I never liked the idea of choosing one game only and even ordering them does not suit my style.
Reviewing a generation for games, I would go into each year and mark the games that i really liked, then after marking them i will start eliminating the ones i dont think belong in the same tier as the top ones.
All these games have some issues but i will focus on what makes them essential to play imo. So its gonna be positive talk.
2014:
1) Alien: Isolation
I like the intense horror atmosphere in this game, the Alien is one of the best Horror stalkers and the setting is so good, space horror is special. The androids are also scary, the way they look at you from a far, music is faithful to the film which is an excellent film btw.
2015:
1) The Witcher 3
I already said a lot about this game in other threads, this open world RPG was a very memorable gaming experience for me, I played through all the games, so the third one felt rewarding in a good way, everything got improved, the gameplay and the cinematics and i liked the idea of the open world, the Witcher strong points are its interesting world, the variety of interesting characters you meet, and the best side quests in any open world game. 2 Amazing expansions, Hearts of Stone with its tightly written main story and much improved boss fights, and Blood and Wine overall package and amazing new area, i think Blood and Wine is my favorite DLC of all time. I also wrote 2 long reviews about it, due to how much i liked it.
2) Bloodborne
A very unique experience, I love Dark Souls (2011) equally but thinking objectively about it, Bloodborne is slightly better because of that amazing art direction and atmosphere, while the lore itself is better crafted in Dark Souls, Bloodborne is no short when it comes to that, its mysterious and intriguing. From a gameplay point its addicting and fun, i made many runs and enjoyed them. The weapons are carefully crafted, they are unique and very fun to play and try out.
3) SOMA
Frictional games took it to next level with this one, I still think Amnesia The Dark Descent is the scariest game i have ever played, and i still like it more than SOMA, but SOMA is no short of an amazing experience, And i say experience because you dont really play much, aside from solving some puzzles and interacting with the level you dont do much, so its more of an experience than a gameplay button mashing, the thing about this game is its writing, the story explores very deep themes and tries to provoke the player into thinking about existence and humans, adding a flavor of horror on it, with an interesting setting, its one of my favorites.
4) Ori and The Blind Forrest.
Superb art direction, one of the best platformers of the decade, the music is touching and i really enjoyed playing it, the most memorable about this one is the very very beautiful art style.
2016:
1) Inside
Playdead second game after Limbo, i played Limbo three times, each time i enjoyed my playthrough, I really enjoy their game design, they give you neat puzzles to solve and the game is not really long so you will not feel bored, the atmosphere is very fascinating and the art is very good as well.
2017:
1) Prey
The spritiual successor to System Shock, a space horror but this time the focus is not on scare factor but on gameplay and atmosphere, while the story is not really its main strength its there and its interesting to figure out what happened, some plot twists here and there. What i like about this game is the gameplay and how it offers many options to solve certain obstacles, the music fits really well with the game and the level design is clever. Its very underrated.
2) Divinity OS2
One of the best top down rpgs, not a big fan of the writing itself as i didnt like the main story and its side quests that much, but the turn based gameplay is some of the best ever made, if you are a fan of top down turn based games this is the game of the generation for you. The music is also nice.
3) Hollow Knight
Simply put this is my favorite platformer of the decade, its one of the best metroidvania i have ever played, the level design, the progression is neat, and the music is amazing. Its a very challenging game as well, it had some sections that i think are some of the hardest i have ever played, but after completing them, i had such feeling of accomplishment. Its definitely influenced by Dark Souls, its evident from the geo system and how it tries to present its lore. Amazing art direction as well. Excellent game.
4) Nier Automata
I have some issues with this game but overall its really very good game, the gameplay was fun and the story, i really liked the story it has, i still prefer the original one but from the year 2017 i believe this one deserves a shoutout.
2018:
1) Red Dead Redemption 2
A huge open world to explore, grounded in realism, its a very slow game but it also slowly immerses you in its setting, it the cinematic values of the story feel like something you expect from a old classic western film, the main character Arthur is one of the best protagonist in gaming, also the world is carefully crafted, its peak of the generation, the world looks very detailed.
2) Kingdom Come Deliverance
Open world realistic medieval rpg, I went into this game with low expectation because i heard and read many complaints, turns out this game is really good, i liked the role-playing and the progression, it rewards you well, you start out as a no body and slowly build yourself, the combat is cool, but takes time to get used to, the story is not complete, you get open ending but its still worth playing through, the story itself is really decent, it also has some great side quests. The game is not too dark or too serious but its not fun as well, its pretty much like real life, moments with ups and downs, it felt really good immersing myself into its world, the music is also lovely. Excited for the 2nd game.
2019:
1) Disco Elysium
Great writing rpg with social and political themes, a lot of different outcomes and great art direction.
2) Resident Evil 2 Remake
One of the best remakes ever made, the first Remake in 2002 is still my favorite by far, but this one nailed it as well, its a very good game overall, the level design and gameplay is as good as the RE1 RE2.
Have not played: Sekiro, Death Stranding, Pathologic 2. So dont ask me why i ignored them.
Looking forward for Sekiro.
2020:
1) Final Fantasy 7 Remake
I just finished this one recently, like 2 months ago, the original game is one of the best J-RPGs ever made, the gameplay is engaging and the minigames are fun to play, the music is among my favorite of the generation. I think the way they handle the story and how they split it and changed some parts kinda of prevents me from putting it on the top list, but overall i enjoyed my time with it very much, I like how stylish some of the characters are. (For now this will be in the highlights of 2020, until Cyberpunk 2077 gets released, so far FF7 Remake is my GOTY from this year) I should note that its a tier below, and it will go down to honorable mentions as soon as some other game from 2020 takes its place.
Honorable mentions:
2015:
1) Mortal Kombat X
I know this sound weird, what is this fighting game doing in my list, but i genuinely enjoyed my time with it, im not a big fan of fighting games but im surprisingly good at them, i used to play this game with my friends and because i was strong i enjoyed it, its my favorite mortal kombat game.
P.S I was a huge fighting gamer when i was in high school, i used to play a lot of fighting games and Street Fighter was my favorite one, i still enjoy landing combos and decimating the opponent.
2016:
1) Dark Souls 3
Its not as good as Bloodborne or the first Dark Souls mainly because it does not feel unique, the game itself however is really good, this is my most played game by Fromsoft simply because i enjoyed the multiplayer, the bosses are faster, the gameplay itself is more refined thanks to Bloodborne, and the DLC were good as well.
2) The Witness
I liked this game, but i need to go back to it, i think it may end up in my top list as well. Great puzzle game.
2017:
1) Persona 5
Stylish game with some of the best music ever in gaming, this game offered me some great parts and some really boring and mediocre parts so it would not end in my top list but it deserves a mention because i like those highs very much that its still memorable to me, and i consider it a good game overall.
2) Cuphead
Great platformer with unique cartonish classic art, the game is tough as hell as well, probably the hardest game of the generation not considering optional challenges.
3) The Legend of Zelda; BotW
Not my type of a game, but i have to acknowledge its good on its own, i dont think its GOTG material but the open world of this game is innovative and worth giving credit, the exploration is top notch. And the traversal and physics of the open world design is a benchmark in open world gaming.
2018:
1) God of War
Great gameplay, but has some issues here and there, still i think the game is really well made, i liked the characterization of Atreus and his father, although its not an original game and it takes some elements from successful games that came before i, i cant deny that its a well made game and i enjoyed my time with it.
Okay i got tired, i dont want to write more, this was long post.
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