Most Important Games of the Decade
Well, here we are. We did it. 10 years of games in the mix. Some highs, very very highs, and some lows, some very genre-defying, industry shattering, culture shocking (and shaking) lows. This is not a list of the best games of the decade, that would just be a list of my #1 game of each year, rather, a look at the most important games, culturally, socially, the movers and shakers, for better.. or worse. These are the 6 most important games of the decade. Strap in, it’s been a wild ride!
6. Minecraft (2011)
You can’t talk about the most influential and important games of the decade without mentioning the best selling video game of all time. Originally pitched for sale in 2010 by Swedish developer ‘Notch’ and published by Mojang in 2011, the game catapulted to success, almost overnight, amassing a huge community and exploding in popularity, even before the days of social media influence as we know it, a la Twitch / Insta / Discord etc. before being bought by Microsoft in 2014 for over €2 billion.
Minecraft has evolved from it’s ‘game’ status and is now a platform. People gather, hangout, play, create, destroy, gather, construct. It’s a content creator’s dream, which now features Youtube entire channels of Minecraft gameplay and roleplay aimed at everyone including small children. It’s incredibly family-friendly while also retaining older players with an addictive sandbox three-cycle gameplay — build, gather, destroy. Even after 10 years, it’s still prolific, still getting expansions, still getting ports to new consoles, and quite frankly, will remain this way for the foreseeable future. You don’t take the crown from Tetris and rest on your laurels. Minecraft is a household name, and it’s here to stay.
Why it’s important? —Proved that games can be more than games.
5. Dota 2 (2013)
If not for Dota 2, the world of Esports as we know it, would not exist. It may in some form, but certainly, this massive MOBA set the groundwork for Esports as we know it now — the lavish, stadium-filling spectacles. I mean, games tournaments were already happening on a small scale way before they were shone a spotlight and given their time to shine.
The game is incredible too, and despite its massively steep learning curve, and being abhorrently difficult to watch without knowing what’s going on, it’s still pioneered the modern-day Esport setting and expectation — casters, commentators, large ceremonial events in sports stadiums with panellists and special guests, akin to more traditional sports coverage. At least with traditional sports, you have some semblance of what’s going on, because the rules are easy to understand. But that’s not the conversation we’re having now. Although, as much as I’m a fan of Esports, I don’t think we’re in a place for them to be in the Olympics… Ever.
Why it’s important? — Pioneered the modern Esport.
4. Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (2017)
An example of what happens when rampant corporate avarice is pushed too far. Imagine having the license to arguably the most influential piece of media of all time and fucking it up that badly! What the shit was Disney thinking?... Oh yeah, money. Which is why it was so aggressively monetised. Owning the largest market share of the games industry in terms of profits and earnings, EA was a natural fit to produce and market a game to make a profit for both of these colossal corporations. Little did they know much that straw would indeed shatter that camel’s back.
As eloquently as a blunt club to sugar glass, EA really went above and beyond to make sure as many people as possible despised the game. Despicable loot box mechanics, the most downvoted Reddit comment of all time, and scant gameplay elements are just the surface level of this shameful display of greed. The game proved that gamers won't stand for stupid bollox and that we have a voice.
Why it’s important? — Shattered the boundaries of shameful pay-to-win, gambling mechanics in video games.
3. Angry Birds (2009)
The game that launched an entire platform — Mobile devices. Although Angry Birds was released in Dec ‘09, just outside of this decade, it still stands to reason that it’s THEE de facto mobile game of the decade. Before Angry Birds, what had we? Snake? Solitaire? We didn’t have the technology before the Smartphone boom and Rovio’s Angry Birds proved that the Mobile video games market can be viable. Its simple touchscreen gameplay ignited a gold rush that every mobile game developer and they grandmother flocked to. It was a new and emerging market. And like every new and emerging market, it attracts every Tom, Dick, and Harry to try and nickel and dime the unsuspected.
Soon the early ’10s mobile market was awash with cheap knockoffs, tacky games, and disgraceful microtransactions. Where the very words ‘mobile game’ gave traditional gamers a bad taste in their mouth, they didn’t want shallow gaming experiences to play on the shitter anymore. Although, not everyone is a gamer, and more people have phones than would be interested in games as a hobby. So this cesspool of shady practices in games and MTX hell festered and mobile games exist within its own successful bubble, raking in tens of millions each year, while hobbyists / hardcore / traditionalists have long since left mobiles in the past. Our one saving grace ten years on..? Apple Arcade.
This was not the fault of Angry Birds, only a product of its success, and a chapter in games history that would never have arisen without the success of Angry Birds. We owe every game we’ve ever experienced on mobile in the last 10 years to Angry Birds… For better or worse.
Why it’s important? — Responsible for launching an entire market of games.
2. Dark Souls (2011)
The harbinger of an entirely new genre unto itself, Dark Souls cornered it’s own section of the market and influenced a multitude of games trying to dethrone the reigning hardcore, tough-as-nails, fantasy action game. Defined by its brutally difficult combat that rewards patience and learning of enemy movement, while based in a grimoire gothic, medieval fantasy setting. Dark Souls is almost a community of itself. A lifestyle if you will. “I finished Dark Souls without getting hit” you bellow, as you flail about the street, dick in hand. Spawning countless memes of ‘Git Gud’ and a furore of discussions surrounding ‘should hard games have an easy mode?’ — Which, they absolutely-fucking-should! The game stands for a divide in the games community between hardcores and casuals, where nothing can exist in between, so you better get fucking good, or you’re not allowed enjoy any game that you’re shit at, god forbid.
The game invented the ‘Souls-like’ moniker. A genre inspired by the gameplay of Dark Souls. Which means tough-but-fair combat, reclamation of souls/currency after you die, and sparingly laid out save points among other things. But has now come to stand as a bastion for any game that is difficult by design, whether or not it plays like Dark Souls at all. This is to say that Dark Souls is fantastic, and very much so a genre-defying game, so much so that it spawned its own genre. It is a modern masterpiece.
Why it’s important? — Defined an entire genre unto itself and sparked the ‘accesability in games’ debate.
1. Fortnite (2017)
No other game in the history of video games has permeated pop culture and made such real-world social impact as Fortnite, the popular Battle Royale game. Fortnite became so much more than just a video game since it’s release, it’s a culturally transcending juggernaught and multimedia powerhouse! It won’t be long until we start to see Fortnite TV shows or a feature-length movie.
Fortnite is the next phase of the ‘games as a service/platform’ that was originally established by Minecraft a few years before. It’s fostered a huge global community and has become a household name thanks to its cultural references, comical style (in both art direction and gameplay), it’s meme fodder position in social media, and media tie-ins (Nerf etc.). It even spawned it’s own ‘Fortnite World Cup’ after only 2 years in existence and has completely capitalised on its global fame and dominance like a multiplier affect with even more media tie-ins with massive, cultural forces like Star Wars, Batman, and even the NFL(!?).
It hits all the right notes in meme-dom to stay relatable to a younger audience, has allowed countless streamers to skyrocket in popularity, garnering massive media attention for both good and bad, ‘Lets Play’s with famous celebrities, featuring on Jimmy Fallow prime-time TV, streaming with Drake, but while also being in the constant conversation of children becoming addicted to games and inciting personality swings, and being on the receiving end of many lawsuits for infringement. The game voluntarily went offline for 2 days as part of the story, during which people couldn’t play and could only watch a ‘black hole’ in screen… That smashed previous viewing records on Twitch, even though nothing was happening… For 2 days… Phenomenal. No other game has garnered that much notoriety to pull off a stunt like that and proves that Fortnite really is something special.
Even if they don’t know what the hell the thing is — I dare you to find someone who has never heard of Fortnite.
Why it’s important? — Brought video games to the forefront of popular culture like no other before it… For better or worse.
Bonus: Fallout 76 (2018)
Fallout 76 is the very bastion of what happens when corporations chase trends in a bid for short term profit, ready to run any IP of reputable stature straight into the ground and sully its name for future releases. A lot of damage control is going to be needed. The fallout name is spent, along with all of the fan’s goodwill with Bethesda.
A massively faulty, glitched, buggy launch followed by years of troubling news surrounding it coming trickling in by the week. A shoddy, rickety launch of a full price, online-only, live-service game that dropped connection at random intervals, deleting your progress. A health hazard warning for mould in the special edition Power Armour Helmet (€200). Falsely advertised canvas bag (#BagGate). €99 subscriptions to a glitched game that deleted your progress, which also promised private servers but anyone could just join your game regardless. Player’s personal information leaked on the Bethesda support page. Pay-to-win repair kits. Massive price reductions only days after launch in a huge slap to the face of players who bought it only a few days prior.
All this to say that the game was pure shite anyway, just boring gameplay overall, nothing interesting to do, and just wasted your time.
Why it’s important? — Fuckin’ hell! What didn’t it do… The game serves to show what happens when you cash in on trends and fan’s goodwill.
