When it came time to choose the best games of the previous decade, League of Legends of Minecraft definitely threw a wrench into the works. Most publications ultimately gave the two titles their due, but others were hung up on the fact that both originally launched in “Early Access” in 2009.
While compiling their list of “The 20 Best Games of the Decade,” the editors and contributors at The Hollywood Reporter went with the latter option and barred both League of Legends and Minecraft from contention.
But don’t worry, the games they did pick as the “most influential, impactful, and memorable” of the decade certainly deserve it.
The Hollywood Reporter – The 20 Best Games of the Decade
- Batman: Arkham City
- Bayonetta 2
- BioShock Infinite
- Celeste
- Cuphead
- Dark Souls
- Death Stranding
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- Fortnite
- God of War (2018)
- Grand Theft Auto V / Grand Theft Auto Online
- The Last of Us
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Mass Effect 2
- Overwatch
- Pokemon Go
- Red Dead Redemption 2
- Spider-Man
- Super Mario Odyssey
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey cemented 2017 as one of the best years from the 2010s, as they were both selected by the outlet’s editors alongside Studio MDHR’s Cuphead and Epic’s Fortnite. But 2018 was no slouch either as Matt Makes Games’s Celeste, Sony Santa Monica’s God of War, Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption, and Insomniac’s Spider-Man helped those 365 days stand out as well.
Irrational’s Bioshock Infinite, Platinum’s Bayonetta 2, and Kojima Productions’s Death Stranding were among the 12 other games that all made the cut, and 2012 turned out to be the decade’s only year that didn’t have a representative in The Hollywood Reporter’s list.