Game of the Decade - 2010-2019

The last 10 years have seen many a game come and go, some absolute classics, and some that should really be buried and left there. All different types of genres have released some classics over the years.

From the Forza series to MMO’s like Elder Scrolls Online, Sea of Thieves, to RPGs like the Fable Series, over the last decade there have been thousands of games from all different genres to entertain the masses over various platforms.

I have been thinking about my game of the decade for a while, wondering which game I would pick, and it hasn’t been an easy choice, I love all different genres and all types of games, so picking one was hard, but I did pick one. Now, before I say what my game of the decade is, this is my personal choice, others may have a difference in opinion and not agree with me, which is fine, but personally, this is one game which I’ve been pulled back to time and time again.

My game of the last decade is… The Witcher 3. My reasons for it is because it has been the one game that has pulled me back time and time again to finish off what I started or as what’s happened lately, start the experience all over again on the Nintendo Switch.

Why did I pick The Witcher 3? It was a tough call, I had it down to this and Skyrim, and I think personally they’re both up there jointly for the same reasons.

I picked The Witcher 3 because of the world you’re introduced to, the sheer size of the game is unbelievable, I’ve played this game for 70+ hours on Xbox, I got the game for my Birthday on Nintendo Switch a few weeks ago and have already clocked up another 20 or so hours on that so I’m bordering 100+ hours on this game over multiple platforms, and even on my Xbox copy, I am still nowhere near finishing the game in terms of 100% completion. There are so many markers left in the different areas that are to be discovered, it will probably take another 70+ hours in that game to maybe get to all these and finish off what is left.

Which is the beauty of The Witcher 3, the world is so diverse, that each area has its own identity, from the city of Novigrad to the swamps of Velen, different monsters lurk at each point and each has its own identity as well in terms of how they attack. A silver sword may work on one enemy, but may not be so effective on the next, so you’re having to switch up your attacks, by using bombs, signs or simply changing to your steel sword.

There is so much variety to the game that even though most missions will have you ending up searching with Witcher senses and then killing something, the final battle will always be something different as each species you come up against will have different ways of fighting, which you have to try and match up.

The sheer beauty of the world and how it engrosses you, as well as how alive it feels, there always feels like there is something new to discover. I’ve gone back to the game lately to try and mop up some of the stuff I hadn’t done and with each playthrough I do, there is something new to check and so many questions marks on the map where I haven’t discovered.

These are the reasons that I have picked it as my game of the decade, it’s beautiful, it’s engrossing and the world is simply amazing to be in.

There are a few other notable games which I do have to mention, one of which I have already mentioned which is Skyrim, this has swamped around 120 hours of my life, and in the same vain as The Witcher, it just pulls me back in to finish off all the different arching stories, like the Dark Brotherhood, The Companions, Thieves Guild, etc and again, I love exploring the world of Skyrim and still find new places and things to do, there was just something about the Witcher that pipped it to the post.

Another game which is at the top of the pile in terms of FPSs is Titanfall. An Xbox Exclusive which saw the sequel come to all platforms. Titanfall has seen me dedicate 392 hours to the cause, which for me is an unreal amount of time. I absolutely loved the game and had so much fun playing with friends, and the wall running and titan battles were epic. This kind of brought in the start of Wall running to Call of Duty, who at the time jumped in on the fad and unfortunately, didn’t quite have the same effect.

And another game that I have to praise because it got me through a difficult time in my life, is Call of Duty: Black Ops. I don’t have the hours count for this, but I did play it a lot… It was the first Call of Duty game I played online and I haven’t looked back since… Although the series has released some dubious games since…

Well, there you have it, The Witcher 3 wins my game of the decade award.