It’s hard to believe, but the decade of the 2020s is more than halfway over now.
Time flies, but time also slows to an actual crawl when a decade begins with a global pandemic. That said, ever since 2020, the gaming industry has seen an influx of awesome games that deserve to be in the discussion of the GOATs.
Many would argue that the gaming industry is on a downturn, and in some aspects, it definitely is. But there are still incredible titles, both from new and existing IPs, that launch each year and give us something to really fall in love with.
The decade began with most of us in lockdown, with games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Call of Duty: Warzone keeping us comfy and sane. And now the 2020s have worn on with classic titles like Elden Ring, God of War: Ragnarok, Baldur’s Gate 3, and many others since filling up our hearts and minds.
And now, 2025’s first six months already has some legit game of the year contenders with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, Blue Prince, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, and others, along with a full six months of other additional new games set to continue to excite us all.
Here’s a non-exhaustive list of some notable, high-scoring, controversial, or fun games that have been released thus far this decade to dredge up some memories.
| Year | Notable games |
|---|---|
| 2020 | Animal Crossing: New Horizons The Last of Us: Part II Doom Eternal Hades Ghost of Tsushima Call of Duty: Warzone Cyberpunk 2077 Demon’s Souls Remake Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout |
| 2021 | Metroid Dread Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart It Takes Two Resident Evil Village Forza Horizon 5 Returnal Kena: Bridge of Spirits |
| 2022 | Elden Ring God of War: Ragnarok Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Horizon Forbidden West Kirby and the Forgotten Land Cult of the Lamb Neon White Gran Turismo 7 |
| 2023 | Baldur’s Gate 3 Resident Evil 4 Remake The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Super Mario Bros. Wonder Alan Wake 2 Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Diablo 4 Starfield Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon |
| 2024 | Astro Bot Balatro Metaphor: ReFantazio Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Helldivers 2 Black Myth: Wukong |
| 2025 (so far) | Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Kingdom Come: Deliverance II Blue Prince Death Stranding 2: On the Beach Monster Hunter Wilds Avowed |
As you can see, there have been quite a few all-timers and instant classics so far this decade. And so I ask you, dear reader, what do you think has been the best game of the 2020s so far? Let us know by answering our poll and sounding off in the comments below.
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