Board 8 > Top 42 Games of the Decade

(+) Yeah! (+)

25. Monaco: What's Yours is Mine

I was lucky to play this entire game with friends in multiplayer, and it's so fun. You pick different roles inspired by different thief archetypes, get put in heavily fortified areas, and go crazy. It's light on narrative but that's a good thing - the enjoyment comes from four people running around like chickens with their heads cut off, all trying to work together but all of them also doing their own thing, accidentally messing with each other's plans and having everyone come out on top anyway. Monaco is ordered chaos at its finest.

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I think Spirit of Justice mixes up the formula enough to keep it from feeling stale, and it has a finale every AA fan should experience.

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24. Deus Ex: Human Revolution

I love this game's gameplay. That's mostly what it boils down to. The 'modern sci-fi' setting is pretty well-done but not usually something I go for. What Deus Ex offered me was a strong stealth experience at a time when I was craving that. There's a lot of different ways to accomplish your mission goals, and all of them are fun. Unfortunately, building a character that specialized in stealth and persuasion didn't translate very well to those bad boss battles, but what can you do. Also, Adam Jensen is a fun protagonist that combines serious characterization with campy charisma, which used to be more common in gaming but has mostly fallen by the wayside in the era of gritty realism.

Didn't get very fun into Mankind Divided though. I think I got everything I wanted from the gameplay type and setting out of Human Revolution.

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LeonhartFour posted...

I think Spirit of Justice mixes up the formula enough to keep it from feeling stale, and it has a finale every AA fan should experience.

I'll keep that in mind.

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23. Tales from the Borderlands

I'm not big on Telltale games. Walking Dead and Wolf Among us are some of the best ones and they didn't grip me very much despite the hype, and the choice system bugs the hell out of me. I'm also not big on Borderlands - it's a fun enough multiplayer experience but the writing is kind of terrible. So what do you get when you combine the Telltale template with the Borderlands world and writing style?

A great experience. Yeah, I don't get it either.

In all seriousness, Tales from the Borderlands is extremely charming. The Borderlands wackiness is there but toned down enough that it doesn't prevent you from becoming invested in the very well-written characters. There's a lot of tone whiplash between absurd humor and serious character moment, and somehow it all works. I love this game and recommend it to anyone looking for a story-driven experience.

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22. Umineko no Naku Koro ni (Episode 1-4)

Umineko's Board 8 zetgeist is the most fun I've ever had here. I have fond memories of making a literal image guide on how to get it to run on people's computers. It's the most I've ever influenced this place, and for a while Umineko itself was one of my all-time favorite games. Despite its 'quality' art and wordy writing, it does buildup so damn well and the music is first-class. Umineko during the old days was an experience in every sense of the word.

So what happened? Episode 5-8 happened. It turns out that sometimes, when an author creates an incredible amount of tension via an intriguing buildup promising crazy answers to all the questions it poses...it's because the buildup is significantly better than the answers. Umineko's plot goes into a freefall after the halfway mark and ends in a way that is literally insulting to the fanbase. As much as I loved the first half, I don't think I can ever replay it, not knowing how it ends.

But man, that period of time when Umineko was king on B8 was such a blast.

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I know it's GotD contest eligible but putting a game you played in 2008 on the list is kinda cheating. >_>
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21. Dragon Age: Inquisition

Inquisition biggest issue is its pacing. The game is simply too long and has far too much padding. I imagine that the number of people that started this game and actually finished it is far below the industry average.

Aside from that, though? I really liked what it offered. It was a return to form for Dragon Age, having (mostly) great characters, solid writing, pretty fun combat, various ways to customize the characterization of your avatar, and overall was an earnest attempt to right the direction of the series after Dragon Age 2 was kind of...eeeeh.

I also really like the concept of the Inquisition itself - building your own organization from the ground up always appeals to me in game. My biggest issue with a lot of western games in general, especially WRPGs, is that so often your choices come down to 'pick a faction'. I much prefer making my own faction, with blackjack and hookers.

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I like Episodes 5-7, but yeah, Episode 8 is awful and contradicts everything the series had been about up to that point.

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Team Rocket Elite posted...

I know it's GotD contest eligible but putting a game you played in 2008 on the list is kinda cheating. >_>

If it's good enough for GameFAQs, it's good enough for me!

(Also, I thought Episode 4 released in this decade. Oops.)

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LeonhartFour posted...

I like Episodes 5-7, but yeah, Episode 8 is awful and contradicts everything the series had been about up to that point.

5 is pretty good but you can already see the cracks forming in that one. 6 was bad. 7 is quite good, but 8...yeeeeeeeah.

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That's enough for now - here's the list so far.

21. Dragon Age: Inquisition
22. Umineko no Naku Koro ni
23. Tales from the Borderlands
24. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
25. Monaco: What's Yours is Mine
26. Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies
27. Fallout 4
28. Virtues Last Reward
29. Anatomy
30. Mass Effect 2
31. Fire Emblem: Three Houses
32. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
33. Rune Factory 4
34. Doki Doki Literature Club
35. Batman: Arkham City
36. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
37. Tomb Raider 2013 / Rise / Shadow
38. Sleeping Dogs
39. Until Dawn
40. Bastion
41. A Plague Tale: Innocence
42. 999 / Zero Time Dilemma

Man, lists go by fast when you don't write an essay for each entry.

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I think Episode 4 is where it starts going off the rails a bit once Ange's plotline gets introduced.

But man, the second half of Episode 4 is some of the best stuff the series has to offer, as is Episode 5's ending.

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I think I've repressed Ange's plotline. I forgot it was in Episode 4 at all.

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KamikazePotato posted...

28. Virtues Last Reward

Two things hold VLR back. The first is tone - the publishers mandated that the game be less harsh and more 'anime' than 999, which is a shame and takes away from the atmosphere sometimes.

This is so true, and a lot of people who mention they prefer 999 over VLR do so beacuse of tone. I never realised it was a publisher mandate, that's a damn shame.

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KamikazePotato posted...

I wouldn't even know about it if the Two Best Friends hadn't covered it. It's not well-known or easy to discover! Super underrated game.

One of their best videos too!

If I was to do a list there'd be at least five or six games they exposed me to on it.

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unfortunately of the last 10 games i only played me2 so all i have to say is

"launching probe"

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LeonhartFour posted...

I think Spirit of Justice mixes up the formula enough to keep it from feeling stale, and it has a finale every AA fan should experience.

I agree with this. I can sympathize with feeling burnout, but I can almost promise that Spirit of Justice will be worth it when you feel up to it.

xp1337 posted...

unfortunately of the last 10 games i only played me2 so all i have to say is

"launching probe"

...Probing Uranus

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Tag

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20. Celeste

I don't really 2D platformers but I can still recognize Celeste as being quality as hell. The story is a pretty good examination of mental illness and overcoming your own demons, and I love how it plays into the difficult gameplay - World 7 of Celeste is one of the most triumphant experiences in any game, especially with that music.

But none of that would make Celeste as good as it is without the actual platforming being super good, and it is in fact super good. I love the way Celeste controls, the level design, and the little puzzles each room gives you to solve. Not every part of Celeste is perfect, and once or twice I had to look up how to complete a room due to frustration, but on the whole? I had a blast. You die hundreds of times per world in Celeste and it's still fun, and the feeling of accomplishment you get when you prevail is good stuff.

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19. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

Before Bloodstained came out, I wasn't sure if I wanted a new Castlevania game because I actually wanted a new Castlevania game or because I wanted to spit Konami. Turns out it's thankfully the former! Bloodstained combines all the 'best hits' elements of previous Castlevania games and mixes them all together in a super fun experience. I don't have much to say here because it's just a really good Castlevania game and that's exactly what I wanted. I would recommend it to anyone who likes the genre!

...just not on the Switch.

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18. CrossCode

Para made a CrossCode writeup in his other topic that is going to be significantly more detailed than mine, so just go read that. My two cents to add: if you like 2D Zeldas, play CrossCode. If you don't, play it anyway, because I don't like 2D Zelda and I still loved this game. Aside from the very well-executed gameplay, it has one of the most emotionally satisfying stretches of any video game I've ever played, taking all the elements it's been slowing building up and executing them flawlessly. Love the writing in this game, really enjoyed the gameplay despite it usually not being my thing - it's easy for me to recommend this to almost anyone.

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whats wrong with Switch Bloodstained

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17. Pyre

Pyre is an absolute gem that flew under the radar. I think it handles choice in gaming better than almost any other game I've played - instead of your decisions making wide, sweeping world-defining changes that often lack an emotional punch because they lack a personal touch, Pyre is all about influencing the future of your group of allies. You have to oftentimes make decisions that prioritize the safety and happiness of one person in your group over that of all the others and it hurts! I really cares about what happened to my band of misfits, and I think that in the end I did right by them.

The gameplay is also fun but hard to describe. Supernatural 3 v 3 Basketball is the best I got, and if that doesn't sound fun and interesting, trust me when I say it is. The art style and music is also great, and...yeah. This game got to me.

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NowItsAngeTime posted...

whats wrong with Switch Bloodstained

There have been patches to make it better, but overall the graphics are worse, the performance is worse, there's more glitches/crashes, and there might still be input delay although I'm unsure on that.

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Pyre's way of building failure into the narrative got me far more invested in my party than "reloading the last save" ever would have been able to. They made so many clever and interesting design decisions, and as you mentioned every choice feels weighty because they're all so personal and real.

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16. Torment: Tides of Numenara

Also known as 'the one Kickstarter game I don't regret backing'. Kickstarter has given us some great revivals and I supported basically none of them. I backed Mighty No 9, and it was a disaster. I backed the Homestuck Adventure Game and my money got literally stolen. I backed Barkley 2 and it's vaporware. I backed Pillars of Eternity and I didn't like it very much. I backed Among the Sleep and...okay it was a fun little horror game so I'll take that win.

Out of everything that could have gone right, though, I'm really glad that the win I got was this game. I love Planescape: Torment and was very on board with the idea of a spiritual successor, and Tides of Numenara very much delivered. I don't think it's writing QUITE reached the highs of Planescape but I still found myself up into the late hours of the night poring over text. The world is interesting, the characters are well-defined, and the dialogue is clever as hell. And it's got marginally more serviceable combat than Planescape does, so hey it's got that going for it too.

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15. Alien: Isolation

One of the best survival horror experiences ever created, where the 'survival' part comes from 'oh god please let the Alien not find me hiding in this locker OH SHIT I USED THE TRACKER TOO MUCH AND IT HEARD THE BEEPING OH GOD OH NO'. This game absolutely nails its tension and atmosphere without skimping on the fact that the Alien is a cool as hell monster. A general rule of horror is that the more you show the monster, the less scary it gets, and that is absolutely not true in this game. I was just as scared of the Alien finding me at the end of the game as I was at the beginning. The environment it takes place in and some of the setpieces are awesome as well! Seriously a great game that unfortunately did not get a sequel because Colonel Marines poisoned the brand.

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14. Dishonored 2

Dishonored 2 has some problems. I think it's writing struggles in some areas, and the addition of a voiced protagonist - which should have been an improvement over Corvo's awkward silence in the original - is rendered worthless because all the protagonist does is repeat whatever was just said to them in a way that puts Solid Snake to shame. And while still good, the atmosphere is a little worse too and this series somewhat relies on atmosphere to create a unique experience.

But simply put, I adore its gameplay. Emily is so much fun to play as. The level design is fantastic and a few of the areas are the best I've ever played in any game. My computer was underpowered at the time (and Dishonored 2 was poorly optimized upon release), leading to a low FPS and me constantly having to restart to reset long loading times, and I still played the hell out of this game.

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There were issues with the Switch version of Bloodstained, but not to the point where I didnt have a lot of fun! If you have the choice get it for something else, but its still worth playing on Switch if thats your only option imo.

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Alien Isolation did technically get a sequel but it was a mobile game. Yay...?

But absolutely agree, it's definitely one of the best horror games of the decade imo, though I would say it overstays its welcome a little bit.

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bump

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13. Fallout: New Vegas

Callback time!

I also really like the concept of the Inquisition itself - building your own organization from the ground up always appeals to me in game. My biggest issue with a lot of western games in general, especially WRPGs, is that so often your choices come down to 'pick a faction'. I much prefer making my own faction, with blackjack and hookers.

New Vegas is my favorite example in any game of this concept. The game already has the best world and writing in any Fallout game, and would be a great game on its own merits just for that, but what really took it to new heights for me was the Yes Man ending, where I got to flip off all 4+ other major factions in the game and start my own Vegas Strip. This time literally with blackjack and hookers! I was so incredibly satisfied with my overall experience playing New Vegas and all the choices I made that I have no real desire to play it. I can't imagine the retry being better than the original outing.

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12. Bleed / Bleed 2

I bounce off of a lot of action games I play, but every now and then I find one that I REALLY want to dig into and explore. Bleed 1 and 2 were the biggest examples of this in the last decade, especially considering they're 2D action games which I often don't care about. Bleed has a fairly charming art style and simple story and whatever - it's all window dressing, an excuse to get you playing the amazing gameplay. Bleed controls so god damn well and its triple air dash + time slow mechanic allows you to constantly pull off cool shit while simultaneously taking a lot of strategy and skill to utilize to its full potential. The end result is REALLY satisfying to play.

One basic barometer I have for action gameplay is the difficulty setting. If a game makes me actively want to turn up the difficulty setting not because it's inherently too easy, but because I want to continue exploring the mechanics and reaching new adrenaline heights, it's probably a great action game. With Bleed, I played everything, tackled the toughest difficulties, imposed new challenges on myself, beat bosses without taking a hit (and was so hyped by this I shamelessly recorded it and uploaded it to youtube), and every time I went further I had more fun.

Too bad there'll never be a Bleed 3 because 2 bombed. I did send the developer an email (partially because I noticed the game wasn't doing well financially) saying he'd crafted one of my favorite action game experiences ever, and he replied back saying I'd made his whole week, so that was cool.

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11. Tales of Berseria

I waffled hard on whether or not to put this game in the Top 10 of the list. For me, Tales of Berseria was a game that greatly exceeded the sum of its parts. The story and character writing really got to me, with main character Velvet ended up as one of my all-time favorite game characters despite my first impression of her being 'that outfit is fucking stupid'. You can clearly feel that the game had a lot of heart and soul put into it. Some of the segments in Berseria are ones I'll remember for a long time. And while the battle system isn't especially complicated (if you're using Velvet, which I did) and way too easy unless you jack up the difficulty setting (which I also did), it manages to tie into the narrative by making her this unstoppable force that goes down to 1 HP and still kicks ass because Woman_Literally_Too_Angry_To_Die.png.

Unfortunately, a lot of the game also feels like a mediocre PS2 game. While there's a few good battle tunes, most of the music is phoned in and the environment design is just embarrassing. You could probably make every landscape and dungeon in Berseria in RPG Maker. Cutscene animations can be janky, and an annoying anime voice like Bienfu's should have stopped being used a long time ago. Berseria with an overhaul to bring it into the 21st century would be one of my all-time favorites. I still love it, but there's some lost potential there.

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Berseria was such a great game. Cast was quite great all-around though Velvet and Eleanor were my favorites. Velvet was a blast to play as well. Artorias was also an effective antagonist and the dynamic he has with Velvet is good.

Would agree that soundtrack isn't a strong point in the game though it still has some great ones here and there. The Will That Opposes Reason was a great one for instance.

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Usually people take a break before cracking open the Top 10. Not me, because I like to live dangerously.

10. Metal Gear Rising

It's criminal that we're not going to get a sequel to this. I lament the loss of a potential Rising 2 more than MGS6 (but not as much as Silent Hills, RIP). Metal Gear Rising takes Platinum's over-the-top everything and shoves it into Metal Gear's weird universe, and by god does it work. Everything Raiden does is hilariously awesome, cutting Metal Gears in half and ripping out robotic spines, and then the action will stop to talk about geopolitics and nanomachines, son. The contrast should be jarring, but it just keeps things fresh and has that vintage Metal Gear feel. They even included a Codec, and it's a better Codec than the one in MGS4 and 5. I also appreciate how they handle Raiden's character - he's a longtime favorite of mine and I was mixed on what 4 did to him, but Rising takes it in a good direction.

I'm also not exaggerating when I say that the final boss is maybe the best ever made. The buildup and gameplay of that confrontation is legendary in all the right ways.

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xp1337 posted...

Would agree that soundtrack isn't a strong point in the game though it still has some great ones here and there. The Will That Opposes Reason was a great one for instance.

Yeah, that one is a good one. One additional mitigating factor to the sub-par soundtrack is that Velvet's piano theme is really good and they use it all the time. So much of the OST is forgettable though.

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In the future, Metal Gear Rising will be seen as a documentary for this era if only because it'll be more watchable than the actual history and will be close enough to get the point across.

You're right that the lack of Rising 2 is criminal. It's up there with Bloodborne 2 as "sequels we desperately need" though Rising seems a hell of a lot less likely than Bloodborne. The soundtrack is amazing across the board and oh man the combat.

best metal gear represent

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Rising music is so good. RULES OF NATURE is the one that god memed but every song is top tier. I'm partial to *Insert Final Boss*'s second-to-last theme, where the lyrics directly tell you to stop thinking and wait to be told what to do. It's social commentary just as subtle as what the rest of the MGS series has!

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9. Deadly Premonition

If you asked me "what is Deadly Premonition?", I wouldn't be sure where to start. Best I can think of is to link you to the wikipedia pages for Twin Peaks and Stockholm Syndrome and use that as a launching point.

Deadly Premonition has the worst gameplay of any game on this list. Shooting is boring, driving controls are abysmal, everything is just so...janky, and I adore this game. Somehow none of the shoestring budget gameplay matters. I can't just say 'it has a great story, atmosphere, and characters' because while it definitely does, there's plenty of games with a great story and poor gameplay that I didn't connect with. But Deadly Premonition has this infectious, unique, off-kilter charm that is impossible not to be drawn into. You never have an idea of what to expect from this game, and despite everything being weird as hell it all makes sense in its own Deadly Premonition sort of way. By the time I was 1/4 of the way through Deadly Premonition, I had stopped caring that game was a PS2 game with better graphics, and the bugs started to become features. Unnecessary upkeep on my hygiene and facial hair just made sense. Poor driving controls were funny. Facial expressions straight out of GMod were REALLY funny. Deadly Premonition doesn't just walk the line between 'I can take this seriously' and 'I can't take this seriously', it tapdances across it while inviting you to join.

This reaction isn't just a 'me' thing, either. This game reviewed and sold terribly on release and still managed to build up a devoted fanbase by virtue of the unique experience it offers. My favorite description of this phenomenon comes from the Two Best Friends - at one point they were LPing this and The Last of Us at the first time, and stated that they felt guilty because Last of Us was this pitch perfect, immaculately crafted experience and they still found themselves being drawn to Deadly Premonition just as much if not more.

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8. The Last Of Us

Speaking of The Last of Us...!

TLOU is really, really, really well-made. The world is extremely detailed and is brimming with post-apocalyptic personality, the characters are very well-acted, and the graphics still look great. There are parts in the story that drag compared to other parts, but they're not even bad, just less fantastic compared to the rest. It's one of those games where sometimes I just stop and admire how great it is on a technical level.

All of that is honestly just a small part of what I care about though. A game being AAA in every sense of the word is great for racking up Game of the Year awards, but not so great for making KP's Top 42 list - their loss. I just wanted things to say to pad out this writeup, because I can boil Last of Us down to 'I love the story and gameplay' and mostly leave it at that. It resonated with me strongly on an emotional level and is my favorite zombie survival story by a wide margin, and the gameplay is an excellent combination of stealth and frenetic combat when the stealth goes wrong. I have so few problems with The Last of Us so in summary, play this game.

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8. The Last of Us
9. Deadly Premonition
10. Metal Gear Rising
11. Tales of Berseria
12. Bleed / Bleed 2
13. Fallout: New Vegas
14. Dishonored 2
15. Alien: Isolation
16. Torment: Tides of Numenara
17. Pyre
18. CrossCode
19. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
20. Celeste
21. Dragon Age: Inquisition
22. Umineko no Naku Koro ni
23. Tales from the Borderlands
24. Deus Ex: Human Revolution
25. Monaco: What's Yours is Mine
26. Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies
27. Fallout 4
28. Virtues Last Reward
29. Anatomy
30. Mass Effect 2
31. Fire Emblem: Three Houses
32. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
33. Rune Factory 4
34. Doki Doki Literature Club
35. Batman: Arkham City
36. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
37. Tomb Raider 2013 / Rise / Shadow
38. Sleeping Dogs
39. Until Dawn
40. Bastion
41. A Plague Tale: Innocence
42. 999 / Zero Time Dilemma

Will probably finish up tomorrow.

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We've talked about this before, but TLOU botched the execution of the last part of the story and basically undid for me what had been building up to be a pretty emotional resolution. I'm not even really excited for TLOU2 at all, although I'm sure I'll play it eventually.

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oh shit how have I been missing this

great list so far

EDIT: special shoutout to Anatomy being on this list, holy shit

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