My favourite games and films of the 2010s

The decade is over, if you count your indices from zero. So I thought I’d share my favourite games and films of the last decade here on my blog. This list obviously doesn’t include every good thing, but these in particular have had the most impact on me.

In alphabetical order:

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

I really enjoy the MCU, and Infinity War has been my favourite film in the series so far. It’s pretty incredible how the writers managed to deftly manage so many characters all at once. The almost 3 hour runtime flies by.

Sound and VFX are brilliant, Thanos being one of the most well-realised CGI characters I’ve seen, and the one-on-many battles are far more interesting than an army of CGI monsters. Infinity War, along with Endgame, rewards viewers of the previous films, and wraps things up nicely.

Batman: Arkham Knight (2015)

This game got a lot of flak for the Batmobile sections and terrible PC performance when it released. It’s a real shame, because it overshadowed a really fantastic game. The world Rocksteady (the developer) built is detailed and beautiful, the combat is the best in the series, the missions are varied and interesting, the story is excellent, I could go on. Today, the PC version has been fixed and runs really well.

Bioshock Infinite (2013)

I thought about the ending to Bioshock Infinite every day for two weeks after I finished the game in 2013. It really was a surprise and very interesting to me. However, the gameplay was dated even for the time. It would be difficult to go back and play again, I think. Compared to the E3 demo it’s easy to see how amazing it could have been.

Frozen (2013)

Both the film and the songs are fantastic, I couldn’t stop listening to the soundtrack back in 2013. There’s something satisfying about how well-executed this film is. The character animation is also some of the best in the business, in my opinion.

INSIDE (2016)

The thing about INSIDE is there are no compromises. From the mood created by the art and sound, to the way the level select loads from a screenshot into gameplay seamlessly, it’s practically perfect.

I really didn’t like developer Playdead’s previous game Limbo. I thought the puzzles were annoying, the story disappointing, and the whole thing basically pretentious. Very happily not the case with INSIDE. An incredible achievement.

Life is Strange (2015)

The story and gameplay in Life is Strange isn’t the best, but for me I really enjoyed it. Most of all is that feeling of ‘fernweh’; being homesick for a place you’ve never been. The excellent calming music combined with the swaying pine trees, teenage angst, and small town of Arcadia Bay really nail this. I’ll extend this entry to the prequel series ‘Life is Strange: Before the Storm’ which also has excellent music and great characters.

Mass Effect 2 (2010)

I’m glad this game released in 2010 so I can count it on this list! One of the best of all time, and the perfect follow up to 2007’s Mass Effect. It continued the excellent story from the first game in an interesting way, the characters and dialogue are great, and the world is very immersive. It also has real stakes as you can lose your teammates in the finale, and they won’t be back for Mass Effect 3.

Overwatch (2016)

My friends and I picked up Overwatch in May 2017 on sale, but it quickly turned into a game we played every week after work, so I really want to thank the developers for getting us together with their game. In my opinion it’s very well balanced, fun to play — with minimal loot box trickery, and the regular updates kept it fresh.

Portal 2 (2011)

Portal 2 is a genius game, improving on what made the first so good. The story is both witty and funny. The puzzles are a little easier than the first game as they require less dexterity, which I prefer, but they are also more varied thanks to the new locations and paint mechanics introduced carefully throughout the game. Just an experience everyone should try.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

I was pretty excited to see this based on the trailers but I wasn’t expecting much from a Sony Spider-Man film. Consider me blown away then, emerging from the cinema after watching this fun, beautiful film. The stylized look really is remarkable, even a bit difficult to parse at first. I also think it nails the characters and humour.

Happy New Year!