The 46 Greatest Video Games of the 2010s
The 2010s contribute 46 of the game canon's all-time entries, led by The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017). Rankings aggregate 17 authoritative lists; every entry links to its full evidence.
1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a 2017 action-adventure game developed by Nintendo EPD for the Wii U and Nintendo Switch. Set near the end of the Zelda timeline, it follows Link as he sets out to save Princess Zelda and prevent Calamity Ganon from destroying the world. The player explores the open world of Hyrule, collects items, and completes objectives such as puzzles and side quests.
2. The Last of Us
The Last of Us is an action-adventure video game series and media franchise created by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The series is set in a post-apocalyptic United States ravaged by cannibalistic humans infected by a mutated fungus in the genus Cordyceps.
3. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a 2015 action role-playing game developed and published by CD Projekt. It is the sequel to the 2011 game The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings and the third game in The Witcher video game series, played in an open world with a third-person perspective. The games follow the Witcher series of fantasy novels by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski.
4. Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 2 is a 2010 action role-playing game developed by BioWare and published by Microsoft Game Studios and Electronic Arts. It was released for Windows and the Xbox 360 in January 2010, as well as the PlayStation 3 the following year. It is the second installment in the Mass Effect series and a sequel to the original Mass Effect.
5. Grand Theft Auto V
Grand Theft Auto V is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the seventh main entry in the Grand Theft Auto series, following 2008's Grand Theft Auto IV, and the fifteenth instalment overall.
6. Red Dead Redemption
Red Dead Redemption is a 2010 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar San Diego and published by Rockstar Games. A successor to 2004's Red Dead Revolver, it is the second game in the Red Dead series. Red Dead Redemption is set during the decline of the American frontier in the year 1911.
7. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a 2011 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the fifth main installment in The Elder Scrolls series, following The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006), and was released worldwide for Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 on November 11, 2011. Skyrim was developed using the Creation Engine.
8. Bloodborne
Bloodborne is a 2015 action role-playing game, developed by FromSoftware and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 4. The game follows a Hunter through the decrepit Gothic, Victorian-era inspired city of Yharnam, whose inhabitants are afflicted with a blood-borne disease.
9. Portal 2
Portal 2 is a 2011 first person puzzle-platform game developed by Valve for Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. The retail versions and PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were distributed by Electronic Arts. A port for the Nintendo Switch was released as part of the Portal: Companion Collection in June 2022.
10. Minecraft
Minecraft is a sandbox game developed and published by the Swedish company Mojang Studios. Following its initial public alpha release as an early access title in 2009, it was formally released in November 2011 for personal computers. The game has since been ported to numerous platforms, including mobile devices and various video game consoles.
11. Journey
Journey or journeying may refer to…
12. Dark Souls
Dark Souls is a dark fantasy, action role-playing game series developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. Created by Hidetaka Miyazaki, the series began with the release of Dark Souls (2011) and has seen two sequels, Dark Souls II (2014) and Dark Souls III (2016).
13. Super Mario Galaxy 2
Super Mario Galaxy 2 is a 2010 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It was first announced at E3 2009 and is the sequel to 2007's Super Mario Galaxy. Much like the first game, the story follows Mario as he pursues the Koopa King, Bowser, into outer space, where he has imprisoned Princess Peach and taken control of the universe using Power Stars and Grand Stars.
14. Overwatch
Overwatch (abbreviated as OW) is a multimedia franchise centered on a series of multiplayer first-person shooter (FPS) video games developed by Blizzard Entertainment. Overwatch was released in 2016. Overwatch 2 was released in 2023 and the original game was taken offline upon its release, though Blizzard renamed it back to Overwatch in 2026.
15. Red Dead Redemption 2
Red Dead Redemption 2 is a 2018 action-adventure game developed and published by Rockstar Games. The game is the third entry in the Red Dead series and a prequel to the 2010 game Red Dead Redemption.
16. Super Mario Odyssey
Super Mario Odyssey is a 2017 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. An installment in the Super Mario series, it follows Mario and his new ally Cappy—a sentient hat—as they journey across various kingdoms to save Princess Peach from Mario's nemesis Bowser's plans of forced marriage.
17. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is a 2015 action-adventure stealth game developed and published by Konami. Directed, written, and produced by Hideo Kojima (as his final work at Konami), it is the ninth installment in the Metal Gear franchise, following Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, a stand-alone prologue released the previous year.
18. Inside
Inside may refer to…
19. Dishonored
Dishonored is a 2012 action-adventure game developed by Arkane Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. Set in the fictional, plague-ridden industrial city of Dunwall, Dishonored follows the story of Corvo Attano, bodyguard to the Empress of the Isles. He is framed for her murder and forced to become an assassin, seeking revenge on those who conspired against him.
20. Mario Kart 8
Mario Kart 8 is a 2014 kart racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. It retains the gameplay of previous Mario Kart games, with players controlling characters from the Mario series and other Nintendo characters in races around tracks. Tracks are themed around locales from the Super Mario series populated with power-ups that help players gain advantages in races.
21. Dota 2
Dota 2 is a 2013 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game by Valve. The game is a sequel to Defense of the Ancients (DotA), a community-created mod for Blizzard Entertainment's Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. Dota 2 is played in matches between two teams of five players, with each team occupying and defending their own separate base on the map.
22. Undertale
Undertale (stylized in all uppercase) is a 2015 role-playing video game created by American indie developer Toby Fox. The player controls a child who has fallen into the Underground: a large, secluded region under the surface of the Earth, separated by a magical barrier. The player meets various monsters during the journey back to the surface, some of which may engage in combat.
23. Papers Please
Papers, Please is a 2013 puzzle simulation video game by Lucas Pope, developed and published independently through his production company 3909 LLC. The game was released on August 8, 2013, for Microsoft Windows and OS X, for Linux on February 12, 2014, and for iOS on December 12, 2014. A port for the PlayStation Vita was announced in August 2014 and was then released on December 12, 2017.
24. XCOM: Enemy Unknown
XCOM: Enemy Unknown is a 2012 turn-based tactics video game developed by Firaxis Games and published by 2K. It is a "reimagining" of the 1994 strategy game UFO: Enemy Unknown (also known as X-COM: UFO Defense).
25. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty
StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is a science fiction real-time strategy video game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment. It was released worldwide in July 2010 for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X.
26. Limbo
The unofficial term Limbo (from Latin limbus 'edge, boundary', referring to the edge of Hell) is the afterlife condition, in medieval Catholic theology, of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned.
27. The Walking Dead
Walking Dead or The Walking Dead generically refers to zombies.
28. Zork
Zork is a text adventure game first released in 1977 by developers Tim Anderson, Marc Blank, Bruce Daniels, and Dave Lebling for the PDP-10 mainframe computer.
29. BioShock Infinite
BioShock Infinite is a first-person shooter video game developed by Irrational Games and published by 2K. The third installment of the BioShock series, Infinite was released worldwide for the PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360, and OS X platforms in 2013.
30. Batman: Arkham City
Batman: Arkham City is a 2011 action-adventure game developed by Rocksteady Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, it is the sequel to the 2009 video game Batman: Arkham Asylum and the second installment in the Batman: Arkham series.
31. God of War
A god of war is a deity associated with war.
32. Rocket League
Rocket League is a 2015 vehicular soccer video game developed and published by Psyonix. A sequel to 2008's Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars, Rocket League features up to eight players assigned to each of the two teams, using "rocket-powered" vehicles to hit a ball into their opponent's goal and score points over the course of a match.
33. Destiny
Destiny, sometimes also called fate (from Latin fatum 'decree, prediction, destiny, fate'), is a predetermined course of events. Destiny can be compared with determinism, the philosophical proposition that every event, including human cognition and behavior, is causally determined by an unbroken chain of prior occurrences.
34. Horizon: Zero Dawn
Horizon Zero Dawn is a 2017 action role-playing game developed by Guerrilla Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The first instalment in the Horizon video game series, it is set in a post-apocalyptic United States where large robotic machines dominate the Earth while humans live in primitive tribes with varying levels of technological development.
35. Super Mario 3D World
Super Mario 3D World is a 2013 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. It is the sixth original 3D platform game in the Super Mario series and the sequel to Super Mario 3D Land (2011). The game was re-released for the Nintendo Switch as Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury in February 2021.
36. Fallout: New Vegas
Fallout: New Vegas is a 2010 action role-playing game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Bethesda Softworks. The game, which was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, is set in the Mojave Desert 204 years after a devastating nuclear war.
37. Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
Hearthstone is a 2014 online digital collectible card video game produced by Blizzard Entertainment, released under the free-to-play model. Originally subtitled Heroes of Warcraft, Hearthstone builds upon the existing lore of the Warcraft series by using the same elements, characters, and relics. The game is available on the Windows, macOS, iOS and Android platforms, featuring cross-platform play.
38. Bayonetta 2
Bayonetta 2 is a 2014 action-adventure game developed by PlatinumGames and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. It is the sequel to the 2009 game Bayonetta, and was directed by Yusuke Hashimoto and produced by Atsushi Inaba, Akiko Kuroda, and Hitoshi Yamagami, under supervision by series creator Hideki Kamiya. Bayonetta 2 was announced in a Nintendo Direct presentation on September 13, 2012.
39. Mega Man X
Mega Man X is a series of action-platform games released by Capcom. It is a sub-series of the Mega Man franchise previously developed by the same group, with Keiji Inafune acting as one of the main staff members. The first game was released on 17 December 1993 in Japan on the Super Famicom and the following month on the Super NES in North America.
40. Stardew Valley
Stardew Valley is a 2016 farm life simulation video game developed by Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone. Players take the role of a character who inherits their deceased grandfather's dilapidated farm. The game is open-ended, with players managing the farm by clearing land, growing seasonal crops, and raising animals.
41. Gone Home
Gone Home is a first-person walking simulator video game developed and published by The Fullbright Company. Gone Home was first released for Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux computers in August 2013, followed by console releases for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in January 2016, the Nintendo Switch in September 2018, and iOS in December 2018.
42. Pac-Man Championship Edition DX
Pac-Man Championship Edition DX is a 2010 maze video game developed by Chinese studio Mine Loader Software and published by Namco Bandai Games for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, later ported to Steam, Android and iOS. It is the sequel to the 2007 game Pac-Man Championship Edition, which was the last game developed by series creator Toru Iwatani.
43. Fez
Fez most often refers to…
44. The Stanley Parable
The Stanley Parable is a 2013 story-based video game designed and written by developers Davey Wreden and William Pugh. In the game, the player guides a silent protagonist named Stanley alongside narration by British actor Kevan Brighting. As the story progresses, the player is confronted with diverging pathways.
45. The Witness
A witness is someone who has first-hand knowledge of something, such as a crime or wedding, and usually by seeing it.
46. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is a 1993 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. It is the first installment in The Legend of Zelda series to be released on a handheld game console. Link's Awakening is one of the few Zelda games not to take place in the land of Hyrule, and it does not feature Princess Zelda or the Triforce relic.