The last decade transformed gaming from entertainment to art form. These ten titles represent the empirical pinnacle, and we’ve ranked them by OpenCritic scores, sales performance, and general cultural impact. Each redefined its genre, set new industry standards, and proved that interactive experiences can rival any medium.
From massive open worlds to intimate narratives, these masterpieces earned their status through undeniable quality, commercial dominance, and lasting influence that continues shaping the games we play today. It’s quite likely that this list contains a few of your favourites, but you might also find a gem that somehow passed you by over the last ten years.
10
Disco Elysium
OpenCritic: 92
ZA/UM’s revolutionary detective RPG proved to the masses that games could be high art. Disco Elysium eliminated combat entirely, instead building a complex role-playing experience around skill checks, internal dialogue, and conversation systems that set new genre standards.
If You’re A Fan Of Disco Elysium, Don’t Be Excited For Zero Parades
If you were hoping for a Disco Elysium sequel, it’s time to give up.
Playing as an amnesiac detective investigating a murder in the city of Revachol, players navigate political intrigue, existential philosophy, and their own fractured psyche through dice rolls and choice-driven narrative. The game swept The Game Awards 2019, winning all four of its nominations – Best RPG, Best Narrative, Best Independent Game, and Fresh Indie Game – tying the record for most awards in a single ceremony. It even claimed three BAFTA Awards for Debut Game, Narrative, and Music, and won a fair few GOTY awards to boot.
Its influence extends beyond accolades, though – at least four studios are now developing spiritual successors, a solid testament to how profoundly it redefined what RPGs could be.
9
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
OpenCritic: 93
CD Projekt Red’s masterpiece set the gold standard for open-world storytelling. The Witcher 3 proved narrative depth and massive scale weren’t mutually exclusive – every quest felt meaningful, every character memorable. Geralt’s search for Ciri across war-torn kingdoms delivered moral complexity rarely seen in games, with choices that carried weight and consequences that rippled throughout the world.
In the eyes of many, the Bloody Baron questline alone demonstrated more sophisticated storytelling than many complete games.
The Netflix series boosted sales by 554 percent in December 2019, demonstrating its enduring cultural relevance; The Witcher 3 influenced an entire generation of open-world RPGs and established CD Projekt Red as a premier developer.
8
Hades
OpenCritic: 94
Supergiant Games’ mythological roguelike perfected the formula while making it narratively rich. Hades proved that procedurally generated gameplay and deep storytelling could coexist beautifully – a revelation for the genre. As Zagreus fights through the underworld attempting to reach the surface, every death reveals character development and plot progression.
The game manages what many roguelikes struggle with: making failure feel sincerely meaningful. Each run offers new dialogue, relationship progression, and narrative revelations.
The perfect balance of challenge and accessibility brought roguelikes to mainstream audiences who typically avoided the punishing genre. Its distinctive art style and phenomenal voice acting elevated production values beyond typical indie fare. The innovative approach to death as narrative device influenced countless indie games. Winning Best Indie and Best Action at The Game Awards 2020 cemented its legacy as the gold standard for narrative roguelikes.
7
Persona 5 Royal
OpenCritic: 94
Atlus delivered JRPG perfection with Royal’s expanded edition. The Phantom Thieves’ stylish heist story combined deep turn-based combat with social simulation depth unmatched in the genre. Every system felt meaningful – from confidant relationships that affected combat abilities to demon fusion mechanics offering hundreds of strategic possibilities; it was a refinement of Persona’s series identity.
The game’s UI design became instantly iconic, its jazz-fusion soundtrack unforgettable, and its anime-inspired aesthetics infinitely stylish. Its 120+ hour campaign mostly avoids dragging, maintaining momentum (apart from that bloody cruise ship) through impeccable pacing and constant gameplay variety. Persona 5 Royal proved JRPGs could compete with any genre even without a Square Enix-associated name attached.
6
The Last Of Us Part 2
OpenCritic: 93
Naughty Dog’s controversial sequel became the fastest-selling PlayStation 4 exclusive, moving four million copies in its opening weekend. While its narrative choices divided players, critics awarded it a record-breaking 326 Game of the Year accolades – the most ever until Elden Ring. Part 2 won seven awards at The Game Awards 2020, the most in the show’s history, including Game of the Year.
The sequel famously pushed technical boundaries on ageing PS4 hardware, delivering stunning visuals, intricate animation, and brutal combat that emphasized the human cost of violence, with its polarizing story about revenge, empathy, and perspective sparked discourse extending far beyond gaming circles. For many, it proved that AAA games could take genuine artistic risks with established franchises.
5
God Of War
OpenCritic: 94
Sony Santa Monica’s bold reinvention transformed Kratos from rage-fuelled antihero to complex father figure. The shift to Norse mythology and a new emphasis on Kratos and Atreus’s relationship elevated the series to new heights, something capitalised on with the sequel, which could be considered as influential and successful as its predecessor.
Christopher Judge’s performance as Kratos brought gravitas to every scene, and the game swept awards season, including nabbing Game of the Year at The Game Awards in 2018, proving that established franchises could successfully reinvent themselves.
4
Elden Ring
OpenCritic: 95
FromSoftware and George R.R. Martin’s collaboration revolutionized open-world design. The Lands Between offered unprecedented freedom – struggle with a boss? Go explore elsewhere and return stronger. This philosophy made the traditionally niche Soulslike genre accessible without dilution.
Elden Ring’s environmental storytelling, challenging combat, and sense of discovery created emergent moments players shared worldwide. It became 2022’s best-selling game, swept Game of the Year awards, and sold millions upon millions of copies. Its influence on open-world design rivals Breath of the Wild’s, proving cryptic, player-driven experiences resonate commercially and that hype is sometimes completely warranted.
3
Red Dead Redemption 2
OpenCritic: 95
Rockstar’s eight-year development effort produced the most technically ambitious game of its generation. Red Dead Redemption 2 delivered unprecedented environmental detail – dynamic weather, realistic animal behaviour, NPC routines that felt genuine.
Arthur Morgan’s tragic arc became one of gaming’s most emotionally resonant stories. The prequel’s deliberate pacing divided some players, but critics universally praised its achievement. With countless awards, it proved that patient, methodical game design could achieve both critical acclaim and commercial dominance on a scale few games ever reach.
2
The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
OpenCritic: 96
Nintendo’s masterpiece redefined open-world gaming by trusting players completely. Removing waypoints, objective markers, and hand-holding, Breath of the Wild let curiosity guide exploration. Its chemistry engine and systemic interactions created emergent moments that felt personal – lighting grass fires to create updrafts, using metal weapons to conduct electricity, creating ice blocks to traverse lakes – it all felt amazing to discover.
As the Switch’s killer app, it influenced countless titles from Genshin Impact to Elden Ring, and it’s the best-selling Zelda by huge margin.
1
Baldur’s Gate 3
OpenCritic: 96
Larian Studios achieved the impossible – a CRPG so polished and ambitious it became mainstream. Based on Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, Baldur’s Gate 3 offers player agency at unprecedented scale. Every choice matters, every conversation branches, and the game accommodates creativity in ways that feel magical. With an incredible number of sales, it proved niche genres could dominate commercially when the hype train is loud enough.
Critics universally praised its exhaustive branching narratives (I even called it a masterpiece in my own review!), full voice acting, and system depth. It temporarily became the highest-rated PC game ever on both OpenCritic and Metacritic, won Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2023, and reset expectations for what RPGs can achieve. Baldur’s Gate 3 stands as the decade’s crowning achievement in player freedom and systemic depth.
What Happened? Amazing Games With Terrible DLC
These great games somehow had some very bad DLC.
