Video Gaming in the 2010s: A decade in review

I found this to be one of the worst decades for gaming. Maybe even the worst (still thinking between the 1980s and 2010s). And no, this isn't some bias against the 2010s like Wobo or someone would want you to believe. There was so much anti-consumer garbage in this decade that it makes me sad. In fact, I would call 2014 one of the worst years in gaming history. 2010-2012 were pretty good, but around 2013 or 2014 things went to shit. Companies started getting greedy, with microtransactions being forced into the 2014 Dungeon Keeper reboot and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, and games like WATCH_DOGS and Assassain's Creed Unity being a dissapointing mess at launch. WATCH_DOGS had it's graphics downgraded to work on 7th generation consoles (which was a terrible move). It got really bad in 2016, kinda like everything in the year. The Division, Infinite Warfare, Mafia III, WATCH_DOGS 2, Homefront: The Revolution, Quantam Break (which had COUNTLESS Nissan product placements), Umbrella Corps, Mighty No. 9, Ghostbusters (yep, it had a game), and of course, No Man's Sky. It didn't help that there weren't too many legitimately good games, though Battlefield 1, Forza Horizon 3, and DOOM 2016 are notable exceptions. 2017 was arguably better, with more good games like Horizon Zero Dawn, Mario Odyssey, and Persona 5. However, this year is probably when microtransactions reached a new level. Star Wars Battlefront 2 (EA), Forza 7, Call of Duty WW2, NFS Payback, and Destiny 2 are all notable examples. 2018 was also filled to the brim with microtransactions, but there were many good games, like Red Dead Redemption II, Forza Horizon 4, Spiderman PS4, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. 2018 was a noticeable improvement from 2017. As for 2019? One step forward, three steps back. Little happened this year, or at least it seems like it. Besides Jedi Fallen Order and Kingdom Hearts III, and MAYBE Modern Warfare, there was Dangerous Driving, Mario Kart Tour, Crackdown 3, Eternity: The Last Unicorn, WWE 2K20, Anthem, Generation Zero, Left Alive, and Contra: Rogue Corps.

Indies, you say? Well, search up "BigFryTV Early Access Playlist" and you'll see that dozens of trash games are being put on Steam, and this isn't even talking about mobile games. This decade overall, was a mess. Publishers and even developers got greedy, Xbox was a laughing stock with no exclusives, and AAA gaming turned from being a big thing for gaming to being just awful.

You CAN, but that's not my point: my point is that for every Uncharted 4, you've got a Star Wars Battlefront II (2017 version) in the 2010s. You can't really just say "ignore the bad games" when there are DOZENS.

Isn't that what we do here for literally every medium in every decade? Let's be real here: there are mountains of shit - whether it's games, movies, music, TV, or anything else - in basically every decade. It's with the benefit of hindsight that the Stick Stickly's and Sugar Sugar's of the decade are forgotten in favor of the Sugar We're Going Down's and Let Me Light Your Fire's.

And again, no matter how bad some of the shovelware and EA games were this decade, there is no disputing there have been some absolutely revolutionary releases in the 2010s, and I daresay games that did more to push the medium further than anything in the decade before it. Indeed, I would say the 2000s was really more about getting as close to hyper-realism as possible, whereas the 2010s have seen not only visual experimentation but experiments in different play experiences and what it means to be a game at all.

Also I painstakingly wrote this blog post over the course of a year for you jerks, the least you could do is read it with an open mind.

Well in the 2000s there may have been more shitty games, but they were completely overtaken by the good ones.

Well well, I see my year-long effort of putting this together was totally worth it.


I can certainly see why you would say so - after all, Minecraft promises limitless creation and possibilities. Hard to beat that. I simply didn't count it because the first widely available version was before the 2010s.

Thanks, yo. I'm sorta hoping I can become like Popedia's cultural blogger, I'd love to write more posts for you guys. Right now I'm actually conducting research for a post about hipsters. The next one should also be way less video-intensive, so probably more likely to be able to post the text directly.

Haha thanks, but the only post I’ve written since my baby was born is this one. I doubt I’ll be able keep a regular posting schedule, but you can bet it will all be thoroughly researched.

But thank you, I’m glad you’ve enjoyed my work. 😊