Every year, the Game Awards give recognition to the best games produced within the year, and awards the prestigious ‘Game Of The Year‘ award to the greatest one. GOTY awardees are year-defining games with some even being timeless masterpieces. The games on this list are fan-favorites of their time and rightfully so.
They are masterfully crafted titles with gameplay that blends well with their narrative, leaving a lasting impact on the industry. This list will rank the best of the best from the past decade using Metacritic’s scoring system. Here is every GOTY winner from the past decade, ranked according to Metacritic.
10 2014 | Middle-earth: Shadow Of Mordor (Metascore: 87; User Score: 7.9)
Set between the Hobbit and the Lord Of The Rings, an open-world RPG is the perfect genre for a game to take place in that universe. Shadow Of Mordor is just that. The combat of the game is brutal and gory, just like the books. The fighting mechanics are fluid and satisfying to execute. The open-world game takes place in a beautiful mystical world filled with elves, orcs, trolls, and many other creatures. Players take control of Talion, a talented swordsman and a magical fiend. Unlike most games, players’ actions and failures have an impact on the world. Losing or winning skirmishes can influence the game.
9 2016 | Overwatch (Metascore: 91; User Score: 6.5)
Overwatch was the hottest subject of 2016 and unsurprisingly so. Its rich roster represented a lot of modern-day countries brought about by the vibrant personalities of each character. As for the combat and gameplay, Overwatch was innovative in blending two totally different genres and making it its own unique game experience. The game effectively married a MOBA with FPS elements, creating dynamic combat like no other. Overwatch was fast-paced, it was strategic, and it was the first of its kind. To this day, Blizzard keeps Overwatch alive with fresh events and newly added heroes.
8 2019 | Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (Metascore: 91; User Score: 7.9)
Shadows Die Twice is a Souls-like game where the fun is in its hard and challenging gameplay. There is a hugely rewarding satisfaction after killing bosses in Shadows Die Twice. The game takes place in Sengoku-era Japan where players play as a shinobi known as The Wolf.
Players can chain together mobility abilities with attacks and combos for a devastating flurry of strikes. This action game will keep players trying and trying to overcome huge hurdles along the way.
7 2013 | The Legend Of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (Metascore: 91; User Score 9)
The Legend Of Zelda is one of the most popular game franchises of all time. Some non-gamers even think the main character, Link, is Zelda due to the commonality of the title. A Link Between Worlds is an action-filled adventure game filled with puzzles, platformers, and enemies. The series’ sense of adventure is refreshed in A Link Between Worlds. Utilizing the 2D plane, Link can switch from a 3D being to a 2D hieroglyph on walls to get across complex puzzles. Link can also use different weapons and tools to get through dungeons in just about any order, making A Link Between Worlds one of the most enticing games of 2013.
6 2012 | Journey (Metascore: 92; User Score: 8.8)
Journey is a beautifully majestic, yet minimalistic adventure game. The game takes place across a vast desert with mysterious landmarks scattered throughout the bleak nothingness. Players take control of a cloaked traveler who must reach a bright light over the horizon of the desert. Everything is harmonized by a moving musical score that provides richness to the minimal design aesthetic of the game. The platformer combines simple jump and dash mechanics with a mystically endearing nature. Players can glide across huge gaps yet only have subtle music accompany them, perfectly marrying art and gameplay. Journey could be best described as ‘breathtaking.‘
5 2015 | The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (Metascore: 93; User Score: 9.4)
The Witcher 3 is one of the best RPGs to date. The game centers around Witcher Geralt of Rivia. It features impactful combat, an amazing magic system, and a lot of beasts to slay. On top of that, The Witcher’s branching storyline makes players feel truly in control of the events in the game. Decisions players make in the game have a significant effect on future events.
The game also has an impressive and lengthy story, and is riddled with various side quests that range from absurd to significant. The Witcher 3 is one of those rare games that perfectly blends story and gameplay. It’s no surprise that The Witcher 3 is still a popular topic for gamers even today, having the highest user score on this list.
4 2010 | Red Dead Redemption (Metascore: 95; User Score: 9)
Red Dead Redemption is an open-world game set in the wild west. The game follows John Marston in 1911 America as he goes on a journey to help capture the rogue members of his former gang. The gameplay immerses players into the weapons of the time period, providing a unique combat system different from the popular action shooters of 2010. The story also has one of the most heart-wrenching endings in gaming, followed by a satisfying revenge arc. Red Dead Redemption brought the popular wild west genre from TV and film into the mainstream gaming industry, and pulled it off rather effectively.
3 2011 | The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Metascore: 96; User Score: 8.6)
Skyrim is an RPG classic. This sandbox of a game allows players to go on quests, slay beasts, do a bunch of fetch quests, and everything indicative of a typical RPG. Blending medieval times with fantasy elements and magic, Skyrim has become the satirical symbol of an RPG experience. On top of that, half of the fun comes in Skyrim’s wacky modular experience with players introducing more mods into the game than Fallout 76 has bugs. As glitchy as the game is, this ties well with the amusement players have for the game. It’s no surprise that the gaming community has immortalized it through memes and hilarious content.
2 2018 | Red Dead Redemption 2 (Metascore: 97; User Score: 7.9)
Eight years later, Rockstar would bag the Game Of The Year title yet again for Red Dead Redemption 2; a prequel to Red Dead Redemption. The game follows Arthur Morgan, an outlaw riding with the original Dutch Van Der Linde gang. In an era of industrial innovations, Arthur’s morals are tested in the face of a gang falling apart. RDR2 is a roller coaster filled with moments that aren’t short of goosebump-inducing.
Gameplay is incredibly stimulated. To mention a few mechanics, simply looting takes players a while, and harvesting animal parts shows players an incredibly smooth skinning animation. As for the story, RDR2 has the right blend of serious moments and satirical bits that shines a light on the events of 1899. The game also has one of the most climactic endings and redemptive epilogues in gaming.
1 2017 | The Legend Of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Metascore: 97; User Score: 8.6)
Four years later, another Zelda game takes the title of Game Of The Year. Breath Of The Wild is the most breathtaking Zelda game to date, and possibly the most majestic so far. It is an open-world adventure game that blends the classic fantasy elements of a Zelda game into a huge environment. The wide-open grass fields are an awe to behold, and running across them is already half the fun. The game is filled with a ton of sidequests and puzzling set pieces that make the most out of the 3D world. Breath Of The Wild is less casual and more challenging, satisfying players with higher levels of achievement than previous Zelda games. For Switch owners, Breath Of The Wild is definitely a must-have.
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