With Almost 5 Years Gone, The Question For Game Of The Decade Stands Perplexed

The gaming industry has seen quite an upward thrust in production scale and quality since the early 2000s, though it’s another thing that we often remember the classics and originals more than modern iterations at times. So to speak, advancing technology, better and bigger talent, and the sheer willpower to do better have never been bigger than ever before. Goliath projects such as The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and Red Dead Redemption 2 are proof of that. 

So, this makes us come down to 2020 and onward i.e. the type of titles that have been able to release this past half a decade or so. Of all the games we’ve played thus far, which one would unequivocally deserve the Game of the Decade distinction? If the latter was an actual thing, that is.

Let’s delve into the crux of the matter, and talk about this decade that has gone into gaming, and what you can expect from the rest of the 2020s from there on out. 

The Last 5 Years Up Until 2025 Have Been Remarkable For Gaming

With advancing tech and times, there has been a massive influx of games in the past 5 years or so, but not all of them have been up to snuff, all things considered. Then, there are absolute hard-hitters such as Elden Ring, Cyberpunk 2077, the Resident Evil 4 remake, and innumerable more that constantly push the boundaries of what’s possible in the video game landscape as a whole. 

So to speak, the advent of next-gen consoles in 2020 sure did have something to do with the expanse of the industry as we know it. Although one could say that the initial phase of these consoles has been lukewarm at best, with only an anointed few titles being worthy of getting labeled as a true next-gen game, such as Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, we’re only going to go up from here on out, and that’s pretty much certain. 

Sheer developmental talent and the evolution of video game tech showcased in titles like Astro’s Playroom, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Ghost of Tsushima, and many more, is something to look out for. Because what all these games stand for is that the latter half of the 2020s is going to redefine what we’ve known about gaming so far. 

What Game Deserves The Game Of The Decade Award? 

With quite a number of top-tier titles that have managed to come out in the last 5 years or so, it’s hard to put a finger on one single game that can take the Game of the Decade crown home. You’ve first got Baldur’s Gate 3 to talk about on this front, an absolute smash hit of an RPG that’s probably going to inspire a dozen different projects down the road, thanks to the towering capability of the Belgium-based Larian Studios. 

eXputer reviewed the D&D-based RPG, rating it a perfect 5/5, with author Huzaifah Durrani remarking, 

Baldur’s Gate 3 is one of the greatest RPGs of all time, and a testament to the talent of developer Larian Studios.” 

It rolled over more than a 15 million copies as of March 23, 2024, having come out in August, 2023. Although Baldur’s Gate 3 early access period traces back to 2020, when the game was nowhere near the level it’s at right now. Fast-forward to 2024, the game is running out of awards to win, as it took home the most Game of the Year distinctions last year. 

Those include awards from events such as The Game Awards, DICE Awards, Game Developers Conference Awards, BAFTA, and more. 

On the other end of the spectrum, we’ve got Elden Ring. The showstopper, the genre-definer, and the one true king to rule them all. As I find myself out of stock of praises, there’s no eyebrows raised at the fact that FromSoftware has let out a huge source of inspiration for developers for a long, long time with the onset of this RPG. Think Dark Souls, but open-world, with a magical horse that you can ride.  

Is there anyone else who’s been playing since launch but haven’t finished yet?
byu/Aviaja_Apache inEldenring

Here’s What The Rest Of The Half Decade Ensues In The Gaming Industry

When we’re met with the end of 2030, it’s either going to be easy deciding the Game of the Decade, or it’ll simply be super hard, considering that we’ve got a number of titanic releases left to launch, with GTA 6 being one of them. Rockstar’s upcoming venture is listed for a 2025 release at the moment, but I’d be hard-pressed not to believe that GTA 6 is getting delayed, despite Take-Two CEO expressing his confidence otherwise.

Additionally, we will probably get another Marvel’s Spider-Man, another God of War, a new Resident Evil, whereas Death Stranding 2: On the Beach already seems to be coming out, along with Crimson Desert, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, and multiple others. The battle should be hard-fought, unless GTA 6 decides to just swoop away the competition by delivering on all expectations, which might not be as possible as we think.