Behold, a list!
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Kerbal Space Program - I’ve spent more time on this game than any other in the past decade. And it’s informed my interests and outlook more than any other game.
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Dark Souls - Not much to say here. You know why it’s ranked highly.
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Hitman - (I’m counting Hitman 2016 and its sequel as one game because they are.) I’m not sure how I forgot this on my first iteration of this list. The best sanbox murder simulation/puzzly stealth game/exploding rubber ducky ever. I have put a couple of hundred hours into its gloriously constructed locations and murdered my targets in many many many many amusing ways.
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Hadean Lands - Yes, this is a text adventure. It’s also probably the most glorious puzzle game to come out in the past decade. It rekindled my interest in interactive fiction, which is the most inventive, interesting, and forward looking genre of computer-based gaming.
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TIS-100 - I kind of wish I could just put “Zachtronics games” here because I love all of them. I know that Infinifactory is many peoples’ favorite, but I’ve always loved the stripped down essense of a programming game that is TIS-100.
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Portal 2 - One of the slickest, most instantly enjoyable games ever. It just goes down smoothly. Also, some of the best, most ingenious co-op puzzles ever designed.
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Horizon: Zero Dawn - If I have to pick one open world game, this is the one. Best environments, best combat, best world building, best protagonist.
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Saint’s Row 3 - “Anthony. Anthony. Anthony… Saint’s Row 3.”
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The Witness - Prior to release I anticipated this game more than any other in the past decade. And it largely lived up to my expectations.
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Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture – It’s a walking sim! Gorgeous, melancholy, emotionally turbulent. Also the greatest soundtrack in any videogame ever. The soundtrack is what edges What Remains of Edith Finch out of this spot.
Used to be on this list until summarily pushed off by other games I originally forgot:
Inside - No UI. Gorgeous, endlessly inventive and surprising iterations on its side-scrolling milieu.
Factorio - This game scratches an itch. Oh my yes it does.
Honorable mention: Minecraft. I don’t think there’s any question that Minecraft is the game of the teens. But though I’ve put many hours into this game, and my kids still play it constantly, it’s not among my favorite games, so it’s not on this list.
Second honorable mention: Tabletop Simulator. Is it a game or a platform? Whatever it is, I spent a couple of hundred hours with it both playing and creating board games on my computer screen.
Looking at this list, I must really really like puzzle games. I might edit the list a couple of times before the deadline, but I’m pretty satisfied that it accurately reflects my gaming interests and playtime over the last 10 years.