What a decade that was for gaming. This decade gave birth to many trends (“Souls-like anyone?”), broke many grounds, even, changed the way people play games. Millions of people tuning in to watch live streamers play games wasn’t heard of in the 2000s. Smartphones have started to provide serious gaming experiences. E-sport professionals have started to make millions. The 2010 – 2019 decade certainly has taken gaming forward.
As we enter a new decade, let us look back at the games that were the greatest in the 2010s. This is meant to be a tight list, which is why it has only 10 games. We intended to create a compact list that sums up what the 2010s were all about.
Minecraft (2011)
Developer: Mojang
Platform(s): PC, Mac, Android, iOS, Xbox One, PS4, PS Vita, Nintendo Switch
Apart from being an all round ground breaker, Minecraft is easily one of the most culturally impactful games of the decade. It has been referenced in TV shows, 4Chan, even by Lady Gaga. It has sold more than 180 million (18 crore) copies. Minecraft revitalised the PS Vita, it even helped Microsoft’s first-party revenue. It did all that and much more, but the most fascinating aspect of Minecraft’s story is that it is an independent game. In an era where most games strive for graphical superiority, Minecraft’s “blocky” graphics are charming and memorable. The game is a true sandbox, allowing players to unleash their creativity. Its complex crafting system is a big part of Minecraft’s open-ended gameplay. It was adopted by 5 year old kids as well as 30-something adults. Minecraft will be played and remembered for many more years to come.
Candy Crush Saga (2012)
Developer: King
Platform(s): Android, iOS
This pick might have irked you a tad little, but it would be a blasphemy to not talk about Candy Crush Saga and the 2010s together. Candy Crush took the simple match-3 concept, mixed it up with playful art and cheeky music, added strong Facebook integration, and ended up being a game that got housewives requesting other housewives for game lives. If you spot someone on the public transport playing a game on their smartphone, there is a high probability that they are playing Candy Crush Saga. This game is the “First Game I Played and Got Addicted To” for millions, if not a billion. Heck, even a billion players is a very realistic target for Candy Crush Saga. The game is truly crossover in every sense. Its approachability is infectious and at the same time its higher levels provide a challenge that is enough to keep one involved. Candy Crush is iconic because its rise is synonymous to the rise of smartphone users. For many, Candy Crush is the first and the only game they’ve ever played or will ever play. Anyone can play Candy Crush, whether you’re 5 or whether you’re 85.
Outer Wilds (2019)
Developer: Mobius Digital
Platform(s): PC, Xbox One, PS4
Outer Wilds is a rare gem that embraces the interactive medium in a way only video games can. Instead of telling a story, you have to explore the world to find the story. You have every tool or gameplay mechanic you need right from the beginning. Instead, progression is through knowledge of being able to use the very same tools in different ways. Outer Wilds is not just about telling a story or showing an experience – like most games do – it is you exploring, learning and living the world. Of course, such an endeavour would not be as engaging were the world uninteresting. But this is where Outer Wilds shines, by building a delightful world that’s constantly evolving. Once you find the story, it’s an awe-inspiring piece of science fiction that’s somehow also brilliantly whimsical at the same time. Outer Wilds is a truly unique experience that instils a sense of wonder like no other game this decade.
DotA 2 (2013)
Developer: Valve
Platform(s): PC
iLLReview: Link
From being a mere custom map in Blizzard’s Warcraft 3 made by self-taught gamer IceFrog in the mid-2000s, DotA, or Defence of the Ancients is now a proper e-sport. Valve took up IceFrog’s spinoff and made it into a standalone game. Some countries even game “sports visa” to DotA gamers to participate in tournaments. There are talks of including DotA 2 in the Olympics. The International, an yearly DotA tournament organised by Valve had a prize pool of $25 million in its 2019 edition. On top of that, DotA 2 is an exclusive PC game, and has kept PC gaming alive. DotA 2, along with Counter Strike: Global Offence made Steam the platform it is today. You just can’t have DotA on a console, the game is such that it can only be played on the PC.
DotA is insanely harsh to newcomers, but after the breaking the initial barriers it opens itself up as a deeply complex, strategic and enjoyable game that is almost impossible to master. Winning a DotA game requires on-point coordination with teammates, and one wrong move can lose a game that was otherwise meant to be won. Players have been playing DotA since eight years and still find the game complex and difficult to beat. The icing on the cake? DotA is a free-to-play game. Also, it is the only game on iLLGaming that has scored a perfect 10 out of 10.
Grand Theft Auto V (2013)
Developer: Rockstar Games
Platform(s): PC, PS4, Xbox One
iLLReview: Link
The grand success of the GTA V is an unexpected one. Obviously a new GTA is bound to be successful, but for GTA V the sky was the limit. Released in 2013, no one would have really predicted that even as we head into 2020 there are people still playing this game and the players are increasing by the day. It is the third highest selling game of all time, and has made over a whopping $6 billion USD in worldwide revenue. That’s more than what the entire Star Wars franchise has made. The game offered a sprawling open world that sums of the technological advancements of the decade, with a three-pronged, eccentric story line. Its cultural impact is evident in today’s modern life.
Dark Souls (2011)
Developer: FromSoftware
Platform(s): PS4, Xbox 360, PS3, Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch
iLLReview: Link
How Dark Souls Has Influenced My Routine Life
The iLL Panel: Death in Video Games
Dark Souls: Prepare to Live Your Life Edition
A classic example of how truly great things don’t make sense immediately, but they take their own time and slowly trickle up to provide an experience as tortured, involved, rewarding, for some, even meditative, as Dark Souls. A follow up to the raw and gritty Deman Souls, Dark Souls reiterated Demon’s formula, refined it, and came out with a sheer work of art. Intially a PlayStation 3 game, it took a petition by some hundred-thousand people to the developers to make a version for the PC. During launch, people saw it as just another good J-RPG game but slowly with time Dark Souls emerged as a game unlike any other. Everything in Dark Souls is iconic, unique, original, fresh; we could attach endless phrases of praises but they will never be enough.
Dark Souls has defined what will the new-age formula for third-person combat games be. It introduced gameplay mechanics never seen before: no save games or checkpoints, but a system which ensures that there is no redundant time spent playing the game; every moment counts! Sure, Dark Souls is an open-world game, but it doesn’t have a map, so literally every step into uncharted territory is terrifying. It’s atmosphere is so bleak and dreary, it slides into your veins like really slow-acting poison, with which you eventually connect on a soul level.
Playing Dark Souls means you are officially mentally residing in the Dark Souls atmosphere. It’s mysterious and calls you out while hinting you that you shouldn’t really be here because you are bound to suffer. And when you do enter and emerge victorious, you really feel like you have conquered your weaknesses and broken through your shackles. Dark Souls is what games should be like, not pushing anything down your throat but so mysterious and immersive, requiring you at your best and most attentive. This is not only a Game of the Decade, but one of the Greatest Game of All Time. An absolute must-play, no matter in what part of the history or the future you belong.
Journey (2012)
Developer: Thatgamecompany
Platform: PS3 (originally), PS4 (remastered)
iLLReview: Link
The game that changed everything we expected out of indie games, with a narrative that is often an interpretation of what the player is going through, Journey is one of the most unique games of the decade. A storyline devoid of any singular story, Journey is the player on the path of self-realization, a game that seems to describe how life and death feels like, while he/she is chasing a snow-capped mountain. One of the most memorable bits from Journey is the music that was composed by Austin Wintory and the seamless, anonymous multiplayer mode in the game, as players you have crossed paths within the game appear in the credits screen.
Dying Light (2015)
Developer: Techland
Platform: PS4, Xbox One, PC
iLLReview: Link
Dying Light will easily go down as one of the most underrated games of the decade, that puts into perspective zombie horde action with one of the most fluid parkours since Mirror’s Edge. Harran, the city in the game (partly inspired by Istanbul, Turkey), packed all kinds of challenges. The most memorable bit about the game is its unique day and night mode that increases the survival challenge, especially when you step into the darkness, and come face to face with the immortal fast zombies that can only be slowed down by UV light. Dyling Light offers a wholesome and tense zombie experience, with intelligent gameplay mechanics that make its a must-play zombie game of the decade.
Alien: Isolation (2014)
Developer: Creative Assembly
Platform: PS3, Xbox 360, PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch
iLLReview: Link
When Alien: Isolation hit the shelves, a lot of big names questioned the game’s intent. It is a survival horror game where the players always felt vulnerable and responsible for the countless in-game deaths. The player is susceptible to all kinds of death in the game, not just to the Xenomorph, but also to the ruthless androids that control the ship. You play the role of Amanda Ripley, daughter of Ellen Ripley (played by Sigourney Weaver in the movies) who boards the ship where her mother went strangely missing. Staying true to the original Alien, the game brings the iconic motion detector and the flamethrower that is supposed to scare off the alien, only scare off. The most memorable bits about the game is the constant figuring out you have to do in terms of the map of the level and the sudden beep on your motion detector and you stressing out, trying to find a place to hide. Alien: Isolation achieves what no other has achieved, which is, making you feel genuinely terrified of the sole Alien in the game.
Bioshock Infinite (2013)
Developer: Irrational Games
Platform: PS3, Xbox 360, PC
iLLTrio Review: Link
One of the most controversial games of the year, dividing the world into original Bioshock fans (who hated this game) and the fans rooting for this final chapter in the iconic series, Bioshock Infinite is one of the most memorable games till date. What drives the game forward is the strong narrative, that questions everything ever told in the series and delivers an ending that will go down as one of the strongest endings in a video game or piece of fiction. Bioshock Infinite does a lot of things right, for example, portraying the city of Columbia, a place up in the clouds, that looks bright and colorful at first, but is so dark inside that you will question your sanity. The character you are supposed to protect as a human asset in the game, Elizabeth, is one of the strongest points in the game, as she not only helps you with health packs but also drives the story forward. The game has one of the weakest and unoriginal final boss battles, but beyond that is a story worth reliving. Hope there will be a new Bioshock soon!
God of War 3 (2010)
Developer: SCE Santa Monica Studio
Platform: PS3, PS4 (Remastered)
God of War 3 is easily the best God of War game ever created, and lays down the perfect example of how to close the series in style and gore. Kratos is barely a hero, an antagonist and a beastly creation of the gods, and that’s how the game draws you closer to the final act. Within 20 minutes of booting the game, you are plucking the very eyes out of Poseidon and challenging Zeus to send his best sons and warriors to confront you. The game knows how to make you enjoy the most brutal of acts and killings, as you rip Helios’ head off from his body and torture Hermes till you get to wear his shoes. God of War 3 also introduces some of the best puzzles in the game, including the memorable Hera’s Garden puzzle. One of the most memorable bits about GOW 3 is the progression of Kratos and the various gadgets it strips off from the gods and demigods to make his own arsenal. Although the ending of GOW 3 is a little predictable, it still feels like the best way to say goodbye to the series; and the decision to make God of War: Ascension a wrong move for the franchise.
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (2013)
Developer: Starbreeze Studios
Platform: PS3, Xbox 360, PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Windows Phone
iLLReview: Link
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is the perfect example of a simple game that can move anyone. In Brothers, you control two brothers (using the two thumb-sticks – right and left) as you traverse through a magical land, trying to find a cure for your dying father. The game is full of puzzles and platform-based traversal, that requires you to control both the characters, as they combine together to get past challenges. Just like any script that’s Swedish, the game choses to be bold and stay ruthlessly true to the progression, even if it means breaking your heart multiple times. Although on the face value, this game may seem indie, brace yourself for an emotional rollercoaster towards the end of the journey.
Red Dead Redemption (2010)
Developer: Rockstar San Diego
Platform: PS3, Xbox 360
Red Dead Redemption changed everything about open world gaming in all possibility. A game that is born out of the sandbox of Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption is the soul successor of Red Dead Revolver, a Western Spaghetti game that was flying under the radar just like the other games in the genre (Call of Juarez). Rockstar San Diego took a bold step towards the theme that was casted boring and created a story that made players believed to be theirs. Even to this date, there are only a few games that match RDR in its story progression, voice-over performances and role of side characters fueling the central story. John Marston, the protagonist of RDR, became an overnight legend and the game became a benchmark of how to fit players so seamlessly into a timeline that is worth fighting for. The game also boasts of an extremely creative and unique zombie DLC that doesn’t seem to take away the richness from the central story.
Bloodborne (2015)
Developer: FromSoftware
Platform: PS4
iLLReview: Link
Demon Souls and Dark Souls should be taught in coding and gaming schools. However, the game that truly stands out from the shadows of Hidetaka Miyazaki is Bloodborne. Bloodborne is everything Dark Souls is notorious for, punishing difficulty, hideous monsters, and air of hesitance while discovering new areas. Everything Dark Souls, but much faster. Faster combat, faster health regeneration and the introduction of a switch blade weapon that has a primary form and an extended form. Bloodborne is dancing with the demons, wherein your character’s feet do most of the talking, and the perfect steps land the perfect shots. The game replaces Dark Souls’ famous parry with a weapon parry, as you frequently draw out your gun and shoot at will. Miyazaki creates some of the craziest monsters in Bloodborne, including Mergo’s Wet Nurse and The One Reborn. One of the most memorable moments from Bloodborne will always be the duel with Father Gascoigne (as he surprises you with his beast form) and later understanding his fate and ultimately knowing yours.
The Last of Us (2013)
Developer: Naughty Dog
Platform: PS3, PS4
iLLReview: Link
Multiplayer Review: Link
DLC iLLReview: Link
2010-2020 will be remembered as one of the most innovative decades of the gaming industry, with multiple consoles being born and a lot of developers exploring unchartered territories.. The Last of Us, named perfectly as the swan song of the Playstation 3. A game that rarely feels like a game, but a movie, has its share of tense, joyous and emotional moments. In fact, the first 10 minutes of The Last of Us is the most heart-wrenching part of the game. The Last of Us teaches us more about fragile human relations than how to hunt down clickers, as Joel and Ellie both prove to be standout game protagonists. Creative Director Neil Druckmann and music legend Gustavo Santaolalla creates emotions out of moments born in the game. From the pacing of the game, to the visualization of the post-apocalyptic America to the characters in the game, every single piece land flawlessly in this one-of-a-kind exclusive. Mark your calendars this year, as TLOU Part 2 makes way.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015)
Developer: CD Projekt Red
Platform: PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch
iLLReview: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt iLL Trio Review
The Witcher has been a great franchise until The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, in Witcher 3 it went straight to God Mode. The current generation hasn’t really got a better and a wholesome gaming experience than Wild Hunt. The game passes the baton from Geralt of Rivia to Ciri of Cintra so seamlessly, it rarely feels like a narrative in a commercial video game. The Witcher 3 manages so many things well at the same time, dynamic weather and day and night cycle impacting your hunts, endings based on choices, errands (yay!) and of course character development – especially Ciri’s. The Polish developers created an atmosphere that seemed very original, with Polish folk songs, themes and lores that drove each of the quests forward. One of the most memorable bits about The Witcher 3 were its hunting quests, that needed you to research about the story/job and then prepare accordingly, with potions and traps.
On one end of the spectrum you have Dark Souls, so unassuming and distant, and on the other, you have The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The prevous Witchers, all solid games, were a build up to the magnificence and brilliance of Wild Hunt. An extremely coherent and well crafted story, exploring a wide array of themes like debaucher, treachery, political discourse, love, lust, coupled with beautifully crafted surroundings, great voice acting, enjoyable combat, The Witcher 3 is perfect in so many aspects.
