Games of the Last Decade Ranked – (part 1)
The time has come to take a look back at the games that have released. But instead of just looking at 2019 releases, I thought today we could take a walk down memory lane and look back at the games that released over the last decade.
Now I’d like to establish a few things. I realize that there was no year 0, the new decade technically starts January 1st, 2021, but most people are treating 2020 as the start of the new decade and I will be following the same logic. So the games I add to this list meet two requirements:
- They have released sometime between January 1st, 2010 and December 31st, 2019
- They all are games I have played myself
A lot of games have released over the past 10 years and I was not able to play them all. I felt that it wouldn’t be fair if I were to rank a game I did not play, so if there’s a game you were expecting to see that didn’t make the list, most likely it’s because I did no play it.
#90 – Paper Mario: Sticker Star
Platform
Nintendo 3DS
Release Date
November 11, 2012
Easily the most disappointing title I played in the last decade, which is saying something because there have been some terrible games released in the 2010’s. As someone that’s a die-hard fan of the Paper Mario franchise, this game had all of the hype and delivered on none of the promises.
#89 – Super Mario Party
Platform
Nintendo Switch
Release Date
October 5, 2018
Personally, I’ve never been a big fan of the Mario Party games because of how heavily they rely on random number generation, which I cannot begin to describe how much I hate that mechanic. That’s not to say I don’t understand the appeal of the games, Nintendo keeps making them after all. I understand the thrill and the rush you get when things just work in your favor. However, I have never won a single game of Mario Party where my win actually felt earned, and that is such an empty feeling to me. This is why I have such disdain for this spin-off series.
#88 – Mighty No. 9
Platform
Steam, Playstation 3, Playstation 4, XBOX 360, XBOX One, Wii U
Release Date
June 21, 2016
It’s no secret that Mighty No. 9 is held in such low regard by Mega Man fans. It was first introduced to the world during a time when Capcom cancelled two major Mega Man titles, leaving fans clamouring for anything Mega Man related. As someone whose third favorite franchise of all time is Mega Man, I felt incredibly divided. On one hand, I really wanted to like this game so much, and while I felt it got way more hate than it deserved, it’s hard to argue against its glaring issues.
#87 – No Man’s Sky
Platform
Steam, XBOX One, Playstation 4
Release Date
August 9, 2016
No Man Sky gained a reputation when it launched as being the game that delivered on empty promises. Now I am aware that it has gotten a ton of support since it launched, it’s practically a different game now. However, I only played when it launched and never felt the need to ever go back. Maybe I’ll give it another chance someday, but that day is not today.
#86 – Metroid: Other M
Platform
Nintendo Wii
Release Date
August 31, 2010
Another title whose reputation needs no introduction, and it should come as no surprise why I’d ranked this game as low as I did. However, I am someone that gives credit where credit is due and there are some redeeming qualities. For starters, for a Wii game, it had beautiful visuals that could even rival Super Mario Galaxy, and for the most part, it had fun gameplay. But the short-sighted decisions ultimately made the game more annoying than fun to me.
#85 – Alwa’s Awakening
Platform
Steam, Playstaiton 4, XBOX One, Nintendo Switch
Release Date
February 2, 2017
While being a title that completely slipped under my radar for years, this is a game that gained a lot of notoriety and favorable reviews. I hadn’t heard of this game until I had to review it several months ago, and ultimately my conclusion was that there were a lot of solid ideas that were executed poorly. Even though I didn’t find this particular title that great, I still recognize the talent behind this project. In fact, while researching for this articles, I had stumbled upon Elden Pixel’s Kickstarter for the sequel to this game which is set to release in April of 2020. I’m hoping that Eldin Pixel will improve in the areas I had issues with originally.
#84 – Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2
Platform
Steam, Playstation 3, XBOX 360, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS
Release Date
October 26, 2010
The original Force Unleashed was a fun thrill ride that ended far too soon. Unfortunately, the sequel ended up having a lot of the same issues as the original; really fun gameplay, and not much else. While I am someone that values gameplay highly, the gameplay wasn’t enough to redeem this title for me.
#83 – Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
Platform
Steam, Playstation 3, Playstation Portable, XBOX 360, Nintendo Wii
Release Date
May 18, 2010
As someone who is a big fan of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, this is one game I was interested in playing. Once I finally did get around to playing it, I felt so unmotivated to finish it. It’s not that I thought it was bad, but there wasn’t anything that I found particularly great. It felt like Ubisoft was trying to recapture the feel of The Sands of Time, but the whole experience just came off as bland and a rehash of something we’ve already seen. As a result of the lukewarm reception of this title, the series became dormant. Will we ever get another great Prince of Persia game ever again? I’m not holding my breath, but I sure hope we do…
#82 – Rock Band 3
Platform
Playstation 3, XBOX 360, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS
Release Date
November 9, 2010
I remember a time when Guitar Hero and Rock Band were the games that everyone was playing. Over time, the rhythm game craze died down as all fads do. By the time Rock Band 3 had come out, most people had begun to move on, which is why this annual series wouldn’t get a final sequel for 5 years. Personally, I prefer Guitar Hero over Rock Band, but I was a kid lucky enough to have both at the time so I never really had to choose. With that being said, it’s understandable that this franchise mostly died out, if you’ve played one you’ve played them all and Rock Band 3 is no different. I say “mostly” because there’s been a resurgence in the plastic guitar playing crazy in the form of the fan-made game Clone Hero, but that’s a discussion for another time.
#81 – Raving Rabbids: Travel in Time
Platform
Nintendo Wii, Nintendo 3DS
Release Date
November 21, 2010
This was a title I only played once but I remember having a fun time. It’s not a particularly great game, it didn’t have a ton of substance to it, which is why it’s ranked so low. But as far as low ranked games go, I had fun with it for what it was.