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[NightmareFarm]

My vote goes to 2014. Lots of great games came out then such as Bayonetta 2, Smite, inFAMOUS Second Son, Guilty Gear Xrd, Smash 4, Mario Kart 8, etc. Pokemon X/Y had released not too long ago(late 2013) which was a revolution in the series so there was still a lot of hype playing the new games as a pokemon fanatic at the time. It was also the first full year of 8th gen which was very exciting. The next gen graphics looked lifelike back then. I also miss using miiverse and watching people on youtube like blackb0nd dunk hard on the Wii U during this era.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

2017.

That's when Prey was released. Though I played it much later.

 

[AV]

2014 was probably the worst. Bayo 2 aside most of the big names were ports or the worst Dark Souls game.

2018 was pretty wild, in the AAA space you had RDR2, God of War, Spider-Man, Forza Horizon 4, and for indies there was Celeste, Into the Breach, Dead Cells, Subnautica 1.0, Obra Dinn. Plus a port of Bayo 2 to a console people actually owned, Sony dropped one of the best VR games in Astro Bot. Just a spectacular year.

 

[NightmareFarm]

2014 was probably the worst. Bayo 2 aside most of the big names were ports or the worst Dark Souls game.

2018 was pretty wild, in the AAA space you had RDR2, God of War, Spider-Man, Forza Horizon 4, and for indies there was Celeste, Into the Breach, Dead Cells, Subnautica 1.0, Obra Dinn. Plus a port of Bayo 2 to a console people actually owned, Sony dropped one of the best VR games in Astro Bot. Just a spectacular year.

2018 was the year of cinematic sony games and when the fortnite/battle royale trend started. Smash Ultimate and DBFZ came out which was great. Also we had the DMCV reveal trailer. Other than that, meh.

 

[BennyBlanco]

2011 easy

Arkham City
Skyrim
Battlefield 3
Dark Souls
Deus Ex HR
Dead Space 2

 

[mrmustard]

2015

Bloodborne
The Witcher 3
Lif is Strange
Fallout 4
Phantom Pain
Splatoon
Cities: Skylines
Ori and the Blind Forest
Dying Light

 

[AV]

2011 easy

Arkham City
Skyrim
Battlefield 3
Dark Souls
Deus Ex HR
Dead Space 2

+ Portal 2, Rayman Legends, Uncharted 3 (ehh), Forza 4, Gears 3, Mario 3D Land... yeah, might be 2011.

 

[Handel]

It's 2017, and it isn't really even close. Getting both a 3D Zelda and a 3D Mario in the same year in itself is a rarity that gives it a big advantage, especially with both scoring 97 metacritic. Nintendo as a whole was just firing on all cylinders also giving us ARMS, Splatoon 2, and Xenoblade Chronicles 2. This is the year Divinity Original Sin 2 and HK got released, and it was such a stacked year that both got lost in the shuffle.

2017 has high quality, high quantity, and high diversity, and might well be the best year in gaming ever, let alone of the 2010s.

Spoiler: List wars baby

Zelda BOTW
Mario Odyssey
Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Splatoon 2
ARMS
Mario x Rabbid Kingdom Battle

Horizon Zero Dawn
Persona 5
Nier Automata
Resident Evil VII
Gravity Rush 2
Tales of Berseria
Yakuza 0
Nioh

Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice
Prey
Wolfenstein 2 : The New Colossus
Assassin's Creed Origins
The Evil Within 2
Cuphead
For Honor
South Park The Fractured But Whole

Divinity Original Sin 2
Hollow Knight
What Remains of Edith Finch
Rain World
A Hat in Time
Night in the Woods

 

[AV]

Yeah I was gonna go to bat for 2017 as well, that year was nuts. I don't think anything will ever top the golden age of around 1999-2002 but we did alright in 2017-18.

 

[NightmareFarm]

It's 2017, and it isn't really even close. Getting both a 3D Zelda and a 3D Mario in the same year in itself is a rarity that gives it a big advantage, especially with both scoring 97 metacritic. Nintendo as a whole was just firing on all cylinders also giving us ARMS, Splatoon 2, and Xenoblade Chronicles 2. This is the year Divinity Original Sin 2 and HK got released, and it was such a stacked year that both got lost in the shuffle.

2017 has high quality, high quantity, and high diversity, and might well be the best year in gaming ever, let alone of the 2010s.

Spoiler: List wars baby

Zelda BOTW
Mario Odyssey
Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Splatoon 2
ARMS
Mario x Rabbid Kingdom Battle

Horizon Zero Dawn
Persona 5
Nier Automata
Resident Evil VII
Gravity Rush 2
Tales of Berseria
Yakuza 0
Nioh

Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice
Prey
Wolfenstein 2 : The New Colossus
Assassin's Creed Origins
The Evil Within 2
Cuphead
For Honor
South Park The Fractured But Whole

Divinity Original Sin 2
Hollow Knight
What Remains of Edith Finch
Rain World
A Hat in Time
Night in the Woods

Kind of strange how the 7 year tends to be highly regarded for gaming. 2007 was also considered a legendary gaming year as well.

 

[Majormaxxx]

2011 easy

Arkham City
Skyrim
Battlefield 3
Dark Souls
Deus Ex HR
Dead Space 2

Uncharted 3

 

[AV]

Yeah I was gonna go to bat for 2017 as well, that year was nuts. I don't think anything will ever top the golden age of around 1999-2002 but we did alright in 2017-18.

Just to reiterate on my point about the turn of the Millenium. I know it's thread unrelated. But just LOOK at this.

Spoiler: 1999-2002

SoulCalibur Ico

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2

Perfect Dark

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3

Halo: Combat Evolved

Grand Theft Auto 3

Metroid Prime

Metal Gear Solid 2

Zelda: Majora's Mask

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2

Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec

Grand Theft Auto Vice City

Baldur's Gate 2

Final Fantasy IX

Chrono Cross

Jet Grind Radio

Devil May Cry

Virtua Fighter 4

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4

Skies of Arcadia

Paper Mario

Homeworld

Street Fighter Alpha 3

Gran Turismo 2

Test Drive Le Mans

SSX

Quake 3 Arena

SSX Tricky

Mario Kart Super Circuit

Splinter Cell

System Shock 2

Vagrant Story

Medal of Honor

Unreal Tournament

Sid Mier's Alpha Centauri

Age of Empires 2

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater

The Sims

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Super Mario Sunshine

Metroid Fusion

Warcraft 3

Eternal Darkness

Conker's Bad Fur Day

Advance Wars

Final Fantasy X

Planescape: Torment

Neverwinter Nights

The Longest Journey

FreeSpace 2

No One Lives Forever

Medal of Honor Allied Assault

Resident Evil (Remake)

Deus Ex

Black & White

Sacrifice

Descent 3

SW Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast

Battlefield 1942

Age of Mythology

Rez

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2

 

[Gobjuduck]

2017, it’s not even close.

BotW, persona 5, Mario odyssey, xenoblade 2, divinity 2, prey, RE7, Nier:A, cuphead, HZD, yakuza zero + k2, and more.

It’s the year where Nintendo, Sega, and Capcom made amazing comebacks. People thought the best days of those brands were over.

Edit: Seems like 2011 for western games, 2017 for Japanese games.

 

[Laptop1991]

2011, for me Skyrim of course, The last good Saint's Row for me, The Third, Batman Arkham City was good as well Deus Ex HR and Crysis 2, not as good as the 1st but i still liked it,

Although Skyrim didn't come out until November, i actually spent most of 2011 playing Fallout New Vegas and using mods even though it's a 2010 game, but i remember it more in 2011.

 

[Handel]

Just to reiterate on my point about the turn of the Millenium. I know it's thread unrelated. But just LOOK at this.

Spoiler: 1999-2002

SoulCalibur

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2

Perfect Dark

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3

Halo: Combat Evolved

Grand Theft Auto 3

Metroid Prime

Metal Gear Solid 2

Zelda: Majora's Mask

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2

Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec

Grand Theft Auto Vice City

Baldur's Gate 2

Final Fantasy IX

Chrono Cross

Jet Grind Radio

Devil May Cry

Virtua Fighter 4

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4

Skies of Arcadia

Paper Mario

Homeworld

Street Fighter Alpha 3

Gran Turismo 2

Test Drive Le Mans

SSX

Quake 3 Arena

SSX Tricky

Mario Kart Super Circuit

Splinter Cell

System Shock 2

Vagrant Story

Medal of Honor

Unreal Tournament

Sid Mier's Alpha Centauri

Age of Empires 2

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater

The Sims

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Super Mario Sunshine

Metroid Fusion

Warcraft 3

Eternal Darkness

Conker's Bad Fur Day

Advance Wars

Final Fantasy X

Planescape: Torment

Neverwinter Nights

The Longest Journey

FreeSpace 2

No One Lives Forever

Medal of Honor Allied Assault

Resident Evil (Remake)

Deus Ex

Black & White

Sacrifice

Descent 3

SW Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast

Battlefield 1942

Age of Mythology

Rez

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2

Those years were fire, but man not including Ico...

 

[AV]

Those years were fire, but man not including Ico...

Apologies, I've banged it in. It's probably missing 100 other great games too!

 

[Moonjt9]

It's 2017, and it isn't really even close. Getting both a 3D Zelda and a 3D Mario in the same year in itself is a rarity that gives it a big advantage, especially with both scoring 97 metacritic. Nintendo as a whole was just firing on all cylinders also giving us ARMS, Splatoon 2, and Xenoblade Chronicles 2. This is the year Divinity Original Sin 2 and HK got released, and it was such a stacked year that both got lost in the shuffle.

2017 has high quality, high quantity, and high diversity, and might well be the best year in gaming ever, let alone of the 2010s.

Spoiler: List wars baby

Zelda BOTW
Mario Odyssey
Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Splatoon 2
ARMS
Mario x Rabbid Kingdom Battle

Horizon Zero Dawn
Persona 5
Nier Automata
Resident Evil VII
Gravity Rush 2
Tales of Berseria
Yakuza 0
Nioh

Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice
Prey
Wolfenstein 2 : The New Colossus
Assassin's Creed Origins
The Evil Within 2
Cuphead
For Honor
South Park The Fractured But Whole

Divinity Original Sin 2
Hollow Knight
What Remains of Edith Finch
Rain World
A Hat in Time
Night in the Woods

I voted 2015 but I want to change to 2017 lol what a year. I’ve played hollow knight so many times I forgot what year it came out

 

[Handel]

Apologies, I've banged it in. It's probably missing 100 other great games too!

Yeah game development was cheaper and faster back then, and Japanese devs were just shotgunning games out to see what stuck. Ico is just too important a title to not include though :

https://www.wired.com/2013/09/ico/

Soulsbornes existence, cinematic games, many indies, all tied to Ico.

 

[drganon]

2017: Persona 5, Nier Automata, Yakuza 0, Horizon Zero Dawn, Mario Odyssey, Breath of the wild, ys8, xenoblade chronicles 2, etc.

It was a very good year for games.

 

[Fatmanp]

2017

Prey
Yakuza 0
Persona 5
Breath of The Wild
Super Mario Odyssey
Divinity Original Sin 2
MK8 Deluxe
Horizon Zero Dawn
Nioh
Wolfenstein 2
Resident Evil 7
Forza Motorsport 7
South Park 2
Uncharted Lost Legacy
Hellblade
Xenoblade Chronicles 2
The Evil Within 2

 

[T4keD0wN]

2019, you can play fully patched and higly discounted versions of those great 2011-2017 games and build a pc at mostly reasonable prices.

 

[ACESHIGH]

2013: GTA V Last of us, next gen console hype and I built my gaming rig.

 

[SEGA_2012]

2012

Yakuza 5
Binary Domain
Jet Set Radio HD
Nights HD
Sonic Adventure 2 HD
Lollipop Chainsaw
Prototype 2
Dragon's Dogma
Far Cry 3
Resident Evil Revelations
Persona 4 Golden

and many others.

 

[Kacho]

2010-2012 was ballin

2010 was my favorite year due to Fallout NV Civ 5, Mario Galaxy 2 and Red Dead Redemption. Mass Effect 2 was also a good time.

2011 is right up there with Dead Space 2, Skyrim and Saints Row 3.

 

[MayauMiao]

Fallout 4
God of War
The Last of Us
Red Dead Redemption
Nier Automata
Metal Gear Solid V
Mad Max
Deus Ex Human Revolution
Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag
Devil May Cry 4

 

[nightmare-slain]

2017 was a good year

BOTW
Nier Automata
Persona 5 (NA/EU)
Hellblade
Horizon Zero Dawn
Mario Odyssey
Digimon World Next Order

 

[JohnSpartanLee]

2010

Super Street Fighter IV

 

[mrmustard]

Fallout 4
God of War
The Last of Us
Red Dead Redemption
Nier Automata
Metal Gear Solid V
Mad Max
Deus Ex Human Revolution
Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag
Devil May Cry 4

Wait what? Those are from different years.

 

[MayauMiao]

Wait what? Those are from different years.

Poll should have added "all of the above".

 

[Grildon Tundy]

I was debating between 2011 and 2017, but 2011 gets my vote. Just look at BennyBlanco 's 2011 list:

Arkham City
Skyrim
Battlefield 3
Dark Souls
Deus Ex HR
Dead Space 2

Incredible games that changed the industry (in a GOOD way) and that i still replay today.

 

[Moriah20]

in terms of western games, 2013 was pretty damn good.

GTA 5, TLOU, TR2013, Bioshock infinite, AC Black Flag.

japanese release wise though, 2017 was something else. Yakuza 0, Persona 5, Nier Automata.. god damn.

 

[Wildebeest]

2011 was the year of Total War Shogun 2 and some other games.

 

[analog_future]

It's 2017, and it isn't really even close. Getting both a 3D Zelda and a 3D Mario in the same year in itself is a rarity that gives it a big advantage, especially with both scoring 97 metacritic. Nintendo as a whole was just firing on all cylinders also giving us ARMS, Splatoon 2, and Xenoblade Chronicles 2. This is the year Divinity Original Sin 2 and HK got released, and it was such a stacked year that both got lost in the shuffle.

2017 has high quality, high quantity, and high diversity, and might well be the best year in gaming ever, let alone of the 2010s.

Spoiler: List wars baby

Zelda BOTW
Mario Odyssey
Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Splatoon 2
ARMS
Mario x Rabbid Kingdom Battle

Horizon Zero Dawn
Persona 5
Nier Automata
Resident Evil VII
Gravity Rush 2
Tales of Berseria
Yakuza 0
Nioh

Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice
Prey
Wolfenstein 2 : The New Colossus
Assassin's Creed Origins
The Evil Within 2
Cuphead
For Honor
South Park The Fractured But Whole

Divinity Original Sin 2
Hollow Knight
What Remains of Edith Finch
Rain World
A Hat in Time
Night in the Woods

Yep. 2017 was an all-timer of a year. Up there with 2007, 2001, and 1998.

 

[Elysion]

There used to be this pattern where, starting in 1998, every three years would be when a bunch of genre-defining, all-time greats get released. 1998, 2001, 2004 and 2007 certainly fit the pattern, though 2010 is when it starts to get questionable, and 2013 certainly wasn’t anything special, and neither were 2016, 2019 or 2022. The pattern was broken during gen 7, and there hasn’t really been a single year in the 2010s that stood far above the others imo (other than maybe 2017).

 

[R6Rider]

I'd go with 2017 or 2018.

 

[nial]

I always found 2014-2019 (and 2020) to be pretty good. I'm not particularly fond of 2010-2013.
My vote would be for 2017.

 

[EverydayBeast]

2016-2019 is deep with AAA game.

 

[Raven117]

2015 and 2017. By miles.

 

[LavitzSlambert]

My vote goes to 2014. Lots of great games came out then such as Bayonetta 2, Smite, inFAMOUS Second Son, Guilty Gear Xrd, Smash 4, Mario Kart 8, etc. Pokemon X/Y had released not too long ago(late 2013) which was a revolution in the series so there was still a lot of hype playing the new games as a pokemon fanatic at the time. It was also the first full year of 8th gen which was very exciting. The next gen graphics looked lifelike back then. I also miss using miiverse and watching people on youtube like blackb0nd dunk hard on the Wii U during this era.

2014, wtf? This post gives off “I loved Windows 8” energy.

 

[GametimeUK]

2011 by a mile. One of the best years for gaming in general and one of the best years for me walking the earth to be honest. Great time of my life.

Dark Souls
Uncharted 3
Portal
Bastion
Skyrim
Rayman Origins
Arkham City
Mass Effect 2
Little Big Planet 2
Battlefield 3
Deus Ex HR
MGS HD Collection
Pushmo
Fight Night Champion
Gears 3
Witcher 2
Skyward Sword
Assassin's Creed Revelations
Minecraft
Gears 3
Sonic Generations
God of War Origins Collection
Resistance 3
Binding of Isaac
Catherine
Saints Row 3
Beyond Good and Evil HD
Ocarina of Time 3D
Infamous 2
Mario Kart 7
Killzone 3
Modern Warfare 3
Xenoblade Chronicles
Dead Space 2
Mortal Kombat 9
ICO + SOTC collection
Outland
Rochard

Now forgive me if my memory isn't as clear as I think it is, but I recall these games releasing in 2011. It was just a wild time with something interesting releasing seemingly every other week.

 

[GamesDontSuck]

2011.

(But best over all year of all time would be 2004. Specially October/November 2004)

 

[HYDE]

Bloodborne 2015 nuff said.

 

[paprikastaude]

2017

Prey
Yakuza 0
Persona 5
Breath of The Wild
Super Mario Odyssey
Divinity Original Sin 2
MK8 Deluxe
Horizon Zero Dawn
Nioh
Wolfenstein 2
Resident Evil 7
Forza Motorsport 7
South Park 2
Uncharted Lost Legacy
Hellblade
Xenoblade Chronicles 2
The Evil Within 2

Don't forget Cuphead and Sonic Mania!

 

[Mozzarella]

2011 > 2010 > 2017 > 2019 > 2015 > 2016 > 2018 > 2012 = 2013 > 2014

2011 had a lot of classics or games that stood the test of time or games that influenced gaming as a whole.
2010 had a lot of good quality games imo.
2017 is a great comeback for many games and genres and generally is a year filled with quality content.
2019 is a great year for indie gaming
2015 had 2 really GOTG tier games and few other very good games as well.
2016 had a lot of good games but nothing i would consider a masterpiece
2018 had a bunch of really good games but a lot of mediocre games
2012 had some good games but the most are forgettable same for 2013
2014 barely had good games lol


Actually 2011 might be my 3rd favorite year of all time for gaming. After 2004 and 2000.

 

[Magic Carpet]

2015 was a great year but looks like 2017 had way more games.
I spent days and days in Fallout 4, Witcher 3, BoTW, Horizon Forbidden Dawn.

However 2011 Was the year of Skyrim. I think I spent more time here than all the other games combined.

 

[NightmareFarm]

2014, wtf? This post gives off “I loved Windows 8” energy.

Some actual good games got released then, not just some overhyped cinematic slogfest sony games. It's one of the last years before sony went all in with that direction for their exclusives. It has the added bonus of being the first full year of 8th gen where 8th gen and it's graphics seemed like a novelty at the time.

 

[Melchiah]

2013

• The Last of Us
• Bioshock Infinite + Burial at Sea ep.1
• Tomb Raider
• Beyond: Two Souls
• God of War: Ascension
• Mass Effect 3: Citadel
• Resogun
• Killzone Shadow Fall

Additional plus points

• PS4 launch
• No open world galore

 

[The_Mike]

Do you keep track on when games was released?

I just play them lol.

 

[Alandring]

Mass Effect 2 and Fallout: New Vegas has been released in 2010.

 

[Melchiah]

2014, wtf? This post gives off “I loved Windows 8” energy.

Eh...

Alien: Isolation
Bioshock Infinite: Burial at Sea ep.2
Child of Light
Dark Souls II
Destiny
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Driveclub
Infamous: Second Son + First Light
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
Outlast
Resogun: Heroes
The Evil Within
The Last of Us: Left Behind
The Swapper
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
Transistor
Wolfenstein: The New Order