Aren't "Best X of the Decade" lists a little odd for video games?

[Deleted member 135]

I mean if you think about it this last decade spans two console generations, the 7th generation (PS3/360/Wii) and the 8th generation (PS4/XB1/NSW/WiiU).

Sure, early on there were a lot of cross-gen games, but we've always had that. However, as the decade went on games got more and more distinct from last gen. I mean it seems like its comparing grapefruit to tangerines. Both are fruits, and both citrus, but they look and taste very different.

TLDR: Rankings are better done by console generation, not decades.

 

[Deleted member 896]

What?

 

[Manu]

Good games are good games, no matter in what gen they came out.

 

[Deleted member 2145]

I mean it seems like its comparing grapefruit to tangerines. Both are fruits, and both citrus, but they look and taste very different.

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yall gotta stop with these forced analogies lol

 

[Deleted member 8196]

What are you smoking?

Games are good regardless of the gen lmao

 

[hichanbis]

I agree it's more relevant to list best games in a generation.

 

[Deleted member 2145]

What are you smoking?

Games are good regardless of the gen lmao

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did you know that pancakes and waffles are both made with batter?

 

[5taquitos]

So because PS4 came out, all PS3 games became retroactively bad?

 

[808s & Villainy]

I have no idea what you're talking about and can't follow your logic. You seem to think old games can't be compared to new games or something??

 

[tapedeck]

No.

 

[hideousarmor]

We got better tech but thats mostly used for visuals
90% of what makes a game good in 2019 could have been replicated in 2011
Good games are good games

 

[Alucrid]

why rank anything ever

 

[Deleted member 135]

What are you smoking?

Games are good regardless of the gen lmao

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No, they aren't. A ton can change between generations, particularly quality of life stuff, that can make what was at the time a well recieved game not feel great to play today.

 

[Deleted member 7883]

I think best of lists in general are silly. Usually the medium these lists are attatched too are far too diverse to really come up with a be all end all winner. Even moreso for video games. I don't care how much research or discussion goes into your list. On what basis can you seriously compare Baba is You to Sekiro to Death Stranding to Modern Warfare?! Then y'all want to find the best game of the DECADE?! Not just any decade, but the decade when the whole industry gets flipped on its head due to the rise of indie games?! Hell no. You can't. I'm sure you think Dark Souls 1 or the Witcher 3 are genuinely the greatest games of all time, and that's fine. More power to you. But there's no BEST OF THE DECADE. There's only GAMES I ENJOYED MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE OVER THE PAST DECADE, maybe with some critical acclaim to back up your opinion.

tl;dr - Pocket Card Jockey shits on literally every other game released in the past ten years

 

[Pedro]

That would be true if every game from this generation was better than every game from the previous one, which is not the case. This argument makes no sense at all.

 

[Deleted member 8196]

No, they aren't. A ton can change between generations, particularly quality of life stuff, that can make what was at the time a well recieved game not feel great to play today.

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There are last gen games that still play better than a lot of current gen games, so what's your point?

That would be true if every game from this generation was better than every game from the previous one, which is not the case. This argument makes no sense at all.

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Also this

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

Considering I'm still playing some late gen PS360 games (thank you BC), the best-selling game of all time is cross-gen, and many great games of this gen are simply remasters, there isn't a fine demarcation like you imagine.

 

[Fadewise]

"Top N" lists are goofy at the best of times, and get even dumber as their scope extends.

 

[AllEchse]

One of the best games of the Decade is Super Mario Galaxy 2 which is a goddamn Wii game which ran on hardware that was just a higher powered Game Cube.
And even then there were still games like Xenoblade.
I don't think newer necessarily equals better looking at how samey 3rd person open-world adventuery games have gotten these days, and even then we had the brown first person shooter trend before that, so it's always the standout games that get remembered.

 

[BeaconofTruth]

Good game design is timeless, regardless of generation.

Plenty of stuff that got gassed up this gen sucks ass precisely because the games got more credit for looking pretty than you know actually playing well.

listacles are trash because lists are inherently limiting to conversation, but people like chit chatting about them. Comparing tastes n what not.

 

[dude]

I really despise the lack of long-term memory when it comes to the gamer community. Games are not usually better just by the merit of having been released later.
But, I do agree "best of the decade" lists are stupid, but that applies to all mediums, not just games.

 

[Cookie Dough]

 

[Nightfall]

No, they aren't. A ton can change between generations, particularly quality of life stuff, that can make what was at the time a well recieved game not feel great to play today.

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Well then take last gen games like TLOU or Metal Gear Rising for example. They play way better than a lot of new stuff. Your argument isn't really valid.

Edit: also some of the "quality of life improvements" can take away from the originally intended gameplay experience. Which would make the games less challenging or fun.

 

[Dark Cloud]

Grapefruits to tangerines? Don't you mean it's like comparing avocados to lemons?

 

[Odeko]

No, they aren't. A ton can change between generations, particularly quality of life stuff, that can make what was at the time a well recieved game not feel great to play today.

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Which makes it even more embarrassing that Dark Souls 1 is still game of the decade 😔😔

 

[SuperFakerBros]

Well its just an way of classifying what games these websites found the best for an arbitrary period of time. No different than with, say, movies or songs. I think it's silly too but for completely different reasons. Games like Super Mario Galaxy and The Last of Us are about as different as can be, like a rap song from a metal song, so it doesn't make sense to compare them in any way but they end up having to be for these sorts of lists. I'd argue that's much more weird than comparing across different generations, especially when later last gen games play nearly as well as games this gen do

People like their lists, if only to validate their opinions and see their favorites on them. Won't pretend I'm no different either, albeit some display a lot of vitriol when their favorites don't or their least favorites do make those lists

 

[Deleted member 896]

No, they aren't. A ton can change between generations, particularly quality of life stuff, that can make what was at the time a well recieved game not feel great to play today.

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Even in modern remasters there's often debate about quality of life changes. I think it's very often the case that when it comes to many games that have been ported and remastered multiple times there's often disagreement about which version is the "definitive" one to play and there are often just Pro/Con lists for each where it's left up to the user to decide which one to play.

This just seems like a sincerely bad take to me. Some stuff is almost universally regarded as timeless. Other stuff may clearly be a product of its time but even that can have its charm. Some stuff works well in spite of the technical limitations of the time. Some stuff works well precisely because the developers/designers masterfully worked within the limitations of the time.

 

[Dogui]

My fav games of the decade are like 2011-12 stuff, so...

 

[Dusk Golem]

A lot are going to disagree with you, but I generally think there is a real issue of recency bias. I feel more time needs to pass for something to be at least a bit more fairly evaluated, and things from the last few years will stick out in the mind for more than many things that came out 10 years ago.

I feel the more insightful "notable and fantastic" games of a decade are better evaluated down the line that right on the cusp of it. I think for example we can now do a much better job at putting the time they released and the quality/impact of games from the 2000s than many could've come January 2010 at the time.

I think console generations help a bit with this recency bias as there are factors which do limit what games could do on the hardware, but more than that I think it helps at least a bit with recency bias seeping into the results. I don't really put much merit into "best of the decade" talks right out of the decade though. But these are just my thoughts.

 

[nachum00]

Dark souls 1 is still better than anything from this gen.

 

[giapel]

So because PS4 came out, all PS3 games became retroactively bad?

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Actually...
Have you heard the phrase "this game has aged badly"? We are constantly doing this where amazing games become bad because... time has passed

 

[poofynamanama2]

I find list threads weird as fuck. They don't conjure up any worthwhile discussion and 90% of the posts amount to "this isn't exactly like my personal list so it must be shit"

 

[SuperFakerBros]

Actually...
Have you heard the phrase "this game has aged badly"? We are constantly doing this where amazing games become bad because... time has passed

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That's less to do with time passing and more to do with stuff like controls not being as good as later games or there being older design elements that people don't like anymore and what not. Not to say that it's not used improperly at times but that's not why folk say it

 

[Stop It]

I mean if you think about it this last decade spans two console generations, the 7th generation (PS3/360/Wii) and the 8th generation (PS4/XB1/NSW/WiiU).

Sure, early on there were a lot of cross-gen games, but we've always had that. However, as the decade went on games got more and more distinct from last gen. I mean it seems like its comparing grapefruit to tangerines. Both are fruits, and both citrus, but they look and taste very different.

TLDR: Rankings are better done by console generation, not decades.

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1: PC exists.

2: Do you think technology especially CGI doesn't change in films and TV etc? Writing styles go in and out of fashion more than once a decade too for literature etc.

It's completely normal to do best of for a decade, generations are pretty artificial constructs anyway and game evolution is more than how much GPU power is available for the current consoles.

 

[Stop It]

A lot are going to disagree with you, but I generally think there is a real issue of recency bias. I feel more time needs to pass for something to be at least a bit more fairly evaluated, and things from the last few years will stick out in the mind for more than many things that came out 10 years ago.

I feel the more insightful "notable and fantastic" games of a decade are better evaluated down the line that right on the cusp of it. I think for example we can now do a much better job at putting the time they released and the quality/impact of games from the 2000s than many could've come January 2010 at the time.

I think console generations help a bit with this recency bias as there are factors which do limit what games could do on the hardware, but more than that I think it helps at least a bit with recency bias seeping into the results. I don't really put much merit into "best of the decade" talks right out of the decade though. But these are just my thoughts.

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But that applies to everything, not just gaming.

 

[Dusk Golem]

But that applies to everything, not just gaming.

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I was talking a bit more generally, I was saying gaming as that's the topic but I do generally believe that for everything.

Gaming I think is affected a bit more due to the fact gaming as a medium is still rapidly evolving. The truth is the technical capabilities of what was available in 2010 is different than what we have near the end of 2019. And there's still much exploration and experimenting with what the medium can do design wise, building off of what's come before in transformative ways. That doesn't mean all new games are better or anything like that, not what I am trying to claim. Limitation can breed creativity and there's so many factors at play to a game's quality, but the factors of technology available and lessons learned from what came before is still going at a faster pace in the field.

While I understand it's a hot topic and people will push these list for clicks and discussion as it's on the mind right now as we wrap up the decade, I generally do think that's just another flavor of the month discussion than an actual more critical or deeper analysis.

 

[Launchpad]

Really what is wrong with just saying "comparing apples to oranges". It's a classic.

 

[sir_crocodile]

No, they aren't. A ton can change between generations, particularly quality of life stuff, that can make what was at the time a well recieved game not feel great to play today.

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And yet one of the premier candidates for game of the decade (galaxy 2) was released in 2010 running on hardware architecture essentially from 2001.

 

[dancingphlower]

I'm generally just not a fan of comparing so many unique games over such a long period of time. There are going to be so many omissions for arbitrary reasons and certain types of games are bound to be ignored due to their genre (like racing games and fighting games). Hard to compare Undertale with Forza Horizon 4 or Enter the Gungeon with Hearthstone.

 

[Dylan]

Dark souls 1 is still better than anything from this gen.

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OK but how can you possibly compare a grapefruit like Dark Souls to all the tangerines out there? It's impossible!

 

[Khrol]

What a strange thread.

Max Payne 3 is ancient and still arguably the best TPS of the decade.

 

[RazieltheShifter]

No, they aren't. A ton can change between generations, particularly quality of life stuff, that can make what was at the time a well recieved game not feel great to play today.

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I can understand where you are coming from and I think you're mostly right but, what makes a game fun or best at what it's presents isn't tied only on it's age or technological advancements.

Games have intricate parts that's combined together makes an enjoyable product. Sometimes, a newly released game of a ongoing series might have improved QOL features or refined game design but while trying to refine it's elements it might lose it's previously better qualities. Sometimes those elements better align with each other.

After enjoying Dishonored 1 and much later Dishonored 2, I wanted to try first one again and then when I played a little, I realized how restricted I felt compared to Dishonored 2. It was super powers that felt basic compared to 2. With that in mind, they efficiently designed maps to suit those powers and player agency. When I played 2 first time, ats first super powers felt unfocused, map design felt complicated. It has a larger learning curve.

In the end, both is very good at what they presents but compared each other, first one felt more focused while second one felt more varied while confusing to play at first.

 

[nbnt]

I'd agree with you if the difference between gens was massive, like going from 2D to 3D, but it's really not, most of what on current machines could be made within the limitations of the previous ones.

 

[Swift_Gamer]

Seeing as we barely have any games that surpassed the greatness of TLOU this gen, I have to disagree.

 

[Blade Wolf]

By that logic The Last of Us is an inferior game compared to Uncharted 4.

Dark souls 1 is still better than anything from this gen.

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This.

 

[Stop It]

Really what is wrong with just saying "comparing apples to oranges". It's a classic.

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Ask a digital assistant that question.

There have been actual scientific studies on this. So, you're saying that this subject is indeed valid and best of decade lists are fine?

 

[Segafreak]

I have skipped every "best of decade" list. Soon they'll start listing the same games in their "best of gen" lists. I salute any site/person that hasn't participated in this stupid phenomenon.

 

[potato]

My concern with any of these top lists is that top awards are typically given to games that were release closer to the end of the timeframe criteria.

The film industry learned To take advantage of this by releasing their Oscar bait films closer to the Oscars.

 

[ByWatterson]

I agree it's more relevant to list best games in a generation.

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Me too.

But dem clicks...

 

[Deleted member 17210]

The only bad thing about a decade list is there's generally too much to choose from which is why I only attempted one of them:

Your Top Games of the 1970s

Happy New Year, everyone! Top game lists have been done to death on the internet but some topics still manage to get overlooked, like the 1970s. It was a groundbreaking decade for video games. While I think most people would agree that its genres were surpassed in the '80s, that doesn’t mean...

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