The Most Replayable Video Game Of Every Year Of The 2010s

In every year between 2010 and 2019, there was a huge single-player experience that most players could not stop playing. They may have been giant open-world experiences or smaller, more arcade-style games that were just fun to return to for fifteen or even five-minute intervals. These games were infinitely replayable, defining their respective years by convincing players to restart them over and over again.

15 Switch Games With The Best Replay Value

If you're looking to get the most bang for your buck on the Nintendo Switch, these are the games with the most replay value on the system.

Posts

Of course, there were plenty of multiplayer games too, like various Call of Duty and Battlefield titles, but nominating any of them would almost be too easy. Multiplayer games are designed to be hard to put down. So instead, let’s go through some single-player experiences that were the most replayable releases during their launch years.

Fallout: New Vegas (2010)

The Dustbowl

Core Multiplayer Games To Consider: Rock Band 3
Other Games To Consider: Pac-Man Championship Edition DX

The first year of this decade started out great with Fallout: New Vegas, a spinoff that Obsidian Entertainment developed for Bethesda following the success of Fallout 3. While it featured similar mechanics, like a big open world to explore, this time it was set in the wastes of the Nevada area of the U.S., and there was more going on behind the scenes.

The Karma meter was more intricate, taking note of what players said and did, and the various Factions made it possible for NPCs to treat players differently based on their decisions. Between the many locations, the slick gunplay, and replay value thanks to the many branching decisions, there were many reasons why fans couldn’t stop playing Fallout: New Vegas long after 2010 had come to an end.

Minecraft (2011)

The Evolution Of Video Games

Core Multiplayer Games To Consider: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Other Games To Consider: The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim

Minecraft launched into an early state in 2009, but the full release didn’t launch until 2011, which is when it started to become a true phenomenon. This was still just for PC platforms and mobile devices, as the console ports didn’t launch until 2012, but even just on those aforementioned platforms, it was impossible to escape Minecraft.

The game was easy to run, even on low-grade Macs, and it was such a simple concept at heart. Generate a world and then go do whatever, either alone or with friends. Players who grew up in the 80s and 90s clicked with it infinitely more because they were already familiar with LEGO construction, but Minecraft was more freeing and cheaper, which is why it still dominates.

Borderlands 2 (2012)

A Handsome Sequel

Core Multiplayer Games To Consider: Guild Wars 2
Other Games To Consider: Trials Evolution

Borderlands 2 was a slick upgrade from its predecessor, and some fans would even call it the best game in the Borderlands series. The gunplay was better, the character classes were more varied, and the central villain was charismatic and guided players along. A game can only be as good as its central villain, and Handsome Jack is among the best in all of video games thanks to his cocky and unhinged attitude.

Alone or with friends, Borderlands 2 gave players many reasons to keep playing, between checking out different classes or hunting for that cool new gun that could change everything. It's a massive game that takes a while to complete, and with all the DLC and their respective characters, there's always a good reason to jump back in.

Grand Theft Auto 5 (2013)

Street Hustle

Core Multiplayer Games To Consider: DOTA 2
Other Games To Consider: Rogue Legacy

Even though the hype for Grand Theft Auto 6 is astronomical, people are still playing Grand Theft Auto 5, not just in preparation for the sequel, but because they still love this game so much. There’s not much in terms of replay value with different decisions to make in the campaign, but the infinite fun players can have by causing chaos in the streets is rewarding and a major reason why 2013 was dominated by this game.

Small Open-World Games With Lots Of Replay Value

These open-world indies might be on the smaller side, but they still come packed with some incredible replay value.

Posts

By Harry Ted Sprinks

The three-character structure was innovative, and it was the biggest GTA game to that point, with tons of secrets still to discover. Also, beyond the core experience, what has kept GTA 5 alive the most is Grand Theft Auto Online. It didn’t launch with a bang in 2013, and it took Rockstar months, even years, to really hammer things out, but it eventually turned this online component into a machine that prints money.

Destiny (2014)

Bungie Is Back!

Core Multiplayer Games To Consider: The Elder Scrolls Online
Other Games To Consider: Mario Kart 8

Borderlands may have started the looter shooter genre in 2009, and Borderlands 2 has a better story, but Destiny was something altogether different. It was the next shooter franchise from Bungie, the developer that made console shooters what they are today thanks to Halo: Combat Evolved. This time, they wanted to try their hand at an FPS RPG that allowed players to customize their character between three classes.

While exploring the various biomes, players could see other players roaming, make permanent team-ups in Strike missions, and use the HUB area as a gathering place for dozens of players to run around in. It was an MMO in all but name with some of the slickest gunplay in 2014.

Super Mario Maker (2015)

Make Your Mario

Core Multiplayer Games To Consider: Star Wars Battlefront
Other Games To Consider: Rocket League

To celebrate Mario’s 30th, Nintendo did the unthinkable by releasing Super Mario Maker, a way for players to make their own levels in the series' classic 2D style. Players could switch between the visual styles of Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and New Super Mario Bros. U at will, and design the Mario level of their dreams.

Thanks to the Wii U’s touchpad, it was very easy to make levels and test them in real-time before uploading them online for all to see and try out. It was an obsession that briefly took over the Minecraft fad in the fall of 2015, and made it one of the best reasons to buy a Wii U, even if the system continued to struggle.

Pokemon GO (2016)

Go Outside And Touch Grass-Types

Core Multiplayer Games To Consider: Overwatch
Other Games To Consider: Final Fantasy 15

Pokemon became a sensation in Japan in 1996 on the Game Boy and then once again in the West in 1998. Through sequels, it continued to be popular on Nintendo handhelds, but Pokemon GO was something different. While it wasn’t a core Pokemon title, it was a game that everyone could now play as long as they had an Android or iOS device.

It dominated the summer of 2016, which was a perfect time to launch a game that encouraged players to go outside and hunt for Pokemon in augmented reality. 2016 was the peak of Pokemon GO fever, but it has continued to be popular with diehards.

The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild (2017)

A New Era For Nintendo

Core Multiplayer Games To Consider: Fortnite Battle Royale
Other Games To Consider: Cuphead

While the Wii U struggled, Nintendo’s next device, the Switch, had no trouble getting traction thanks to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, its killer launch title. It was on the Wii U as well, but it was the killer app on the Switch thanks to the console's portability option.

RPGs With Hundreds Of Hours Of Replay Value (Thanks To Multiple Paths)

From intense action RPGs to turn-based JRPG spectacles, these games will last a while thanks to the branching paths on offer.

Posts 2

By Tristan Jurkovich

BOTW was a Zelda game like no other, an open-world Hyrule that even evolved other open-world games for the better. The massive scope of the world, the ability to climb nearly any surface, and the paraglider all helped The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild stand out from the crowd, making it impossible to talk about anything else for most of 2017.

Monster Hunter: World (2018)

An Inviting First Step

Core Multiplayer Games To Consider: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Other Games To Consider: Tetris Effect

Monster Hunter did not change as a franchise for over a decade, making it an exclusive club for the hardcore fans. Monster Hunter: World changed all that in 2018 with some quality-of-life improvements that made it more inviting, but it was still nowhere near a cakewalk.

For example, instead of running through dozens of segmented zones, players could track a monster in an open sandbox either alone or with friends. It had a high replay value because of the core gameplay loop. Fighting monsters on repeat was the best way to get stronger by harvesting their parts, building new gear, and then moving on to the next hunt.

Slay The Spire (2019)

Deal Me In

Core Multiplayer Games To Consider: Apex Legends
Other Games To Consider: Super Mario Maker 2

Between 2010 and 2019, roguelikes were gaining traction, and there were plenty that could have fit the bill for this list in most years. In 2019, one of the biggest games to launch was Slay the Spire, a deck-building game that featured multiple characters and routes.

Players would choose their character and then go through randomly generated rooms, fighting enemies in turn-based combat that used cards for all actions. It was a simple concept with a devilishly challenging gameplay loop, as rewards were hard to come by. As challenging as it was, players couldn’t get enough of its addictive card-slinging action.