The 15 greatest games of the 2010s – ranked!
15. Pokémon Go
(Niantic, 2016)
For a few months in 2016, you couldn’t go anywhere without seeing people swiping at their phones, trying to catch a Psyduck superimposed on their local streets. The news was full of reports of people mobbing hotels or parks to find virtual critters. But Pokémon Go was more than a fad: it showed us a new way for video games and real life to combine. Friendships, communities and rivalries formed over the years as people went on cross-country or global trips to catch ’em all.
14. Papers Please
(Lucas Pope, 2013)
Sorting through the passport details of potential immigrants to an eastern European state doesn’t sound like the stuff of video-game magic. But this is an extraordinary and gripping game, where the rules of entry are constantly shifting and where lives perpetually hang in the balance. As a commentary on the cruelties meted out to desperate stateless people, it is as heartbreakingly relevant now as it was almost a decade ago.
13. XCOM: Enemy Unknown
(Firaxis, 2012)
You are the general standing between the people of Earth and an alien invasion that’s quickly overwhelming the cobbled-together resistance. When you send out your troops, there is a good chance that not all of them will return. XCOM is extraordinary because it’s high-stakes, frightening, and consequential: this is a desperate battle for survival, not a power fantasy. It embraces heart-pumping last-minute scrabbles, plans gone awry, devastating failure and unlikely success. And when you do snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, you never forget it.
12. Forza Horizon 4
(Playground Games, 2018)
From idyllic Cotswold villages to stark Scottish highland runs, the fourth title in the open world Horizon series acts like a glorious interactive advert for scenic Britain. With expert use of high-end lighting techniques and an astonishing eye for detail, the world is an absolute pleasure to drive around – and you get to do it in hundreds of beautifully modelled cars. No wonder so many people found it such a comforting lockdown escape route.