Video games have grown more and more since the humble days of arcades and 8-bit consoles to be one of the most profitable and massively successful entertainment mediums in the world. With massive technological growth and an overall passion for the medium continuing to grow, it isn't exactly surprising that the video game industry has grown to be larger than the music and film industries combined. This has largely translated to the quality of video games in the 2020s being some of the best that they've ever been.
The 2020s aren't without their notable disappointments or failures in the industry, but between well-made AAA games and exceptionally passionate indie games, there is a constant stream of great video games being released year after year. The decade's best video games have proven to be some of the most well-crafted and impressive video games of all time, at the forefront of culture and pushing the medium forward in their greatness.
12 'Cyberpunk 2077' (2020)
Few games of the 2020s had such overwhelming hype and expectation placed upon them like CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077. After initially being announced in 2012 and following in the goodwill of their previous game, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Cyberpunk 2077 was being positioned as a groundbreaking masterpiece of sci-fi open-world gaming. While the game had a notoriously rough launch plagued by bugs and crashes, the game would find major improvements throughout the following years, transforming it into the sci-fi masterpiece it always wanted to be.
The core game at its center was always compelling enough to draw in fans of RPGs and sci-fi worlds alike, with a wide array of content, multiple paths and choices for the player, and an iconic supporting performance by Keanu Reeves. Without being held back by technical issues, as well as amplified by various updates and DLC expansions, the game is one of the best first-person open-world games that gaming has to offer.
11 'Ghost of Tsushima' (2020)
One of the last major releases by Sony on PlayStation 4, released months before the launch of the PlayStation 5, Ghost of Tsushima blends together exceptional action, a compelling story, and a vast open world to create one of the absolute best original games on PS4. Sucker Punch Productions utilizes a lot of the inherent strengths that they built up in previous games like Infamous to create what is easily their most successful and well-made game to date.
The game makes the absolute most out of the alluring energy and striking visuals of feudal Japan, finding inspiration from classic samurai stories of the past to create what could easily be considered the most compelling and well-crafted playable samurai experience in video game history. While the game received a popular next-gen sequel in Ghost of Yotei just last year, the original Ghost of Tsushima still stands out as the fan-favorite for longtime PlayStation fans.
10 'Animal Crossing: New Horizons' (2020)
Few singular moments in human history felt more important and prominent for the gaming industry than the COVID-19 pandemic, as millions of people stuck at home in isolation led to many using online spaces and digital games as an escape from the pains of the real world. This ironically aligned perfectly with the release of the newest entry in the Animal Crossing series, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, whose March 20th, 2020 release was accidentally perfect timing for massive sales and importance for helping people during this rough time.
The absolute icon of cozy video games exceeds in all of the inherent strengths that made previous entries such fan favorites, only with the added elements of seamless online multiplayer and creative island building that make the game a sandbox of limitless possibilities. It quickly became one of the must-play experiences on the Nintendo Switch and one of the best-selling video games of all time, cementing its status in the annals of video game history with its success.
9 'God of War Ragnarök' (2022)
2018's God of War was a massive leap forward for the fan-favorite PlayStation franchise, adding a cinematic scope to its central story as it featured a lot of the same cathartic hack-and-slash action that made the franchise so beloved in the first place. God of War Ragnarök largely follows in a lot of the same footsteps as the previous game, with the upgrade to PS5 allowing for that much more polish and visual flair to amplify its story and gameplay.
While the previous game did a great job of setting the stage and establishing this new era for Kratos defined by fatherhood and growing beyond his painful past, Ragnarök is the captivating release of all of this buildup, as a great blend between old and new styles as he goes head-to-head with the icons of Norse mythology. Boss fights against Thor and Odin are among the best in the series, while the continued dynamic between Kratos and Atreus further grounds the game and makes it an emotionally charged force from beginning to end.
8 'Balatro' (2024)
It may seem silly to directly compare the single-developer roguelike riff on Poker to the massive AAA experiences of the modern age, but the level of polish and addictive gameplay loop of Balatro truly does place it in a league of its own in terms of indie game greatness. It's the type of game that quickly catches players off guard with its simplicity, wrapping them up into its loop of going through runs until the player looks aside and realizes hours have gone by without a second's thought.
Its inherent simplicity combined with layers of depth for more experienced players plays a central hand in its replayability, being the type of game that could seemingly be played forever and still be fun to mess around with decks in new runs. Solo dev LocalThunk truly tapped into something magical with Balatro, as even despite the wide array of roguelike indie games that were released in the 2010s and 2020s, there is nothing close to the level of polish and individuality in Balatro.
7 'The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom' (2023)
It feels as though each decade in gaming history is going to have its own defining The Legend of Zelda masterpiece that pushes the franchise forward and stands as a pillar of adventure games, with 2023's The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom easily fitting the bill. This ambitious sequel to one of the best games of the 2010s, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, manages to do the impossible by increasing the scope and scale of what was already one of the largest, most vast adventure games ever released.
Through the introduction of limitlessly creative mechanics in the Zonai devices, Tears of the Kingdom similarly invites a sense of creativity and fluidity to its gameplay that allows the player to tackle the various puzzles and combat in any which way they see fit. This, on top of the 2 additional maps above the skies and in the dark underground depths, makes it one of the most complete Zelda experiences to date.
6 'Final Fantasy VII Remake' (2020)
The original Final Fantasy VII is still massively celebrated as one of the greatest JRPGs of all time and a pivotal icon of the PS1 library. Its legacy has massively surpassed any other entry in the franchise and has become one of the most recognizable RPGs ever made, so it seemed all but inevitable that the game would receive a modern remake. While it may have taken years of development and released 5 years after it was initially announced in 2015, Final Fantasy VII Remake polishes and massively expands upon the core brilliance of the original game.
Even with only largely adapting the first act of the PS1 classic, this remake is still a fully complete RPG experience, with more in-depth exploration of these classic characters, hard-hitting moment-to-moment gameplay, and extremely impressive visuals. It could easily be considered one of the greatest video game remakes of all time, cutting to the heart of what made the original game such a classic while also carving out its own identity in the modern age of gaming.
5 'Astro Bot' (2024)
Finding inspiration from classic 3D platformers of the past as well as being a love letter to the long and varied history of PlayStation as a brand, Astro Bot is easily the defining 3D platforming masterpiece of the 2020s so far. Each level manages to be its own wild, unrestrained burst of joy and creativity, with the game constantly experimenting and pushing the boundaries of what a traditional 3D platformer can and should be in the modern age.
While the cavalcade of references alone is enough to make the game a joy for long-time fans of PlayStation games over the years, the tight-knit controls and seamless gameplay give the game an edge even to those without a deep-rooted connection to the brand. The PS5's standout exclusive title is a perfect example of how creativity and joyous fun are at the heart of what makes gaming such an inviting and exceptional entertainment medium.
4 'Hollow Knight: Silksong' (2025)
The original Hollow Knight was already heralded as a masterpiece of the metroidvania genre and an icon of indie game greatness, placing a great deal of pressure on the long-awaited follow-up, Hollow Knight: Silksong, to deliver a similar level of greatness. However, Silksong proved to be one of the few games that not only lived up to its monumental levels of hype, but in many ways exceeded these expectations to create one of the most well-crafted, seamless gaming experiences of the modern era.
Everything that made the original game such a compelling gameplay experience is expanded upon and evolved seamlessly within Silksong, while also adhering to these same strengths and not losing the identity of the original game. Through its vast and intricate worldbuilding and the pinpoint precision required of its platforming and combat, Silksong is a difficult game that invites the player to pass its rigorous trials, all the while being near perfect in its execution.
3 'Clair Obscur: Expedition 33' (2025)
Few singular games completely reshaped and redefined the prospects and mentality behind a polished video game experience like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, one of the most beautiful RPGs of the modern era that has the look and feel of a AAA juggernaut despite coming from a core team of only 30 developers. Coming from a team of former Ubisoft developers who left the company during the pandemic, Clair Obscur is a beautiful blending of Western high-fidelity and JRPG gameplay to create a wholly singular gaming experience.
Polish is the name of the game when it comes to Clair Obscur, as everything from the masterfully composed soundtrack to the breathtaking visuals and engaging mixture of turn-based combat with timed QTEs all come together to create a supremely impressive experience. Its impact and legacy upon the industry as a whole has only just begun to take form, yet it's already left a massive mark as an unmistakable masterpiece of the modern era.