@jdincinerator Believe me it's not that. These are all real people - the abusers AND the victims - and this is absolutely not the kind of publicity Ubisoft wants.

Yeah let's not confuse everything here. He was "just" an asshole, not a sexual abuser.

@hazz3r No kidding, it's been my conversation opener with everyone I bump into for the last couple days. "Have you played The Last of Us 2?? No?? You have to!!"

My one nitpick is that when you transition to a new area, you can't go back (the door gets locked, you can't climb back up, etc.), which totally makes sense as they don't want different encounters to spill into each other, BUT it means if you haven't finished exploring and you accidentally move on, you're screwed. I'm pretty sure I only missed one or two collectibles in the game, and that was because of that. It's super minor but I wish they did something subtle like circle/color the button prompt when it's a "Exit area" interaction just to let you know.

Super late to the party but I just finished the game a couple days ago, and decided to catch up on this thread to read your impressions, good stuff in here!

Disclaimer: I didn't like the first game all that much, I just died a lot and was frustrated most of the time, which impacted my enjoyment of the story itself. Looking back, I can tell how great the story was, I just didn't get into it at the time, for some reason. I feel like if I replayed it now I would probably like it more. Anyway, what I mean to say is that I approached Part II with a skeptical mindset, ready to not like it...

And boy did it win me over! I absolutely LOVED it, it really is a masterpiece on so many levels, and absolutely deserves the critical and commercial success it received. I managed to avoid pretty much all spoilers, all I knew was that the game was "controversial".

I spent a lot of time as I was playing wondering what was controversial about it. Surely the controversial bit was yet to come? I started to dread finding out what people were outraged over. Surely it couldn't be this character, or that character, or that scene?... But it never came, because there isn't anything worth any sort of outrage in this game. Unless you're a narrow-minded, ignorant, immature man-child, that is. Having now seen what idiots were frothing at the mouth about, it confirms my fears, but well, their "opinion" isn't worth anybody's time, so let's move on.

To be clear, I'm not saying you're not allowed to dislike the game or criticize it. Just not for those reasons.

What a bold, ambitious, adult freaking game! My emotions were played like a fiddle by Naughty Dog every step of the way, and even though sometimes the seams were showing, their writing tricks still worked wonders. I went through so many feelings and opinions about various characters throughout, which is the entire point!

I could gloat about the meticulous encounter design, the seamless transitions between combat and stealth options, the insane attention to detail, the expert writing, the various technical achievements, the audio design, and so many things but you all have done that in your previous posts better than I would!

I can safely say I've never been more involved and affected emotionally by a game, ever. Like shouting-at-my-TV involved. I'm pretty hard to "move", even other games praised for their stories like God of War didn't do much for me. So this is no faint praise coming from me.

Excellent job from Naughty Dog, they are masters of their craft, and they should be extremely proud.

By the way, if you're interested in chill yet thorough discussion about the game, I encourage you to watch The Deepest Dive from MinnMax, those are excellent (even better if you watch them as you play). Here's part 1:

Youtube Video

We did it, phew! I'm super happy with the way this list turned out, I think we can be proud of our collective taste!

Let's recap everything: 50 people voted, and 202 our of the 240 eligible games received at least a vote. That's about 4 unique games per voter, so a great spread which shows how diverse everybody's preferences are.

Overall representation per year

• 2010 was the most represented year among all the votes, with 24 games out of 25!
• 2017 was second, with 23 games.
• 2011 and 2012 follow with 22 games.
• With 21 games, we have 2018 and 2019.
• Then we have the two oddballs, 2013 and 2015, who only had 20 eligible games, 16 of which received votes.
• 2014 follows with 19 games.
• 2016 closes the list with only 18 games.

Top 50 representation per year

• 2017 is the clear top dog here with 9 games in our list, almost a fifth of the top 50!
• 2012 is the ugly duckling with only 1 game, Journey, only in #47!

Top 12 representation per year

As we saw, the top 12 was heads and shoulders above the rest with a 64 point gap.

• And again, 2017 leads the pack with 3 games, no contest, the best year of the decade.
• 2011, 2015 and 2018 follow with 2 games each.
• 2010, 2013 and 2016 place 1 game each.
• 2012, 2014 and 2019 couldn't make it.

Overall representation per publisher

• Nintendo is number 1, with 25 games receiving votes!
• Sony is a close second with 23 games.
• Square Enix follows after a big gap, with 15 games.
• Next, Bethesda and Sega got 10 games each (6 of Sega's being Yakuza/Judgment).
• EA and Ubisoft are tied with 9 games.
• 2K, 8 games.
• Capcom, 7 games.
• Bandai Namco, 6 games.
• Rockstar, Atlus and Microsoft, 5 games.

Top 50 representation per publisher

• Nintendo is still the best when looking at our top 50 with 9 games.
• Sony still trails closely with 8 games.
• Then it's a big drop, with Square Enix, Bethesda, Capcom and Rockstar with 3 games each.
• Bandai Namco and Annapurna got 2 games.
• Sega drops hard with only 1 game.
• Shockingly, Ubisoft, Microsoft and Blizzard got 0 game in our top 50!

Top 12 representation per publisher

• The tables turn in our elite 12, with Sony placing 5 games!
• Nintendo "only" gets 2 games, but that includes the actual Game of the Decade, so not bad!
• Bethesda, EA, Bandai Namco, Atlus and CD Projekt round up the top 12 with a game each.

Games with no votes

I wasn't sure whether to include this because the point isn't to name and shame, but in the name of being exhaustive, here goes:

• 2010: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West
• 2011: Pokémon Black and White, Super Mario 3D Land and Resistance 3
• 2012: Wipeout 2048, Tokyo Jungle and Resident Evil: Revelations
• 2013: DmC: Devil May Cry, Metro: Last Light, SteamWorld Dig and The Wolf Among Us
• 2014: Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, Valiant Hearts: The Great War, Child of Light, Divinity: Original Sin, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
• 2015: Rise of the Tomb Raider, Tales of Zestiria, Divinity Original Sin: Enhanced Edition or Assassin's Creed Syndicate
• 2016: I Am Setsuna, World of Final Fantasy, Let It Die, Street Fighter V, Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE, Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth and Pokémon Sun and Moon
• 2017: Injustice 2 and Mass Effect: Andromeda
• 2018: Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden, The Missing: JJ Macfield and the Island of Memories, Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Eevee!, and Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom
• 2019: Apex Legends, Days Gone, Astral Chain and The Outer Worlds (a former #3!!)

Additional info about games

• I'll start with the unlucky snubs, which deserve a special shout-out! 2 games scored 69 points, as many as our #50 Rocket League, and narrowly missed our top 50: Super Mario Maker and Titanfall 2.

Now... let's list everything else I guess!

• 67 points: The Walking Dead
• 66 points: Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
• 65 points: XCOM 2, Dishonored
• 64 points: Batman: Arkham Knight, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
• 62 points: Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward
• 61 points: Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
• 55 points: Divinity: Original Sin II
• 53 points: XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Deus Ex: Human Revolution
• 52 points: The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC
• 51 points: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors, Celeste, BioShock Infinite
• 49 points: Yakuza 5, God of War III, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn
• 48 points: The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky
• 47 points: P.T., Nier
• 46 points: Disco Elysium
• 45 points: Max Payne 3, Dragon's Dogma, Prey
• 44 points: Gravity Rush 2, Hitman, Bayonetta 2
• 43 points: Mass Effect 3
• 42 points: Bastion, Ori and the Blind Forest
• 41 points: South Park: The Stick of Truth
• 40 points: Sleeping Dogs
• 39 points: Catherine, Alien: Isolation
• 38 points: Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, Hotline Miami, Dead Space 2
• 37 points: Detroit: Become Human, 3D Dot Game Heroes, Katawa Shoujo
• 34 points: Civilization VI, Sonic Mania, Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, The Last Guardian
• 33 points: Kingdom Hearts III, Splatoon, Devil May Cry 5, Borderlands 2, Stardew Valley
• 32 points: Gone Home, FTL: Faster Than Light, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
• 31 points: The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III, Overwatch
• 30 points: Fire Emblem Awakening, Until Dawn, Vanquish, Kid Icarus: Uprising
• 29 points: Papers, Please, Fallout 4
• 28 points: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
• 27 points: Wolfenstein: The New Order
• 26 points: Final Fantasy XIII-2, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, God of War: Ghost of Sparta
• 25 points: Dragon Age: Inquisition, Assassin's Creed Origins, Deadly Premonition, Nioh, Super Mario 3D World, Dark Souls II, Forza Horizon 4
• 24 points: The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, The Stanley Parable, Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, Skate 3
• 23 points: Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony, Diablo III
• 22 points: Yakuza 4
• 21 points: Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Valkyria Chronicles 4
• 20 points: Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, Limbo, The King of Fighters XIII
• 19 points: Ratchet & Clank, Pyre, Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Spyro Reignited Trilogy
• 18 points: Metro Exodus
• 17 points: Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Gravity Rush, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, Tomb Raider, Spec Ops: The Line
• 16 points: The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel, Octopath Traveler, Tetris Effect, Halo: Reach, Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, Gears 5, inFAMOUS 2
• 15 points: Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
• 14 points: Xenoblade Chronicles X
• 13 points: Tales of Graces f, Transistor, The Evil Within 2
• 12 points: The Wonderful 101, Firewatch, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, Gears of War 3
• 11 points: L.A. Noire, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 2 - Innocent Sin, SOMA
• 10 points: Yakuza Kiwami 2, Batman: Arkham Origins, Heavy Rain, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
• 9 points: Judgment, Donkey Kong Country Returns
• 8 points: Tetris 99
• 7 points: The Evil Within, Infamous Second Son, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty
• 5 points: Rayman Origins, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game, Borderlands 3, Destiny, Dragon Age II, Hearthstone, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II, The Banner Saga, Far Cry 3, Astro Bot Rescue Mission, Assassin's Creed III, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled, Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna – The Golden Country, The Last Story, Into the Breach, Rogue Legacy, A Plague Tale: Innocence

I've played 28 games out of our top 50. The ones I'm still planning to play one day: Persona 5 (Royal), Mass Effect 2, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Horizon Zero Dawn, Outer Wilds, Return of the Obra Dinn, Xenoblade Chronicles. Ugh, there's some big boys in there.

I'll make sure to post these results in the next Community Showcase, but feel free to remind me just in case! The next thread of this kind will be the 2020 GOTY, early next year, I need a break now.

Thanks again to everyone who participated, it was epic!

@el-shmiablo said in The EZA Forums Top 50 Games of the 2010s!:

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

Dead Space 2 was my #6, so I feel your pain. It only got 38 points.

@el-shmiablo said in The EZA Forums Top 50 Games of the 2010s!:

Zelda games completely lost their appeal to me with the absolute travesty of a game that was Skyward Sword. Don't care.

Breath of the Wild is nothing like Skyward Sword, and very different from all other Zelda games, so you could very well enjoy it.

#1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - 447 points

Votes

#1 (Axel, Shoulderguy, Oscillator, Otos, GMan, THECapedCaper, naltmank, Crepe, MiserablePerson), #2 (Jamicov, collin, Phbz, FerrisK96), #4 (Chocobop), #5 (Scotty), #6 (clingring, FF7Cloud), #7 (Capnbobamous), #10 (cordashio75, LordPumpkinPie), #12 (feer), #13 (thisnameislame), #15 (E_Zed_Eh_Intern), HM (HappyGaming, Marcus3run)

Information

Release year: 2017
GOTY Rank: 3rd
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch, Wii U

Links

Trailer
Wikipedia
EZA Review

#2. Bloodborne - 374 points

Votes

#1 (clingring, collin, NeoCweeny, DIPSET, Answerofduty, tokeeffe9, FerrisK96), #2 (DemonPirate), #3 (El Shmiablo), #4 (Jamicov, feer), #6 (Nimbat1003), #7 (FF7Cloud, iboshow), #8 (JW), #9 (GMan, cordashio75), #10 (bard91), #11 (Marcus3run), HM (Chocobop, Phbz, Hazz3r)

Information

Release year: 2015
GOTY Rank: 2nd
Developer: FromSoftware
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Platform(s): PlayStation 4

Links

Trailer
Wikipedia
GT Review