The two best years in video game history were both in the 2010s – Reader’s Feature

A reader gives his view on which was the best year ever for video games but do his opinions stand up to scrutiny or is it all just nostalgia talking?

The debate about the best year in video game history never ceases. There are so many years in video games that were spectacular or otherwise extremely important for the industry, so narrowing one year down can be a very tough task.

You could say that 1998 was an amazing breakout year, seeing as we were treasured with groundbreaking titles like The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time, the original Metal Gear Solid, Half-Life, Resident Evil 2, and Banjo-Kazooie. Or you might suggest 2007 was greater due to the likes of Bioshock, Super Mario Galaxy, Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Mass Effect, Assassin’s Creed, and Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.

However, for me personally, I see the years 2011 and 2013 as remarkable years in gaming. Both of these years poured it on with top quality releases throughout the year, from January through to December, like you wouldn’t believe, managing to combine quality and quantity like no other year has ever achieved. So let’s dive into the games and consoles that made both of these years remarkable beyond any other.

When I think about 2011, I think of 18/19-year-old me in college and walking down to the local supermarket to buy the latest hot release during break times, giddy with child-like excitement when I arrived home to play them. The sheer assault of releases in 2011 should make any other year blush and curl up into a foetal position.

January blasted things off by gifting us LittleBigPlanet 2, the PlayStation 3 version of Mass Effect 2 and Dead Space 2. Then throughout the year we were bombarded with amazing top tier releases like Bulletstorm, Portal 2, the Mortal Kombat reboot, L.A. Noire, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Dark Souls, Minecraft, Saints Row: The Third, Skyrim, Batman: Arkham City, Rayman Origins, and The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword.

I would be remiss not to mention the portable juggernaut that was the 3DS and the wealth of great games utilising its gyroscopic 3D capabilities like The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time 3D, Star Fox 64 3D, Super Mario 3D Land, and Mario Kart 7.

2013 was arguably way larger and far more epic, seeing as it was both an industry-shifting year, and it served as the last bastion of amazing seventh generation titles. The start of the year saw Ninja Theory’s audacious take on Devil May Cry with DmC: Devil May Cry, and featured one of my favourite games in the history of ever in Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch.

Moving along, we were treated to captivating titles throughout the year including Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Luigi’s Mansion 2, the Tomb Raider reboot, Bioshock Infinite, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Far Cry: Blood Dragon, The Last Of Us, Pikmin 3, Saints Row 4, GTA 5, Puppeteer, The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, The Legend Of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, The Stanley Parable, Rayman Legends, Tearaway, Killzone: Mercenary, Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag, and Super Mario 3D World.

Then in November the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One arrived, and they changed the games industry in a way that’s still very present to this day. Launch titles for PlayStation 4 consisted of Resogun, Knack, and Killzone: Shadow Fall. And the Xbox One gave us Ryse: Son Of Rome, Forza Motorsport 5, and Dead Rising 3. Suffice to say, 2013 exploded with a crescendo of excellent games that didn’t stop coming. Simply put, the enormity of 2013 isn’t spoken about often, but it really should be enshrined in video game lore forever.

So, as you can see, 2011 and 2013 were extraordinary years in video games, and they overloaded us with games unlike any other. Their industry-shifting qualities shouldn’t be understated either, as they are both hugely significant to the history and modern state of video games today.

By reader James Davie

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