Christmas 2019 is now over and only a few more days are left in this decade so if I was ever going to do a ‘games of the decade’ article now is the time! But picking a top 100, or even a top 10 across the entire 10 years is tough and personally I was more interested in how many games I actually played that came out this decade. So that’s what I have done.
Using a mix of Steam, what I have in my own cupboards and a Wikipedia list of games that released in each decade I compiled a list of every game I have played and picked out my top five for each year. Just to explain my methodology a little first, only games that first released in this decade. No ports so the likes of Final Fantasy VII releasing on Switch in 2019 would not count. Now remasters like Wind Waker HD and collections like the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection I am counting in my total new games played list (with collections being counted as simply one game) however neither are eligible for my top five of each year. Those have to be new.
I am also going by the western release date unless it doesn’t have one of course, and I am also judging on the year they came out, not the year I played them. For example, I played Hollow Knight in 2019 however the game came out in 2017 so if it does end up on this list it will be under 2017.
So with that out of the way let’s cover my top five games of 2016 with every game I played listed at the bottom. It goes without saying that if I didn’t play a game then it won’t be on this list. Simple.
2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019
5) Ace Attorney Spirit of Justice – Nintendo 3DS – September 8th 2016
It’s not a hot take to say that the second trilogy of Ace Attorney games don’t match up to the original trilogy, however one does come close and that is Spirit of Justice. While not as good as Trials and Tribulations I would say it is better than Justice for All and it manages to do something Dual Destinies didn’t: make me care about Apollo. This is his game more than anyone else and feels like the natural follow-up to Ace Attorney Apollo Justice. Not every case is a banger (the Athena case is pure filler and exists in order to give her something to do) and the main villain is pretty obvious from the start but some of the reveals and twists found in these cases are the best in the series. It’s a return to form for the mainline games and I can only hope Ace Attorney 7 continues this quality of story-telling.
4) Kirby Planet Robobot – Nintendo 3DS – June 10th 2016
I have always liked the Kirby series but it can’t be denied they get very similar and are all very easy. I suppose that’s the point but then Planet Robobot comes along and shows that a Kirby game can be just as good as any Mario, Yoshi and Donkey Kong platformer. The titular Robobot both naturally integrates itself into the Kirby formula while changing up the gameplay to feel fresh and exciting. The restrictions it puts on Kirby’s movement options allow for some actually good platforming areas and aesthetically speaking these areas are far more interesting than any Kirby has been in before. This title easily give Superstar Ultra a run for its money as the best Kirby game ever made and I hope to see more of the Robobot in the future.
3) VA-11 HALL-A – PC/Vita/Switch/PS4 – June 21st 2016
Maybe it was my experience working at bars or maybe its the host of high-quality waifu’s but VA-11 HALL-A engrossed me in its world and made me care for the people in it despite the player really taking a backseat to the action. Your the protagonist but your just a barmaid trying to get enough daily wage to pay your rent and keep the lights on. There’s a story going on in this cyberpunk world but you hear about it second-hand from the patrons who come into the bar to get away from it all. You listen to their daily woes and sometimes it helps Jill feel better about her own situation. It’s engrossing and it’s different from most visual novels out there and I enjoyed simply grabbing a tea, cosying up in bed with my headphones on and pouring a few drinks for my favourite customers.
My review can be watched here.
2) Doom – PS4/PC/Xbox One/Switch – May 13th 2016
I like first-person shooters but I was never a massive fan of the likes of Doom or Duke Nukem. I could play and enjoy them but I never beat them, I would always get bored with the recurring corridors and gameplay. So I was surprised to find out how different the Doom 2016 remake is and how much better of a game it is. It isn’t like your Call of Duty’s or Halo’s. Doom is fast-paced, almost arcadey, and keeps you in non-stop action as you blast your way through the denizens of hell. Just fighting in this game is chaotic fun as enemies don’t hold back and come at the player from all angles, but with a host of cool weapons, fast manoeuvrability and killer finishing moves you can mow your way through and feel like a badass doing so. This decade I played less first-person shooters but I’m even thinking Doom was better than any first-person shooter I played in the last decade as well. It’s just that fun.
Honorable Mention) Shantae Half-Genie Hero – PC/Wii U/PS4/Vita/Xbox One/Switch – November 10th 2015
Shantae Half-Genie Hero is great fun and looks beautiful. While not as good as Pirate’s Curse it is a great entry-point for newcomers and has some great level ideas such as a flying carpet race and fake-mermaid factory. It feels polished and between the different difficulties, playable characters and bonus modes there is a ton to do. The only reason it ended up as an honorable mention is that it wasn’t really until the Ultimate Edition of the game on Switch that I really fell in love with it. You can find out more here in my review here but without the extra modes it’s a little too short and not varied enough compared to others in the genre and its own series.
1) Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE – Wii U/Switch – June 24th 2016
I was already a fan of Fire Emblem and my only Atlus experience was Persona 4. I like Japanese stuff but the whole idol industry setting wasn’t that appealing to me. Needless to say by its place here that after giving the game a go I fell in love with it. The story is not anything to write home about but the characters are all very memorable and likeable. It has some great dungeons and the battle mechanics are top-notch, some of the best I have ever experienced in a turn-based RPG. It just feels satisfying to pull off a session and get this long chain of attacks that completely obliterates opponents. The biggest gaming crime of this last decade is that not enough people gave this game a chance, but now with an enhanced port coming to Switch and many gamers on that Persona fever, it may finally get a chance to get the attention it deserves.
2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019
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My feelings for PW:AA: Spirit of Justice are kinda the same, there is a lot more I want to say about the game but it will be too much so I just say that one of the major pros is that the game mainly focus on what the previous two main installments should have done in the first place, Apollo.
I’m ashamed to say that I never played VA-11 HALL-A, only seen some few gameplay videos of it. I hope to get around to play it soon enough.
I really think FE Tokyo Mirage Session is very underrated.
[…] ten years past. It’s also a list, much like the ones Nantenjex has been making (and which I recommend reading) for his favorite games of each year. But this isn’t my top ten of the decade […]