2013 - 2020: Remembering A Generation

[Cube]

3: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

This was a very big change for Zelda. Instead of the structure of doing dungeons (mostly) in order, Breath of the Wild delivers a vast open world and once you finish the tutorial, you can go anywhere you want to. You can even go straight to Ganon. You’ll probably die, but players much better than me have completed the game in this manner.

BotW gives you a lot of tools to work with, mainly the glider and runes. You have access to unlimited bombs, but the main instruments are Magnesis, which lets you move metal objects around (to make platforms, hurl at enemies or solve electric puzzles), Stasis which pauses an object in time and any force you put onto it (by hitting it) will be released in on burst, sending it flying, and Cryonis, which lets you create ice pillars in water.

Using all of these together in different ways takes experimentation, alongside discovering other ways to interact with the environment (burning grass creates an updraft you can use for gliding, for example). Some people (again, who are much better than me) can do crazy things with this.

This also makes a lot of the shines – miniature dungeons, most with puzzles – feel a lot more fun. Sure, you could try to finish puzzles in the “proper” way. Or you can cheat them. On one puzzle I was supposed to use ice blocks to guide a ball onto a switch, but I instead used Stasis and a well placed bomb arrow to sent it flying spectacularly to the switch. This never feels like you’re breaking the game, but rather just feels like you’re discovering different ways to reach your goal. Being able to do stuff in your own way without a game going “no, try again” feels quite fresh.

BotW does have some odd limitations. Weapons break after usage and your horse has to be nearby to be able to call it, however I feel like both of these encourage players to experiment with the other stuff – finding new ways to fight and navigate the beautiful world.

Breath of the Wild isn’t just an open world game – it’s a playground filled with amazing toys.

[Cube]

2: Super Mario Odyssey

Since Super Mario 64, other Mario platformers haven’t quite tickled the same itch. Super Mario Odyssey brought back that feeling of joy while also adding so much more.

The levels are the main point of this. Not only are they varied themes, but each one has its own visual style. This could have come across terribly if not done properly (especially as elements from these worlds appear in others), but there’s something about how Odyssey handles it that just works.

Mario’s movements feel as fluid as ever, with his new hat, Cappy, providing even more ways to move and jump around. On top of this, Cappy also allows Mario to possess any non-hatted creature, all with unique abilities and ways to move. This makes the 880 moons in Odyssey all fun to collect (apart from two), with location hints available for tracking down the last few without needing a guide.

It’s a wonderful game that immensely pleasing to play from start to finish.

[Cube]

1: Control

This kind of came out of nowhere for me. I adored Alan Wake but didn’t really follow the developer due to Quantum Break not catching my interest. Control seem to come out with little fanfare, it was only after accidentally buying PlayStation Now instead of PlayStation Plus that I discovered it.

What awaited me was the mysteriousness of Alan Wake on overdrive. It turns out that the events of Bright Falls was just one supernatural incident out of a great many, and there’s a secret government division dedicated to investigate them all.

You play as Jessie, who has been searching for the Federal Bureau of Control after her brother was taken after an “Altered World Event” she was part of. Upon finally arriving at their headquarters, it in itself a very mysterious building in the middle of New York (that nobody notices unless they know about it), something has gone terribly wrong:, nobody is around other than a strange janitor. You discover the director’s office only to find him dead, and the gun he was holding chooses Jessie as the new director – or more specifically The Board, a group of entities living in the Astral Plane (a white world with floating structures and a large upside-down pyramid you can see from any spot).

Throughout Control, you will encounter many mysteries both large and small. Some can be figured out, some will remain unsolved, with only some clues. Some brilliant moments involve dealing with “Objects of Power” or “Altered Items” (random, everyday objects with supernatural properties – objects of power can be controlled, altered items can just be contained. You can end up chasing a rubber duck, or playing traffic light against an actual traffic light. One of my favourite moments is the Ashtray maze, a section that feels like you’re in a music video, with amazing music from Poets of the Fall.

Your main ways of fighting is with your special gun (which can turn into different forms based on your preference) and psychic powers. Gliding around and throwing objects is always immense fun, and even though the challenge grows, it feels like you’re getting more powerful throughout the game.

There are a ton of secrets to find, often with extra background information, which I found interesting enough to try and hunt down everything (even returning to all previous locations after getting a new power/keycard). From memos between staff to a creepy puppet TV show, each document adds to the eerie lore.

Add in lots of frantic action, some fun but strange characters, a nice visual style and Control is a magnificent experience.

[Dufniall]

Great write-up there @Cube, nice to read about all the games you've enjoyed this decade. For me it's a bit harder to review decades as I'm on PC and Nintendo so the console generations kind of go past me. Nintendo does its own thing, while the PC is one big generation haha. Still found a couple of games I definitely want to play in your top 50 though.

[Jonnas]

Yeah, I haven't thanked individual posts, but I loved reading these write-ups. Such vivid descriptions of what you enjoyed about a game really help in learning more about these PS4/XBO games that pass me by (and in deciding which ones I'll check some years down the line)

[Ganepark32]

Fantastic write-ups throughout @Cube. Thoroughly enjoyed reading them so thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts on your favourite games of the generation. And its always nice to see Control once again getting a nod.

Its been great seeing everyone's choices and picks throughout. While there's criss over through main lists, the variety of games from the previous generation that have stood out to everyone is quite frankly staggering and shows just how strong the industry is in its current state of game releases for AAA, AA and indie titles (production is a different issue altogether but I'll leave that for another time).

I'll probably move on to thinking about game of the year next, maybe make a thread in the coming days if people want to talk about their favourite games of the year. I've just finished working out my top 25 after an agonising 2 hours so I'll post that soon enough.

For those who haven't posted, feel free to keep posting about your favourite games of the generation and why as its always great to hear from others on the subject.

Edited December 20, 2020 by Ganepark32

[Cube]

Nice to hear that people have enjoyed reading them! Was mainly a writing exercise for myself (wanted to just do a positive batch of things), but makes me extra happy that it also gets read.

[CrowingJoe79]

The PS4 era wasn't perfect in every sense, but some survival horror games greatly improved upon the controls, etc.