What's Your Game of the Decade?
COMMUNITY QUESTION | You've probably seen our massive Top 100 Games of the Decade list by now. Now tell us about yours!
This article first appeared on USgamer, a partner publication of VG247. Some content, such as this article, has been migrated to VG247 for posterity after USgamer's closure - but it has not been edited or further vetted by the VG247 team.
This week we published a project we've been working on for quite some time. Even before we started discussing our Top 20 Games of 2019, we were discussing our Top 100 Games of the Decade. Our selection process was long, and the ordering took even longer. Thanks to weighted internal surveys and lots of testy arguments, we got it done though.
Of course, this is just one team's list; one nine-person crew, scattered from Brighton to miscellaneous corners of the United States to Toronto. But enough about us: We want to hear what you think is the best game of the decade. (Or games, plural!) Tell us in the comments: According to you, what's the best game of the 2010s?
Eric Van Allen, News Editor
I fought for a lot of the games on our list, and I love a lot of them for different reasons. Undertale and Nier: Automata are some of my favorite RPGs, and Mass Effect 2 is arguably an all-timer for me. And right now, at this moment, I think Mass Effect 2 would normally be my go-to answer. But I don't think I can pick a game that isn't Dota 2.
Starting with the beta, I was obsessed with the game. It reeled me right in. It was dense and difficult to learn, it had a massive roster of heroes, and every one of them felt overpowered in new and terrible ways. But it became a social game for me; Dota 2 was the game I logged into day after day to catch up with friends, to bond and fight over. I wrote about Dota 2. I went to The International. I've interviewed my favorite players, stayed up late watching qualifier matches, and found new genres to love in Dota 2. It's the one game I can never uninstall, and while I don't think I'll be playing it forever, I'd like to see just how close to forever I can get.
Caty McCarthy, Senior Editor
I have a three way tie between The Witcher 3, Disco Elysium, and Kentucky Route Zero. Kentucky Route Zero is a game that has weirdly tied into all my adult life, and has only aged better with time. Disco Elysium has not only an inventive underlying system in how it handles skills, but its writing is so good; it's both hilarious and sad, sometimes at the same time. It reminded me why I love RPGs so much. The Witcher 3 maybe, just barely, edges both out though for me. Geralt is my favorite protagonist of any video game, for reasons that are too long to discuss reasonably here. I love The Witcher 3 for hundreds of reasons, but molding the flawed beast of a man Geralt in my own way is the top one.
Side note: I do agree with our site pick, Breath of the Wild, because I think it really is the most innovative open-world out there. I just love Good Systems, y'know? And that's all Breath of the Wild is, even if I do wish it had more interesting dungeons and boss fights… but hopefully that can be fixed in the sequel.