My Top Games of the Last Decade

There are a number of games that probably should be on this list that I haven’t played for some reason or another. The most notable are Civilization, Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption 2. Update August 23, 2020: Have now added Red Dead Redemption 2 and Mass Effect 3. Update November 30, 2021 Added Divinity Original Sin 2   Update June 1 2022 Added Final Fantasy XV

1. Red Dead Redemption 2
   I have completely rewritten this entry and moved Red Dead to number 1. Some distance from the Van der Linde gang has softened my views. I may have had more freedom to create a character and story with other games in this list but I am role playing the daylights out of Red Dead free roam. Horses as NPC companions are fantastic and I am completely free to invent personalities for them. After hours and hours, there is some repetition but the ambient dialogue and activity continues to amuse and amaze. There is so much going on that I do not understand how this game was optimized for consoles. It does glitch out or lag slightly but not that often.
   
   
2. Skyrim
   I’m a little shocked that improvements on the whole open world concept have not diminished my love for Skyrim. I have the PS3 and PC versions. According to Steam I last played in February of last year. Hilariously I have only ever installed one mod. I wanted to craft custom robes for a mage build. The vanilla game was enough to inspire three play throughs. I most enjoy the beauty and randomness of the world and the freedom to create characters and individual story lines. The DLC is great. It’s not perfect. We were lucky to get a PS3 copy after some significant patches and didn’t have a lot of trouble but there were aggravating quest bugs. I have complained about Oblivion’s systems but I liked Oblivion’s guild progression much better. I wished the Skyrim player character had more impact on the world state. Even so just writing this has me tempted to return.
   
   
3. Assassin’s Creed Origins/Odyssey
   Yes I am lumping two games together here. They have so much in common. Both are peak video game tourism. Odyssey emphasizes player choice. The world is populated and busy. I am very goal oriented in Odyssey. Origins is weird, random and slower paced but like Odyssey it is beautiful and well populated. I prefer Origins but not enough to rank one over the other.
   
   
4. Kingdom Come Deliverance
   I had a hard time picking number 4 (originally 3). Henry won out. I was just so invested in him. His world seemed so authentic. As if I could know. The game is filled with humour and unexpected twists and turns. It’s hard not to feel that there is less in KCD’s world than developers wanted but it is a very ambitious game as it is. I had little trouble with my patched version but I understand it had a difficult launch. I am really hoping for a sequel.
   
   
5. Divinity Original Sin 2.
   Brilliantly designed and written. Beautiful to look at. I might go as far as to say one of the best PC games I have ever played. It's not a walk in the park though.
   
   
6. The Witcher 3
   This is a brilliant game. A little too brilliant. The dialogue cut scenes are so well done that I had a bit of uncanny valley. The world is not as interactive as I would like. It’s beautifully rendered. The story writing is gripping and I was very invested in Geralt and Yennifer. I liked all the flashy combat but I struggled with the ability trees. The Sirens drove me mad. Overall a work of art that happens to be a game.
   
   
7. Watch Dogs 2

   Some unique features and hilarious game play put this one on the list. Never mind that I was pretty bad at everything. That just made it all the more hilarious.
   
   
8. Fallout New Vegas
   I have the edition with all DLC included and I am still a little confused about the courier’s backstory. It doesn’t matter. It’s all about the friends she made along the way. I did only one play through with a character who opted for the NCR ending but it wasn’t an easy choice. Factions, companions, kooky characters and situations stood out for me. For all the room to explore it isn’t exactly a tourism game. The environment is gloomy and challenging. Eek Death Claw.
   
   
9. Mass Effect 2
   Ok this game barely made it into the last decade. According to Steam it was released in January 2010 but I didn’t play the third version and as much as I enjoyed Andromeda I can’t rank it higher than this game. Because Shepard and the gang. Even Obsidian seems to have acknowledged that Bioware does companions right. Plus it is set in space. I really must play the third game. Update: I have now played the third Mass Effect. It's so similiar to Mass Effect 2 that it didn't really move the dial. Really enjoyed reconnecting with surviving characters from the series. It's tough to write a good ending for an epic series so I'll give Bioware a pass on that particular issue.
   
   
10. Horizon Zero Dawn
    This is a game that probably deserves a better ranking but design isn't the only thing I consider. Story, character, voice acting, world design and game mechanics are all very strong but it's an unceasingly hostile world. There were parts that I just didn't want to engage with. I will consider playing any sequels but it's not a world that I am anxious to return to.
    
    
11. The Outer Worlds
    It’s hard to convince myself to replay a giant open world RPG although I have. The Outer Worlds is perfectly designed for multiple play throughs. The game world is extensive enough to be interesting but not filled with busy work and collectibles just intriguing characters and combat. The quests are lean but that makes them flexible. I wasn’t quite as enthused with it as I thought I would be. It doesn’t break any new ground. I don’t have any big criticisms though. It does what it aims to do really well.
    
    
12. The Talos Principle
    I haven’t actually finished this game and I really don’t know what the heck is going on but I like this game so far. This is an elaborate version of the puzzle games I have always loved playing. The world is cool to walk around in too.
    
    
13. Uncharted 4
    Despite owning four generations of PlayStation consoles I have never finished an Uncharted game. I think I tried playing Uncharted 2 began to whimper and never got back to it. Linear action games that require controller competency stress me out. I had to try to finish at least one iconic PlayStation game not named Final Fantasy though right? I am so glad I did. There were a lot of hilarious fails especially with the jeep. The game play is still arcade-like but the story and voice acting are great. It’s an entertaining interactive movie.
    
    
14. Final Fantasy XV
    Speaking of Final Fantasy this one makes the list. It was a slow burn for me and to complicate matters I played FFXII The Zodiac Age simultaneously. I enjoyed both games. FFXV gets creative with some familiar open world features and that ultimately made for an enjoyable experience. 

These are my favourites for now. I have a number of games yet to play and this list maybe updated.