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[Thebonehead]

I'd like to know peoples Top 9 Games over the Last 9 Years.

Why 9 in 9 you may ask? Well, because if I made it Top 10 of 10, you pricks would sneak in Bloodborne and pretend it's timeless perfection yet again.
Why not include 2025? Because it's not over yet you dozy twats!

So, to scientifically prevent this recurring ritual, I present to you:

The Top 9 of the Last 9 (2016–2024) Only nine slots with absolutely no wiggle room for your fucking beloved Victorian fever dream. If you try and sneak it in you're a bell end.

Let me know what games you'd pick.

The criteria for this should be you would be able to pick up and play again from scratch.

2016
- Doom Reboot just edged it for me over Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. The pure unadulterated shooting was sublime. I have already replayed this and maybe time for another go.

2017
- BOTW - Always amazing to think of how much they crammed into the tiny calculator spec WiiU and Switch. Reminds me of the Original Elite cramming everything into 32k.
- Divinity: Original Sin II - This game is stuffed to the gills with content. A full feature rich world which does show you how sparse botw is really. Complete polar opposite

2018
- RDR2 is an incredible experience with just the sheer amount of detail in the world. Things being built and changing over time.

2019
- Control. The mechanics, progression, shooting and storyline were all top tier for me. Looking forward to the sequel.

2020
- Half Life: Alyx What a fucking incredible experience. Nothing can prepare you for how this thing plays. Can't be explained to those that have never tried it
- CyberPunk 2077. I love the entire premise and world - The game really resonated for me and with PC missed all the shitshow that everyone else had to suffer.
- FS 2020 - Again in VR this thing is outstanding creating immersion that truly needs to be felt to be understood. Nothing better than chilling out and flying somewhere exotic.

2021
- Nothing

2022
- Nothing ( I thought about including Elden Ring, but there is no way I could start that shit from scratch again )

2023
- Baldurs Gate 3 allowed me to express my inner nerd. Sheer craftsmanship

 

[Neff]

2016 - fuck all, shite year
2017 - BotW
2018 - Smash Ultimate
2019 - Resident Evil 2
2020 - Final Fatasy VII Remake
2021 - RE Village
2022 - Elden Ring
2023 - Resident Evil 4
2024 - Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

 

[Shtof]

2016: Overwatch
2017: Horizon: Zero Dawn
2018: God of War
2019: Apex Legends
2020: The Last of Us: Part II
2021: Inscryption
2022: Horizon: Forbidden West
2023: Lies of P
2024: Astro Bot

 

[TintoConCasera]

Persona 5
Nier: Automata
Cuphead
Sekiro
Half-Life: Alyx
DOOM Eternal
Elden Ring
Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance
Earth Defense Force 6

 

[Bernkastel]

2016: Uncharted 4
2017: Xenoblade Chronicles 2
2018: Kingdom Come: Deliverance
2019: Devil May Cry 5
2020: Final Fantasy VII Remake
2021: Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker
2022: Elden Ring
2023: Armored Core VI
2024: Unicorn Overlord

 

[ScHlAuChi]

2016: Bloodborne
2017: Bloodborne
2018: Bloodborne
2019: Bloodborne
2020: Bloodborne
2021: Bloodborne
2022: Bloodborne
2023: Bloodborne
2024: Bloodborne
2025: Bloodborne
2026: Bloodborne Remake

 

[Bernkastel]

2016: Bloodborne
2017: Bloodborne
2018: Bloodborne
2019: Bloodborne
2020: Bloodborne
2021: Bloodborne
2022: Bloodborne
2023: Bloodborne
2024: Bloodborne
2025: Bloodborne
2026: Bloodborne Remake

2027: Bloodborne 2

 

[Paasei]

2016: Hitman
2017: Hollow Knight
2018: Hitman 2
2019: Sekiro
2020: Cyberpunk 2077
2021: Hitman 3
2022: Elden Ring
2023: Hogwarts Legacy
2024: Astro Bot
2025: Nothing will beat Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, anyway.

 

[Branded]

2015 – Goat Simulator: MMO Simulator Expansion
A fake MMO inside a game that was already pretending to be a broken game. Peak 2015 energy: bugs as features, quests as jokes, goats as gods.

2016 – Who's Your Daddy?
A competitive parenting simulator where one player tries to keep a baby alive while the baby aggressively attempts to die. Finally: a game that accurately captures babysitting your cousin.

2017 – Vroom in the Night Sky
The Switch launch title nobody asked for. A magical girl on a scooter collecting stars at 12 FPS. A legendary exclusive… if you live in a timeline where the Switch failed immediately.

2018 – Metal Gear Survive
The game Hideo Kojima would deny knowing even if confronted with security footage of him developing it. Zombies. Wormholes. Team management spreadsheets. The purest form of irony.

2019 – Left Alive
A spiritual successor to Front Mission that feels like it spiritually succeeded at nothing. Stealth mechanics that alert enemies whenever you breathe. A true cult classic because only a cult would defend it.

2020 – Fast & Furious Crossroads
A game that bravely asks: "What if we removed the joy of driving and replaced it with… nothing?" It's Forza if all the cars handled like shopping carts full of wet cement.

2021 – Balan Wonderworld
Yuji Naka's magnum opus if by "magnum opus" you mean "platformer fever dream where every button does the same thing." An instant legend for all the wrong reasons.

2022 – Babylon's Fall
A live-service game that lived for about the same duration as a firefly's lifespan. PlatinumGames tried something new, and gamers tried something else: not playing it.

2023 – Skull Island: Rise of Kong
Speedrunners completed it in under 90 minutes; most players took 5 minutes to uninstall. A game that bravely redefines "cinematic," since half the cutscenes are PowerPoint slides.

thanks @grok for enabling me to participate in an inconsequential list thread!

 

[Lokaum D+]

2016 - Overwatch
2017 - Persona 5
2018 - Monster Hunter World
2019 - Days Gone
2020 - Ghost of Tsushima
2021 - Guardians of the Galaxy
2022 - Elden Ring
2023 - Lies of P
2024 - AstroBot

 

[Liopleurodon]

2016 Honkai Impact 3rd - I got into it in 2023 though.

 

[Lightbreak]

2015: Bloodborne
2016: Dark Souls 3
2017: Hollow Knight
2018: Monster Hunter World
2019: Sekiro
2020: Ori and the Will of the Wisps
2021: Metroid Dread
2022: Elden Ring
2023: Armored Core VI
2024: Stellar Blade
2025: Silksong

 

[NeverYouMind]

2016 GOTY: Forza Horizon 3 offered the perfect open world racing experience with great simulation physics, good music, cool customizable cars, and a varied Australian map.


Runner-Up: Mafia III let you listen to 70's best music while cruising in a muscle car through New Orleans when you weren't conquering businesses in gunfights and collecting Playboys.

---

2017 GOTY: Evil Within 2 was a mind-blowing sequel that managed to distill what made the original Silent Hill style of horror memorable and bring coherency to the franchise's narrative.


Runner-Up: Injustice 2 took the concepts of the original and made them work flawlessly within this hero-filled 2D fighter with randomized loot.

---

2018 GOTY: Forza Horizon 4 brought the open world racing experience to Edinburg with fun new events and the most amazing car selection ever offered in a racing game.


Runner-Up: Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st] revision added franchise's best characters and an extra layer of polish to the anime fighter.

---

2019 GOTY: Days Gone allowed players to experience a book-worthy narrative in a post apocalyptic world filled with menacing figures and hordes of infected zombies with finesse.


Runner-Up: Mortal Kombat 11 made playing arcade ladders endlessly fun and rewarding while upping the presentation to be on par with original Mortal Kombat movie.

---

2020 GOTY: Resident Evil 3 turned the thrill of a vixen battling a bioweapon hunting her down during a zombie outbreak with cool weapons and friends she met along the way up to 11.


Runner-Up: Streets of Rage 4 added a new level of depth and replayability to beat 'em ups while having a great comic book inspired style.

---

2021 GOTY: Psychonauts 2 built on its predecessor's RPG platforming and managed up the ante in creative level design and overarching narrative in an unexpected way.


Runner-Up: Baldo & The Guardian Owls brought Ghibli style to an action JRPG that revolves around combat, puzzle solving, and item collection.

---

2022 GOTY: Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin made franchise cool again and allowed a player to kick ass outside of a menu with an extremely deep job system and plenty of spoils.


Runner-Up: Elden Ring brought a fun form of transportation with platforming across a large populated landscape and some really broken weapon skills.

---

2023 GOTY: Lies of P combined horror with elements of Pinocchio and tweaked Bloodborne inspired combat to offer an unforgettable transhuman journey in a cruel world.


Runner-Up: Lords of the Fallen added extra impact to heavy weapons and made throwables and ammunition deadly in a souls title while weaving a coherent narrative.

---

2024 GOTY: No Rest For The Wicked while still in early access as of today, took the basic idea of blending Diablo with Dark Souls and realized it with a style of its own.


Runner-Up: Tekken 8 was a return to form after several underwhelming releases (at least before TGA shit show snowballed into the current mess).

P.S. Recent years have made me revise my picks a bit.

 

[Dacvak]

2016:
Doom
Honorable mention, Uncharted 4

2017:
Breath of the Wild & Mario Odyssey
It's hard for me to pick between the two, but I'd probably go BotW
Huge honorable mention to Cuphead.

2018:
Probably Smash Ultimate?
Maybe Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon
Shoutouts to Forza Horizon 4, God of War, and Spider-Man too.

2019:
Super Mario Maker 2. What can I say? I fuckin love me some Mario.
HM to Resident Evil 2 remake

2020:
The Last of Us 2. That game is incredible.
Big honorable mention to Half Life Alyx. Also Hades.

2021:
Metroid Dread. That game would be perfect if it had a good soundtrack. Alas…
HM to Cyber Shadow, Resident Evil Village, Deathloop, Control, Ratchet & Clank, and Psychonauts 2. Damn good year.

2022:
Elden Ring.

2023:
Tear of the Kingdom, Metroid Prime Remastered, and Super Mario Wonder. I simply can't pick.
Big HM to Baldur's Gate 3, too. Banger year.

2024:
Astro Bot baybeeeee!!!

 

[MiguelItUp]

2016 - DOOM
2017 - Friday the 13th: The Game
2018 - Red Dead Redemption 2
2019 - Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
2020 - Ghost of Tsushima
2021 - Hades
2022 - Elden Ring
2023 - Lies of P
2024 - Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

 

[nnytk]

2016: Overwatch
2017: BotW
2018: Monster Hunter World
2019: Apex Legends
2020: Like A Dragon (and Death Stranding)
2021: Bowser's Fury
2022: Elden Ring
2023: TotK
2024: Unicorn Overlord (and Astro Bot)
((2025: Nightreign))

 

[Kronark]

2016 - The Witness - ( Runner up: Last Guardian )
2017 - Persona 5 - ( Runner up: Cuphead )
2018 - Return of the Obra Dinn - ( Runner Up: Tetris Effect )
2019 - Sekiro - ( Runner Up: Devil May Cry 5 )
2020 - Cyberpunk 2077 - ( Runner up: Ghost of Tsushima )
2021 - Monster Hunter Rise - ( Runner up: Inscryption )
2022 - Elden Ring - ( Runner up: Gran Turismo 7 )
2023 - Hi-Fi Rush - ( Runner up: Armored Core 6 )
2024 - Helldivers 2 - ( Runner up: Astrobot )

And not forgetting...

2015 - The Witcher 3 - ( Runner up: Bloodborne )

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

2016: Trails of Cold Steel II
2017: Xenoblade Chronicles 2
2018: Valkryie Chronicles 4
2019: Luigi Mansion 3
2020: 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim
2021: Eastward/The House In Fata Morgana
2022: Live A Live/Trails From Zero
2023: Trails To Azure/Star Ocean The Divine Force/Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Future Redeemed
2024: Eiyuden Chronicles
2025: Kai No Kiseki/Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition

 

[Arsic]

Bloodborne every year.

 

[R6Rider]

I'm going to base mine on new games I played that year.

2016: Dark Souls 3
2017: Prey
2018: Hitman 2
2019: Resident Evil 2 Remake
2020: The Last of Us: Part 2
2021: Hitman 3
2022: Elden Ring
2023: Lies of P
2024: Astro Bot

 

[Sunraku]

2016 - Titanfall 2
2017 - Nier Automata
2018 - Dunno, never played any from this year
2019 - Outer Wilds
2020 - Nioh 2
2021 - Psychonauts 2
2022 - Elden Ring
2023 - Baldur's Gate 3
2024 - Dragon's Dogma 2

 

[Akuji]

Kos or some say Kosm...Do you hear our prayers?

 

[JeTmAn81]

This is a subliminal 999 thread and don't even try to deny it

 

[Paltheos]

Done, I think. Staying in the bounds of the rules was brutal. Generally going by earliest WW release dates (which let me cut Overwatch as the beta came out in 2015). Also, this is pretty common knowledge already around here and obvious from my own list, but 2017 was just such a stellar year. I was surprised at the cuts I had to make to recent years to accomodate.

2015
Bloodborne - Obvs.

2016
AM2R (Another Metroid 2 Remake) - An achievement among fan games. Might be my favorite Metroid game overall too. Controls like a dream with some great new boss fights and areas, and going the Zero Mission route of just making everything faster is right up my alley. Built-in extra game modes, i.e. a variable-controlled randomizer, gives it a ton of replay value too.

2017
A Hat in Time - My favorite 3D platformer. Hatty Time excels in bringing joy to every frame with endearing environments and animations and hand-crafted objectives to collect power stars hourglasses. Even the nature of the various stages can vary wildly in exciting ways. A not for everyone title, I think, based on feedback I've seen on GAF, but it resonated with me in a way few games have and might be my favorite game of the past decade period.
Breath of the Wild - Just an exemplary adventure. Its strengths and weaknesses are well-known at this point, and those weaknesses stand out like a sore thumb, but the overall experience is so spectacular that its placement in my top 9 is still a shoe-in (Literally. Hat and this are my #1 and #2; again, 2017 is so stacked)
Trails of Cold Steel - I had room for only one Trails game so I decided to not be a coward and pick the one I completed first and which left the strongest impression on me, and looking back there's so much that CS1 does right: It takes you to tons of different locations around the world, setting up pieces on a chess board for a conflict boiling under the surface, and each time it does it gives you a new team with new character dynamics, both in and out of battle. Cold Steel 1 also represents Falcom's sound team at its most creatively flexible, with the most number of people in the company's history(?) contributing to its fantastic array of well-considered and well-placed musical tracks (I miss those days...).
Yakuza 0 - My first and still favorite foray into Yakuza. There's so much to see and do, so much fun to be had, and simultaneously so much drama to see. Yakuza's really the only series I've played that can juggle such disparately different tones effectively.

2018

2019
Risk of Rain 2 - My favorite multi-player roguelite, and still getting content in 2025! I play a lot of games online with my friends, but I've spent the most with them on this one, coming up to a 1000 cooperatively. The Risk of Rain experience is aiming to move and do as fast and as much as possible, and the adrenaline from a good run is addicting. (There's also a saying in the community that you haven't truly beaten Risk of Rain 2 until you've crashed the game from overloading the engine from procs).

2020
Hades - My favorite roguelite (single-player ;D). Hades stands out by being obscenely well-polished. Great controls, a smooth and satisfying gameplay loop, attractive aesthetic, and brilliantly voiced (and surprisingly extensive and dynamic) writing make Hades fun to throw yourself at over and over, and the challenge modifiers in endgame keep you coming back for more.

2021
Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth - I had to cut a few indie titles from the top 9 but I couldn't cut this one. Drop-dead gorgeous pixel art and balls-to-the-walls awesome music. For a Metroidvania, it has the very clear flaws of being too linear and too short but what's there is so good I don't care.

2022
Chained Echoes - The final form of the golden age JRPG. Chained Echoes takes ideas from favorites from the SNES through PS2 and comes up with innovative improvements to systems of the time to keep the experience fresh. It was clearly designed from a place of love, and it shows from beginning to end.

2023

2024

Edit: I'm a little disappointed almost nobody followed the rules, unless most people really had a single pick from each year in their top 9s. Some of these years were way harder for me than others to make cuts.

Metroid Dread. That game would be perfect if it had a good soundtrack. Alas…

Dread's a little more mixed than that. Coming from someone who's played on the one-hit kill difficulty, boss design is actually immaculate (and fun!) but mobs are less ideally considered. I'm still a little bitter about the early game blueballing too, and I never found the game as intuitive or easy to explore as other titles.

 

[Randall365]

2016: Dark Souls 3
2017: Mario Odyssey
2018: Red Dead 2 and AC Odyssey
2019: Sekiro
2020: AC Valhalla
2021: Nothing
2022: Elden Ring
2023: Nothing
2024: Astrobot and Stellar Blade

These choices are so bland I don't think there's any point explaining them!