The Big Gaming in the 2010s Discussion Thread (the 2010s-Defining Game currently being discussed)

If you asked me this is 2009 then I would say it's my fav genre as I would have played almost all of them that came out and you can look at my GamerTag to see some odd ones.

Now in 2019, it's a genre I don't really go near them and even now I just played the Modern Warfare reboot and found it to be a bit muh, even Titanfall 2 which people say is great I also found to be a the muh side.

Very much feel like Balla did with platformers but looking back at what I thought were great games of the decade then a Top 5 would look like this

Not in any order

Halo Reach
Bioshock Infinite
Killzone: Mercenary
Overwatch
Blood and Truth

Actually that's the only five I've got in the games I reckon that are great from the last decade, Apex Legends I would give an honourable mention to but that dropped off a cliff.

Some good 3rd person shooters though and some that play from a first-person view but I guess we will talk about those at some point.

Have you played Superhot mas?

Overwatch is a good shout, it's undoubtedly huge and I was briefly very into it. What didn't click with Titanfall 2 do you think? Did you play through all of the campaign?

Only bits of Superhot and didn't click, maybe the VR version would.

Yeah played all of Titanfall 2, I don't know why I just find FPS bland now but I am excited about Halo Reach coming back next month in 4K

DOOM (2016), without even having to think about it. It was such a brutal and exciting game that everybody loved.

The three big stand out FPS games of the decade for me without a doubt are:

DOOM (2016)

This absolutely nailed the pace and feel of the originals, other fps games can be complicated at times but this is brutally simple which makes it great fun. My only complaint is I've never actually finished it.

Titanfall 2

Hands down the best story for any fps game ever! The movement options Repspawn gives you makes it a joy to play as well and I wouldn't mind it if Nintendo steal some of those ideas for Metroid Prime 4 because as good as the original Prime games were it'd be ace to have Samus feeling a lot more agile.

Rainbow 6 Siege

Everyone knows my history with this game on here, don't they? This will have been out for 4 years come next month and I still play it a couple times a week & when I'm not playing any games this is my go to thing to watch on Twitch.

Without a doubt the greatest online FPS game of all time.

Honourable mentions:

The Metro Exodus games build a great world/story in their games and the stealth gameplay which isn't necessary at all times only enhances that even more, so if you haven't played these I definitely recommend that you should.

The Cappuccino Kid wrote:

DOOM (2016), without even having to think about it. It was such a brutal and exciting game that everybody loved.

Hard to look past Doom. Saying that, it's probably the only one I played, but it was a mind-blowing reimagining of a classic that captured the atmosphere and smooth gameplay that made the original so iconic.

The Deus Ex games deserve a nod, just because that is another classic franchise that was brought back and delivered.

I really should play more of DOOM but wasn't that keen, if it pops up as leaving soon on Game Pass, I'll play.

Deus Ex Human Revolution was decent, I hope Jay does a first person week that isn't shooters for the likes of it.

I... think it might actually be Star Fox Zero by default, if that counts, and I hated SF0. I discovered that I didn't enjoy FPSes two decades prior, and unlike Splatoon and the TPS there haven't been many cute or fantastical ones on offer. If I've missed any then do let me know.

First Person games have changed a lot in two decades mainly the controls. Sure I'm not a fan of FPS anymore but you got likes of Gone Home, Edith Finch which you shouldn't pass up.

I still think Overwatch is the nearest to what you would want from a FPS though, just to late on Switch and other reasons now.

The correct answer is, of course, The Stanley Parable.

I don't really think I've enjoyed an FPS since Perfect Dark, so I have nothing sensible to say!

That ever come to Switch?

Oh oh oh! Does Portal 2 count?

If so then that, unless Portal 1 was this decade in which case Portal 1 because I played more of it. They're not FPSes though, are they? They're puzzlers really (although they are more FPS than the games Mas mentions).

Yeah Portals are puzzle games, well are to me but I guess it's how you interpret the games genre as I'm going to bring up a series for RPG week which most of you will say isn't.

I don't know how some of these games are being mentioned as the FPS genre name can't be more clear you shoot things from a first person perspective. So, no things like Portal, Star fox or Stanely Parable don't count.

Not many have come to mind for this decade, unlike the last decade which seemed a bit more varied for the genre. I would like to play more great FPS games but not many have stood out to me.

The one I got the most enjoyment out of was Black Ops on Wii. Found the narrative to be surprisingly good.

I do want to play Doom ('16), and am sure that'd be good and pretty much be my number 1 by default.

Overwatch was good from the fairly brief time I spent on it. Really liked the aesthetic.

masofdas wrote:

Yeah Portals are puzzle games, well are to me but I guess it's how you interpret the games genre as I'm going to bring up a series for RPG week which most of you will say isn't.

But you have a Portal Gun and are shooting it from a first-person perspective...

I can see why but is a odd one to me and why it might count for some.

Unlike that mean Jas.

Genre semantics blow, but I think there's got to be some element of shooting at enemies, so I think that'd rule out Portal 2.

Anyway, moving away from genre chat...

Here are some of my FPS thoughts in the 2010s:

Overwatch and Apex Legends: I'm grouping these together as it more or less sums up my thoughts on multiplayer FPS games. I'm not a huge fan of multiplayer shooters as I don't think I've got the dexterity to match up against the people that are really good at them and I end up feeling frustrated at my ineptitude. However, I did enjoy my time with these two above anything other multiplayer shooters. Perhaps it's the hero element that keeps me a bit more engaged. I enjoyed learning specific characters and getting good with their toolkit. It reminded me of what I love about fighting games, so I reckon that's what I enjoyed the most.

Borderlands 2 and Destiny 2: I hate the writing in this - I've never rolled my eyes as much playing a game as I did with this. Still, there's something hypnotic and relaxing about blasting through hordes of fools and collecting loot with mates and they nailed that aspect. I've recently got into Destiny 2 and that seems to be scratching that itch again albeit with a distinct lack of crap jokes and memes.

DOOM and Titanfall 2: Two that I really need to play and probably the "correct" answers looking back at the decade. I've dabbled with a bit of T2 and I adore the movement in it. DOOM just looks fun, and isn't that why we play games?

The Stanley Parable: I prestiged FOUR times in this and my crowning accomplishment was getting a quad kill with one shot with the .50 cal. I am a god.

The_Jaster wrote:

I don't know how some of these games are being mentioned as the FPS genre name can't be more clear you shoot things from a first person perspective. So, no things like Portal, Star fox or Stanely Parable don't count.

Okay, fair enough. With that cleared up, my favourite FPS of the decade is Untitled Goose Game.

Right, let's move on!

With apologies to Cappa, let's have a chat about the best RPGs of the 2010s. Bear in mind, that can encompass a fair whack of games - JRPGs, Western RPGs, Strategy RPGs... it's quite a wide genre in that sense.

There's one that immediately springs to mind for me, but as the thread host, I'll let you guys get involved first.

Metacritic did a good job this time, so use this to remind yourself of some RPG classics from this decade.

Undertale
Pokemon Sun or Moon
Fallout: New Vegas
Fire Emblem: Conquest
Pokemon Sword or Shield
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem
Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Nier Automata
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Persona 5

I suspect Outer Worlds would be probably be up there had I played it. Tempted to play it soon. Same with Witcher 3. Same with Bloodstained if it counts since I'm guessing it has RPG elements like the SotN-styled Metroidvanias, though it really fits into its own genre and is much more that and an action/adventure game.

Honourable mentions:

Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology - this game is great but it's missing something that propels it to out-and-out amazing for me. I like the writing, characters and cleverly crafted time-travelling and timeline shifting mechanic but, while novel, to me the battle system felt merely okay and there was a bit of a budget feel to the game. Though it has a great anime opening , some of the art is not as good as the DS version and some of the sound design is not too good. I recall a monster cry or two sounding like they came from cheap toy speakers.

Digimon Cyber Sleuth - This actually isn't that close to being a really great RPG of this decade for me, but I really wanted to like it and it's still probably my favourite Digimon game. It's let down by the writing which is probably down to a subpar localisation. Also the difficulty balance is not very good. On either difficulty most encounters - which are random and fairly plentiful - are A-mashing cakewalks while the bosses can be a real test of attrition. Meanwhile Pokemon is fun even though it's easy, and if you try and avoid encounters and trainer battles the game can be a reasonably balanced challenge.

Well, dam looking at my greats from the best year thread it's clear what's my favourite genre be it Action-RPG, JRPG or Tactical with everything in between.

Now some to border on being Action-Adventure games instead of some sort of RPG but the line has become so blurred now, that I was even tempted to say God of War (Was up for Action-Adventure at The Game Awards I believe where HZD was up for RPG, again I think) as how different really is it to Horizon Zero Dawn which has always been touted as an Action RPG? Also, I've got no idea where I'm going to put Death Stranding as that has elements of a bunch of games & genres.

The Top 15'ish looks like this in no real order



Fable II
Mass Effect 2 and 3, Bangers

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Said a few posts back when talking Portals as FPS that I will have a game in a genre no one else on here will say is that genre and we've talked about it before but I think I must have seen Zelda series be called an Action RPG much how Zero saw things like Street Fighter II as Beat'em Ups when it's clearly not like Streets of Rage and that's fine.

Ni No Kuni
The Last Story, Super underrated and way better than that other Wii JRPG
Dishonoured, A iffy one as could be FPS, could be stealth (how I tend to play) maybe Action Adventure

Fire Emblem Awakening, Fates, Three Houses, All pretty decent
Pokemon X/Y, S&M and SWiSH, Do tend to blur into one these
Child of Light
Transistor

Severed, One if not the only Dungeon Crawler I've played and liked
Horizon Zero Dawn, I need to play the DLC at some point
Nier: Automata, I do need to play more of this
The Outer Worlds, Only just playing but I am loving so far

Persona 5, Best singular game on this list which may have gotten better recently

I've only gone for new games in these talks however can't miss Persona 4 Golden which is worth the cost of a VITA on its own

This is kind of my genre, but looking at my Top 25 Games of All Time, only two are JRPGs from this decade, and only three are JRPGs full stop.  (The other one's Thousand-Year-Door, natch.)  I think JRPGs are going to struggle to make my top games despite my general love for the genre, because they tend to have pacing problems coming out of their ears, and I tend to remember those pacing problems a lot after the games are done with.

Anyway!  Those two games are Xenoblade Chronicles 2, my favourite action RPG ever with a breathtaking world and gorgeous music; and Bravely Second, perhaps the best sequel that wasn't a reinvention since Mario Galaxy 2 with a splendid job system.  Both sequels, you'll notice, that improved on their prequels in noticeable and appreciated ways; but while Default was too flawed to make the list, Xenoblade 1 would be up there for the splendid battle system and epic alive-feeling world alone.  So would the maligned Xenoblade Chronicles X, actually - navigating the Skells made up for a lot of the game's flaws.  (sings 'Don't Worry' in public, again)

Looking away from there, Pokémon Sun/Moon injected a healthy dollop of life into the series, with some splendid characters (for Pokémon anyway) and excellent monster design.  Mas mentions Child of Light and I have fond memories of that too, of its storybook style and its flight mechanic.  (I also liked Severed but it slips below the threshold of 'great' for me, as will Sword/Shield probably.)  Kriken mentions Undertale, and I liked both it and Deltarune very much, even if I didn't quite get some of the absolute fanaticism.

I'm nearly done, but there's room for a couple of others.  Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga is one of my all-time faves, and it got a 3DS port that... killed off Alphadream. Do pick it up if you can and you never played the original, or have any nostalgia for it.  Finally, Steamworld Quest!  I think it's a lovely little short JRPG in a field of fifty-hour monsters, and it's the only one on this list I'd recommend to non-JRPG fans.  The dialogue and card-based battling, combined with a better pacing than most in this list, might override some of your qualms.

There we are, then.  JRPGs in the 2010s: a lot of great games, but few excellent ones, and STILL NO THOUSAND-YEAR DOOR PORT GOSH DARN IT