining. It allows you have an interesting experience no matter which direction you go in. There are very gentle, almost subconcious, paths laid out though (characters, macro and micro landmarks), to push you towards points of interest. It's a classic Nintendo development style.

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  • @oscillator said in The EZA Forums Top 50 Games of the 2010s!:

    uhhhhhhh

    Haha, I was hoping no one would see that.

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