The last 10 years have been a period of dramatic evolution in video games. From revolutions in interactive storytelling (remember a time when “walking simulator” and “Souls” weren’t genres?) to significant progress in game creation inclusivity, what defined gaming has mutated into something stranger, more expansive, and—dare we say it?—more human. After much debate among our editorial board, here is the definitive list of the 10 greatest games of the past decade.
Fortnite:
Sure, Epic Games’ colorful shooter might not be the most meaningful thing in the world, but with its three gameplay modes and reinvention of the battle royale genre, Fortnite more than earns its place atop our list. Plus, if it keeps Jeremy off the amphetamines—which it seems to be doing—then more power to it, you know?
Portal 2:
Combining challenging puzzles with an emotional narrative and surprisingly smart writing, 2011’s Portal 2 was the final game in the Portal series to be offered to the general public, as Portal 3 was released as a game exclusively for Steam users with a net worth exceeding $1 million.
What Remains Of Edith Finch?:
A mystery, a fever dream, and an elegiac walking simulator all rolled into one, what really made this mind-blowing odyssey soar was that it let gamers indulge their sexual fetish of pretending to be a pregnant woman all without their wife or children ever catching on.
Earth Defense Force 2025:
Forever upending the paradigm of video games having ants that are very small, EDF 2025 boldly insisted on realizing a gameworld where ants are actually very large—extremely large, in fact. For that reason, and that reason alone, no reflection on the past decade in gaming is complete without this 2013 title’s inclusion.
Mass Effect 3:
Though the game’s closing 140 hours were widely derided as clunky and unsatisfying, its opening 30 seconds remain one of this generation’s masterpieces of epic sci-fi storytelling. From the futuristic stylization of the “Electronic Arts Presents” title card to Keith David’s voiceover work delivering those unforgettable words, “How bad is it?” as Captain David Anderson, these first moments set a high watermark for narrative gaming that hasn’t been matched since.
Inside:
This morose sidescroller took everything we loved about the Mario series and subtracted the joy, colorful graphics, and exhilarating sense of exploration, essentially letting us continue on with our childhood gaming hobby while transforming it into an absolute slog. And if that doesn’t tell you about where gaming is going, we don’t know what does.
Best Fiends:
We love playing Best Fiends! With exciting level design and cute characters, it’s a great way to kill time or relax with friends! Or should we say, fiends! At first we were skeptical, but after many enthusiastic testimonials from our favorite media personalities, we were hooked! Now available in the App Store FREE!
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order:
We would struggle to name 10 games better than this one that came out this decade, but in general, we’re struggling to remember the names of 10 games that came out this decade. We’re on this new prescription and it definitely has some side effects.
The Last Of Us Part II:
After playing through this title six months early, it’s clear that Naughty Dog’s latest deserves a spot on its list for so many reasons, whether it’s the deft gameplay evolutions or the masterful strokes of storytelling when Joel is killed off in the final act. For those reasons, we decided to include The Last Of Us Part II on the list despite it technically coming out in mid-2020.
Sea Of Thieves:
Rare’s industry-shaking cooperative pirate game may go down not only as this decade’s most defining release, but also one of the greatest games of all time, which is precisely why we are awarding it the number-one place at...sorry—sorry we can’t keep this going. God, we just wanted to imagine the big idiotic grin on the face of one of Rare’s developers when they started reading this and saw, somehow, despite all odds, this pile of shit reached the pinacle of our list.