The 54 Best Video Games of the 2010s

Sprawling open worlds sit next to tiny indie projects made by a handful of people, and both camps have a real claim on the decade.

1. 1
   The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

   CD Projekt Red's 2015 open-world RPG that follows Geralt of Rivia's hunt for his adopted daughter Ciri.
   1000pts
2. 2
   Zelda: Breath of the Wild

   Nintendo's 2017 open-air Zelda that let players climb, glide and solve Hyrule in any order they liked.
   786pts
3. 3
   The Walking Dead (2012)

   Telltale's 2012 episodic adventure about Lee Everett protecting young Clementine; Game of the Year at the VGAs.
   632pts
4. 4
   Super Mario Galaxy 2

   Nintendo's 2010 space-hopping sequel featuring Yoshi and some of Mario's most inventive levels.
   600pts
5. 5
   Limbo

   Playdead's 2010 monochrome puzzle-platformer about a boy searching for his sister in a hostile limbo.
   580pts
6. 6
   Super Mario Odyssey

   Nintendo's 2017 globe-trotting 3D platformer in which Mario possesses enemies with his sentient cap Cappy.
   517pts
7. 7
   Xenoblade Chronicles

   Monolith Soft's 2010 JRPG set on the bodies of two colossal titans frozen mid-battle.
   517pts
8. 8
   Hollow Knight

   Team Cherry's 2017 hand-drawn Metroidvania set in the ruined insect kingdom of Hallownest.
   517pts
9. 9
   Marvel's Spider-Man

   Insomniac's 2018 open-world superhero game with web-swinging across Manhattan as Peter Parker.
   517pts
10. 10
    Fortnite

    Epic Games' 2017 free-to-play battle royale that turned building, emotes and live events into a global craze.
    480pts
11. 11
    Control

    Remedy's 2019 supernatural shooter set inside the shifting Oldest House of the Federal Bureau of Control.
    480pts
12. 12
    Return of the Obra Dinn

    Lucas Pope's 2018 one-bit insurance-investigator mystery about a ghost ship's lost crew.
    480pts
13. 13
    Metal Gear Solid V

    Hideo Kojima's 2015 open-world stealth game The Phantom Pain, starring Venom Snake in Afghanistan and Africa.
    480pts
14. 14
    Nier: Automata

    PlatinumGames and Yoko Taro's 2017 action RPG about androids questioning their war against machines.
    439pts
15. 15
    Rocket League

    Psyonix's 2015 rocket-powered car soccer game that became an esports mainstay.
    393pts
16. 16
    Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

    FromSoftware's 2019 Sengoku-era action game built on posture-breaking sword duels; Game of the Year at The Game Awards.
    393pts
17. 17
    Horizon Zero Dawn

    Guerrilla Games' 2017 open-world adventure where hunter Aloy takes on robotic beasts in a far-future wild.
    393pts
18. 18
    Outer Wilds

    Mobius Digital's 2019 space exploration mystery set in a solar system caught in a 22-minute time loop.
    393pts
19. 19
    Dishonored

    Arkane's 2012 stealth-action game about a framed bodyguard using supernatural powers in plague-ridden Dunwall.
    393pts
20. 20
    Overwatch

    Blizzard's 2016 hero shooter that brought a colourful cast and team play to competitive esports.
    393pts
21. 21
    Inside

    Playdead's 2016 dark puzzle-platformer about a boy slipping into a sinister research facility.
    393pts
22. 22
    Mass Effect 2

    BioWare's 2010 space opera where Commander Shepard recruits a squad for a suicide mission against the Collectors.
    393pts
23. 23
    Dark Souls III

    FromSoftware's 2016 closing chapter of the Souls trilogy, with some of the series' fastest boss fights.
    341pts
24. 24
    Hotline Miami

    Dennaton's 2012 neon-soaked top-down action game with a pounding synthwave soundtrack.
    341pts
25. 25
    Minecraft

    Mojang's block-building sandbox, fully released in 2011, that became the best-selling video game of all time.
    340pts
26. 26
    Portal 2

    Valve's 2011 puzzle game of portals, GLaDOS and Wheatley, with a celebrated co-op campaign.
    340pts
27. 27
    Undertale

    Toby Fox's 2015 indie RPG where every monster can be spared, famous for its music and fourth-wall tricks.
    340pts
28. 28
    Red Dead Redemption 2

    Rockstar's 2018 Western epic about outlaw Arthur Morgan and the slow collapse of the Van der Linde gang.
    340pts
29. 29
    The Last of Us

    Naughty Dog's 2013 post-apocalyptic drama about smuggler Joel escorting the teenage Ellie across America.
    340pts
30. 30
    PUBG: Battlegrounds

    PUBG Studios' 2017 last-player-standing shooter that turned battle royale into the decade's defining genre.
    281pts
31. 31
    Monster Hunter: World

    Capcom's 2018 co-op hunting game that broke the series out worldwide and became Capcom's top seller.
    281pts
32. 32
    Persona 5

    Atlus's stylish 2016 JRPG about Tokyo high schoolers who become the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.
    281pts
33. 33
    Uncharted 4: A Thief's End

    Naughty Dog's 2016 finale for treasure hunter Nathan Drake, chasing a pirate fortune with his brother.
    281pts
34. 34
    Resident Evil 2 (2019)

    Capcom's 2019 ground-up remake of the 1998 survival-horror classic set in Raccoon City.
    281pts
35. 35
    Fire Emblem: Three Houses

    Intelligent Systems' 2019 tactics RPG where a professor's house choice decides which side of a war you fight on.
    281pts
36. 36
    Red Dead Redemption

    Rockstar's 2010 Western following former outlaw John Marston at the end of the frontier era.
    281pts
37. 37
    Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

    Nintendo's 2018 crossover fighter that brought every Smash fighter back for a roster of more than 80.
    281pts
38. 38
    Disco Elysium

    ZA/UM's 2019 detective RPG with no combat, driven entirely by dialogue and a voice-filled skill system.
    281pts
39. 39
    BioShock Infinite

    Irrational Games' 2013 shooter set in the floating city of Columbia, remembered for its twisting ending.
    281pts
40. 40
    Batman: Arkham City

    Rocksteady's 2011 open-world Batman game set inside a walled-off prison district of Gotham.
    281pts
41. 41
    Dark Souls

    FromSoftware's punishing 2011 action RPG whose interlocking world and hard-won victories spawned a genre.
    212pts
42. 42
    God of War (2018)

    Santa Monica Studio's 2018 reboot that moved Kratos to Norse myth alongside his young son Atreus.
    212pts
43. 43
    Fallout: New Vegas

    Obsidian's 2010 post-apocalyptic RPG in the Mojave, loved for its factions and branching choices.
    212pts
44. 44
    Titanfall 2

    Respawn's 2016 shooter whose campaign about pilot Jack Cooper and Titan BT-7274 became a cult favourite.
    212pts
45. 45
    Stardew Valley

    ConcernedApe's 2016 farming life sim, built by one developer, that revived the cosy-game genre.
    212pts
46. 46
    Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag

    Ubisoft's 2013 pirate adventure starring Edward Kenway, loved for its naval battles across the Caribbean.
    131pts
47. 47
    Bloodborne

    FromSoftware's 2015 gothic action game set in the plague-ridden city of Yharnam.
    131pts
48. 48
    Celeste

    Maddy Thorson's 2018 precision platformer about climbing a mountain and facing anxiety along the way.
    131pts
49. 49
    Divinity: Original Sin 2

    Larian Studios' 2017 tactical RPG praised for its freedom, co-op play and elemental combat.
    131pts
50. 50
    Mario Kart 8

    Nintendo's 2014 anti-gravity kart racer whose Deluxe edition became the Switch's best-selling game.
    131pts
51. 51
    Doom (2016)

    id Software's 2016 reboot that made fast, brutal first-person combat feel fresh again.
    131pts
52. 52
    Grand Theft Auto V

    Rockstar's 2013 three-protagonist crime saga set in Los Santos and one of the best-selling games ever made.
    131pts
53. 53
    Journey

    Thatgamecompany's 2012 wordless pilgrimage across a desert, shared with anonymous online strangers.
    131pts
54. 54
    Skyrim

    Bethesda's 2011 fantasy RPG set in a dragon-haunted northern province, still re-released a decade later.
    0pts

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