Green Ornstein's Games of the 2010s

Greetings all.

Green Ornstein is my name and video games are my… game. 

I’ll rephrase that later.

But for now, I thought I’d say hello to all 12 of you reading this blog and I wanted us to know one another a bit better. And what better way to do that than to give game recommendations? 

As the Curmudgeon completed his list of best films of the decade, I thought it would be a fantabulous idea to give my Games of the 2010s. Let’s see if we have similar tastes or if you want to hit me over the head with what you’d put on your list.

Without further ado, let’s kick this off with a blood-soaked boot.

Bloodborne

FromSoftware’s Bloodborne (2016) is a game I hold very close to my heart. It’s the first game I’ve platinum’d (over the course of 4 years, but it's about the commitment, people!) It was one of the first massive exclusive titles for the PS4 leaving anyone who bought an Xbox One in the dust.

Having not played a FromSoftware game before Bloodborne, this introduced me to so much; subtle storytelling through minor details, the no-pause tension, and the infallible battle-strategy of running to the corner and crying.

The game takes place in the Victorian-style city of Yharnam, where the citizens used blood of unholy abominations to cure their sickness. This inevitably backfires and everyone becomes either insane or mutated into horrific beasts themselves. You are one such individual who is inducted to become a hunter, tasked to clear the city of beasts with nothing but your trusty cleaver, gun and immortality (don’t worry about that for now).

Bloodborne is certainly the slimmer variant of Dark Souls (2011). In fact, I’d recommend it as a starting point for the series - it’s easier, more accessible, and boasts simpler, streamlined mechanics. You also have the chance to get your health back for a few seconds after you get hit to amend your inevitable fuck-up.

There’s certainly less variation in terms of battle style compared to the Souls games. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, though - you don’t have to think so hard about your build. There’s no weight capacity so you’re free to dodge gayly around as much as you please. You’re basically invincible while you’re dodging, which is a mechanic you only realise how much you appreciated when it’s gone in other games.

The game’s weapons add great variety. Each one is known as a “trick Weapon” which has 2 forms to utilise: You got a cane that turns into a whip, a rapier with a built-in gun and a sword with a sheath that turns it into a giant hammer… or an even bigger sword. There may be less weapons overall in comparison to Dark Souls, but it’s more a quality over quantity. Any weapon you have can be useful if you use it right, and master switching between its 2 forms in combat. 

They’re all equally impractical in real-life but Jesus are they cool.

So, if you ever dreamed of exploring a Lovecraftian nightmare, sifting through piles of screaming monstrosities with nought but your top hat and a spear that doubles as a rifle…

Then you should seek professional help.

Or play Bloodborne, either will suffice.

Infamous 2

You know the great thing about previous-generation consoles? You already know which games are worth buying, and now they’re cheaper than a Venezuelan prostitute.

Get the right game, and it’s like buying some Ferrero Rocher for the price of a Freddo. This was the case with Sucker Punch Production's Infamous 2 (2011).

You are Cole MacGrath, a bike courier who couriered a package that exploded and gave him lightning powers. The first Infamous (2009) focussed on Cole coming to grips with his powers and learning of his destiny to fight “The Beast”, an enigmatic but all powerful giant, intent on destroying the world. Infamous 2 focusses on Cole gathering his strength in the city of New Marais in order to take on The Beast, oh and fight the fascist militia festering there, you know, while he’s got time to kill.

Your sandbox is the whole city, filled with high buildings, wires to glide around in and lots of cars to fling at people. Your powers involve various lightning based attacks, shockwaves, bombs and goddamn ground pounds. What gives Infamous 2 the edge over its predecessor is that it expands on the gameplay by giving you grapples, an electronic melee weapon, shield and even fuckin’ flying (well technically its a launch ability and a float ability but use your imagination!) As the game’s name suggests, you can either use it to be the hero this town deserves or rule over it with an iron-fist and become… Infamous.

I got Infamous and Infamous 2 on PS3 for less than a fiver. Little did I know that, not only would they be worth every penny, but Infamous 2 would have some of the best sandbox gameplay I’ve ever seen. The key word is “mobility”; you need to be able to move fast and strike while the iron is covered with lightning, then you need to keep going, fly off the next building, glide across the telephone wires and crush every twat in a hoodie who looked at you funny with a lightning ground pound. 

Jesus this game was fun…

And for this type of game, I think it handled its approach to the story surprisingly effectively. Both Infamous and its sequel deliver the story in quick, digestible, comic-book esque montages with voiceovers. This may seem like a cop-out, but considering how fantabulous the gameplay is, you appreciate it’s brevity and reluctance to interrupt the pacing. That said, Infamous 2 outdid its predecessor with an impactful and well-realised ending (provided you took the good path). It's one of the few games where taking the good path is more preferable (and replete with niftier powers) than the evil path. So, if anything, it’ll motivate you not to chuck a car at the nearest hoodie who looked at you funny.

Incidentally, I haven’t played Second Son…

Bastion

One thing that always impresses me is how some can do so much with so little. Simplicity is often an overlooked yet vital aspect of media; while layers and mechanics can enhance a gaming experience (the icing of a cake, if you will), if they are without a core to hold them together, it’s just icing with no base to hold it together. And now we have a game with a small but heavenly base and icing is used just the right amount to add flavour but not overwhelm the taste buds.

I really want some cake now… but anyway.

I can think of no better game than Supergiant Games’s Bastion (2011) that streamlines a story without it interfering with gameplay. It even outdoes the FromSoftware games, mainly because (unlike those) Bastion still remembers to tell you what the hell is actually happening.

Bastion takes place in a post-apocalypse, after an event referred to as "The Calamity". You are a survivor, simply referred to as “The Kid”, who journeys across what remains of the world to build up the power of the Bastion, a safe haven and now refuge for the few survivors of the Calamity.

This was SuperGiant’s first big release and boy is it a leap out the gate. It is by no means a big game, but they use that to their advantage. At its core it’s an isometric 2D action RPG where you have an attack, a dodge button and a special attack… and that’s it, really. That sounds like a flaw, but there is a beauty in simplicity that allows other elements of the game to flow along with it, and even then the gameplay is surprisingly solid. Each weapon you acquire gives you a choice to equip one out of two upgrades at a time. It was a relief to realise you could swap one upgrade for the other at a moment’s notice, affording lots of room for experimentation.

Exposition is handled very naturally throughout the game as little snippets of information are carefully dripped to you as you play. They even have levels you mainly use to grind for in-game currency and it’s still used to add to the story. It’s like it slyly slips it under you while you’re busy doing other things so it doesn’t distract from your actual objectives, like coating medicine in sugar.

Jeez, I haven’t even mentioned the art and music. Its presentation is what you’d get if you set Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (2002) in the Wild West: cartoonish but serene, fantasy with a sprinkle of grit. And the music succeeds in being both calming and engaging. Darren Korb is officially my favourite game composer and is an absolute master of what I call “trekking music”, the kind of song you need when going on a long journey, you can take your time but you know you got to make an effort to get somewhere.

And Bastion isn't the only example of this.

The main compliment I can give Bastion is that it achieves almost as much depth and versatility as a AAA title with barely half the resources. Bastion is not only a game I recommend to gamers, it's a game I recommend to non-gamers.  It’s small, digestible, yet surprisingly impactful. Christ, it’s now technically a mobile game too, so you could download it on your iPhone if you’re that reluctant to spend your hard earned cash on a big box.

DOOM

On the topic of simplicity, we move to Bethesda’s DOOM (2016). But trust me, simplicity is the closest thing it and Bastion have in common.

Lean back on your chair and reminisce for a minute...

Remember the early days of FPSs when rocket launchers were actually useful?

DOOM remembers.

Remember when you didn’t have to worry about sprinting or going prone because you were always running at full speed and had absolutely no reason not to? 

DOOM remembers.

Remember when FPSs were fun?

DOOM REMEMBERS!

I loathe modern FPS multiplayer. Call of Duty (2003-ongoing) is just a zombies game to me and nothing else. The multiplayer in those games can contract the coronavirus and get drowned in a puddle of their worst enemy’s urine.

While other FPSs creep through the door crouching and continually iron-sighting only to get insta-killed by a 12 year old… DOOM kicks the fucking door down and uses it to decapitate the 12 year old(...’s virtual avatar, obviously).

You won’t need to sprint, because you always are.

You don’t need to reload, because that doesn’t exist here.

You won’t need to worry about ammo, because you can chainsaw demons to get it back. 

Yeah, realism isn’t just kicked out the window, it’s forced into the vacuum of space by the blast of a double-barrelled shotgun.

Oh wait sorry, *clears throat* the plot...

You are the titular Doom Marine, who awakes on a demon infested station on Mars. The demons were accidentally released as a result of a company trying to combat the energy crisis by using the well known renewable energy from the bowels of Hell. 

Hey, it probably works better than wind power. 

You fight through the demons and uncover the dastardly secrets of the organisation… learning their deep, intricate motives and characterisation of the argument regarding the sacrifices one must make to…

Or you could just kill more demons. The game knows what you would prefer.

Here’s the plot in 3 bullet points:

1. Here’s some demons.

2. Here’s yer’ gun.

3. Go… Fuckin’… Nuts.

Granted, DOOM is very one-note - but if done right, that single note could have the impact of a symphonic orchestra. With the original DOOM being a landmark in the FPS genre, this remake has thankfully kept its roots untainted. And now, it bears fruit of fast-paced action, insane weapons and high-impact violence.

Realism runs antithetical to fun in video games, and with the FPS franchises bathing themselves in realism, rocket launchers and chainguns haven’t been given the love they deserve. But DOOM goes back to the traditional way of things where bigger does indeed mean better. My main issue with shooters is the unfair hierarchy that weapons have. I prefer games where regardless of what option you go for, you could make it your own and do well. Personally I’m a lover of shotguns; good mobility, decent reload time, and boasts a unique, punchy satisfaction with a one-shot kill. However, any FPS players among you will know that shotguns have taken a hit lately, being bumped down to secondaries with the pistols and blow-up hammers. DOOM goes full Stalinist Russia with the weapon hierarchy and destroys it… well actually there may still be one: 

There’s the pistol… then everything else.

To my everlasting glee, shotguns have emerged prominent in 2 forms: The shotgun and the SUPER shotgun because one was not enough. And every weapon holds some use against certain types of enemies, so you can vary it up as you see fit.

Fundamentally, DOOM gives me hope that these types of games will make a comeback. It is pure arcade, through and through, and I only wish that it’ll have the same industry-wide impact as its genre-defining ancestor. Only thing it could use is local multiplayer. I swear, if DOOM: Eternal (2020) has a horde mode with local multiplayer, I might actually do the absolute unthinkable…

Buy the game at full price!

...Or gamble that the Curmudgeon buys it first and then I’ll just wait for him to finish.

Fallout: New Vegas

Talking of gambling...

Fallout (1997-ongoing) is an interesting franchise, going from isometric PC survival game to essentially The Elder Scrolls (1994-ongoing) but with guns. It is a series of highs and lows, but that’s to be expected of any franchise that comes within earshot of Bethesda Studios nowadays. But changing it from its roots to a first person open world in Fallout 3 (2008) may have caused some of its essential elements to have been lost. Will the moral qualms, intricate details and dark humour ever be truly replicated for the next generation?

Fallout: New Vegas (2010) says yes.

Pretty much every Fallout game has you step into the shoes of a resident within the various underground bunkers that defended against nuclear war. Then you venture out to discover how much the world has changed - and how much of it wants you dead.

New Vegas breaks away from this. Instead, you’re a lone Courier out for revenge after you were shot in the head and left for dead. During your escapades across the treacherous Mojave Desert, you become a key part of the growing war between the New California Republic and Caesar’s Legion. Caught slap-bang in in the middle of this conflict is the isolated but prosperous city of New Vegas. 

Say what you will about Fallout 4 (2015) - I would still say it ironed out the gameplay niggles that 3 and indeed NV had, mainly that you could actually aim and run in 4 - But New Vegas succeeded in what 4’s story was lacking, and ultimately gives a greater sense of role playing.

I’m usually a lawful good to counterbalance the sadistic murderer I am in reality, but New Vegas’s Western atmosphere made me go the route of a charismatic swindler with a blaster at his side, the kind of guy who’d walk into a saloon and everything would stop for a second. It certainly made me feel more like a Wild West gunman more so than Red Dead Redemption (2010).

The main issue with Fallout 3 was that it had no real morality or choice, and the ones you do have are just for their own sake. 

Were there any warring factions? Nope

Was there any characterisation? Nada

Can you nuke a city? Yes

Is there any reason to do so? ...A bit of money? I think?

New Vegas fixed these and succeeded in highlighting the divisions of the wasteland, each of their ideologies as well as their strengths and drawbacks. One thing New Vegas has, as every open world sandbox with factions should have, is an option to raise a middle finger to every single one of them and take everything for yourself.

If you had the story and world of New Vegas with the gameplay of 4, you’d have a much stronger Fallout experience on your hands. This would be my first pick if any game had to be remastered with updated graphics.

Post-apocalyptic settings in video games may be as oversaturated as medieval fantasy, but there’s nothing quite like strolling through dilapidated towns with a dog and mowing down mutated bandits as 50’s jingles play. And New Vegas takes the rusty, radioactive crown of that niche.

Speaking of medieval fantasy…

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

To be completely honest, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011) is a game I’m somewhat reluctant to put on this list. Not because it doesn’t deserve it. But saying Skyrim is one of your favourite games is like saying The Shawshank Redemption (1994) is one of your favourite films; you’re not wrong, it's just that it feels more like an objective consensus rather than an original opinion. Then again, for a 9 year-old game to still be relevant and a popular talking point - with a strong community of modders and memers alike - maybe that’s reason enough for Skyrim to be here.

The land of Skyrim is up to its neck in dragons and they’re doing the whole “resurrect the world eater to bring about the destruction of the world” trend. You are the Dragonborn, a warrior with the ability to use the powers of the dragons against them using the most powerful weapon of all: Words. 

Skyrim boasts one of my favourite levelling systems in all of gaming. Your individual skills increase with use, and with enough skill points, your level increases.. It doesn’t limit you to one kind of play style. Races will give you little bonuses, but fundamentally, you needn't commit to any one playing style. It encourages you to try all the other things you wouldn’t use with a fixed class system, mainly because it’d be quicker to level up your lv15 pickpocketing than your lv85 heavy armor. 

Although it is easy to cheat, it’s part of the fun. Oh, the hours I spent sneaking behind a meditating monk and stabbing him, levelling up my one-handed and sneak simultaneously. He never did anything about it, and he couldn’t be killed, either…

The perfect crime.

The random dragon fights are interesting, if divisive curveballs to throw at you. They come out of nowhere and blindside you which keeps you always on your toes. Some may call them a chore but I always find them cathartic, mainly due to my hatred of dragons, and knowing you can plunder their bodies for gold and bones, which you’re DEFINITELY going to use on armour eventually, no really. 

Everybody will have their own preferred build, their favourite mod, and of course, their favourite glitch.

It's buggy as hell, and we're not on speaking terms with Bethesda after Fallout 76 (2018), but that doesn’t change the strong replay value of Skyrim. 

I prefer the world of Fallout as I’m quite weary of medieval, Tolkien-style fantasy, but nobody can deny the landmark Skyrim became. It isn’t just a game that everyone should play, Skyrim is the game that everyone HAS played. So if you haven’t played it yet, quit lollygagging and try to cross the border like that thief over there.

You'll know what I'm talking about when you play it ;)

Mass Effect 2 & 3

Yes I’m counting Mass Effect 2 (2010) & 3 (2012) as one entity here, partly because it deserves it and partly because the Curmudgeon hates this franchise so I just want to piss him off (more so than he generally is).

Bioware’s Mass Effect Trilogy (2007-2012) puts you into the red-striped space suit of Commander *Insert First Name* Shepard. As captain of the spaceship Normandy, you travel through the stars battling the Reapers, a race of robot squids hellbent on hitting the refresh button on the galaxy. 

As you journey through space, you recruit new members from various, planetary species, get involved in their key conflicts and make decisions that can save or destroy entire civilisations. The first Mass Effect (2007) debuted before the decade, so it can’t be counted here. The sequels, however, are well within the decade, so here we are.

You create your character’s face, sex, first name, backstory, armour, loadout and relationships (platonic and…*ehem*...otherwise). You also have a choice of gameplay style; either a soldier, biotic (basically a jedi on steroids), tech specialist, or half-and-half of each. One of the many things that makes it special is the ability to transfer your files and character onto the next game, along with every decision you made. This way, not only do you maintain your original design, but it makes the story much more...your own. So don’t distort the face too much for a laugh because you’ll be stuck with that ugly mug for three games.

Mass Effect 2 was - and still is - held up as the ideal RPG, as this is where the cast gets the most expansion and depth, as well as the stronger sense of consequence. The final fight is literally a suicide mission - if you make one wrong choice or haven’t completed certain in-game objectives beforehand, not everyone will make it out alive and therefore won’t appear in Mass Effect 3. For the best outcome, you need to do missions with every party member, effectively building out their backstory, combat abilities and *ehem* sex appeal.

Mass Effect is the full Sci-Fi serial experience, and that includes the romance subplot. You can gradually woo one of your crew, and that relationship remains consistent throughout the trilogy. Mass Effect 1 presumed we’d mainly be interested in human love interests, so it’s good to know that, by Mass Effect 2, BioWare realised how horny people are for aliens.

It sounds like a gimmick but it does make the game feel more unique to you, and it can impact your decisions and even some outcomes.

Mass Effect 3 is where everything climaxes and all the major conflicts between characters and races comes to a head. And it certainly provided great payoff all round. Yup, there’s certainly no flaw or caveat in the ending...specifically the ending…

*sigh*

Look, the ending of Mass Effect 3 is infamous at this point. I agree that it could have been easily improved. But it didn’t change the fact that, at the time, I was content. The journey, the characters, and the sense of adventure all made it worthwhile. So I at least felt a sense of completion (with the extended cut obviously, give me some credit).

The main thing I can say about it is: despite its flaws, it is the ultimate “Save the Galaxy” fantasy. If you’ve ever wanted to helm the Enterprise and do the nasty with a gecko superassassin, then Mass Effect is the power fantasy/dating sim for you.

I very much look forward to experiencing it all again soon… right after the Curmudgeon is done running my copy over with his tractor.

Pokémon Black & White

Thankfully, Curmudgeon and his tractor will give their approval for this game.

I would try to summarise what Pokémon (1996-ongoing) is about, but I feel anyone reading this has a general idea what it is. Pokémon is the world’s largest franchise and essentially everyone knows some aspect of it, or were at least fans at some point. 

So you’re likely 1 of 3 things:

1. An avid Pokémon fan who knows the original 151 rap off by heart.
2. Someone who stopped playing past the Game Boy titles.
3. Someone who knows about Pokémon but has never actually played it.

If you’re options 2 or 3, want to get into the newer games but don’t know where to start, then Pokémon Black & White (2010) for the Nintendo DS is for you. Black & White’s main appeal is that it mostly isolates itself from previous instalments into the franchise. While you can transfer your Pokémon up from older games, the region’s Pokédex is fresh and new, so you’ll get the same outlook whether you’re a beginner or a veteran of the series.

Later games also have a problem of diminishing the difficulty down to teething-toddler levels. Black & White, on the other hand, provides a reasonable challenge, so it occupies that comfy, liminal space between kid-friendly and mature - both in its challenge, and its story. 

The game’s narrative is above-standard, with more of the elements feeling integral, rather than obligatory. For example, every Pokémon game has had a villainous team to fight against, whether they’re after money, dominion over the elements, or the capacity to control space and time. Whereas the evil team in Black & White tackle the main problem that’s been plaguing the franchise since its conception: is it morally right for children to abduct animals from their habitat and force them to fight against their brethren for victory and money? Though the answer remains a resounding yes from every player, bystander and Nintendo stockholder. But nonetheless, this enables Pokémon to have a self-reflective element, you may say the issue turns out to not be so… 

Black and White?

*Gets hit by tractor*

In any case, this is the game I would recommend if you want to explore that concept in as much detail as it’s ever going to have, or if you really like beating the shit out of animal rights activists.

While new mechanics were added into the later generations, Black & White is Pokémon at its peak and it stands as my favourite of the main Pokémon games, and my second favourite Pokémon game overall. It would be first if it wasn’t for that one… 

But that game shall be explored later…

Bioshock Infinite

Endings can make or break a story:

Some, like Mass Effect, can make it seem as though all your efforts up to that point are cosmically irrelevant.

Others, like Infamous 2, leave no loose-end untied, and send off the story in a delightful denouement.

Then there’s the original Bioshock (2007) which had you reflecting on your actions and how much control you really had from the start.

The ending of Bioshock Infinite (2013) does all 3.

Don’t worry, I won’t go into detail here in case you haven’t played it. And to everyone who has, regardless of where you place the ending on the Good-Bad spectrum, you can’t deny it succeeded in doing 2 things:

• Making you think about it, whether to validate or dismantle it.
• Making you want to replay the game. 

In either case, I can’t help but give the game kudos.

Let’s set the scene.

It’s 1912. You are former-Pinkerton Booker DeWitt, who’s up to his chiseled jawline in gambling debt. One day, a pair of enigmatic, ginger twins give him an opportunity to pay it off by taking a job. What is this job? Go to the flying, steampunk utopia of Columbia, and abduct a girl named Elizabeth. Sounds straightforward, aside from the whole “flying utopia” thing. Little does he know, his arrival was foretold by Columbia’s profit, and Booker is labelled as the “False Shepherd”, meaning it’s in everyone’s best interest to want him dead. 

I don’t even feel halfway there with that summary… but all I can say is this: what follows is an escapade of epic proportions involving the mysterious girl Booker was sent to collect, the growing resistance of Columbia’s underclasses and a lot… and I mean a lot… of violence.

Infinite certainly distinguishes itself from its predecessor, the original Bioshock. It trades in the murky, damp hallways and survival-horror elements of the original for swash-buckling action and spectacularly adrenaline-filled brawls. In doing so, it provides gameplay so tight you could put some coal in the middle and it’d come out a diamond.

Both the weapons and the game’s equivalent of magic, vigors, offer enough variety for you to be inventive and experiment with what you like. Though, unlike its predecessor, you can use both simultaneously. Wield a shotgun in one hand and launch lightning, crows, and eventually yourself, with the other.

“Mobility” seems to be the recurring keyword in this list, and it applies to Infinite too. The pace of a shootout grinds to a halt if you’re confined behind a pillar, whereas Infinite lets you utilize the sky-line, essentially an above-ground metal railing that allows you to glide around the battlefield like the graceful, grizzled, death-raining stud muffin that you are.

It is a game that feels like it’s oversaturated with a lot of “cool” things: alternate history, flying cities, interdimensional travel, steampunk, giant robots, ghosts, cults, and good ol’ fashioned racism. Yet it all works and, at the very least, comes to an experience that will stick with you. So play it and see for yourself, and I look forward to your half-hour YouTube analysis video of it.

Quick Interlude

These games aren’t in any particular order, Bloodborne is not my no.10 game and Bioshock Infinite is not my no.2. 

However, if I had to pick a single game of the 2010s that I would implore you to play more than anything else.

It’d be this one...

Pyre

I've refrained from including any of the Dark Souls trilogy on this list, since Bloodborne basically speaks for them. But that doesn't apply to SuperGiant Games. They made both Bastion and Pyre (2017), but they're completely different experiences.

Pyre is one-part visual novel and one-part 3-a-side netball. Sounds weird, I know, and it probably requires a little more explanation than the other games.

The game is set against the backdrop of a somewhat dystopian high-fantasy - a prison dimension, dubbed "The Downside". A barren, desert realm to which all outlaws and deviants are exiled. There is only one way to escape the Downside and have your crimes forgiven: you must compete and win in a tournament known simply as 'The Rites'. This is set up like 3-a-side netball. 3 members of your party must work together to take an orb and plunge it into the enemy's goal, referred to as their "Pyre", and must do so enough times for their Pyre to extinguish.

But there’s one more mechanic that makes all the difference:

When you win the tournament, you realise you can only release one member of your team at a time. And everyone else has to wait until the next one. So, you have to choose which character goes free and will no longer be a playable team member.

This creates a potent feedback loop: The more invested you become in a particular character, the more likely you are to use them. In spite of their usefulness, however, you become just as invested in setting them free. But you’ll be down one valuable member for the rest of the game, forcing you to repeatedly rethink your strategy. 

A handful of the colourful characters you meet include a demon woman, a dog with a fabulous ‘tache, and a worm in a knight’s helmet. All useful in their own way with their own powers, speed, and story behind their exile. 

Even the foes you face have a humanity to them and you can learn their situations as well, making them feel less like antagonists and more like people in the same boat as you, clawing at whatever dwindling chance of freedom they have left.

The balance of the gameplay offers significant downtime, making the tension of the next battle build up to each encounter feel that more significant. It makes every goal scored that more potent and you can’t help but cross your legs and scream each time you make a break for the enemy team's Pyre.

Something else to keep in mind is that if you lose a match or fail to secure one of your team’s freedom, the game carries on and the failure is officially canon. This gives your losses much more impact as you will have to live with it for the rest of the game, and you can only take it in your stride and push on with whatever morale you can muster.

It also doesn’t hurt that it has one of the best soundtracks in video game history. Darren Korb’s work really shines in Pyre. This is the other great example of “trekking music” I mentioned for Bastion. It’s more potent in Pyre, however, as you are essentially plotting a road-trip throughout the Downside. The music really enhances the sense that a great journey will unfold before you and your pals.

So while the other games on this list are ones you’ve likely heard of, Pyre is the one I most encourage you to play. I have so much more I want to say about this game, but I will save that for another day.

So those are my recommendations from the 2010s. 

I hope I've given you some games to check out or, at the very least, made you smile that I added one of your favourites here.

You know, in compiling this list I realised something:

I haven’t played nearly as many games as I would like.

I mean, I’ve played my fair share for sure, but more than the average gamer? It made me realise I need to step up my ga… efforts.

There are still so many classics, indie darlings and masterpieces that I have yet to experience for myself.

But hey, 

That’s what my Bucket List of Games is for.