While there’s still almost two months to go before the calendar flips over to 2020, several outlets have already begun looking back at the decade that was to shine a spotlight on some of the best games of the 2010s.
Back in 2017, Polygon went the extra mile and counted down the “500 Best Games of All Time,” so it’s only fitting that for their decade debrief, they’ve decided to focus on an expansive list of titles that they consider “The 100 Best Games of the Decade.”
The rise of patches, updates, and expansions changed the very definition of what it means to “release” a game in the 2010s, and Polygon’s editors had similarly lax rules about making sure “The 100 Best Games of the Decade” slot neatly into the last ten years. This philosophy is plain to see right at the very top, as Minecraft took the #1 spot on the list. Though the game truly became a phenomenon in the 2010s (and received an official release in 2011), it was actually first available for sale as early as May 2009.
You can find even more examples as you travel down the rest of the top ten. There’s Spelunky at #3 (originally released in 2008, which was followed by an HD remake in 2012), Kentucky Route Zero at #4 (still incomplete as of this writing), League of Legends at #6 (released in 2009), and PT at #7 (a demo for a game that was ultimately canceled).
All of these games had a huge impact on the last decade of gaming, and it’s fair to say that something like League of Legends is not the same game today that it was in 2009. But Polygon’s editors also took this new reality into account when they crafted the criteria for their list:
For criteria, we gave ourselves a lot of latitude. Most importantly, this list represents games that Polygon’s team members have enjoyed playing the most, and still admire. Most of these games either significantly advanced the art and craft of game design in the past 10 years, or innovated in the specific context of their genre.
Polygon’s ranking included several surprising omissions, but the entire list is well worth a read.
Polygon – The 100 Best Games of the Decade
- 1. Minecraft
- 2. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- 3. Spelunky
- 4. Kentucky Route Zero
- 5. Pokemon Go
- 6. League of Legends
- 7. PT
- 8. Dark Souls
- 9. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- 10. Fortnite
- 11. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
- 12. Return of the Obra Dinn
- 13. Gone Home
- 14. Super Mario 3D World
- 15. Everything
- 16. Nier: Automata
- 17. Persona 4 Golden
- 18. Her Story
- 19. Overwatch
- 20. Journey
- 21. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
- 22. Stardew Valley
- 23. Rocket League
- 24. TowerFall
- 25. Outer Wilds
- 26. Dishonored 2
- 27. Doom (2016)
- 28. Portal 2
- 29. Florence
- 30. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
- 31. Bloodborne
- 32. Divinity: Original Sin II
- 33. Kerbal Space Program
- 34. Tetris Effect
- 35. Red Dead Redemption / Red Dead Redemption 2
- 36. Titanfall 2
- 37. Destiny 2
- 38. God of War (2018)
- 39. Firewatch
- 40. Celeste
- 41. NBA 2K12
- 42. 868-HACK / Become a Great Artist in Just 10 Seconds / Cinco Paus / Corrypt / Glitch Tank / Helix / Imbroglio / Vesper.5 / Zaga-33
- 43. Superhot / Superhot VR
- 44. Thumper
- 45. FIFA 17
- 46. Fallout: New Vegas
- 47. Auto Chess
- 48. No Man’s Sky
- 49. Sea of Thieves
- 50. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- 51. Inside / Limbo
- 52. Undertale
- 53. Death Stranding
- 54. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn
- 55. Hollow Knight
- 56. Into the Breach
- 57. Civilization VI
- 58. Subsurface Circular
- 59. The Last of Us
- 60. Bayonetta 2
- 61. Frog Factions
- 62. Street Fighter IV
- 63. The Jackbox Party Pack / The Jackbox Party Pack 2 / The Jackbox Party Pack 3 / The Jackbox Party Pack 4 /The Jackbox Party Pack 5 / The Jackbox Party Pack 6
- 64. Johann Sebastian Joust (AKA Sportsfriends)
- 65. Grand Theft Auto V / Grand Theft Auto Online
- 66. Doki Doki Literature Club
- 67. Universal Paperclips
- 68. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
- 69. The Witness
- 70. Diablo III
- 71. Warframe
- 72. Mass Effect 2
- 73. Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
- 74. Two Dots
- 75. Beat Saber
- 76. Gravity Rush 2
- 77. Gorogoa
- 78. The Stanley Parable
- 79. Animal Crossing: New Leaf
- 80. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13
- 81. Oxenfree
- 82. XCOM 2
- 83. Papers Please
- 84. Flappy Bird
- 85. FTL: Faster Than Light
- 86. Kim Kardashian: Hollywood
- 87. Control
- 88. Monster Hunter: World
- 89. Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor
- 90. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
- 91. The Walking Dead
- 92. Device 6
- 93. Total War: Three Kingdoms
- 94. What Remains of Edith Finch
- 95. Cuphead
- 96. Super Mario Maker
- 97. Fire Emblem: Three Houses
- 98. Slay the Spire
- 99. Life Is Strange
- 100. Virginia