Blog Backlog: Exber's Top 9 Video Games Of The Decade

With only two blogs away to finish this year which marked my comeback to blogging, I am introducing this new blog series entitled: Blog Backlog. As the title implies these ones will be about ideas I have always had but couldn't post earlier. Having said that, in this one I am going to talk about why these nine games are considered the best in my book for this past decade.

I will follow the order in which they were released

Vanquish

Shinji Mikami is a genious behind Resident Evil and God Hand (among other titles), and this game only adds to that credit. I got around knowing of this game due to how its mechanics blew critics away and me, once I got to play it. Question is: can a single gameplay mechanic make a game so addictive you can overlook its flaws? I would say that it can. This third person shooter is all about reflexes and destruction with style. Sliding never felt so good.

Radiant Historia

Ever felt attracted to a game due to its title? This is how I found out about this one and immediately decided that I have to play it. At first, I only saw poetry in the combination of those two words but what I found afterward was something I fell in love with. Time travel is something that bugs me in any given medium but this game deals with it beautifully while delivering an intriguing story with unforgettable characters and a gameplay, oh my a gameplay that combines tactic, grids and classic RPG tropes to a good effect. Perfect Chronology for 3DS only improves upon it by adding excellent voice acting and a new epilogue.

Zelda Skyward Sword

I talked about how I felt about this game in a previous blog but here it goes again. As to how I started playing this franchise, that's yet another blog for this blog series. Disclaimer: I haven't played Breath of the Wild.

"First: risky as hell introducing quite the features that even made their way into the next installment that worked as planned to try and reinvent the formula. Did it still feel familiar? Yes, but with tweaks here and there new to the series. Second: packed with an emotion filled story where no character feels out of place and everyone plays their part just fine. Its villain is a perfect example of how the bad guys should interact with the protagonists to make each encounter feel relevant and entertaining. And finally: full use of the console's capabilities. Yeah, this is a not an open world Zelda game but all of its areas have these details not only graphical but substantial to make feel traveling like a journey to the unknown. Wii motion plus gave it all in this game, mistakes included, but still this is an immersive experience once past that issue."

Bravely Default

As I was looking for a game like Final Fantasy to play on the 3DS, I came across a game published by Square in the vein of classic FF titles. Needless to say I went with it right away and Ringabel, Tiz, Agnes, and Edea quickly earned a place in my heart. With beautiful graphics and simplistic approach this game had me grinding and doing all of its side quests while commuting to college, good times. Bravely Second is also a great game but this one gets the place in this list as it introduced us retro gamers and Final Fantasy fans to a spiritual succesor worthy or recognition which slowy but surely took the series to new highs and an evergrowing fanbase. Bravely Default II is an announcement I'll never forget and that game is yet another reason to get a Switch.

Thomas Was Alone

I had always wanted to play a game whose title had a name of someone I know, and just when I made a social link fulfilling that criteria this game popped up again, and gues what? I was surprised. Funny, entertaining as hell, and poetic all in one game with only shapes to control while listening to only one voice through the entire lenght... How could such a premise work? Guess that's the good side of taking risks.

Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons

The finding of this game is a mixture of many things: a game to beat within a few hours, a need to play an indie release, and the will to try something new. I thank all of the above mentioned for introducing me to a game that reminded me how fragile one really is when presented by a touching story. A fable of sorts, Brothers is a game I hold personal to me as it made me realize many things I thought I had forgotten while bringing lots of emotions in me. Darn it, it even brings tears to my eyes.

Shovel Knight

Oh boy, this one. It winning Best Indie Game at the Game Awards 2014 convinced right away along with that orchestrated mix of one the game's soundtrack. Back when I played in 2015 I had no idea that my love toward 2D platformers was there to begin with. This game more than assured my love for indies, everything retro and enduring challenges. This year I finally got to play its expansions and had a lot of fun just like five years ago. A gaming conception that did wonders, indeed.

Life Is Strange

Me knowing of this game is thanks to all of those fellow bloggers back at Gameinformer who covered this game and only wrote good things about it, and I can't blame them. Time travel mechanics are present here as well with a twist of branching paths and a narrative worthy of any award critics decide to give it. That opening sequence, that boldness, that feeling, I can say this game marked this generation of gamers. Dontnod, thank you for such a down to earth piece of art.

Persona 5

I knew of the series back in 2007, but that's a blog for another day.

"Only select games can hook us in, and Persona 5 is one of them. With its graphics, it surprised me. With its soundtrack, it moved me. Its gameplay entertained me, but with its story, it stole my heart. 2017 sure has been a year filled with tremendous games, and I'm happy to have played one of them. Persona 5, the sole reason why I got a PS3 was totally worth the wait. I missed playing so dedicatedly, and Persona 5 truly deserves it. One of the best games I have played." - Taken from my review of the game.

Next time in Exber's Blog: Exber's Retro GOTY Awards 2020

Thanks for Reading.

- As expected, video games made this possible.

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