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Generation Defining Games - Current Gen PS4/XBO/Switch

spad3 said:
My votes go to: Destiny 2, Mario Odyssey, Witcher 3, Uncharted 4

What would you guys define as "the games of the generation" ?
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Standout titles of a generation are not always the same a generation defining game - although there can be some overlap. My attempt at a definition:

A generation defining game is a title that in some manner creates an influential impact; in a genre, or creates a new genre, which typifies or best represents developers gameplay aspirations and gamers' predominant interests.

Looking at last gen generation defining games:

Gears of War is a TPS, but it's Bros camaraderie was imitated endlessely in a stream of X360 FPS games.

Bioshock is one for blending FPS with a mystery story. Those audio file world building was copied in Arkham & much more.

Braid was probably the first (if I remember rightly) indie game to hit the big time and make smaller, downloadable titles attractive to the masses.

Uncharted 2 for perfecting the TPS platformer with story and top tier production quality.

Wii Sports. Literally creating the new motion control genre in such an intuitive and fun title that it became a breakout hit


Top quality games of this generation that don't define it are:

Halo 5: Guardians. Good reviews but did nothing new, stripped the split-screen gameplay and had no meaningful impact for Xbox gamers on the market.

Uncharted 4. Excellent visuals, but gameplay did nothing more than ape last-gens 1-3.

Games that do define this gen are:

Destiny 1 - the first big game from a major publisher to give console games an FPS in a persistent shared online universe. Now we have Destiny 2, the Division etc.

I would even say Drive Club precisely because of its problems. Network issues, etc.

Fable Legends that failed to get out of early beta. It represents the unfinished games that were aborted like Scalebound and Project Spark.
 
The Wonderful 101, Xenoblade X, and MGSV are really the only games in that class as far I'm concerned whether the rest of the world sees it or not.
 
Seems a lot of people need to play the Last Guardian and Hellblade.
Both being the most impactfull games for me personally this gen

Besides those 2..
Witcher 3
Horizon
ABZU

There are planty of other games which I played for a longer period of time, but not as impactfull

More to follow with, TLOU2, Death Stranding, RDR2 and GOW.

Games like Destiny are what is wrong with this generation and unfortunatly I fear these type of game with microtransaction will define this gen for the masses.
 
My list, sure Im missing a few

Witcher 3
Divinity 1+2
Zelda
MGSV
Uncharted 4
Destiny (For good and bad and its general impact on the generation)
Bloodborne
Nioh
Hitman
Inside

Edit: I only posted games from this current gen
 
spad3 said:
I agree with most of this. The only reason I added Uncharted 4 in there is that it took hyper-realism and animation to new extremes. Like seeing Sam for the first time in the prison was a "holy crap this is a fucking Video Game" moment. The nuances in animation, the lighting, the voice acting, all took cinematic to new heights.

And I completely agree with your statements on Witcher and BotW
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The order 1886 did that. Of course the game wasn't up to par with it's graphics/animations.
 
Xbox One - Cuphead, Killer Instinct, Forza Horizon 3, Sunset Overdrive, Ori

PS4 - Bloodborn, Horizon, Uncharted 4, Resogun, Nier, Knack

Multiplat - Witcher 3, Doom, Destiny, Final Fantasy 15, Resident Evil 7, Rocket League

Switch - Zelda Breath of the Wild

Wii U - Bayonetta2, Mario Kart 8, Smash Brothers, Shovel Knight

PC - PUBG, DOTA2, Divinity Original Sin, Tyranny
 
Bayonetta 2
Dark Souls 3
Bloodborne
Nioh
Hell Blade
Breath of The Wild
Tekken 7
Persona 5
Guilty Gear Xrd games
The Legend of Hero Trails games (if we're getting into portable territory)
 
Venom. said:
Standout titles of a generation are not always the same a generation defining game - although there can be some overlap. My attempt at a definition:

A generation defining game is a title that in some manner creates an influential impact; in a genre, or creates a new genre, which typifies or best represents developers gameplay aspirations and gamers' predominant interests.

Looking at last gen generation defining games:

Gears of War is a TPS, but it's Bros camaraderie was imitated endlessely in a stream of X360 FPS games.

Bioshock is one for blending FPS with a mystery story. Those audio file world building was copied in Arkham & much more.

Braid was probably the first (if I remember rightly) indie game to hit the big time and make smaller, downloadable titles attractive to the masses.

Uncharted 2 for perfecting the TPS platformer with story and top tier production quality.

Wii Sports. Literally creating the new motion control genre in such an intuitive and fun title that it became a breakout hit


Top quality games of this generation that don't define it are:

Halo 5: Guardians. Good reviews but did nothing new, stripped the split-screen gameplay and had no meaningful impact for Xbox gamers on the market.

Uncharted 4. Excellent visuals, but gameplay did nothing more than ape last-gens 1-3.

Games that do define this gen are:

Destiny 1 - the first big game from a major publisher to give console games an FPS in a persistent shared online universe. Now we have Destiny 2, the Division etc.

I would even say Drive Club precisely because of its problems. Network issues, etc.

Fable Legends that failed to get out of early beta. It represents the unfinished games that were aborted like Scalebound and Project Spark.
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Agreed with all of this, great post. There are some games that I love this gen, but only a few I would call generation defining.
 
How about Rainbow Six Siege?

In a very crowded market carved out a large playerbase out of very crowded market.

There is only one other game like it but they really have reinvented their gameplay in a game that looked like it was sent out to die.

It was a game that is basically MP only and was critisized to hell and back for it at the time. Now the MP only games are much less critized in this short amount of time.
 
spad3 said:
None of those games did anything worthwhile that another game did better in some way shape or form. Mario Maker being the exception, Wonderful 101 being a cool concept but half-assed delivery (may need a sequel though)
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lol well I'm glad you've seen to have made yourself the authority on gaming in this thread
 
I think Infamous Second Son was the first game from this gen that really made a clear difference on the graphical boost between PS3 and PS4. The game wasn't as good as the older entries but the graphics were pretty great for a near launch title.
 
Bloodborne and Breath of the Wild are the two games from this generation thatÂ’ll certainly be popping up on Top 100 lists ten years down the road, so those.

I wouldnÂ’t be at all surprised if Super Mario Odyssey joined them.
 
Testicular Sound Express said:
lol well I'm glad you've seen to have made yourself the authority on gaming in this thread
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To be completely honest. 10, 15 years from now, when someone says "hey what would you say were the top 3 games from the 2012-2019 that essentially defined that era?"

If ANY Wii U exclusive game made it anywhere near the top 3 as an answer to that statement I'll go out and buy a Wii U tomorrow.
 
The Wii U snub because it wasn't popular seems really fishy when the Neo Geo, Saturn and the Dreamcast are included and some of the games mentioned were less popular than the Wii U's biggest games. Splatoon was absolutely a generation-defining game for Japan at least.
 
The witcher 3 is the best western open world RPG game.

Breath of the wild is the best open world adventure.

Overwatch is the most succesful new IP Shooter of the generation (even though i don't like this game at all)

Everyone saying niche RPGs like divinity is just wrong.
 
spad3 said:
To be completely honest. 10, 15 years from now, when someone says "hey what would you say were the top 3 games from the 2012-2019 that essentially defined that era?"

If ANY Wii U exclusive game made it anywhere near the top 3 as an answer to that statement I'll go out and buy a Wii U tomorrow.
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Splatoon would probably make some lists. Maybe Super Mario Maker as well.
 
spad3 said:
GoldenEye for bringing the shooter genre mainstream
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What? GoldenEye came out in 1997.
There are these little games called Doom, Doom II, Duke Nukem 3D, and Quake that you may have heard of.

spad3 said:
Divinity is PC, console only
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Unless the original completely bombed on consoles, it's likely to come to them later. And why shouldn't PC games count?

Venom. said:
Looking at last gen generation defining games:
Gears of War is a TPS, but it's Bros camaraderie was imitated endlessely in a stream of X360 FPS games.
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Let's not forget to credit what it did for level design in third-person shooters, leading the charge for building every enemy encounter into small arenas made out of waist-high materials.

Venom. said:
Bioshock is one for blending FPS with a mystery story. Those audio file world building was copied in Arkham & much more.
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This was all done by System Shock before Bioshock. You could maybe say that it popularized these ideas, as Bioshock got mainstream attention while the System Shock games did not.
 
The Witcher 3 without a doubt. It's an independent game that has dwarfed everything else in scope, storyrelling and sheer craftmanship.

In a see of anticonsumer crap, a game made by people who love games, for people who love games is a rarity, and the showpiece of the viability of those experiences.
 
Ahasverus said:
The Witcher 3 without a doubt. It's an independent game that has dwarfed everything else in scope, storyrelling and sheer craftmanship.

In a see of anticonsumer crap, a game made by people who love games, for people who love games is a rarity, and the showpiece of the viability of those experiences.
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CD Projekt Red is a publicly traded company. They're actually less independent than Valve and Bethesda.
 
Ahasverus said:
The Witcher 3 without a doubt. It's an independent game that has dwarfed everything else in scope, storyrelling and sheer craftmanship.

In a see of anticonsumer crap, a game made by people who love games, for people who love games is a rarity, and the showpiece of the viability of those experiences.
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Cd Project Red, while technically independent, are not "indie" devs

To think that love for video games is relegated to some small sector only you identity with is a misguided belief. We can all rail against shitty practices and investor concerns, but Im pretty sure the vast majority of people in the game business have an affinity for their work and/or understand the context of the product.
 
Bloodborne, Dark Souls III, Uncharted 4 & Lost Legacy, Breath of the Wild.
Super Mario: Odyssey obviously...
 
NES/Master System - Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Bros. 3, Mega Man 2, Duck Hunt
Mega Drive/SNES - Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Mario World, Super Metroid, Zelda A Link to the Past, Chrono Trigger, Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario Kart
Saturn/PS1/N64 - Super Mario 64, Zelda Ocarina of Time, Goldeneye, Final Fantasy VII, Metal Gear Solid
Dreamcast/PS2/GameCube/Xbox - Halo, Metroid Prime, GTA 3
360/PS3/Wii - Super Mario Galaxy, Wii Sports, Gears of War, GTA V, The Last of Us, Skyrim, Dark Souls, Minecraft, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
WiiU/XBO/PS4 - Breath of the Wild (technically a Wii U game that was also ported to the Switch), Splatoon in Japan, The Witcher III

Game Boy/Game Gear - Pokémon Red/Blue, Pokémon Gold/Silver, Tetris
Game Boy Advance - ...
DS/PSP - Nintendogs, Brain Age, Monster Hunter (not sure which of them) in Japan
3DS/Vita - Yokai Watch in Japan I guess...
Switch - Possibly Mario Odyssey
 
I would say Splatoon was a generation defining game for the Wii U. It signaled the beginning of the gradual power shift towards newer directors and producers on Nintendo from the old guard. While it didn't change how shooters were being developed, it was more of the symbolic importance Splatoon brought in terms of a transitioning Nintendo.

Also, it singlehandedly put a stranglehold on the shooter market in Japan, traditionally lukewarm on console shooters.
 
My answers are Bloodborne and Breath of the Wild. This generation is still going very strong, and hell we just got a new addition.

We still got games like Mario Odyssey, and Death Stranding coming out. But those two games I'm comfortable saying that they're among the stand out games that defined this generation.
 
Rocket League - Pure fun. Addictive ebbs and flows. Feel good story of the generation too.

PUBG - Even to someone who has not kept up with it, the swell of press and activity building around it is hard to ignore

GTAV - It bloomed on PS4/XB1. Will have become a social sandbox for 10's of millions of players by the time this generations over

Destiny - Same as GTAV. Smaller scale though. Bungie partnering with the leading fps publisher. The result was obvious.

Splatoon 1/2 - Marked Nintendo's shift to modern times. Along with BOTW, it marked the death of the Wii U and birth of Switch

Forza Horizon 3 - Best damn racing game you can buy. In a genre that has shriveled, the game shines as a beacon of once was.

Persona 5 - And you thought Japan and turn-based combat were dead

Horizon Zero Dawn - Sony's next big franchise. As Nathan Drake rides into the sunset in a Gran Turismo Nissan Skyline

Zelda: BOTW - Zelda + Switch combo will never be matched again. You think of Switch and you'll think of this game.

I'm betting Pokemon Switch and Super Mario Odyssey carve out a place in gamer's hearts too.
 
Aready released:
Bloodborne
The Witcher 3
Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Undertale
Overwatch
PUBG
Persona 5 / NieR: Automata
The Last Guardian
Metroid: Samus Returns

Coming within a year or so:
Super Mario Odyssey
Red Dead Redemption 2
Kingdom Hearts 2
Dragon Quest XI
God of War

Coming within the gen
Spider-Man
Metroid Prime 4
Pokémon Switch
Death Stranding
Cyberpunk 2077
 
So, OP, what happens when Sony and Microsoft release their next console in the next two years or so, when the Switch will be hitting its stride? You gonna consider Switch a last gen (i.e. current gen) entry?

If we're going current gen for the purpose of discussion, for Nintendo, it'd have to be Wii U games, regardless of whether a port is available on its next gen successor or not. And for that, Wii U has Splatoon, BotW, Smash, Mario Kart 8, and maybe Mario Maker. Heck you can probably even add 3D World there. I've a feeling a decade from now, people will be adding that to the best of 8th generation lists.
 
Kageshinzo said:
So, OP, what happens when Sony and Microsoft release their next console in the next two years or so, when the Switch will be hitting its stride? You gonna consider Switch a last gen (i.e. current gen) entry?

If we're going current gen for the purpose of discussion, for Nintendo, it'd have to be Wii U games, regardless of whether a port is available on its next gen successor or not. And for that, Wii U has Splatoon, BotW, Smash, Mario Kart 8, and maybe Mario Maker. Heck you can probably even add 3D World there. I've a feeling a decade from now, people will be adding that to the best of 8th generation lists.
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Generations are arbitrary and and largely anachronistic way of looking at video games. Too many people play on PC and Mobile now with their non-static hardware. The days of console specific hardware is dead, with consoles today being dictated by realities imposed on it by the PC hardware market. Given the stopgap systems coming on the scene and the ever creeping reality of the generationless hardware market coming upon us, I don't really think the idea of "generations" has much shelf life.
 
Too early to say. For me, PS3's best game came out a few months prior to PS4's launch. There are still a -ton- of PS4/XB1 games to come, and Switch just came out 6 months ago.
 
Mario maker should be on that list for sure. If also day Splatoon decease a spot as well. It was one of the first console games to do the format of I think games as a service with the updates that is being replicated through the industry, with some failing (sf5) pretty bad at it. It not be as popular in other areas as Japan, but you can't deny the impact that it had. Heck it sold over 4.8 million copies, and it's sequel came out only 26 months after its original release.
 
The Witcher 3 - Blockbuster RPG with fantastic writing and worldbuilding which will influence other games in the AAA genre for years to come.

Divinity: Original Sin 2 - The pinnacle of the KickStarter cRPG renaissance.
 
Jesus Christ...

That's a LOT of BotW and Witcher 3 (and Bloodborne).

Sometimes a vocal minority makes me forget how much LOVED both of those games actually are.

GAF likes to shit on Witcher 3 and BotW, but they are truly some of the best games of all time. It's heartwarming to see them praised for a change.
 
The Last One said:
Jesus Christ...

That's a LOT of BotW and Witcher 3 (and Bloodborne).

Sometimes a vocal minority makes me forget how much LOVED both of those games actually are.

GAF likes to shit on Witcher 3 and BotW, but they are truly some of the best games of all time. It's heartwarming to see them praised for a change.
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GAF doesn't shit on The Witcher 3. It's criticised like every game that has flaws.
 
Zelda Breath of the Wild
Horizon Zero Dawn
Forza Horizon 3
Sunset Overdrive
No Man's Sky
The Witcher 3
The Witness
Ori and the Blind Forest

These are the games that proved to me that open-world gaming can be truly awesome and inspiring no matter the size of the dev teams. There are also some never-ending post-launch love from the devs too among these titles ways which imo defines this generation. The much hated NMS will probably end up being my most played game of the generation.
 
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