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The best games of the 2010s
The defining games of the 2010s, ranked by rating.
The 2010s delivered games of striking range — from Nintendo's physics-driven open worlds to Rockstar's outlaw epic and Naughty Dog's fungal-pandemic survival. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sent a memoryless Link across a vast, mystery-filled landscape. Red Dead Redemption 2 dropped Arthur Morgan into a frontier already being hunted to extinction. The Last of Us built tension from a world reshaped by a mutated fungus. These are the games that defined the decade.
Best games of the 2010s
Game
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
A memoryless Link wakes after a hundred-year sleep and follows a mysterious voice across an open world.
Game
Super Mario Odyssey
Mario travels across 3D kingdoms to rescue Princess Peach from Bowser's forced-marriage scheme.
Game
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Mario finds a lost baby Luma after spotting a strange light, and a cosmic platforming adventure begins.
Game
Red Dead Redemption 2
America, 1899: outlaw Arthur Morgan struggles to survive as lawmen close in on the last wild-west gangs.
Game
Half-Life 2: Update
A free community-developed update for Half-Life 2 adding improved lighting, bug fixes, and a commentary mode.
Game
Portal 2
A first-person puzzle game from Valve in which portal mechanics drive the challenges from start to finish.
Game
The Last Of Us
A mutated fungus has wiped out most of civilisation — the survivors behave aggressively, like zombies.
Game
The Last Of Us Remastered
A post-apocalyptic third-person adventure remastered with photorealistic graphics and a focus on naturalism.
Frequently asked
Where should I start with the best games of the 2010s?
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is the clearest starting point if you want an open-world game — Link wakes with no memory and the world is yours to explore. For a story-driven experience, The Last of Us follows survivors of a fungal pandemic and keeps tension high throughout.
What makes Red Dead Redemption 2 stand out among 2010s games?
Red Dead Redemption 2 is set in America in 1899, as lawmen hunt down the last outlaw gangs. You play as Arthur Morgan inside a gang on its last legs, and the story is shaped by that sense of an era closing.
Are there any 2010s games that are good for puzzle fans?
Portal 2 is the clearest pick on this list — it is a first-person puzzle game built around portal mechanics, developed by Valve and released in 2011. If you have already played it, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild also rewards experimentation and creative problem-solving.