General Gaming What was the most ‘perfect’ game of the past 10 years?

[Nokt]

19 hours ago, Moa said:

Celeste is the first game that comes to mind. It's not my absolute favorite game of the last decade, but it is one that accomplishes absolutely everything it set out to do and pushed its mechanics and design to the absolute limit for those who want to explore it.

This is was also the first thing that came to mind and more than likely takes my top pick.

 

6 minutes ago, Chris- said:

Bloodborne’s performance wasn’t so bad that I thought about dropping it (unlike BotW and The Witcher 3). 

I just started it up this past week and am having the opposite reaction. I really haven't noticed the 30fps outside of the first 10 minutes or so. Haven't noticed any huge drops in performance.

 

8 hours ago, best3444 said:

TLOU2. I didn't notice one flaw except a few stutters but the game was an utter masterpiece in every conceivable way. 

TLOU2 is better mechanically and graphically, but I appreciate TLOU Remastered so much more story wise.

 

Outside of whats been named already RE2make and Firewatch were pretty spectacular for me

 

[best3444]

3 minutes ago, Nokt said:

TLOU2 is better mechanically and graphically, but I appreciate TLOU Remastered so much more story wise.

 

 

I disagree. The story in part 2 was way more emotional and diverse. I own TLOU Remastered and may play through it again at some point. I respect your opinion, though.

[Biggie]

18 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

I still need to get on it, but Tropical Freeze always a gets talked up as 2D platformer perfection.

it has a very steep difficulty 

[crispy4000]

19 hours ago, Moa said:

Celeste is the first game that comes to mind. It's not my absolute favorite game of the last decade, but it is one that accomplishes absolutely everything it set out to do and pushed its mechanics and design to the absolute limit for those who want to explore it.

 

Along those lines and for basically the exact same reason, Hollow Knight was pretty damn perfect.

 

The only thing holding Hollow Knight back, IMO, it's the distance between warp points.  For a game with a map its size, I totally get the complaints about it.  But man, I still devoured it.

I like Celeste, but I didn't adore it for some reason I can't put my finger on.  I wish the pixel art was higher-res.

[crispy4000]

16 minutes ago, Biggie said:

it has a very steep difficulty 

 

I felt that pain point with DK: Returns already.  Aside, I'm really enjoying Yooka-Layee & the Impossible Lair right now.  There's much less of that pushback, in a good (and intelligently designed) way.

[Nokt]

13 minutes ago, best3444 said:

I disagree. The story in part 2 was way more emotional and diverse. I own TLOU Remastered and may play through it again at some point. I respect your opinion, though.

Diverse is an interesting one because while its true, its an aspect of the game that just falls flat compared to the first game. What made the first one so good was the character interaction between Joel and Ellie, they did such a good job of making me attached to them. 2 just lacks that interaction. I understand why Abby is doing what she is doing, I still don't care about her character and her gang. I don't care about any of Ellie's new companions. There is only 3 characters that I care about; Joel, Ellie, and Tommy to a degree.

[Bacon]

 Well there is no perfect game that is for sure. At least not in that time range.

 

When it comes to MMOs FFXIV becomes as perfect as you can get at a certain point, but it certainly isn't perfect. So many engine limitations, and the world being segmented and having invisible walls is not my preference. 

 

What I want to say is the most truly perfect game I can think of period is Halo 3 but that isn't the past 10 years. 

 

I guess DOOM Eternal would be the game I consider most perfect but it still isn't perfect tho. 

[Paperclyp]

Hades should be right up my alley but I’m teetering on going from well I get the appeal but I guess this one is just not for me to saying with teeth gritted “I kinda don’t like this at all.” 

[best3444]

14 hours ago, Nokt said:

Diverse is an interesting one because while its true, its an aspect of the game that just falls flat compared to the first game. What made the first one so good was the character interaction between Joel and Ellie, they did such a good job of making me attached to them. 2 just lacks that interaction. I understand why Abby is doing what she is doing, I still don't care about her character and her gang. I don't care about any of Ellie's new companions. There is only 3 characters that I care about; Joel, Ellie, and Tommy to a degree.

 

That's just your opinion, though. Just like my opinion is I was more emotionally invested in a few more characters other than Joel and Ellie in part 2. No sense in going back and forth with this though, lol. Both games are absolutely incredible. 

[skillzdadirecta]

Last of Us 2 pretty much drives home the point that every villain is the hero in their own story. By seeing the conflict from both sides, you can totally see how from Abby's point of view, Joel and Elle were monsters. They literally took EVERYTHING from her but because we met Joel and Elle first and our sympathies lay with them, a lot of gamers had a hard time seeing that and "picked a side" when that really wasn't the point of the game or its narrative. Which is what made it so brilliant to me at least. 

[stepee]

17 hours ago, crispy4000 said:

 

I felt that pain point with DK: Returns already.  Aside, I'm really enjoying Yooka-Layee & the Impossible Lair right now.  There's much less of that pushback, in a good (and intelligently designed) way.

 

Yooka-Laylee Lair to me is as good as people think that Tropical Freeze is.

[Nokt]

3 hours ago, skillzdadirecta said:

Last of Us 2 pretty much drives home the point that every villain is the hero in their own story. By seeing the conflict from both sides, you can totally see how from Abby's point of view, Joel and Elle were monsters. They literally took EVERYTHING from her but because we met Joel and Elle first and out sympathies lay with them, a lot of gamers had a hard time seeing that and "picked and side" when that really wasn't the point of the game or its narrative. Which is what made it so brilliant to me at least. 

I wouldn't say so much as picking a side, like I said earlier I understand Abby and her motivations. They just failed to make me care for her or her gang and its not just picking on her, Ellie's new companions are in the same boat. I do think that the way the story was laid out is part of the reason a lot of people picked that side though. I think some slight rearranging of the game would open up people to Abby a lot more.

[skillzdadirecta]

52 minutes ago, Nokt said:

I wouldn't say so much as picking a side, like I said earlier I understand Abby and her motivations. They just failed to make me care for her or her gang and its not just picking on her, Ellie's new companions are in the same boat. I do think that the way the story was laid out is part of the reason a lot of people picked that side though. I think some slight rearranging of the game would open up people to Abby a lot more.

I'll just say this and we can move on, there's a differnce between "This story failed to move me" and "This story didn't attempt to move me." All of the beats are there for you to care about the other characters. It's just that we've been with Ellie and Joel a whole lot longer... we spent a whole entire game with just the two of them and we saw things from their point of view. The Last of Us 2 challenges you to step outside of that and at least ATTEMPT to see the other characters's perspectives because the world is bigger than just Ellie and Joel. It didn't succeed for you and that's ok, but it did for a lot of other people, myself included. 

[Bloodporne]

I don't know about the last 10 years but Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun is one of those games that left absolutely nothing to be desired. It gets everything right in my book. The gameplay, level design, difficulty, pacing, overall length, story, it's all borderline flawless. 

 

I also absolutely loved Desperados III but overall still prefer Shadow Tactics despite technical improvements. It feels just that tad bit more uh inspired I guess? 

 

That being said, I've played an absurd amount of really great games in the past few years, it's kind of hard to even pick one. I could also mention the Demon's Souls remake. They really did polish that game to an asinine level of shine. I still prefer the sound design in the original but the remake was just a different flavor that also worked beautifully. 

 

I want to mention Returnal because it's the newest game in my favorite games ever list but there are a few things I would've liked to have seen additionally. Doesn't mean I like the other, more 'perfect', games more but still. 

[TwinIon]

Hard to disagree with some that have been brought up already. Portal 2 is an easy go to, but it is a relatively simple and short game. Still, it doesn't miss a single shot it takes.

 

I'd personally put TLOU2 up there as the best made AAA game. The technical aspects are uniformly superlative, the story is devastatingly well told. It's a game that wants to make the player uncomfortable, which by itself is an extraordinary decision, and to my mind it succeeded almost too well. All that, and the gameplay is still rock solid, providing a ton of player choice in how to engage in most combat scenarios.

 

I'd also consider putting Spider-Man PS4 up for consideration. It's not as daring as TLOU2, and while it was technically impressive, it didn't have quite the same level of detail and polish, but I feel like it hit every mark. It's one of the few AAA single player games I've replayed from start to finish.

 

Far fewer people got a chance to try them out, but there are a few VR games I'd consider. Both Half-Life: Alyx and Lone Echo are amazing experiences where failings tend to have more to do with the limitations of current VR than as games themselves.

 

Beat Saber probably qualifies as a perfect game. It understands the limitations of modern VR, provides as consistent, fun, glitch-free experience.

[Dexterryu]

I have a few... some that have already been mentioned... TLOU & TLOU 2, God of War, Hades, TitanFall 2.

 

A few others for me: 

FrostPunk

Beat Saber

Dishonored

Ori

 

I'd put Witcher 3 here, but it had a few bugs and was a challenge to get it to run great when it first released.

[Spawn_of_Apathy]

Anthem. 
 

so perfect the way it was they decided it didn’t need any updates or additions. 

[number305]

I would think Forza Horizon ... either 4 or 5 or both should be in the list.  

 

I think they have just about perfected the formula for that style of open world racing/collecting type game.  They are going to have a hard time making a #6 in the series because I'm not sure what you would add or change besides a new location.  They probably need to just take 4-5 years off and do other things (fable)

[AbsolutSurgen]

Another vote for Forza Horizon 4 or 5.

 

Playground has perfected the open world racing genre.

6 minutes ago, number305 said:

I would think Forza Horizon ... either 4 or 5 or both should be in the list.  

 

I think they have just about perfected the formula for that style of open world racing/collecting type game.  They are going to have a hard time making a #6 in the series because I'm not sure what you would add or change besides a new location.  They probably need to just take 4-5 years off and do other things (fable)

I'm open to a new game ever 3 years, with a new location and a few new minigames. 

[nublood]

God of War for me. Graphics, sound, polish, story.... just everything you could ask for in a video game. And It had the perfect balance of exploration and being linear enough to not feel bloated.

[best3444]

6 hours ago, TwinIon said:

I'd personally put TLOU2 up there as the best made AAA game. The technical aspects are uniformly superlative, the story is devastatingly well told. It's a game that wants to make the player uncomfortable, which by itself is an extraordinary decision, and to my mind it succeeded almost too well. All that, and the gameplay is still rock solid, providing a ton of player choice in how to engage in most combat scenarios.

 

This man knows what's up. 

[crispy4000]

7 hours ago, TwinIon said:

I'd also consider putting Spider-Man PS4 up for consideration. It's not as daring as TLOU2, and while it was technically impressive, it didn't have quite the same level of detail and polish, but I feel like it hit every mark. It's one of the few AAA single player games I've replayed from start to finish.

Spider-Man is easy to critique, being an open world game.  Everything gets slightly too redundant IMO.  Some of the challenge missions aren’t well tuned to the swinging mechanics, or all that fun.  Stealth can overstay its welcome, especially when you aren’t playing as Spider-Man.

 

Still is a great game.  The final boss of the DLC is pretty nifty as well.

[Kal-El814]

5 hours ago, AbsolutSurgen said:

Another vote for Forza Horizon 4 or 5.

 

Playground has perfected the open world racing genre.

 

Any time I get into a collision in Forza Horizon and I can’t fling the flaming chassis of my car into other cars for massive points, I am let down.

[Fizzzzle]

Forza horizon, to me, fits right in with games like Stardew Valley. It can be whatever you want. If you want it to be challenging, it can be that. If you want it to be relaxing, it can be that, too. It really is up to the player and how they want to play, and I think that counts for a lot. And they don't do it in the same way that, say, the Tales games do (if you play those on easy mode, it essentially turns off combat on all but the hardest optional battles)

 

I'd put The Sims in that category, too, but dear lord does that game have issues. Still, no one else does anything else like it.

 

There is a small indie team that has been developing an indie version of the Sims, but it's already been in development for a *long* time, and doesn't look like it's particularly close.

 

Side tangent: EA gets away with the Sims being riddled with bugs and filled with stupid new micropacks every 8 weeks because no one else makes anything else like it. It's baffling to me. Cities: Skylines single handedly destroyed SimCity as a franchise because they just started making a game like "what if we made SimCity, but... good?" Not to say that the game doesn't have issues, but it's crazy to me that no one has tried it with the Sims.

 

The Sims is *incredibly* fun when it's working in a way that no other game has ever replicated, and incredibly frustrating when it doesn't work. I don't understand why, after over 20 years, no one else has really even attempted it.

 

I guess that goes back to what I said earlier about games that do things better than others vs. games that do things imperfectly, but they're doing things that no one else is doing, so there really is no comparison. The Sims is the ultimate sandbox life simulator because... it's the only sandbox life simulator.

[best3444]

6 hours ago, BlueAngel said:

Red Dead Redemption 2.

 

I'm a huge fan but it's gameplay is flawed. Character movement and the shooting mechanics are not so hot. Incredible gaming world though. Just hunting all the animals on your nifty map was so fuckin awesome. 

[Bloodporne]

I really need to get on playing TLOU2 apparently...

[Mercury33]

I don’t know how i forgot to include the first Ori. That game is utterly flawless 

[best3444]

3 hours ago, Bloodporne said:

I really need to get on playing TLOU2 apparently...

 

Absolutely. I think you beat TLOU Remastered, correct?

[Bloodporne]

2 minutes ago, best3444 said:

 

Absolutely. I think you beat TLOU Remastered, correct?

I did yeah. I actually really ended up liking the combat in that game but I hope they opened up the ultra-strict "small arena, cutscene, small arena, cutscene" structure in the sequel. 

[crispy4000]

3 hours ago, Mercury33 said:

I don’t know how i forgot to include the first Ori. That game is utterly flawless 

 

It could be argued the difficulty spike at the tree was a bit much.  And nothing after ever gets as hard as it.

Difficulty spikes are still one of the things I think matter least.  As long as doesn't make the game feel totally impossible.

[imthesoldier]

Xenoblade Chronicles on Wii 

 

This is slightly cheating because the game originally came out in 2010, but we did not get it in NA until 2012, so I think it counts. For me, it is 2nd to Skies of Arcadia as my all-time GOAT, so it's not an easy bar to reach. 

 

The way how the overworld is explored, the combat system, the sidequests (which btw a good portion of them are completed just by playing the game, so there is less drag/grind), the general overall story arc, and of course the music. Just about everything about it is damn near flawless, and it's one of those rare games that gets almost everything right about it. And especially for the hardware of the Wii, it's one of the most impressive games of that whole generation. Even in just general playthroughs, the loading times are almost non-existent, there's fast-travel, you can change the time at any point, and you can save at any point. 

 

It is an easy game to just pick up and play, and it rewards you greatly for exploration. It doesn't hold punches though in how difficult it can get for those who strive to tackle the Super-Bosses, so those looking for more of a challenge are included. Not to mention the New Game Plus mode begs you to play the game again, but without all the hassle of going to the low-level fights again. 

 

It's easily a 200-plus hour adventure w/ the New Game Plus playthrough, but it just feels complete when you're done with it. 

[GameDadGrant]

Kid Icarus Uprising
 

I know, people are gonna whine “B-b-but the controls!” You know what? It’s no where near as bad as advertised and honestly I’m not sure I’d want it to control differently. Sakurai nailed what he set out to do, and the game is a masterpiece because of it. Speaking of Sakurai…

 

Super Smash Bros. ULTIMATE
 

The best fighting game ever made? …I mean…maybe! 

[gamer.tv]

15 minutes ago, GameDadGrant said:

Kid Icarus Uprising
 

I know, people are gonna whine “B-b-but the controls!” You know what? It’s no where near as bad as advertised and honestly I’m not sure I’d want it to control differently. Sakurai nailed what he set out to do, and the game is a masterpiece because of it. Speaking of Sakurai…

 

Super Smash Bros. ULTIMATE
 

The best fighting game ever made? …I mean…maybe! 

I loved Kid Icarus: Uprising, but it so should have been a Wii game.

[GameDadGrant]

1 hour ago, gamer.tv said:

I loved Kid Icarus: Uprising, but it so should have been a Wii game.

 

I'd be down for that, if they were able to get the controls to work properly. I feel like the touch-screen controls added a certain amount of tactile feedback that made the controls more "intuitive" - at least in my opinion.  

 

Heh, maybe they should have ported it to the Wii U?

[stepee]

Kid Icarus Uprising…ummm this isn’t the thread for amazing games with one REALLY FUCKING BAD flaw thread!