It seems like everyone is doing their Games of the Decade list, so I decided to join in as well. I have created an ordered list that I think is as close as I can get to representing my own feelings about the games of 2020.
This is obviously not a complete collection of every game I’ve loved over the past decade, and making some of the choices involved was brutal. That said, some of my choices will probably be somewhat controversial, and I’m comfortable with that.
I have attempted to only include games that are in a finished state. Obviously, Spitball Sessions loves Dwarf Fortress, Factorio, and many other games that are still not in full release, but I feel that it’s unfair to include them alongside games that have actually been finished.
#20 – Rocket League
Edging into the bottom of the chart, Rocket League is a game that – when it was at its hottest for me – was really, really hot. I wanted to play nothing else, and I spent an hour or two a night playing it. However, like any fire, it quickly smouldered, and I haven’t really felt a need to go back to it. Rocket League was fun, it was flashy, and it did 3-person-a-side soccer better than just about any game I’ve seen.
#19 – Stardew Valley
I really like Stardew Valley. It’s a fun game, it’s relaxing, so it’s great to play while sick, and it has a charming art style. I actually like it enough that I was considering putting it higher, but the reality is that it’s still basically a Harvest Moon game, and it just didn’t do enough to push itself beyond that. The farming is fun, the fishing is fun, and wooing your love is fun. But I’d have liked to see more from the game, so here it is in 19th.
#18 – Fez
I absolutely hate Phil Fish. It is a testament to the quality of Fez that despite my absolute contempt for its creator, the game is still on this list. Fez starts like a normal puzzle-platformer, but it’s really not and it’s really not even about that. It’s actually a game much like Myst, but in a platforming world that makes the problem-solving aspects even more crazy. I’m still not sure that I enjoy Fez, and I definitely feel like some of the puzzles are just showing off (again, as expected of Phil Fish) but I do respect the game, and I feel like its done things that no other game has or will. And for that, I think I would be remiss to not include it here.
#17 – Tales of Maj’Eyal
Clearly, this is the point where I’ve just signaled that my list is not going to align with any of the mainstream games writers’. Which is fine, it’s ok for them to be wrong. Tales of Maj’Eyal is, in my opinion, the best roguelike of the last decade. Some people might say Brogue, and I can see where they’re coming from, but Tales of Maj’Eyal has a much more tactical feel to the combat and I find that far more interesting.
ToME has done a lot of things that break the standard roguelike formula – all items are auto-identified. There’s no potions. Combat plays more like D&D4E – with cooldowns on powers and positioning being important. It’s innovative, it’s not afraid to be different, and it’s a lot of fun. Also, the developer takes a strong interest in his community and is easy to access, even for nobodies like me, which is another major point in its favor.
#16 – Mass Effect 2
I’m one of those “weirdos” who’s never really enjoyed Bioware’s games. I found the combat required too much micromanagement and I didn’t care much for most of their worlds. Mass Effect solved the micromanagement aspect by making the game a shooter, and I really loved the world of Mass Effect as well. Mass Effect 2 is still a game that I remember fondly, even though most people feel that Mass Effect 3 ruined the series forever. At the time I played it, I thought it was more exciting and well-done than any game I had ever played before, and even in hindsight I find my memories of Mass Effect 2 are mostly positive. It’s still a good game, and it should be remembered as such.
#15 – Total Extreme Wrestling 2016
I love the Total Extreme Wrestling series. It’s my favorite game to play when I’m not in the mood for other games. 2016 took all the things that were improved in 2013 and improved them even more. I can’t really be rational in defending the game being on the list, but I absolutely love this franchise, and I would feel guilty to not have it here. Overall, it’s probably one of the games I’ve played most over the last 5 years.
#14 – Mark of the Ninja
Somehow, in the year it came out Mark of the Ninja got beaten in awards – constantly – by Telltale’s The Walking Dead. I’m still confused as to how. Mark of the Ninja is fun to play, it’s challenging, and it’s actually a game. Also, it doesn’t have zombies, one of the most played-out tropes of all time. I still love Mark of the Ninja. It did a lot of cool things with sight and sound. It’s still the best stealth game I have ever played, and several very good stealth games have come out this decade. The best thing about Mark of the Ninja is how much it actually feels like a ninja movie when you actually have a good run, nail exactly what you want to do, and completely ghost through an entire level. Very few games can evoke their theme as much as Mark of the Ninja.
#13 – Fire Emblem Fates
I love Fire Emblem, and I always have. I felt special to have discovered it far before the mainstream, and while I think most people will put Fire Emblem: Awakening on their list because that’s where they finally discovered the Fire Emblem series – that’s exactly the same reason it’s not on my list. However, Fire Emblem Fates did something super cool (though also a little greedy) – putting 2 campaigns in front of the player and letting them pick which of the two they wanted to follow. One side was much more difficult, and the other was easier, but the game was fun, it had a lot of quality-of-life improvements, and it allowed for a form of asynchronous multiplayer. Fire Emblem Fates is probably the highest point of the series, in my opinion.
#12 – Hollow Knight
I think #12 is the point where I started really struggling with exactly what goes where, and I’m still not sure I’m satisfied with everything. #13 on are games that I’m just happy to have on the list, but from 12 is where I really struggled with how much I liked them.
I really like Hollow Knight. It looks beautiful (in an ugly sort of way), it plays better than any Metroidvania ever, and it manages to evoke the essence of Dark Souls without being as obvious about it as many other games with a Dark Souls feel. The world is dark and gloomy, but also has places of sheer breathtaking wonder. It looks like a cleaner art-styled version of a Don Bluth cartoon. It has a world that is mysterious and not fully-explained, but not in a way that feels like bad writing, but in a way that feels like its a real world that the player is simply seeing part of. And it plays so, so, so well. Fighting is crisp and mostly fair, jumping and vaulting is just exhilarating, and having to find people to fill out your map brings a strong tension to the game. I absolutely adore Hollow Knight.
#11 – Dragon Quest Builders 2
This narrowly, narrowly missed top 10, and considering how much praise I heaped on it in our GotY awards should give an idea of the Murderer’s Row that group is. And I don’t really have much more to say, sadly. Dragon Quest Builders 2 is the first, and best, version of the incentivized sandbox I’ve ever seen. It makes me want to keep playing, because helping my villagers by building cool stuff makes them happy, and they reward me with hearts which I can then use to unlock things. It gives a reason to keep going, and it makes me feel like I’m doing something good.
Also, the game’s story is so well done. Even despite disliking the character of Malroth, his story and its arc still managed to capture me, and I actually wanted to see how it would resolve. Most of all, the game is head-and-shoulders above Dragon Quest Builders 1, a game that I never even finished because I found that the middle dragged so much. The game builds (*wink*) on the first in excellent ways, and I am really excited to see what they do if they make a third.
And that’s the end of the first half of my list. I’ll try to have the rest of it up in the next day or so, but let me know what you think of this half, and any guesses for what might be in the top half of my list. I guarantee there’s going to be a couple surprises.
