Game of the Decade? — we all have one; what be yours?

danielmann861

danielmann861

Joined
Feb 3, 2019
Location
Sydney Australia
Favourite title
Shenmue II
Currently playing
Tekken 7 (always Tekken 7)
PSN
danmann861
Steam
danielmann861
Well another decade has come and gone. So what better way to ring in the ‘20’s by asking for your game of the decade picks?

What stood out to you the most from the last 10 years of gaming?

What is your personal GOTD?
 
For me?

Game of the Decade:

The Last Guardian -- The culmination of everything Ueda has tried to do thus far with Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. A kind of reverse ICO with the player taking the Yorda role. Fumito Ueda truly does a wonderful job of balancing hope and despair and The Last Guardian was more of what I love about his games. I'm a sucker for dark fables and this particular fable of a boy and his man-eating Trico both haunted and delighted me to the core.

"Thank Crap It Finally Happened!" Game of the Decade:

Shenmue III -- Need I say more? I couldn't quite put it down as my GOTD, but it is the game I'm most glad FINALLY happened this decade, Here's hoping we get to IV sooner than later.
 
Last edited:
I can't name one game of the decade but some favourites!

Last Guardian: This game told a story using minimal dialogue that had me gripped from start to end. I was invested in the game from the word go. As the relationship develops between Trico and the boy (his name I forget) you see the game just blossom. Cracking work

Sonic Mania: Sonic at his finest once more. I need not say any more!

Yakuza 0: Fantastic game with such depth and drama, loads to do, great story and presentation.

Witcher 3: Amazing game that I became invested in after the opening tutorial. Geralt is a great main character and some of the choices in the game bring hilarious consequences. Great story and DLC pack too.

Judgement: Gripping story and good English dub. Some of the stpry revelations were great and the side-quests were good fun.

Spiderman: Web slinging action at its best. Great, engaging story line and I liked the potential openings for a sequal.

Red Dead 2: Hugely ambitious and while it has some issues it tells a good story, looks great and plays well. The ending, while obvious was good.

Shenmue III: Some see this as controversial but it's in there. 1. because it should not exist at all. 2. because it does tell a good story (certainly in Bailu, where the conversation depth is great, the villagers get to know Ryo and thus open up different dialogue) I know the ending/Niawou does let it down overall. 3. given the budget (personal opinion) you will not find a game as grand in scope, maybe to a fault, for the budget.

Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order: Finally a decent Star Wars singleplayer game. Loved the story and lightsabre action. Some bosses made me want to rip what's left of my hair out but overall loved it.

Detroit: Becoming Human: Superb story that had me hooked from the off. Presented really well and loved the multiple endings.
 
I have been completing less and less games recently. Could just be because we are coming to the end of the current generation but I have only completed 3 games this year for example; Shenmue III, Mortal Kombat 11 and Life is Strange 2. Thinking over the last 10 years from the top of my head, the games the come to mind are -

The Witcher 3 - Never heard of the series before but was blown away by pretty much everything in this game. What's telling is that I purchased both expansion packs and this is something I typically would not do in games. Believe I purchased it probably a good year after it was released and completed them both with a massive smile on my face. Last thing I done before I deleted the game was to hang up my armour in my Villa and sign-off like the boss Geralt is.

Mortal Kombat 11 - The last Mortal Kombat game I owned before X was Mortal Kombat Deception. Never picked the other instalment due to a lack of interest and the fact I knew I would not be able to compete online. I was more of a Street Fighter person. Then they released Mortal Kombat X and boy did it show the series moving forward and maturing. Finally Sub Zero was cool, you had different fighting styles, the women looked realistic, the costumes were call and what stood out the most for me was the character introductions. So much effort was put into this game and when you compared it to Street Fighter is was just day and night in terms of production values. I have been playing this game since launch and have become half decent online too.

Metal Gear Solid V - Not a fan of the story, hated it in fact, but technically probably one of the best games I have played. The sandbox nature, graphics and even control scheme making a solid game; gameplay wise.

Red Dead Redemption II - Amazing game, though it did drag on towards the end and shooting mechanics are quite poor for a shooting game. Can't fault the talent that went into making this game.

Persona 5 - One of the best games I have ever played and I never heard of the series until this game. I believe I completed this last year and it took me months to do.

Overcooked - Just makes me miss the days when you would play games primarily with friends and on the couch. Loved the game and so happy they released a second game and it got the recognition it deserved.

GTA V - Similar to Read Dead Redemption II, the production values of this game are on a whole other level. The graphics are amazing and I loved the details and the character switching mechanics.

Spiderman - Loved the game but was impressed that it was not full it monertisation crap. They gave you so many costumes and the gameplay was excellent. Could not ask for more.
 
Think I will have to say The Last Of Us. Not many other games have had a lasting impression on me.
 
Peter said:
The Witcher 3.

I am wrecked right now but I will type up a proper post tomorrow as to why. It's a no contest for me, on so many levels. Not even a hard choice really.
Click to expand...

I have tried 4 times to get into The Witcher 3 because by rights it should be up my street. I love RPGs. I even enjoyed and completed The Witcher 2. I enjoyed Morrowind, Skyrim, Fallout 3, Fable to RPGs like Mass Effect and Jade Empire to JRPGs like FF7, FF8, Skies Of Arcadia, Legend of Dragoon, Lost Odyssey, Grandia 2, Star Ocean 2...to name but a few (No need to mention Shenmue here surely...) but for some reason The Witcher 3 just isn't working for me.

I really want to get into this game and realise why other people love it so much but I don't get it. I always try it at times where I am bored and ran out of games to play so in theory the perfect time to try but it just isn't working.

Is there a moment a few hours in where it all clicks and you are sucked in? Maybe that's what I am counting on too much?

I get why I can't stand other popular games like GTAs and RDRs. I just have no clue why I'm not understanding The Witcher 3.

Biggest gaming mystery of the decade for me, for sure.
 
Some other noteworthy titles:

Yakuza 0 (2017) -- I never thought I'd see the day when Yakuza would finally break out and become something of a hit in the west. But it finally happened and it finally happened thanks to this gem. Not only that, it's also just a damn good Yakuza game in its own right. One of the best in the franchise.

South Park: The Stick of Truth (2014) -- I'm a huge South Park fan, so imagine the delight of being able to play a game that actually matches the quality of the television program. A true love note to South Park fans and a damn funny game in its own right.

Catherine (2011) -- Still one of the most unique games of the decade and dare I say, a borderline masterpiece. The story of a hapless slacker torn between the girl of his dreams and the responsible if not too uptight girl worked like a charm for me. That and I really like the Q-Bert Puzzle Like Gameplay. It's hard as nails but so damn rewarding to get those Gold Rankings (which I did for almost every level except the final stages). Amazing game and amazing soundtrack to boot.

Persona 4: Golden (2011) -- Came out this decade so I can include it. I love Persona 5, but I think my heart remains with P4 and its cast of characters. There is something about the ragtag kids of P4 that is just so endearing to me. The Vita version takes what was already great and just makes it even better. No joke, I actually platinumed this game twice (both the US and European copy) which is no easy feat considering it's a 100 hour platinum (roughly)...but that's how much I love these characters and the small town of Inaba. It's a delight to play through P4 Golden and it's a delight I often find myself coming back to over and over.

Grand Theft Auto V (2013) -- A welcome return after the somewhat disappointing GTA IV (or at least I know I wasn't a fan of IV.)

Tekken 7 (2015) -- I played a shit ton of Tekken 7 over the past year and it gave me a new found appreciation for it. I am absolutely in love with this game.

Saints Row: The Third (2011) -- Just pure fun from beginning to end. I had a blast with Saints Row: The Third. It truly was just pure fun from beginning to end.

Hatsune Miku Project Diva F (2012) -- I love rhythm games; I love handhelds; I love my PlayStation Vita. I poured hundreds of hours into Project Diva F and don't regret a single second of it.

Virtua Fighter 5: Showdown (2010) -- Released in 2010 so it counts as this decade :D Even now, I still look at this game which was first developed in 2006 and am pretty blown away by it. The animation work is astounding. Not to mention the game itself still kind of holds up. The gameplay is immaculate. Easy to pick up and play but deep as all hell if you go down that rabbit hole. If VF6 ever becomes a reality, I hope they push the boundaries as much as they did with VF5. I want to see Ray Tracing 4 (or even 8k) VF6. Something that just wows me in the same way that VF5 did (and still does)

LittleBigPlanet 2 (2011) -- It's easy to overlook LBP, but I think some of the things the community came out with was pretty damn awe inspiring. It was always amazing to see just how far people could push the create tools of LBP2.

The Last of Us (2012) -- I can't deny it. It is pretty damn amazing all around and is one of the best games of the decade. The struggle for survival on the harder difficulties is pretty damn rewarding.


Games I didn't Care For (or hated):

God of War -- If there was ever a candidate for Oscar Bait the Game, it was this heap of junk. I loved the original God of War games on PS2. Yet I found this to be a complete neutering of everything that made those games interesting. Gone is the fun (if not simple button mashing) rage induced combat and in its place is a boring wannabe Dark Souls jank fest of a combat system that was more frustrating than it ever was satisfying. Gone was the games punk rock aesthetic and in its place was a boring ass wannabe Naughty Dog Last of Us clone as it tried to be oh so super serious to appeal to the latte sipping critics who previously hated GoW. Gone are the memorable over the top boss fights and in their place are a bunch of boring Valkyrie fights that all just felt like copy and paste. Sure, the game is pretty, but I felt like the game completely betrayed itself and lost all of its own identity in pursuit of trying to replicate everything else. Hated it. I will gladly replay the original GoW trilogy any day of the week, but this? This was junk. (send your hate mail to my PO Box :D)

Uncharted 4 -- Again, I was a huge Uncharted fan, and while I can't say I hated Uncharted 4 (it's nothing like my disdain for God of War), I still walked away from it feeling slightly disappointed with it. I think it took one too many lessons from The Last of Us and kind of forgot that Uncharted is supposed to be a pulp action adventure with a non stop pace. Instead, I felt like Uncharted 4 got way too bogged down at times and tried to lift a little too much from The Last of Us that it just didn't work for me. I still kind of want to see what Amy Hennig's original Uncharted 4 would have been over Druckman's take.
 
Quiksylver said:
I have tried 4 times to get into The Witcher 3 because by rights it should be up my street. I love RPGs. I even enjoyed and completed The Witcher 2. I enjoyed Morrowind, Skyrim, Fallout 3, Fable to RPGs like Mass Effect and Jade Empire to JRPGs like FF7, FF8, Skies Of Arcadia, Legend of Dragoon, Lost Odyssey, Grandia 2, Star Ocean 2...to name but a few (No need to mention Shenmue here surely...) but for some reason The Witcher 3 just isn't working for me.

I really want to get into this game and realise why other people love it so much but I don't get it. I always try it at times where I am bored and ran out of games to play so in theory the perfect time to try but it just isn't working.

Is there a moment a few hours in where it all clicks and you are sucked in? Maybe that's what I am counting on too much?

I get why I can't stand other popular games like GTAs and RDRs. I just have no clue why I'm not understanding The Witcher 3.

Biggest gaming mystery of the decade for me, for sure.
Click to expand...
You need to try man

It's a safe bet

Maybe Velen, the first part, it's a bit dense, bc it's a fucking swamp, but then Novigrad and Skellige are great. And the dlcs are pure magic, the best of the game.
 
Last edited:
witcher 3 is my best game of the decade. only game ive ever bought dlc for. ( i look forward to playing witcher 2 on xbox360, soon)


biggest gaming disappointment of the last 10 years. easy, its mgs5.
 
Quiksylver said:
I get why I can't stand other popular games like GTAs and RDRs. I just have no clue why I'm not understanding The Witcher 3.
Click to expand...

ha, like me and zelda games. they look great but i cant get into them. ( im very tempted to start a thread with the title "games you regret not completing" because i have a ton lol)
 
1) Rocket League
2) Redout
3) The Return of Obra Dinn
4) Gorogoa
5) Assetto Corsa

I genuinely think Rocket League is the best game of all time. (Shenmue is the best "experience")
 
I completely forgot about Rocket League, The Last of Us and and God of War. I enjoyed Zelda, Breath of the Wild but not sure if I'll put it there as game of the decade. Definitely one of my favourites though.
 
Man, this is a bit tougher than games of the year or whatever. There’s a ton of quality stuff out there, but...I think I might have to go with either Nier or Deadly Premonition for having had the most impact on me. Both have their issues for sure, but they also introduced me to a lot of new things, like Twin Peaks or Drakengard or eventually Berserk, etc. That and just new ways to experience stories or characters in games, even after experiencing some Metal Gear or Grasshopper or Team Ico stuff in the decade previous. Perhaps I might place Dark Souls just a tad below, if only because I find it a little more bland in retrospect compared to other Fromsoft titles.
 
Life Is Strange:
I adore this game, heck it's not even a vey long game but I love interactive narratives and feel that is something the industry should explore with better - As I really feel it is what can make this medium stand out. What I also appreciated was having a protagonist who is an introvert - Not a loud Alpha-Male on steroids or A moody silent protagonist but a simple girl and it's LiS attention to detail to bring Max and Arcadia Bay to life which makes it so wonderful. I played the 1st Episode one day and then the following day began Episode 2 and simply couldn't put it down, it was way past 2am before I saw the game to completion that same evening, I was utterly hooked and an experience I will remember for all-time.

Beyond the Storm was decent, but I didn't have the same connection to Chloe, it was still a great insight though. As for Life Is Strange 2... I couldn't tell you because they released the phsyical Edition last month in-complete, requiring you too download the final episode (Which is free, but it should have been on disc), this I will not forgive, so I will be waiting for it to go on sale later this year digitally - The other games often drop under £5.
 
red said:
ha, like me and zelda games. they look great but i cant get into them. ( im very tempted to start a thread with the title "games you regret not completing" because i have a ton lol)
Click to expand...

I have been very close to buying a Switch lately mainly cause I'd like to play BotW, Mario Odyssey and Astral Chain. Zelda does look great and think I'll have fun exploring and finding those shrines.
Thing is I'm gonna end up spending over £400 quid on all that lot and not sure its worth it? (Never owned a Nintendo console in my life, therefore never played a Zelda game either)

I'll try Witcher 3 on the X again I think.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top