The past decade was very good for gaming. Here's my top 10, a list which is completely subjective. There were plenty of titles that had a tremendous impact, such as Minecraft or Fortnite, that I have never played. Let's start from 2010 and go from there.
Civilization 5
My first 4X title, and my most played game in Steam by quite a margin (over 485 hours, although more than half of that time was spent by my wife). There's nothing quite like taking a stone age tribe to the space age. We never quite clicked with Civ 6 (the cartoony graphics are a turn off). My wife still boots this up from time to time.
Portal 2
Although its main campaign is only about 10 hours long, Portal 2 is a great comedic 3d puzzler and an excellent example of Valve's Midas touch. GlaDOS is a much better villain that Shodan, mostly because you have to haul her ass around in a potato. If you don't know what I'm talking about, then play Portal 2 immediately. I'm probably going to have to do the same.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
Man, Bethesda's taken a beating in the realm of public opinion since 2011, but there was nothing quite like booting up Skyrim and stumbling through its Nordic open world. One of the few games on this list that I have no desire to return to, due to the fact that it's about as deep as a puddle, but those first 60 hours were pretty awesome. Kind of crazy that Bethesda hasn't released a sequel in 10 years.
Dark Souls
Dark souls made me love hard games. The common refrain is "Darks Souls is hard, but it's fair." That's kind of bullshit (those goddamn archers in Anor Londo; the fucking Capra Demon and his dogs) and I won't begrudge anyone who quickly concludes that dying forty times to a boss is not fun. That said, who doesn't want to have another go at the Four Kings or Smough and Ornstein? The last quarter of the game is kind of poo, though. Love the art style.
Alien Isolation
An incredibly tense survival game that succeeds in making an overexposed monster scary again. I don't think any game has ever completely captured the look of a film like Isolation does with its 70's space trucker aesthetic. Another title that I need to replay.
Witcher 3
Still the best open world third person action game. Would we get to gaze at Henry Cavill's muscled physique if not for the Witcher 3? My most played game after Civ 5 with almost 200 hours spent steering Geralt through CD Projekt's incredibly detailed world.
Dishonored 2
The true successor to Looking Glass Studio's Thief, Dishonored 2 is the best steampunk stealth action game ever. Worth playing just to experience the genius of A Crack in the Slab and the Clockwork Mansion missions. Really anything Arkane makes is the tits.
Prey
Prey should've been a colossal hit, the game that vaulted Arkane to legendary status. It does everything that Bioshock did but better, and unlike that game, Prey successfully continues the immersive sim legacy of System Shock and Deus Ex, and it does it without any Ayn Rand references. We can only blame Bethesda's lack of marketing and their inexplicable decision to tie this title to Human Head Studios' 2006 FPS for this game's utter lack of impact. Probably my favorite game of all time.
Subnautica
You know, I never even beat Subnautica. I got to the end game and just abandoned what was basically a glorified scavenger hunt. Still, the twenty or so hours I spent in those alien oceans were a fantastic experience. Do you know what thalassophobia is? You will after playing Subnautica.
Doom Eternal
Doom Eternal is a heavy metal album cover come to life. A glorious update to id's classic, and my most played game of 2020.
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